Cherie

Five years ago, after my mother died, my stepfather kicked me out of the house my mother designed/gave me, and he tormented me mentally for an entire year.
I learned about forgiveness and prayed fervently to bless my stepfather and for the Holy Spirit to work in him. He began to go to church regularly. Though he bought a nice second house on a lake with the money from the house of which I had to leave, I just prayed to still forgive him and help keep resentment out of my heart.

I was having constant car problems, accumulating huge debt. I have always tithed, but never like I should have. Upon hearing about the percentage that I should be obedient to, the opportunity of tithing became available on-line. I cried out, “Lord, HOW can I do this?” I am having a hard time living as it is! He told me to try it for a year and see what happens! Finally, I just surrendered my finances and trust to Him! I committed my monthly obedient percentage on-line automatically each month — just click it and forget it!

It has been a year now, and during that time my interest rate of equity was immediately cut in half to help pay my debt; I lost my gold Seiko watch, but the Lord gave me a new Seiko for my firm anniversary; and for my birthday my stepfather gave me a newer, dependable, beautiful car that’s great on gas! The car is well worth three times as much as the tithing I gave! Most importantly, I found out he was taking kids that have spina bifida on vacations to the second house he bought with the money he used from the house I had to leave. I realized that if I had never had to leave the other house, those kids would never have been able to have vacations at the house on the lake, and had I not prayed and forgiven him, and tithed in obedience, all these blessings would not have happened. The Lord is so amazing! My worship is so small compared to His Greatness! Praise in the Name of Jesus! Amen! — Cherie Carr.

Chris & Leah

I recently experienced the single scariest thing that has ever happened to me.

My son Joshua and I were playing. At one point, his head bounced off the mattress. It looked innocent enough. Then, Joshua went into a seizure. I looked over and watched his eyes roll in the back of his head and his body stiffened up. My wife called 911. I stood with a limp body pleading with God for my child’s life.

Moments later, Joshua’s eyes closed and there was nothing I could do to get them back open. He was limp and non-responsive on our bed. I have never been so visibly upset as I was at that moment. All I could think about was I just killed my son.

Once we told the paramedics what had happened and they saw Joshua, they put him in the back of the ambulance with me. I prayed the whole way to the hospital, trying to get him to open his eyes. About halfway there, the paramedics tried to get an I.V. in him. Praise God that got his attention! He didn’t scream or cry, but that faint whimper was a wonderful sound.

By the time my wife arrived to see us, she saw him on the bed alert, and mad as a hornet! The doctor looked at us and smiled and said, “Hey mom, he’s going to be just fine.”

The doctor finished checking him over, gave a precautionary CT scan and then they released us. He said Joshua’s body simply didn’t like what had just happened and simply shut down. We were told to follow up with our doctor next week, but overall, everything was back to normal, physically. The joys of parenthood!

Tasha

The year 2006 was rough for me, especially since I decided to move to Orlando. Since I arrived here, I have been beaten down more than I ever been in my life. I’m in my early 30s and was a boarder, unemployed, actively looking for employment, confused about where this road is going to lead and afraid that life would get the best of me. I wanted to end my life because the struggles became overwhelming and I didn’t have a cent to move in any direction. In addition to that, I receive more news that really pushed me over the edge.

Well, I decided to give the Lord a try. I always knew that the Lord was calling me, but I was always blocking His voice. I started to read the Bible, and to my astonishment, most of my toughest questions were in the pages of Timothy, Acts and Romans. I realized that the way I had been thinking was the reason for the condition of my life.

This is what I’ve learned: When your life is out of control, you are broke and you don’t have anywhere to turn, turn to the Bible. You will never turn back. I’m still unemployed, but my soul is so content. Be still and allow the Lord to work in your life.

