Janet's Testimony
Janet: Hello.
Len: Hi, it's Len here and just wanted to have a conversation with you about your testimony of how you came to know the Lord. So as we get started, I just thought it'd be good to just open with a word of prayer and invite the Lord in here, to help us, and so that he'll be glorified, and then we'll get started.
Janet: Yes. Alright.
Len: Well, heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this opportunity to just hear what you have done in Janet's life, and give you all the glory for it, Lord God. And we're just praying right now that you would anoint Janet and me as she shares her testimony, Lord, and just bring forth all those things that you want her to share that will help other people, Lord, who are still searching for Jesus. They're still outside the fold of your flock, Lord God, so that they too may hear the truth and know that you can reach them, too, Lord, that there's hope for them. Yes. And we ask it all in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. And right now we just also, we just bind every evil spirit that would seek to interfere in any way with this call. In the name of Jesus Christ, we plead the blood of Jesus upon me, upon Janet, upon this call, and all the technology. And right now we just pray that you would flow, Holy Spirit. Just come and flow through us, and have your way. We give you full control. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Well, praise God.
Well, first of all, Janet, why don't you begin with telling us about your upbringing. I mean, you're my sister, so we grew up in the same family. But you can just share a little bit about what kind of upbringing you had in our house as a child, and anything you want to share. Start anywhere you want to, as far back as you want to go, and then take us into your childhood and then your teen years. Start wherever you want to, and just kind of walk us up to through those pre-Christ years that you had.
Janet: Alright. Well, I was brought up in a very religious family. It was a Catholic family. My parents loved the Lord in their own way and brought us up in the way that they knew how. They always brought us to church and we thought that was the way it should go. We didn't know any better. And it was good at the time until we found out differently down through the years as they went by. We have very loving parents that brought us up in a loving family, like I said, and knowing God. At least they brought us up with the way that they knew how. And then, as I got older and I was on my own, I started to get pretty wild out there, and I was doing my own thing, knowing that I didn't have the covering of having to answer to my parents anymore. So my life was quite different.
Len: And now was that when you were still living at home or after you moved out?
Janet: This was after I left the house. I was on my own. And, I was just doing things that I’m a little bit of ashamed to talk about, that I didn't even want my parents to know about, but my mother knew that I was living a life that really wasn't something that God would be proud of. And she used to pray for me and tell me that you can't burn the candle at both ends. And I just didn't want to listen at the time.
Len: I have a memory from that period in time, Jan, which I can share here. I remember at that point in time, I was just a little boy, maybe five years old, and mom was very concerned about your soul. She shared that with me one day that you were on your way to hell. I remember it was just me and mom talking privately, and I replied to her, “I would be willing to go to hell, so that she doesn't have to go.” And my voice cracked when I said that, and I felt really tender in my heart toward you about that. And thank the Lord we found out later that we don't have to go to hell to keep someone else from going to hell, because Jesus already paid that price. But that was how I felt. And it was a big concern of ours -- of mine, of mom's -- for the salvation of your soul.
Janet: Right. And I still believe that our mother's prayers did help me along the way, since they were still prayers to our Lord for my soul, because she knew I was on the wrong path. And, and I do feel that her prayers really helped me along the way. And so eventually down the road, after going through the life that I thought was the right way, things started to change, once I found out and started to connect with other people who knew the Lord. Like the man that I met, that I started dating. We both started going to a church that his brother was going to and that's when we started to hear a lot about the Lord.
Len: That was Dave, right?
Janet: Yes, Dave. And, we were both actually baptized together in 1986, and that was the beginning of a new life. From then on, it seemed like the Lord did so many different things in my life. It started to change little by little, and things were just not the same anymore. And it showed me that God is real, and that it was not anything I ever experienced before in the Catholic Church at all. It was not at all. I never felt the spirit like I did, and it just felt so alive -- something that I had never experienced before.
Len: I remember I had just gotten saved back in February of 1986, and I was back in our hometown -- because I got saved down in Georgia -- I was back in New Hampshire in our hometown between May and June for about 30 days there in 1986, and shared the Lord with you over in your apartment with you and Dave. And was talking to you about the Lord, sharing my testimony, and sharing the gospel with you and everything. But there wasn’t receptivity to it. It seemed more like there was resistance at the time, but those were seeds that were planted still.
