Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Personal Testimonies of Breaking Free


The following are the individual paragraphs and thoughts from women who have gone through the Bible Study called Breaking Free by Beth Moore. I share my own journey through this study in another post farther down.

"Thank you so much for inviting me to take this Bible study. I have broken a few chains along the way, it sure does feel great to have the bondage gone. Thanks to God and all the ladies at Bible study. One bondage I was able to break free from is feeling so stupid and afraid to speak out and answer questions. Love and God bless to each and every one of you." - Kathy Janswick

"I really enjoyed this study of Breaking Free. Although I could not identify with the betrayal of trust by those who are to be your protectors. I could identify with the schemes Satan uses to make you fall. I identified many situations of loss of loved ones but that God has compassion on us and doesn't leave us without a comforter. That above all God desires for us to have fellowship with Him and enjoy being in His presence. Th
at I can find satisfaction and peace in His presence. I can trust Him fully, I will not be put to shame. Like in our previous study, I can know God and believe in Him because He is who He says He is and with His help I can identify and break down the strongholds in my life. -
Kathy Penner



"I found each week quite a challenge. I know I've learned a lot out of each week and I know God is with me and I feel really good about myself. Through each lesson I learned to stand strong and trust God and each benefit. To know God and believe HIM. Just letting go and letting God take my problems and stress was quite a challenge. Breaking free - tearing down old wallpaper and putting up new wallpaper - I know I can do that. Each lesson brought me closer to God. I felt good about how each lesson was presented before we watched Beth Moore. I know now I can trust God a lot more and writing the letter to Jesus works. I now write God a letter every night before I go to bed. I am a lot stronger. Healing begins when we recognize and seek Him wholeheartedly and to also pray out loud - I haven't done that for a long time. I feel comfortable in my group - I love them all. Thanks for making me a part of this group. " - Joyce

"I enjoyed the Breaking Free study. For me it was a reminder of my own journey to freedom which began over 24 years ago, lasting me 10 years until complete freedom was realized. There were no books on the market back then to help me, and in my area I was the very first client the brand new Christian counselor had. It was ground breaking territory when I began my journey to healing and freedom. Praise God things have changed now. It is so wonderful to have this journey in one concise study form. I will look forward to using this study in the future as an aid to helping others to freedom. Doing this study reminded me of how far I have come from where I once was. Hallelujah!!! I cry easy and any sharing I did during the group time was accompanied with tears of humble gratitude to my Lord and King and Bridegroom Lover of my soul. I will proclaim the freedom I have found in Jesus until the day of my glad reunion with Him. Forward March!!!" - Safely trusting my God, Linda



"I enjoyed all the lessons. Removing the Obstacles was one that I worked with the most. Satan will try to stir up what our faithful Refiner wants to skim off. Christ came to set the captive free. The better we know God the more we will trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more we will sense His peace when the wintry winds blow against us. This Bible study was for my heart - to loosen the chains withholding my heart from enjoying the abundant liberty in Christ's salvation. I enjoyed God." - Mary Hildebrandt

"My husband has been going through the book of Isaiah in his devotions so it's been neat to have been studying the same thing at the same time as him and share our discoveries with each other."

"I am so glad I took the study this winter. God has a timing for what and when we should do it. It was the hardest study for me so far, probably because I had to dig into my past and take things out I thought I long had forgotten about them. It was all worth it. God's grace can bring beauty out of ugly. I want to break free. I want the peace in my life that only comes from God, peace and joy. I also enjoyed to be with all the ladies who are so wonderful and I wish everyone of them the breaking free of the slavery of satan's lies." - Lydia Eymann

"This series was the motivation I needed to make a change in my life. Through the weekly studies and daily Scripture readings, I began to understand what Faith really was and what it meant to my life. God brought things into focus for me. He showed that yielding to Him would bring me more joy than anything this world could ever offer. I have been encouraged to take baptism classes where I hope to be baptized at the end of May 2009. I am so amazed by the way God is working in my life. I am forever changed, and I pray that all who take this study be awakened by the knowledge of God's unfailing love."
- Sherry

