Thanksgiving

Dear Family and Friends, November 21, 2005

It is that time of year again, when we gather with family and friends and eat lots of food. Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year, since I was born on Thanksgiving back in the 70's. This year is extra special in that the Lord has really blessed me in the last few years and I wanted to share my appreciation with my family. I love the fact that I can gather with all of you this Thursday, my aunt Tina said it will be over 50 attending. I have been doing a lot of writing lately, the more I study, worship, and discipleship, the more the Lord calls me to use my passion of writing and expressing myself through words. I thought I would share with my family and friends my thanksgiving and some of my testimony of how my life has changed since giving my life to the Lord.

I gave my life to the Lord when I was in college, when I was twenty-something. My walk with the Lord started out slow with baby steps in maturity and then I began to fall away from the Lord with my sin, especially sin that was unrecognizable. My walk really took a turn for the worse with some serious back-sliding that included drug use, sexual immorality, lusting, gambling, and even tattooing my body. Being a Christian, I was recognizing all of this as sin, however the sins of jealousy, anger, resentment, bitterness, and un-forgiveness that destroy relationships went un-recognized in my life. I wasn't recognizing how these emotional sins were destroying me and all of my relationships. This is when I began to realize that I needed a relationship with the Lord more than ever and started going back to church and hearing and learning the Gospel again. The year before moving back to California I was getting more involved in worship and small groups (bible studies) in a local church in addition to many A.A. meetings. Since living in California, the Lord has blessed me with family opening their homes for me and helping me move and getting settled. He has also blessed me with an awesome church family that is Purpose Driven and focused on the Great Commission of bringing more people to the Lord. The Lord created us to worship, have fellowship, discipleship, serve in ministry, and evangelize or spread the news. The more you study, worship, celebrate, serve, pray, have fellowship, confess, and submit yourself to the disciplines the more you will grow and mature spiritually. My walk with the Lord has turned into a changed life that has even begun to bear the fruits of the spirit talked about in Galatians 5:22. But it is only through the disciplines of engagement above that I can continue to be re-filled by the spirit to prepare for eternal life.

In closing, I wanted to pray with you and encourage you to read the next page if you need or want to start the walk with Jesus Christ or maybe you just want to know if you are going to heaven. Thank you Lord for your word that so plainly promises us our salvation no matter what the sin and for showing us that we all fall short of your grace and how magnificent you are to take on human form in Jesus Christ, whom is our savior, thank you Lord that you are so graceful in accepting me and forgiving me, thank you Lord for all of my family and for the wonderful opportunity to Glorify you, I ask that you continue to re-fill me with your spirit to guide me, walk with me, counsel me, and live within me. I love you so much Lord, I say this in your Son's name Jesus Christ, Amen. Thank you for reading my many thanks, and I am glad that I could share some of my testimony. Please keep in touch through phone, email, or website. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, I love you all and God Bless.

Thankfully,

Tonya
tarmenakis@hotmail.com
www.flywithchrist.blogspot.com