My Wonderful 72 Hour Weekend

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to share with you that I just spent an amazing 72 hours in a Emmaus walk for women at Ceta Canyon, Tx.

I am in another awe struck moment of God and what He does...In this walk I saw God take things so broken, shattered, tormented, dead and create the most beautiful vessels full of life, beauty, forgiveness, love and made them into master pieces of Grace! I should never be stunned at what God does because He is such an amazing God an there is no words to fully describe just how wonderful He truely is.

Our family has been going through such a hard time these last couple of months, My husband was let go as Pastor of the church we had been at for the last 2 years and yet we knew that God was going to move us. We still were not prepared for it, but God is good has been so good to us and has a plan for us as we are his children and He will not forsake us.

It has been hard for us as Jehromie my husband is a true Pastor at heart and longs for that as this is what God has called and purposed him to do but we know everything will come together at the right time when God purposes. We have learned so much these last 2 years and we know this was just a training ground for where God will be taking us in the future. If there were no trials we cannot learn, will not gain strength and our faith will never grow because there would never be a reason to cling to God so I am thankful for each and every trial as I know this is Gods way of making me stronger in Him and able to weather any storm that comes our way. We always have to remember that God never leaves the boat!!! He never left my boat He is still there and that keeps me in faith knowing God has got this!!

During this 72 hours God really showed me alot about my self in the watching and seeing of others and their pain and He also revealed a great big road block that I had in my life that I had buried so far down in myself that was something so awful and horrible for me that I had literally forgotten about for many many years I guess a repressed memory....well needless to say God grabbed a hold of that and pulled and yanked that right out of me and laid it right in front of me! 

This I will tell you in simply no other words devestated me, but in all in all though for me to be used of God I have to be clean pure and holy and with this garbage that you could literally say Jesus took out my garbage this weekend...had to be gotten rid of!! I will be honest even though I am not happy about having to remember everything all over again, I do realize I am thankful God did not forget about it when I had because I do want to be used of God and to be in service for His kingdom and one day be able to maybe help a lady that may have gone through the same thing I have.  

I am on the road to healing and forgiveness, you can now say i have been moved out of ICU and moved to a room in dealing with this garbage Jesus removed..God is Soo Good to us and I am so thankful I have a heavenly Father who loves me so much even with all my faults and failures that I have done but I am washed in the blood of Christ an He has forgiven me and in His eyes I am His precious daughter and I am so precious to Him and guess what SO ARE YOU!!!

God Bless & Decolores
Leigh Penrod

STOP COMPLAINING AND START PRAYING

“Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.” 
James 5:9

The Early Church was confronted with a relationship hindering, unity busting issue in its congregations: Christians complaining against Christians.

Sad to say, it is no different today.

Churches are packed with complaining Christians.

Everything from the length of the Pastor’s sermon, his personal style, his family’s lifestyle, the worship team’s performance, ministry workers care for children, to campus décor, to expenditure of God’s funds, and on and on and on….. all are subject to subjective judgment by believers who take upon themselves the mantle of judge and jury.

The word complain means groan, murmur or bear a grudge. Ouch! Do we really realize what we are doing when we complain against a brother? I think not. For if we did, I think we would think twice before murmuring against our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We should be ashamed of ourselves. I have done my share of complaining over the years, and you probably have too. I have come to the conclusion there is no biblical justification for me passing judgment on any Christian brother by complaining about them. 

James had a word from God for the Christians in his day and ours. Complaining was out! “DO NOT COMPLAIN” is the word.

Brothers, do not complain against your brothers. Why? Because when you do, you will be judged. The Judge, God Almighty, the Judge of all judges, will pass judgment on you for passing judgment on others. Note “the Judge is standing right at the door.”  The Judge is Johnny on the spot! Right at the door. Listening to our words. 

Criticizing, complaining, murmuring, gossiping, groaning and moaning against one another. A scourge and curse in the church. Complaining is immature at best, sinful at the worst. James tells us in chapter 3, verse 17 “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  We know as Bible-believing Christians to complain against our brothers is not right. So if we do it, according to God’s Word, it is sin. Pure and simple. It is sin because we are judging one another and we are commanded not to judge each other. (Matthew 7:1-5).

How many of our brothers and sisters have been hurt and disheartened by complaining? How many churches have been torn apart by strife and division because of complainers? How many pastors have been discouraged and burned out having to deal with constant criticism from the people they serve?

