03Mar

Jamie gave her life to Christ as a child but drifted away from her faith. Just weeks before her second anniversary, her husband asked for a divorce, but God stepped in and performed a miracle, restoring their marriage!

Jamie Baird

Finance Company Onboarding Training


These are Jamie's favorite scriptures...

Jamie shared her story on Truth, Talk & Testimonies

Jamie's testimony is also on VictoryEmbraced: Truth, Talk & Testimonies podcast platforms


How old were you when you gave your life to Christ?

My parents raised me in a Christian home—we joke that I was born on a Sunday, and then the following Sunday, I was at church, and that was pretty much my whole experience growing up. I remember my dad leading me to the Lord, when I was four. My dad walked me through the Roman road to salvation, and I believe it was a Wednesday night when I came home from church asking questions. He made it very simple to understand that I was a sinner even at the age of four—we’re all born sinners—and that Jesus was the only way to forgive sins and to go to heaven.


When you went to college, were you still following Christ there too?

Yes. My parents ensured we were in church and were there whenever the doors opened. I went to a private Christian school, K-12, and after that, I went to a local secular university where I was on fire for God. I led a Bible study on campus, and my faith was very grounded—the worldview of a secular education didn’t affect me. What happened to me reminds me of the scripture that talks about how Satan is like a roaring lion walking to and fro seeking whom he can devour, and it just takes a small opening to start getting in trouble. One benefit of being saved at such a young age is that you are sheltered from many influences and things that can cloud your faith. Still, on the catch side, sometimes when you’re saved at such a young age, you’re so sheltered or protected that your faith kind of never really has an opportunity to grow like a muscle or grow and be exercised because, again, you’re insulated, and so it was after college that was the first time that my faith had been tested—some things were going on in our church in terms of division. There were people I looked up to that I saw doing things that I knew were not biblical, and for the first time in my life, it caused me to step back and say, “Well, if this is how God lets his people do things or live, then what’s the point of following God?” If He’s in control and this stuff still happens, what’s the point? We have free will, but our lives should align with scripture and the fruit of the spirit if we’re true Christians. And this was the quick dive of turning my back on my faith for some time.


What happened next? 

After college, I moved away for what began as law school, but became graduate school instead, so I moved from North Carolina to Virginia. This was the first time being on my own as an adult, so here I am—I’m 21—and the first time living away from my parents, and it was sort of that perfect storm of freedom as a young adult plus questioning: not necessarily salvation but God’s plan and sovereignty and no one was hovering over my shoulder saying, “How’s your walk with the Lord?” It’s easy to walk the walk still and talk the talk over the phone or when you go home to visit—to act one way and do the other.


What kind of things were going on that you were drifting slowly from the Lord, but it started to happen quickly? 

It was in about six months—that’s how quickly it all began. I distinctly remember being in my car in a parking lot before I moved to Virginia, and I was trying to pray. I felt like my prayers were bouncing off the hood of my car, and I didn’t think that God was hearing me. I got angry and so mad at God, and I told Him in my anger that if this is how He treats His children, I don’t want any part of Him. I decided that day that everything I knew was wrong, and I was going to do and figure out what I’d been missing out on. Those rebellious seeds sprouted and took off like a wild vine.


Was it during that time that you met your husband? 

Not long after. I moved to Virginia in August 2009. I met my husband in August 2010, so within one year and during that year, if you did not know me, you would have thought being a Christian was the last thing you would have thought I was. Now again, I could pretend when I was around other Christians, but I also quickly figured out how to blend in with the world. It was at that time that I met my husband—I was actually in England at the time, participating in a summer abroad program for grad school, and we ended up meeting online because I didn’t know very many people in Virginia and the school I went to, oddly enough, was a Christian university, so the irony was not lost but I knew at the time I did not want to meet anyone at the university that was not a goal—I was too deep in the rebellion. I ended up meeting my husband online, and when I came back from England to return to Virginia, we went on our first date on August 3rd, 2010. It was a quick romance—we had much in common and similar interests. He had been in the Navy, so he had a lot of life experience and traveled—it was an instant connection, and he had no religious background—so he was perfect for me at the time. He didn’t meet his dad until he was 16, so he grew up with his mom, the family’s black sheep. You could say she moved far away from family, so it was just him and his mom, and he grew up completely non-religious. When he was in his teens and early 20s, he was exposed to a lot of different religions–he went to a mosque, he went to a Buddhist temple, went to a Mormon temple–he dabbled in pretty much every major religion, more from an anthropological sense of wanting to understand the cultures.  


Did you get married soon after you started dating?

Yeah. We got married on the second anniversary of our first date, August 3rd, 2012, in North Carolina, and about a week later, I started my first-year teaching. We were, you know, young, married, happy, and excited to be starting our lives together. 


What happened before your second anniversary? 

Because I was a teacher, I had summers off. We decided to take an epic road trip out west because he had grown up in Colorado, and I’d never traveled past the Mississippi, so I was very eager to explore. And we decided we have the time, we have the money–let’s do it, so we left North Carolina and went to Texas. We went and picked up his mom. A few weeks before our second anniversary, we traveled north through New Mexico, Colorado, up to Idaho, and back down. We were in Jackson Hall, Wyoming, and had just visited the Teton mountain range and had the trip of a lifetime, and we were exploring a coffee shop. I had just sat down with my drink, and he just turned to me and calmly and nonchalantly said, “I want a divorce; our marriage is over,” and this came out of nowhere. We had been on vacation, and we hadn’t been fighting, and I remember thinking, “Can we at least fight first?” It was out of the blue and almost like a sick joke. It was shocking and completely out of left field. After recovering from the shock, I tried to ask him if he was serious. And why was he doing this?

I mentioned earlier that my husband was in the Navy. I knew that he had PTSD; that was something that we had talked about when we were dating, but I honestly didn’t understand PTSD—it’s not just one of those things that you have and it goes away—it’s something that, much like depression, can flare up. I was very ignorant of it, and to a degree, my husband was too. One of the things about PTSD is it causes emotional detachment. The reason is it’s almost a defense mechanism—I’m going to push someone I love away so that I don’t drag them down the hole with me—I’m going to save them from my demons or darkness, so that’s one of the big reasons why so many people with PTSD end up not living, or their marriages tend not to work. It’s a very dark time for so many.

 

So, were you separated from your husband for a long time, or did you get divorced?

