Isaiah 57:15-59:21 / Philippians 1:1-26 / Psalm 71 / Proverbs 24:9-10
I don’t often share about how I got where I am, so I feel now is a good time for that. Yes, there were some verses I read today that caused me to consider this, and I’ll share those in a bit. When I was born, my mother had received Christ, but my father had not. My father received Jesus when I was about 4 years old.
My dad spent all his life in the Methodist Church and sadly did not once hear the message about Jesus Christ. I’m not sure what his church taught, and I’m sure not all Methodist churches omit this most basic of messages. My mom didn’t have a church growing up. Her home life was tumultuous, and no one in her family knew Jesus Christ.
Somewhere in her teen years, she visited a church with a friend and accepted Jesus as her Savior. The chaos in her life continued, and then she met my dad in that Methodist church, on an Easter Sunday in Sunday school class. This is where my story begins. Sure, there is a bloodline story of faith in Christ that goes much deeper than my parents. I am thankful for the generational blessing of faith in God.
When I was born in 1962, my parents were still attending the Methodist Church. In some home meetings they began attending, they both ended up baptized and filled with Holy Spirit, a new experience for them both. This caused a stir in the Methodist Church, and they began looking for somewhere else to fellowship.
That shift happened when I was around 5 years old. It was within that same year that I received Jesus Christ as my Savior. I was water baptized at age 7 in the James River in Hampton, Virginia, and I received my first infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues at the age of 11.
When did I know that I was called to a life of ministry? That is not an easy answer, because that journey has been one that continues to unfold. After many years leading various things, from small groups to worship, the Lord spoke to me in late 2020 about starting a ministry called Still the Mom. That is why you’re reading this story today. What is my calling? Time for those verses I mentioned!
Psalm 71:15-18 TPT I couldn’t begin to count the times you’ve been there for me. With the skill of a poet, I’ll never run out of things to say about how you faithfully kept me from danger. I will come forth in your mighty strength, O my Lord God. I’ll tell everyone that you alone are the perfect one. From my childhood you’ve been my teacher, and I’m still telling everyone of your miracle-wonders! God, now that I’m old and gray, don’t walk away. Give me grace to demonstrate to the next generation all your mighty miracles and your excitement, to show them your magnificent power!
Although I’m not yet “old and gray”, this is the call of God on my life; to share with you my life and how God has been involved from the beginning. I also want to share with you how this miracle-working God will impact and change your life. It is my mandate, my calling to train and equip the next generation to do greater works with the partnership of Jesus Christ than what my generation has accomplished.
The work I’m part of is one of exponential increase; each generation will increase in strength, power, and love until the coming of Jesus Christ. That final generation will need to be strong indeed because the same crashing of powers we see today will be magnified then. Good and evil will continue to be at war, but the end of the story has already been written. We win.
Thank you for continuing to read as I write and share my heart. My prayer is that my journey is allowing you to become stronger each day. Stay on the path. Stay connected to Jesus Christ. You will also win!