Criticizing and complaining is not a spiritual gift.

 Ten Simple Steps To Stop Complaining

1. Do you like it when others complain against you? Probably not.
2. Take your complaint to God and pray for your brother.
3. Forgive your brother for all offense against you.
4. Control your tongue. Resist the fleshly temptation to murmur against a Christian.
5. Never tear down your fellow Christians. Always build them up.
6. Speak highly of your brother in the presence of others.
7. Check your motivation. Why are you complaining against a brother?
8. Is it Christ-like to complain against fellow Christians?
9. Stop and think. What will my complaining against a brother do to him/her and the body of Christ, and my witness to an unbelieving world?
10. Remember you are accountable to God for your treatment of your brother.

Think with me for a moment. If Christians stopped complaining against one another:

• The devil would not have opportunity to divide the body of Christ.
• Strife and disunity in the church would be non-existent.
• Believers would have clear consciences toward one another.
• Energy given to complaining would be directed to soul-winning.
• The world would be attracted, not repelled, by Christians and the church.
• The Lord would be pleased with how we treat one another.

Are you a complaining Christian? Do you have such a critical spirit toward others that you hardly realize that you complain against your fellow Christians? Would those who know you best say you are infected with a complaining spirit?

Is there someone you need to go to with a humble heart and ask for forgiveness for complaining against them? If so, go.

Maybe spiritual revival and renewal would come to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ if we stopped complaining against our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Just a thought.  

“And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against another, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14

Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-5, “Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye” and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye?     

A Word For Your Week: Stop judging other Christians by complaining about them.

Do not be partakers in Gossip or complaining

"BE CAREFUL LITTLE TONGUE WHAT YOU SAY"

INTRODUCTION: This is one of the lines from a little children's song that we often teach our kids and sometimes sing it during Vacation Bible School. We think of it as a "kids' song" but it is far more than that! We should be very careful what our tongue speaks! The uncontrolled tongue is especially harmful and dangerous to the body of Christ.

BODY

I. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT CONTROLLING THE TONGUE?

A. The Old Testament warns us about avoiding gossip and evil speaking.

1. Leviticus 19:16- "'You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD."2. Psalm 50:16-20
3. Proverbs 20:19- "He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips."

B. The New Testament tells us to put away the wicked use of the tongue.

1. Ephesians 4:31- "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."2. Titus 3:1-2 "Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2- to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men."

II. WHY IS AN UNCONTROLLED TONGUE SO DANGEROUS?

A. Because words rashly spoken can have serious consequences.

1. Jephthah made a rash vow with an uncontrolled tongue which caused him great grief.

a. Judges 11:30-40

2. It was because of rash speaking that King Herod ended up having John the Baptist beheaded, even though Herod did not want it done.

a. Mark 6:22-28

B. Because it will affect the lives of individuals for a lifetime.

1. James 3:6- "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell."2. It hurts the person you are talking about, his/her family, friends, neighbors, etc. It can affect them for a lifetime.
3. Proverbs 26:20- "Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases."

C. A man who has an uncontrolled tongue brings pain and hurt upon himself.

1. Proverbs 21:23- "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles."2. 1 Peter 3:10- "For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit."

D. It makes our religion useless in the sight of God.

1. James 1:26- "If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless."

III. GOSSIP AND MURMURING IS ESPECIALLY HARMFUL TO A CONGREGATION OF THE LORD'S PEOPLE!

A. The Scriptures speak of the kind of person that will gossip and speak evil among God's people.

1. Titus 1:9-11 "holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. 10- for there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11- whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain."

B. Murmuring against the church and it's work is destructive to the body and earns the displeasure of Jehovah God..

1. God showed his displeasure at His people murmuring in the Old Testament.

a. Exodus 15:24- "And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?""b. Exodus 16:2- "Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness."
c. Numbers 11:1- "Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp."
d. Numbers 14:27- ""How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me."

2. 1 Corinthians 10:10-11 "nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11- Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."3. Philippians 2:14-15 "Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15- that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,"
4. Jude 1:14-16 "Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15- to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. 16- "These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage."

CONCLUSION: "I am more deadly than the screaming shell of the cannon. I win without killing. I tear down homes, break hearts, wreck lives. I travel on the wings of the wind. No innocence is strong enough to intimidate me, no purity pure enough to daunt me. I have no regard for truth, no respect for justice, no mercy for the defenseless. My victims 
are as numerous as the sands of the sea and often as innocent. I never forget and seldom forgive. My name is Gossip."

