My Life Story

I was raised in a very religious family.  I say religious because my mom was Christian but my dad was just religious.  They were involved in a church called "the Local Church" for a long time, which was very legalistic.  The people may have looked good on the outside and said all the right stuff, but it was mostly goodness out of competition or fear I think.

My dad molested me for awhile in my childhood.  I could never wrap my mind around how he could be Christian and do that, but he wasn't Christian, he was just religious.  I have had a lot of anger at my mom throughout my lifetime about all that, mainly just at the fact that she married my dad.  I felt she should have taken more time to really judge his character before marrying him, since obviously he turned out to be a bit crazy.  He was analyzed by psychiatrists who said he was "highly intelligent but with a skewed sense of reality."  That skewed sense was that he thought it was his job to teach me everything about life, including sexuality.  Very skewed indeed.

He went to jail when I was 6 because I told my mom about something he did.  She did not know the whole time what was happening.  He was only in jail for a short time and our family reunited after he got out, which I also had anger at my mom about as an adult.  If it were me, I would have never spoken to him again.

But then when I was 9 my parents divorced, praise God.  Although that divorce was a bit hard on me.  I started getting into a lot of trouble, shoplifting and drinking and smoking from about 12 to 14.  Mainly it was because I felt that I was bad due to what happened to me so I thought I might as well act bad.

When I was 14 my mom and I moved to California from Nebraska to be by her parents.  Praise God for that because from then on my grandma was a very strong and very positive influence in my life.  She helped me see that I needed to do better and that God had a great plan for my life, despite what happened to me.  I felt like she really believed in me, that I could do anything and be anything.  So I did.  I went on a mission's trip at 14 to India.  I joined all the leadership teams at my church.  I was in tons of AP classes in high school and a debate club and choir and basketball.  I did everything I could do.  I love a quote I heard once, "The most reprobate sinners become the most devout saints."  I think it's because the energy you put into being bad you then put into doing good and helping others.

Then I went to Biola for college, a private Christian school.  I kind of had the wind taken out of my sails there.  I think I felt less than the other kids who all seemed to come from perfect families.  I felt kind of like the black sheep there all four years.  I also had lots of anxiety about what people thought of me and my grades.  But I did learn a ton about the Bible and God there and I praise God for that. :)

After college I mostly worked at jobs helping kids.  I felt like my calling in life was to help other kids have a really happy childhood since I didn't.  I have heard "Your greatest ministry comes from your greatest pain."  My greatest pain was that most of my young life was not happy at all, so I wanted to create happiness for as many kids as I could.  I ran games at summer camps, tried teaching and did lots of tutoring.  I tried to encourage as many kids as I could, like my grandma always had encouraged me.  :)

At 25 I met a wonderful Christian guy.  We got engaged, but when I was 27 he died due to drinking while on to many prescriptions.  That started a war inside me kind of against prescription drugs and doctors.  That time of grieving over his death was a very, very hard time for me.  I never questioned my faith though.  I only pressed harder into God in that time and started writing in my new blog a ton.  His death made me realize even more how little time we all have, and that I could die any day.  I felt all the more that I needed to start doing as much as I could to help others and change the world, as much as I could.

But praise God when I was 28 I met my husband online.  I prayed that I would meet him and two weeks later God brought him into my life, via email on plenty of fish.com. :)  He is absolutely wonderful!  I love him so much!  We now have two little girls who are total angels.  Also he just quit smoking about a month and praise God for that too!  I think it wasn't until I stopped trying to make him quit that he finally did.  :)

And about two years ago I started making something I call "Jesus Packets" that have bracelets and muffins that I make and a Bible tract and candy.  I think my motivation for those is that if I can't save my dad, maybe I can help to save many others.  I think I have made about 2,000 of those so far. :) And hopefully those are making a difference.  My goal in life has always been to push away the darkness as much as I can and shine as much light in this world as I can in any way I can, through music or making craft things or my blog writing.  Hopefully God has taken every effort I have made and multiplied it's effects like Jesus did with the bread and the fish.  And that is the end of my story.  May God bless you all. :)

Family Road Trip

My Mom and I just did an awesome road trip across half the U.S. with my two daughters who are 1 and 3. It was a challenge. I thought of us giving up only 3 hours into the trip. But we persevered! Praise God! And we got to see my grandparents one more time before they might move on from this life. It was a great bonding time for all of us. I learned a lot more about my mom's childhood and things about my dad I didn't know. I got to talk to my aunt more, who I am so much like. We ate lots of great food and stayed in awesome hotels. The only down side was the jeep we rented. It was supposed to be a nice car, but we got a jeep instead and it was quite cramped. Don't try doing a road trip with kids in a jeep lol. But we survived and overall I'm very glad we did the trip. Praise God for giving us the endurance to make it! May God bless y'all!

