I Once Was So Lost {I'm Thankful For}

I have seen lots of bloggers writing posts about what they are thankful for and I have decided that I would like to jump on the bandwagon.  I have so many things to be thankful for, and I am sure over the coming weeks I will reveal many of them to you. However I really want to start off by telling you what I am most thankful for.

It is kind of a long story, but I will keep it brief. You see, a long time ago the Lisa that I am now did not even exist. I know that sounds weird but stay with me. There was a Lisa, and I can find photos of her but despite the physical similarities, her heart was completely different. When I describe her to other people or even remember her myself it is hard to believe that person is actually me.

The Lisa that you meet today is a loving mum of three little girls, she is the wife of a church minister and she is a Christian. The Lisa from many years ago was the type of girl who wanted to experience everything, even things that would cause pain to her family and to herself.

She was involved in the rave scene (to the full extent), she would lie to her parents, get into cars with people she had never met and would have many boyfriends and didn't really care if she hurt them. She wasn't a Christian and was not even interested in what God thought of her life.

One day, after seeing the path her life was taking she stopped and decided she didn't want that life. She wanted to be married, to have a family and to be loved.

It was 1998 and I was 18 when I realised that I didn't want to be the old Lisa anymore. I looked into my heart and only saw negative things and I wanted them to be gone. I knew I couldn’t change myself, I needed help. That day, someone told me God loved me enough to forgive me for ignoring him all my life, and for doing the things I am even ashamed to admit. That day I decided to follow his ways, and that day I was totally free of all the things I had done. Sometimes I feel like the words below were written about my life:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,    
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

This is what I am thankful for, that God has loved me and saved me from the path I was going down. I am thankful that through this, he has blessed me with my life, my family and my wonderful future. 

The blessings I did nothing to deserve.

Linking up with WeHeartLife for Thankful Thursday

Life on a Hill

This coming Thursday 1st Sept, I am very excited to announce the launch of a new blog I am involved in. Life on a Hill is a blog where issues relevant to Christians will be discussed. We will also have reflections from the Bible, monthly topics to encourage us, and lots more.

I have been busy working with the Life on a Hill team to get this blog ready for our launch on Thursday and thought that today I would share with you the testimony I have prepared for the blog. This is the story of how I decided to follow Jesus.

Life at the bottom of the Hill:

Despite growing up hearing the Bible taught at home and going to church I decided that God’s way was boring and I never really felt I fitted in the with those “good” Christians so I stopped going to church and lived the way I wanted to.  As a teenager I experimented many things the world had to offer and did many things that could have put my life at risk but to me they were fun and I was meeting lots of people who didn’t judge me and who seemed to understand me. 

For a while my life seemed fun but then I started to see the world I was living in for what it was. The people I thought were my friends were only there when times were good, and when they could get something out of me. I wanted something deeper and I also wanted a life that would lead to marriage and children and I knew the life I was living was not heading that way.

 

Finding Life on a Hill:

While I was pondering these things, my mum asked me to go another church with her and I had nothing better to do so I went. While I was sitting there listening to what was being said I started to understand that I was living my life without God and I knew that the things I was doing were wrong. But the message I was hearing didn’t just tell me I was a bad person but offered me a chance to be changed. I heard that Jesus had died on the cross for me, to pay for my sins and if I trusted in him I could be forgiven for all the wrong things I had done. I immediately decided that it was this life I wanted.

Living Life on a Hill:

I am sometimes overwhelmed by how much I have been forgiven and where I could have been if God had not stepped into my life to save me. I have had my ups and downs as a Christian and still continue to fail but now I know that God won’t let me go. 

Since becoming a Christian I have made real and lasting friendships and love being a part of a church community. I have also been blessed with a Christian husband who is not perfect but I know he is also doing his best to live a life in thanks to God for his mercy to us. And I have two beautiful girls who bring me joy (as well as some frustration) everyday. 

As much as I wish I had never experienced life at the bottom on the hill it has allowed me to see how much I have been saved from and helps me to want to continue living a life in thankfulness to God. I also am passionate about telling other people about Jesus and how they too can experience this awesome life on a hill.