Solomon: a chill life can still be a testimony

When Pastor Juliet asked Solomon to share on Testimony Sunday, he felt stressed because his life is good and nothing dramatic is happening. He assumed a testimony meant a disaster God rescued you from, but his mom reminded him how much he has to be thankful for. He points to God's design in Eden, to Jeremiah 29:11, and to the Lord's Prayer, where Jesus teaches us to pray for heaven to break out on earth. What if the good life many of us live is a preview of that? "If we are looking for God to keep us from pain, we miss the gifts."

Gifts and discipline

Solomon names two places he sees heaven on earth. First, his ability to play drums, football, and baseball; he never had a drum lesson beyond YouTube, and he now sees God's hand rather than his own effort, since every good gift comes from above (James 1:17). Second, daily discipline. Peace is not passive; it is shaped by choices like making 6 a.m. football workouts instead of gaming late, or practicing drums for worship instead of doom scrolling. When he chooses discipline, the Holy Spirit drops a glimpse of heaven into his day. He challenges anyone who thinks their life is too boring for a testimony to live every day like a gift.

Tracey: God's faithfulness in transition

Tracey is a self-described type A planner, so a year of transition without a clear next step was unfamiliar territory. She prayed for God to order her steps and promised to obey quickly. Her first yes was leaving her job as a preschool teacher after a chronic pain diagnosis made the work physically impossible. God told her to resign before she had any new job lined up, and after prayer and counsel she obeyed, learning that she would not see step two until she took step one.

When the door looks half open

Weeks later a connection led to a promising position and two strong interviews, then silence. The company was on a hiring freeze and could only offer a part-time contract at a lower rate. Tracey assumed that was a closed door, but her dad encouraged her to take it and trust that God was not done. Months in, a manager said there was no guarantee of conversion. Frustrated, she asked God what the plan was, and sensed him asking, "When will you just let go and trust me?" She had been following God for one step and then trying to take over the rest.

Mercies new every morning

Reading Lamentations 3:22–24, Tracey was invited to look back and find God's faithfulness woven into the quiet details of the season. Not working full time forced her to slow down, gave her body time to heal, and created room for friendships she had longed for. Sometimes God's mercy is not giving us what we want; had he shown her the whole picture she would have defaulted to her own planning and missed lessons of dependence and healing. She closes with the hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

Jeremy: a sound mind in God's strength

Jeremy grew up in England in an eccentric, aristocratic family of athletes and Oxford-educated intellects, where he was the one who could not focus in school. Undiagnosed ADD left him believing he was dumb; he did not finish high school. In 2019 he launched a small car-hauling trucking business, doing everything himself, until year-end tax preparation, the one tedious task he felt he could not do, threatened the business.

The Word mixed with faith

Crying out to God, Jeremy was reminded of 2 Timothy 1:7, which the King James renders as a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. He discovered that sound mind comes from the Greek word for being saved and made whole, the same word used by the woman with the issue of blood. A sound mind is God's healing power entering how we think about ourselves. Choosing to believe what God said rather than looking back at the struggling student he had been, Jeremy leaned on promises like My grace is sufficient. The Word performs its work when it is mixed with faith. Over days and weeks he plowed through the books, finished his taxes, and owed nothing to the IRS. Whatever you feel you cannot do for yourself, your Father is able to transform how you think and give you what you need.