life beyond the well…

Author Archives: erin.almond


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Your Witness- Lift Him Up!

“Oh! the world is hungry for the Living Bread, Lift the Savior up for them to see; Trust Him, and do not doubt the words that He said, “I’ll draw all men unto Me.”…Lift Him up by living as a Christian ought, Let the world in you the Savior see; Then men will gladly follow Him Who once taught, “I’ll draw all men unto Me.”…”

There’s power in our witness.  I’ve learned many things in my walk with Christ, but this always seems to resonate.  Sharing our testimony isn’t easy, nor is being a witness, but there’s power there and it’s necessary.

I’ve shared my testimony here before, expressed through a spoken word that I performed at my church years ago.  And while that testimony still has power, there have been more testimonies since then.  There have been more things that have happened in my life where I’m able to witness and testify to the power of God.  And it’s important to note that, because sometimes we view our testimonies as this stagnant “thing” that doesn’t change.  But as God continues to work through us, we have more things to witness and testify about.  Our lives are the sum of many, many testimony and witness experiences woven together and orchestrated by God.  And we have to share them.

I missed an opportunity to witness and was SO disappointed in myself.  Well, let me not say I missed the opportunity.  It wasn’t like it was a bus that came, and I was late.  But an opportunity to witness opened up, and I chose not to share.  Why? Perhaps out of fear.  Perhaps because I didn’t view that the time and place was appropriate. I can’t exactly pinpoint the reason that I chose NOT to share, but as soon as the moment was over, I was disappointed.  Not only because I misrepresented myself, but I also misrepresented God in my failure to share His truths with someone else.

The writer of the hymn “How to Reach the Masses” (quoted above) is right- the WORLD is hungry for the living bread.  We should always be ready to serve that living bread to others.  Many people won’t go to church, but they will observe us and our life.  We add power to that observation when we share our witness and testimony.

Lebron James had it right- we are ALL witnesses.  But what will we witness and testify to? I’m committed to being a witness and sharing the testimony of how God’s love, grace, mercy, and favor have changed my life.  And I believe that as I share that testimony with faith and conviction, lives will be changed.

It’s not about how I became better.  It’s about WHO made me better.  To God be the glory for the things He has done.

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” – John 12:32 (KJV)


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Life Matters.

I read a few blogs each day.  It helps to satisfy my hunger for reading, despite the lack of time that I have to actually read books other than the Bible and what I’m reading for my classes.  I find it to be a nice stress reliever; and for some blogs that I have been reading for years, I almost feel like I know the author.

I guess I kinda do know the authors.  After years of reading about their successes, their struggles, their faith, their loves, their losses, their joy, their pain…I kinda do know them.  And even though I only “know” them through what they write, that doesn’t change the fact that I feel connected to them; that their words and their thoughts have moved me to pray, to change, to seek, to love, to grow.

So, my heart has been heavy over the past week or so because two of the bloggers that I read regularly have both lost their sisters.  They aren’t related, but the stories of their losses are very similar.  And because I feel like I “know” them, my heart aches for them.

As I’ve read their blogs through this difficult time, what resonates to me is that life matters.  All of it matters.  All the time. And it matters that much more because we don’t know how much time we have left.

So much of life is spent focused on things that don’t matter: pleasing people we don’t really care about, acquiring things that we will only leave behind, worried about things that are really of very little significance.  I’m so guilty of it.  I’ve wasted so much of my life focused on the wrong things that don’t really matter.  My life matters.  How I spend my time matters.  Choosing to value people over things matters.  Looking for the opportunity to always do right by others matters.  Seeking each opportunity to make a memory instead of an excuse matters.  Taking every chance possible to leave each person, place, and thing that I encounter better than I found it matters.  Loving people beyond their faults matters.  Forgiveness matters.  Investing in my family matters.  Leaving a legacy of faith and love matters.  Life matters.

While I am praying for my dear blog friends, I am also praying that God “teach us to number our days” so that we can fully understand and execute wisdom in life through acting in grace, humility, love and faith.

Life matters.  Live wisely.  Love freely.

Be encouraged!