Heeeeeeeeey! Hope you all are doing swell, I wanted to share this song with you, lol, I love music so you'll get alot more where this came from. Its called destroy, and the lyrics paint an amazing picture of the story of Jesus what he endured to save us and defeat the enemy. God is soooo good. Jesus did this for you.....
It began long ago, when darkness, through it's deceit captured the hearts of the sons and daughters of light. We looked for light but we found only darkness. We searched for bright skies but walked in gloom. We fumbled like the blind along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. We were destined to fall. Even in the brightest days, we stumbled as if it were dark. Among the living we were like the dead. We looked for justice, but it never came. We looked for rescue but it was far from us. So He, himself stepped in to save us, with his long arm and justice to sustain him. He put on righteousness as armor, salvation his helmet. He clothed himself with the robe of vengeance and rapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. He slipped out of his royal garments, left eternity to enter time, divinity to wrap himself in humanity. The sea of glass, for the ocean of separation, he left peace, and for the first time felt pain. Because the very hands that held the stars were now sentenced to wear my scars. It was love that purchased this traitors heart. It's what the prophets spoke about when they envisioned light living in men once again. For this reason, I AM LEGEND, predestined for greatness, build for the final hour. I was born for this, with weapons in hand, armor in place, I now march to the beat of a different drum. I will break through battle lines that have been drawn by discouragement and despair. Where more is left to be said, time has met its end. It's now or never. Collision with me, myself and I. You see, my mission today is clear, to wake the dead. So let freedom's song rage. Do not abandon. You're not alone. Last day warriors arise from yesterday's ash and raise your fist with us. We are the army that is charging upon the land. Defeat is no longer and option. It is victory.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Testimony
Hello, and welcome to Abandoned religion. This blog is about my love story with Jesus Christ and our journey together through life, how we met, the hardships we've overcome, and the amazing love we share for one another. The emphasis is to bring you bloggers to a place where going to church isn't a chore, but a choice that you make because the only thing that matters to you is being in His presence, in other words, bringing you out of the mundane religion that has destroyed our world and silenced the living God, and into the relationship with your true love, Jesus.
John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through im might be saved.
There is nothing that stirs my heart more than the salvation of one of God's children! So, this being said, as a way that we can get to know each other,blogglers, Im going to tell you a little bit about my life story and how I came to know the Lord. Here it goes!
Well, I grew up in a Catholic public school up until grade four, and non-Christian parents. I was bullied in school for being overweight and I didn't have a lot of freinds. It was really neat how looking back now, I always knew there was a God, God had installed a holy fear within me growing up, but I wanted to live my own life my own way. It wasn't until I was about ten years old that my life started downward spiraling. My mom ran a home daycare with about 5 kids. One day when my mom reached down to pick up a child out of its crib, she hurt her back. More specifically, herniated her T4 T5 vertabrae and caused severe chronic pain in her lower back. She was unable to walk more than down the street and back, it was painful to do laundry, and it was miserable for her. For many years she lyed in bed waiting for the pain to leave. We had then moved to a tiny town in the valley, for my fathers job with a population of about 1300 people. Everyone knew everyone and everything about everyone. We had the most beautiful house, with a pool, a beach next door, and a forest on the other side. But it was isolated.
Years dragged on, I was still being bullied at school for my weight but I now had a strong group of freinds. I remember we went to visit my aunt alot, my dads sister, and we always had the funnest time with her. She was never able to have kids of her own so considered us the closest thing, so it was suspicious the one night where she decided to stay back with my mother and father while my sister and I went to my aunts house with my uncle. The next day I woke to the sounds of car driving up the long dusty driveway of my aunts place only to find my father wasn't with them. They sat my sister and I down and told us everything. My dad was a closet alcoholic, he had been getting in trouble with the law. So my mom, sister and I lived with them for a while,in attempt to give my dad a chance to go to rehab.
