About​

I was in Children’s Church at an Assemblies of God church in Bosque Farms, New Mexico. The teacher that day was Valerie Smith. She was telling us about heaven and hell, and what happens to people if they die without accepting Jesus into their hearts. She described how beautiful heaven was and then told us that hell was a place with a lake of fire and heat that never ends. I knew I didn’t want to go to that place, I wanted to go to heaven to be with Jesus! So, when she asked the class if anyone wanted to accept Jesus into their heart, I went forward and kneeled down and said the prayer to ask Jesus into my heart and save me from my sins so I could be with Him in heaven someday. I remember feeling so excited! I went to tell my parents after church got out, but they didn’t seem to believe that I fully understood what had happened that day. A couple of years later the church did a children’s dedication ceremony where parents could bring their children forward and dedicate them to the Lord. My parents brought me and my brother and my newborn sister forward that day. I remember at the time thinking I didn’t need to go forward because I had already asked Jesus to be in my heart. I am so glad today that I was raised by Christian parents who took the time to dedicate us to the Lord, take us to church on Sundays, and teach us how to read the Bible, how to pray, and how to live an honorable life. I was so fortunate to be born into a Christian family, with Christian grandparents, Christian Aunts and Uncles, and raised in the church where I had the opportunity to make Christian friends. What a priceless treasure this was that I had no idea about the value or rarity of this blessing when I was in the middle of it. Now that I’m grown and have seen more of the world, I know what a miraculous foundation in Christ I was given as a child, and I treasure it.