From a Childhood Friend's Mom

Here's an email from my best friend's mom, from when I was about 3 to 6.  They lived a few houses away from us.  It's interesting.  And sad :(

"Lisa, I just read your testimony. I remember your young years, when you played with Nikkie. I can still remember the sadness in your eyes, and the way you would shut out the world around you. I was concerned that you might have a hearing problem, or that there was an emotional shut-down. I presented my concerns to your mom, but she wasn't quite ready to receive them. Instead, she withdrew from me. There was a time when you and your dad were supposed to go on a camping trip for the weekend, and you absolutely didn't want to go. You begged me to let you stay with us, so you could play with Nikkie. Everything within me sensed there was something really wrong, if you didn't want to spend time with your dad. I wish I would have known. I would NEVER have let you go with him! Your mom stayed away from us for awhile, and I didn't know what horrific things were going on in your family. The next time we talked, she told me that your dad was in jail. After that, she and I spent a lot of time together, and I helped her get out of the web of the Local Church. She started attending Mariners, and did her best to bring some normalcy to your life. Just like you, she was greatly betrayed by your dad. You were both victims -- so was Nathan. I'm so sorry for what you went through. After everything was out in the open, you spent time at our house, and I tried my best to allow you a safe place to talk about things, and feel loved. I hope we were able to offer that for you. It's wonderful to see that you are walking with the Lord now, and have allowed Him to heal your heart!"

Awe :)

The Best Love Letter Ever!

Here's how incredibly sweet and wonderful my hubby is!  Here's his best letter yet to me! :)
To all you single ladies, maybe this can give you hope that there are GREAT guys out there.  To the married women, go tell your husband to write you a note like this lol.  To the single guys, this is a great example of what it takes to be a GREAT husband.  To the married men, GO write your wife a great letter like this! lol.  May God bless you all!


"Dear Lisa,

I have really enjoyed my weekends with you and the kids.  I'm always so happy to get those two days off. :)  I am so thankful because I remember working 11 days straight and then only getting three days off back when I was working in the oilfield.  It seemed like I had missed so much.  The time sure goes by so fast, but I look forward to waking up every day knowing you and the girls will be there.  I just thank God that I didn't end up alone and that I found a pretty lady that loves Jesus and believes the truth and is a great mother. (awe....) 

I really enjoyed watching those sermons with you today, and I was starting to feel like God's spirit was awakening me.  That is what I need so desperately.  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled." Mt. 5:6  That really should always be the goal for every Christian.  Sometimes people get distracted with the cares of this life and it can spoil the vine when they get complacent. 

I want to say thanks for helping me become more aware and God conscious.  Thanks for helping me try to speak more from faith and to be more aware of what I speak. :)

I'm really excited about our road trip vacation. (We are driving to Vegas soon to visit my grandparents yay!)  I pray for the Lord to send his angels to protect you on that long journey.  I also pray we can get some people saved in Las Vegas.  Hopefully God could use us both in an evangelistic team kind of way. :) 

I can never thank you enough for not giving up on me and not letting go of hope that one day God would wake me up and give me the revelation I needed to walk more closely with Him.  I am so hungry and thirsty for God and I have such a long way to go, but we will get there together. :)  I love you my pretty woman of God.

Love always,
Ben


AWE.....He is so sweet! And so smart!  I got myself a good one. lol  The best!  yay Ben! :)  His mom did a good job raising him that's for sure! :)  Go Melanie! :)  And thank you God!

God bless!

In Praise of my Biggest Leaders

In Community Bible study next we are studying "Church Leadership," which I found ironic when I found out since I'm now helping lead worship for the first time with a big group.  I used to lead worship for a small Bible study of about 15 people for a year.  But that was a small group and singing with a guitar.  Now it's with about 100 women and singing with a piano, which actually is a bit harder.  But God is giving me the grace to do relatively well lol.  I thought doing something like this would make me prideful and feel like a rock star, but it actually is making me pretty humble because if I mess up on just one note I beat myself up over it.  I need to give myself more grace on that for sure.  Pray for me about that please.  Thanks :)

But overall it's a lot of fun. I'm making great friends with the ladies I sing with and our piano player so that is really cool. Thank you God for that. Amen.

Here is a good passage from our intro commentary to this study on church leadership: "As you study 1 Timothy, consider the influencers in your life.  What have you learned from them, good or bad?"  I will focus on the good things I've learned from leaders in my life.

From my grandma I learned to be outgoing and to love others in big ways.  To really express love.  I learned from her the importance of encouraging people as much as I can by what I say.  She was always calling people her angel and complimenting them.  She was a very charming person. 

We are going to see her in a few weeks so that will be nice. :)  She will finally get to meet me two daughters yay....

