God is my best friend. My testimony is going all in on God was and is the best decision I ever made. By saying that I made a choice to live for Him. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. One night I drove home drunk. Couldn’t remember how I got home. The next morning I sat in that conviction broken but thankful I made it home alive. I got on my knees that morning and asked God for forgiveness and thanked him for His mercy. That I still got home safe but the life I was living was going to kill/destroy me. So I needed to make a change. I asked God to help me. I made a decision to really get to know Him. Setting my alarm earlier every morning was the first discipline I made to seek God. To put Him first in my life. To sit in His presence and open up His word. I do this now every morning, every day. Next thing I started to fill my life with positive routines. Going to the gym, serving at the church, attending small groups to help build my community which has given me accountability. Now I understand that worship isn't just singing or praying. It's how we live, including how we care for our body and mind. It's obedience. Submission. The Holy Spirit wants to guide our thoughts and actions, being out of His alignment blocks His influence. Dulls our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Living a life that doesn’t represent Christ can negatively affect our witness for Christ. The Lord is the only one to deliver us from anything and everything. He fills the places where we feel weak or anxious with His peace instead. Teaching us to honor Him with our body, our choices, and our lives. To be truly set free. I'm a testimony of it. Going on 2yrs being completely sober. Focusing on loving the Lord, I have no desires to turn back. He took old habits/friendships/desires from me. I love God way more than anything that would pull me away from Him. I’m so grateful for His peace and joy. He’s shown me a way of life that’s pure and pleasing to Him. I always have new things to learn from Him. The more I seek Him the more I find. His word says if I abide in Him He will abide in me. There’s no one like Him who brings me complete fulfillment. I choose Him. I was created to worship Him. He is my purpose. My first & my last. The alpha and omega. I never want to take for granted his mercies/kind and loving heart. All Glory to Him. He is my helper, He is my best friend. I am a child of God.

@Paula Hoffman Thank you Paula 🤍 It all points back to Him 🥹🤍

The Book of Esther 1. Author: Unknown. Traditional views: Some Jewish tradition suggests Mordecai may have written it (based on Esther 9:20–23), Others think it was written by a Jewish scribe or historian living in Persia. Date: Likely written between 400–300 BC. 2. Content: The story of God’s providential preservation of Jews throughout the Persian Empire through Mordecai and his niece, Esther. Historical coverage: Most of the story takes place during a single year during the reign of Xerxes (486-465 B.C.), a generation before the events recorded in Ezra-Nehemiah. 3. Key take aways are that chance and circumstances are fully within God’s providence. Reversal and irony are evidence of God’s hand in a book in which He is never mentioned by name. Esther’s courage, while often vital does not replace carful planning. Before making a big decision we should seek God for wisdom and clarity with prayer and fasting. We fast so we can last, we pray so we don’t stray. Esther went into the spiritual realm. Something happens in the spirit realm when we pray & fast. We don’t see it but we can sense it. Esther reminds us that God’s providence does not depend on visible miracles. God’s name is never mentioned, yet His hand is evident throughout the story. Courage and Obedience matter. Esther risked her life by approaching the king. True faith often requires brave obedience, even when the outcome is uncertain. Events unfolded at just the right moments. Esther becoming queen, the king’s sleepless night, Haman’s downfall. What seems like delay may be divine preparation. Our position is not accidental. God places us where we are for His purposes. Remember and celebrate God’s deliverance. Purim was established so future generations would remember God’s rescue. God’s works should be remembered, shared, and celebrated. Remembering what God did for me is a continual life dedication and devotion to God from taking me from death to life. I am forever grateful. Sharing my deliverance is my testimony and my life long celebration. Just like Esther I pray and believe that God can use someone like me to set the captives free.