Thursday, March 1, 2007

My Story

I grew up believing that "good people go to heaven", so I tried to be good. I went to church every Sunday, I recited a couple of memorized prayers, and I tried very hard to obey my parents. I thought I was doing ok, until I went to college...

In college, I had two classmates, Abigail and Anthony, who are very different from the rest of us. They are not weird or anything like that. In fact they are so much fun to be around with because they have so much peace, joy and contentment, which I lacked at that time. So I started observing them...

One day Abigail and Anthony invited us (our class) to a Bible Study and because I was curious to find out "what their secrets were", I went.

Anthony used a little tract called "The 4 Spiritual Laws" to explain that doing good cannot save us because "all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God". I couldn't quite comprehend what it means, so he gave an illustration which stuck with me. He said, "Liza, if I give you a glass of water with 10 flies in it, would you drink it?". Yuck, no!, I answered...

He continued..."ok, if I give you a glass of water with just one fly in it, would you drink it?".. No...it's still dirty, I said.

That's the same way with God. Even if we sin "less" than other people, the fact is we sin...and still is not accpetable to God. And that's why Jesus came to die for me. Then he quoted Ephesians 2:4-6 "For it is by grace that we have been saved through grace. Not by works that no one would boast".

That day, I prayed to God for Him to forgive me, and asked Jesus to be my personal Savior and Lord. I became what they call a Christian. It's the best decision I have made in my whole life!

This is my simple and short version. There are actually a lot that went on inside of me through this process. Every now and then, I'll talk about it through this blog. But for now, I want to keep this short :)

Thanks for reading my story :) And if you live on Maui, come visit me at Hope Chapel.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed reading 'My Story'.

Kari said...

Thank you so much for sharing that story!

Unknown said...

I love that fly in a glass analogy!

Big Mama said...

I loved reading your story. Thanks so much for sharing it.

Tonja said...

Hi Liza, I enjoyed reading your blog. You live in one of my favorite places on God's beautiful planet. I have visited Maui 5 times and I love it more each time I visit. As a matter of fact, I have a trip planned in June with my 2 best friends. Just a girl's getaway. Can hardly wait! How close to the Lord you must feel with the beauty of God's art all around you. Nice to meet you.

Amydeanne said...

I love that fly in the glass! How visual that is!
You really have a fantastic story to share.

Don't forget to stop by and grab some party favors @ the 160acrewoods!

Amydeanne
~following the Ultimate Party Trail

An Ordinary Mom said...

Thanks for sharing your journey.

Monkey Giggles said...

Swinging by for the party.

I love your blog.

Happy weekend.

PARTY ON

Unknown said...

Hope you are enjoying the party! It was nice to get to "know" you!!!!

A Dusty Frame said...

Thank you for sharing this:) I love hearing how others came to know the Lord.

Sharon said...

I love hearing testimonies of how they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior! Thank you for sharing this story.

May God bless you!

Hazel said...

I'm so glad I came across your blog. This is a beautiful message for Holy Week. Thanks for sharing.

poppycock said...

Liza, thanks for sharing this :)

Anonymous said...

Anthony's analogy is very good...I'll use it in my next evangelistic encounter...like Jesus said, let nothing be wasted!

Forgetfulone said...

I've been reading your blog off and on for a while now, but I had never read "your story." I'm so glad I did!

Unknown said...

I am excited to have found this blog. I've looked for a long time for a Christian women's blog and a Christian working mom blog.

Liza on Maui said...

bearandbirdlong,

I am glad you found my blog. I tried to click on your name to see if it would take me to your blog but it didn't. I hope you'd visit often. Thanks :)

Denise said...

Very awesome, thanks for sharing.

Daveda said...

God is so awesome! His grace never fails to get us where we need to be, no matter how close or far! Thanks for sharing I enjoyed your post. Happy Thanksgiving!

Melanie said...

I love the example your friend gave about the flies in the glass. What a great way to explain to people.

Lillybell said...

wow, thanks for sharing that. i'm glad you made the decission. youir freinds analogy was great too x :D