From my mom I learned to be sweet, gentle and patient.  She wasn't always perfectly patient, but the majority of the time she was.  I tend to want to rush through things and be impatient.  But she taught me the importance of slowing down and enjoying the journey more. :)  She was always great at paying attention to detail and doing a thing right rather than fast, which I always admired. :)

From my brother I learned the importance of having others respect you.  I think my brother's number one thing is that people respect him and he does what he can to earn that respect.  That became one of my missions with others was that people respect me and to not be a push over.  It is kind of my pet peeve when people act disrespectfully toward me, which I guess I got from my brother.  But it's good to want people to respect us and not be a door mat. :)

From my husband I learned the importance of commitment and working hard.  He has not taken one single sick day since I met him, which was 4 years ago.  Talk about an AMAZING work ethic!  GO BEN!  He is an amazingly hard worker.  Plus he has worked over 12 hour days the last four years too.  When he met me he said to me "I'll work hard for you."  And I was thinking, "Alright baby let's get married!" lol :)  But that really is what every woman needs the most, a man who will work hard for her and her kids.  Women work hard to take care of their little babies, so men should work hard to provide.  Amen. :)  But that's just how I feel on that subject. 

From my grandpa I learned how to be a spiritual leader, more than anyone else in my life.  He would always speak up boldly at family get togethers and ask us all to share what God has been teaching us.  Or at Thanksgiving he would tell us all to go around and share what we were thankful for.  Even if it made people feel awkward, he didn't care. lol.  His number one agenda was always God and what we could share about God.  I always greatly, greatly admired that about him!  He was the biggest God man I ever knew, as in a man who was all about God.  He was the choir director at church for many years so that probably gave him a stronger commitment to God and the practice of always having God on the forefront of his mind.  My grandpa is amazing!  And amazing at being bold for Jesus!  He was a man we could all really respect.  He was a very, very hard worker also.  He worked well into his 70's doing his own home repair business.  I admired him a lot of sure! 

From my youth pastor, Leanne, I learned how to be a cool Christian.  Which I always thought was important, because if we aren't cool at all, why would the world want to have anything to do with us?  At a private Christian college I went to I felt most people weren't cool, which could have just been me being critical.  But I think it's important that Christians are at least somewhat cool, like the band Hillsong.  They are Christian and really cool.  If we aren't appealing to the world at all why would they want to be part of us?  If we come off as the most boring and lame people, why would anyone want to go to church? lol :)  So my youth pastor made being Christian seem really cool and I always admired that about her and wanted to be a cool Christian like her. :)  Trying to be upright and righteous but still fun at the same time. 

From my step dad I learned commitment.  He is the most committed person; he always does what he says.  He vowed to take care of my mom and he has done an exemplary job at that hands down!  He helped pay for my college even though I didn't become his step-daughter until I was 18. He bought me a laptop and helped with my car some and paid my car insurance for awhile.  He really took on the role of provider for our family very well.  And he was never inconsistent.  He was always, always consistent, in how he treated all of us with respect, and in going to church, in going to the gym and work early every day.  He was a very hard worker and very disciplined.  I always admired those things about him. :)  Go David!

And those have been my greatest leaders of my life.  They were all people that I really looked up to and wanted to be like.  Praise God for all the great leaders and great Christian influences I have had in my life.  I wouldn't be who I am today without all of them.  Thank you God so much for all of them!  Amen.  Now go start a blog maybe and write your own tribute to all your own great leaders. lol

God bless!

God bless!

Verses that Prove that Jesus is God

Feel free to refer to these verses if you are ever debating with a Jehovah Witness person. 

This is the most obvious verse that they blatantly ignore. :(

John 10:30   
"I and the Father are one."

Jesus is clearly stating that he is God just as much as God the Father is God, and that he is the SAME as God the Father.  This is confusing, but it is what he said, so we must accept it as the final truth.  No matter what anyone else says and how convincing they might try to be, Jesus and God the Father are one.  That verse really should be enough to change their mind on their beliefs that Jesus is not God, but unfortunately Satan "has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 2 Cor. 4:4  So all we can do really is pray for them.    

John 8:58   

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

Jesus has existed since before the world was created. He did not just come into existence when he was born into the world. 

Isaiah 9:6   

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

John 1:1   

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

The Word in this verse is referring to Jesus.   

John 1:3   

"All things were made through him, (Jesus) and without him was not any thing made that was made."

God the Father and Jesus both created the world.   

Colossians 1:15-17   

"He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."  

John 20:28   

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

This is Thomas talking to Jesus after he rose from the dead. Thomas called him "my God" and Jesus did not correct him, because he didn't need to.  Jesus is God. :) Amen.  

John 14:9   

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?   

Hebrews 1:2-3   

"But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."  

Isaiah 7:14   

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (which means, GOD with us)  

Revelation 1:8   

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (This is Jesus talking in Revelation to John.) 

