Avizandam. In Scots law, this term describes the careful consideration given by the judge before an important decision. Join me each week as we explore various topics from a spiritual perspective and take matters Avise endum Well today we have a special edition of Avazandam, so thank you for joining me. And I'm joined in the studio with the most important person in my life, namely my wife. Good night.
And I've asked her just to have a little dialogue here in an informal basis, and we may do a few. Episodes on this. Quite often, People say to Gutney or myself, you should write a book about your life together. And I say, absolutely not. Who's going to read our life story?
But as people, continue to say that. I thought, well, we can at least chat about it on Avazandum because We can see how the Lord has been at work. in our lives. Most of you know about me, so Um Couldn't you tell us a little bit about where you're from and your life as you grew up?
Well, I come from the Faroe Islands, and these are islands belonging to Denmark. And we have our own language, but we're taught Danish when we go to school. Faroe Islands consists of 18 small islands and it was a very safe environment when I grew up. I had grandparents on different islands and every summer or even school breaks we would go to visit grandparents, which was very exciting and we loved it very much.
So, um Faroe Islands are under the Danish crown but have their own Parliament. Goodney, what about your spiritual heritage? Were you brought up in a Christian home and how did you personally come to saving faith? In Jesus Christ. Yes, I grew up in a family.
My parents were believers and All four of our grandparents were believers, so a great heritage I do come from, but that does not make me a Christian. I went to Sunday school and church from as far back as I remember.
So church was very much normal and something that was part of our lives. I grew up in a or attended an evangelical church, quite big for the islands, and it was actually a very Good church in those days, and I grew under the ministry there. I came to faith after I had watched seven young men being baptized. And I was in the service and that was the first time I had seen it. I think I was about nine or ten at the time.
And it just spoke to me to see this young man stepping down into the baptismal and give their testimony. And I had never seen it before, and that spoke really to me. And when I got home, I asked my parents why were they baptized and could I be baptized? And they explained that yes, I could be baptized, but only if I had accepted Christ as my personal Saviour.
So I look up to that as my time of salvation. I went into my room and I read a scripture that my I think it was my dad that told me where to to find it in the New Testament. And so from then on I knew that was something I would do eventually. And I did get baptized just before my fifteenth birthday.
So Brittany, you grew up in your teenage years. In the Faroe Islands, were you a sort of one of these wild, rebellious young woman, or did you steadfastly follow the Lord and did you ever move out of the islands? Uh before we met in Scotland? Yeah, I am Grew up and all my friends were actually in the church, and many of them we were in the same class as school.
So, being a small environment and small islands, yeah, we had very good friends, and we all went to church together. No, I was not a wild child. I very much obeyed my parents. I'm not saying I was a good two-shoes, but I never did anything that would make them. Wonder where I was spiritually.
When I was 18, I graduated from high school and I went to Denmark for a few months to go to school. how to become a good housewife. That was just a a very fun experience. It was just three months. And then I also um about two years after that, I decided to go to Copenhagen and I worked there in a jewelry store on the main street in Copenhagen.
And that was just a a fun year. And many of my friends were also in Copenhagen at the same time. And we did attend church there as well. And So that's a bit about my Yeah, so um Then in the Faroe Islands you went into the work as a hairdresser. Um but um Just briefly, and we'll cover this by maybe the second.
episode of this. Um what took you to Scotland? Because it was in Scotland that uh You and I met.
Well, it was a mission trip that we went to Scotland. The leaders had made it known. This was before cell phones and TV and all of that.
So the only way was through the church that we heard about this trip going to Scotland. And I, at the last minute, decided that I really should go. up until then had not even thought about it. But just the week before I heard again and the One of the leaders said, if there's anybody else who would like to come, we have room, and just call one of us. And that's what I did.
So you obeyed the call of God. I'm going to wrap this episode up.
Next time we're going to deal with the actual Meeting between you and me. good name. But I'd say to our listeners, obviously the importance of personal faith in Jesus Christ.
Some of you, not all of you, were raised in Christian homes, but it's goodness that doesn't make you a Christian.
So each of us Need to exercise personal faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and to demonstrate that by the way we live. There's sometimes the idea that All students, teenagers are going to rebel, when they go off to college, they're going to go wild, and that should not be the case. There is a transformation of the gospel and there is a continuing growth in our Christian life. Goodney mentioned her baptism. Mentioned responding to the call of God when she heard of this missions trip.
So, wherever you are, rethink your faith. Ask yourself if you are an authentic follower of Jesus Christ and next time we'll continue this story. Eva's endum. You're listening to the weekly Avizandam podcast from The Verdict, featuring Pastor John Monroe. John is Senior Pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Listen to John's daily program, The Verdict, on broadcast radio or major podcast platforms. For more information about the Verdict Ministry, visit us online at calvarychurch.com/slash the verdict.
