CHURCH........

After many months of struggling with this, I have come to realize what is important is not what I want personally but what is needed spiritually. As much as I would prefer that my children and I attend the same church, what I want most for them is to know Jesus, to develop a personal relationship with Him, and that requires me to let go of my personal desire of attending church together, and just trust that God will work in each of our lives, even if our church family is not at the same place.

I feel at home at Greenhouse. I love the praise and worship and I love a pastor who preaches BIBLE, things that are applicable to my spiritual life first that inevitable positively affects my human life. I want to be somewhere that stretches me spiritually, not just
personally. My spirit feels at home there.

My daughter feels most at home at Anthem. I can see the draw, especially for young people. It provides an atmosphere for both the churched and unchurched, and although I see the need for this type of church, it just isn't where I feel at home. Andy Stanley is a wonderful speaker and his messages reach anybody, and can be relevant for the church and unchurched. I have never heard a message that when applied can be beneficial.

My son feels more at home at Canvas Church. I have quite a few family members that attend there and maybe for Nick that is the draw. Pastor Mark is an incredible and knowledgeable Pastor, his sermons are similar in style to Andy Stanley. Canvas Church is involved in the community and there are a lot of people Nick knows there.

Bottom line is that regardless of the denomination or location of a church we are all members of THE Church of GOD. The church is you and I not the building that we come to corporately. My hearts desire is for Allie and Nick to grow in their personal relationships with Jesus, that they OWN their faith, not mine, the foundation of my faith is shared so that they can establish their own foundation of faith. So if choosing to go to a church that is different from my own personal preference is what it takes to LET GO and LET GOD, then I will step out of the way and trust that God will grow them wherever they chose to go, as long as they go.

My parents forced us to go to church and many of us stopped going to church as soon as we were our from under the control of our parents. Why? It was not because we did not believe in Jesus, or did not want to be a Christian, but possibly because we lived for so long on the foundations of our parents faith that we never realized that each of us need a personal foundation from which Jesus can grow us personally. I want that for them. I want them to be more prepared spiritually than I was when I left the safety of the home net. Their relationship with Christ is far more important than 'family' church time together. God will grow us where we are planted, I just want them to want to be planted.

Let this cup pass from me.......

 

I trust that you all had a wonderful Easter. I did! I thoroughly enjoyed singing in the Greenhouse Easter Sunday choir, it was incredible to get to serve beside so many during this special time and I look forward to any and all opportunities to do this again.

This morning, during my devotions, I experienced a revelation that I don't recall having ever realized  during the time that I have been a Christian that was just a WOW moment.  I am reading a series by T.D. Jakes called The Six Pillars. This series covers Ephesians. Currently I am on the 3rd part of this series, in perfect timing with the resurrection. I am not sure what I believed about Jesus' words to the Father when He asked him to "let this cup pass from me". Part of me thought it was about all the pain and suffering that He would soon endure from the cross to the grave. It never occurred to me that what concerned Jesus  most was not the physical pain that He would endure, but the pain of  separation that would take place as Jesus took on the sins of humanity, the sin that would cause His Father to look away. I don't know about you, but as a parent, that just broke my heart!

I want that. I want to have THAT kind of relationship with my Father. The kind of relationship that would cause me so much agony to NOT have. For Jesus, that would only be for a few days, but even that was too much for Him to bare, and yet He did, for you and for me. That is so significant. I am crying right this moment just sharing this with you. That is a lot of love.


Jesus didn't just die for us, to be our blood sacrifice, He rose to be our constant connection to His Father, our Father. Jesus wants us to have a close relationship with the Father, it mattered so much to Him and wants it to matter that much to us.

As with any developing relationship there is a period of "getting to know" one another, and the only way we can know the Father, is in the Word. I use to think "why do I need to read the whole bible" but as I have been reading the chronological, and yes it seems a bit wordy at times, I am learning more and more about God and how, despite human failures, has never given up on His chosen people and how grateful I am that He extended the chosen to include you and I. These are not just mere stories of the history of the Jewish people, but a better understanding of who God is and all that He had to do, and continues to do, to  bring us back into a relationship with Him. So I will keep reading that chronological bible because I want to know Him and understand His ways.

Have a great week my friends and make sure you spend some time with your Father!

-Tammy