2 Corinthians 4:4   

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.   

Mark 12:29   

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.   

A Debate with Jehovah's Witness

I'm debating via email with a Jehovahs Witness lady who I bought a bunny from. This actually is my first time debating with a Jehovahs Witness. Here is my response to their theology, or theory really, that Jesus is not God, which is why they are a false teaching.

"Yes I know all those verses. I went to a private Christian college, Biola. I got a very good understanding of the Bible there. The trinity is three in one. God the father, Jesus the son and the Holy Spirit are at the same time three brings but one being. They are different beings but they are all God and they are all one."

"I love that your so interested in the Bible as the authority. Not many people today really know & use their Bibles. I commend you on that :)

One of the things I enjoyed learning is that Jesus himself actually worshiped God. At Matt 20:17 it says "Jesus said to her “Do not touch me, for I have not yet gone up to my Father. But go to my brothers and tell them ‘I am going to my Father, your Father, my God, your God". Jesus himself called God his father & referred to him as a separate person. Just before his death at Mark 15:34 he called out to God... "And at the ninth hour, Jesus called out with a loud voice: “Eʹli, Eʹli, laʹma sa·bach·thaʹni?” which means, when translated: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" At Matthew 4:10 when being tempted by the devil to do an act of worship to him Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:13 & 10:20 when he told him "Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service". Also in the 17th chapter of John, which is a prayer from Jesus to his father he prayed in verse 3: "This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ". Obviously this verse is referring to two distinctly different people, the only true God, & the one he sent to the earth. There would be no reason for Jesus to be praying to himself. During the model prayer he also prayed at Matt 6:9 "Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified". Then at John 14:28 Jesus himself stated "the Father is greater than I am". The more I've learned in my studies about the beautiful relationship between God, & his only begotten son Jesus Christ, the more I have been drawn to both of them. Stephen stated “Look! I behold the heavens opened up and the Son of man standing at God’s right hand.” (Acts 7:56) Jesus, “the Son of man,” was thus seen by Stephen in a role supportive to God in heaven—“at God’s right hand”—even as he had been ‘alongside God’ before he came to earth.—John 17:5. The apostle John too described Jesus as subordinate to God. John said that he had written his Gospel so that readers might come to believe that “Jesus is the Christ the Son of God”—not that he was God. (John 20:31) John also received a heavenly vision in which he saw “the Lamb,” who in his Gospel is identified as Jesus. (John 1:29) The Lamb is standing with 144,000 others, who John says “have been bought [or resurrected] from the earth.” John explains that the 144,000 have the Lamb’s “name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.”—Revelation 14:1, 3.

Could “the Lamb” be the same as “his Father”? Clearly not. In the Bible they are distinct. They even have different names. Just before his arrest Jesus prayed "Father, if you wish, remove this cup [that is, an ignominious death] from me. Nevertheless, let, not my will, but yours take place.” (Luke 22:42) If God and Jesus are “one in essence,” as the Trinity doctrine says, how could Jesus’ will, or wish, seem different from that of his Father? These are just a few of the verses that have strengthened my belief in Jesus being the Son of God. I hope you enjoy them. I also enjoyed this comment... The New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967) discusses the Trinityat length and admits: “The Trinitarian dogma is in the last analysis a late 4th-century invention. . . . The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century.”

I know we are of different religions & have different beliefs but I thought you might find it interesting to look at things from a different perspective. I definitely appreciate you opening up to me on your take of those verses you sent me. I want to make it very clear that I completely respect your right to religious freedom. We are granted not only the gift of religious freedom where we live, but also the gift of free will from our Heavenly Father, & those are freedoms I both appreciate and respect for my fellow man ( & woman) :-) I am in no way trying to impose my beliefs on you, but I have enjoyed this conversation.

We would be so lost without Gods word. Could you imagine having no hope for the future? I wonder sometimes how difficult it must be for people who don't have any faith to deal with all the tragedies in the world today. I cant imagine being able to cope with life in this world without a hope for better times soon ahead.

I hope you have a great week! I encourage you to continue investigating in jw.org A lot of things in there are really beneficial to people of any religion, like the dramatic bible readings. They really bring the scriptures to life! I think you would really enjoy them. They read directly from the bible but there are different voices for different characters & background noises. It really helps you to imagine being in the scene! :-)

I wanted to share a brief video with you I think you would LOVE! Its not made for any denomination in particular, its just designed to give evidence of why we can trust the Bible. It has some awesome facts about how it always accurate, and is available more than any other book. Its only about 4min long but its packed with faith strengthening facts to help us grow our already strong faith in Gods word :-)

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/good-news-from-god/good-news-in-the-bible-from-god/video-bible-true/

-Shaina-

(Pray for Shaina :)