Word of the day

People can say what they will on how they live their life but always remember God truely sees how you live your life, what you say to others, how you treat others, what you watch on Tv, music you listen to, places you go and things you put into your bodys, and how you treat your body, and truely the condition of your heart..You ARE NOT HIDING anything from God He sees everything..Whats your condition according to God, do you need the ICU? or are you walking with Christ in condition ready to fight in Hs army? God needs pure and holy fighters in the Army of Christ..Repent today and beg Gods forgiveness so He can use you to lead others to Him..Bring Gods love to the darkness, you hold the light of Christ within you do not let it burn out!! Run to God for the oil of annointing upon your life this will cause the light of Christ to burn brighter within you then it ever has before..Run to Jesus!! He is running to you!

Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever

Daniel 12:3

My Personal Testimony

A Changed Heart Ministries was started to show others that there is nothing you cannot overcome through Jesus Christ, He is the only reason I am here today.

I devote everything that has happened in my life to His glory and honor and if I had to go through everything I have went through just for 1 to come to know Him as their Savior I would do it in a heart beat, for it  is not about me and never has been about me, but for those God will touch through my life testimony!

Here is my story:

As I got older I often wondered Lord why in the world did you have me to go through the things I have like I grew up in a small town, poor and having a father who was not the spiritual head of the household or even the head of the house. My mom wore the pants in the family so to speak and she was a raging alcoholic. I have an older brother who is 13 yrs older then me which left to go into the Navy to escape the abuse my alcoholic mother was doing to him..After he went into the Navy I really never saw my brother much at all. My brother use to be so mean to me an tell me i am really not part of the family and try to hurt me in ways to actually kill me...but we wont get into that...When my brother went into the Navy the abuse transferred over to me. My mom would get into drunken states and just beat on me for no reason I always had to wear pants and turtle necks to school even in the blaze of summer to hide the bruises & scars.

I did go to church, my father took me every service but my mom never went she said it was full of hypocrites and i wish sometimes to tell her you would fit in but held my tongue. But my family was no means the church type we went to church but as soon as you came home the abuse was back, the cussing was back , my mom fighting with my dad. My dad was just as abused by my mom as I was. It was just a horrible situation that never ended so as I got older and the abuse continued to worsen my grades were sinking into the ground I tried to commit suicide numerous time with no luck ( which I now know why they never succeeded God had other plans for me) I would turn to bad boyfriends who would abuse me as well, I guess i felt I deserved this and there was no other difference to which I was around so it was natural. I had one boyfriend who was so abusive to me that he was in karate and I had to lock myslef in the bathroom so he would not kill me with his swords...he got mad because i would not go the kitchen and get him a coke..

Because of all the abuse I was going through I got so used to it, it was natural to me...I did not have any friends because I was taking out my pain on them in being mean. I did not see what was happening at the time till I got so much older. At 14 yrs old I was taken away from my mom, report cards were coming and my aunt called the school and told my principal not to give me my report card or my mom will beat me and my mom had told me before hand that if i got bad grades she was going to beat me with an inch of my life..well before all this with the daily abuse that she was doing to me i could not in any way shape or form concentrate in school the teachers already knew what was going on as some of them tried to talk to my mom and she just cussed them all out...so bad grades were all i had to bring to my mom..and my mom kept her promise in beating me with an inch of my life..my bus driver was up to what my mom had been doing and that day when i came home with my report card when i got off the bus my bus driver turned to me and said if you come on this bus with any more bruises I am taking you to the principal that she was so tired of seeing what my mom had been doing to me..

Needless to say my mom was waiting in the car for me at the bus stop...i was so scared i hate to say it but if i had a gun to shoot myself i would had done it that day. That’s how scared of her beating me again but worse this time...i was so scared i actually peed my pants upon entering the car which flew mom in such a rage she hit me all the way home and then she asked for my report card...i shakingly gave it to her and she said ok that’s it your dead i am going to beat you so hard your going to wish you were dead.

