My Cardboard Testimony

First, watch the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdXX6lzbo78

As I watched this video, I could not help but cry. As silly as the idea of having a cardboard testimony is, watching all of the people share theirs was... touching. No, even more than that. As I watched them being vulnerable to the rest of the church congregation by sharing even the most personal secrets... the Lord asked me what my testimony was. And as I continued watching the people file by with their cardboard testimonies... I realized what mine was.

I grew up on the pews of a church. My family and I were always present at every service. Very rarely did any of my family miss a church service. I was taught all the stories of the Bible. How the universe was created through God's words, how Moses was saved from the bullrushes by Pharoah's daughter, how Jacob wrestled with an angel, how David faught Goliath, how a wimpy boy named Gideon led an army... how Jesus came and sacrificed His selfless, sinless, holy life so that you and I could have a chance to be changed by His blood and live eternally with our Father in heaven.

Yes, I grew up in church. Yes, I knew the stories. Yes, I knew about His sacrifice. Yes, I was saved and was a Christian. But I was like the one girl in the video. I was that passive, sideline Christian who was not making a difference. I had a relationship with God... but it was like a relationship with someone I grew up in school with. It was like, "Oh yeah, I know God. Yeah, he's that one boy that's in my 4th period class." Please, don't take that as me mocking God, but as I look back to that time in my life, I realize that that is how my relationship with God was. He was just another person I knew about... but I wasn't actively pursuing a LIVELY, GROWING relationship with Him.

Thank God that I am no longer like that! The Lord has taken that passive attitude, and has replaced it with a deep yearning, a deep desire to be something more than what I was. The Lord has taken the desire to be a bystander, watching from the sideline what He does in the lives of those around me. Now, I have a burning heart desire (if that makes sense) to give my whole being to Him for His use. He opened my eyes to what His desires are and how He wants to use me in ways that I would have never thought possible. He's shown me that He will use not only one talent, but all talents that He has given me. He has shown me that He did not give me a heart for ministry, a heart for the lost, for the needy, for those who need to know His Love, if He did not intend to use me. He has shown me that in these last days, His Spirit can and will move mightily. I may have not seen the Shekhinah Glory as people have in the past, I may have not witnessed the great revivals of the early 1900s, but I will see, will witness the outpouring of His Spirit in these last days! Not only that, but I will be a part of it.

I am so excited for how the Lord is moving. He is continually showing me ways I can improve, ways I can grow. He continually opens my eyes to His Word and will. He is an amazing, awesome, and magnificent God! I cannot even explain how truly wonderful He is. The English language is incapable of expressing the thoughts, the feelings, the hopes, and visions... everything that is aroused when His Name is mentioned. Hah, no language ever known is capable of doing so. He is just... so wonderful, and I am so grateful that He waited for me. That He worked in me, changing my heart, even when I did not know it. I am so thankful for such a wonderful, loving, amazing God and Saviour. It is an honor to give my life, my exsistence to Him for His use.

If you would like to make your own digital cardboard testimony, use this from Stock.xchng.

My Dating Philosophy

Phi·los·o·phy (fĭ-lŏs'ə-fē) n.
A set of ideas or beliefs relating to a particular field or activity; an underlying theory: an original philosophy of advertising...
(as defined by dictionary.com)

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Wisdom of a Mother

My dating philosophy began by the wisdom of my mother. When I was around ten or eleven, my mother taught in a girls' club, Faithful Daughters. God gave my mother and another woman in my church the vision for this club, and the vision was to teach the young women in my church how to be virtuous women. To those who are familiar with the Bible, it should not surprise you that the theme verse(s) for the club was Proverbs 31:10-31.
In this club, my mom and this other woman taught an alternative to dating: courting, which is the traditional dating period before engagement and marriage. During a courtship, a couple "dates" to get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement. Usually courtship is a public affair, done in public and with family approval. I remember when I was homeschooled and having to read the books of Little House on the Prairie and of Laura Ingalls courting Alonzo Wilder. Haha, I really cannot believe I remember that. But in the L.H.o.t.P. books, Laura and Alonzo would usually eat dinner together at the Ingalls' house and then take an after dinner stroll or ride in the wagon. Yeah, I know. My first thoughts when I was ten/eleven was, "Man, mom, you're way old-fashioned! No one does that anymore!" To my dismay (then), she then told me, almost forced me, to promise her that I would never date, and that I would court. As any other boy that age, I was already gagged out so I agreed, all of which because I just wanted her to stop talking about it.