Janet: Absolutely.
Len: And then through prayer, God was faithful because Dave's brother Ray started to share the Lord with you and invite you to church. And you started to attend church and hear the gospel preached there. And you heard the Word of God. And then that drew you, and then you finally made your decision. You got baptized in water. About what time of year was that in ‘86?
Janet: It was August 16th or 17th, 1986.
Len: Wow. Yeah. The other thing I remember is that then after my being there from May to June of ’86, I went to Berlin for the next year and a half for the second half of my Army enlistment. And while I was over there, I continued to pray for you.
And then what I remember is that sometime shortly after you gave your life to the Lord, I don't remember exactly which month (I thought it was November but it might have been sooner than that) that I got a letter from you in the mail. I opened it up, and you said that you were so happy to tell me that you had now given your life to Jesus, and your whole life had changed. You and Dave were now following Jesus. You were born again. And everything was different. When I read that, I just locked the door on my room. I was living in the barracks. I had roommates, but they weren't there at the time. I just locked the door, got down on my knees, and I was just praising God for answered prayer -- for saving your soul. So I still remember the beginning of your walk with the Lord back then.
Janet: It was wonderful. It's hard to explain, but how the Word of God can really change a person. There is power in his Word, and I found that out through the years that there is power to change whatever is in your life that needs to go. He can change it just through his Word. He can bring healing and life into your own life. He can deliver you from things that you want to be delivered from, but you can't do it on your own. But he certainly can help you with it. And His Word does that the more you're in his Word. I found out that that's definitely a big key -- being in His Word.
Len: Absolutely. That's life transforming. If you don't have that, then it's really just kind of dead. But when the Word of God...
Janet: Yeah. And we weren't brought up to read our Bibles at that time, so we didn't -- we went to church, we did the motions. We came back home, and we didn't know any better at that time. But when you experience the difference, it feels like a totally different life.
You wish that you could talk to your family and tell them, “If you only knew,” but it's a very hard thing to change once you're in that religion. God doesn't want religion. He didn't die so we can have a religion. He died so we can have a personal relationship with him. He wants to be able to have that relationship with us, and us depending on Him for everything, because He's there for us.
Len: That's right. And it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. And all things have become new.” And that's a beautiful verse about the new life in Christ. And that's what happened to you. And I think that one time I heard you summarize your life before coming to know Christ by saying that you were basically living a selfish life.
Janet: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
Len: It was all about satisfying your pleasures and basically living a life of hedonism. In other words, you were just fulfilling your own pleasures, and you were the center of that. And it's a very self-centered, selfish type of a lifestyle (which is what I was doing before I got saved) until Jesus came in to your life, and then everything changed and then it's all about him. And it's a Christ-centered life after that.
Janet: Yes. And I know that if you end up not being in the Word for a few days, you will notice the difference. I know I had done that for a while. Like I felt like I was backsliding a little bit and not reading the Word. And you can get right back into your old habits and you'll get in trouble. You need to stay in God's Word. You really do. That's the important thing,
Len: And in prayer.
Janet: Absolutely.
Len: The Word of God and prayer every single day -- in prayer all the time. We have direct access to the Lord. You can talk to Him anytime. He wants you to Talk to him anytime. Because you can come to the Father through Him. It's the only way. We don't have to go through mediators, angels, and through Mary. We have our own personal, direct relationship with God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.
So we can talk to him about anything. It could be while we're driving, while we're walking, while we're showering, while we're lying in bed, while we're kneeling -- at any time. It doesn't matter what the situation. We can just talk to him. It's just a conversation with him.
Janet: That's right. It's very easy to be able to just talk with Him.
Len: Yeah. And one of the things I remember was that I had sold my stuff and went off to Bible school in Rhode Island. I wasn't home very often in New Hampshire, but when I did come back to Manchester, which was rarely, (I usually remained on campus for breaks and stuff like that, even during the summers), but when I would come back for a short period of a few days, you would let me stay at your apartment most of the time. During my three years of Bible school, I had a place to stay at your apartment. There was a room there that I was able to stay in.
And those were good memories of having times of fellowship together, being in the Word, being part of your Wednesday night Bible studies that you had -- your husband Dave was there, and his brother Ray, a group of people that were there each week -- and just to be able to participate and then have fellowship one-on-one with you during my time there. So it was great.
