| "My Dad" Hi. My name is Liz and I'm writing to share with you a story. When I was about two years-old, my father left my family. It was a sudden absence. One day he was there, and the next day he was gone. I can't recall much of anything about my Dad, but I can remember every moment of my Mother's tears. When I turned five, my family [Mother and two brothers] packed up and left for California. We hardly had enough money to even eat, much less travel. But--sure enough--with my Mother's determination we made it to California. There, we lived with my Grandparents. As the years continued on and I turned twelve, I started to understand the misfortune of my past. Living in a broken home is probably the most difficult thing. It's almost impossible to describe the feelings of lonliness a child feels when a parent willingly chooses to disown them. It wasn't until I was about fourteen that my life and the direction of my life started to change. While I was in school, I would always walk with my head held down. I was afraid of people, but most importantly, I was afraid of myself. I had few friends, until Cara came along. Cara was a sweet Christian girl, and the only one willing to talk with me. Our afternoon conversations would consist of sandwiches and what I liked to call "Bible talk." "God loves you so much," Cara would say to me. I never turned her away because, in all honesty, I wanted to believe her. So, as these conversations grew in depth, so did my heart's longing. I wanted this Jesus in my life just as Cara had Him in her life. She took me to her church one Sunday. There, a large crowd of people clapped their hands and sang worship songs. I'll never forget when the pastor walked to the front stage and shared his testimony with new guests. His life was so much like mine! I was surprised that someone else knew my sufferings and my pain. But, something was different. I was still living with my pain and this man was not. After he said a few words, he invited anyone who hadn't discovered Christ for themself on stage to find Jesus as their Savior. No one in the audience stood, but for the first time in my life I heard God's voice. He told me it was time and that He was waiting. I slowly stood and walked toward the stage. With a huge smile on his face, the pastor took my hand and asked me if I wanted to accept Christ. "Yes," I said. As I repeated words of commitment following the pastor's words, I found myself in tears. I no longer felt the emptiness that had once tied me down. Jesus was now in my life. Cara was so happy for me. We celebrated together, just as the angels did in heaven. Now, at the age of seventeen, my family is saved. My mother and two brothers accepted Christ only a few months after I did. I'm guessing they were inspired by how much God had changed me. Although I haven't seen my father since he first left, I have forgiven him. The reason for this is, because I have the best Dad ever in Jesus Christ! "John 3:16" In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner, the people were in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many papers. He walked up to a policeman and said, ''Mister, you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and it's awful cold in there, for tonight. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay.'' The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, ''You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come out the door you just say John 3:16 and they will let you in.'' So he did, he walked up the steps to the door, and knocked on the door and a lady answered. He looked up and said, ''John 3:16.'' The lady said ''Come on in, Son.'' She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great big old fireplace and she went off. He sat there for a while, and thought to himself ''John 3:16....I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.'' Later she came back and asked him ''Are you hungry?'' He said, ''Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days and I guess I could stand a little bit of food.'' The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat any more. Then he thought to himself ''John 3:16... Boy, I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full.'' She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, thought to himself, ''John 3:16... I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.'' The lady came in and got him, and took him to a room and tucked him into a big old feather bed and pulled the covers up around his neck and kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he laid in the darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night he thought to himself, ''John 3:16... I don't understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested.'' The next morning she came back up and took him down again to that same big table full of food. After he ate she took him back to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and she took a big old Bible and sat down in front of him and she looked up at and she asked, ''Do you understand John 3:16?'' He said, ''No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it.'' She opened the Bible to John 3:16 , and she began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there in front of that big old fireplace he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought, ''John 3:16. I don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.'' You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either, how God would be willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand it either, but it sure does make life worth living. Author Unknown [Courtesy of SheLovesGod.com] "The Power of One" One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, ''Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.'' I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friend tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, ''Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.'' He looked at me and said, ''Hey thanks!'' There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, ''Dang boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!'' He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him! Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, ''Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'' He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. ''Thanks,'' he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. ''Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach... but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.'' I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. ''Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'' I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others. ''Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.'' [Author Unknown] "Camp Expierience" I'd like to say how much I LOVED the camp I went to. It was so great. It was almost like an outreach camp. They brought in people for basketball, and they left being people for GOD! It was awesome. Our speaker was K.P. Westmoreland, and he was so great. My group, the leadership section (16 of over 250 at the camp), got to hang out with him a lot more. We collected food for the homeless, and were given 25 dollars to do whatever nice thing we wanted to. One group gave the money to this woman at a gas station. She was in a wheelchair and had four kids. A guy from the group walked up to her and said, "God really laid it on my heart to give this to you" and she started to cry. It was so touching. My group bought this old man dinner. It turns out he only had 2 dollars left in his account until his next vetran's check, which he said was late already. He could hardly afford a bus ride home, and had eaten a candy bar that day for lunch because he couldn't afford anything more. I cried so hard after we left him. It was so humbling to think that I had a problem because I "needed" new jeans, or I had to have that calculator with the extra features. Meanwhile, this man is trying to think of a way home, and wondering if tomorrow he'll have food on the table. I feel quite selfish, to be honest. Another day, we just sat outside, by ourselves, for 3 hours in silence. We could do whatever we wanted to do: read our bibles, pray, sleep, whatever. Just sitting out there, listening to the music of God was just so incredible. I felt so much closer then. It's so great to see how many people were saved that week. Some people didn't even know about God. Now they do. It's AWESOME!! Miracles existed that week. You could feel it in the room. I loved it so much. [Courtesy of Brianna] "Starfish Story" A man was jogging down the beach after a major storm had just come through the area. He was dismayed by the huge number of starfish that the storm had washed up on the beach. He thought that there was nothing he could do because of the immense numbers. As he continued down the beach he saw a little boy throw something into the water. As he got closer, he saw the little boy walk a little farther down the beach, bend over, pick up a starfish and throw it back into the water. As the jogger approached, the boy stopped again, bent over, picked up another starfish and was about to throw it into the water. The jogger stopped and asked "Why are you doing that? There are thousands of starfish on the beach. You can't possibly make a difference." The little boy looked at the starfish, threw it back into the water, then replied, "I made a difference to that one, didn't I?" [Courtesy of GotGod.com] [Your story could be here] {home} All rights reserved. Courtesy of Patrick Levis: Our brother in Christ, 2001-2003. |
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| Photo courtesy of James Keivom. |
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