Then we moved to the great city of the former capital of Canada with my moms sister and brother in-law. Within 4 months, their basement that we lived in flooded, destroying most of our belongings and forcing eight people to live on the upper level of their bungalo. It was so cramped. I didn't know what was going to happen to me from there on, I was scared I might never see my dad again, scared what would become of my life. But I pushed on, developed what I know today as obsessive compulsive disorder. Which is actually a developed from long term stress. Everything that I touched, I HAD to keep touching it until I felt that my germs were off of that object. Its hard to explain, but I couldn't even breath without having to do this! I had to breathe back in the air that once belonged to me. During this time my mother took a nasty spill down concrete stairwell. She was rushed to the hospital and had surgery on her lower back all within the same month but as a result the surgery didn't work. It turns out that when the body recognizes chronic pain for a period of six months, corrective surgery won't fix the pain because a neural circuit has been created in the brain to always feel that pain. People with chronic pain need to be checked monthly for depression, so my mom was, and was clear every time! She is the strongest woman I know. During this time she had already known the love of the saviour for her, which I beleive helped her throughout this period.
Over the next few years we moved back to the country with my dad and the same cycle occured. We would allow our dad to move back in with us because he had sworn that he has changed and stopped drinking, but my sister and I continued to find him countless mornings passed out with an empty bottle of a 26 oz rum under his bed. My family and I would have to kick him out of the house. This happened maybe six to seven times, each time didn't get easier. So we decided to stay out of contact with him until he could change his ways and we cut off all comunication with him which was in our best interest because otherwise this pattern would continue on. Anyways, about a year later, my sister and I were visiting freinds in the country when we got the phone call that my dad was in the hospital and that we needed to come home immediately. We rushed home and the next day went to visit him; I was told that he was probably on his death bed and that we went to say our final words to him. He looked teribble, and suffered from scoriosis of the liver, jaundis, organ failure, and was sickly thin. Ive never seen anyone look so ill. He was telling us how he got so sick, and it basically came down to that he was trying to drink himself to death because he had no other reason for living if his kids wouldn't talk to him. He brought up one phone conversation that him and I had where I was harsh and dissmisive because I didn't want to talk to him. He said that threw him off the handle the way I spoke to him where he then brought this upon himself. He did survive and was miraculusly given a second chance at life, but ruined it. Today, he is still manipulative and decietful and uses the alcohol and drugs that he loves so much.
For myself, this was devistating, having your dad blame his suicide attempt on words that you said to him and the words that weren't said which sent my life into a downward spiral. A few years later, I was battling with depression and on a halloween night, I was having a sleepover at a freinds house, when all of a sudden I could feel something ontop of me, so I curled up in the fetal position and started feeling an overwhelming sense that I would not live through the night. I started to plan my death, how my freinds parents would find me in the morning, the knife that I would use , I knew where it was in the kitchen. I had never thought suicidal thoughts were more than a dramatic encounter for attention. But they are so real. Then I heard a voice speak to me so clearly, saying " If you're done living for yourself, come live for Me and my Son, Jesus." I kept repeating tht name, Jesus, Jesus and the thoughts went away. I would love to say that I gve my life to God from that moment but I was still so stubborn. I knew there was a God but I was still so selfish and wanted to live the way I wanted. It wasn't until I officially gave my life to the Lord that my changed forever.
Although today I still don't speak with my earthly father, working through the battle of depression ( but I already have victory) and am trying to find Gods will for my life by living it out in faith. I love God!
I hope this testimony has brought you to an understanding that no matter where you come from, that Jesus wants you to know Him.
Love Elaine
John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through im might be saved.
There is nothing that stirs my heart more than the salvation of one of God's children! So, this being said, as a way that we can get to know each other,blogglers, Im going to tell you a little bit about my life story and how I came to know the Lord. Here it goes!
Well, I grew up in a Catholic public school up until grade four, and non-Christian parents. I was bullied in school for being overweight and I didn't have a lot of freinds. It was really neat how looking back now, I always knew there was a God, God had installed a holy fear within me growing up, but I wanted to live my own life my own way. It wasn't until I was about ten years old that my life started downward spiraling. My mom ran a home daycare with about 5 kids. One day when my mom reached down to pick up a child out of its crib, she hurt her back. More specifically, herniated her T4 T5 vertabrae and caused severe chronic pain in her lower back. She was unable to walk more than down the street and back, it was painful to do laundry, and it was miserable for her. For many years she lyed in bed waiting for the pain to leave. We had then moved to a tiny town in the valley, for my fathers job with a population of about 1300 people. Everyone knew everyone and everything about everyone. We had the most beautiful house, with a pool, a beach next door, and a forest on the other side. But it was isolated.
