"I grew up in a good home. My parents were moral, stable people who taught me many invaluable lessons on life, but they did not teach me about Jesus. We never discussed spiritual matters in my family. Long after I was grown, this changed as my parents’ own spiritual odyssey with the Lord progressed. Yet as a child, I did not know much about Jesus beyond a few Bible stories learned at a mainline denominational church."
"My parents worked very hard building a business. I did not then understand the pressures of succeeding in business, all I knew was their long hours left little time for me. I began to feel that they did not love me. Inwardly, a belief grew in my heart that something was wrong with me if my own parents could not love me. I believed that I was flawed, inherently unlovable. Rejection can be real or perceived. I now know that my parents did love me, yet the damage was done. A by-product of my feeling rejected was that I pursued approval and love from other people. As a teenager, I tried very hard to be popular, to fit in. I lied often, saying what I thought people wanted to hear. I began to secretly smoke cigarettes, drink with other kids, and doing many things that compromised the values my parents had sought to instill in me. A deep sense of shame took root in my heart. I had been raised to be one kind of person, but given no power to resist sinful actions, I felt a failure. All those inward beliefs, I kept hidden from all. Yet, God knew my heart and He began to implement a "rescue operation". When I was sixteen, I heard the gospel of Jesus presented once. I felt inexplicably drawn to this Jesus, but fear of what others might think of me if I went forward to confess I was a sinner, kept me from accepting the offer of salvation. It was a serious mistake."
"After rejecting God, I lived only for myself. I was very selfish. My main motivation was to get people to love me. I never thought about what they needed. I began to date a young man who was later to become my husband. He behaved as though I was the most important thing in his life. I was hooked! When we married, I did love him, as much as a self-centered, insecure person is capable of. He too had many self-doubts and insecurities. Our marriage was a disappointment to me as my husband stopped the attention I so craved. I felt cheated. After three years of marriage and one child, I felt restless. There be something more to life than this. I read a book during this time that mentioned that one day Jesus would return to earth. I had never heard this before and knew intuitively that if Jesus returned that I was not prepared to meet Him as God of the universe. More disturbing to me was that I did not have a clue how one became ready to meet Him. I began a quest to get answers to these questions. After a year, I was invited to a co-worker’s church. There, I experienced again that same powerful "drawing" to give my heart and life to this Jesus who had died in my place to pay for my sins because He simply loved me. This time, I accepted Jesus offer of salvation from my sins. When I prayed and asked Him to forgive me and come into my life, something dramatic happened. I felt unconditionally loved for the first time in my whole life. It was real. No one could ever take from me this certain knowledge that God loved me personally. My husband, because of deep insecurities in his heart, asked me to deny my faith in Jesus and to never return to church, but I could never consider doing that. I can never thank God enough for taking the pain from my heart and replacing it His love. He changed me that day. The feelings of shame and worthlessness were gone! I no longer wanted to live only for self. I had a new love that I wanted to share with others. Was I perfect instantly? No! Yet, God began a lifelong process of taking out the inner lies I had believed about myself and replacing it with His truth. John 8:32 says that if I stay in His Word, then I will know the truth and the truth will set me free. There were many challenges ahead for me, but Jesus was with me, helping every step of the way."
"If you want to know Jesus, you
simply need to recognize that we are all sinners [Romans 3:23]
and invite Him to come in your heart [Romans 10:9-10]. He will
come and He will transform your life. "
"God has used Aglow to emphatically
deepen my relationship with Him. I had recently been baptized
in the Holy Ghost and was eagerly seeking anything the Lord had
for me, when I went to an Aglow retreat. I
went forward for ministry at the end of the service, expecting
something from God. The Area Team member put her arms around me
and said, "Jesus loves you so much! This is a bear hug from
Jesus." She continued to shower God's love on me, then said,
"He wants you to know how precious you are to Him."
She repeated this several times and I just soaked it in. Eventually,
I made my way back to my seat at a table in the middle of a large
conference room. Then my darling mother, not knowing what just
happened, leaned over to me, put her arm around me, and said these
wonderful words: "You are so precious to the Lord."