Brian and Darlene

My wife and I first visited this great church on a Palm Sunday, and we were a little overwhelmed by the size of the church. As soon as we chose a seat, the man behind us tapped us on the shoulder and welcomed us to First Baptist Orlando. In succeeding Sundays he continued to share God’s love, invited us to join with he and his wife and friends for dinner, and we soon became good friends. If we were a little late for service, he would save a seat and watch the door for our arrival.
He told us of his plan to get knee replacements, and we prayed for him as he underwent this difficult procedure. We rejoiced with him when he returned this fall and watched him work through rehab.

However, as the new year began, God took this special saint home to be with Him, and we miss Roger “Buddy” Wilson, a man who loved his Lord and his church, and reached out to “make a difference” in our lives.

We pray that God will use us as he did Mr. Wilson to reach out and welcome others to the family of God. —

Donna

I have struggled financially for a very long time. I made the commitment a long time ago to tithe regardless of my finances. I’ve done so, but unlike the many testimonies I heard, my financial problems didn’t disappear. I didn’t receive any surprise thousand-dollar checks. I had an empty refrigerator, an empty gas tank and had my car insurance canceled. But I’ve never missed a meal or not been able to get to work.

But God did something much better than bless me in the obvious way. He blessed me by teaching me to be a better steward of my money. He blessed me by increasing my faith. He takes care of me so completely. He took away my desire to be rich and replaced it with a desire to serve and give and do as much good works as I can.

I still struggle financially. But I don’t worry about the bills. I know that God is taking care of me. He is in control. His complete and deep love for me leaves me with no need to worry.

If He had showered me with financial blessings, I would have paid the bills, but I wouldn’t have learned stewardship. I’m blessed in so many other ways.

One day, the vision God gave me for a special ministry will be realized, and I will have to be very faithful and very good steward then. Everything God does and doesn’t do has a purpose. His purpose, His will, His plan is better than mine could ever be.

Steve

On February 2, 1994 at 3:00 a.m. I awoke to a miracle.

Asleep next to me lay my wife and our 5-year old, Matthew.

I remember hearing the sound of “popping bubble wrap” and our sometimes-temperamental house alarm going off. After rushing to the kitchen without my eyeglasses, I silenced the siren and heard Matthew crying. MaryAnne carried him into the kitchen, where we could see the end of his big toe had been shattered.

Locating my glasses, I discovered a bullet hole at the base of a nearby cabinet. With the sunrise, the police found 27 bullet holes had entered our three bedroom windows. The location of the 9mm casings showed three gunmen to be 10 to 20 feet from our bed with a clear line of aim through the partially-opened blinds.

Six bullets passed through the sheets we slept on and under. Three bullets remained in the mattress, the others passed through walls, lodging in the carpet, pipes and furniture. Lines connecting the entry and exit holes of the bullets would show there was “no way” we could have avoided being struck multiple times. MaryAnne remembers Matt would always sleep with his head next to hers, except this night he slept with his feet by her pillow.

The police say this attempted murder was a “case of mistaken identity, could have happened to anybody.”

Unbeknownst to us, a family in our Sunday school class, the Guillots, has a tradition of randomly drawing a Christmas card to pray for the sender(s). Just a few hours before one very busy angel protected my family from disaster, they drew our card. Believe in the power of prayer!

Matt recovered and now enjoys soccer and Campus Crusade at the University of Florida.

Thank you, Jesus!

Carrie

I got married in 1998. Over the past several years, I have received from my husband verbal, emotional and borderline physical abuse. I moved out of our home back in June and took our 4-year-old daughter with me. I had tried to be reconciled to my husband by getting counseling. My husband decided in May that we were both unhappy despite all the counseling, anger-management classes and “Peacemaker” classes.
One of the things I did after separating from my husband was to begin attending First Orlando. My counselor recommended the Divorce Care classes you offer. So, I am attending that class on Wednesday nights. In addition, I have surrounded my daughter and myself with family and friends who are strong, supportive Christians. Pastor David’s messages on tithing were difficult to hear as I was (and am) faced with financial uncertainty for the future, retainer fees, etc. However, I believe that God is asking me to tithe as I did in years prior to my marriage. Last Thursday, I received an Ad Hoc award from the company I work for due to saving them a large amount of money in a case. I believe that by receiving that money award, God was asking me to trust Him in my finances and start tithing. The expenses have not slowed down in a week, but I find myself learning to praise God more when faced with difficult things.

