Hello everyone!
My name is Jonathan Harris. But I like to go by Jon. I am 21, I will be 22 on May 8th next year.
I was born in 1988 (On Mothers Day) It wont be again till 2011.
I go to a Baptist Church, But I just consider my self to be a follower of Jesus.
I grew up in a small town called Oakboro, In the great state of North Carolina. I have been here since birth.
It is a nice quiet town, Everyone knows who you are. I have one brother, We get along pretty well now days.
I work for Wal~Mart on third shift. So I am normally up all nigh and asleep all day.
Unless I am off. I enjoy it sometime. But sometimes I would rather be sleeping………..
I guess I’ll tell you a little about how I came to where I stand with God.
My life so far was not much. Until about 2 and a half years ago.
I was baptized on a cool Sunday morning in April, Then a month later I was going to Boot Camp.
I spent a month on that island. Then I was discharged for asthma. It was kind of depressing, But it changed my life.
The best thing was…. I found Jesus down there. I was upset that my dreams were crushed.
But I knew God had other plans for me. I dedicated my life at that point to be a better person.
To live for God.
I came home in June, Started working at a Cabinet shop,
(My Family has been working for them since they started)
I was there for a few months and became friends with Dwight. He introduced me to David, He was a MMA instructor.
So I gave it a try, I fell in love with the sport. David inspired me to never quit or give up in life no matter what it is.
After training with him for about 7 months I decided to try out what I had learned. I went to a grappling tournament in June 2008.
I went against a guy that hat a good year of training on me, But the never give up saying keep going through my head.
So I went for it, I did good for the first round, Then in the second….. He slammed me on my neck…………
The ref told me to lay there………. I got up. I won by DQ. But my David told me I deserve it for getting up and forgiving him for it.
Then come to find out……. I had a fracture in my face……………………… Yeah. But it is fine now.
I stayed out there for a another year or so.
I was In a bad relationship……… Don’t really want to go into that one. Im pretty sure you understand.
But I did start drinking and smoking during it. I started drinking more after it ended. I tried to drink it away…… The problem was, When I woke up all I had was a hangover and the memories. Nit to mention I went way off the path, and against God.
I knew something had to change!!
I was called to this a few months ago.
Then one day a friend sent me a message asking me what happened to me. What happened to the fire i used to have for the Lord!! It got me thinking on alot! I was going through some tough decisions, reflecting on all the broken promises to myself. All the lost dreams, and lost causes. I was searching for me, who I really was. Then I remembered a promise I made not only to my self but to God when I was in Boot. I promised to live for Him for the rest of my life. I had failed Him on that point. I broke down……. just begged for forgiveness, Begged to have the Lord back in my life.
Well…… That He did. He came back in full force. My life has not been the same since.
Every day is a new adventure with the Lord. I have been studying the Bible, getting more involved, but most of all loving more than I ever imagined. He gave me a second chance, a chance to make things right.
The wisdom, love, and understanding He has been giving me is beyond all I could think of having.
I renewed that promise.
Today I still live by that promise.
So training camp, it changed me in ways that I could only imagine.
I have only been going to church for about 4-5 years now. But NEVER have I experience a presence of God like I did there. I LONG to feel that presence.
I thought I knew what the Holy Spirit was and thought that I had felt it before.
I was only getting a taste before. I have felt the Holy Spirit come down and wipe away everything that held me back. It came and was breaking walls and addictions, but at the same time. The Holy Spirit was tearing open our hearts to be over whelmed by Gods love!!
I grew to love every single person on my team. Heck I love everyone that was down there!!
I cannot wait till July, so I can go into the world with my family and bring the Kingdom.
Well that brings me to where I am right now.
I am so excited to meet you all.
Namaste
Jon
