Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 10:10:35 GMT -6
I'll start it off with a bit of my story.
So I grew up with God being taught to me and going to church very sporadically. My immediate household wasn't very religious but several of my family members were, so what I knew, I learned from them. I had a difficult childhood and a rough early teenage hood where I drifted away from God but never stopped talking to him occasionally and knowing He was there.
When I was around 15, I joined a youth group at a church of God and we would do praise and worship there as well as different places. I was really into that for a bit, but again, fell off.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, we started going to this little local church and it was ok, but I didn't really feel the fire of God in my heart like I had experienced at my youth group and thought it was a church problem rather than a me problem. So we kind of dropped off going and sporadically went a few times since having dd.
We have a couple of friends that go there and a few weeks ago they talked us into going again. On my way there I was absolutely not into it, didn't want to, wanted to do anything else, felt fat, didn't want anyone to look at me etc.
Once we got there and the worship and music started, I felt this deep sense of shame, almost embarrassed that I had turned away from God and where I was in my life. That changed to a gentle feeling and by the end of the sermon I felt good.
I've went every week since.
The following Sunday, something changed for me. I've always thought of myself as saved because I did the necessary of believing Jesus died for me, but the next Sunday I found out what it really feels like to be saved.
So much in me has changed. I have no desire to do alot of the things that I was doing, like, not like I'm missing out, but I just don't crave or enjoy it. I've been reading my bible and praying and I've just noticed a change. I knew God was real but now I know God is real, kwim?
I don't connect super alot with the wife of the couple that we go to church with, it's more that H is best friends with the husband, and I've been really craving others to talk to about things that are involving my faith, life chats like we do on GD but in a more spiritual environment.
That's why I thought this was a good board idea. I thought that maybe if I feel this way, others might too whether they share my beliefs or not, they might crave conversation and community with others in their religion.
I just feel a new fire inside of me, kind of like @karenwalker, and I want to talk with others that do too.
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FlightView
Sapphire
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Post by FlightView on Mar 11, 2020 10:44:10 GMT -6
Wow, this post is really inspiring. I’ve been in a slump recently and I’m feeling more motivated to explore my spirituality and connectedness with God.
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Kida
Emerald
Posts: 11,645 Likes: 40,582
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 10:52:08 GMT -6
Wow, this post is really inspiring. I’ve been in a slump recently and I’m feeling more motivated to explore my spirituality and connectedness with God. Thanks! It's crazy how I feel. Even reading my bible (which I never really did tbh) is something that I'm finding a craving for. I've been getting up early or staying up a bit to spend some extra time with God and I'm just really enjoying this stage of being a "baby Christian" so to speak. I'm sure it gets more difficult to keep the passion going after awhile and that's something I want to keep going. Maybe we can inspire each other.
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vino
Opal
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Post by vino on Mar 11, 2020 10:53:15 GMT -6
Interesting Kida, I think that it's wonderful that you've reconnected especially when you were least expecting it. There have been times in my life where I crave going to Mass because it's so enlightening and exactly what my life needed at the time.
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 10:55:43 GMT -6
Interesting Kida , I think that it's wonderful that you've reconnected especially when you were least expecting it. There have been times in my life where I crave going to Mass because it's so enlightening and exactly what my life needed at the time. Yes! Tonight I think I'm going to try going to Wednesday night service for the first time. I wanted to go last week but chickened out. Not because I'm afraid of the service or ppl but because H works so he won't be going and I'll have dd with me plus also it's at night and I don't know if dd will be cranky lol.
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vino
Opal
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Post by vino on Mar 11, 2020 11:15:19 GMT -6
My family was religious and attended mass regularly, both with my parents and my grandparents at the Ukrainian Catholic church. My Dad was in the Knights of Columbus so we were largely part of the community. There are times in my life that I can pinpoint where my faith led me and guided me when I was completely lost. My first real experience with this was when my Gido (grandfather) passed away. The 'impression' of death was always such a sad time but the comfort that I felt during that time was indescribable, it carried me when nothing else could.