I convinced him to at least come back from our trip. He was still enrolled in college and had already paid the tuition. I told him that he might as well finish the semester, and he agreed. I felt like that was a win. At least I convinced him to come home. I thought he would be reasonable and understand once we returned to our routine. That was naïve. When we got home, we walked into a storm reflective of what was happening in our lives. Our apartment was inundated with a water leak from the unit above us. You can imagine the July heat in North Carolina; it was infested with mold, so we walked in from our marriage being over to you can’t live here anymore, so we went into survival mode by pushing our emotions to the back burner to let’s try to figure out where we’re going to sleep tonight. That got us through for about a month, and then school started back for me that August and my husband also was in school.

We coexisted as roommates for a while, and I was trying to navigate this new normal of him being home. We were married, but he was still adamant about leaving in December when his semester ended. I was wondering why and still didn’t understand, and he couldn’t quite explain it—it was one of those things of I’m doing this because I love you, which was so counterintuitive in my world—I was like, "Well, if you love me, why are you leaving me?" So, I couldn’t get past this. We lived in the same house for that semester but were strangers. I didn’t know my husband anymore—he was like a stranger. In December, a week before Christmas, literally about two days after his semester officially ended, he packed up his pickup and left. I didn’t even know where he was going, which was hard. All I knew was that he was going west. He had some family in Texas but wouldn’t tell me where he was going. I remember asking him, “Well if you have to leave, will you at least promise that we will have a goal of reconciliation?” Him telling me that our marriage was over is what jerked me out of my rebellion, and it’s what brought me back to God almost immediately. I distinctly remember that day when he told me that our marriage was over, going back to the hotel, locking myself in the bathroom and sitting on the floor sobbing and, for the first time in two or three years, praying and saying to God—"It hurts, God—it hurts." For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to wear the mask—you know, the good little Christian girl mask—I was just raw, and I remember the Lord’s small voice so loud in my heart saying, “Are you done doing things your way?” And I knew I had a choice to make. I could keep doing it my way, which was not working despite my best efforts, or I could try it God’s way, and at that point, I was smart enough to know that my way was not working out. At that moment, I surrendered, and that changed not only my life but also both of our lives.


Can you tell us how God got your husband’s attention? 

One of the great things about God is that He’s in the details and always working, even when we don’t think He is or when we can’t see what’s going on. One of my favorite Bible stories is of Zacchaeus because, you know, we always sing the song he climbed up in a sycamore tree. still, then, that sycamore tree had to be planted however many years before Zacchaeus was ever born or to be big enough, tall enough, and strong enough to support a grown man climbing in it to see the Lord, but that’s just like God to plan and create a way when we’re not paying attention.

One thing that happened that Christmas before our trip was that we were actually at a Hobby Lobby and probably buying more Christmas decor that I did not need, and a local church group was out front passing out treat boxes. In the South, that’s a thing around Christmas. You know, people will pass out fruits and nuts and candies. It’s just kind of a thing, and I remember getting that and going to the car and breaking down in tears for no reason other than that it pricked my heart even then. However, I was still too much into the rebellion to surrender then, but when I surrendered in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, it was like God brought that moment to my mind. I remember telling my husband on the ride home from the West to North Carolina, that I needed to go to church; he asked why because we had only been to church once or twice since we’d known each other, and asked which church I would go to. I responded, “Well, maybe I should check out the church that gave us that box.” I didn’t know why, but I needed to find that church. I couldn’t remember the name of the church. I knew it started with the letter p, and in the South, there’s a church on every corner, so I was like, I’m going to have to try to narrow this down a little. I even called Hobby Lobby to see if the employer remembered a church group about eight months ago. He probably thought I was crazy and had no clue what I was talking about. Still, I ended up Googling the Baptist churches in the area that began with the letter p, and I had a result pop up. Hence, the first Sunday we were back, I went, and I remember sitting in the parking lot glued to my car—I was anxious and knew that going to church was the first big step back.

I had already repented, but walking into a church alone was different, so I mustered up the courage and marched on into an oasis. People were so kind and welcoming, and every sermon was like I thought there were cameras in my house because every sermon was perfectly tailored to what I’d been going through. It was surreal to me how God was ordering my steps. For the first time in a long time, I felt a deep hunger for the things of God, and it was exactly what I needed. It wasn’t doing things out of a checklist mentality or, if I don’t do this, I’m not a good Christian—for the first time, I craved praying and reading my Bible. Also, when I prayed for the first time, I felt I was talking to God. It was a fantastic feeling, even though my personal life was chaotic. I would go from depression to wanting to beat my husband up to wondering if I’ll be getting divorced after only two years of marriage—like, what in the world? This isn’t Hollywood. The church I started attending poured into me, and they saw someone hurting, and there was no judgment—it was just love. 


How did you two get back together?

Only God! My husband left a couple of weeks before Christmas, and it felt as though Satan had won. I thought God would save the day, and there was even a moment when he pulled off and got halfway up the driveway. He stopped the truck, threw it in the park, came running back in, and kissed me, and I thought I had my husband back—he wasn’t a stranger anymore, and it was the guy I knew, but then he went back to the truck and kept going, and I remember just sitting outside in the cold. I knew God was in control, and I had a choice to make. I could either trust God even when it did not seem possible or go back to trying to run my life, and I knew that was not an option, so I decided to trust God. It was interesting because every time I felt like it was too hard and I needed to walk away from this, God would send someone who knew nothing about what I was going through and give me a scripture to encourage me. This one lady at my church, who knew very little about what was going on in my life, gave me a towel, like one of those decorative towels that said Believe on it. I was doubting how God was going to do anything here—my husband moved out, and I had some people telling me what he did was grounds for divorce—he’s abandoned you. There’s nothing in scripture that says that if an unbelieving spouse walks away, you have to stay and that I had biblical grounds for a divorce, but when I would pray and ask God what to do, I never had peace about divorce. I even remember praying for God to let me out of this because it hurt too much holding on. I didn’t even know where he was living, but repeatedly, I would hear God saying, “Be still, trust me in the waiting.” I believe God used that time to show me that Jesus is all I needed, whether my marriage was restored or not—Jesus was enough.

It was interesting because, before this, I never realized how much of my identity as a woman was wrapped up in being a wife. It was almost like my self-worth was tied to my marriage, so I didn’t feel I knew who I was when he left. I had to learn who I was in Christ. My identity is found in Christ, not in any relationship, career, or anything else.

I found out through snooping—I’m not proud of it. It was a weak moment, and I still had passwords to emails and all that fun stuff, but I found out that he was in Washington State. I was happy to know where he was, but it scared me knowing how far he was because that’s 3,000 miles away; he might as well be on the moon, but God used that time to teach me to trust Him because I had no contact with my husband. I would try to text or call him occasionally and get a response, but it was indeed a separation.