At this point I was wishing i already was...she let me go to the bathroom when i got home and this is one of the times i tried to kill myself i took some numerous pills (but never took an affect)but she was waiting in my bedroom with a beer can in one hand and belt in the other...she began to hit me with the belt buckle end and put my head between her legs and just kept hitting me with the belt buckle until she started seeing blood she finally stopped i do not think i ever screamed so loud in my life and i was begging God to just take my life as I was done...when she finally finished and left my room..I just prayed to God to end my life...I went to bed that night with no dinner, I had hurt so much all night I did not know the extent of my injuries from her beating till the next day when i went to school i was in again a turtle neck and pants but what my mother didn’t realize my bus driver could see the bruises i had from where she hit me with the belt buckle...she had gave me a black eye from hitting me in the face my hands were all bruised up from me trying to shield from her swings and she had actually hit my hands my head she hit me everywhere..needless to say my bus driver made me stay on the bus when i got to school and she took me to the principal and demanded something be done so child protective came to the school and took numerous pictures of me...i had deep bruising and deep lacerations on my back, arms, legs, face, they sent me to the er and the doctors said that she gave me a concussion and nearly broke all my fingers in my hands and severely bruised my left cheek bone which caused my black eye..and my back looked in comparison to what Jesus endured...doctors said it looked as she was in a rage, and wondered how a mother could do this to her child i just told them i am use to it...I never understood why God did you place me in this family or why have you not let me die yet at this point i wanted to.

Anyway my mom was arrested and because of her health condition as a severe diabetic was only placed on probation that if she ever laid another hand on me she would go to jail for 55 years..I was placed with my aunt and i enrolled into a new school and my grades instantly went from literally 0's to straight A's

I lived with her for 6 months and then they made me return to my mom that she had stopped her drinking and that she was better now..Yeah right what a lie...she was still and alcoholic and instead of hitting me she verbally abused me...I slowly went right back to where i was before.

I finally graduated school an then left home, got a job and apartment and then a few years later met a man (which was 13 yrs older then me)i thought was the man of my dreams which ended up being a nightmare. We had a daughter which is now 13 years old, anyway he had 4 boys of his own so i was a 22 year old step mom to children at the age of 1, 9, 11 and 13 which was very hard ,but my husband at the time had a horrible ex wife that always caused strife which in turn would make him fly into rages where he would attack his boys with verbal and physical abuse in which i would have to pull him off of them.

As his stress and rages got worse he started to state well i will just kill myself and i would talk him out of it, but then it would go from oh i am going to kill myself i will just kill all of us and take us from this misery by this time his verbal abuse and physical abuse that me and my daughter and his boys were getting i started to hate him. He disgusted me so much i would get sick physically when he wanted to be intimate and he would ask what’s wrong and i would just lie and say oh i may have the flu. if i told him the truth he would had flew in a rage and no telling what then would had happened, but at this time it was just not my horrible husband i had to deal with it was what my father was doing that i had no idea till after the fact.

I received a call one night at 4:00am from my dad saying my mom was really sick i was like ok she was always going into diabetic comas due to her drinking so it was nothing new to me anyway went to the hospital and they diagnosed her as having a bleeding ulcer so i went to the doctor and asked them to test and see if she had been drinking and sure enough she had...they made her enter into a rehab for 72 hours...she went willingly which i was so surprised but she never said anything against it just said ok...I think she was tired of being the way she was for so long...she was in the rehab for 72 hours i visited her each day and i saw a mom i had never seen before emerge...she came home and the next couple of days went by and i got a phone call from her and she was crying and i was like mom you ok and she this is what she told me. I am so sorry for all the awful things i have done to you, have said to you and can you find it in your heart to ever forgive me..and I told her mom you were already forgiven just because your my mom...and she proceeded to tell me she went to church for the first time the past sunday and she got saved..I was so happy for her and praising the Lord with her..I had a brand new mom and was so excited to now have the relationship i always wanted...which was short lived 2 weeks later...

As I said short lived...me and my mom talked everyday on the phone since she got saved and I truely saw a difference in her she was no longer drinking...totally changed...well the last day I talked to my mom she called and I was severely sick with the flu and was going to the doctor later that day to see if they could do anything anyway mom told me to call her back and let her know what the doctor said but she was going to be going shopping to get dad some shoes and other stuff and she would be home by dinner but when i went to the doctors office they gave me a high powered shot that literally knocked me out and when i went home i only planned to lay down a couple of hours but I woke up at 4:00am from a call from my dad saying mom was sick again and then he proceeded to tell me it is really bad this time..which he had never said ever before when he would call..

