Priscilla’s Testimony
It was March of 1984 that I sat on the bed and read my Bible before turning out the light. I had been looking for God to tell me I could not smoke cigarettes.
Lo and behold after searching for several months and telling my pastor friend that I would quit when I found the right biblical verse. I had also told my friend that when and if I found it, I would take a communion and quit smoking only for God because I didn’t want to dirty my mouth after
communion. You see, I loved to smoke, sometimes more than two packs a day. I had tried many times to quit but was never successful—at best I could refrain from the smelly habit for 24 hours and that was only because my parents despised such indulgences.
As I sat on my bed that night, I found it. In 1st Corinthians 2:14-16. It said “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of Death; to the other, the fragrance of life.
Well! Wake up time. It seemed as though Jesus was sitting on my headboard tapping me on the shoulder to say, “Your dirty ashtrays are not a sweet essence of me.”
I told myself that I smelled like a dumpster and after realizing this and re-reading the verses, I called my pastor friend and told him what I found. Two days later, he administered a private communion to me in the church’s small chapel. I went home that afternoon and had dinner with my husband who smoked 3 packs a day and his parents who did the same. HOWEVER, I could neither smell their smoke nor desire one.
Like being wrapped in a bubble, I went three days without any awareness of those around me smoking (it was a time before smoking was banned in most places) and it was another 6 months before I began to dislike the smell of smoke. I never had another cigarette but it took my husband 12 years before he was able to give up the habit—he did it after telling me I made it look so easy. But in truth, he knew it was the Lord’s doing and not mine.
It was March of 1984 that I sat on the bed and read my Bible before turning out the light. I had been looking for God to tell me I could not smoke cigarettes.
Lo and behold after searching for several months and telling my pastor friend that I would quit when I found the right biblical verse. I had also told my friend that when and if I found it, I would take a communion and quit smoking only for God because I didn’t want to dirty my mouth after
communion. You see, I loved to smoke, sometimes more than two packs a day. I had tried many times to quit but was never successful—at best I could refrain from the smelly habit for 24 hours and that was only because my parents despised such indulgences.
As I sat on my bed that night, I found it. In 1st Corinthians 2:14-16. It said “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of Death; to the other, the fragrance of life.
Well! Wake up time. It seemed as though Jesus was sitting on my headboard tapping me on the shoulder to say, “Your dirty ashtrays are not a sweet essence of me.”
I told myself that I smelled like a dumpster and after realizing this and re-reading the verses, I called my pastor friend and told him what I found. Two days later, he administered a private communion to me in the church’s small chapel. I went home that afternoon and had dinner with my husband who smoked 3 packs a day and his parents who did the same. HOWEVER, I could neither smell their smoke nor desire one.
Like being wrapped in a bubble, I went three days without any awareness of those around me smoking (it was a time before smoking was banned in most places) and it was another 6 months before I began to dislike the smell of smoke. I never had another cigarette but it took my husband 12 years before he was able to give up the habit—he did it after telling me I made it look so easy. But in truth, he knew it was the Lord’s doing and not mine.
The reason I started writing, it is not something I ever dreamed about doing, came from the movie, Pride and Prejudice. It inspired me to write clean (no violence, sex or foul language) historical romance. It was 1997 and at the time I was a director of Marketing. After six months of writing a follow up story to the above, I decided to quit my job so I could spend all my time writing - not a wonderful financial decision, but I have no regrets. Many people say they want to do something different, but never do. Now that I am sixty-eight years old, I realize how time flies. I soon realized that I wanted to write for God's Glory Since (see Books page). Every morning since 1984 I have studied the Bible for an hour before getting dressed. Through these studies I have gotten direction for my writing from the Lord. I am a big fan of eschatology (the study of end times), and though I don’t pretend to be an expert by any means, I have studied it. I believe the 12 volumes of the Left Behind series co-authored by Pastor Tim Lahey, renowned prophecy scholar, and Jerry B. Jenkins is an excellent interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Whether or not things turn out exactly the way they have written, it is not for me to say--but… I would like to suggest that if you have not accepted the Lord, Jesus Christ, into your heart and suddenly all your born-again Christian friends have vanished—are nowhere to be found, that you look to the Bible. I can tell you that if we disappear, we will be in heaven with God and will return to earth with Jesus in 7 years and hopefully see you again. Next to writing and reading the Bible, I love my roses. I am not a gardner, but I know how to cut flowers and put them in a vase. All the roses are from my garden. Along with writing, I enjoy playing cards, bridge, and entertaining. Ephesians 1:15-19
...Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and the revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power or us who believe....In Jesus Name, Amen |
A New Genre for MeAfter attending Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference 2012, I felt called by
God to write biblical fiction, Christian Fantasy,(see 2 stories on my blog-- link is on Christian Fanticies page ) and a Christian allegory. That means no more historical romance for now. It is good for me to have this direction, and I pray that I will serve the Lord faithfully by writing Pearls for the Rose of Sharon. |