During this time, I prayed fervently for that man. At first, the prayers were, God, please fix my marriage, please fix my marriage, please fix my marriage, and that mattered because I don’t think anyone wants their marriage to fail. However, as I grew in my faith, God began to prompt me to pray differently and more specifically for my husband. 

Instead of asking God to change him and make him come home, it became praying for his physical safety. I later found out my husband was dealing with a significant medical emergency during this time that he had not disclosed to me, but God would wake me up in the middle of the night telling me to pray for my husband’s health. It was heavy on my heart to pray for his salvation and claim him for God, and it sounded so odd. Still, I’m just like, you know what, God’s got me this far; whatever he tells me, I’m just going to go for it, whether it makes sense at the moment or not, and then I remember, you know, God would prompt me to pray for a hedge around him and growing up, I’d always heard you pray for a hedge of protection around someone. I didn’t understand what that meant, so I started digging through the Bible about where we get the phrase “a hedge of protection” and found that it differed from what I thought a hedge of protection was. Yes, it’s like building a fence around someone. Still, many times in the Bible, a wall of thorns was planted, so of course, thorns keep the enemies out. Still, they would also keep the sheep from trying to get out because the thorns would guide them to where they needed to be, and once I understood this, I said, “God—yes, definitely put some thorns around that man!” But it was more to steer him toward the Lord, and I began to pray that God would put people on his path to share Christ with him. I distinctly remember in May—he had been gone for almost six months—and I went to church on Wednesday night, and I was talking to the pastor and his wife, who were excellent; there were so many times when I crying and they were calm and ministered to me, giving me biblical counsel and I told them that I felt like I finally passed the test and finally learned that God’s enough, whether he fixes my marriage or whether I never see him again—God is enough.

I kid you not; my husband called me out of the blue the next day. I hadn’t heard his voice in at least three months, and he begged me if I was willing to take him back. He said he regretted leaving and how things had happened and wanted to know if anything was left to come home to. And I said, “Oh, my goodness, God, you answered my prayer.” I was in shock, but in my heart, I had thought—the way that I had told God this was going to work was he was going to save my husband; he was going to call me saying, “Honey, I’ve been saved—I’m sorry—we’re going to fix our marriage, and we were going to live happily ever after,” but that wasn’t quite how God decided to do it. He worked on my husband to the point where my husband wanted to reconcile our marriage, but my husband still had no interest in God whatsoever. So the school year was over in June, and he came back to North Carolina for a few weeks, and we had some very long talks, and I got a lot of counsel from my pastor and his wife just because I didn’t want to jump into anything because of what my heart was telling me. I wanted to make sure I listened to God and didn’t want to make any more mistakes. Of course, my family and friends didn’t want me to move out to Washington, and they were concerned that my husband would leave me again. I had a church, career, and support in North Carolina. I agreed with what they were saying, but in my heart, I just had an overwhelming peace that I needed to go to Washington—for how long, I did not know, but I knew where I needed to be. I waited for my niece to be born in July, then a few days later, packed up my tiny Ford Focus with everything I could fit. It took me three days, but I got to Liberty Lake, Washington, and arrived there one year to the day my husband told me our marriage was over. We began that slow, arduous process of rebuilding trust, tried to forge our new normal, and learned that rebuilding a marriage is not a happily ever after thing.

Each of us had baggage that we brought with us, and it was more than just what fit in the trunk of my car. You know, he still wasn’t a Christian. I was very different from what I was when he had left—we had to learn about each other all over again, but one of the things that happened when I moved there was, I knew I needed to find a church—a local body of believers to plug into. Of course, being so far away, I thought of using Google to see what I could find. A small church plant was only a year old, and within walking distance of our apartment, so I checked it out because it seemed pretty biblical from what they believed on their church website. It was so interesting; at the first service, I noticed they were using the same hymn book as the church I had been attending in North Carolina, and so many other things were reminiscent of home. When I walked into the church, it felt like I was home. 

I met the pastor after the service. He discovered I was new to the area and asked if my husband was a Christian. I told him, “Not yet,” but I knew God didn’t bring me to Washington only to do half of the job—whatever He does, He’s going to complete. It just so happened that the pastor was a Navy veteran with a heart for veterans. There are no coincidences with God. So I got plugged into that church, but my husband was leery of organized religion, but he forged a relationship with the pastor. They bonded over their shared experiences in the Navy, and I remember he came home one day after they had coffee together, and he said, “That guy is the real deal.” I asked him what he meant, and he shared that he’s not fake—he’s an authentic Christian. Now and then, my husband started coming to church with me without me asking him to, and he began to develop a hunger to know more. One time, we came home from church the following May, so I’d been there almost a year in Liberty Lake, and springtime in the mountains, it’s muddy, wet, and cold. We came home from church, and he was pacing the apartment to the point that I thought he would wear a hole in the carpet. My husband doesn’t cry—I think I saw him crying once when his dog died and another time when our son was born, but he was crying with tears pouring down his face saying, "I have to talk to a priest—I’ve got to speak to a priest". I told him, but you’re not Catholic. Then he said, “I’ve done too much in my life—there’s no way God would ever want me—I’ve crossed too many lines and crossed a point of no return, but maybe if I talk to a priest, they can do something.” I responded, “Well, why don’t you call Pastor Greg? He’s probably still at the church. Why don’t you talk to him?” And he said, “Okay, that makes sense.” I called Pastor Greg for him because he was so upset and asked, “Would you be willing to talk to Jason?” And, of course, he said yes and asked Jason if he could meet him on the mountain at Liberty Lake Regional Park. I was sitting at home praying because I sensed a shift in my husband. He was under such conviction and agitated. He was gone for 2-3 hours in the misty rain and mud, and finally, he came home and didn’t say a word—he took off his shoes, cleaned himself up, and went to the garage, and I was left wondering—Okay, what happened? He was gone for 2-3 hours. Did he have a Moses experience with a burning bush? Did he get saved? So, I texted Pastor Greg, who said he just asked many questions, and I answered them. I wanted to rush God, but I knew it had to be His timing and way.

About a month later, in June, I was at church. My husband had been going every week with me, which was not the norm for him. But that week, he said he wasn’t going that morning, and I was thrown off. I asked if he was sick, but he said he was fine. So, I went by myself, and right before the service started, the pastor announced that we would go down to the Spokane River for a baptism after church. It’s a relatively small church. I’m looking around like everyone here had already been baptized, and then I think, well, maybe a kid got saved, and I didn’t know or realize. At about that time, my husband strolled in with his motorcycle helmet in one hand and a bag of clothes in the other. He had the biggest smile on his face, and so did Pastor Greg, so I was a mess when he was getting baptized and so excited. I talked to him afterward and asked him when he gave his life to Christ, and he shared that after he spoke with the pastor on the mountain, he started to read the Bible later that week, and everything clicked, and all of it made sense—God is real! 