So I rushed to the hospital, by the time I got there mom had a major heart attack due to the ambulance driver not logging into the chart that he had given her a bag of glucose which when she arrived at the er they gave her another bag which ballooned her to 250 pounds, she only weighed 115 to begin with...they were able to get her somewhat stable and placed her in the ICU..at this point my whole world sank to the ground I was mad at God..you finally gave me the mom i have longed for for so long and now your taking her from me..she was in the hospital 10 agonizing days...my brother came, my aunt and her brothers and uncles. my dad actually went crazy they had to admit him to the psychiatric ward and all power of attorney went to me..and on top of this the doctors told me to not show any emotion as to not let mom know anything, as by this point they told me that she would not survive this...so having to know this made it so hard for me. so all i could ever seem to tell her was Mom I love you and she would motion the same thing back since she was on a ventilator. I am crying as I type this...this is still so raw in my heart still seems like it was just yesterday this all happen...but God is proving to me each day now that He has and always will be beside me to help me through it. One thing I never understood at the time i full well know now but when my dad would enter her room she would go nuts her blood pressure would spike and her heart rate would skyrocket. so they would not let him in there to see her, and on one account my aunt tommy went in to see my mom and she asked my mom Ruth, i cant understand how this happened to you do know how this happened how you got so bad all of a sudden and my mom shoke her head yes she knew..Never clicked at the time, but now I know what she was talking about...and then the doctors came to the family and said they found rubbing alcohol in her system which was forming formaldehyde...we were like she had stopped drinking, and there is no way she would drink or inject that into her system...but before this me and my aunt went to go clean the house because at one time the doctors said she may survive this so we went and cleaned the house so she would not have to do anything at all when she got home and i was the one who cleaned the refrigerator. and mom always had a open out of the box insulin bottle and then always had a spare that was always in the box in the refrigerator and remember seeing this when i cleaned the refrigerator...now back at the hospital the doctor asked for someone to go to the house and bring anything she could had ingested because if they could find what it was in time they could save her well i remember dad and my brother went back to the house and in my dads hand when he came back to the hospital was the insulin in the box not the one that was the bottle which she had been using...nothing still clicked at all...so mad at myself now. but anyway

My mom passed away on April 30, 1998 this year will make 13 yrs since she has been gone and it still seems like just yesterday..my dad, my brother and me went to the funeral home and my dad is sitting there making arrangements and my mom always wanted to be cremated so my dad tells the man at the funeral home he wants mom cremated twice..me and brother were like what!!?? The man at the funeral home said we never cremate twice as there is nothing left no ashes nothing and my dad was so adimate about it...so I guess they did it..still nothing registered.

So family was coming to the house that afternoon and i told my aunt about it and she said that is so werid why and i said i have no idea..my dad had me and my cousin clean out my moms closet that same day as she died...still nothing clicked..the next few days went by my mom memorial service was planned and then on the way home we had my husband at the times boys and they wanted to go to the park close to where we lived so i said ok whatever..well when we went to park there was a car to pull up beside us and it looked just like my moms car..

I was like what in the world so I got out of our car and my dad gets out and some woman they were taking my nephew to play in the park...now remember this is the same day of my moms memorial service...you talk about mad, an instant hate raged in me for my father..he could not believe he was seeing me either..i told my husband lets go home now...

Later I talked to my uncle and he told me things i sure wish he had told me way earlier before moms death she may still be alive today, but I know God has a plan in this even if I do not understand.

My uncle told me that mom had gone to him on different occasions and told him that she thought my dad was having an affair and that if anything ever happened to her to look into him doing it.

I did notice that I would see mom was having a lot of accidents like falling as one time her nose was broken and she said she fell on a tree root and the flea market and i believed her as I knew of the tree she was talking about. There was a time when she had a great big burn on her arm and she said she tripped and fell on the stove door...well my uncle told me that my dad had been abusing her...and then he proceeded to tell me something I had never wanted to hear in all my life....he told me my dad murdered my mom and this is how he did it...remember the day i was so sick and my mom went shopping well while she was gone my dad went in and extracted out all her insulin out of the bottle and then went and injected pure alcohol that she kept on the table in a jar and injected that into her bottle so when she came home for dinner and to take her shot she was injecting pure alcohol into her system...this is why dad did not bring the open insulin bottle to the hospital...at this time this was just a theory..I am like ok...everything did not sink in till i started remembering all the little things and by this time there was no proof as she had been cremated twice and nothing left to test..but in the mean time my dad was having a hard time he was sleeping in parking lots said that mom was trying to get him at home..I was like well if what you did is true you need to be gotten. when i went to visit as he begged me to come and get some stuff of moms which i really did not want to but went just to shut him up as at this point i did not even want to be near the man.

