Cost to have Your Story in a Real Life Stories Christian Testimony Book

 

Witnesses and Testimonies Wanted! 
Please  consider writing your testimony for the next Lighthouse Book of Real Life Stories.

To be a part of this book you must agree to carry 2 books in hand every day and use them to give to lost people in your community as the Holy Spirit directs you . 2 books a day would be about 720 books a year.
 
The subtitle of the book is “Life Has Many Storms.”  Due Date is NOW! Release form is attached . Testimony will not be accepted without release form.
 
Guidelines to Help You to Write Your Story/Testimony for a 3-Fold Flyer or Book.
Part 1 - Describe what your life was like before coming to the Lord.
Part 2 - Tell how you came to the Lord.
Part 3 - Describe what your life is like now.
Describe the changes between part 1 and part 3. Brag on God and what He has done for you!
 
Tell your story in the order that it happened. Do not bounce around from the present to the past. Use your age to help you tell the story. Start sharing your life from say age 3 to 10, then tell some things from age 11 to 20, then 20 to 30, etc.
 
Do not insert scripture in your story. It is ok to put a favorite verse at the end that pertains to salvation.  Just tell your story. Keep it simple. Do not thank God at the end of every sentence. Just tell your story. Do not try to teach in your story. Just tell your story. It is ok to add 1 or 2 of your favorite scriptures near the end of your story.          
 
Paint a picture with your words!
 
∙Finish by signing your testimony with your first name.  
∙Place your cell phone number and email address at the end of story.   
 Please use a phone and email address that will remain active for many, many years ahead.( 90 % of the people that respond to the books call or text. I have prayed several people through suicide) A story without a phone number serves no purpose! We all need to learn to be available and minister to hurting people!   We will also add the church or ministry contact info, please provide it. (Name, address, phone number, text number, email address.)  But this does not replace the personal contact info!
 
Do not worry about a title. We will take care of it.
 
Do not talk in Christian language. Talk or write in plain simple English. Remember your audience is a lost soul. Your purpose in writing this is to reach lost souls. Do not preach! Do not teach! Do not share your pet doctrines! Simply share what Jesus has done for you and will do for the reader.Did not push or slam any denominations. Do not drop names of important people or places. Use only first names if you refer to other people in your story.   
 
The length of your written testimony should be around 1000 to 1100 words.Along with your testimony, fill out a “Release Form,” and send it back to us .You can request a release form at this email jimbarbarossa7@gmail.com  
 
For those who can do so, please print the Release Form, complete it, scan it, and email it back.   
If you are mailing the form, please send it to the following address:
 
                Jim Barbarossa
                815 S. Babcock Rd
                Porter, IN 46304
 
If submitting your story for a book, we will need a picture.Here are the guidelines: ∙Take a head to chest picture with a nice big smile!  ∙Stand in front of a white, beige, or light blue wall with nothing else in the background.  ∙Do not crop or edit the photo.  ∙Send it as a full-sized jpeg in high resolution.
  
If you have any questions or need any additional help, please ask. Email jimbarbarossa7@gmail.com 
or call 219-762-7589.
  
Your 720 books will cost $600 , which is due at the time of submitting your testimony. Your story will be in one printing of at least 20,000 books. A check can be sent to Step-By-Step Ministries at the above address. Testimonies will not be accepted without payment. You can also pay for the books with PayPal or credit card by calling Jim at 219-762-7589 with your information.( 4% added on with Pay Pal or Credit Card )  Shipping would be an extra charge.
 
If you would like, even more books to use, the best way to participate, is become a monthly contributor. For $ 100 monthly donation you will receive  3 cases of books, (210 books every month)! Plus shipping.        
 
If for any reason we cannot use your story in the book we will give you a full refund .
 