Mark

I asked Jesus into my heart when I was 8 years old. I was raised in a Christian home, but I would have to say there were two significant events in my life that have increased my faith and trust in God. The first was the death of my mother from breast cancer. She was 41 years old and I was 17. She always looked to the Lord for strength and prayed for God’s will. The second event was when I lost my younger brother to cancer. He was only 22. I wasn’t sure of his salvation, but he totally put his trust in God through his trial and touched many young peoples lives. His favorite passage of scripture was Psalm 27:4: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”

Gloria

The events beginning on September 20, 2006 have changed my life, as well as my husband’s, forever. My husband was rushed to the hospital with back pains. He eventually coded, was revived, then airlifted to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. The doctors told me that my husband would not survive the heart attack and even if he did, he would be a vegetable for life. I was advised to make a decision within 72 hours to “let him go.” When we heard the news, my friends immediately sent e-mails to my church, job and family. Within 24 hours, God answered all of the prayers that were lifted for my husband. He woke up! I know without a doubt that God has His own timing and purpose. We may make our own plans, but it is His plans that will prevail if we trust Him. My husband is still recovering, but we know that God has His own time for complete recovery and His own course in life that my husband and I will take from this day forward. I believe in miracles!

Becky

After both of my pregnancies, I had post-partum depression, but the second time was far worse. I would lay in bed, unable to function, struggling to care for a newborn and an active toddler. The guilt became as great as my depression. With no end in sight and no medication working, I felt I was an unfit mother and wife. It seemed the only logical solution would be to end my life so my husband could find someone who could fulfill the roles I couldn’t. So, one day I drove to a parking lot and pleaded with God. He spoke the words in Proverbs 23:18: “Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” For the first time in months, I felt hope. I drove home, still feeling every bit depressed yet knowing that there was going to be an end. It took a year and a half to stabilize, but it was the most life-changing time in my life. I fully expected God to rebuke me for even considering such an awful thing as suicide, but what I found were eyes only of love and compassion for me. And such love! One cannot live life the same when that much love is poured on you in such a dark, dark pit. So to God's glory, I’m still here today, enjoying each day I have with my two precious boys and my husband!

Greg

I was never raised in a religious home and had gone through my life with no belief or desire to know God. However, when I met my wife Lorri in 1994, I was able to see an example of the power of God in her life as I observed her relationship with her parents and her parents’ relationship with each other. I wanted what they had, but it was not until my daughter Olivia was born in 1996 that I started attending church, as I wanted her to be raised with a Christian background. I thought I was attending church for her, but it was God who was leading me for my own sake! I realized that I needed God in my life and decided to start my walk with the Lord in December 1998, being baptized at Mariners Church in Irvine, California. It is amazing the people and circumstances that God will put before you in order that you can see His glory.

Dale

A little more than two years ago, just after the hurricanes and during the time I was finishing up on a home I had been building for about 12 years, the company I work for decided to sell out and go public. The management almost immediately started cutting costs—including our salaries. Also during this time, my sister got into a near-fatal accident and was kept in a drug-induced comma for a month while she recovered. Then, soon after that, my mother was diagnosed with a colon issue. My father now has prostate cancer.I have not been able to pay my monthly obligations without borrowing for almost two years. I made a couple of bad choices during this time that contributed to my weak financial position. I am single and must tell you how dark and alone I have felt for such a long time. I continued to give, but with some restraint. I tried volunteering at church in a few places, but was just so down I couldn’t enjoy it. I finally came to the end of my rope. A week before Pastor David Uth started his series on giving, I decided to be more faithful in my giving. I told God I would gladly sell out everything so that I could be a better giver and a better servant. I had to sell my motorcycle last year just to pay the mortgages a couple of months. The real estate market is not favorable to sellers right now and moving seemed out of the question.
One day, I walked into the church as I did 20 years ago in a similar situation and was found out about a part-time job. The hours of the job coincided with the exact hours I am free, and the salary is the exact money that I am short every month. I inquired about the job and got it!
Thank you, God! Thank you, Brother David for your courage to speak about this subject so progressively. I gave my first week’s pay as a praise offering to the Lord for saving me again.
—

