Tag Archives: Christianity

My Faith Journey!

I realized that I have not yet told about my faith journey on my blog.  So here goes…

“Feelings, nothing more than feelings.”   Do you remember that old song?  Well, before I asked Christ into my life I was always trying to “feel” my way to faith.  I was a pretty good kid.  My dad was a preacher.  I was a typical kid, I had friends, loved to watch TV and play games.  I went to a church every Sunday and Youth group every Sunday night and we went to camp meetings in the summer at my grandparents house.  And whenever the Pastor gave an invitation to come forward to accept Christ into your life I went because I knew I wasn’t good enough to have Christ die for my sins.  I’d kneel down, cry my eyes out and feel an incredible high…for a few days or weeks afterwards.  But then I’d go back to doing the same old things, being selfish, prideful, going through the religious motions.  Then around the age of 13, I went to a Holy Spirit retreat.  There was this singing group that came to our church called The Good News Circle and they were awesome.  They invited our Youth group to this Holy Spirit retreat.  While I was there I heard these amazing people sing and tell their stories and I began to realize that it wasn’t about what I was feeling but about what Jesus did on the cross for me, that He took my place on that cross.  I also found out that it wasn’t about me and my great track record of church attendance or being a part of Youth group or going to camp meetings and singing in the choir.  It was all about a God who loved me.  And I learned that God would never leave me or forsake me even when the “high” wore off.  I realized that faith wasn’t about feelings but about knowing Jesus.  I John 5:13 – I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

And now I am confident that Christ lives within me and loves me and everyday I am more eager to do His will and not what I feel is right.  I try to let Christ lead because I’ve learned to put my trust in Him and not my feelings.  I don’t always do it right.  I’m still growing and at times I fail but I KNOW now, not FEEL that God will help me through just like He said he would in His word.  I struggled a lot in high school about all of the things Christian kids struggle with, peer pressure, loving myself, finding out who I was in Christ but things were different because I had begun to realize Who I needed to look to when I was struggling.  I feel like my life has been a gradual climb to trust in God.  These days I go to God a lot faster than I’ve done before when problems arise.  It doesn’t take me long to lay out the problem at the feet of Jesus.  That still doesn’t mean I don’t take the problems back or always make the right choices.  Sometimes I forget to listen to God’s still small voice because I get busy and crowd God out of my life.  But my relationship to Christ is so close now that it’s not long before I turn to Him and rest in His love.  Jesus is everything to me.  So that song “Feelings”?  is just a song now and not the way I live.  Because I know that I know that I know that my Redeemer lives.

prayer..

prayer.. (Photo credit: aronki)

I passed a homeless person on the way to school today.  My first response was to discount him and since he was right around the corner from where I work I thought “Oh great”.  This particular homeless man ‘s name is James.  I know that because he has a big sign on his bicycle that says his name.  It also says something about just giving him $3.00.   I’ve seen him around before and he always carries a chair with him so he can sit.  He must make the rounds because he’s not here all the time and that must mean he’s got other spots he goes to.  But what really struck me today and got me thinking was the fact that he was not sitting in the chair today but kneeling in front of it.  As I inched closer to him in traffic I noticed he had a Bible on the seat and his lips were moving.  As I started to turn the corner I noticed he held his hand up in the air.  If you’ve ever been in church you’ll see many people, including myself, lift their hands up to God during the music or during the prayer time.  So, I figured he must have been reading his Bible and praying.  Wow!  That made an impact on me this morning.  It made me think about how many times I’ve gotten down on my knees.  Well, I can say there have been times and I can also say that it usually was in times of vulnerability like James, by the side of the road with people all around.  Now, I’m not naive.  James might have been putting on a good show so that he could get some, (I’m sure), well needed funds.  But did he do that every day?  Was he praying for enough money to buy food for the day?  Was he asking if God would help him just get through the day?  I really don’t know.  I’m sure I’ll never know.  But, just seeing a homeless man on his knees reading a Bible and praying made me take a step back and look at my own spiritual disciplines.  Do I pray every day that God would help me get through the day?  What about praying that God would help me help someone else just get through the day?  Well, whatever James is praying for he certainly gave me something to think about. If I see him again, I’m going to give him $3.00 because he gave me a lot of food for thought today and I think I should give him some food too, don’t you think?

 

Christmas Programs (what makes them special)

A Very Special Christmas 2

Image via Wikipedia

So, I got a really great comment from our Pastor the other day about the Christmas program that our children did on Tuesday. He told me that it was the best one he’d seen and that he’d seen quite a few.  Wow, that was exciting!  He said that we told the Christmas story very well and that it was a gift to the parents the way we presented it.  Wow, again.  As I got to thinking on his comments it made me think more about just what was it we did.  The classes were divided into the Mary/Joseph, shepherds, donkeys, angels, camels and wisemen.  The typical cast of the story and each class sang a simple song and recited a fingerplay.  Very simple.  Of course, it was cute as can be and regardless of whether all the children sang loud or soft they were adorable.  But I don’t think that’s what Pastor Jim was talking about.  Being in Preschool for almost 18 years almost anything that the children sing or do is cute and the parents always love our little performances.  But there was something more this time.  And I think that something more was the power of the story.  What a story!  God sent His only Son down to earth to save us.  Anytime that story is told the power of it is magnified becuase of what that simple gift means to our lives. 

I’m glad we could share the story with the parents and families.  I’m thankful for Pastor Jim’s words about the impact that the story has on our lives.  And I’m grateful for the gift of that tiny little baby that has changed my life so dramatically.

Have a wonderful Christmas and if you haven’t opened the God’s gift up yet, please do it soon.  You’ll be glad you did.