Shalom,
 
Jim and Carla 
 
Please pass this information on to people in your sphere of influence!

www.reallifestoriesbooks.com
Jim and Carla Barbarossa
Step By Step Ministries
219-762-7589

Depressed Beyond Hope - Real Life Stories Books

There were indications of my father sexually abusing myself and my siblings.
I was always lonely.
I tried drinking to numb the pain.
I was searching for things to fill the hole in my heart, until...

My life started in 1961 in Forest Park, Illinois. My mom and dad lived there while my dad was in dental school. Shortly after my dad was out of dental school we moved to Michigan. He started his dental practice there. But it was short lived as we moved to Wheaton, Illinois just before I started kindergarten.

Around fourth grade my dad was witnessed to by a neighbor. He used the Four Spiritual Laws as his tool to show my dad his need for the Lord in his life. My dad grew up in a Reformed Church. My mom grew up in the Baptist church.

As my dad grew in the Lord he wanted to share this with his family, meaning his girls. I accepted the Lord into my heart in fourth grade. I remember peace coming into my heart. We as a family also started going to church.

As I grew older, there were indications of my father sexually abusing my siblings and myself. I do not remember any of it. I have blocked it out!

There was the constant illness that happened when I was younger. I could not put this behind me. It happened before I was five. You see, I kept getting recurring strep throats. It happened so many times that I had to get my tonsils and adenoids out before I went into kindergarten. This has always been in the back of my mind.

I was not putting God first and trying to fill the empty hole on the inside of myself. I was always lonely. I was searching for things to fill that hole in my heart. So I tried drinking to numb the pain, went into chat rooms, met guys from singles sites, had one night stands such as friends with benefits and got married twice. I kept doing the same things over and over again. I started going to Celebrate Recovery in November 2012. I started going because my husband at the time was going due to his DUI. I figured I could go to support him, but it turned out that I really needed it for myself. I found out that I was codependent. I liked it and was learning so much that I even signed up for the step group.

In this group, God really touched my heart and I realized He really did love me. I saw this through Deuteronomy 31:6, which was a verse in the study. This verse says that God will never leave you nor forsake you. This really touched my heart. I also heard the song Healing Begins by Tenth Avenue North. This helped me to know that God loves me and this let me look at the rest of the stuff in my life.

With step group finishing and knowing I didn’t want to go backwards say into depression, etc. again, I then knew God wanted me to sign up for the School of the Supernatural. It was in this class that I continued to learn how much God loves us and wants a relationship with us. The love of our Father God is the best.

My first husband was verbally abusive and cheated on me. My second husband was a recovering alcoholic. He had tried several different times to stop drinking but could not. It got so bad that I could not trust him anymore. He had gotten a DUI. Then, after three years of not drinking, He started to drink again. He lost our car by getting into an accident. He called me, and I came to get him. He just left the car so he would not be caught with another DUI. He got my two boys involved with his drinking by having them help him get on his motorcycle when drinking. Several times, they found him passed out in the house when they got home from school. At my church my Pastor said that someone that keeps walking out on you (meaning a toxic person), this is God’s protection for you. He also said that if you were abused when younger, you will marry an abuser. These two comments really got me thinking. I can look at both of my marriages now and see that I had a moment before each one that God was talking to me, and He was saying don't do it. But I thought I knew better and went ahead with both marriages.

It was not until I started writing this story that God revealed some things to me. I remember my strep throats that I had when I was younger. God told me to “Google” strep throat and oral sex. This equals Gonorrhea. Gonorrhea can lead to kidney cancer, which my father died of when he was 38. I was 15 at the time. This is not solid proof of this happening, but I cannot look the other way either.

I have forgiven my dad and my two ex-husbands, along with forgiving myself. I can do this because God first loved me and forgave me. It is His love that keeps me going.

Father God has been there all along with me, and it has for sure been a journey. But with knowing Deuteronomy 31:6 (God will never leave you or forsake you), I can go on because my Father is with me.

Father God is the love of my life, my hope when there is none, and a constant in my life. I do not know where I would be without Him.

