Testimonies
3/27/2009 - A New Perspective from Jonah
Hello my name is Arami Allen. While growing up in the church, I learned about various bible stories, but I never understood the lessons they were meant to teach us in full. The story of Jonah and the Big Fish is mostly remembered for the Big Fish swallowing Jonah for three days and his miraculous survival afterwards. After reading and studying it with a more mature mind, I was able to see so much more than what I remembered as a child. Jonah was given a prophecy by God to deliver to the wicked city of Nineveh that they may give up their evil ways. Jonah set sail immediately…to another city in the opposite direction. This made me laugh as I realized that we all have done this so many times. God gave Jonah a task and he tried to avoid it. I can assure you that God has given me things to do and I completely dismissed Him.
As we all know, Jonah set sail on that boat and God commanded a raging storm upon the sea in their midst. There were others on that same boat and they knew not why they were targeted. The lot fell upon Jonah and he admitted he ran from the Lord, thereby placing their lives in danger. I see this as a metaphor of sorts, because if God has commanded us to act, it’s for a reason. When we disobey or flee, we might be endangering others or ourselves. He does not want to hurt us, as we have purpose in this life He has given us. Sometimes when we disobey God, we are cutting off another persons blessing or deliverance; and the task is usually something we DO NOT want to do. He expects us to obey or there will be unforeseen consequences.
Now back to the story. Jonah tells the sailors to throw him overboard so that they might live, and they do. God summons a large sea creature to swallow Jonah and he endures this plight for 3 days. He barely survives, clinging onto life and through faith and prayer, hopes that God might forgive him and save him. Upon his exodus from the fish, he goes to Nineveh as commanded and delivers the prophecy. Nineveh repents and they are saved, but this leaves Jonah unsatisfied. Can you imagine that God saved these people and Jonah was upset? He felt that they should be destroyed. It seems as though Jonah forgot that he disobeyed God, repented, and was saved too. Do you see how quick we are to judge others when we ourselves are just as guilty as the ones we persecute? So should you decide to take anything from the book of Jonah and apply it to your life, consider that disobeying God is dangerous. He has a plan and you are only deterring the inevitable and making things harder for yourself. Trust in Him. Also remember that the wicked deserve a chance too. We often think because we are saved and we know those who are sinful, that God should punish them. Instead we should do what we as Christians are commissioned to do, and try to lead them to God, one step at a time. If you remember Saul, he was notorious as one of the worst people to have their names written, and yet God turned him around and he became a powerful man of God. You might have someone in your life who you detest, and yet if only God got hold of them, maybe something amazing might happen. I suggest you open your Bible and read Jonah again, and see if you saw something you’ve never seen before, because in those few pages, much had happened.
Arami - Round Rock, TX
2/27/2009 - Presentation to Fourth Graders
I thank and praise God for the distinguished opportunity to speak to my daughter’s entire 4th grade class about being a published author. It took me by surprise when my daughter’s teacher approached me about speaking as a published author during their Camp Write-A-Long week. I asked the teacher how did she know I was a published author, and she said through Ashley. Ashley sitting in the back smiled and laughed. I then laughed and said well, okay if you really want me to. Her teacher said, of course, we don’t know any personal, personal, published authors. Now, if any of you know me, I’m not big on promoting my book or anything like that. So, I said okay if that’s what you want, I’ll present about being a published author. For those of you who do not know last year, my daughter, Ashley, received the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, high-functioning, thank God. And for Ashley to communicate that to her teacher says that Ashley is paying attention. Long story short, I presented on 2/27/2009 at her school to 5, 4th grade classes, 100+ students. I was sweating bullets!!! and having fun at the same time! I thanked them for asking me to be there but they had to help me out and participate in the presentation. Those children were amazing! I asked them what they thought an author or writer was and their responses were staggering….a person who writes a book, an expression of feelings, writing what you feel, and the like. That took me to another level! God specifically instructed me to make that presentation be about them and not about me as an author or writer but to encourage them. Ladies and gents, that’s what I did! After all that was said and done, these were the take home messages for them: 1) I believe everyone has something to say; 2) every one can write because it’s a form of expressing; 3) don’t let no one tell you that you’re not good enough because you write different or about different things; 4) every one is an individual and unique on purpose; 5) be careful what you write because you can’t take it back; 6) learning parts of a speech is important because it helps you to express yourself even better; and 7) again, everyone has something to say! So, go out there and write some books! They asked outstanding questions! I had fun and it was a joy! The teachers thanked me and said it was a good presentation…of course, they would say that! Again, I thank God He used my daughter, Ashley, to allow me to give back for what He has done for me and to give back to young minds at that! They are precious and our future! God bless you all!
Andra - Austin, TX
