Welcome! We are Marilyn and David and our testimony is truly one of learning, stumbling, winning, believing and FAITH. That's why we called our testimony "Enter Faith". We met Jesus in 1974 and rode the waves of glory for a couple of years. But, as happens to all Christians who ride the "glory tide", a squall came up that crashed us into the shore. And let me tell you, that sand was hot and gritty and awfully unpleasant. The enemy had us right where he wanted us. At least he thought he did. When it seemed that all was lost, our Savior reached out His hand. He brought us out of the mirey clay. After two years of believing that I no longer had a right to pray, Jesus assured me that He still loved me. He didn't condemn me for my mistakes. He forgave me. No matter what, I was HIS and, Praise God, He let me know it!! It was like being born again - again.From that moment forward, life REALLY began to change. We were faced with some of the most serious challenges of our lives. At one point, we were on the verge of loosing our apartment. The business partnership we had entered had fizzled out two months before. We had no money and no job prospects. The night before we were to meet with the landlady to receive formal eviction papers, I went to my praying place. As I prayed, once again reaffirming that we had given the Lord control of our lives and that our trust was in Him, I became so angry when He showed me what was really happening to us. We were being thoroughly and relentlessly harrassed by the enemy. Everywhere we turned we were confronted by fear, doubt, anxiety and depression.
I was sick and tired of it and I began to do more than quietly reaffirm our status as God's children. I became incensed and as vehement as I can ever remember being. How dare satan try to make a mockery of everything I believed! I can still see myself, standing in front of that bathroom mirror (my praying place at that time was the only place I could go and have some privacy) and I said "Lord, I don't care if we're out on the streets tomorrow. THOU ART! I don't care if my kids have to go live with their dad. THOU ART! Nothing in this world matters except THOU ART! And no one, NOTHING is going to take You away from me!!"
Before I left that bathroom that night, I had quite literally told the devil where to go and to take his minions of doubt, worry, fear and depression with him. I had loosed the Holy Spirit in our lives to fill every nook and crannie with His divine presence. I kept emphatically repeating "THOU ART! THOU ART!" David finally came to the bathroom door and asked me what in the world was happening; what was I doing?? We've had a chuckle or two since then at what I must have looked like.
The Lord told me several years later "I walk before you to clear your path. I walk behind you to protect you from the enemy's rear-end asaults. And I walk beside you because I'm your FRIEND." We are surrounded by His love and care. Nothing can get to us because of His presence. Oh, we can hear the enemy's lies and attacks as we walk that path. We can see the ugly pictures he sets up along the sides of our path. But he simply can NOT climb up onto our path and reach us. He can not pass through the blood covering. Don't ever forget that. It is one of the most important lessons the Lord ever taught me. "THOU ART!" Oh yes, and the Lord provided a job for David the very next day and we were able to make arrangements with the landlady regarding the rent.
Next Entry -
Just living here in Florida is one of the Lord's miracles. We had been to Tallahassee several times on fishing trips. We loved it. After the last trip we made - January, 1982, I told David that I didn't want to come back unless I could stay! When we returned home, we found that the business partnership we had entered into wasn't going to work out. We spent a LOT of time praying, reading the Word and seeking the Lord. We took odd jobs and barely had enough to keep body and soul together. But we were determined that we weren't going in any direction until we heard from the Lord.
Around mid-March, I was in the apartment alone one night - David was working the graveyard shift at a convenience store. I was deep in prayer and really getting down to the basics with the Lord. Among other things, I prayed about moving to Florida. I assured Him that it was a want, not a need and that I would be content to be wherever He chose to put me; that I would praise Him no matter what! I heard the still small voice as plainly as I heard the clock ticking on the wall. He said "June 15th". I said "What?" He repeated, "June 15th". "You want us to move to Florida on June 15th?" He replied, "Will you take this step of faith? Will you mount up with wings as eagles and trust in Me?". I was astounded. I prayed for a while longer and tried to absorb this amazing situation. The Lord has spoken to me many times; often enough for me to recognize His voice. I didn't doubt He had spoken. It was astounding to me that what He wanted for us was just what we wanted. After a while I was so excited that I had to call David at work. I'm not sure he knew quite what to think at the time. The very first question he asked was "Why June 15th? Why not now? Why do we have to wait?". I didn't have an answer but I told him I'd go to the Lord and ask. That's exactly what I did.