After getting baptized, his relationship with the Lord accelerated, and he would wake up in the morning and read the Bible, get involved in church, and go to Bible college to learn more scripture. God helped him with PTSD, and his quick temper began to go away. The emotional distance, numbness, and callousness started to be replaced with gentleness and more self-awareness—God was healing him, and it was miraculous. We even burned the divorce papers. God specializes in the impossible—only He can do such things and never wastes our pain. 


27Oct

Connie, grew up in a dysfunctional home with an abusive alcoholic father. His actions, left her with emotional scars which caused her to believe lies about herself.


Connie Tresedder
Author; Breakthrough Coach for Christian Leaders, Entrepreneurs, & Coaches

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth."  (Psalm 139:14-15)

The third born of three and only daughter in my family, I am an out-going, funny, joy-filled lover of people. I love to teach and interact with others. I have taught at the college level for over 20 years; taught junior church at my local congregation for about 15 years; and a youth group for high school and college age students. I currently lead a women’s group which encourages us to find and move forward into our God-given passions and purpose. What most people don’t know is that I suffered from low self-esteem for much of my life. People who know me now would be shocked to hear me say this. By listening and watching me speak, most would think I’ve never had a problem with confidence. Just the opposite is actually the truth.

This is because I grew up in a dysfunctional home where my father was an alcoholic. When he wouldn’t come home after work, we knew he was at the local bar drinking. My mother, two brothers and I would spend the evening with a knot in our stomachs. We never knew when he would come through the door but we knew it wasn’t going to be pleasant when he did. I went to bed scared many nights. My father never physically abused me, but those of you that have suffered verbal/emotional abuse know that this leaves scars as well. My father would become physical sometimes with my brothers and mom. I don’t remember ever sleeping through the night if I went to bed when my father was still at the bar. He was loud, angry, and cussing when he would return home. Often he would make my brothers get up and out of bed. I would lie in my own bed listening, worried for my brothers. He usually just opened the door of my room and swore at me as I pretended to be asleep. Besides speaking words to me that I cannot imagine uttering as a parent, my father never seemed to have any use for me. I did not feel valued by him in the least.

These types of nights weren’t the only thing that caused me to be nervous as a kid growing up. I felt the need to keep all of this from my friends. It is not an easy secret to hide when you live in a small town. What would my friends think if they knew? I was convinced their parents would put an end to our friendship if they knew what went on inside my home. I felt ashamed for having a father who drank and acted the way he did. I was in elementary school when I realized the way my dad treated us was not “normal” compared to what I witnessed at my friend’s homes.

I will be forever grateful for one of these homes I was invited to for a neighborhood Christian kid’s club. I attended every day for a week when I was in 5th grade. The gospel was shared with us through stories each day. I remember on the last day having the opportunity to invite Jesus into my heart. I had never heard the “Good News” before. Though I had been baptized in a Lutheran church as a baby, we had never attended church since moving to Michigan when I was six years old. Little did I know that day when I raised my hand while all heads were bowed, and prayed the prayer of salvation, that my life would be changed from that moment on. But, that is exactly what happened.

The challenges in my life did not magically disappear but everything felt different. I knew I was not alone. I knew there was someone to help me get through the challenges. I knew there was hope for my future. I asked my mom to buy me a Bible and she got me a teen version of the Living Bible. This was so easy to understand and had devotional type readings throughout. I devoured the Word like someone receiving water in the desert. Looking back at my life I see so many answers to my first prayers. God had a specific plan for my life and he has been so faithful leading me along my life’s journey. Each chapter has built upon the last. In this season, I am being used as a Christian life coach and speaker to bless others. As God would have it, I end up being blessed as well. It is exhilarating teaching and encouraging others to step into their purpose for this season in their life. I am so humbled when God uses me to help someone identify and move past what has them “stuck” in one area or another. This includes facilitating inner healing for past wounds at times, or helping someone re-wire their brain so that worrisome, negative thoughts don’t hold them back. I am discovering God puts us in community with others so that we can all keep moving forward in His plan for us.

Back in 5th grade, the same family that invited me to the Christian kid’s club, started bringing me with them to church. It was a Bible teaching, evangelical church where I soaked up truths about God like a sponge. Though I strayed somewhat in high school, I still read my Bible every night. I know now that Jesus never left me, but just patiently waited for me to turn back towards him, which I did when I found promises in His Word that I couldn’t deny. I remember thinking, "Why am I making choices that go against God's Word when...I could be living for Him completely, and receiving ALL the blessings He promises?" I had no mentor or adult helping me come to this conclusion, but I’m convinced people somewhere were praying for me. John 14, is what He used to get my attention. The whole chapter is full of promises, but my teenage heart really soared at the truth of verse 13, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son”. Truthfully, this verse still makes my heart soar. I now know the power the Comforter promised in this chapter. I know how to listen, be taught by, and receive the peace offered by God’s Spirit. I understand that God intends to do life together with us and that his plan is above and beyond anything we can imagine.

When I was a young college student God started the process of supernatural inner healing for my childhood wounds. I came to the revelation that the way my father treated me was more about him than me. I understood that my father was broken inside and probably full of self-loathing.  Though I don’t know what events or circumstances played a part in my father’s brokenness, God taught me that hurt people, hurt others. God cultivated a compassion in my heart for my father and I was able to forgive him. When I look back now, I realize this is nothing short of a miracle for God to give me so much grace to act maturely at this young age. This was such a blessing because the last three years of my father’s life we became closer than we had ever been. I had finished my undergraduate degree and got married a few years before my father was diagnosed with cancer. He stopped drinking and underwent surgery and treatments. The next three years, was a roller-coaster of emotions. He would respond well to a treatment, and we would all be filled with hope only to have the treatment stop responding several months down the road. Up and down we went, but I am so grateful for the time I and my husband had to spend with him and my mother. We enjoyed time together doing fun things like playing cards, going to movies, and eating good food. My dad was fun! Who knew? He absolutely loved my husband, and I felt like my father was proud of the woman I was becoming. I cherish the memories from this season and am so thankful I chose forgiveness over bitterness.

