Bridging the Gap...

Testimonies

Sometimes we need to hear what God is doing in the lives of other women.  Each person's testimony is made up of many big events, but we must not forget the smaller events that happen on a daily basis.  If you have a testimony to share, please e-mail us.

January 2007

• (Written to Carol) I have learned so much from you and those in leadership with Bridging the Gap.  The training sessions you have held for those in leadership have only continued to equip us to be the best we can be.  What a blessing.  You gave me the encouragement to continue in a leadership role when I wasn't sure that's where I belonged.  A huge thank you for believing in me.

As a Spiritual Mom to me I wanted to share with you the excitement of our new Glenwood community Bible Study.  We have a team of seven women who have been meeting weekly for several weeks in praying, planning, discussing, and making decisions for "A Woman's Heart ministry."  There have been times in the beginning of our meetings where it looked so bleak but by the end of the meeting we had success in coming together with the making of important decisions.  We started out with NO MONEY and ended up with over a thousand dollars due to people (husbands included) that believed in what we were doing.  It has been such a joy to see God going before us and making it clear He was for us.  Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will counsel you and watch over you."

August 2006

• When I was in 4th grade my family and I moved to Wyoming.  Let me tell you that being a cop's kid in a small town is no picnic but throw in someone who is outspoken and opinionated and not afraid to make them known - I didn't have a very good life.  I was hated and picked on the whole 4 years that I lived there.  It was hard because those are the years when your self esteem is being formed.  When we finally moved back to MN, it started all over in the Jr. high that I went to.  This time things weren't quite as bad. 

  My Jr. year of college I met a guy.  This was a guy who didn't fit the standards I had set for myself, but I didn't care. He paid attention to me and that was enough for me.  A couple of months after we started dating, he raped me.  At that point I felt that I was ruined and it didn't matter anymore, so I stayed with him.  It was then that I began to harden my heart toward God.  A couple of months later I found out that I was pregnant.  I was always one of the first people to judge others when that happened to them, and I swore that it would never happen to me.  I grew up in a Christian home and even attended a Christian college, and I knew that I had disappointed my parents.  It wasn't until my son was born that I started to turn back to God.  I knew that I needed him.  I had to learn to forgive myself and my new husband for the past.  I also thought I had forgiven the kids in the past who hurt me so bad.

  In 2000, I had just had my third baby when my husband, who was upset about something, threw our 2 1/2 year old across the room.  I knew then that was the beginning of the end.  I knew that I put up with a lot, but I had to protect my children.  We started counseling, and I thought that things were going well.  I found out that he was cheating on me and that was the real reason he got mad and hurt our son.  He was supposed to see this woman, and I needed him to babysit.  Once again I was willing to try and work things out because I loved him or so I thought.  You see that is what a destroyed self esteem is like.  You always put yourself last and don't think you deserve any better.  My husband refused to stop seeing this woman, so we eventually got a divorce.

  The biggest series of trials in my life came in 2001.  I was eating dinner after getting the boys fed and ready for bed when my 7 year old came and told me that our 3 year old had started a big fire.  He received 2nd degree burns on his hand and arm but was spared any further pain.  My house was a total loss.  We got out with the clothes on our backs and our lives.  God used the church, my son's school and even complete strangers in Wal-mart to bless us.  When I purchased a new house, it was furnished totally by what others had given us.  In August of that year my son who was almost 2 got extremely sick.  He got an infection in his blood and had a fever of 106 degrees for a week.  I couldn't sleep because he wasn't hospitalized, and I had to stay awake and make sure that he didn't die.  Due to the fact that I got run down, two weeks later I got extremely sick and found out that I had viral meningitis.  I was in and out of the hospital/ER probably ten times.  On my last visit to the ER, my mother came with the hospital social worker; they told me that my ex had committed suicide.  It was also my youngest son's second birthday.  I had to go home with the worst headache of my life and tell my sons that their dad had died.  Thankfully, I had my pastor and some of the elders of the church, my parents, and my siblings there for support.

