Kelly's Testimony
When I was 18 years old, I gave up control of my life to Jesus Christ. In the fall of 2006, I started college and met a group of friends in my dorm who were a part of Campus Crusade for Christ (now known as just Cru). In addition to regular meetings on campus, Crusade ran a weekly Bible study in our dorm for any girl who was interested. After a couple months of being invited to both the regular meetings and the Bible study by my new friends, I decided to join them – honestly, just for something to do. I liked learning, I liked several of the girls involved, why not?
The group was working through a study of the book of Romans – to this day, probably my favorite book in the entire Bible. Romans is very “intellectual” and “academic” – both adjectives I would have used at the time to describe myself. The Lord used this study (and, I know now, the prayers of my friends!) to convict me of my sinful nature. I was miserable and didn’t understand why. At the time, I would have described my life as feeling as though there was always a hurricane inside of me, spinning me out of control. I was overwhelmed by the freedoms and responsibilities that come with heading off to live away from your family at college and attributed my feelings to “getting used to being on my own.”
On January 24, 2007, the conviction from the Holy Spirit reached a breaking point for me. Knowing that I was a sinner and could not save myself, I prayed to the Lord to surrender control of my life to Him. Immediately, the hurricane in my chest was calm – the “peace of God, which passeth all understanding,” from Philippians 4:7, was mine through Jesus Christ. My Bible study friends rejoiced with me, and I began a new life as a follower of Christ – soaking in teachings at a local church which several of the other Bible study girls attended, at the regular meetings of Campus Crusade for Christ on campus, as well as at the Bible study in my dorm. Our group got larger and smaller over years, but through all four years of college a core group of girls formed a friendship and fellowship that the Lord knew we all needed to help us through those defining years of our lives. One of those girls is still my best friend – it’s amazing how the Lord places people in your life exactly how and when you need them.
As I grew in my faith, I experienced a hunger for reading the Bible and really fell in love with God’s word. A friend of mine from that first Bible study in college bought me my first Bible, which I still have – complete with years’ worth of Crusade name tag labels all over the cover. (Cheaper than a zip-up Bible cover, and it holds many memories.) I’ve had several Bibles over the years now, and my love for the word of God hasn’t changed. I even carried a small Bible in lieu of a bouquet at my wedding. I have a desire to have scripture around me all the time – not just in my physical Bible, but in prints and paintings on my walls, on the screensaver of my phone, and in cards on my desk. The Bible is rich with wisdom, poetry, history, and best of all: Jesus.
The idea for Grounded in Truth Company came as I was looking for ways to display more scripture in my home. My husband and I use the King James Version of the Bible exclusively (as does our church) – and finding home décor with King James scriptures is very difficult. Journals, greeting cards, verse cards, wall décor, pillows, coffee mugs – almost any product you can think of can be found with Bible verses on it, but it was important to me to display the King James version specifically in my home, and that was hard to find. When I mentioned this to a friend with a background in graphic design, the Lord opened the door for her and me to begin this business.