Unashamed Worship Ministries
Hi, my name is Ida Lee and I am the Secretary for Unashamed Worship Ministries. I am currently a member of Northbrook Alliance Church and have been since December 3rd, 2010. I am 25 years old, married to a wonderful man, and have two of the most incredibly naughty, yet loving dogs, ever. I enjoy fishing, playing sports, reading, and spending time with my family and friends. I also love to sing praise and worship to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some of my favorite worship artists are Jesus Culture, Hillsong, Kutless, Gateway Worship, Mercy Me, Bethany Dillon, Third Day, Natalie Grant, and Chris Tomlin.
“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2)
My path to finding God was long and full of twists and turns, but through it all, I have no doubt in my mind that He was with me every step of the way. Holding me up when I was down, giving me strength when I was weak, giving me courage when I was afraid, and loving me unconditionally. This is my testimony:
Growing up, I attended Saint Paul Hmong Alliance Church with my mom and grandma. I remember looking forward to every Sunday because of Sunday school, where I would get to sing songs of worship, play with other kids, and learn about Jesus. Eventually, we stopped attending church and I was never given a reason why. It was not until I was older that I found out what the reason was.
My father does not believe in God. He is very traditional in his beliefs and still practices Shamanism. Due to my father’s beliefs and traditional ways, my mom was not allowed to attend church and neither were us kids.
As a teenager, when I was about 14 or 15 years old, I started attending church again with my cousins. I would like to say that my reasons for going to church again were to build my relationship with God or to further my faith, but that is not the case. I was only attending the youth service to meet new people and to socialize. During worship, I was too busy gossiping to worship. During the service, I was too busy listening to gossip to pay attention to the sermon. Again, I eventually stopped going to church.
During the summer of 2008, my marriage was falling apart. I felt lost and confused and my life was just a mess. I did not know who to turn to. I felt alone. I was constantly going out and drinking and I hated who I was and what I was doing, but I just could not stop. This went on for a couple of months.
I was constantly asking my sister questions about God and how I could build a relationship with Him after all that I had done. I did not believe that He would forgive me if I repented. I did not believe that I was worthy of His forgiveness. But every time I asked my sister to give me the answer, her answer would be the same. She would tell me to pray and ask God for the answer and to ask that the Holy Spirit open my eyes and heart so that I can know Him.
So I started praying. I prayed for guidance. I prayed for forgiveness. I prayed for understanding. I prayed for knowledge. I prayed for acceptance. I prayed that I could be worthy of His love.
“Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. “ (Acts 13:38)
As my relationship with Jesus Christ grew stronger, I was confronted with spiritual attacks to weaken my faith. These spiritual attacks would occur when I was asleep. Before each attack occurred, I knew it was going to happen. I know now that it was the Holy Spirit that sheltered me and stayed with me through the attacks. In these attacks, I was mocked, laughed at, physically harmed, and had my faith tested.
“Remember your word to your servant,
for you have given me hope.
My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.
The arrogant mock me without restraint,
but I do not turn from your law.
I remember your ancient laws, O Lord,
and I find comfort in them.” (Psalm 119:49-52)
During these attacks, I would pray. I prayed for strength and courage to withstand the physical assaults. I prayed for mercy and grace to withstand the attack on my faith. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to settle in my heart and my mind so that even though Satan physically restrained me from being able to pray by holding my mouth shut, I would still able to pray to God inside.
I learned from these attacks what it means to give my life to God. Saying that you have given your life to God is one thing; actually putting your life in God’s hands is another. During the attacks, even though I kept praying to God to make it stop, there was always a part of me that kept trying to fight the attack myself. I was not putting my life in God’s hands. The attacks never stopped until I gave up all attempts at fighting and simply let God take over. As soon as I let go, He was there. And the attacks always ended with God showing me His love and mercy.
I praise and worship my Lord and Savior every day for what He has blessed me with. He, who gave up His life for me. He, who is blameless and perfect in all ways. He, who was sacrificed so that I could be forgiven. He, who loves me unconditionally. I will continue to praise and worship my God until the day He comes for me and blesses me with eternal life in His kingdom.
Now I ask you, are you ready to put your life in God’s hands?
