I AM A MERCY GRADUATE!!

MY MERCY RING!! IT TOOK FIVE YEARS OF DETOURS, BUT I FINALLY GOT IT!

GIVING MY TESTIMONY, WHICH I WASN'T NERVOUS ABOUT AT ALL! I HAD TYPED OUT WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY, AND DIDN'T LOOK AT IT BEFORE I WENT UP TO SIT DOWN, OR WHILE I WAS SITTING WAITING TO GIVE MY TESTIMONY!

MY MOM AND I, RIGHT AFTER THE GRADUATION CEREMONY. SHE KEPT TELLING ME HOW PROUD OF ME SHE WAS! IT WAS MAKING ME LAUGH!

THE FORMER PROGRAM MANAGER OF THE MONROE, LOUISIANA MERCY HOME (MARGARET). IT WAS TOTALLY GOD THAT SHE HAPPENED TO BE IN NASHVILLE THE DAY I WAS GRADUATING! IT WAS AWESOME TO SEE HER, AND SHE SAID SOME REALLY ENCOURAGING THINGS TO ME DURING THE GRADUATION THAT MEANT A LOT TO ME.

MARGARET, SHEILA AND ME. SHEILA WAS IN THE MONROE MERCY HOME WITH ME WHEN I WAS THERE IN 2004. SHE AND HER MOM CAME TO MY GRADUATION, AND IT WAS GREAT TO CATCH UP WITH HER!! WE TALKED ABOUT THE OLD TIMES LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY!

ME AND MY PEN PAL SABRINA. I INVITED HER TO MY GRADUATION, AND SHE AND HER HUBBY JEREMY CAME FROM KENTUCKY TO SEE ME GRADUATE! SHE'S JUST AS SWEET IN PERSON AS SHE IS IN HER LETTERS! IT WAS GREAT TO MEET HER!

ME AND ONE OF THE OTHER GRADUATES, JENN. I MET HER IN MARCH, AND SHE'S A SWEETHEART! I CAUGHT HER AS SHE WAS LEAVING, THUS THE REASON FOR HER ARMLOAD FULL OF STUFF. :P
********************************************

my graduation from mercy ministries was incredible. i have never been so touched by anything in my life! God has been so faithful and full of grace, mercy and love. it took me five years to get to this point, but i finally did it! i couldn't have done this without the help of so many amazing people in my life; barb, naomi, gwen, all of my amazing friend, and, most importantly, GOD. without Him, i wouldn't even be here today. i'd have been dead a long time ago...

in my testimony, i mentioned the sexual abuse i endured as a child, and how not telling anyone caused me to self-destruct as a young teenager; bulimia, cutting, and drinking. then i turned to promiscuity and prostitution. i also talked about how i never had a close relationship to my dad growing up, and how whenever i heard God referred to as our "Heavenly Father", i used to cringe. simply because i used to think of the relationship with my own dad. i got kind of choked up when i mentioned what i learned at mercy this past march; how when i am hurting and when i cry, God also hurts and cries. that i learned that i'll never be perfect because only GOD is perfect.

during graduation, after all four of us graduates gave our testimonies, the staff talked to us; as a group and individually. so many of the mercy staff spoke to me. i had to listen to the graduation CD's i was given to get the direct quotes. nancy alcorn, the founder and president of mercy ministries, mentioned my five year detour. she told me that i definitely took a detour, but there i was, at graduation!

AMY, my counselor while i was at mercy in march, prayed over me. she thanked God that, even with my detour, i chose to finish what i started, and that He translated me out of the kingdom of darkness and into His kingdom. she thanked God for removing the cloaks of guilt and shame and for putting a robe of righteousness on me. she said that the lies of the enemy are silenced, and that i have full authority and permission to walk forward into everything that God has ordained for my future. she prayed for favor on my schooling this fall, so that i can fully love and serve God as i minister to people in places of hurt. amy also prayed that the vision never be removed from before me, and that i continue to follow and seek after God all the days of my life. when amy spoke to me, she reminded me that, when i was at mercy in march, i kept telling her that i had a choice; maybe not about what happened to us, but about how we choose to respond and how we live our life after that. she mentioned the woman in Luke 7 (the prostitute) and how she cleaned Jesus' feet with her hair and tears, and then anoints his feet with expensive perfume; everything she had. she had a choice that day: she could have stayed in shame about the decisions she had made, she could have believed that the only life she would ever have would be one of prostitution, but she decided to go before Jesus and let him transform her life. his words to her were, "you're forgiven, now go in peace". amy said that Jesus said the same thing to me. she said that it is finished. she said that he has done all the work, and all i have to do is walk forward. ASHLEY, the program director in nashville, told all four of us graduates, that we've been building a foundation by pouring our hearts out to God and letting Him pour into us. the foundation is set, even though there may be question marks in our future. she said that God knows the answer to the question marks, and we just need to trust Him. she also said God will use the experiences in our past to rebuild our future. CISSY, the executive director of the program, told me that it took a lot of guts and a lot of hard work to deal with and address the issues i went to nashville to address. she said that in my journey, i'm going to face thing that are going to cause us to stumble. no one is perfect. but God has given us the power to choose well. she said our sins are forgiven, and God is slow to anger. cissy said the 4 of us are all called of God, and we're to walk in that calling and not to be passive or fearful in the process. she said the enemy will try to side-track us, but everything we need is inside of us. cissy said that every time we finish something, character is developed. AMBER, the director of transitional care, read HEBREWS 4:14-16 to me. she said that she, amy and cissy were really proud of me; that i've been through a lot in my life, particularly in the last few months, but i've continued to press on, not give up, and face the dark valley i've walked through. amber said that's a witness to the deep character that has been built, but also to the heart i have for God. she told all four of us that Jesus has been tempted in every way we have ever been, so he sympathizes with what we go through. so we can BOLDLY approach the throne of grace. before margaret spoke to me, NANCY spoke and mentioned that margaret was the program director of the monroe home when i was there in 2004. she said it was no accident that margaret was there when i was graduating. nancy said it was totally God who orchestrated it, and i have to agree with her. anyway, she said that i have the gift of encouragement. nancy mentioned her blog and said that she loves getting comments on her blog and she knows that, if no one else reads it, she knows that i do because i'm always leaving comments. that got a laugh from everyone in the room, and i couldn't help but laugh! she also said that i was only at mercy for a week in march, but it's a lot more fun to chase the devil off in a week than in six months! that got a laugh, too! MARGARET then spoke and said that disclosing the sexual abuse while in monroe was a big moment for me, but the aftermath of doing so and not being ready to go where i needed to go resulted in self-sabotage. she said she was so proud of me, and that i am so determined and persistent and an encourager. margaret also said she was so glad that i came back and finished what i started, and that i will accomplish great and mighty things. she also said she can SO see me as a nurse because i give care and i have a tender heart. to all of us, she said we're champions and we will be world-changers!

the entire graduation was too awesome for words!!