How could I not forgive my father when my heavenly Father forgives every one of my sins beginning back in 5th grade? I knew full well that Jesus had paid the price for not just my sins but my father’s sins, as well. I am confident that my father is in heaven because he was able to receive this great gift. This isn’t to say I haven’t had to deal with some issues throughout my life. I explain in my upcoming e-book, how all our experiences throughout life make us believe things. Unfortunately, a lot of the time the things we believe are lies!  The tricky thing is, when we believe a lie, we don’t realize it’s a lie because we believe it! I love helping people uncover these lies and receive healing like I did myself. When my own father didn’t value me, I believed the lie that no one else would. Why would anyone find value in what I taught or shared? How convenient it would have been for satan if I had continued to believe this. He could have stolen my calling, my voice, and my purpose, but that wasn’t my story. Healing and re-wiring our brains is a continual process, and I am ever so grateful to God for allowing me to be a part of people's spiritual growth and healing.  

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18Oct

Through years of domestic abuse, Darla Colinet, came to know that the mindset of abuse, starts at an early age. Being unaware of her brokenness, domestic abuse, and Christ’s truths about love made her vulnerable to become a victim of an abusive marriages. From overcoming domestic abuse to living and loving fearlessly...Darla, now focuses on educating individuals and churches about how to end domestic abuse by using Christ’s Perfect Love Design.


“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."  (Deuteronomy 31:6)


“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:34-35)


Darla Colinet  
Champion for Abused Women, Christian Keynote Speaker & Author


               
   


Overcoming Domestic Abuse: Living and Loving Fearlessly


The mindset of abuse starts at an early age. Loving and following Jesus doesn’t make you immune from being deceived into an abusive marriage.

Even though my parents loved God with all their hearts, and they tried to do their best, they were too afraid to let God and other professionals help them work through their brokenness. They lived in unhealthy co-dependency and were rarely available for me.


The result of their unavailability left me feeling love-starved as a child and young woman. My natural quest to feel loved left me vulnerable to being date raped at the age of fifteen. The wounds from the violent rape were painful. However, the words from my father’s mouth stating, “I was unworthy of good love,” shattered my heart. His words changed my self-worth and the course of my life.


To prove I was loved I took the first offer of marriage at the age of eighteen. I married the “bad boy” in town who claimed to be a Christian, and I endured thirteen-years of abuse. I was acting in the broken design of love I knew, which is what we all do.


Without knowing Christ’s design of love, I used what I understood as love to try to fill the holes in my heart. Being unaware of my brokenness, domestic abuse, and Christ’s truths about love, made me vulnerable to become a victim of an abusive Christian marriage for thirteen-years.


Deep inside I knew it was not God’s will for him to hurt me. However, without Christ’s truth in my mind and heart, I believed what I experienced and what I heard from pastors. They said my marriage vows made it my responsibility to help my abusive husband to come back to God and find healing. These are lies and misinterpretations from the scriptures.


In August, in the thirteenth year of our marriage, our boys were visiting my parents. My ex-husband started calling me names again. Something snapped inside of me. I had left several times before, but this time, I was done. I wasn’t going to take his abuse anymore.
I stood up to confront him, and I woke up on the floor, staring at the ceiling. A picture flashed through my mind. I remembered him telling me he would kill me before he would let me go, as he stretched his hands around my throat. I quickly scanned the room, and I realized I was alone. I was furious with my husband, myself, and God. I prayed for thirteen years for God to stop the abuse, but nothing changed. In a rage, I screamed out, “God either you end this tonight, or I will!”


I went to the gun cabinet and took out a shotgun. I loaded it and sat in the chair across from the back door, waiting for my husband to come home. Pictures of him hurting me over the last thirteen years flashed in my mind while his degrading comments echoed in the background. I had no more tears, only rage, and darkness.


The next thing I remember was slowly opening my eyes as the sun beamed through the window in the door. Immediately, I felt the weight of the shotgun in my hands. I was horrified. I heard a peaceful voice whisper to my spirit, “I’ve made a way to escape, take it. This is not love.” At this moment, I realized God had made a way to stop the abuse, and I ran.


My Search

You would think after my abusive marriage I would stay clear of men, but all I could feel was the pain of feeling love-starved and unworthy. Deep inside I kept hoping to find true love. I let my emotions lead my life, and I married a college man. I did not realize he was a deceptive “wizard behind the curtain” who brought more verbal and mental abusive. When I asked him to get help, he filed for divorce.


After my second divorce, you would think I would not believe in love, but I knew I loved Jesus and he gave me hope. I met and married a man who loved to have fun, only to realize he “never wanted to grow up” from drug addiction and to be financially responsible. After the seventh year into our marriage, I became determined to overcome what was causing me to choose abusive relationships.


I opened my Bible and read, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God”. (Matthew 22:29) These words were a gong in my mind. I realized I had believed and lived in my dad’s definition of love for me and I didn’t know Christ’s perfect love design.


I saw how my unawareness of my brokenness, my unawareness about domestic abuse, and my unawareness of Christ’s design of love left me vulnerable to be caught in the deceptive web of abuse. As I began to discover, to understand, and to live in Christ’s design of pure love over the next six years, my heart healed. I set up healthy boundaries with my irresponsible husband, and after thirteen years, he walked out.


The end of my third marriage was very different. I didn’t feel love-starved or unworthy. I realized Christ’s love design filled my heart whether I was married or single. I stood with confidence knowing that I am worthy and filled with Christ’s unconditional love. I knew the love of people could never fill my need to feel loved unconditionally by Jesus Christ.


Living in Christ’s Love Design


As I have come to live in Christ’s design of love and use it as my compass, my heart has healed and my life now overflows with his abundance of love, joy, and peace. Using Christ’s revelations with my life lessons has helped me create a path for women and struggling marriages to find happiness and healing. They are encouraged and empowered to take control of their life, pursue their dreams, achieve their goals, and fulfill their destiny in God’s grand plan. 


As I stepped into God’s purpose for my life, I was content to be single. However, in 2014 on a tour of Italy, God chose to bless me with the most amazing man. My husband lives like Christ and loves me as if I were Christ. When you use Christ’s love design as your compass, you never know what he will do for you. I am living proof that when you partner with Jesus, he can make your messes into a masterpiece!


**** Darla is now focused on educating individuals and churches about how to end domestic abuse by using Christ’s Perfect Love Design. Contact her for Domestic Violence introduction class, workshops, retreats, and online classes. ****


God's Transforming Grace  Focused on educating individuals and churches about how to end domestic abuse by using Christ’s Perfect Love Design. Contact Darla for Domestic Violence introduction class, workshops, retreats, and online classes.


I help women break through their roadblock to live and love fearlessly through Christ and achieve their dreams and purpose in God’s grand plan. I help them through the forward process of transformational life coaching.


DARLA'S BOOK & E-BOOK MAY BE PURCHASED ON AMAZON


ANOTHER BOOK COMING SOON:
Christ’s Perfect Love Design: Transforming Struggling Marriages Into Happy and Fulfilling Marriages!