But I do remember that there was a period of time during your early years with the Lord that you continued to smoke cigarettes. And it wasn't until later on in your walk with the Lord that God took that away and set you free. I was addicted to cigarettes myself, before coming to Christ.
From the time I was about 12, I started. And I was a pretty heavy smoker, during my teen years. I think that when I was in the Army, I can't remember exactly how much, but it could have been at times, maybe a couple packs a day. So it was a lot; whatever it was, it was a significant amount of cigarettes that I was inhaling. And they say that nicotine is harder to give up than heroin. It's a stronger addiction than heroin.
So it's a very, very powerful thing. But do you remember that point in your walk with the Lord where the Lord finally set you free from that?
Janet: I do, I do. And I believe it was in 2005 that I was freed from the nicotine. I remember the next day when I got up in the morning…
I had wanted to stop, and I had tried different times and just kept failing and I was just down about it, thinking there's no hope for this. But God knew I wanted to, and it certainly was not anything good for my health, and I didn't seem to care that much. At one time I would just continue to smoke, smoke, smoke, and think nothing of it. But then one morning I got up, and it was like I didn't have the desire anymore, and I never smoked again after that. After that morning when I got up, I was free from it. And I knew it wasn't anything on my own, because I never could do it before.
But all of a sudden, I just didn't have the desire anymore. It was gone. It was the most wonderful thing. And I remember at the time, my husband thought, “Oh, you'll be smoking tomorrow.” But I never did. I never smoked again. And it was wonderful. It was a wonderful deliverance from the Lord, and I know it.
Len: That's a deliverance. It was Him for sure. He gets all the glory for it. So praise God for that.
Janet: Yes, yes, for sure.
[Editorial note: In the interest of complete honesty, Janet stated after reading this transcript following our call: "I tried hard to remember back on when I quit smoking and I believe I did use the nicotine patch (a form of nicotine replacement therapy) to help with the withdrawal; but then towards the end, got off from using them. I still to this day give God all the glory for total freedom from nicotine."]
Len: And then over the years you have been, and are now a part of [church name redacted for privacy and security] Christian Church.
Janet: Yes.
Len: And I know that now at this point in time, your eyesight is such that you can't really drive in the dark. You can't really go to home group meetings. But I remember that there was a point in time where after your husband David died, that you were not really going to the house group meetings and so forth. And I had suggested to you that you really try to get into that, because I think at that time you were kind of drifting away from the Lord a bit.
Janet: Yes.
Len: And so I think that at that time, the way that you felt was that you didn't really feel comfortable being in a small setting like that. You felt more comfortable in a big meeting where you can kind of blend in with everyone. But in a small group where you're going to be noticed and everything, you're a little on the shy side and didn't really want to be in that sort of setting.
Janet: Do you know that the Lord has changed me in that way? I used to always be afraid to talk to people and the Lord has really turned me around in that way where now I just freely talk to people, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I feel so free now. I never was like that before, so I know that's one thing he has helped me with
Len: Hallelujah.
Janet: Yeah. I mean, I can talk to anybody now. I was never that way. I was very quiet, always afraid to say anything. But He opened me up to be able to share things now, and I can talk to people like they're my regular sister or brother. It's wonderful to be that way now. I love the freedom of that, so I feel that's one thing he really helped me with for sure.
Len: Yeah. That's where I was going with that was I really think that he brought about a freedom there for you, because back in that period of time you were still like that -- not wanting to go to a small group meeting. When Dave was alive and you were married to him, you would go together to home group meetings. But this was something different. Now you're on your own at night, and you didn't really want to be in a small group setting like that, but there eventually came a point where the Lord gave you the freedom and then you did begin to attend small group meetings that were part of your church.
Janet: Right, right.
Len: So God broke that fear and gave you the liberty there to be a part of that. That's wonderful. Praise God for what he did in your life.
Janet: Yeah.
Len: Is there anything else that you want to share about -- any big answers to prayer that you've seen for yourself or others, or any miracles or healing the Lord's done in your life?
Is there anything at all that you want to share -- anyone that you've ever prayed for or shared the Lord with and you saw God do something?