Commitment to an Unintentional Promise

The promise I made to my mom never came up anymore. And, later, I was glad, because I remembered making it, and I had every intention to break it.
I was homeschooled from grades four to six. Keeping my promise was easy during those years because I mostly stayed home, read, played outside in forts, and built castles with LEGOS. As you can see, it would be pretty hard to break the promise when there were no girls around other than my mom and sister. However, that changed when my mom enrolled me in public school for my seventh grade year.
Now that I was in public school, I had plenty of opportunities to date. On one occasion, I even went as far as telling a girl I wanted to go out with her, but she said no. Today, I thank God for that (which you will read why later, providing you finish reading this post). During all of this, my promise I made began reverberating in my mind. It made me sick. I couldn't think of asking a girl out without having the promise pop-up. It was maddening, so I finally gave up and decided that committing to the promise was probably my best bet.
I went through the rest of middle school and through ninth grade, and God showed me a lot about dating at my age:

• Most relationships lasted shortly. It was normal to have dated five or six people in one year.
• The relationships were mostly meaningless. People dated for frivolous reasons.
• The break-ups wrecked havoc on the emotions.
• The relationships got in the way of academics, athletics, etc.; and,
• Young teens held a misunderstood view of dating.

He also showed me 2 Corinthians 6:14: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?" (KJV). Then, sometime during the following summer, God opened my eyes, pricked my heart, and called me to have a closer relationship with Him. But in a way I would have never guessed.

Renewing a Promise

That summer God asked me to renew my promise that I had made to my mother; however, instead of renewing it with her, He asked that it be renewed with Him. I was like, "Um, I don't know if I want to close the dating door yet...?" But that wasn't all. He wanted me to modify it so that not only would I not date, but that I would give Him all that time I would have given to my girlfriend. I didn't want to make the promise at first, but it weighed on my heart. I felt as if God was really wanting me to come closer to Him, so I did. And God began to open my eyes even further. I decided that I wasn't even going to think about thinking about having a girlfriend until after I had completed school, college, and was living a stable life on a stable foundation. This way, my "girlfriend time" was still God's, and nothing, or no one, would really be in the way of me building my future.

Praying for a Wife

Yeah, I know what you are thinking: "So he goes from not wanting to date to wanting a wife! He's obviously crazy!" Haha, I know, but I am not. God opened my eyes to Ephesians 3:20 through my Sunday School teacher. It says, "Now unto him ("him" meaning God) that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us[.]" God showed me that whatever I ask of Him, and if I am living in Him, He will give it but so much more. So I am now praying for my future wife. Yeah, I know it sounds a little over the top, but if God said He would do that, then He will. I know that God created me for someone, and that He created someone for me. Whoever she is, she will complement me, my personality, my being, just as much as I will complement her. I know that I would love it if my future my had a heart for the lost, for missions. I would love it if she loved God more than she loved me. If she were musically inclined, I would die. I would love for her to be stylish, chic, but original and unique. I know that it seems as if I am creating requirements, but this is the type of wife I would love. I think, at the moment anyway. But God will place the desires in my heart as I continue to pray for my wife. If there are certain qualities about her that I presently would not like, God would change that. There is a reason and a purpose for marriage, and I want to fulfill that purpose that God has in mind. I want to marry the woman of my dreams, but I also want her to be the one God has in mind for me. That is my desire. And because of this desire, I know that God will work out whatever in order for it to happen.

So I have tossed the dating idea for good. Earlier I thanked God for a girl turning me down. The reason for that is, I have never kissed. Okay, I lie. When I was like five there was this girl that lived beside me. We kissed, but it wasn't real. We didn't understand the meaning of kissing. So let me rephrase: I have never truly kissed anyone. I am a virgin. And I am happy about that. I am waiting until the day I get married to the wonderful, amazing woman that God has in mind for me.

