Spiritual Birthday :)

Howdy folks! Yes, I am still alive. I have been BUSY, BUSY, and BUSY.
We have been working HARD in order to make enough money for this upcoming trip/bills/etc.
I'm always tired, sore, and hungry (ha ha- I am thin but I eat a lot 'cause I work up huge appetites...).
BUT- when I think about our blessed trip coming up, I realize that I don't really mind the hard work  at all. <3

We are SUPER excited as our sister church in OK should be coming to the MS camp meeting as well, and we are anticipating our blessed reunion VERY much! :) All this excitement also gets me thinking about our blessed reunion with the Lover of my soul- The King of kings- Jesus Christ my Lord. <3 *sigh* Anticipating that glorious meeting more than any other. Even so come Lord Jesus! How long? I don't know if I can stand to wait any longer...

So, today I turned 6 years old in God's kingdom. I got saved on October 25, 2008, and I have NEVER turned back!
It's funny but this morning I told my Mom and siblings that, "Since today is my spiritual birthday something special is going to happen!" They kinda laughed at me but.... sure enough! We had a dear brother travelling through and he stopped by our house to stay with us and bless us with a bunch of goodies (including apple cider- something I've been begging my Mom to get for a while... ha ha). God sure does spoil me! *wink wink* And needless to say, my Family was pretty impressed with my "prophecy".  ;)
 

Oh how amazing my Saviour is! Oh how He saved me! Oh how He loves me! When I think about all that He's done for me in the past six years  I am brought to tears.
I'm so thankful that the Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (1 Peter 2:9 KJV). I'm so grateful that I am no longer my own but that I've been bought with a price ( 1 Cor. 6:19-20 KJV). And I am so happy that I have such godly parents who have trained me in the right way I should go (Prov. 22:6 KJV).

I may not have the testimony like some who have been in some wicked sins and The Lord saved them out of it ("Oh, I was a wicked, drug addicted, fornicating little whore and God saved me from sin and hell!"). I LOVE hearing those testimonies of God's amazing salvation, but I also love to hear the testimonies of those who have remained pure, who haven't been involved in really bad sins, and who don't have an extremely wicked past. I've had countless people tell me to count my blessings (people who have a lot to regret). The fact that I've never even kissed a guy before is something I should be thankful for. The fact that I was never involved in a LOT of very wicked sins out there is something I should be thankful for. I don't have a lot of the regret that comes from living in the world before salvation. Yes, I did sin, but I never went "too far" per-se.
And yes, I AM VERY, VERY thankful that I am completely pure, that wicked rock beats don't attract my heart, that disgusting images from wicked movies aren't stuck in me, that memories of a life full of fornication, alcohol, and drugs are NOT in my head. THANK YOU JESUS!
I may not have a "fabulous" testimony to some people- But I am honored to have a testimony like mine. Jesus did save me from sin and hell. He did make me a new creature. He did purify me as His Pure Princess. He did fill me with his Spirit. And He did have to take out my heart of stone and put a new heart of flesh in it's place. And all I can say is PRAISE BE TO MY REDEEMER!!!!

When I think about the past 6 years I have several things that come to my mind. There's the times I was unfaithful to Jesus, there's the times I fell into temptation and sin, there's the times I faced trials so fierce all I could do was cry out to God on my knees. My faith has been tried, My love for God has been purified, and I've realized my weaknesses.
But God has helped me through everything. He's been faithful, He's lifted me up, He's purified me, He's comforted me through His words, He's drawn near to me, and He's proved His love for me over and over! Oh How I don't deserve such a Saviour! I've had to repent, and I've endured the chastening of his hand, and His hot displeasure, but I'm thankful for that and I love Him! Oh how I love Him!

As I get older and get closer and closer to Jesus there's one thing that I keep finding to be true:
The closer I get to Jesus the more I realize how imperfect I am. BUT, the more I realize how imperfect I am- the closer I want to get to Jesus so He can perfect me!

May He keep growing me through His words, and may I be a willing vessel to offer Him glory and honour!

Love and blessings dear souls! KEEP THYSELF PURE.

Your sis in Christ,
~Hope Jerusalem<3

P.S. I'm probably not gonna be on for a while due to work and trips coming up. Please be patient with me... ha ha