Friend, if you have dealt with any of the same issues I have dealt with, Father God will help you too! Just ask Him!

Real Life Stories Christian Testimony Books
Jim and Carla Barbarossa
Phone: 219-762-7589
Email: jimbarbarossa7@gmail.com or jim@step-by-step.org
Website: https://www.reallifestoriesbooks.com/

Why Am I Miserable - Real Life Stories Books

There was a great sadness in our home.

The unseen sadness was passed on deep in my psyche.

The great sadness never left me, until...

I grew up with decent parents who took us to church regularly. Christian rules were good for avoiding a lot of trouble. But ever since I can remember, there was a great sadness in our home and in my life. When I was five years old, I remember pretending to be asleep in the car while we drove to my grandparents’ home for the first time because I didn’t want to get out and meet them. Dad was moody. I learned to keep my mouth shut around him. So then he made fun of me for being quiet. Years later, I learned about his abusive childhood. Amazingly he never abused us physically or sexually, but his tongue was sharp and cut my heart and soul. Mom was quiet and never said anything to him about how cruel his words were. My parents struggled from their own unseen abuse and lack of love. They did the best they could, but the unseen sadness was passed on deep in my psyche.

I moved out and went to university. I became a professional with a good job as a single woman. Life looked good, but the great sadness never left me. I continued going to church regularly but found very few true friends there. It was a show. It wasn’t safe to open up about what was really going on. There was no way to get help for doubts and problems because “good church people don’t have problems” supposedly.

Eventually, I married and had kids. The great sadness was mostly hidden. It was so familiar that I just took it for granted as part of life. As life’s stress increased and didn’t let up, the great sadness could no longer be ignored. I was a Christian, somehow walking in spiritual defeat. “God, why doesn’t my life match up to what’s in Your Bible?” “Why am I miserable?” “I want the real deal.”

I went to a Christian freedom retreat weekend and got saved! God never left my side all those years. He led me to His Tree of Life. As an older grey-haired woman, I finally SURRENDERED ALL of me and my life to Him. Everything I own, every person I hold dear, and every bit of my body and soul is His. He is in charge! The great sadness is gone! I feel exhilarated! Just like the people in the Bible, I can tell family and friends this story without feeling shy or embarrassed. It would have been embarrassing to tell people I’ve gone to church and followed the rules but haven’t surrendered to God the Creator! The freedom retreat was simply a place and time for me to bow my head and pray my own words of surrender.

I am happier. I don’t try to guess how things are going to turn out. It’s all in God’s capable hands. I can relax and trust Him. My free time (from not worrying) is welcomed by my family to spend with them. God is taking up the slack. He is replacing my emptiness and trepidation with love and boldness. Over time, it is a slow process of blossoming. Without love, we truly are nothing.

Every now and then, the Devil pours his custom marinade of self-pity over me. Sometimes, I wallow in it for a little while before recognizing it, remembering God is BIGGER than every life circumstance. If I quit, get anxious, or criticize, I am cursing and dishonoring Him. For the rest of my life, God is calling me out to HONOR HIM!

Real Life Stories Christian Testimony Books

Jim and Carla Barbarossa

Phone: 219-762-7589

Email: jimbarbarossa7@gmail.com or jim@step-by-step.org

Website: https://www.reallifestoriesbooks.com/

I GOT SO SICK & TIRED OF MY LIFESTYLE - Christian Testimony

 In my sophomore year of high school, I started to drink and party. One beer turned to smoking pot. I started to bar hop and get deep into rock and roll music. Between the years of 14-24, I just loved to get drunk and party. My girlfriend was pregnant, we married and we had a daughter, Jennifer. Her mother left me shortly after that. The next three years of my life were lost years. I had no idea of my purpose in life. I played and loved baseball. I tried out for a major league, but I wasn’t good enough to make a living out of it. 