While i was in the house i found all her pictures hidden in laundry baskets under beds, and he looked like he had not slept in weeks i think guilt was taking its toll now..i even called his pastor to see what he thought about the situation since the pastor was there the whole time of moms death and all and he said he feels that my dad did something horrible and when dad did go to church the last time the pastor was preaching about guilt and my dad walked right out and have never been in church since..

I had thought that my life was getting better but then it got so much worse, but So glad now it took the turn it did and here later you will see why. Back to the raging horrible husband

Me and my husband at the time started fighting like cats and dogs I was in nursing school and he was vey dominant and jealous man he was 13 years older then me..yes I know too old…but he had been married once before also and his ex wife was very terrible they had 4 children together and they would come on the weekends so with having a baby and then 4 other kids to worry about I was an instant babysitter…needless to say the stress that my husband at the time was going through from his ex was starting to take its toll on him as she was needlessly starting problems always taking him to court for more child support only because she could not stand that he married someone so young…but anyway he started abusing his kids and kylie and I would have to literally pull him off of his kids and making him stop being mean to kylie..and as I said I was going to nursing school he began to be jealous because I was working along side doctors and he was so sure I was going to have an affair with one..his anger starting getting so much worse he would not let me call my dad he would rip the phones out of the wall…to make a long story short it ended up he started contemplating suicide for himself and to be honest by this time I really did not care I know you are not suppose to hate anyone but I hated him..

But then he started saying ok I will kill you 2 and then kill myself and on this one occasion he took the gun out of the bedroom and grabbed my daughter kylie which was just about 2 ½ and placed a gun to her head and talking nuts I had to beg him not to do it and finally he let her go I do not think I have ever been so scared in my life and it was at that point I knew I had to do something but I knew I had no place to go…and could not go to my fathers house because he would just go there…So I drowned my sorrows in the internet and I created a website for public servants this was just after 9/11 and it was in that website that I met my now Husband…So I got to talking to him because he was a law enforcement officer and he gave me good advice on what to do, he told me to call the local authorities and I did and they told me with the information you have told me either you leave or we will take your daughter from you…So I prayed Lord I have no where to go what am I going to do I cant stay here and I do not want my daughter taken away..So I then talked to Jehromie and he then made a decision that has affected me and my daughters ever since..Jehromie said he was going to come get us..now he was living in Texas and me in Florida and he drove the whole 26 hours with a friend to come get me…On the night in question that I left I only took the clothes on our backs and a few toys only…but my husband at the time was getting ready to leave for work and he looked at me and said what are we going to do and I hated this man with every once I had in me when he put that gun to my daughters head that was it for me..I told him did you ever think it maybe was nothing that could be done  but I still had to portray to him that there was still hope so he would not be violent and he turned to me and said well in the morning you will see what I am going to do…he went on to work and then Jehromie arrived and we were on our way to texas…

We arrived 24 hours later and me and kylie stayed in a extra bed room of his..Jehromie helped me get a divorce, later I found out from detectives in Florida when they did a welfare check for us they told the officer who was doing the check do not put any information on the paper just that they are ok..as my husband I left had told them he planned to kill me and kylie that morning…he had the gun loaded and everything and they charged him with stalking to the detective he was harrassing in the county I lived in and him telling them if he ever finds us he is going to kill us both….

But to fast forward some…I felt so guilty about leaving him, now I was really living with someone who was not my husband so I really had to seek God in all of this and I still do not understand it all but I trusted God had a plan for me and kylie lives and now I realize it was through Jehromie..He helped me get a divorce and he gave me and my daughter a place to stay, never asked for anything in return and everything started to blossom between us and he started being a true daddy to kylie..and really the rest is history…so I approve of the way it began well no..but still trusted God to work out a plan and He has through it all and 2 years later me and Jehromie were married and I have been so immensely blessed and contribute it to God that we met, we began to be obedient and grow in the Lord, and he blessed us with several years of ministering opportunities. God then led us to the Texas Panhandle where Jehromie went on a Emmaus walk and surrendered to full time ministry, 3 months later I went and surrendered to women’s ministry. A Changed Heart Ministries

And 1 year to my Emmaus anniversary Jehromie was announced as the new pastor at Roaring Springs Full Gospel and we are on this journey for the Lord Jesus. wherever He tells us to go… we will go….There is nothing we wont do for the Lord we will lay our lives down for Him anytime and any day as to die is to Gain..

