HyperLink
   
Freedom Begins With Jesus
They shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set them Free!    John 8:32    (Click John 8:32 or Jesus)     WebMaster 
  
How can I help?

                          A                 testimony                     of                           faith.             

Debbie Skelton, Founder
Freedom Begins With Jesus, Inc.
My Testimony:

I grew up in Miami, Florida in the home of a single mother. My Mother suffered much physical abuse at the hands of her boyfriend. At the age of 15 I was raped and sent to a home for unwed mothers. It was very devastating, to be so young and going through what I had gone through all-alone, but God was there with me all along. You see, back then there was no open adoption and you were not allowed to see your baby. The young doctor that delivered my son saw that I could not stop crying about my baby boy and brought him in to me so that I could hold him make sure that he was ok. That helped some, but it was still very painful. Knowing that I would never see my baby again hurt badly! There was no counseling and I felt like they were saying, “thank you for your baby, now leave, go back home and pretend nothing happened.” When I left the home for unwed mother’s I went to live with my Grandmother and my life spiraled out of control. I had very low self-esteem and I had given up on life. At 16 years of age, I thought I was pregnant again, and not wanting to go through any more pain, I tried to commit suicide. My Grandmother found me and called the ambulance. Again God saved me! However, I dropped out of school and joined the carnival in my senior year. There I got into drugs. Time after time, He saved me over and over.

Eventually, I returned to Miami and met my husband Bruce and we have been married 33 years.. Bruce and I have a wonderful son which we love dearly. We rededicated our lives to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when we dedicated our son to the Lord, in 1977. I think for me, this was the first time that I really gave my life to Jesus Christ! I took the walk to the front of the church with my sisters when I was young but it was something that I thought I had to do. This time, it was something that I wanted to do! We moved to Tallahassee when our son was 1 1/2 years old because we did not want to raise him in Miami because of all of the crime. Our son and his wonderful wife have blessed us with a beautiful granddaughter. She will always know the love of Christ in her life! God’s blessings on our lives continually to amaze us, He is so good!

My road to making a difference started with Sidewalk Sunday School in 1994. I felt that God was calling me into ministry. To share with others about Him and what He could do in their lives. In 1999 I signed up for counselor training at A Woman’s Pregnancy Center. That same week the training started, my husband was in a serious auto accident and in intensive care. I knew that God wanted me at the Pregnancy Center, so I prayed over my husband and told the nurses that I would be back and went to the training. I continue to counsel women at A Woman’s Pregnancy Center, because if I can help them to understand how much Jesus loves them and how He can change the circumstances of their lives, then that is where I want to be! To let them know that there is hope, through Jesus Christ and that He will never leave them or forsake them! In 2001 I met Kim Campbell at Abundant Life Fellowship. She knew that I counseled at A Woman’s Pregnancy Center and she asked me if I would go and talk to some girls at a juvenile facility about abstinence. That was all it took, I have been ministering to them every week since then!

In closing, in 2006, at the age of fifty-five, I enrolled in Covenant Bible College and Seminary. I am planning on getting my doctorate degree. I can truthfully say, “God has totally healed me from my past pain.” Now, I feel that it is my duty to help others know that He can heal them also. At the young age of fifty-five life is getting better and better. We are never too young or too old to make a difference in the lives of others or to fulfill what God has called us to do. Revelations 3:3 says, "We have overcome by the BLOOD of the LAMB and the words of our testimony.” My testimony is that through it all, I have conquered it all with my Savior right there at my side, and you can too! I am always amazed at what God can do if we let Him!


Wednesday 1/7/2009 8:04:20 AM