"Ever since I attended Bible study, I have found great comfort and refuge among ladies that go through hardships and sorrow and happiness and peace. I have learned of my pregnancy as I started my first official Bible study thanks to my mother's invitation, and have been through a great deal of stress and anxiety spiritually and emotionally. Thanks to my awesome Bible study leader, I managed to get it off my chest and let everyone know of my situation. To my surprise, I was not the only one, nor will I ever be. To be among sisters in Christ and being able to share on such a deep level means so much to me.
When I was a kid, I told my mother that I would go and be a missionary on my own. I don't need to be with anyone else, I just need God and me. She told me that it was pretty much impossible. I now realize the importance of fellowship among others, and see the need for it. How else can we learn if we don't support each other and help each other just as Jesus' disciples did.
I did my homework weekly, or almost in my Living Beyond Yourself study, and found such peace at times. I knew that the devil was trying to pull me away from such a feeling and he almost succeeded at one point, but I decided not to give up. God is always more powerful. That study happened to be during my first trimester which was the hardest part, and one of the hardest times I was going through in my life. God was there the whole time. I thank the ladies and Lisa for being there for me.
Life went better after that study was over, but I never forgot it. However, the Breaking Free study started in January. I decided not to do my homework as much for fear of going through a terrible time again. I almost didn't show up to some Fridays, but felt the need to be there still. I am grateful that the Lord spoke to me through those times, and kept telling me to attend and learn. I still think of doing my homework now, it's never too late to start.
I am glad my mother introduced me to the Bible study, I have grown in my faith in Christ and will continue to do so and try and be a good example to people around me and my child. Thank you Lisa for being such an up-beat person and always bringing a smile to the class and sharing your thoughts and hard times with us. What an inspiration you are! And I thank you for the time you took to do this. This is a few paragraphs, but I felt the need to share. God bless!"
- Sarah Huizing

"What did "Breaking Free" mean to me? First of all, I enjoyed the fellowship of the ladies in our group and thoroughly enjoy Beth Moore and the Video, she is such a good teacher. But, that was not the most important part to me, I want to manifest the 5 benefits of these lessons, To know and believe God, to Glorify Him, experience His peace, find satisfaction in Him, and enjoy His presence. I need to constantly release my thoughts to the Holy Spirit, replacing lies with truth, then allow the Holy Spirit complete control, that I might have freedom in Christ, not allow Satan to take me captive in anyway. My desire is to be FREE. Isa. 48:18 "If you [I] had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea" and Ps. 27:1 "The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?" I want to continue to learn, His mercies are new every morning." - Love, Vi Teichroeb

"What did Breaking Free mean to me?
A number of years ago I ws simply reading through my family tree and something jumped out and hit me between the eyes. The picture was so very clearly displayed that abuse was a generational matter. It was recorded right there, generation after generation. For this reason, this particular study appealed to me. I was looking for some answers as to how the pattern could be broken and why it happened in the first place.
I felt that those matters were quite clearly addressed and answered with Biblical concepts, not just those of any person. I believe I was given the answer to how to break the cycle. I saw how things from one's past affect one and again, how the pattern could be broken with God's help. I am not sure the study was even finished yet when someone I love dearly was dealing with some of those very issues. What I had learned gave me some answers and I am still waiting to know how that individual is choosing to respond.
For me, the study was deep, personal, and very helpful. I have tried to go back over the material again but once the study ends, that opportunity seems to have passed over too. Even though I can't remember all the details I wish I could recall, the basic concepts have taken root and I hope I will never forget them.
I don't want to be addicted to Beth Moore but I honestly think that even if she was removed from the study, the Scripture would speak and that is what is so important. I will look forward to 6 more weeks of study in the fall." - Evonne Ginther




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