Sharing Your Testimony
by Charles R. Swindoll

Devotional Library

Acts 22:1-21

A time-honored, effective method of evangelism is your personal testimony. Just telling about your spiritual pilgrimage. The skeptic may deny your doctrine or attack your church, but he cannot honestly ignore the fact that your life has been cleaned up and revolutionized.

Now I’m not talking about some stale, dragged-out verbal marathon. That kind of testimony never attracted anyone! I’m speaking of an effective, powerful missile launched from your lips to the ears of the unsaved. Consider these five suggestions:

1. You want to be listened to, so be interesting. It’s a contradiction to talk about how exciting Christ really is in an uninteresting way. Remember to guard against religious clichés, jargon, and hard-to-understand terminology. Theologians, beware!

2. You want to be understood, so be logical. Think of your salvation in three phases and construct your testimony accordingly: (a) before you were born again—the struggles within, the loneliness, lack of peace, absence of love, unrest, and fears; (b) the decision that revolutionized your life; and (c) the change—the difference it has made since you received Christ.

3. You want the moment of your new birth to be clear, so be specific. Don’t be vague. Speak of Christ, not the church. Emphasize faith more than feeling. Be simple and direct as you describe what you did or what you prayed or what you said. This is crucial!

4. You want your testimony to be used, so be practical. Be human and honest as you talk. Don’t promise, “All your problems will end if you will become a Christian,” for that isn’t true. Try to think as unbelievers think.

5. You want your testimony to produce results, so be warm and genuine. A smile breaks down more barriers than the hammer blows of cold, hard facts. Let your enthusiasm flow freely. It’s hard to convince someone of the sheer joy and excitement of knowing Christ if you’re wearing a face like a jail warden. Above all, be positive and courteous. Absolutely refuse to argue. Nobody I ever met was “arm wrestled” into the kingdom. Insults and put-downs turn people off.

Ask God to open your lips and honor your words . . . but be careful! Once your missile hits the target, you’ll become totally dissatisfied with your former life as an earthbound, secret-service saint.

No persuasive technique will ever take the place of your personal testimony. If you have not discovered the value of telling others how God rearranged your life, you’ve missed a vital link in the chain of His plan for reaching the lost.

Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

I can’t stop reading these amazing articles and studies. They explain so much that I have been pondering over for years. I will post on the topics later, but for now I just wanted to share…Pick a subject and somehow you will end up discovering a part of yourself you never knew or understood. I was a psych major so I know I get a little overly excited about these type things…but in this case I think everyone would be captivated by the studies! If not, oh well, a little psychology never hurt anyone….

A snippet taken from one of the journals:

Pain

Pain is a very real part of adoption. The pain of adoption is sometimes overlooked by triad members and other people. It is expected that adoption is a happy event in which everyone gets their needs met and everything works out for the best. As wonderful as adoption can be, there will also be some painful feelings.

“Sometimes I’m in so much pain I don’t know what to do. I just want to forget that it happened. I want to get on with my life and not be so sad and depressed.”
Birth parent

Once the pain of adoption is acknowledged, it can be understood and the healing process can begin. You cannot heal something you do not admit exists. Acknowledging the pain can be as simple as allowing yourself to feel sad and not judging yourself for your feelings.

Bonding v. Attachment

“I have two very special relationships with my two mothers. I thank my birth mother for giving me life and loving me those nine months we were together. I love my adoptive mother for caring for me as only a mother could–being there when I was sick, sad, or needed a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. One relationship is not better than the other or more important to me. I needed both of them.”
Adoptee

Bonding is a biological process. It begins in utero between a pregnant woman and her unborn child, and continues during the period shortly after the baby’s birth. Attachment is a separate process that occurs after birth, outside the womb. Biological mothers are the only ones who bond with their babies. All others, including biological fathers and other relatives–and adoptive parents–form attachments to their infants and children. Each kind of relationship is crucial to the well-being of the adoptee.

Biological v. Adoptive Parenting

“My parents always told my brother and me that love, not biology, makes a family. But I have always been curious about my birth family. I have questions that only they can answer.”
Adoptee

Love does indeed make a family. But biology matters, especially to the adoptee. Sometimes adoptive parents have a difficult time accepting and understanding the meaning of biology for the adoptee. Respecting the importance of the birth family in the adoptee’s life allows the adoptee to embrace all that he or she is.

Click on the volume numbers below to see the abstracts of articles in that volume
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 – 18 – 19 – 20

Homepage | Welcome | APPPAH | Bits & Bytes | Life Before Birth | Primal Health
Origins of Violence | The Birth Scene | Healing of Pre- & Perinatal Trauma
Resources

Honoring Mothers Index

Origins of Violence | Healing of Pre- & Perinatal Trauma | The Journal | Resources

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• Mom Gives back Adopted Son (blisstree.com)
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• Attachment Parenting Month 2009 Blog Carnival of Growth (attachmentparenting.org)

“A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt…If the game runs sometime against us at home, we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake.”   Thomas Jefferson

Well, looks like I have posted several abortion posts in a row.  But there will be a few more, I’m sure, before the weekend is over. Right now it looks like healthcare will most definitely cover abortion. If this becomes real, we will all be participating in killing God’s most precious gift. How can this be happening in America!

