Thank you. I have kept all of this in mind the past two years. Here is what makes it so difficult: because I have overcome some strongholds in my life (that just happen to do with what many women deal with in their lives too) I see the need in women to come to wholeness and healing in these areas so that they can love the Lord with their whole heart and others also.

I truly believe that you can't really love the Lord or others with your whole heart if your heart isn't healed and whole in the first place.

Anyway, because of my background with fitness, I know I have the opportunity to open a women's gym and work with women on a more personal basis. Maybe doing workshops or meetings. There is a great weightloss/bible study out there called "First place" It's about keeping Christ in first place in your life- and then everything else follows. This type of thing is what I am talking about. "Lose to Gain" is what I call it.
Lose weight.......Gain a healthy body
Lose old mindsets.......Gain a balanced lifestyle
Lose bad habits.......Gain strength in mind, body, & spirit
Lose depression/anxiety.......Gain a closer walk with Christ

This is something that could work- that could reach tons of women.

The only catch is- does the Lord have something higher for me? Something better?

I don't want to create an Ishmael if I am to wait for an Isaac.

Does this make any sense. If I knew what to do, I would just go ahead and put all my effort into doing it. Something keeps me thinking that there is more- something with a higher purpose than even this.

Sorry to take up this space under YOUR testimony.

So, I know for myself I will always workout and work on my eating habits out of obedience to the Lord. But what about my influence on others. This just doesn't go away.

Maybe in some way my pride is in there and I think I must be meant for something more "spiritual" than that. When really in my heart I know that it's so important for people to receive healing so they can give their whole lives to the Lord.

I'll quit now. :-(

_________________
Chanin

Sorry. Never mind. :-)

_________________
Chanin

I appreciate your website and especially that one of my audio readings is on your site: The Rule by Which the Guilt of Sin is Estimated - Part 1.

I am have developped CharlesFinney.com since May 2000 and I have included the following features:

New Members:

create personal profiles

confess faults and
receive healing

meet members and
fellowship (realtime)

communicate and pray
together

download software
Holy Data


I have developped Holy Data, my software, to be more powerful than John Hurt's HTML bible, and to my knowledge, it is the first software that exists for Charles Finney material. In particular I wish to promote the realtime communication (chat room) and live fellowship on charlesfinney.com. Could you tell me how to list my site on the search engines?

Wowzers, what a testimony, your testimony brother had more umph then most I've heard in years. At least you changed........

Well Mr Gordon, I had you pegged as some Christian snob who was better then everybody.

And I have melted an awe of the testimony of Jesus Christ that is evident in your life, knowing this one thing first, 'don't judge a man unless you walked where he has walked', words to that effect.

I can relate to some of those things that you have mentioned. I was a 'good' boy with all 4 pockets filled with sin.

I was very pleased with your testimony, I could read testimonies all day on this website, they are so real.

You are right, everyone has a something that is in the way of God, mine is the internet. One of the hardest things that I have ever had to deal with is shutting down the net.

With so many relationships that I have built over the last 10 years, and to make things worse in the last few years my Christian fellowship has increased making it so much more to get rid of.

Thank you Mike for linking me to Greg's testimony, very good, looking forward to those 'details' Greg, when you find the time, I love true stories.

Sorry about the snob part Greg, we can be so wrong about somoneone without even knowing them.

Grateful

Greg, I am encouraged to hear testimonies from people who were in the clutches of sins and found deliverance. Thanks so much for sharing.

Blessings,
ginnyrose

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Sandra Miller

Greg,

Outstanding testimony! I want to get to bed, but next time I'll write my testimony. There are things I don't think I would tell the kids I work with as many are not converted or are baby Christians, and I might do more harm than good with some. I trust those who frequent this site have a firm foundation. I've never gone into detail about it, but as long as we are being honest, and building one-another up...

Again, outstanding testimony and outstanding site! Be back tomorrow.

