My testimony – by Damaris

I don’t know where to start but all I know is Jesus has been so good to me. I grew up in church and I had felt God touch me and stuff I got the holy ghost at the age of 9 with the evidence of speaking in tongues I got baptized in Jesus name for the glory of God may 4, 2006 but I never knew God the way I do now. But the reality is after I got baptized the enemy began to distract me with wrong friendships music, horrible things that I don’t know how to explain it really. I started hanging out with kids in school every morning when my parents would drop me off and walked home with after school, started picking up wrong habits listening to punk music then screamo and as time went by the music got heavier the more I hung out with then I started seeing less of who I really was and more of a monster. I started cutting myself because some boy at my school was playing with my feelings. So as time went by, the cuts got deeper and deeper, the less I wanted to go to church. I started doing more of what my friends did and most of them were into witchcraft and I started reading about that. man the devil is a LIAR !!!!! I went to other churches it got to the point where I was a 16 year old suicidal. And I knew who God was but I was being so blinding by the world. I ended up in a mental hospital for 4-5 days I don’t really remember I ended up dated someone I met there for a year and a half on an off I had attracted the same thing I was but worst but I remember during that period I started going to Pastor Crossley’s church (the awesome pastor/daddy God put in my life) and for a period of two months I was resisting the Holy Ghost. I wanted God to touch me but then I would tell myself no cause I guess I didn’t want to end up crying and looking dumb that’s what my flesh was telling me lol. And so one night I went with one of my friends to the Pentecostals of Cooper city and sister Vani Marshall was preaching I heard what God had delivered her from and i was like I want that so my friend Stephanie she usually would usually ask me if I wanted to go the altar and this time she didn’t ask me so I told her myself I wanted to go for altar call and so I did I sat down in the first row and I started feeling that touch of God that I hadn’t felt in a long time and some ladies surrounded me and some old church friends as well and sister Vani Marshall came to me and she told me “take off your lip ring in obedience to God” I did cause I was so desperate I didn’t care anymore I wanted to let go of everything that had me bound and the minute I did she put her hand on my head and I was speaking in other tongues!!!!! But sadly and I felt so free but in a few days I was in the same hole again but Sunday came and Pastor Crossley heard what happened I went to the altar not caring if I looked like a fool this time and God touched me again and it was stronger and Pastor Crossley hugged me after church gave me so much love I felt the love of God something I didn’t feel in such a long time because I resisted Him so much. So as time went by I started getting a bit distracted again and not going to church so often and changing but God was working in me. a year passed by and I ended up smoking pot not for long then a faze of alcoholism till the point that I would vomit and it is so shameful because I betrayed God summer 2009 came and I ended up hurt by people that I thought were real with me and they weren’t at all false relationships and such and I went to church with my mom and Pastor Crossley was saying how God loves us and the tears just started trickling down my face I was so broken inside and I went to the altar that morning an sister Christi Crossley was praying for me I could feel God holding me in His arms and ever since then I began to change God placed convictions in my life and at youth camp that summer that’s where everything definitely changed. The enemy was trying to condemn me trying to make me think I could not get a hold of God because of my past sins when God had already touched me in such a special way then the last night came me and the Spirit of God was moving so strong and that night EVERYTHING changed chains were broken I had made up in my mind to live for God to leave old things and habits behind I got home the day after I through out my jewelry, pants and my immodest clothing music that didn’t please God all my band T-shirts and heavy metal/screamo/emo music. God set me free from sexual confusion pornography, self abuse the things of the world and so much more And ever since then I haven’t been the same. I’ve gotten the chance to pray for young ladies that have cut themselves Thank You Jesus. Yes I’ll admit I have failed God but every time I fall I know He’s is going to pick me back up so I’ll never give up. there is nothing to hard for the Lord. He can deliver you from whatever. And I’ll end my testimony with this verse there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. In Jesus name God bless y’all

-Damaris