Midi Composer |
Cherise
(Angel) Smoot Greetings to all of my Christian Sisters! I'm so happy that God has brought us all together here, in this webring and future off-web adventure! I feel that our purpose is being laid out for us every day, and all we have to do is open our hearts to our Father's voice. Cindie has asked that we focus this month's issue on our testimonies. I've never really written one, but I'll give it a go! I guess the first thing I should do is tell everyone a little about myself. My name is Cherise Nanette Angel Smoot, and I live in Alexander City Alabama on beautiful Lake Martin. I am married to a wonderful man, who puts up with wayyyy to much from me, named Robert. I have three daughters: Stormie, who is 15, Jessica, who is 8 and Krystian who is 7, and one beautiful son named Joshua after the bible and Tyler, because I thought it sounded good LOL. He's a rambunctions little 17 month old, and just as beautiful as any little boy could be! The girls are mine from previous marriages. But Rob is good to them, and raises them as his own. Jessi and Niki don't even know he's not their father. |
I wish I could start out saying that I am a life long Christian, and that I am the perfect daughter for Christ. But the truth is, I am not. I am a new Christian, who has a burning desire to become the best for God that I can be. I didn't come to know my saviour through conventional means. Though I was raised in church, and was the grandaughter of an Assemblies of God preacher, I turned from my up bringing when I was 12. It was at this age that I was intruduced to a lot of things... drugs.. alcohol.. money.. and sex. All of which I quickly learned to love. So much so that I turned my back entirely on my family, former church friends, and most of all God. I won't give some long drawn out song and dance about how bad my past was. Just know that it was. But as bad as life may have been, God, even though I turned my back on Him, provided for me. There were many times when I shouldn't have made it home alive, many times when I could have died at the hands of some stranger, or some pusher. Yet God had a plan for me, and he kept me safe. I'm not saying I didn't suffer any pain. I sure did! All at my own hand. I believe, that after a certain age.. what I call the age of knowlege.. we are the result of our own decisions. And I made a lot of bad ones. By the time I was 25, I was washed up, dried up and tired of life. I had "been there, done that" to the extent that I felt I had nothing left to live for. Not even my children mattered to me any more. I felt dirty and unworthy of God. At least the God that I had known as a child. So, at 25.. on August 15, 1991.. I attempted suicide. Oddly as it may sound.. this was my saving grace. Overdosing on drugs.. forced me into a situation where I had to take all drugs out of my life, and start to clear the fog from my head.. and be able to live and think like a human being again. I began my relationship with God, in a fellowship for Recovering Addicts. At first, I still had the same old concept of God. The concept that had scared me into believing that God would never forgive me for the sins and wrongs I had committed, and that I was doomed to a life in hell. Though the meetings I attend arent' "religious" meetings, they are spiritual. And it's because of that spirituality that I found the freedom to seek a God of my own understanding. I'd like to intercede here and state, that.. The God of my understanding is the same God of the bible, the Father of all humanity, and of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. He is the Creator, and the Alpha and Omega. But for so long, I felt that those only perfect creatures.. which I know now don't exist.. had the "right" to talk to God.. that I didn't even try. Through being told and shown... that I had the freedom to talk to God, I began my walk to this path. In the meetings that I attend, I take something called the "twelve steps." These steps are meant to help recovering addicts deal with their past.. which is what makes and keeps a lot of us in active addiction. Not to many realize, actually, how biblical these steps are. When I got to step number three.. "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of GOD as WE understood Him.." I stopped. I prayed.. I wrote.. and I begged. I told God.. "I don't quite understand who You are, and I don't know what's ahead for me. But I do know that it was YOU who kept me a live all the times I should have died, and it was YOU who kept me safe, and brought me to this place in time. I give my life to YOU. Take it and make it what YOU want it to be." That was my prayer. I won't say that clouds peeled back and angel's appeared with singing. Nor will I say that miraculously my life got all better. It didn't. I had made a lot of bad decisions, and had a lot of things I needed to change about me. A lot of footwork to do. But God had set the path before me. It was up to me to walk it. In my fourth and fifth step.. I"m called on to do a complete moral inventory.. searching and fearless.. and then to confess that inventory to myself, to GOD and to another human being.. my sponsor. For me, this was my confession of sin. And I took it as such. I told my sponsor and GOD everything I had done wrong in my past. I was so afraid to do this. I had done things that I was so ashamed of. But satan was using that shame to bind me to my sinful life. In doing my fourth step and fifth step, I got honest. Something the devil hates. And I gave all of me, in my entirity to GOD. Satan had nothing to hold over my head anymore. I was free! And I felt it! Since that day, I've had a thirst for the knowlege of God's word. I read my bible daily, I read meditations and studies. And I love Christian Talk Radio! I've also had a thirst to give back what has so freely been given me. And that is this precious gift of eternal love and salvation. I had prayed about that for a long time, when I met Cindie! We hit it off just like old friends! And I knew by the third or fourth time we'd written that this was the person God was sending me to give me a way to repay my debts, and to carry the message of Christ to the world as far as I can! I'm so excited about CWOW! There are so many great things ahead for us! So much that we, as the daughters of God can do. It won't happen over night, and it won't all be easy. Satan will use every opportunity to come between us and our love for GOD. But we mustn't let him! I would like to say a few words to the women who might be reading this, and are considering joining. I've been asked "must I have an all Christian website?" Or.. I'm a Christian, but I don't go to church! Can I still join? CWOW isnt about just Christian Women. And it certainly isn't an elitist social club. Our main purpose is to minister to those who are not of Christ! To carry the message of Salvation. To bring the lambs to the shepard. What good does it do us if we exclude someone who hasn't heard. So.. no. websites don't have to be all Christian oriented. God gave us brains and talents and families and hobbies and other interests as well. It may well be through one of these that we find a sister who is lost, and bring her back to the flock. As far as going to church goes. I don't recall anywhere that it says that church attendance is a requirement for Christianity. Of course, I think church attendance is a wonderful thing! And I also believe that as we grow in Christ, we are led in that direction.. to the fellowship of other believers. But.. the bible says.. "Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I shall be also!" Lets remember that. In closing, I'd like to share with you the
motto that I try to live by: God bless you all! Angel |
|
