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Updated - 7/29/07
July '07 entry
May '07 entry
March/April '07 entry
February '07 entry
January '07 entry
October 2006 - It has been a long journey back to God, but I am so glad to be "back in the fold" and going to church again. On October 15th, our family became official members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. This is the first church that my family has joined since my husband and I got married in 1990. I was brought up in the Methodist church. We were one of the more active families in any of the churches we attended. As I got older, I went to church camp and was active in the youth group and several other activity groups in the church. When I went away to college, I just didn't make time for church. I attended a couple, but never found one that felt "home" to me. My husband attended church off and on as a child, but didn't attend church as a young adult either. After we got married, we didn't begin attending church until our children were school age.
It was at this time that I needed to meet other people. In a town where I knew noone and had sorta been on my own for five years on a street with no young families, I was lonely. I began to desire to join a church. We attended several churches, but for various reasons, didn't remain at them. My husband was finally baptized in April 1999 at the Episcopal church that we were attending at the time. However, we just never felt totally comfortable there and quit attending in 2001 (I think! Can't remember exactly). We then attended a community church for about six months, but left when the pastor left. They also had a more contemporary service which I just never got used to. So, basically, we've been out of the church for about 4 years.
During those four years, I did a lot of waffling in my faith and even hit a low point of atheism. I just flat out didn't believe there was a God. There was just too much negativity in world events as well as my own life and I couldn't find God in any of it. I found myself blaming God for all that was wrong in the world. Instead of crying out to him in prayer, I pointed the finger at Him and I'm sure you know what's wrong with that, right? When you point a finger, there are THREE more pointing back at yourself! The problem wasn't with God, but with myself.
So, earlier this year, I began feeling a pull to go back to church. One thing that we really liked about the Episcopal church was having communion every Sunday. The symbolism in that ceremony just moves me to the core sometimes. Our only choices then were (1) going back to the Episcopal church, (2) going to the Lutheran Church or (3) going to the Catholic church. The obvious choice to us was #2 - begin attending the Lutheran church. We had been to a service there a year ago when the kids presented their VBS program for the parents. I liked the Pastor, the sanctuary and the people attending there. I felt very comfortable there. My good friend who lives across the street from me is the organist there and she has invited us to services several times. She has never given up on me and I'm thankful for that ... she was never pushy, either. She just waited on God's timing and prayed for us.
I have just begun taking an early morning time for myself to read God's word and to study more about the Bible, Jesus and the Lutheran faith. I have a lot of books on my shelf that I hope to read in the coming year. Some of the books that I want to read or devotionals I'll be using include:
Faith and Freedom: An Invitation to the Writings of Martin Luther by John Thornton
Whose Bible is It? by Jaroslav Pelikan
Reading the Bible Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg
Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg
Daily Recipes for Simple Pleasures by Meg Hillary - a devotional
Closerwalk – a devotional
Purpose for Everyday Living by Criswell Freeman - a devotional
I want to continue to grow in my faith and I've begun keeping a prayer journal. In it, I'll record my thoughts about seeing God in my life and keep a list of people or events to pray about. I am happy to be in a small, closely-knit church where people genuinely seem to care about each other. I hope that my children's faith will grow, too, and that I can continue to build their hearts for service to others through their involvement in the church.
It is my hope that you will find something useful here on my site!
I currently enjoy the privilege of being able to stay at home
to homeschool my children and I am always striving to be
the best caretaker for my precious family.
"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."
~ Philippians 4:13 ~
Website owned and all Content Copyrighted by Kris Price.
All Rights Reserved. © 2006.
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