Now, I know the question will arise. How will I know who she is without dating? As I am praying for my future wife, I am praying that God would also show me who she is when the time arrives, and that He would also show her me. Then, I suppose, we will have to court like Laura Ingalls and Alonzo Wilder. :)

All in all, I am seeking God's will, and I know that it is His will that will be accomplished. His perfect will, not permissive, mind you. ;]


Again, I apologize for such a lengthy post. Learn now: I am long-winded. :D

Who I am, and Who I Strive to Be

Who am I?

Michael Bennett is the name that appears on my birth certificate, along with the rest of the necessary information. On a certain day this fall, I will have lived nineteen (19) years, and I am already feeling the weight of that number. Haha, not really.

I am constantly interested in everything because I am naturally inquisitive. I wish to know everything, and I work hard to know as much as I can. So it should not surprise you that I enjoy school, and facing the challenges of learning new things. I remind myself of Harriet the Spy, because in the movie Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Harriet, said "I want to know everything, so I write down everything." I may not go so far as to write down my findings, but I will investigate and make mental notes. Despite my ranging and sometimes changing interests, I do have a few stable interests:

• Computer Graphics
• Painting, drawing, anything traditional.
• Reading
• Interior Design
• Music

Other than who I am physically and what interests me, it is important to know that I am a Christian. If you are the type of person who likes to label, I am Pentecostal, and I attend Marietta Church of God. But if you are not the type to label, I am merely a disciple of Christ who: 1) desires a closer relationship with God; 2) strives to reach my full potential in Him; and, 3) asks God to use me in whatever way to reach, to minister, to show His love to whoever is willing to hear. It is my deepest desire that I please God, and that I accomplish His will for my life. I know that I have a lot to offer, and I constantly pray that God would break me, mold me, and make me into the person He can use to spread the Good News to this lost and dying world.

I have a heart to minister to people in need. I love reaching out and showing God's love. I love working at the soup kitchen at the Clara White Mission House in downtown Jacksonville, though I haven't in a while. I love to encourage people, period. This last school year, I worked on a campaign called Loose Change to Loosen Chains (LC2LC). This campaign was created by teenager Zach Hunter (through the International Justice Mission) with the purpose to free modern day slaves. (Read his book "Be the Change". It is truly inspirational.) Had I known introducing this campaign to the National Honor Society at my alma mater high school would be so hard, I really believe that I would have had second thoughts. As an officer, I was delegated as the campaign leader. Hah, what a time. I, and those on the committee, talked to several community businesses to sponsor us and to allow us to campaign at their business. I designed a t-shirt and had to find a business to screen print them. We rallied and asked for donations. I even did a speach at an assembly to raise awareness of modern day slavery. We visited classrooms and gave presentations. It was a lot of work, and I wished several times I had never asked to do the campaign. I even told the NHS teacher sponsor that I quit because of several problems, but she gave me a kick in the butt. ;] All in all, the Lord really opened my eyes to what He can do through those who are willing to be used. I asked Him at the beginning of the year when I introduced the campaign to use it to help others. He did. We raised over $200 in loose change, which went to help free a slave. God also used the committee's presentation of LC2LC to open the eyes of several students and have them share the campaign at their church.

Who I Strive to Be.

I strive to be perfect in God. My idea of "perfect in God" consists of being where He wants me to be, who He wants me to be, doing what He wants me to do, and reaching my highest potential of who I am in Him. He created me for a purpose, and I want to get to the place that I am living that purpose out. I want God to use me to the fullest. I know that He will use my art because He has already told me. I sing, and I want Him to use me to minister through song. I enjoy public speaking, and if it is something God wants to use, I do as well. Whatever talents and abilities I have, I want God to be able to use them to further His Kingdom. I want to be a tool that He readily uses, and one that He often returns to use.

As a disciple of Christ, I strive to be more like Him and less like the world. Though I am not perfect, and I often fall flat on my face. Praise God for His mercy, His love, His forgiveness. Otherwise, I would be lost. Completely and utterly lost.

I apologize for the quite extensive post, especially with it being the first. I suppose this is something you should look forward to, assuming you return. lol. God bless and sayonara.