Instead of holding on to the feeling I almost followed the 'why did he die' 'God wouldn't do this to me' narrative and actively decided not to attend church. After 5-6 years, and many moves I was sitting in my apartment and I heard the church bells rang from a beautiful Basilica that was just a couple blocks away. I attended the next scheduled mass that day. This church has mass twice daily and numerous times on the weekends and I started to regularly go.
My faith was tested when my Dad was diagnosed with ALS in 2011. The community came together to help us through the time and in fact still help us years later. It really confirmed that I craved and needed the community that my faith gave me and I have been active, without hesitation, in the church since.
With my son starting school in the Catholic system it has really sparked the beginning feeling of faith again and am enjoying going on this journey with him.
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 11:29:46 GMT -6
Kida , one of the things I do is listen to fair based podcasts on my way to work. I’m stuck in the car and it really sets my mood for the day. Any way, one of the things I heard is that while we may at times let go of God’s hand and turn away, he never lets go of ours. He is always there no matter what. That brought me a lot of comfort. Yes, this gave me chills. I have been listening to Christian music and when I watch tv it's something on pureflix. I've really been noticing lately cursing and other things, like it sticks out to me and before I wouldn't have enjoyed something 'corny' and wholesome, where now I like it. a verse that has been resonating with me is Ezekiel 36:26 where it says He will give us a new heart and spirit, I feel that. I really do. I try to explain to my h that before I would think about having to give up some of the not great things I loved to watch and do and it felt like a punishment where now, I just don't do it because I don't want to .
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 11:33:40 GMT -6
My family was religious and attended mass regularly, both with my parents and my grandparents at the Ukrainian Catholic church. My Dad was in the Knights of Columbus so we were largely part of the community. There are times in my life that I can pinpoint where my faith led me and guided me when I was completely lost. My first real experience with this was when my Gido (grandfather) passed away. The 'impression' of death was always such a sad time but the comfort that I felt during that time was indescribable, it carried me when nothing else could. Instead of holding on to the feeling I almost followed the 'why did he die' 'God wouldn't do this to me' narrative and actively decided not to attend church. After 5-6 years, and many moves I was sitting in my apartment and I heard the church bells rang from a beautiful Basilica that was just a couple blocks away. I attended the next scheduled mass that day. This church has mass twice daily and numerous times on the weekends and I started to regularly go. My faith was tested when my Dad was diagnosed with ALS in 2011. The community came together to help us through the time and in fact still help us years later. It really confirmed that I craved and needed the community that my faith gave me and I have been active, without hesitation, in the church since. With my son starting school in the Catholic system it has really sparked the beginning feeling of faith again and am enjoying going on this journey with him. This is beautiful, I'm sorry for your loss but the way your faith resurfaced is so lovely. I notice after dd watches me pray and watches me worship at church, she copies me. It's so cute and another reason I want to model to her what faith looks like. I can't wait until she's older and i can watch her grow in her journey with God. My h has always believed in God but he isn't ready to fully dedicate himself. I pray for him and I can't wait to see what happens to our marriage through God. I just have to keep reminding myself that it isn't on our time, it's on God's time.
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starbuck
Emerald
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Post by starbuck on Mar 11, 2020 12:35:32 GMT -6
I'm in a weird place. I feel often that life is getting in the way of actually living, you know? And that includes my drive and desire and commitment to staying firmly rooted and connected to God. A lot of things feel very far away at the moment. Yet, I am connected. I work with 4th graders and am in Sunday school with them every other week (I do the group activities and very occasionally the lead teacher taps me to fill in and deliver the lesson). We are in church every Sunday. So, this is really something within me that I need to work out. Kida, what you shared is really inspiring. I do believe that reading more and taking the time necessary to learn and grow is top on my list of things to do to get back onto stable spiritual ground. I need to take a page out of your book and push within to rekindle my excitement.