The answer came right away. He told me that not only did He have things to work out up here, He had things to arrange down in Florida. David was a little skeptical at that point but he agreed that we would start working toward that end. One by one things slowly began to fall into place. What we thought would be obstacles suddenly seemed not to be. Finally, we found ourselves with only two weeks until we were supposed to leave Louisville. David asked "Are we sure we really want to do this?".
Well, we did it. About 2 hours south of Louisville, we found ourselves wrestling with some doubt and fear. We were leaving our hometown, our parents, our families, everything familiar. It was pouring down rain, everything we had was soaked. A rope had broken and several things had fallen off the trailer. David looked at me and said quietly "We could always turn around and go back". As shaken as I was I looked at him and asked "Go back to what? No jobs? No way to provide for the kids?". He nodded and we arrived in Tallahassee 19 hours later.
By June 30th, I had been hired at the local community college. It was the second job I had applied for. In fact, the application deadline expired the day before I applied but, because of my experience and the fact that the boss wasn't really happy with any of the other applicants, he agreed to interview me. About a month after I was hired, I found out that the girl who had left my position had left June 14th. It immediately came to mind what the Lord had told me about having some things to work out down here.
The duplex we rented didn't come available until June 15th. The landlord (bless his heart) left some furniture in it for us at no charge and even agreed to accept the security deposit in two payments. In order to move we had to get rid of half our furniture and household stuff. We didn't have the money to rent a truck. We used a 1974 Datsun pickup with a boat trailer attached to it. We looked like vagabonds driving down the interstate. We had $50.00 to our names, I wasn't due to get my first paycheck until July 31st, David hadn't found a job yet and we had 5 kids to feed. But those miracles are for another time. I hope you'll come back for the next part of our story.
Next Entry - On the way down to Tallahassee with our kids and belongings, the idea popped into my head to visit a small, local bank and ask for a loan the following week. I'd only had my job for about 10 days. David didn't have a job yet. In the natural, it was a foolish thought and a silly thing to do. But I knew the idea hadn't come from me. I accepted the task and was determined to believe God's voice and present a confident appearance when I approached the bank's loan department. I walked into that bank the following day, telling myself to smile, be poised (which was anything but what I really felt) and to reek with confidence in God's word. I filled out the loan papers, thanked Mr. Cooper, who turned out to be the president of the bank, and left, determined that God's word would prevail. Two days later I was presented with a check for $1,000.00. Praise the Lord! The kids piled out of that Datsun pickup at the grocery store that night singing "We're in the money... we're in the money..." And we paid that loan back - faithfully - over the next two years.
But that's not entirely the end of the story. About a year after we had paid off the loan (our original loan statement had been forwarded to us marked PAID right after we sent in the last payment) we received notification that we were in arrears on the loan and needed to contact the bank immediately. I left a message with the bank receptionist the following morning that the loan had been satisfied some time ago, would they please get their records corrected. I received a call later that day from the newly appointed bank president - Mr. Meggs. After he apologized and ssured me that he had corrected the problem, we chatted for a moment. I asked where Mr. Cooper was. He replied that Mr. Cooper had been terminated for some unwise business decisions and then he told me "There was really no way he should have granted you this loan in the first place." I thought for split second and said "Are you a praying man, Mr. Meggs?" After he replied in the affirmative I told him exactly how that loan had come about. Before we got off the phone, that bank president was praising the Lord!
So not only does the Lord bless us and remain faithful to our believing, He also uses our believing to bless others.
More miracles to come......
"But as for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord"
If you would like to turn your life around; if you're sick of living with worry, doubt,emptiness, fear, loneliness...
JESUS
is the answer and reaching out to Him is very simple!
Pray, Praise and Share His Love
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Favorite Scriptures
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5
"These thing I have spoken unto you that ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
"Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