DARLA'S INTERVIEW ON THE ED TYLL SHOW:       

  Media Interview Near Middle of Page



DARLA'S CONTACT INFORMATION:  

Address : 1001-A East Harmony Road, Fort Collins, CO 80525

Phone : 970-413-6333

Email : Darla@DarlaColinet.com

darlatgm@gmail.com

11Aug

Dana Repetti, grew up in a dysfunctional home filled with hate, fear, alcohol, abuse, and witchcraft. Her childhood caused her to have overwhelming fear, and she became a people-pleaser with a very low self-esteem. At the age of seventeen, Dana had her first abortion. Through it all though, Dana, has learned about the beauty of God's love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. She is now helping others to do the same and has written a wonderful personalized devotional called "Being Immersed in the Father's Love".

Dana RepettiDana Repetti

“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”  (Psalms 27:13)

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  (Romans 8:1)

I grew up in a very dysfunctional home. I was a very depressed child and full of fear. My perspective on life and how I processed life was through a very negative lens and filter. Even though I was saved at the tender age of twelve, there were a whole host of strongholds that I would have to take captive to the obedience of Christ throughout my lifetime.

When I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior, my mom prayed that the memory of what I had endured as a child would be wiped clean. That all I would remember was from Salvation onward. I must confess I only have glimpses of my childhood.

What I do remember is that my dad was a very angry man. He was very scary to me when he got upset. Growing up in my house there was a saying, “Children were to be seen and not heard!” and I never felt as if my opinion mattered, or that I had a voice. My self-esteem was very low. I really did not know how to think for myself. I was very much a people pleaser. As long as I did everything right, I was a good girl, but if I did something wrong or that appeared wrong, I would pay the consequence. As a little girl, it felt as if it was the end of the world. I always wanted to do everything right. This perception would carry on well into my thirties. It would take a very long time to find my voice and for God to bring me into what His thoughts were towards me and what His word says about me.

My mom was a very depressed mother and wife. I always had the feeling that she hated me. When I would look into her eyes, they appeared very dark and I saw such hatred. It felt as if she wanted to kill me. I’m sure that was not the case, but it was how I felt during those years of my life. I hated going to sleep for fear that in the middle of the night; something or someone would come in my room and hurt me. I would sleep with the covers up to my neck; face the door so I would be able to protect myself, still totally frightened. It felt as if I never slept. This went on from the age of five, until I was twelve.

My mother dabbled in the occult. She would have séances, levitate, have premonitions, consult palm readers, psychics, read tarot cards and play the Ouija board. There was a lot of demonic activity in our home to say the least. She also was an alcoholic and was suicidal. I would come home from school and find her at the bottom of the basement stairs blacked out, not knowing if she was dead or alive. I remember being afraid all the time not knowing what the next day would bring.

My parents would argue and fight, which seemed like all the time to me. It was very intense and very loud. There were so many sayings in my family growing up like; we’re loud, we’re Italian, that’s how we talk, if the truth hurts, each followed by very negative, outspoken comments. No! All of which consisted of arguing and verbal abuse, yet while not understanding that as a child and living through it. I thought that was normal. There was one time my father came home from work and found my mother sitting on the floor in the corner of their bedroom, in the dark with a scotch glass in her hand. She was drunk and they began to argue. This argument must have been so intense because it is etched into my memory. My mom threw the full scotch glass at my father. I ran to my room like so many other times and would pray that God would make it stop, that they would not get divorced. I was always so frightened and living on the edge. I did not realize at the time that I was a depressed little girl as well.

I was raised as a Catholic while growing up and went to a Catholic school. Very often before heading to school, my mom would play a song from Helen Reddy, “I am woman”, and she proceeded to tell my sister and I, never to forget that we were women. There was one day my mom was so angry, I can’t remember why, but she told me she hated me and to go, get out of the house and go off to school. I remember feeling devastated. My fears of her hating me were becoming true. I was so broken that I hated the day I was born. I remember saying to God, “why, why was I born into this family. I wish I had never been born.” Sad I know. Around this time in my life, I was in a store and I saw a keychain with a witch on it. So I purchased it and I gave it to my mother and said, “This is who you are to me” and sang her a song called Witchy Woman. After I told her again saying, “This is who you are to me!” She said,”I know.” and proceeded to hang it on the knob of the kitchen cabinet. So there it stayed.

As I stated earlier, I don’t have a lot of memory of my childhood, but I remember feeling very dirty whenever my dad would hug me. As a little girl, I remember finding Playboy magazine’s under his bed on his side. For some reason, I always was able to relate to someone who was sexually abused. I only have glimpses of certain things and questions as to why I would feel so hated during those years. Before my dad passed away in 2010, I felt impressed by God to speak to my dad and released him from any torment he might be going through, from guilt of the past. I was so nervous, but I knew it was something I had to do. My dad had leukemia and meningitis to the point that it affected his brain. In the past, if I would have brought this up, he would have been on the defense and reacted angrily. Instead, he allowed me to share all my questions and concerns. I told him that God wanted me to come to him so he could be released of anything that may have taken place in the past that if anything did occur, I had forgiven him. It was the most loving and freeing time I had ever had with my dad. He had no such memories. I am sharing this to show the goodness God has to tend to the issues of our hearts. He took care of my father’s heart as well as mine. I watched God be faithful to His word in Philippians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” My dad went to be with the Lord two weeks after my visit. Gods timing and ways are perfect. I have learned to trust and obey Him even when it’s scary.

At the age of ten, I was about to make my first communion. I always loved God. He placed within me a heart that loved Him and always wanted to help people despite what I was living through. The night before I was to make my first communion, I prayed that God would allow me to die in a car accident. I thought if I died on my communion day, then I would go straight to heaven and would not have to go to purgatory. My understanding was that people had to pray you out of purgatory; after all...my mother was a drunk and she hated me, while my dad only went to church on Christmas and Easter. In my mind, I would be stuck in purgatory forever and never make it to heaven. I prayed and prayed and was so disappointed when it did not happen.

Two years later, I am now twelve years old. My mom made the decision that she is going to take her life. She said that she had such a sense of peace in making this decision, and we were all better off without her. That day, God interrupted with His divine appointment. She was in a store that morning and she ran into a cousin of hers that just moved into the area we were living. Being polite, my mom invited her over for a cup of coffee. Her cousin had given her heart to the Lord and was a born-again Christian. She began to share with my mother about how much Jesus loved and cared for her and how He died to take away her sins and redeem her life. The whole time her cousin was talking, she thought she was crazy, while she knew the plan she had in her head to take her life. As her cousin was leaving, she said to my mom, “Marge, Jesus loves you. He truly does. Just give Him a try, ask Him into your heart and to forgive you your sins.”

