I spent 2010 basically wondering what the heck was going on!
Our church was in crisis, our world was turned upside down and we thought it was bad. Shane got a promotion at work and his crazy hours went from bad to worse. We left our church, came back, then left again. We found a new church home. We got two new nieces within a month of each other. Times were a changing.
As I sit here this evening, it is coming up on 10pm and I am reflecting on the last year's troubles and joys. Sometimes we look back on the last year and realize that God does everything for a reason. Taking us out of the comfort zone at our church and turning the world upside down for us, and then putting people in place that would challenge us. Inevitably, causing us to leave our home. The first time we left, we didn't feel confident as to where God was leading us and ended up right back where we started, back to home, where it was comfortable. But, it wasn't comfortable. It was hard and hurtful and feelings got hurt in the process. So we really felt like God was telling us this isn't where our home is anymore. We visited College Park with my in laws and fell in love with the music and the sermons. Crosses are all around you, Jesus is mentioned on everyone's tongues. It is established and home to Shane's family, and it was fitting that it has become home to us as well. Mark, the Pastor, is a wonderful Pastor, he has wonderful sermons saturated with scripture and challenges us every week to be better Christians. We sing some contemporary songs, as well as some old hymns. It is a wonderful balance for everyone there. I see people that are young enjoying the music and I see very old people swaying to the hymns, but all in all, it is balanced. I feel like there are so many churches out there, some that we have visited, that tend to try and pull the younger population in by "secularizing" (this may be a made up word...not sure) their services. Loud music, rockin' out to more secular songs, sputtering "sermons" that you just need to feel good about yourself for being at church and not throw too much Jesus talk in there, so as to not offend some people. I am sorry, but to me, that is not church. Taking all the crosses out of sight, not really talking about Jesus, taking all religion out of the whole "church" experience doesn't sit well with me. I want to go to church and listen to a flowing sermon full of scriptures, speak to me about Jesus, who He was, who He is and who we want to emulate. Don't teach the children to persevere or how to love one another, teach them bible stories and have VBS and let them hear the stories of the bible that could influence their life someday. I yearn for that type of church experience and have found it. Have handbells ringing in the welcome area as you come to Christmas service and have the full choir up there singing praise to the Holy God and the resurrected Christ on Easter. Don't take all those things out of our churches, because while you may be trying to pull in the non-believers, you are inevitably shooing away and spitting in the face of the believers that have called these churches home for many years. It has to stop!
Sorry for my soapbox ramblings, I am getting tired and when that happens, I tend to go off on tangents.
This is a year for change in our family. We are at a new church, and starting to get involved. We are building a house and closing sometime in April, we are seriously contemplating pulling Cameron out of public school to go to either Christian Prep HS or homeschool online through a Christian based homeschool. Shane is looking at changing jobs at some point, I am finally getting back into my own career in real estate. We are getting serious about our health and focusing on our exercise and healthy living. Mentally, I had to go through and delete people in my life that either are not my true friends, or have shunned me for some reason or another. I have to delete the poisonous toxic people that rot my mind and spew forth their garbage in my life. I have no time to deal with people and their drama, nor do I want to take part in it or be reminded of it day in and day out. I have wiped most of the people we used to attend church with. I have to fully cut ties or else be reminded of the fact that we can't go back to the way things were. I kept only those people who have made it known that they truly care about me and my family. Acquaintences went away. I may be called immature or childish behind my back, but that is fine. I don't have anything to be ashamed of. I am not running away, I am stepping forward into the light and letting God tell me where He wants me to go.
My goal for this year, is to pray harder, and more often. To focus on God more. To get my spiritual life back to where it was over a year ago. The tears have dried and the future is upon us, so it is time to step out of the darkness and let God back in in full force! Praise be to God for all things in this world and for giving me a renewed spirit in Him. I pray for all my fellow Christians out there that have been in the darkness in the last year and for the ones that have had a renewal of spirit in the last year. I pray that God will heal you of your sorrows, and that you will praise Him in good times. Pray hard and pray often. Pray for your pastor and his family. Pray for your coworkers and boss. Pray for your country and the people running it. PRAY PRAY PRAY!
Let me close my blog tonight by saying this: Please remember that this is my personal blog, and I openly share these thoughts with you. If you don't like what I have said, please know that these opinions are just that: opinions. I gladly hear other people's opinions on their blogs and whether or not I agree doesn't matter. What matters is that we all are different and we all have opinions and this being my blog, it is my opinion that gets posted here. Feel free to comment if you want to tell me your thoughts. I have no problem sharing my feelings if you want to discuss.
Happy 2011 everyone! May God guide your heart this year.
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