Here are the latest scoops via Twitter from reliable sources Matt Lewis and Greg Mueller (click to enlarge). I’m afraid to hope we’re starting to see a meltdown:

Then there was this, posted 6p ET tonight, entitled, “Pelosi breaks pledge to put final health care bill online for 72 hours before vote”…

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office tells The Weekly Standard that the speaker will not allow the final language of the health care to be posted online for 72 hours before bringing the bill to a vote on the House floor, despite her September 24 statement that she was “absolutely” committed to doing so.

House members are still negotiating important issues in the bill – whether it will provide taxpayer-funding for abortions, for example. Pelosi is pushing for a Saturday House vote, and a number of big changes will be introduced, likely less than 24 hours before the vote takes place (if in fact it does)….

Read the comments below. Let me just recap a little of what we know:

1) Vaccines harm the fetus and cause miscarriages

2) Miscarriages and abortions can cause breast cancer.

3) Vaccines cause women to become infertile later in life.

I can’t even talk about how it harms our children anymore. Refer to any of my older post on vaccines for that. Parents PROTECT your children!!!

Tuesday September 29, 2009
http://miscarriage.about.com/b/2009/09/29/some-pregnant-women-fearf…
An article in Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on how some pregnant women are skeptical of the new H1N1 vaccine. Pregnant women are among the groups strongly advised to get the vaccine, but many women are less than thrilled about the idea of getting the shot, reporting concerns about the safety of the vaccine and possible effects for the unborn baby.

I can definitely see where they are coming from, being someone who was concerned about safety of pretty much everything when I was pregnant. And there’s not much research on the safety of any type of flu vaccine during the first trimester, much less thimerosal exposure in the first trimester, although the CDC says that flu vaccination is advisable in any trimester during a pandemic. Still, there are definite risks to catching the flu during pregnancy also — and pregnant women seem to be at higher risk of having severe complications (including death) from H1N1 flu in particular. As with most cases, all you can really do is weigh the risks and benefits of both courses of action and discuss your concerns with your doctor — then make an informed choice on how to proceed.

What are your thoughts? Do you plan to get the H1N1 flu vaccine, especially if you are currently pregnant or hope to become pregnant in the near future? Vote here.

Comments
October 9, 2009 at 2:41 pm
(1) Jo says:

I got the flu vaccine (regular not H1N1) at 8 weeks pregnant. Three days later I miscarried. I am not going to get the H1N1.
October 26, 2009 at 11:07 am
(2) Regrets says:

I got both vaccines on Thursday. I was 9 weeks pregnant. I miscarried on Sunday. I was told by several doctors to get these vaccines. Now I wish I followed my gut feeling and not get them at ALL!
October 29, 2009 at 8:33 am
(3) says:

i work in a hospital like setting and was told ‘the benefits outweigh the risks” 1am i got the vaccine, 3am i started bleeding and craming, 3pm miscarried. you decide
October 31, 2009 at 1:29 pm
(4) sue says:

I had the H1N1 vaccination and 24 hours later had a miscarriage.
October 31, 2009 at 8:25 pm
(5) Linda Hill says:

My daughter in law was 10 weeks pregnant and had the H1N1 vaccine on Friday that night she miscarried.
November 1, 2009 at 9:58 pm
(6) Stephanie says:

I received the H1N1 over a week ago. I am now 5 weeks. I am doing well so far.
November 2, 2009 at 10:52 pm
(7) SoSorry says:

I was so ready to get the H1N1 vaccine last week and they were only giving them to pregnant women. I was 6 weeks along and got it and the next day I started cramping and miscarried. I already had two healthy pregnancies and never miscarried or had any problems. My doctors think I am crazy to think it was the H1N1 but if no one looks into this than other women will not know. I am so sorry that I got it.
November 3, 2009 at 4:30 pm
(8) Connie says:

I also received the H1N1 vaccination on October 22nd, 2009 and went into labor on October 25th, at 16 weeks pregnant and we just heard the heartbeat and everything was fine with my pregnancy on October 16th, 2009, then on October 28th my water broke then on October 29th, I delivered a stillborn baby boy, and no one can tell me why…Everyone wants to say it did not come from the shot but I believe it did. My baby was growing at the correct pace and everyone wants to brush off the vaccination. I say if you have the vaccination and suffer a miscarriage if they are able to perform an autopsy have it done.
November 3, 2009 at 4:34 pm
(9) Connie says:

I also agree something needs to be done and looked more into with this vaccination because most women are being advised it’s just something that happens, but I also had two healthy children normal pregnancies and when I received this vaccination with my third pregnancy, my baby is gone.

CFR is admitting that they are trying to scare people in the fear of sale tactics. This is clearly a crime to mis lead the public based a fear Tactics to get them to take the Vaccines by lying to them. To create a panic and ciaos out of order.t generate a justification for military rule Then the CFR laughs about it like its funny.

Clip taken from the Council On Foreign Relations Symposium on Pandemic Influenza: Science, Economics and Foreign Policy
at 1:00 notice how they laugh at the what they are doing

transcript of symposium:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/20442/…