That evening, my mother could not get out of her mind what her cousin shared with her earlier that day. She cried out to the Lord and said, “Ok Jesus, if you’re real like Alice says you’re real, I ask that you forgive me of all my sins and come live in my heart.” She began to feel a hand go over her mouth trying to suffocate her. During this struggle, she kept hearing her cousin’s voice in her mind saying, “say Jesus is Lord!” She began to scream in her head, “Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord!” At the end of the struggle, she saw in her mind’s eye a vision of Jesus with His arms wide open saying, “Marge, come to me. You’re my child.” The next day, my mom poured out all the alcohol we had in our house (we had a fully stocked bar) and threw away her cigarettes as well. My father thought my mother had a nervous breakdown and he was very angry. After all, that was a lot of money to throw down the drain. My mom’s old man (spirit) died that night and she became a new creation. The power of sin and death over my mother was destroyed that evening, through the blood of Jesus Christ. My mom went to her cousin’s house the next morning, banging on the door saying, “What did you do to me?” Her cousin began having bible studies with her, praying and taking her to church. One night after my mom got home from church, my father put my mother up against the wall and said, “It’s Jesus or me!” my mom said, “It’s Jesus” and he let go of her. So now we are going to check out this church my mother is going to, making sure she is not involved in a cult. My dad would say,”I was born a Catholic, I will die a Catholic.”

In July of 1974, a Friday evening, we visited the church my mother was attending on Tuesday’s and Friday’s. I was amazed by the love, joy and peace these people had. I wanted what these people had. I asked my mother if I could go to the altar and receive Jesus in my heart. At first, she said “no”, nervous of what my father might do. My father would not think twice about hitting someone if he felt like they were bothering him or his family. He grew up fighting people his whole life. I asked again and this time my mom said “yes.” As I went up, a young man asked me if I wanted to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I responded yes!

Well, my dad was furious. He went up to the altar to grab me away from these crazy people and when he went to grab me, I immediately got filled with the Holy Spirit and he fell. My father tried again twice to get me and each time he kept falling down. He would look around, but there was nobody there. God was trying to get his attention, and that He did. My father gave his heart to the Lord that evening as well. God is amazing.

The Lord answered my prayer that evening. When I was ten, I wanted to die and go to heaven, fearful of being in purgatory. Two years later, my old man (spirit) died when I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I was forgiven, redeemed and had the promise of eternal life. I no longer worried about not making it to heaven.

I continued to live in joy and happiness like I never experienced before. Things were so much more hopeful and peaceful. I would attend church every time the doors were opened. I was involved in Sunday school and went on to eventually teach the two-to-four year olds who attended. I was also, involved in a youth group and helped with VBS. Life was good.

Then at the magical age of fifteen, this young man liked me. I was so flattered. He was four years older than me and on the worship team. He asked me out to the church’s Valentine’s dinner. The only problem was, I wasn’t allowed to date until the age of sixteen and I was only fifteen and a half. So I did what any teenager would do; I pleaded my cause. What magically happens in six months? After all, I will be sixteen! He’s on the worship team! I wore them down and they gave in. This would be the beginning of compromise entering my life. Slowly he became my everything. I lived to please him. In April of 1980, in my senior year of high school and at the age of seventeen, I became pregnant. I was full of fear and wanted to marry him and have the baby. We were both terrified of what my parents might do. He said my parents would kill us. So the spirit of fear drove us to make the horrible decision to have an abortion. I truly wanted to be married and have this baby. While we drove up to the abortion clinic, there were people with signs outside and one especially, stood out to me, “Mommy, don’t kill your baby”. I was sick. I wanted to die. I wanted to run from this place and I really wanted to be married and have the baby, but fear had the loudest say. This so far, was the most horrifying experience of my life. I came out of that room so sick and hatred immediately filled my heart. I would not be the same person for many years. I still wanted to die. I struggled with thoughts of suicide. The only thing that kept me was the fear of going to hell. I went into a severe depression, where guilt and condemnation were always present within me. My father told my boyfriend that he was to stay away from me, that he did not know why his daughter was so depressed. This caused more hatred to fill my heart towards my parents. I told them I hated them for breaking us up. In my mind, the only way to make what we did right was to eventually be married. This is how my seventeen-year-old mind was processing everything at the time. The enemy had me believing so many lies. I felt as if I could never be forgiven. I murdered my baby.

I continued to spiral downward. I told no one of what I did. The only people who knew were my ex-boyfriend and me. I lived with shame, guilt, condemnation, self-hatred and offense towards my ex-boyfriend for a very long time. This secret seemed to be with me every moment of every day. It was my constant companion, a continual reminder of what a failure I was and that I didn’t deserve to be forgiven. The enemy had gained access of my thought life and I believed every lie he spoke. My heart became so calloused and hardened. I began to run from my thoughts by living for whatever gave me pleasure at the time. I wanted to fit in to this new world I was about to experience. The world of sinfulness. I began to drink, party, do drugs, go clubbing and do whatever I wanted to do. I hated myself. I wanted to hide from anything that had to do with the Lord. This continued for about seven years. The only problem was that God never stopped pursuing me. I couldn’t hide. I had a praying mom and I was continually convicted by the choices I was making. Psalms 139:7-8 & 11-12 “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8.) If I make my bed in Sheol, behold You are there 11.) If I say, “surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me” 12.) even the darkness will not be dark to You, the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.”

I had no rest or peace. My parents were always praying for me. The Lord truly leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one. At this time in my life, even this disturbed me. My parents would make me go to church and of course, God was always pursuing me, but I would choose to resist. There was a visiting evangelist this one Sunday and after he spoke, he had an altar call. Of course this altar call was for me, but I would not go forward, so he came to me. He said, “Jesus forgives you, now forgive yourself.” I thought if you only knew the extent of my sin, my secret, you would not be saying this to me. I murdered my baby; this is the most unforgivable sin in my mind. I could not receive what this man was speaking to me at this time in my life. My secret had me bound and truth could not enter in.