At age 21, I started going to different race tracks. It was then that I started gambling and betting on horses. This was the worst time of my life. I loved the high of winning and seeing your horse cross the finish line. But every time I bet, I lost 90% of the time. Even when I won, I would lose the money the next day. I would lose my whole paycheck on those Friday nights and would scrape through the week. Some weeks I would go 6 days a week.

 I would remember leaving the race track in 1979 with no money. I started crying out to God. I constantly would think, what is wrong with me? I didn’t realize that God was dealing with me. I know now that the Holy Spirit was showing me the way out of my mess. God was creating in me a clean heart and renewing in me a right spirit. I started hating what I was doing and just started begging God to change my life and help me. I got so sick and tired of my life style. I started hating the bar life and partying. I was tired of getting drunk all the time and being high on drugs. The gambling addiction had messed me up so bad, I never had money. Then, one day I saw this church that I drove by 9 months earlier. I said, I am going to give up this life of sin and I am going to serve God 100%. That week-end I went to the race track that last time and had my last beer. That Sunday morning I went to that church and totally surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. I was ready to live like the apostles of old. God’s presence was guiding me and preparing me for a divine appointment with Him. I renounced all my wicked ways. I asked God to deliver me from addictions of gambling, drugs and drinking. I remember just crying and crying because God was totally changing my life. Three days later, a scripture just lifted up my heart. It said, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation.” I used to always wonder about when people would say, “Are you saved?” I now know what they meant. Old things passed away! For me, that meant drinking, gambling, drugs. 

February 2, 1980 Sunday morning, Oh what a day! That was the day when I made an absolute surrender to God. I gave my life to Jesus and I experienced a new life in Christ or Christian Testimony . Old things passed away and all things became new. I use to wonder about that phrase, “born again “what did that mean? I loved God, grew up in a beautiful Christian home, but I had no idea what born again was all about. I knew about God but to have a real relationship, I never knew. I did not know a life like this could exist.

 It’s been 35 years now and I have never gone back to those old ways. I now go around sharing the new and everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. That sinner, you don’t have to sin anymore! Jesus saves from sin, sickness, and death! Jesus came to restore our lives! God Bless you as you read this and may you find God our Father through Jesus Christ by His power and the wonder working presence of His Holy Spirit. And Jesus would say to you, “Come unto me! Only believe and I will give

I WAS NOT EXPECTED TO LIVE - REAL LIFE STORIES BOOKS

In college, I took the path of having fun.

The van flipped end-over-end.

I had to hit rock bottom before I realized…

I grew up in a Christian home, attending church and hearing about God all my life. At seven, I became a Christian. I was active in church until my senior year of high school. When I took a job at local go-cart track, I usually worked late hours on Saturday evening, which caused me to start the habit of missing church the next morning. In college, I took a path of having fun rather than living for God. I had all but forgotten my spiritual commitment.

On October 2, 1982, a group of friends and I were coming home from the Winnie Texas Rice Festival, when a drunk driver struck our van, clipping off our left front wheel. The van flipped end-over-end. Two of us were thrown from the van. The other person was not injured, but my injuries were severe. The most serious were two crushed vertebrae. My parents were out of town at the time, and the doctors advised them to get to the hospital quickly as I was not expected to live through the night. When my parents arrived, the doctors told them if I did live, I would never walk again. My parents did the only thing they could do; they prayed, asking their friends to pray too. My condition began to stabilize.

During my hospital stay, I prayed and sang to God around the clock. I had to hit rock bottom before I realized my need for God. I cried out to the Lord for my healing, and He heard my prayer.

After my stay in the hospital, I was sent to the rehabilitation center to learn how to walk again. If the physical therapist asked me to do a certain exercise fifty times, I would do it one hundred times. “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” Matthew 5:41. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity God had given me to totally depend on Him. Today, even though I walk with a slight limp, I am grateful for my recovery - both physically and spiritually. Shepherds have an interesting way of handling wayward sheep. It seems there is always one stubborn sheep that wants to wander off. The shepherd will leave the flock to find and bring the one wayward sheep home. If the sheep continues to wander, the shepherd will actually break the sheep’s leg. The shepherd will then carry the sheep on his shoulder until its leg is healed. During this time, he feeds and cares for the sheep. The sheep becomes one hundred percent dependent on the shepherd.

