| |  | | | | | | |  | | My Childhood Home | | |  | | Me and Mom | | |  |
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| | by - Ronn Jones | | For years we have heard it said, "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." I can tell you for sure that this is not true! Sticks and stones do hurt, but much worse are the lingering effects of words. After your physical wounds heal, the scars that nobody can see still remain. Some people call this dysfunction, but I call it hell! I was told as a child that I was fat, cross-eyed, bucktoothed, and would never amount to anything. This gave me a distorted view of myself. The Bible say's, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." That's what you become! | | As the middle child in a family of six boys, it seemed that I was always the one who would spill the milk, leave the toilet seat up or forget to put the cap on the toothpaste. Pretty soon I began to think, Dad's right, I can't do anything right! | | I have always loved the TV show "Leave it to Beaver". In that family they never cursed or screamed at each other and, no matter what happened, they were always good to each other. I used to pray that my family would be like that TV show where they never fought. I wanted my family to be "normal!" I wanted my Dad to quit calling me names and for all the pain, rejection and hurt to go away. If you have come from an abusive family, you know what I'm talking about. | | In the middle of my heartache, despair and agony, God sent a special angel. It was a precious lady who lived across the street from me. Her name was Lena. Somehow she always knew when there was trouble at home and she would always say to me, "Ronnie Jones, God has a plan for your life. You are so special. You're so valuable to Him, and you are going to make it." She wouldn't give up on inviting me to her church. She always made it sound so exiting with lots of stuff going on all the time. | | I promised her that I would visit her church. This was my very first time out of the formal denomination in which I grew up. As I walked into the little church, they were singing, "I'll Fly Away." They were really enjoying themselves. Boy, was this different from my church! I also noticed that everyone was hugging each other and the women had huge hair styles. | | One lady, Katie, sitting on the front pew, noticed me and came all the way back to welcome me. She shook my hand and said, "we are so glad you are here. What's your name?" Why would anyone be glad I was there? Dad made me feel like I wasn't wanted, but these total strangers loved me! | | The guest preacher quoted John 3:16; "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." During his sermon, he quoted that verse three times, and I thought he was talking about me. My mental image of God was just like my Dad. If you make a mistake, I'll knock your brains out. I was so afraid of Dad. I wanted what this preacher was saying! That night at home, I knelt down in our bathroom and said, "God, I want what those people have." He heard that little prayer and I was born again! | | I could hardly wait till the next service to tell what had happened to me! Katie was thrilled! She hugged me and said, "Praise God! What you need now is the Holy Ghost! He will give you peace on the worst day of your life!" I didn't know what she was talking about, but I sure wanted that peace. | | I was drawn back to church by their unconditional love and acceptance of me. They were having a shoutin' good time! I went to the alter. I was scared by the shouting of all the people around me, but when they were all done, I knelt down on the hardwood floor and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I had never heard anyone speaking in tongues before, but nobody had to teach me. What a precious gift! I knew it was God! | | For Prayer or Scheduling... | | Ronn & Rebecca Jones | |
PO Box 635 | |
Waynesville, OH 45068-0635 |
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