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 12:52:54 GMT -6
I'm in a weird place. I feel often that life is getting in the way of actually living, you know? And that includes my drive and desire and commitment to staying firmly rooted and connected to God. A lot of things feel very far away at the moment. Yet, I am connected. I work with 4th graders and am in Sunday school with them every other week (I do the group activities and very occasionally the lead teacher taps me to fill in and deliver the lesson). We are in church every Sunday. So, this is really something within me that I need to work out. Kida, what you shared is really inspiring. I do believe that reading more and taking the time necessary to learn and grow is top on my list of things to do to get back onto stable spiritual ground. I need to take a page out of your book and push within to rekindle my excitement. I'm down to be a partner to read and chat with. I'm always up for a PM to chat also 🙂
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starbuck
Emerald
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Post by starbuck on Mar 11, 2020 12:54:18 GMT -6
I'm in a weird place. I feel often that life is getting in the way of actually living, you know? And that includes my drive and desire and commitment to staying firmly rooted and connected to God. A lot of things feel very far away at the moment. Yet, I am connected. I work with 4th graders and am in Sunday school with them every other week (I do the group activities and very occasionally the lead teacher taps me to fill in and deliver the lesson). We are in church every Sunday. So, this is really something within me that I need to work out. Kida , what you shared is really inspiring. I do believe that reading more and taking the time necessary to learn and grow is top on my list of things to do to get back onto stable spiritual ground. I need to take a page out of your book and push within to rekindle my excitement. I'm down to be a partner to read and chat with. I'm always up for a PM to chat also 🙂 Want to hold me accountable to that? If you don't hear from me over the next day or two, poke me.
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wakemom
Platinum
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Post by wakemom on Mar 11, 2020 13:20:31 GMT -6
I love that you started this page. I often wonder if anyone else here deals with the struggles of church and belief. I am not in a place right now that I’m happy with, spiritually, but am going back that direction. I was raised in the Southern Baptist religion and married someone in the Pentecostal religion. Neither of which I’m 100% into following. When we lived in California we attended a Church if God and we’re just overworked and finally burnt out on even attending anymore. Now I’m slow to want to become involved in a church. But we have been going sporadically when we have time and my little kids love it. My older kids refuse to go, and I don’t force them, I think they can make their own decisions eventually. I’m looking for a church that actually practices just loving others, working in the community, and teaching. I can’t do the snotty southern baptist thing or the cliques like I had growing up. I know there aren’t any perfect churches out there so I wonder if I’m searching for a unicorn and will never be happy. We’ll see. I’m just happy that I’m finally wanting to go again and we’ll see where our path leads us.
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 13:23:59 GMT -6
I'm down to be a partner to read and chat with. I'm always up for a PM to chat also 🙂 Want to hold me accountable to that? If you don't hear from me over the next day or two, poke me. Sounds good! I have a lovely lady that checks on me when I drop off ::cough swellist, cough:: I probably won't be posting much on the main board outside of the nails thread, probably because of this pruning phase I'm going through, but I would love to keep this section going. We can talk verses that really hit us, songs, movies, day to day stuff. I'm super excited. I'll for sure poke you.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2020 13:24:47 GMT -6
I mentioned I grew up Catholic; I'd say we really went to church for only a few years, but always practiced the rituals (like not eating meat on Fridays, etc.). Occasionally, I went to a Baptist church with one of my close friends in middle school. This is NOT an attempt to knock Baptists, but those couple of encounters really scared me - as it was more punishment (i.e., get saved or you'll go to hell) type of evangelism vice teaching the Good News and Jesus' love and grace.
There were some bad things that happened with a couple of priests I went to church under that kind of solidified me falling fully away from Catholicism. I finally realized that it just really didn't align with my actual beliefs and that I was sticking with it out of an obligation/guilt rather than because of a relationship with God/Jesus.