After that, the sheep never leaves the shepherd’s side again. What appeared at first to be a cruel act was actually very loving. If the shepherd had not disciplined the sheep, its wandering could have destroyed it. God lovingly disciplined me to bring me back to Him. I am thankful to my Savior, Jesus, for my salvation.

In talking to others about my faith, I have discovered there are many Christians who do not read God’s Word daily. I made a personal commitment not to leave my house without reading at least one Bible verse. I schedule my time in the Word every day, so I can be equipped for whatever comes my way that day.

For most of my Christian life, reading God’s Word daily was not a habit. Now, I keep the Bible on my kitchen table as a reminder to read it every morning. I like to challenge people to read the Word by asking them, “Would you leave your house without eating breakfast?” Then I follow with, “Why would you leave without feeding yourself spiritually?” Daily Bible reading will equip you to face the day.

Real Life Stories Christian Testimony Books

Jim and Carla Barbarossa

Phone: 219-762-7589

Email: jimbarbarossa7@gmail.com or jim@step-by-step.org

Website: https://www.reallifestoriesbooks.com/

Evangelism Tool and Church Outreach by REAL LIFE STORIES

 

Every member in every local church has a real life story (a testimony). One of the most effective ways to teach Christians how to share their faith is to get them to write out their testimony (real life story) and share it as part of their everyday lifestyle. Step By Step Ministry worldwide award winning Evangelism Tool teachings are available on DVD and cover the topic of sharing your testimony plus many, many more effective ways to witness. For more information and resources about witnessing call, write, or email:

Step By Step Ministries

815 South Babcock Rd, Porter, IN 46304

219-762-7589 jim@step-by-step.org · www.step-by-step.org

www.reallifestoriesbooks.com

Do you remember Your day of Salvation?

 

My Day of Salvation!

I remember it, like it was yesterday!!

Another day, I remember like it was yesterday, happened 3 days after my day of salvation.     

On that day, a man of God challenged me to write my testimony, put into a 3 fold flyer like a tract and start giving it to people in everyday life.
On that day I became an Ambassador for Christ. On that day I choose to live a witnessing lifestyle, daily letting people around me know that God had provided a way of escape from sin and that through Jesus Christ their sins could be forgiven and they could be connected to God!

What I just described is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 :17-21.

Every born again Christians first ministry starts in these scriptures. The moment we are saved, Jesus gives us the ministry of reconciliation. Telling sinful man how they can be forgiven and connected to God through Jesus Christ. If we are not first doing this ministry, none of our gifts and callings will be fruitful!

The day I agreed to write and use my Salvation Testimony to reach out to lost people, I also accepted my place as an Ambassador of the Kingdom of God!

As an Ambassador of God when the issues of life come against you, you stay the course and you keep telling people about Jesus!  As an Ambassador of God your all in, there is no turning back.
Your citizenship and Life are all about the Kingdom of God!
When you live as an Ambassador of Christ, you live in resurrection power! You live with a confidence of who you are in Christ! You know your purpose ! You know your mission!
Yes! The issues of life still come, but they do not control your life!
As an Ambassador of the Kingdom, with Kingdom responsibilities  you stay focused on Kingdom business!

I am so grateful today, that I was challenged to be Christ Ambassador!

If you would like to know more about answering the call to be and Ambassador for Jesus.
You can Freely watch our 12 part video series at this link:
http://www.reallifestoriesbooks.com/free-videos.html#/

Please tell all your email, Text and Facebook friends about this Free Video Series!!

These Free Videos can help people you know!!


Coach,
Jim and Carla
219 -762-7589
Www.reallifestoriesbooks.com