My story was to clearly say this to you, there is nothing God cannot fix there is nothing in this world that you can possibly go through that God cannot turn around for good you just have to allow Him to take control of it and trust Him will all you have because if you have ever been in the mess I have been in you have nothing left.

Romans 3:24 says: Being Justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

See Jesus has already taken the stripes for all of us we are free through that cleansing blood of Christ this is what has helped me to forgive myself for the guilt I have felt all my life..

2 Cor 12:9  And the Lord said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my affirmaties, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Man was I weak in all that I had went through but it was not until I finally realized that I had no strength and had to seek the Lords face in all that was going on…and it was there that I saw those huge loving arms of God grab me and start hugging me in such a way I Knew I was in the safety of Jesus…We have to allow ourselves to be loved by God there is nothing that we have done or doing that keeps the love of God from us..He still loves us and He is there waiting for our hand to say Jesus please help me up and He does He brushes us off and says ok my darling lets try again…God is so merciful and loving…and He loves us all so much but we have to seek Him He is a gentleman he will not be pushy we must seek Him..

And by His wonderful marvelous grace we receive salvation

Eph 2;5 says Even when we were dead in sins. Hath guickened us to together with Christ, by grace are you saved..

Praise the Lord of Jesus thank you Lord Jesus for saving my wretched soul and seeing something I never saw you saw the makings of something beautiful while all I saw was a horrible wretchedness that no one could love but God you changed that Into something so amazing and I thank you.

We need to pray for the eyes of Jesus and see ourselves the way Jesus does he does not see the awfulness we sometimes see in ourselves he sees beauty and a heart after God that may just need a little more guiding. So if you are in a place where you feel like giving up, reach out your hands to the one who has been where you have been and walked where you have  walked and is walking with you right now..Cling to the heart of Jesus and allow Him to create a new heart mind and soul in you…And then sit back and see the wonder and grace that He will bestow upon you just like the story of the prodigal get ready to wear the robe of righteousness and be crowned in the crown of Glory from your heavenly daddy..an yes he is our daddy…and a marvelous daddy He is..and remember there is nothing this ole world can throw at you that the Lord Jesus has not already over come with victory so claim that victory that is in you and shoot that victory of  Jesus Christ right back to satan and say not having it today…Jesus loves you all so much and is waiting for you to come and meet with him….will you be to busy, will you make time for Him or will you drop everything just to have a precious moment with the Lord Jesus..

I pray that this has been a blessing and may God bless each of you

Love Leigh

Emmaus Walk #229 October 11-14th

Hello Everyone,

I have been rather busy here lately due to summer activities, trips to see family and church activities going on.

Plus now I have been asked to serve on a Walk To Emmaus which will be in October, and I cannot tell you how much of an honor this is to be asked. I have worked Chrysalis in the past and what a joy that was to see those young girls bloom into the most beautiful butterflies at the end of the weekend. Now I get to see pilgrims draw into the arms of Jesus and feel the love of Christ so strongly toward them. I am in just awe of how wonderful and amazing Jesus is and how much He wants to have a personal and loving relationship with us in so much that He will call those for a special weekend as Emmaus!

Me and my husband both will tell you our Emmaus walks changed our lives, we are so grateful to those that made it possible for us to go and experience the presence of God in such a life changing way!

So I am so blessed to be working along side such an amazing Emmaus Team and look forward to all that God has for the pilgrims that Jesus is calling to this special weekend. I ask that you please cover Walk #229 in prayer for the pilgrims, inside and outside teams that will be serving on this walk!

Women's Emmaus Walk #229

October 11-14th

Lay Director 

Denise Farris

Spiritual Director

Jeff Messer

Have a truely blessed day in Christ Jesus,

God Bless you

Leigh Penrod

Be Filled with Christ Jesus

Acts 2: 1-4

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Be filled with the presence of Christ Jesus as He is a consuming fire ready to consume you, You are are his hands and feet let Jesus consume you completely and watch what He will do in your life and the life of others around you and each person you come into contact with.
We must be about our Fathers business, we must continue what He started and that is to spread the gospel to every person so they too can know Jesus Christ as their Savior, our job is not done till everyone is saved!
I pray this has been a blessing to you and may Jesus use you to reach others for His kingdom and May the love of Jesus fill you overflowing In the name of Jesus!

God Bless you,
Leigh Penrod
A Changed Heart Ministries