I grew tired of dating and the life I was living and I decided to pray to God, not believing He would want to even listen to me, but I prayed. I said, “Lord I am tired of dating. If you can hear me, let the next person I meet be the one I marry. I don’t care how long it takes or what he looks like, it can even be ten years from now, just let him be the one. Please, I’m tired.” The very next week, a client who went to the hair salon I worked at, asked if I wanted to go to a Fourth of July party. He was nice to talk to, but definitely not my type. I thought well, God totally did not hear my prayer but I had nothing else to do, so I went. In my rebellion I thought, my parents never like who I bring home...let me bring someone home they truly would not like. After all, I didn’t even like himHe was nice as a friend, but in no way was he boyfriend material. He was extremely wild. The stories I heard scared me. We began seeing each other more and more and before I knew it, we were dating. Then when I brought him home, my parent’s loved him! I said you have to be kidding me; I don’t even ‘like him - like him’. They said, “There is something in his eyes, he seems genuine.” About a month into our relationship, we slept together and I got pregnant. I told him I was pregnant and that I was having an abortion. I had already made plans and my girlfriend would be taking me. He said, “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” I said, “yes” and I have already made the arrangements!” I did not even care what he thought. I told him, “I already had an abortion from my first boyfriend, and I am not ready to be a mom!” My heart was so cold, calloused, hard and selfish. My secret was out. He was the only one I had ever told about my first abortion. I went on to have that abortion and we never spoke of it again until...well, I will get to that a little later in my story.

Things began to get serious between my boyfriend and me. He wanted to get married. We were living a partying lifestyle, drinking, smoking pot, snorting cocaine. It was crazy to say the least. All of this while knowing what God wanted. Even though I was living like this in my mind, I could not marry anyone who did not receive Jesus as their Savior. Crazy I know, so I took him to church to see what he would do. I knew in my mind if he did not believe the same way I did, I could never marry him. He was the type of person that would never do something he didn’t want to do. So I knew if he were to receive Jesus as his savior, it would be because he truly wanted to. Well, you will never believe this, that traveling evangelist was at my church again and had an altar call for Salvation. I turned to my boyfriend and said, “Would you like to leave”. He said, “No, I want to check this out. I want to go up front.” I went with him and he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. The evangelist said to him, “Is this your wife?” and he said, “No”. The evangelist nodded his head and said, “someday!”. John drove home that evening and said this was better than any high that he ever had. God had answered my prayer that one night when I said I was tired of dating. John and I have been married for 32 years. We have three children and four grandchildren at this current time.

I would love to say that we immediately served the Lord after John received Christ, but that was not the case. We continued living a compromised lifestyle. Got engaged, got married and four months into the marriage, I was pregnant with our first daughter. We discussed living right before the Lord, now that we would be parents. We had a friend that would come by every Saturday and bring over cocaine. This was my husband’s drug of choice. This one Saturday evening he was over, I went into the bathroom and began to pray. I said, “Lord, we promised to stop this and live for you. Please show up. Let us never do this again. Deliver us.” I started praying in tongues in the bathroom. The gifts of God are truly irrevocable. I went out into the living room where they were waiting for me and I was filled with words of knowledge. Our friend could not open his hand to put the cocaine out on the table. He was flipping out as God was speaking through me. He kept saying, “Man, I can’t open my hand.” John was getting very angry saying, “Put it out!” and his friend kept saying, “I can’t”. Then John told me to “SHUT UP”. Filled with the Spirit, I remember saying, “Satan would love for me to shut up, but I am going to speak what the Spirit tells me to speak”. I continued to speak whatever the Spirit had me speak. At the end of this encounter, John’s friend opened his hand to put the cocaine out and it was all melted. John got delivered that night and we have never touched any drug again after that evening, nor returned to a compromised lifestyle. His friend came to church with us the next day, as he was blown away at the events that took place that evening.

Our journey with God began after that evening. I had asked God to forgive me of my sins, but forgiving me was a lot more difficult. Now would begin a process of many strongholds breaking off my life and my mind being transformed, renewed through the word of God and confession of my sins. I no longer kept what I was struggling with a secret. When we moved to Pennsylvania and got involved in a church, around the age of twenty-eight, we were asked to become youth leaders. My conscious would not let me be free to do ministry with the guilt I carried around of having two abortions. I confessed to my pastor what I had done. He led me in prayer and gave me the scripture in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I read it and thought it was good. It wasn’t until I meditated on what it truly said, that I was set free from the guilt of my sin. It said, “ALL”, unrighteousness, not some. The word ALL jumped off the page. All means all, not some. I began to reason in my mind. If God can forgive and cleanse me from ALL unrighteousness, how can I not forgive myself? Am I greater than God? No, of course not. So I prayed and said to the Lord, “Jesus thank you for forgiving me of ALL unrighteousness. No matter how big the sin, I choose to forgive me! Enable me to love and serve you all the days of my life. I did not deserve this grace and mercy, but I receive it in full measure. I Love you with all my being and I am eternally grateful to you.” It is the truth of God’s Word that sets us free from our own reasoning and the lies of the enemy. God is truth and there is no lie found in Him.

At around the age of thirty-six, John and I went through a program called Cleansing Stream and that was the first time we ever spoke of the abortion we had when we only dated for a month. God brought much healing into our lives at this time.

James 1:2-4  “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3.) knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4.) And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

I have lived through many trials throughout my lifetime. There would be too many to write about in this testimony. From 2008-2015 John and I walked through a very difficult season in our lives. During this time, I chose to rise up in my Spirit man and declare the goodness of God in the land of the living, regardless of the circumstances or outcome. John and I lost our home of twenty-five years due to the economy affecting his business. I was in a car accident in 2012, with no health insurance and during that time, lost four family members to cancer and illness. Out of this, God would have me write a personalized devotional, “Being Immersed in the Father’s Love” in obedience to the Lord’s directive. This is His heartbeat to all His Children. It is a personalized devotional that Immerses you into His kind intentions towards you through His word, no matter what the circumstances. Whether you know the Lord for one day, one hundred years, or not at all, this devotional will touch your life in an intimate way. He is a good, good Father! He orders our steps. The good steps and the hard steps. Receive His love, His truth, and His promises. May every lie be broken and cast down in Jesus name! Amen!   

 


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Description of Dana's Ministry in Her Own Words:

"Come and be immersed in the overwhelming love of God the Father. Encounter His desire and the kind intentions that He has for you through the personalizing of scripture presented in this devotional. Picture a waterfall of God's promises washing over you and fully immersing you through the faithfulness of what He has promised to you in His word. Where negative mind-sets and perspectives will be washed away and replaced with great worth and value. Experience how you will be enabled to have victory in your life even while encountering difficult trials and circumstances. Your trust and faith will increase as you engage with Him. He is desiring you and is willing to give you all that He has promised. Come and encounter the goodness of God the Father and allow Him to lavish His love upon you. All you need to do is be willing to receive what He is providing. He is trustworthy and will not disappoint! Come and be immersed!"      

~Dana Repetti