Worshiping through Church, Prayer, and reading the Bible daily

Hello,

Every day I start my day reading a chapter of the Bible and reading a daily inspiration. It always makes me feel like I start the day right. Every week I plan my Sundays around church service. This includes travel. I have been fortunate to find wonderful places to worship when I visit family and friends. Weekly worship is very important to me.

I have had the discussion with others before. I have been told that others believe that you don't have to go to church regularly. That may be okay for them, but I honestly feel like I have a bad week if I don't. It's not that I feel like God is punishing me if I don't go to church, although sometimes that is how it feels. It's more like I can't seem to get in the proper mindset to face the week if I don't focus on worship at least once a week. You have no idea how often I go to church and find that the sermon was spoken directly to me. It's kind of crazy how that happens. It's exactly what I needed to hear. So yeah, going to church for worship is important to me.

Some of my worst weeks in the past few years have come after a week where I didn't get to church. Some of my days get extremely hectic and stressful if I don't start the day reading the Word. Now that's not to say I focus completely. Sometimes I have to reread the chapter over and over because my mind is jumbled, but God helps clear my mind.

I find that I am able to face bigger obstacles because I have focused on my worship time. God had eased my worries. He has spoken to me. I know that I am not alone. He will get me through the day or the challenge. That's all I need. I have God in my corner so there is nothing that I can't face.

When people are the busiest and stressed out most I always ask if they have been to Church lately. Have you talked to God? Have you listened to him? Asking "Why Me?" all of the time doesn't count. Show Him that you love Him. If a child never says thank you and is always whining about not getting their way, do you reward them?

I have also focused on my thank you prayers. I used to be the girl that only thanked God when a bad situation ended. But, now I thank Him all day long. I thank Him for the pretty flowers that He put in my path. I thank Him for the song on the radio that made me smile.  I thank Him for the friends and family I have. I thank Him for the opportunities that are being granted to me. The best thing is that the more I thank Him for, the more He gives me. We have a good relationship :-)

*****

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

-1 John 4: 8-9

Would you lie to spare your life?

Hello,

I am sure you have seen in the news the Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death for being a Christian. She was born to a Muslim father and married a Christian man. Under Islamic law she must stay a Muslim like her father. What made this case stand out so much is that the woman was 8 months pregnant and sentenced to death.

In discussing this with a friend who is in the midst of her own journey of Faith she asked the question that so many others do "Why can't she just say that she is Muslim and be Christian in the privacy of her home? I'm sure other people do that."

I will admit that long ago I thought the same thing. I always thought that I would do that if I had to. But, as my faith grew and as I began reading the Bible every day that option no longer applied.

Do you remember the question that was asked of students in Columbine? "Do you believe in God?" Students who answered Yes were shot. Some of them knew that the answer would get them shot and they still did it. For some that seems silly. One simple lie would spare your life. So why wouldn't you tell it?

I wasn't sure how to answer the question. I just knew that it's not an option. When you open your heart to God and let Him in. It is NOT an option. 

I've actually tried to say No out loud just to test it out. It doesn't happen. If anything, my hesitation will tell you all you need to know.

To think about whether or not you would die for your Faith is a deep and scary thought. I pray every day that it never comes to that. In my daily prayers I thank God every single day that I live in a country where I have the freedom to believe in God. I do not take that lightly.

God has blessed me in so many ways. Every day there is a new blessing. Why would I deny that?

*****

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But, whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."
-Matthew 10: 32-33

God has plans for me...I just don't always understand what they are.

Hello,

I have had it in my heart to start this blog for a long time. My journey of Faith is the most important thing in my life. It takes precedence over everything. This seems to be hard for some people to understand and so I want to share my journey.

I have been a Christian my whole life, but it hasn't always been my main focus. For most of my life I went to Church and I attended church events, but I never really understood. I never really lived my life for God. That all changed about 9 years ago.

I grew up Catholic. For most of my life that is all I ever knew. I never understood any other denomination. I just assumed everyone believed the same things that I did. And then I moved to the South.

I was open minded at that point. I was curious. For two months one of my favorite ladies invited me to her son's church to hear him preach. As open minded as I was, I was very resistant. Eventually I gave in. I am forever thankful that I did.

I walked in to this tiny tiny church and was welcomed with open arms. The service was unlike anything I had attended. It was a far cry from the Catholic Mass. It was a strange feeling, but it opened my heart. It allowed me to listen to the sermon. They spoke to me. The church was 30 minutes away, but I will drive as far as it takes when I need to. I became friends with the Pastor and several of the members. It was the first time that I started to attend regular Bible studies. I was so HUNGRY for the Word.

Events occurred and soon my Pastor friend left that church. I was devastated. I didn't want to look for another church again. For a couple of months I visited churches of my friends. None of them felt right for me. I didn't feel like the Pastor spoke to me. I had been passing a church every single day on my way to work and had wanted to check it out. I immediately felt like I was home when I visited for the first time.

So now I had the right place for me to worship, but I was in need of more. Happily we started a Bible Study at work once a week. When we first started there were just a few of us. It was my favorite lunch hour of the week. I learned so much. We spent an entire year studying the book of John. I also learned so much about what other people believed. There is a reason why some people refuse to discuss Religion. It can get pretty heated.

Growing up Catholic I just assumed everyone got Baptized as a baby. I had no idea that other denominations didn't do that. I also didn't understand the "Born Again" feeling. I think there was a little bit of jealousy on that. Some people have such powerful stories about when they heard from God and decided to dedicate their lives to Him. That had never happened to me. It made me sad.

When I left the South and moved back to the Northeast I was so upset about leaving this group. I made sure that I still called in every week for Bible Study. It was hard not to be there, but it was so wonderful. Especially seeing how much it grew. They ran out of chairs.

The girl that came back from the South was very different. Her focus was now her relationship with God. Before she moved there she never spoke of religion in the office or in social settings. But, that all changed. She hung her favorite Bible verses on her desk wall at work. She made sure everyone knew that attending church and her Bible study took precedence. She was openly living a Christian life.

It has been the most amazing journey, but it is not without struggles. There are still things I don't understand, but I put my faith in God.

June 1st of this year I was baptized again. The first time someone made the decision for me. This time it was my decision to declare my life is for God.

So what led me to start this blog? When you find something you love don't you want to share it? Think about that amazing deal you got on that new TV. Well nurturing my relationship with God is soooooo much better than any good deal on a TV. Why wouldn't I want to share?

God has plans for me. I don't always know what they are, nor do I understand why until much later and it's always a Blessing.

God Bless,
Jennie

*****

For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

-Jeremiah 29:11