be closer to God.

I became a church hopper today. The church that I went to was brought up by a couple of friends. I thought that I would try it. My plan since I made this goal on Friday was to go to church this Sunday. Generally there is something that deteres me from going. Some task, or lame excuse as to why I cannot go to church or why I will definately go next week since I cant this week. HA

Well, yesterday I was supposed to go rollerblading with a friend and it rained most of the day. She asked me to go Sunday morning. My first instinct was to accept the offer. We have been attempting to rollerblade for several weeks and the plans keep falling through. In the end I thought of my goal and explained to her that I would be attending church in the morning but would be happy to rollerblade in the afternoon. She declined elaborating on her intentions for the rest of the day. I then suggested the evening and she declined. She rearranged her schedule and called me this pm saying that we could rollerblade after all. YAY

This morning I woke my husband for church. He would not get out of bed nor would he answer me when I asked him if he would be attending service this morning. I left the room and went to church with my daughter.

I had no idea what was instore at church. My daughter went to childrens church.

They have a pentecostal atmosphere and outlook though I did not hear any “speaking in tongues” or see any “slinging in the spirit”. My husband did not want to go to the church that I was attending which was a church of God. Not the anderson one. It was a church that had a pentecostal style. Then we went to the Church of God where I was brought up (every other week end with my mum). They are a non-denominational church with a younger population. The pastor is easy to listen to but neither of us felt like we were getting much out of going there. I suppose you get out of it what you put into it. It would have been nice to have a few friends at the church. We have both gone to church our whole lives and know barely anything about the scriptures. We need someone to study with. I get that “church people” want to praise God and sing and be joyous, but I dont feel like I get much out of singing and waving my arms about. I guess if I knew why they were doing it I might join in. But I have no clue why they do it. I have read some scriptures in psalms old testament about lifting your hands blazayscoop blazayscoop. But what does that do? I tried it a couple of times it just made my arms tired. I didnt feel anything different. I just dont get some of the things that churches do. Again maybe its because I have no idea why they are doing what they are doing. Another example is praying outload. Why do certain churches do that where everyone is trying to talk over the other. Didnt Jesus reprimand the people that go out into the streets and pray these beautiful eloquent prayers just to be heard (I think I read that in the bible) or listened to it. I listen to the king james version in my car the hour to and from work? In my mind a prayer should be from the heart, between you and God.

At the church I went to today, there was 45 minutes of singing and standing followed by 1 hour of sermon. The sermon was alright definately from the bible II Chorinthians actually. I felt like the pastor was speaking to me. Though I am going to re-read what he spoke about and see if that is what the book was actually talking about. He was of course speaking on love and the “gifts of the spirit” The congregation was welcoming. Infact, I sat with the pastor’s associate and his wife. Very nice people. My only regret about sitting between the two of them is that they can sing really well and I can’t carry a toon to save my life. I tried. There is no way that I could sing for 45 minutes though. Also, I only sang the songs that I knew. Why sing a song that you dont know? It defeats the purpose of singing with praise right? So the songs that I did not know I just listened to the words. I think that you should not sing without meaning and if I dont know the words how could I possibly mean them when they come out of my mouth. I did not feel looked down upon for not singing. If it were up to me singing would be kept to a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes every service. The youth were having a blast (dancing and singing and “praising”). Oh, and the best part of it all is that my husbands sister that his mum gave up for adoption was there and she did a “human video” where the drama kids act out the meaning of a song. It was very moving actually. I spoke with her after the service and asked her to say hi to my daughter who has no idea that she is her aunt. She had a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that Marissa was my husbands sister. She was excited to have another aunt though. I got her phone number and expect to invite her to spend some time with us next weekend.

I highly doubt that my husband will go to this church secondary to the fact that the church thrives on pentecostal principles. He is in large part against pentecostal beliefs. Not that he know much about pentecostal beliefs. HA

From the time I was born I went to church every Sunday. When my parents were divorced in 1985 they went to separate churches. My father was a church hopper going from sothern babtist, assembly of God, Methodist, and a few others. He would always find some reason that the churches teachings were wrong or he didn’t like someone in the congregation. It was silly. Then my mum went to the Church of God (Anderson). She stayed single until I was about 14. She remarried. My stepfather put into her mind that churches are full of hipocrits and you do not have to go to church to be a christian. I suppose that much is true you do not have to go to church to be a christian, but certainly you need fellowship??? When I was 15 I started “dating” a boy whose mom was a very good christian lady. She kept me going to church. She drove every Wednesday evening 40 miles away to pick me up and take me to church. This was a pentecostal church. It made me feel a bit uneasy at first. It too was a Church of God but not like the one my mum took me to. This wonderful lady took me to church on Sundays too. We used the King James version at that church just as I did at my mums church. I wont say that I did not get anything out of going to that church. Infact, going to that church probably kept me sane for the 2 years that I went. I think that all of the church hopping and insecurities that I had not knowing anyone, and wondering what they thought of me, may have hindered me getting close to God. I am so unsure sometimes about anything. My mind is so analytical and that really prevents me from getting close to God, or people for that matter. I hope that I can overcome this. My husband and I really want to be closer to God. We have been talking about it for a very long time. The problem is that we never take action. I guess we do not know where to start. Now that it is a goal I will work toward it. This should be my number one goal. : )