My father had just died and my mother encouraged my husband and I to move to Orlando to be closer to her. How could I leave New York? My church was there and I was involved in ministry; how could I possibly to go to Florida? Over the course of three or four months, God open doors that otherwise would not have opened, so, in January of 2004 we moved to Orlando. We had no jobs, friends or church. After facing one obstacle after another, I began to think God had made a mistake in bringing us here. My husband and I churched-hopped, but couldn’t find one to call home. In the process of looking, my husband grew cold and didn’t want to go to church anymore. Disappointed, I stopped looking and started depending on my own strength to try and survive a new place. Little by little I started making bad decisions and doing things I normally wouldn’t do, such as drinking and smoking on occasion. I felt awful! Deep inside I knew it was wrong and my spirit kept telling me it was wrong, but I still kept living a lie and doing my own thing. After two years, I knew I had no more excuses and had to return to God. Finally, I met a friend who invited me to First Orlando. I was scared because I didn’t grow up in a Baptist church and didn’t want to be labeled as a “Baptist.” But one day I got up early and drove to First Orlando. As I parked the car, my heart was pounding. But I felt God telling me, “Go inside, I am here.” I waited until someone drove up next to me. I jumped out the car and asked her if she could direct me to the Worship Center. She introduced herself to me, said I was a brave girl, showed me the way and invited me to sit with her. I could feel in my spirit that this was the place! I can’t remember that person’s name, but God used her that day. I’ve been consistently attending for well more than eight months and I recently became a member. I truly believe this is where my God wants me!

Though I was saved at 17, I had no discipleship and eventually fell away from the faith. I spent the next 25 years drifting through life, only going to church when things got really bad. Two marriages and one child later, I was alone and looking for love. I lived just like the unsaved world. I hopped from man to man, looking for that deep connection in a relationship that would make me feel loved and valued. I focused completely on the current man in my life and never wanted to be bothered with my own daughter. I was a terrible mom. Eventually, I purchased a home, but dug a pit with credit card debt. But somewhere along the line God started opening my eyes and I began to realize I was missing something. I didn’t have a love for the Lord like other Christians. I didn’t have that sense of commitment to keep myself from sin. I can’t say when the actual turning point was, but I began to realize that my lifestyle was making God sad; it was hurting His heart. I knew what it felt like to have a hurting heart. I began to realize exactly what Jesus did on that cross on Calvary, how He took MY sins upon Himself so I could have eternal life with Him and how He loves me more than any man on the face of this planet ever could. Unconditional love. It’s what I’ve been after all my life and I finally found it in Jesus.

In early August of 2007, my husband told me that he has not loved me for the past two years. I was devastated. I was living in St. Augustine, Florida, where I had no family other than my eight-year-old autistic son. After spilling my heart out to my husband on all the reasons why I would not want to end our marriage, I found out that there was another woman. I decided to move to Orlando where my in-laws (his parents) introduced me to First Orlando. I was never raised with a religious background and could not repeat any verses or even know where they were when Pastor Uth asked us to turn to them. But it didn’t matter, for God was speaking to me and telling me that this is where my son and I should be.

I haven’t spoken to my husband regarding his infidelity, but I know that if God brings him back to me I would have an open heart. On September 30, I just so happened to have my wedding ring in my purse to take to a pawn shop. Pastor Uth told us the story about a woman who gave a valuable ring away to a stranger. I feel led to do the same thing and pray that somehow it will help someone who really needs it.
I have opened my heart and my life up to the Lord and that is all I need. Please pray for my son, me and my husband for he is the one that needs the Lord the most.

- Claudia

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