Show us your life - Your Testimony

Over at Kelly's Korner she does an annual Friday 'Show Us Your Life'

It is a great way to see a glimpse inside other bloggers lives, homes, hearts, etc...

Today she is asking us to share our testimony! I love this!

I love that there are bold Christians who are willing to share their hearts with strangers.

Here we go....

I grew up in a Christian home, attended church on Sundays, baptized, never really "knew" life without Church; however I did know life without Jesus. Growing up I lived a pretty "typical" life. My parents did get divorced when I was in 3rd grade; however this has never really affected me because of the relationship my parents still have to this day & the WONDERFUL second parents God put into my life to do life with my parents & me. I honestly can't say I have ever lived the life of a typical divided family because my parents have done a tremendous job in never missing a beat & making mine and sis' life more than normal.

I was blessed growing up & I still am blessed. I was always involved in some kind of extracurricular activity until I wanted to quit. I was quite the quitter when I was younger. It wasn't until 6th grade that I found my true passion: competitive cheerleading. I lived & breathed competitive cheer. I did cheer in MS and HS too but competitive cheer was where my heart was. I was coached by people who I still look up to & cheered with great people who I literally shared sweat with. If I took one thing away (even though I took many things away) it was this:

"The best preparation for tomorrow, is doing your best today.

Those who gave it their best, never regretted it.

Strive to be the best, and soon you will be!"

Okay, back to the ranch.... It wasn't until 6th grade that I really knew what it was like to feel the love of Jesus. My parents, all 4 of them, and my great-grandmother, Nanny, made the decision to start sending me and sis to Kanakuk. I don't know if you are familiar with this kamp (we use a k instead of c) but it is the most wonderful place on earth. I am SOOOO blessed to call kamp home. At kamp when you accept Jesus into your heart, to be your Lord and Savior, to protect you from all evil you ring a big bell. The whole kamp hears the bell & everytime kampers hear the bell everyone cheers, no matter what time of day or night it is! It is such a cool experience. Anyways, I rang the bell in 6th grade or better yet that is when I accepted Jesus into my heart to reign over my life. I continued going to Kamp through high school & even worked as a counselor after my freshman year of college. This place has a huge print on my heart. 

I continued my walk with Christ through middle school & high school. However, I by no means had a daily relationship with Him. I fell into peer pressure, made mistakes BUT I always had Jesus to fall back to when times got tough. I knew who knew the big picture of my life, even if my daily walk didn't reflect that. It wasn't until I came to college that I developed a daily relationship with Him. My random roommate became not so random. Her name is Claire, too! We shared blood, sweat & tears freshman year and truly became best friends. She knows me inside & out and I am so thankful she was put in my life. We started a Bible study with KK - who is admirable in every single way of life! Still to this day we meet once a week with KK and the ladies to talk about Jesus & talk about life. College has been nothing short of a blessing! I have met my lifelong friends who love Jesus & pick me up when I am down. I never imagined college would impact me like it has. 

I desire to know God more. Everyday is a challenge to walk with Him. I am a sinner in the fallen world but I know one day I will run with Jesus. My desire on this Earth is to love people hard. In whatever situation I am in, I just want to love you. I want to show Christ's love everyday. My 2010 Motto is "Yes, Lord. I will wait eagerly for You!" And this I will do. No matter how tough it gets sometimes to believe and trust that He really does have the perfect plan, I surrender to Jesus to lead my life.

"Charm is deceptive, beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised!"

~Proverbs 31:30 

This is my heart & prayerfully I will live a long life like my Nanny to love people like Jesus loves each of us!

P.S. I started the Essential 100 Challenge a few days ago! It is great!!! 

Basically, in 100 days you will have read 50 old and 50 new passages from the Bible. It gives you the "big picture" of God's Word and it helps you form daily habit! If you are interested you should really check it out - youversion