I once was a drug-addicted kleptomaniac transvestite. Well, not really, but I got your attention, didn't I?

I have been thinking a lot lately about how, as we go out into the world to carry God's love, we each need to know what our story is. We need to be able to clearly relate to others the impact That God's power has had on our lives. We talk about freedom in Christ but, for each of us, that freedom is something a little different ... or perhaps a lot different.

Because of God's planning, I believe that He brings people into our paths for whom our own personal stories of His redemptive grace will resonate and impact. But, if we cannot clearly articulate our own stories when those times come, we are falling short of His plan for us.

I need to work on my testimony. It seems rather boring and mundane but overall the primary theme is freedom over things of this world and an ongoing struggle with pride and my "self". Somehow, i need to craft that into a message which can roll readily from my lips when God brings me into those moments and places where He wants me to share.

"The Next Thing You Know" by Matthew West

I remember when I was thirteen
I saw a picture on my T.V. screen
The Reverend Billy Graham and the people singing "Just As I Am"
And it felt like You were talking to me
And the whole world seemed to fade away
Until I heard my mother say "Son, are you okay? Do you wanna pray?"
And that became the hour I first believed

CHORUS
Next thing you know I'm high and flyin'
Next thing you know
My heart is in your hands
Next thing you know
There's no denyin'
Next thing you know I'm a brand new man

Well, I wish I could say I always stayed right there
And I did until my freshman year
But the world was pulling me a long way from thirteen
And you were calling but I didn't hear
Still I knew there was something more
So, one day my knees hit the dorm room floor
I said, "If you're there, and if you really care,
Come and talk to me like I was thirteen."

Got a picture in my head today of how heaven might look someday
I see the people there, so I pull up a chair
And their stories, they blow me away
'Cause I can see it on every face
The evidence of grace
And as I listen it occurs to me
Everybody's got their own thirteen

So, what's your story about His glory?
You gotta find your place in the history of grace
Yeah, what's your story about His glory?
Come on and find your place