_________________
Hal Bachman

Like most testimonies, there are many different things that happened leading up to my conversion. I'll just stick to the basics, though. I grew up with my mom, who divorced my father before I can remember. Both were choir directors in churches, one from a Baptist family, the other Mennonite. My mom got a job at a Methodist church, so that's where I went. I was the acolyte (the guy that lit candles), did Sunday School, we went to evening services, etc.

I remember never getting a true, clear, gospel message, but I sought after God. It is strange to even think about this, but during prayer time, we would dim the lights, and sometimes I would be the last one praying, so they would just wait until I was done before singing the last hymn. I remember my mom saying, 'nobody prays that long.'

Now at home, I was encouraged to pray, my mom did witness to me at one point, but the words sin, hell, and judgement were never mentioned. I was a stoney ground convert. I always thought of Christ in the background, read Scripture when things got bumpy, and prayed almost every night.

One day, getting off the bus, a car drove by my house and threw a garbage bag FULL of porn magazines next to the road. These guys must have been personally sent by Lucifer or something. My friends grabbed some and took off, but I tried to act cool and walked home. Later, though, I went back and grabbed a stack, and it was like gold to me. So there was lust.

At about 18, a senior in high school, I was considered by my friends to be the most reasonable of the freaks. Some guys that were fellow Dungeons and Dragons players called me a modern day palidin (some are laughing and some have no idea what I'm talking about). I figured at that point my goods outweighed my bads, so I started getting drunk. There was alcohol. During this year I joined the Marine Corps, and went into the reserves.

I got a job working on cars around three years later, and I really just wanted to be accepted by my co-workers. I remember my boss looking at a car I was working on, and saying that it was going to be a 'such and such' repair instead of what the problem really was. I was confused and said something to let them know I was, to which he replied, "Hal, we're gonna' lie." So for 4 years I struggled with my conscience while helping lie so we could fill our pockets. There was lying and theft.

There was a period where I would, on the way to work, turn down the stereo in my Mustang when passing churches, and pray during the drive, sometimes the whole way. GET THIS, I would sometimes pray that those of us who were thieving would just be removed our of what we were doing. I also thought, if God changes one of these guys, he is FOR REAL. I'll come back to that. I never had the guts to just quit working with them. I was afraid of standing up for what was right. I had told my buddy, that we needed to stop, but he didn't want to hear it.

I eventually left the job, and was not outward about why. About 2 years later, that same guy that I just told you about got converted. Man, I knew I was in for it with God. He had answered my prayers, and I had nowhere to run but to Him. I knew there was something I had never done. So during July of 2002, driving to Camp Lejuene, North Carolina, God reached out to me during a radio sermon. I did the thing that I had never done. I repented ('of my sins and won the vic-to-ry!'). Tears flowed and my eyes felt unveiled. It hit me, via the Holy Spirit, I don't have to take orders from a church or person, I deal directly with God.

I didn't even know what had happened. I thought maybe I had rededicated my life to Christ, but my brother-in-law was like, "It sounds to me like you got converted." I very soon after was given a Ray Comfort CD and directed toward Kent Hovind. The funny thing is my buddy is not that much into either one of them anymore. Go figure. Like Kent Hovind says, "I must have got a double dose or somethin'," because I cannot get enough Bible, cannot hear enough sermons, cannot teach enough kids. I think about getting something done for God all the time (always doing it is another thing).

My next step is street preaching, full-time youth ministry, unless God guides me elsewhere, and serious devotion by way of prayer. I really want to be an evangelist, but don't want to be arrogant, so I will let God show me if that is His will.

I recently started a website: http://www.dyingthief.com/ which you guys are welcome to visit and blast me on doctrine, and give suggestions. I spend about 100 times more minutes posting on this site than working on my own.

You guys, and ladies, build me up, and sharpen my axe in this forum. Let's keep up the good work and I'll see all you saints in the Kingdom, if not before!

_________________
Hal Bachman