I realized once I joined the church I'm at now, that its OK to practice a different style of worship and I have slowly been able to fully shed my Catholic Guilt (TM). Another thing I realized, is that because the Catholic faith isn't heavily scripture-oriented, and because we didn't actually spend a lot of time in religious ed or the church itself, I found myself severely lacking in actual Bible literacy (like they would say stories from the bible that "we all know" and I would have never heard it) as well as a personal relationship with Jesus. Last year, I took a school-year long course called Disciple I at my church, where we read about 75% of the bible and had weekly discussions. It was really eye opening and the group aspect of it was super helpful to me. I've also been asked to help out on several teams at church functions, which makes me feel like I'm a part of what's going on and helps a lot with my connection to Christ.
I joined a small group for a Lenten study, we are reading a book about evangelism (how it SHOULD be done vs how it has been done traditionally) and just in general am trying my best to live out my faith centrally in my life. I am far from perfect but the great thing is really knowing that I am loved and accepted, flaws and all, and that God is using my gifts and my life in the way he wants.
One difficulty is that my husband is not religious or spiritual; I'm actually not 100% sure if he's even a believer. He comes to church with me but kind of seems to check out. I still have conversations with him about it, and fully believe that Jesus will find a way into his heart when he finally opens it to him. So for now I am not being pushy with that at all.
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 13:30:51 GMT -6
I love that you started this page. I often wonder if anyone else here deals with the struggles of church and belief. I am not in a place right now that I’m happy with, spiritually, but am going back that direction. I was raised in the Southern Baptist religion and married someone in the Pentecostal religion. Neither of which I’m 100% into following. When we lived in California we attended a Church if God and we’re just overworked and finally burnt out on even attending anymore. Now I’m slow to want to become involved in a church. But we have been going sporadically when we have time and my little kids love it. My older kids refuse to go, and I don’t force them, I think they can make their own decisions eventually. I’m looking for a church that actually practices just loving others, working in the community, and teaching. I can’t do the snotty southern baptist thing or the cliques like I had growing up. I know there aren’t any perfect churches out there so I wonder if I’m searching for a unicorn and will never be happy. We’ll see. I’m just happy that I’m finally wanting to go again and we’ll see where our path leads us. Um, I can totally relate. It's very important for me to feel the Spirit at the church I'm at and if I dont, I get disheartened (or did before, idk if nows different). Anyways, it's also important to me that the church is showing God's love and preaching what is in the word, not making it fit what they want. Like yes, there is sin and things are wrong around us but no, it's not for us to judge and we should love absolutely everyone. All sin is the same and I dont like churches that exclude anyone. Jesus loves us all and said we should too. Another thing is I have been finding that most of my life, I have just went by what ppl tell me God wants and what the bible says and just accepting that as truth rather than actually, ya know, reading it for myself and praying and spending time with Him. I dont think church is a hard neccessary, it's good for us because we can learn and have community but the most important think is having a relationship with God and reading the bible so you know for yourself what He says, not how anybody can twist it. I pray that you find a good place for you but I would love to bible study and share and pray here in the meantime 😄
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 13:35:30 GMT -6
I mentioned I grew up Catholic; I'd say we really went to church for only a few years, but always practiced the rituals (like not eating meat on Fridays, etc.). Occasionally, I went to a Baptist church with one of my close friends in middle school. This is NOT an attempt to knock Baptists, but those couple of encounters really scared me - as it was more punishment (i.e., get saved or you'll go to hell) type of evangelism vice teaching the Good News and Jesus' love and grace. There were some bad things that happened with a couple of priests I went to church under that kind of solidified me falling fully away from Catholicism. I finally realized that it just really didn't align with my actual beliefs and that I was sticking with it out of an obligation/guilt rather than because of a relationship with God/Jesus. I realized once I joined the church I'm at now, that its OK to practice a different style of worship and I have slowly been able to fully shed my Catholic Guilt (TM). Another thing I realized, is that because the Catholic faith isn't heavily scripture-oriented, and because we didn't actually spend a lot of time in religious ed or the church itself, I found myself severely lacking in actual Bible literacy (like they would say stories from the bible that "we all know" and I would have never heard it) as well as a personal relationship with Jesus. Last year, I took a school-year long course called Disciple I at my church, where we read about 75% of the bible and had weekly discussions. It was really eye opening and the group aspect of it was super helpful to me. I've also been asked to help out on several teams at church functions, which makes me feel like I'm a part of what's going on and helps a lot with my connection to Christ. I joined a small group for a Lenten study, we are reading a book about evangelism (how it SHOULD be done vs how it has been done traditionally) and just in general am trying my best to live out my faith centrally in my life. I am far from perfect but the great thing is really knowing that I am loved and accepted, flaws and all, and that God is using my gifts and my life in the way he wants. One difficulty is that my husband is not religious or spiritual; I'm actually not 100% sure if he's even a believer. He comes to church with me but kind of seems to check out. I still have conversations with him about it, and fully believe that Jesus will find a way into his heart when he finally opens it to him. So for now I am not being pushy with that at all. Frank, are you me? I just relate so hard to everything in this post. I would love to study in depth like that. I think it's so important to read the bible whereas I always just took it at face value what ppl told me it said instead of reading and being close to the Lord
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 14:05:20 GMT -6
Along the lines of reading the bible, I'm on Numbers (started at the begining) and just finished leviticus for my first read of the bible.
