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Author
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Topic: Part 1 to testamony
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TwinsGranny
Advanced Member
Member # 2137
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posted
WayCoolMike,
Still waiting to hear 'Part II Testimony' of your Praise Report!!! It makes me very happy when I re-read your report, knowing how awesome God is and how He works in people's lives!
God Bless you as you work to further His kingdom!!
Pam (aka TwinsGranny)
Posts: 218 | From: Illinois | Registered: Sep 2003
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TwinsGranny
Advanced Member
Member # 2137
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posted
God Bless, Mike I know the Lord will lead you right where you need to be and you'll do great in His ministry!! ![[thumbsup2]](graemlins/thumbsup2.gif)
Posts: 218 | From: Illinois | Registered: Sep 2003
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WayCoolMike
Advanced Member
Member # 2103
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posted
Thank you Pam for your kind words and prayer. My deepest hope is that people can take something from my past and use it positivly. It is so like God to take our human screw-ups and use them to reach his children. Often times we feel we will not be able to accomplish or finish what our Lord has put before us but I believe that is just part of being human.If we put our faith in God we can then trust it will be done regardless of our humanity.Once again thank you and I pray blessings on you and yours. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Posts: 35 | From: Lacrosse, Wisconsin | Registered: Sep 2003
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TwinsGranny
Advanced Member
Member # 2137
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posted
WayCoolMike,
What a wonderful testimony you are and such a blessing!! I just know God is going to use you mightily in His service!! I will lift you up in prayer that God leads you and blesses you along the way as you strive to do His will, that you will always have His peace that passes ALL our understanding and the joy will be so great, it will just be BUBBLING over in your heart! PRAISE GOD....we serve an Almighty God and remember WAYCOOLMIKE (I just LOVE that name ) God will NEVER give us a task to do, without giving us the tools, the means, the way to get it accomplished! He's taking care of it all for you right now Mike...God Bless you as you walk this walk of faith!!!
In His love and Service,
Pam (aka TwinsGranny!!)
Posts: 218 | From: Illinois | Registered: Sep 2003
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WayCoolMike
Advanced Member
Member # 2103
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posted
Right on Ray and please, you too keep up the good work. We all are striving for the purpose and have the same goal that are in ministry for the lord. The more you are successful at the Job the Lord has given you the more people in my position can do their jobs the Lord has given them. Blessing to you and yours, Mike
Posts: 35 | From: Lacrosse, Wisconsin | Registered: Sep 2003
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Christ for the children
Advanced Member
Member # 159
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posted
Greetings in the name of our precious Lord!! Let me say that I really enjoyed your testimonies (two thus far), and am impressed that God has changed your focus and your heart. I feel for the young people of today, the trials and problems they face are so great. I recognize the young people are the church of tomorrow, and they really need our prayer support NOW. Tomorrow may be too late to pray for them, the pressures of this world too great for them to overcome without our prayers TODAY. Although I work primarily with the younger children, I do have experience with teens and can relate to many of them. I feel part of the reason I relate to some teens is they remember when they were children involved in the childrens ministry I have helped in for many years. Some still run up to me whenever they see me and let me know they appreciate what I've done for them! Though this makes a person feel good, what matters the most is that they are Christians and are walking with the Lord!! This means more to me than anything they might say! I'm only a human, and my number one desire is to see young people come to know the Lord and accept Him into their hearts. I'm always telling the children that what I want more than anything is for them to have a personal relationship with God. I thank God that you are also involved with the young people! Keep up the great work! Ray
Posts: 120 | From: Florida | Registered: Jul 2002
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WayCoolMike
Advanced Member
Member # 2103
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posted
My testimony part 1 leaves off at about 8 or 9 months ago and a lot has changed since then. As a band Project Pandemic’s prayer most spoken was “ Lord this is about you and if it ever becomes something else please end it, for we are weak in the flesh a may not see otherwise.” We had many ups and downs but I believe because it was for God that we played we started to have success in a very short time that went beyond any experiences I had in 17 years of playing in secular bands. But alas we are humans and things began to change. The focus started to shift towards the success of the band or other agendas. Even though it was still centered on our Lord it began to resemble something else other than a band just to Glorify God. At the same time that it seemed we were going to break into a whole new arena and start to open for some bigger named bands we realized it was over. God had heard