I've been hanging out with my friend Chelsea Kauflin on my trip to Maryland for the Next Conference. I was able to ask her about her testimony not too long ago. I want to share her story with you.
(I have left her anti-capitalizing grammar intact)
"growing up in a christian home has taught me a lot. growing up in charlotte, nc, i was not a child that anyone would ever want to have. i was ruled by pride, selfishness, and anger. always wanting my own way and doing whatever it took to get it. In april of 1997 i gave my life to the Lord after numerous conversations with my dad. From then on, my mom said that I was a completely different child, God was helping me get rid of my pride, anger and selfishness that i had had for so long.
"growing up in a christian home has taught me a lot. growing up in charlotte, nc, i was not a child that anyone would ever want to have. i was ruled by pride, selfishness, and anger. always wanting my own way and doing whatever it took to get it. In april of 1997 i gave my life to the Lord after numerous conversations with my dad. From then on, my mom said that I was a completely different child, God was helping me get rid of my pride, anger and selfishness that i had had for so long.
in may of '97 my family moved to gaithersburg, md where my dad took the job of the Director of Worship Development at Sovereign Grace Ministries. during this time, i got tired of being the "good christian girl" and tried to search for things that might make me happy. throughout high school i looked to a lot of things besides God to satisfy me, boys, shopping, my friends, and sports, were things that i strived after. i never did anything that i thought was really sinful, therefore i never felt a real remorse for what my sin was doing to me. i let this go on month after month, trusting myself more and more and placing myself in situations that i thought i could handle. if i had any distrust of my heart (jer 17:9), it was gone, and i was slowly going down the path i never thought to be possible.
in april of '04 my parents found out all the ways i had been deceiving them. i was released from my job at Covenant Life, pulled out from the worship teams i was participating in, and still felt no remorse for what i had done. that summer, my parents told me i couldn't have a job, and so i spent the summer reading, praying and talking to my parents a lot. during this time, God revealed to me just how sinful i am. i had never thought of myself as the worst sinner i knew until i looked back at all the things i let myself do because i trusted myself too much.
all this being said, growing up in Sovereign Grace Ministries, has definitely only been for my benefit, but i have made the mistake of trying to live on my own and not seeking the help of those around me. by God's grace, he is showing me more of himself every day, making me realize that i am not my own, he has bought me and the least i can do is give him my entire life for his glory by his grace."
2 comments:
Phew. So good. God is great and amazing and His foreloving purpose is unstoppable and He will draw His children and save them. I love it. Is there going to be a Part 2? Also, is there going to be a further blog about what Joey experienced at NEXT 09? What Jesus did He meet there? I would very much like to know...
Brent. Yes and Yes. There will actually be 3 parts to this. I will definitely post about Next.
I'll tell you about my Jesus.
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