Let me just say, besides saving my eternal soul and being such a loving God, I am beyond thankful for Jesus because now I dont have to sacrifice little turtle doves for offerings.
I feel like I would be at the priest every week with all the birds and goats and they'd be like, Kida, we have to talk, were running out of livestock and up to our neck in blood.
I never realized all of the things that were in the old testament and it really is fascinating. I dont understand how I've read all of Harry Potter 97 times but never the bible.
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starbuck
Emerald
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Post by starbuck on Mar 11, 2020 17:11:16 GMT -6
Along the lines of reading the bible, I'm on Numbers (started at the begining) and just finished leviticus for my first read of the bible. Let me just say, besides saving my eternal soul and being such a loving God, I am beyond thankful for Jesus because now I dont have to sacrifice little turtle doves for offerings. I feel like I would be at the priest every week with all the birds and goats and they'd be like, Kida, we have to talk, were running out of livestock and up to our neck in blood. I never realized all of the things that were in the old testament and it really is fascinating. I dont understand how I've read all of Harry Potter 97 times but never the bible. The sin cycle is really something in those early books. Bad times? Turn from God. Good times? Don't need God. Get conquered, rise up, return to God until turning away again. Rinse and repeat, generation by generation. And despite having this example, we are the same today.
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 17:48:46 GMT -6
Does anybody have pureflix and have any recommendations on it?
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Kida
Emerald
Posts: 11,645 Likes: 40,582
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Post by Kida on Mar 11, 2020 19:12:19 GMT -6
Whew Kida, getting through Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy was toooough for me. 😬 I’m glad you’re going strong!! I realized after reading them I just wasn’t retaining the information. I just didn’t know the Old Testament as much as I should and actually starting listening to a podcast that was almost like a class that walked through each book. That seemed to really click for me. I also downloaded a study bible on my phone and try to read a little each day. Oh yeah, ever since exodus started describing the tabernacle I've been struggling 😅 especially since it's the KJV 😴 I plan on reading this once through and then getting a study bible, most definitely in the NASB version. I have an app with that version that I sometimes cross reference if I find myself glazing over as well as googling definitions. I'm doing surprisingly well though. ETA, what's the podcast? I'd also take any YouTube recs you have.
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starbuck
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Post by starbuck on Mar 11, 2020 19:30:38 GMT -6
Oooo yes @karenwalker can you rec that podcast?
And anyone else!! It would be great to have a list.
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McBenny
Unicorn
#sickomode
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Post by McBenny on Mar 11, 2020 21:29:55 GMT -6
I’ve told you all about my own personal “So that’s what they mean when they say ‘Catholics don’t know the Bible’” moment, right? We moved while I was getting my M.Div from an accredited institution where Catholics were the majority, but not by much. I own 8 or 9 Bibles of various translations. I took 4 Scripture classes after we moved and aced them all. The semester I graduated, so three years after moving, I became convinced that I lost my Bibles. Because I could not find them. Because they were boxed up in my basement. For years. I had never heard that Catholics don't know the Bible. I hear stories like @frank 's and it's night and day my experience.