Years dragged on, I was still being bullied at school for my weight but I now had a strong group of freinds. I remember we went to visit my aunt alot, my dads sister, and we always had the funnest time with her. She was never able to have kids of her own so considered us the closest thing, so it was suspicious the one night where she decided to stay back with my mother and father while my sister and I went to my aunts house with my uncle. The next day I woke to the sounds of car driving up the long dusty driveway of my aunts place only to find my father wasn't with them. They sat my sister and I down and told us everything. My dad was a closet alcoholic, he had been getting in trouble with the law. So my mom, sister and I lived with them for a while,in attempt to give my dad a chance to go to rehab.
Then we moved to the great city of the former capital of Canada with my moms sister and brother in-law. Within 4 months, their basement that we lived in flooded, destroying most of our belongings and forcing eight people to live on the upper level of their bungalo. It was so cramped. I didn't know what was going to happen to me from there on, I was scared I might never see my dad again, scared what would become of my life. But I pushed on, developed what I know today as obsessive compulsive disorder. Which is actually a developed from long term stress. Everything that I touched, I HAD to keep touching it until I felt that my germs were off of that object. Its hard to explain, but I couldn't even breath without having to do this! I had to breathe back in the air that once belonged to me. During this time my mother took a nasty spill down concrete stairwell. She was rushed to the hospital and had surgery on her lower back all within the same month but as a result the surgery didn't work. It turns out that when the body recognizes chronic pain for a period of six months, corrective surgery won't fix the pain because a neural circuit has been created in the brain to always feel that pain. People with chronic pain need to be checked monthly for depression, so my mom was, and was clear every time! She is the strongest woman I know. During this time she had already known the love of the saviour for her, which I beleive helped her throughout this period.
Over the next few years we moved back to the country with my dad and the same cycle occured. We would allow our dad to move back in with us because he had sworn that he has changed and stopped drinking, but my sister and I continued to find him countless mornings passed out with an empty bottle of a 26 oz rum under his bed. My family and I would have to kick him out of the house. This happened maybe six to seven times, each time didn't get easier. So we decided to stay out of contact with him until he could change his ways and we cut off all comunication with him which was in our best interest because otherwise this pattern would continue on. Anyways, about a year later, my sister and I were visiting freinds in the country when we got the phone call that my dad was in the hospital and that we needed to come home immediately. We rushed home and the next day went to visit him; I was told that he was probably on his death bed and that we went to say our final words to him. He looked teribble, and suffered from scoriosis of the liver, jaundis, organ failure, and was sickly thin. Ive never seen anyone look so ill. He was telling us how he got so sick, and it basically came down to that he was trying to drink himself to death because he had no other reason for living if his kids wouldn't talk to him. He brought up one phone conversation that him and I had where I was harsh and dissmisive because I didn't want to talk to him. He said that threw him off the handle the way I spoke to him where he then brought this upon himself. He did survive and was miraculusly given a second chance at life, but ruined it. Today, he is still manipulative and decietful and uses the alcohol and drugs that he loves so much.
For myself, this was devistating, having your dad blame his suicide attempt on words that you said to him and the words that weren't said which sent my life into a downward spiral. A few years later, I was battling with depression and on a halloween night, I was having a sleepover at a freinds house, when all of a sudden I could feel something ontop of me, so I curled up in the fetal position and started feeling an overwhelming sense that I would not live through the night. I started to plan my death, how my freinds parents would find me in the morning, the knife that I would use , I knew where it was in the kitchen. I had never thought suicidal thoughts were more than a dramatic encounter for attention. But they are so real. Then I heard a voice speak to me so clearly, saying " If you're done living for yourself, come live for Me and my Son, Jesus." I kept repeating tht name, Jesus, Jesus and the thoughts went away. I would love to say that I gve my life to God from that moment but I was still so stubborn. I knew there was a God but I was still so selfish and wanted to live the way I wanted. It wasn't until I officially gave my life to the Lord that my changed forever.
Although today I still don't speak with my earthly father, working through the battle of depression ( but I already have victory) and am trying to find Gods will for my life by living it out in faith. I love God!
I hope this testimony has brought you to an understanding that no matter where you come from, that Jesus wants you to know Him.
Love Elaine
Friday, July 1, 2011
One by Planet Shakers DVD intro
Everytime I watch this video, it sparks something in me. I encourage you to watch it, its humbling and inspiring. It really ignited a passion in me, and gave me revelation of the purpose in life. Like the clip says, Jesus has put us on a lampstand and called us to shine through Him. I thought this video would be a great way to start off my blog! Enjoy!
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