My Testimony

Having been raised Roman Catholic from infancy, I attended church dutifully with my family throughout my childhood, believing that we had to do “good works”, be a “good person”, or lead a “good life” in order to go to Heaven when we perish. I came to learn much later in life that this doctrine is disastrously misleading and that much of religion is made up of man-made rules that are unbiblical. Decades later, due to moral reasons, I broke away from the Catholic Church but never lost my faith.

It wasn’t until 2021 that God’s truths from His Word were revealed to me about salvation and how to secure my eternal destiny. I was astounded to learn how simple God made the plan of salvation for all of us! So simple, even a child can understand it. I learned that a person doesn’t get to Heaven based on how religious they are, or by relying on their good works – attending church faithfully, tithing, doing good deeds for others, etc. – when it isn’t about religion or works at all; it’s about a one-on-one personal relationship with Jesus Christ and placing our faith and full trust in Jesus alone for our salvation.

That’s when I went from a “head knowledge” of Jesus to a “heart knowledge” and came to fully trust in – and believe on – Jesus Christ as my Savior, inviting Him into my heart and life, and got saved! Praise the Lord! The only way to draw closer to Christ and build this relationship is by spending time with God daily, in prayer and in His Holy Word.

From that pivotal moment when I made that life-transforming decision, my walk with Jesus and my spiritual journey began, and my life is no longer my own…I belong to Him and wouldn’t have it any other way!

I immediately started devoting time to reading a Bible app (King James only) daily to deepen my faith and grow closer to God. Soon after, I purchased my very first King James Bible. Simultaneously, I researched Baptist churches and their beliefs and practices, as I had never been to a Baptist church before so had no idea what doctrine they preached. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a website of King James-only churches which led me to the website of Victory Baptist Church and their Statement of Faith. It spoke to me. My husband and I began attending right away, got baptized seven weeks later, and are still faithfully attending all services to this day. The decision to become members of Victory Baptist Church and attend regularly has filled a great void in our lives and has made all the difference in our spiritual growth.

Since that time, my walk with Christ has grown in leaps and bounds! God has given me a servant’s heart and has blessed me with opportunities that have allowed me to serve Him more fully. As I asked God to reveal His will for my life, doors started opening, and I found myself serving in ways I never before imagined, let alone even considered.

One such way is that I felt led to sing musical specials during Sunday church service. But I had always been very self-conscious about my singing voice (or lack of one), and still am. Never would I have thought to sing in front of anyone, let alone a church congregation! I desired more than anything to sing specials at church, for the sole purpose of glorifying and praising God, a wonderful way to worship Him! I also joined the church choir.

In July of 2022, as my first special, I sang to a music track, The Commission, by Christian artist, Cain. It was amazing that God had given me the courage and confidence to sing in front of a church congregation, as I never would have done that before or in my own power. But I desired to do more.

A little bit of backstory: At about ten years of age, I had taken piano lessons. (I have NO idea where that desire came from, as no one in my family had ever played piano…that I know of.) However, I didn’t succeed, as I play be ear and was unable to learn the musical notes so discontinued the lessons (I was actually told by the piano teacher to come back in a few years…I guess that was a nice way of telling me I wasn’t cutting it. Ha!). The next attempt was in my 20s. I even rented an upright piano for our townhome for a short period of time. Same result. So I gave up. I had only ever been able to peck at a few notes here and there, trying to play parts of songs, never being able to play a song in full or without a bunch of mistakes.

In September 2022, I searched online for “easy piano lessons” to see what I would find. Lo and behold, I landed on (by God’s leading, no doubt!) Simplified Piano tutorials, which changed my musical life forever! The teacher, Bethany McBride, teaches how to play chords, not notes, which is SO MUCH EASIER! So easy, in fact, that from the very first chord sheet I requested that she promptly emailed to me, after having watched her very simplified video tutorial, I was playing and singing the song within hours! Less than two weeks later, I performed a special at church, singing and playing piano! If I can do it, anyone can! Since that first special, I’ve done many others. What a tremendous blessing!

God has blessed me with the courage, desire, and willingness to serve Him in many capacities within our church’s ministry, including a music ministry with fellow church members, as well as volunteering for faith-based organizations, participating in community outreach, and other services that I’ve never before been interested in.

That’s what Jesus has done for me, and I’m doing it ALL for the Lord with gladness and to glorify Him, for He alone is praiseworthy! There is not enough I could ever do to show my love and thankfulness for everything God has done for me throughout my life. He has truly given me “peace that passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), as well as comfort, joy, and a love for people that I’ve never known before.️‍ ❤️