I'm so thankful for this experience and the fact that our Father
uses ordinary people like you and me to pour out His blessings
and enrich our lives."
"My knowledge of Aglow began in 1991 when a group of women were holding monthly meetings under the banner of another organization. This organization became inactive and we had a choice of no longer meeting or becoming an independent group with our tax exempt status. While praying about this an Aglow flyer was given to me. We contacted the area president and the chapter in Tahlequah began. I served as president, treasurer and recording secretary for this chapter for several years before becoming an area recording secretary. I now an the VP of Financial Development. Just to be a part of Aglow is a blessing. To hear of all the lives that have been and are being changed by Aglow brings real joy and satisfaction. I am grateful for the privilege of being a part of the Eastern Area Team."
"At the time when the Lord taught
me of His faithfulness in meeting all my needs, finances were
scarce at our house. My husband was going to school and if I remember
correctly he drew $120.00 per month. I worked earning $45.00 per
week. This happened almost fifty years ago and is just as vivid
to me as it was at the time it happened. In addition to all the
usual expenses of a household we had a child support check of
$165.00 a month to pay.
It was near Christmas time and the place I worked gave me a week's
salary as a bonus for Christmas. This was wonderful and I though
the Lord was providing a way for us to be able to give gifts to
the children. We attended a tent revival that evening and when
the offering was received they requested us to bring our offering
and lay it on the altar. The Lord told me to give the bonus as
an offering. I tried to tell the Lord how much we needed that
money but finally with tears rolling down my cheeks I signed the
check and laid it on the altar. Within a month my salary was increased
$10.00 per week. It continued to increase until when we moved
and I left the job I was one of the highest paid secretaries in
the Oklahoma City area. But this isn't all. The best part is from
that day until this we never were without funds to meet all out
obligations and many of our wants along with the needs. God is
truly faithful. Phil 4:19 He does meet all our needs. Ps 37:4
He gives us the desires of our heart when we delight ourselves
in Him."
As a four-year-old I was sprinkled in the church my family attended. At age eight I was baptized by immersion in the church I attended at the time, which made me a member of that church. The following year my Sunday School teacher asked how many of us were Christians. As I was unfamiliar with that term, I did not raise my hand. My teacher responded that I was a church member and, therefore a Christian.
Just prior to my 16th birthday I attended a church camp where the preacher used the text of John 3:3 - "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." In my mind I rehearsed the excuses, "I'm a church member," "I've been baptized," or "I am a mission volunteer." Each of these excuses was countered by the minister with "except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God."
The Holy Spirit was telling me that ONLY a person relationship with Jesus Christ would save me, and I received Jesus that night.
At the age of forty, I was introduced to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I knew God, had grown in the knowledge of Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, and wanted all that He had to offer. After reading many books on the subject and being confident that this really was of God, I attended a meeting led by a Spirit-filled pastor and was prayed for to receive the infilling of the Spirit. There was no teaching about "yielding your voice" or "receiving by faith," so I went home without the manifestation of speaking in other tongues. For three months I begged God and tried to "understand" the why and how's of this gift. Finally one morning when I was desperately crying out to God, I spoke a phrase that had no meaning whatsoever to me. It sounded like Latin to me and immediately my mind said that it must be something I remembered from my singing background.(I had sung in French, Italian, German and Latin without understanding the language, just pronouncing the words.)
I didn't want something that I was making up or a counterfeit work. So I called a Spirit-filled Roman Catholic priest that a friend had told me about. By God's grace he was in his office and willing to speak with a stranger. I repeated the phrase to him and asked if he knew what it meant. His answer was, "praise to the most high God" or something similar. I asked him if it was Latin. He responded, "No, It is Greek". I thanked him and went back on my knees, this time confidently letting my new language flow and grow because I knew this was a language of which I had no knowledge in the natural.
Since that time my prayer language was changed many times as I continue to use it--expressing my love to Father, seeking revelation, being built-up spiritually when needed or praying for situations when I don't know how to pray. If you ask me today whether or not I understand what I'm saying or to define the mystery of this grace, I have to confess, "I'm just surrendering myself to and trusting Him."