When Did I Become A Christian? How Much Have I Grown Since Then?

Let's start at the beginning... where it all started. I was 3 or 4 and I asked God into my heart, as a little girl. I have always grown up in a Christian home. My Dad has always been a Christian influence on my life, and well I would love to say that my mom was too... but as most of you know... my mom died when I was little. 1 and 1/2... and that has really affected me, no matter if people see it or not, it has affected me in ways that a lot of you will never get. Because you have a mom... and trust me, you don't know what it is like without one till you don't have one.

I would say I have grown some here and there.... little by little I am learning new lessons everyday about God and about my life. There is a verse that has helped me a lot and brought me a lot closer to God and that verse is Jeremiah 29:11... and yes I have said this verse a ton of times but it has helped me in so many ways that some of you have no idea what it would be like. But that verse just spoke to me a lot during a really hard time in my life. Just to know that God had a plan for my life was awesome, and that he was planning things for my life, even when the times we hard. I didn't really understand that verse for a long time, but one day when I was having a really hard day... it did. That God had a plan for me, and that it was better then anything I could ever imagine. Better then my own plans...

I have grown a lot over the last year. I also a strayed from God a lot and questioned Him a lot about a lot of stuff, but I guess you could say through it all God has shown himself to me, through the awesome blessings in my life... (that would includes you... knight, lingho, benny from persia), because you have always been there for me, and helped me during the hard times in my life. And they have kept me accountable and kept me strong.

But, back to my little years... my nanny accepted Christ with me, when I was a little girl, about the age of 4. I have gone to church my whole life, on both Sundays and Wednesdays... my dad always made me go, I didn't understand, cause I always learned the same things... so I kinda just went to church, didn't really care much about it, and of course I went to a private school, and always learned about God there too, but it was always the same Bible stories, and it never really changed. So... eventually I a strayed from God...

This summer I moved up to JH at my church, and that just made things a lot better. I know LOVE going to church, because my youth pastor is awesome, and she always has awesome points about everything. She has helped me grow in my faith so much, and I am so thankful for that. One night at church, we had an awesome speaker... and he talked about some things that I will never forget, somethings that really shocked me... but the most imported one was that he talked about if God came back today... or if you died today.... where would you be headed? After listening to him talk about his testimony, I ended up rededicating my life to Christ last October. And ever since then... it has just been a journey for me.

Another person in my life who has helped me a lot is my Bible teacher... he is awesome! He puts everything in views that I understand and get, and that are easy for my little brain to understand. He put Bible stories into contact of our world today, and he has helped me grow so much in my faith and love for God.

Another person is a really awesome friend of mine... well two of them... you two know who you are... I have friends that keep me accountable and help me stay strong as the world falls apart around me. I look forward to seeing them everyday at school, and talking to them. They are awesome and trustworthy. If I tell them not to repeat what I say, I know they won't, and it will stay with them. I can tell them my prayer requests and they pray for me, and keep me strong for God. They are both women of God, and I can see him working in them everyday by the way they act toward me, and toward other people. They show me what I should be like, and set an example on my life. So... you know who you are.... thanks for that!

I have lost a lot....God may have taken a friend out of my life, but I know he had a reason in doing that, cause he has given me awesome friends that I love so much, that influence me and help me, pick me up when I fall... and just make me laugh, and make my life a lot easier. And I never said not having a mom was easy, now did I? Cause, if I said that... that's a total lie, I may be good at making it look easy, but just think about it for a minuet.... I live with 2 guys... no girls... how often do you talk to your mom? Some more then others... but how often do you do something with your mom? A LOT I bet... but you see, I don't have that... I don't have a mom, and yes, I will be completely honest, it's pretty hard on me, but again that verse just comes back to me. God has a plan for me, and I am just so thankful that he does. And that it is better then my own. He has already shown me some of that plan... just by telling me what I am supposed to do in my life. Helping me understand the purpose for me in my life. And I know that is only a small part. I am just thankful for everything that God has done for me over the past few years.

Although I may not understand everything God does for me, I am just thankful he does everything that he does in my life, cause I know it is all for a plan and a purpose.

So... here are the short answers to you questions...

When did I become a Christian? For the first time at 4 and then again at 13
How much have I grown since then? I don't know... I guess you could say a lot

So... if you are having a hard time in your life... don't you ever forget that God has a plan for your life, and that he loves you, and will take care of you!