Janet: Well, I know just recently, with my own health, I've been struggling with my breathing a lot. And, I had asked for prayer, and I feel like it's a total turnaround from two nights ago. I could hardly breathe going up the stairs, and it's like now I go up the stairs, and it's like night and day. I see that the Lord has brought healing right there in that situation, which is wonderful, that I can breathe again. I always thought of my sister Elaine, who actually died of COPD -- and she had stage four, the worst that you could have, and that took her life -- I always thought of her when I was having a hard time breathing.
Len: But we're believing God for a complete miracle for you. He is doing a complete miracle. But you have an appointment with your doctor coming up in a couple weeks. And what I would suggest you do is, we're going to pray that that will be a documented miracle. The doctor will document your miraculous healing from that. And when he does so, keep a copy for yourself. Tell him that you'd like to have a copy of that, because that will be a testimony to other people that God has done this miracle for you.
Janet: Yes, I certainly will. Because my memory isn't wonderful, isn't always as good as it used to be. But I do remember a lot of different things, and maybe I’m not remembering them all at this moment. But He has totally turned my life around for the better now. And He continues to. It's a daily thing -- He continues to -- and he'll never leave me alone. He'll never forsake me. He's always with me.
Len: That's right. That's right. Hallelujah. And I was just thinking when you were sharing that testimony about how the Lord led me to call you up, because you had asked for prayer in a text message, and I told you we were praying for you. And then the Lord led me to give you a call and pray for you over the phone. And when we began that call, I shared with you that even though the doctor had diagnosed you with COPD, I said, “I'm going to tell you what your actual real condition is.” And I said, “You want to know what your real condition is” And, you said, “What is it?” And, I said, “It's not COPD. It's B-H-S-I-H.”. I said, “You know what that is? That's 'By His stripes I'm Healed.'” And you said, “Oh, wow. I've been quoting that very verse to the Lord. I was going up the steps…I would stop, because I was having a hard time breathing. And I would just say, ‘Lord Jesus, by your stripes I'm healed.’” And you said, “I kept quoting that.” And the Lord had me share that thing with you to encourage you at the beginning of our call a couple days ago. And then I prayed for you and you said you felt something happened where I prayed for you.
Janet: I did. I did. I mean, I was really being touched by the Holy Spirit in our time of prayer over me on the telephone. I really felt like the Lord was bringing healing there.
Len: Yeah. And then the next day I asked you, “How are you doing?” And you said, “It's like night and day. My breathing is better. I was able to sleep well. I did two nights now.” (see
Woman Healed from COPD). Only God can do that. Hallelujah.
Janet: Absolutely. Only God can do that. That is for sure. So anyone that's out there that's struggling with something, just know that the Lord is there for you. Just when you come to Him, He's there ready to help you with anything you need deliverance from. Or if you're addicted to something, just know that there's freedom with the Lord.
Len: Yeah, right. Or fears, like fear of being around things, groups of people, things like that. All those things -- fear, addictions, you name it.
Janet: Amen.
Len: It says that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Jesus said He whom the Son sets free will be free indeed. Free indeed! And that's what you are now.
Janet: Yes. Hallelujah.
Len: Yes. Well, that's wonderful. Let's take a moment just to close in prayer and give thanks to the Lord and give praise. And perhaps you could close us in prayer and just pray to give praise to God and glory to God for what he did in your life. And pray for anyone who is going to read your testimony that they too would come to know the Lord.
Janet: Yes, Lord, I thank you so much, Lord God, for being with us during this conversation. We know that you're always there with us and hear everything and know everything about us, and I thank you for all that you have done in my life, and I pray that all of those who are listening will have a spark of hope in their life to know that if they bring the Lord into their life, that he can change them. He's there for you and he loves you. There is no love like his. There is no love that you that can compare to it. And we just thank you Lord and we give you all the glory for all the changes that you continue to do in our lives.
And I pray that you will touch the lives of those that are listening, Lord God. Help them to hear what is being said and know that is the truth, Lord God, and that you are real, and you are powerful, and you are Almighty. And we love you, Lord, for all that you have done and all that you are doing, Jesus. Praise you God. You're wonderful. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Len: Amen. Hallelujah.
Well, thank you very much for taking time out, Janet, to share this with your little brother and it was really a blessing to hear your testimony like that in full for the first time.
Janet: Oh, I appreciate that. I'm glad that I was able to give it to you, and I hope it'll help somebody.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
________________________________________________
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
.jpg)