  In 2002, I started seeing a different guy who I had known as a friend for 5 years.  I thought that he would be a good dad and husband, but I was wrong.  I found out that he married me only for my money and for someone to babysit his kids, so he could get high on prescription drugs.  He ended up stealing over $30,000 from me, and he was still married to someone else when he married me.

  I thought that over time I had worked out my issues with all of the things that I went through.  But when I went to the women's conference in the spring and heard Ellie and Kathy and Sally talk, God started to talk to me and tell me that there is more to deal with.  Sally said to reach down deep and deal with things and hear God so that we can leave a legacy that is good.  It was then that I realized that I am not dirt, and I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  God loves me flaws and all, and I am His.  He is all that I need.  I finally forgave all of the kids and people who have hurt me, and I am not listening to the devil when he tells me that I am a failure and don't deserve the best.  I know that if I am to leave a legacy that is good, all I need is God.  I am learning to really listen to God.  But most of all I have answered God's call when He asked who will go.  I said send me.  I am in the process of starting a single parent's group in my church so that I can help other people realize all that God has for them and that He is all that they need.  I have adopted Jeremiah 29:11 as my life verse: "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  I know that my future is in God's hands, and He will do with it what He pleases.  I can't wait to see where He is leading me.

• The following is an excerpt from an email sent to Lisa Alipate (the conference speaker) in August 2006:

  I have attended several Christian Conferences over the last 15 years but

  never has one effected my life in the way that last fall's conference did.

  The music was anointed...the break out sessions were great & the concert with Greg & Jana was amazing.  However, my life was changed most dramatically by your "Purify" message.  I know that there were many, many women who God was speaking to that day but "I know that I know that I know" that God was speaking directly to me & I felt as though I was the only person in that room.  I had spent many hours in prayer before the retreat asking the Lord to speak to me & He certainly did that through You.

  The Lord has been preparing me for many years to minister to pregnant teens & women hurting from the pain and guilt from abortion but I didn't know how or what to do.  When you spoke about "WHO we really are" and how God wanted you to tell us who we are I just cried as the Holy Spirit spoke to me.  I have the CD of that message and I have listened to it countless times on my morning walks, cleaning the house, etc... and it still brings great emotion to me as I know it was the voice of God.  - ok, it is YOUR voice but it was HIM speaking through you!! :)

  When you called us up to the alter for prayer if "we knew that God had

  called us into a ministry" I was literally the 1st person up there!

  Honestly I was.  I will NEVER forget the words that you prayed over me Lisa:

  "The gifts of the Lord are irrevocable & He will use you to minister to

  hurting women."

  I quit my job in March after 18 years & I am now a volunteer counselor at a

  crisis pregnancy center. I absolutely LOVE it & know that this is what God has called me to do.

  Also, I am doing Elijah House prayer ministering/counseling in our church

  for women who are struggling with the pain of abortion. I don't get paid for

  either but it's so worth it to be in God's will for my life!  The Lord gave

  me a wonderful opportunity to speak at my church on Mother's Day about this issue that 1 out of 4 Born Again Evangelical Christian women in the church are struggling with yet it is rarely ever talked about: Abortion.

  Enough about me for crying out loud!  I just wanted to let you know how God

  used you and thank you so much for being a vessel for the King, you truly

  changed my life.

  I have been praying for a double anointing on you Lisa for this conference.

  I believe that God will touch & change many women's lives through the

  messages that He is giving you.

June 2006

• God is so good about fulfilling His promises.  In late 1980s or early 1990s God put on my heart that the girl He was preparing for my youngest son would be like ____, a girl in our church at that time.  I never told (my son) what God had spoken in my heart, but occasionally I would recall the words.  On Mother's Day he called to say "Happy Mother's Day", and then "I have news - I'm seeing someone."  Of course, being a mom and a woman, I want details.  I said, "What's she like?"  His reply, "She reminds me of ____."  After we said good-bye the impact of what he had just said hit me.  Wow, God.  You are really something!  So, if God has made a promise to you, know that He will keep it.  Psalm 12:6, "The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."