our prayer and answered it. We ended our band in good standing with each other, or rather God did. It became increasingly hard to work together and the passion soon left each one of us. Normally I would have been very depressed over losing a band but by the grace of God he replaced this ministry of ours. (My stepson played drums and wife managed the band) You see the bands most commonly said prayer may have been “ Lord this is about you and if it ever becomes something else please end it, for we are weak in the flesh a may not see otherwise.” But my personal prayer has always been “ Lord please use me as a tool of yours to help reach the lost and hurting people that I was once one of, so that they too may share in your love and grace and be saved.” Our Pastor (and bass player) took a job in Missouri that was something like 600 miles away from where we are (made it hard to commute to practice ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) ) He not only was the senior Pastor at our church but also ran the youth group. This left an opening for someone to fill. My wife and I were asked to take over for him in the youth group as new youth leaders, and to be honest we only said yes for the good of the church. You see my heart went out to the people more like I was, older and living a life that God didn’t approve of to say the least. The youth group was barely even running anymore and it was not much fun for anybody when it became ours. We started with 9 kids and of those maybe only half really knew who Jesus is. My passion I once had for the band had shifted toward teens almost instantaneously after we accepted the roles of youth leaders. It was God once again leading me into a better place. I began to experience the Lord in different ways than before. Our Kids were pretty skeptical about anything to do with a church youth group due to 3 – 4 leaders and youth Pastors up and leaving on them in the past, and to be honest being that they had nobody to voice an opinion about anything to the church on their behalf, they were often times ignored by the congregation.
God made it clear to my wife and I that we were their voice in this church. Month by month we were part of solving many problems and little by little things started to grow. We have up to 25 or more teens now .Our church gave the youth the whole basement to do as they pleased and they began to feel like they had a place at the church. We are unique in that the kids that are drawn to our youth group are really street kids who have families who do not go to church. We faced problems like abusive parents, drugs and drinking, violence and even Wicca with in our group almost weekly. As we grew closer to the teens we began to realize that at least ¾ of them where not even saved. (Scary thought for a Christian youth leader) I could not understand why God had me be responsible for these kids who in my mind needed someone so much more educated in how to deal with these types of crisis. I always thought my ministry would be to reach adults with these problems but my whole outlook had shifted towards my kids in the youth group. I would look at them and be sad when they were sad, happy when things went well for them, scared when they got in trouble and proud when the did the right thing. I realized God had know better than I that my place was not to help the ones who had already gone far in there Godless lives but to try and reach those who were on that same path but had not gone all the way yet. It made so much sense then, if I would have let God into my heart early on I may not have had to suffer as I did being apart from him for so long. God is awesome, and in being obedient to the Lord I have been blessed so much more than I could ever have thought. When a teen accepts Jesus and becomes saved because God has chosen to work through us to reach them it provides a feeling unlike any I have experienced before. I have been so blessed to part of The Lords kingdom and be able to take part in it that it often leaves me speechless. (If you knew me, you would know that’s a big dea ) The biggest lesson I have learned about being a Christian is to be listening for God and to be obedient to the Lord wishes. It is not always easy to hear God because often times the world is making such a racket around us. We confuse our selves many times by doing works that we perceive we are doing for the benefit of God, but in reality they are works God has allowed us to do for our own good. When we let God speak his needs into our lives and his wishes for us, and then act on them we then can be blessed. I enjoyed being in the band very much and felt like we accomplished much but I was never blessed like I am now until I listened to God and did the job he wanted me to do. Everyday of our lives the enemy (Satan) does something to destroy what we are doing, which in my eyes tells me we are doing something to benefit God and hurt him. We face opposition with every move we make but the Lord has gone before us and cleared the path so may continue HIS work. At this time God has made it clear to me that part three to my testimony is beginning and as long as obedience to him comes first it will be a great ride.
Part three is in procces
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
Posts: 35 | From: Lacrosse, Wisconsin | Registered: Sep 2003
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MentorsRiddle
Advanced Member
Member # 2108
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posted
Wonderful story Mike I truley enjoyed every word of it. Your story has made me realize just how much I love the lord, that I too gave up the things I loved the most, but harmed me the most. Praise Jesus!
Praise the Father!
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With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.
