Donna grew up knowing God

I had always believed in God, and in Jesus Christ...I was never converted or taught.  From the time I was about 4 yrs old, I begged my aunt and uncle to take me to church with them (we were all catholic).  I felt the presence of the Savior at church, even if I didn't understand what was being said.  When I was old enough to ride my bike to church, I did.  When I was old enough to drive, I drove.  My brother and sister used to laugh at me on summer Sundays when I would go off to church dressed up while they were dressed to lay out in the sun.  In high school I had a friend Tonia, who went to a Bible group and always read the Bible.  At work, she used to talk to me about scriptures, and even though I had read much of the New Testament, I started reading a lot more.  It was about this time that I started receiving personal revelation from God as I sought answers from him.  The first experience I remember was when I was when I would be doing my homework, and look up at the clock...many times it would read 8:15, then change immediately to 8:16.  At that time, Tonia was telling me that if I prayed to be shown something from God, I should just open up the Bible to a random place, which God would guide me to, and there would be an answer there.  But this time, after seeing the 8:15-8:16 thing many times, I decided to go to the Bible and see what was on those pages.  I turned to page 815 in the Old Testament.  It was the cover page to the book of Jeremiah.  I turned the page and started reading.  Verses 5-7 caught my attention: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;  and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  Then said I, Ah, Lord God!  Behold, I cannot speak:  for I am a child.  But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child:  for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak."

Although I did not believe I would be a prophet, I knew the Lord was speaking to me when I read these verses.  I felt that the Lord had a mission for me in my life...that he had something important for me to do.  And I knew that he knew me, before I was born, as he had known Jeremiah.  My faith continued to grow.  As I went on to college, I joined a Bible study group, that also had singing and guitar playing, which I loved.  I wrote 3 songs for the group meetings and really enjoyed myself.  I continued to attend the Catholic church at that time, although I also appreciated the groups I hung out with, which were clearly more evangelical in nature.  I began to feel that the man I was to marry would have to believe the same things I did if I were to have a satisfying marriage.   More on what I believed in my next entry...