My story

God has been placing on my heart to share my God story with you. Everyone that has received Christ into their lives and have asked Him to be a part of their lives has a God story. Some people have known God their entire lives, others only minutes. Often, I have found that people are scared or embarrassed to share their story with others because they believe they don't have a "good" God story or believe that others will find it boring or won't have an impact on them. However, I have learned that everyone has a story to share and you shouldn't worry about what others will gain from the story because God will have the people take from the story what they are supposed to take from it. The only thing that we are supposed to do is be prepared to share our story when the opportunity arises. What better way to witness for Christ than in your own personal journey. I learned this while preparing for my first mission trip to Haiti last summer (during that mission trip I also began to pray out loud in front of others for my very first time--I tell you it is still not easy to pray in front of others, however, it gets easier for me each time I do it).

Many of you know me personally, however, many of you may not know that I have not been a Christian all of my life. As a matter of fact, I have just recently began a true relationship with God. I did ask Christ to come into my life when I was a little girl sitting on my grandfather's lap, but I didn't truly know the full magnitude of what I had asked for until the last few years. In the last few years, I finally realized that my life was not complete--there was something missing and I desperately needed that "something" to be filled. That something was a relationship with God--not just a knowledge of God and or even knowing that I was saved but an actual relationship. I don't classify myself as a new or infant Christian and I don't classify myself as a mature Christian either. I consider myself a young Christian that is learning daily what it means to have God in my life and to be in relationship with him.

I don't recall a specific moment when I said "I want God to be a part of my life." It finally seemed to happen over the course of a few years. God has been working on me all my life (things that I thought were coincidents I now know were God-incidents) but I just started taking notice of Him. You see, I have always felt an empty place in my heart and no matter what I did--it would not fill up. Although, in the last couple of years, I have noticed that that empty place doesn't feel as big anymore and that has everything to do with me seeking my relationship with God. I expect that as I continue to seek God's will in my life that that void will continue getting smaller until there is no void. I truly believe all people have this void and the only thing that will fill the void is God. I have also started to recognize that when I start feeling that void again, I have usually been away from God (meaning I haven't been to church in a couple of weeks or I haven't been in my bible). It's like being out of touch with your best friend for awhile. You feel disconnected or ackward for a moment with her but as soon as you pick up the phone or have a cup of coffee together , it feels like second nature--you just have to get back in touch.

Speaking of church, I remember myself asking a number of times "why do people go to church every Sunday? You can be a Christian and not to go to church." I have thought in the past that people that went to church were hypocrites (not all of them)--only going to church for the "show" or to say that they go to church. I still believe that one can be a Christian and not go to church, however, I have found why one would go to church weekly--this world is so unbelievably hard to live in and at church you are able to gather with other Christians that are battling the same things throughout the week that you are. The reason for church is to be filled up with God's word and to be equipped to live out God's will throughout the week. Church is like the pep rally for the big game--except the game of life is constant. You never get a break from it and one definitely needs to have that pep rally if you ever want to survive the game. I get excited to go to church every week (who would have ever thought that I would be saying that!). If I miss a service, I really feel it throughout the week--I just don't as equipped to handle the week ahead. I have to admit, I think that it was very important that I found a church that really feels like home because not all churches have made me feel that way. I found a church that makes me feel comfortable, it fits my style and it allows me to really feel the presence of the Lord when I am there, and when I walk through the doors to go home, I feel like I am prepared for the week ahead.

So, how did I start my relationship with God? Simple, I jumped in with both feet--I found a church where I felt comfortable, I joined the women's bible study group (where I have met some of the most amazing women of God that are now my friends), I started to pray and I started reading the bible. I also followed God's call to go on a mission trip to Haiti. Basically, I finally chose to begin that relationship with God that He had been calling me towards for quite some time now. I finally decided that I would have "complete trust"(which happens to be one of the definitions of faith) in God. Many times I have to ask God to help me with my unbelief--I want to have complete belief and sometimes that only comes from God.

I want to make a side note about the bible study--I know what many of you may be thinking because I know I sure felt like this--I was completely scared to go to bible study because I didn't know the first thing about the bible, I definitely didn't pray out loud and I was never going to fit into that group because they know so much about God. Please trust me when I say--there are many others in that bible study that feel the exact same way that you do--they don't know everything, they don't know the first thing about the bible and they don't pray out loud, but they are just seeking the same thing that you are--to have a relationship with God! Yes, there are a few mature Christians in the bible study, but they are there to help guide us young Christians.

Please remember, the strength and courage that you see and hear from me throughout this trying time comes from only one and that is God. You see, I ask God on a daily basis to give me the strength and the trust that I need to make it through the day.

So my purpose in writing this entry--to share my story and hoping I may reach one more person for Jesus Christ.

May God bless your day! Joslyn