Have you ever felt like you don’t deserve forgiveness? God’s grace is available for everyone but you? Does this also make it harder for you to let go of the resentment and bitterness you have towards other people? Amanda shares some practical and biblical examples on how not only to forgive others, but yourself as well. 

I grew up going to a Lutheran church most of my childhood. However, it really didn’t mean anything to me. I didn’t really know who Jesus was or that I could have a personal relationship with him. I didn’t even know what the Holy Spirit was. During that time I had always been a pretty “morally good” child but as I reached college years I decided that I wanted to experiment in the areas of alcohol, boys, bad music, etc. I found to have temporary satisfaction, but it always left me feeling empty and lost. Looking back on those years I see now that the enemy literally had a veil over my eyes keeping me from knowing the truth..which is annoying..lol wait for it though..

However, THANKFULLY my junior year of college I basically hit my rock bottom. Whooo!! I knew the things that I was doing was not fulfilling, not somebody that I wanted to be, and also not the example that I wanted to be for my siblings as well as my extended family of surrogate siblings that I had sort of adopted. I was over it! It was then that I was invited to a Chi Alpha service on campus. Chi Alpha is where I gave my life to The Lord!!

From there I continued to pursue small groups and other services where the leaders taught me who Jesus was, how he loved me, and most importantly that through the Holy Spirit I could have a personal relationship with Him. It was the most amazing thing in the world to me that I could not only talk to him but also listen and hear back from Him. That he had a plan and purpose for my life and all I needed to do was surrender my life to him and let him lead me. Wow. Game changer! LIFE CHANGER!! Thank you Jesus! It’s definitely been a process and a journey and I’ll be continually learning and growing for the rest of my life, but I have come a long way, and I am just so genuinely thankful and mind blown that he literally snatched me out of darkness, brought me to light, and set me free, just like he wants to do with each and every one of us. Thanks for reading and God bless!

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Hey Friends!! My name is Amanda Dufner. I currently live in Grand Forks, North Dakota where I am a Personal Trainer, teacher, and a Mary Kay consultant. I love it!! =) Nice to meet you all!

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