Posts: 1337 | From: Arkansas | Registered: Sep 2003
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WayCoolMike
Advanced Member
Member # 2103
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posted
Hi my name is Mike Detrick and I have had quite a crazy life. I’m a 32-year-old guitarist in a Christian hard rock/alt. band called Project Pandemic. I now live my life for Jesus but it has not always been that way. At the age of 13 I started getting into drugs, drinking, and sex, all terrible things for a 13-year-old and for that matter anybody at any age. By the time I was 16 or 17 I had made it a lifestyle, started playing guitar, got kicked out of school and pretty much messed my life up bad .I was starting to have problems everywhere I went with every thing I did. My life revolved around me becoming a rock star (heavy metal) and I would have done anything to get there. Well, as I entered my 20's the band I was in started to get some notice and I became more popular. We would play at bars and they would give us free alcohol, the dealers would give us free drugs and we all seemed to have lots of girls. BUT I was miserable........There was a huge void in my heart no matter what I did it would not be filled. I was always angry or sad so I would drink or smoke more weed to cope .As my 20's wore on things got worse, My band broke up and I couldn’t keep a job, and what woman wants a flat broke alcoholic for a boyfriend. I have never been suicidal but I really wanted to die, just to get my life over with. I believed in God but really didn’t think he cared one way or the other about me .I actually would pray for god to just stop my heart. (I think there is a country song titled "thank god for unanswered prayers”)
When I hit 29 years old I had all but given up. Then something happened............I met my wife .At the time she wasn’t saved either but she was straight and sober. Well 1 week after we got together she asked me if I would like to check out this church she knew of. She had been there once before and they had this Christian hard rockin biker worship team and she had a great time .To be honest I would have went anywhere with her, even though I was a bit uncomfortable I went. There was a man speaking that day about prophetic messages and well at first I was like " ya right dude, I bet God talks to you". Well at the end of his message he called me up to talk with him. (I was a bit freaked out but I went up to talk to him anyway). Now remember I was totally new to this area and no one, not even my wife knew much about me then. Well this guy started telling me stuff about my life that only I would know (now I was really freaked out) He told me I was like a fish in the middle of a river and the lord was on one side and Satan on the other. They both had a hook in me and were trying to get me to their side of the river but it was up to me to decide which way I would go. He then asked me if I believed in Jesus to which I replied that I did .His next question was had I accepted Christ as my lord and savior. Well to be honest I had broken out in a sweat and was not really sure what was going on but I knew this was real and good. I was experiencing God, I mean really in the presence of God. I felt his presence like he was right in front of me and right then there I knew without a doubt God was real. I asked Jesus to become the lord of my soul right then. This was the single most profound moment of my entire life. I will never forget that, but what I now realize is that Jesus had been knocking on the door of my heart my whole life and it was me who refused to hear it.
From that day forward everything in my life has changed. I have since then been straight and sober (I believe I was healed right then because I never experienced withdrawl of any sort), I have married my girlfriend and she is a constant positive influence in my walk with god. I had a hard time giving up the bands I listened to and modeled my life after but when I realized that there was just as many awesome Christian hard rock/metal bands I threw all my secular c.d.’s and tapes in the garbage. For months I struggled with wanting to be in a band but I knew I couldn’t be in the typical rock/metal band and continue on the trail I was on. I became very frustrated, After awhile I gave up on it……..I asked God that if it was HIS will, to allow me to put together a band together. I promised that if the Lord allowed me to start something again I would do it for only his glory. A month later I met my keyboard player and within 3months we had a full band together. So now here I am almost 3yrs later, straight and sober, married to a wonderful woman, In a great band and I have started studying to receive my credentials to become a pastor. I am no doubt happier now then ever and it’s all God. I have felt the love God has for all of us first hand and I am constantly reminded that without God none of this would be possible .The big lesson here is no matter how bad we mess up our lives, no matter how terrible we act or what we have done there is only one way to redeem ourselves .and that is Jesus Christ. Moses was a murderer, Jacob a liar, David was a adulterer and the apostle Paul persecuted Christians everywhere he went and yet through the mercy and grace our father God forgave and used these men in great ways. They all became men of God and the bible even calls David a man after Gods own heart. To those of you who are reading this that are saved I hope you continue to finish the race, to those of you who have not become saved yet, I urge you to ask Jesus into your heart, to accept the true God and to become a new creature in Christ.
God bless,
Mike
Part 2 coming soon
Posts: 35 | From: Lacrosse, Wisconsin | Registered: Sep 2003
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