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McBenny
Unicorn
#sickomode
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Post by McBenny on Mar 11, 2020 21:33:50 GMT -6
One thing that does bother me is when I hear someone say something negative about man (who is fallible) but it then becomes about the whole religion. It doesn't matter which religion. If I'm making sense?
Like I see the 2 so differently. A man or woman isn't going to taint what I know to be the way the faith is meant to be.
Religion is man, faith is not. When I hear the two combined it feels like faith takes a loss.
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Kida
Emerald
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Post by Kida on Mar 12, 2020 5:11:11 GMT -6
@karenwalker I'm so sorry for your loss. It really is amazing when you hear something and you know it's from God, meant for you.
Clog the whole thread! This is what it's for!
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willow
Ruby
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Post by willow on Mar 12, 2020 5:56:15 GMT -6
Hi all. I think this is the right thread for where I fall in the faith based spectrum.
I grew up as Lutheran-lite. My grandma was devout and very involved with her church so she took me to Sunday school and VBS and my parents took me to Easter and Christmas Eve service at my grandmas church. But we never were a regular church family. My parents believe in God and Jesus but never subscribed to a weekly service type lifestyle. They also left it up to me to decide what I wanted to believe in.
I went to church summer camp from 9-12 grades with one of my BFFs and also went to her bible study occasionally and on a couple of their mission trips. It was with her that I really actually felt faith instead of just being a kid who knew the basics about God and Jesus.
In general, I am very similar to my parents in my current practice. I don’t go to a church. I have never really felt the urge to, to be honest. I fully believe in the practices of Jesus and feel spiritually connected that way. We baptized my son and I plan to baptize these two babies after they are born. Maybe at some point I will look for a church community. I struggle with that aspect of it because there are so many things I disagree with in the “religion” part of Christianity — largely pro-life, LGBTQ, etc type issues. I know there are churches that are more progressive, so maybe at some point I’ll look for one.
My husband is pretty agnostic. I don’t feel compelled to change his mind. He may or may not change his mind eventually, I don’t know. We are both respectful of our beliefs.
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poptarts
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Post by poptarts on Mar 12, 2020 6:23:14 GMT -6
Hi, I am Presbyterian, PC(USA) and grew up as a pastor’s kid. I was involved in the choir, played music at Christmas, visited parishioners with my dad, was in the Youth Group, etc. I really enjoyed my faith based community. It was hard at times being a PK, but the churches were there for our family when my parents divorced. I miss the community aspect of church, but I think now with my own children I want somewhere that is progressive. It’s hard to find that in my very conservative area. Right now I’m non-practicing but still believe. My children are not baptized, and I would like them to be, but I don’t know which denomination to baptize them, since MH grew up Catholic. He’s agnostic and never really practiced Catholicism. My family has never put pressure on us to baptize the children which I appreciate. I’m looking for a good fit for my family in our area.
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starbuck
Emerald
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Post by starbuck on Mar 12, 2020 6:51:25 GMT -6
I dusted off 2 devotionals today that had been collecting dust. So, progress (as long as I don't let them sit and collect dust this time).
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McBenny
Unicorn
#sickomode
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Post by McBenny on Mar 12, 2020 6:59:44 GMT -6
I guess I need to put a story - my father is Catholic. I was baptized Catholic. My mother only got baptized Catholic to marry my dad. She knows nothing and never did anything. My faith formation has always been on me and very personal. As a child I would walk to church alone or ride my bike. I did go to Catholic school from 5th grade to 12th grade. Again, I did all my Confirmation prep alone. I found my own godparents. I did my own paperwork. I don't even remember if my parents were at my Confirmation.
I am a heavy prayer. I pray a lot. All during the day. I feel it centers me. I feel it helps with my anxiety. I don't know how to explain it other than I stay prayed up and I know my relationship with Jesus and the Holy Trinity is tight.
