Stacy's Testimony
I was born and raised in New Jersey. Mostly in the Deptford and Gloucester City areas. I try not to admit that too much though :-) New Jersey is far from the best place on earth! :-) There were a lot of unpleasant times in my life growing up. Nothing that I want to share with the entire internet community though. The things that I would write would turn out to be hurtful to my family, and I have long since forgiven what has happened in the past.
My mother met a man by the name of Jim Doster at a funeral for her friend. He is a Baptist preacher. A hell-fire and brimstone preacher, but also a very kind and gentle man. My mom was so impressed with this preacher that she brought all of us to his church the following week. Lighthouse Baptist Church in Gloucester City was new to Pastor Doster. Just a few months before, he had followed the will of God to be the Pastor there. I had sat there during that service listening intently to the preacher's words. I was only 14, and I didn't understand much of what he was preaching. Yes, my mom had always told me about Jesus and God, but I never had a personal relationship with Him. I do not remember if it was a Wednesday or a Sunday night, but I do remember going to the alter and asking someone to show me from the Bible how I can have the personal relationship with Christ that I was seeking. With all the unpleasant times at home, I needed someone that I could share all my thoughts and feelings with. I needed someone who was "closer than a brother". A lady by the name of Donna Markraf took me to the basement of the church and showed me in the Bible how to get to Heaven. Then I prayed and asked the Lord to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart. Yes, I knew I was only 14 and had never done anything too bad in my life, but I admitted that I was still a sinner. I had unkind thoughts, bad attitudes, and was disobedient to my parents. For that, and other sins, I needed forgiveness for. After I prayed, I knew that the blood of Christ cleansed me from all sin. I was overjoyed! I then went upstairs to the main service and Pastor Doster baptized me "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Buried in likeness of his death, and raised to walk in the newness of life! " That night, March 29, 1993 I knew my name was written down in Glory!
From that time on, I did everything I could for the Lord and for the church. My whole heart's desire was to earnestly serve Christ, and that is still my desire today. Yes, there are times when I want to be lazy, there have been times when I wanted to "throw in the towel" when things got tough. But God, in his wonderful love and wisdom has carried me through every tough time that I have faced. When I look back on those "tough times" I realize that they weren't as tough as I thought. If you have a personal relationship with Christ, than He always gives you enough strength to get through hard times.
In 1996, I was off to Bible College. I didn't have any money, I didn't know what I was doing really. I just knew that the Lord was calling me there. Now, I am ABSOLUTELY sure why God was calling me there. That is where He wanted me to meet my husband. The second "love of my life". The first being the Lord of course :-) I had a wonderful time at college. I learned so many things. Things about the Bible, things about myself, and things about the ministry. But the greatest thing I took away from that college, is Kevin L. Byers :-) We were married on May 17, 1997.
I always knew that Lord had full-time Christian ministry in mind for me. I was right. He planned, before I was in my Mother's womb, for me to be a Preacher's wife. I am thrilled to stand behind my husband in the ministry. My calling is not to start some large, successful, woman's ministry. My calling is to serve my husband, and teach my children. Anything other than that is just and extra bonus from the Lord.
Writing this testimony has sure caused me to be excited. It feels so good to recall the wonderful blessings from the Lord. How easy we sometimes forget the wonderful things that He does for us. He has answered so many prayers in my life. I prayed for Kevin to be my husband if it was the Lord's will, and God granted that prayer. I prayed for my first born child to be a son (as silly as that may sound), and God granted that prayer. Those are just a few examples. I can go on and on about how the Lord has answered prayer in my life. That song "Here am I Lord, send me" has become a blessing to my soul this past year. The chorus goes: "Here am I Lord, send me. Here am I Lord, send me. I will serve you faithfully, here am I Lord, send me." I want more than anything, for God to send us. We want to serve Him.
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