Before having DD I did get into studying all religions and what makes us the same and what makes us different. I just wanted to be sure what path I wanted for my children. It was on this journey did I learn that we all basically started off the same. When we broke off it was usually one man into it with other man and it would come down to politics and or power. It really wasn't differences in beliefs. It was usually personal gain of someone in power. I do believe in Catholicism. I believe in the fundamentals. I would pick something else cause I see it as easier and have to give up on some of my fundamental beliefs. I don't believe in taking away the parts I don't like and then calling it something else.
So once I decided to stay with Catholicism I really read all through the Catechism. New Orleans is a very different place from the rest of the country. I would hear stories (usually from here) of what people were told by other people about Catholicism. It not only wasn't my experience but it would be things not in the teachings or doctrines. So again man screwing something up. I stopped going to church because I pre-judge what I would find in church here. I had assumptions about Texas and I had assumptions about the affluent area we are now in. It has been nothing but positive. It's been very open and honest and not at all what I expected. My faith is strong. I am not going to allow the man made parts to interfere with what I have going on. That's the thinking that allowed me to give the local church a chance. I also went from an area where Catholicism was the majority to living in an area where we are the minority.
I really enjoy Lent. That there is a time dedicated in working on your personal relationship with Jesus. I time to renew or refocus.
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Kida
Emerald
Posts: 11,645 Likes: 40,582
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Post by Kida on Mar 12, 2020 7:08:09 GMT -6
Hi all. I think this is the right thread for where I fall in the faith based spectrum. I grew up as Lutheran-lite. My grandma was devout and very involved with her church so she took me to Sunday school and VBS and my parents took me to Easter and Christmas Eve service at my grandmas church. But we never were a regular church family. My parents believe in God and Jesus but never subscribed to a weekly service type lifestyle. They also left it up to me to decide what I wanted to believe in. I went to church summer camp from 9-12 grades with one of my BFFs and also went to her bible study occasionally and on a couple of their mission trips. It was with her that I really actually felt faith instead of just being a kid who knew the basics about God and Jesus. In general, I am very similar to my parents in my current practice. I don’t go to a church. I have never really felt the urge to, to be honest. I fully believe in the practices of Jesus and feel spiritually connected that way. We baptized my son and I plan to baptize these two babies after they are born. Maybe at some point I will look for a church community. I struggle with that aspect of it because there are so many things I disagree with in the “religion” part of Christianity — largely pro-life, LGBTQ, etc type issues. I know there are churches that are more progressive, so maybe at some point I’ll look for one. My husband is pretty agnostic. I don’t feel compelled to change his mind. He may or may not change his mind eventually, I don’t know. We are both respectful of our beliefs. To me, church is only like 3 or 4 on the list of being a "good" Christian. Number 1 is having a relationship with God. Number 2 is reading the bible and spending time with God which will strengthen your relationship with Him. It is important to me, when I go to church, to have a place that I really feel like it's where I'm supposed to be. I don't think church is supposed to be this boring miserable chore that we're supposed to do every week, it's supposed to be a place of community where we all gather and praise, worship, and learn about God. It's supposed to fill us with joy and excitement for Him, not dread and a need to get it over with. Until you find that place, I don't blame you for not going. I pray that when your ready, you find a wonderful church that you can really belong to. I also did a few VBS when I was younger and I definitely love that you had a friend that you could share and grow your faith with. I pray for the same things for my dd.
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Kida
Emerald
Posts: 11,645 Likes: 40,582
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Post by Kida on Mar 12, 2020 7:12:27 GMT -6
I dusted off 2 devotionals today that had been collecting dust. So, progress (as long as I don't let them sit and collect dust this time). Awesome! I was browsing Walmart yesterday, making a list of books I'd like to get. I can't wait for tomorrow. For now, I've been just reading from the beginning and also each day looking up a verse that is on a devotional plan I found on pintrest. I'm doing the SOAP method where you read your verse or passage, copy down the Scripture in writing, write in your own words the Observation of what you got out of it, write down an Application of how you can apply it to your life, then write a Prayer pertaining to the scripture.
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