Spiritual Look Back

 I've been thinking about my spiritual life from the time I got saved and where I'm at now. I saw a YouTube video of my former pastor at the church( Pentecostal) I was going to. He was a brilliant man of God. He's with the Lord now but I wish I had gotten to know him better. I was still very much a baby Christian when I was attending so I was very confused about doctrinal matters but I didn't ask my pastor any questions about anything that the church taught.

I eventually left that church because I had moved too far away and no one lived near my new apartment. The church I started attending (Foursquare) was very different from what I was used. It was a mostly white congregation and my old church was all black. I was also used to the pastor wearing a robe and this one did not. After attending for awhile  it seemed like a good fit. The pastor was great and was knowledgeable about the Bible. I left that church because I moved out 300 miles away and church was the hardest for me to leave but God had other plans for me.
Anyway, I went to many different churches and through all my Christian life.  Since then I have learned that one should always check a church's teachings and if it doesn't line up with scripture then it is better to find one that does.

We attend an awesome  Baptist church with excellent teaching and the members are just wonderful people to be around. They love the Lord and each other. I can't begin to tell you how much this church has been a blessing to us and how much of a blessing it is to serve others.
More later!

Finally a Post

Well it's been a month now since I posted and I apologize. A lot has happened and some of the " a lot" has to do with my family on my mom's side. My siblings and I found out that we have living aunts and uncles that we didn't know existed.  A cousin found us through Ancestry.com. He found my mom who was his aunt.We don't know why our mom kept this a secret from us. It's very upsetting to say the least. Two of my sisters got to meet two of my aunts and their families. I wish I could have gone as they live in Los Angeles but gas is expensive and we just don't have the money right now. It was an emotional reunion my sisters were saying and apparently the aunts remember me as a very little girl and my little brother, Gerald who was given up for adoption but I don't know why.

 My aunts all look just like my mom. My mom passed in 2008 from cancer and I can't help but wonder how she would feel about us knowing and being in contact with her sisters. Her brother(95) is in Ohio and has some health issues so meeting him won't be happening :(
 Even her sisters don't know why she refused to have anything to do with them. It may be that she might have been a single mom so she might have felt ashamed? I really don't know.
It's been a rather emotional time for all of us. I do have a vague memory of  my brother when I was little and then all of a sudden he was gone.  I don't remember if my parents ever told me what happened. My siblings were born after Gerald was given up for adoption so they don't know him. They never even knew he existed.

So now I want to figure out how the Lord wants me to deal with all this. I have some thoughts on all these but I can't really share them here. There are few questions from my childhood that if I get to meet my aunts perhaps they can help.

God's Goodness

 Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with God goodness to our family. Kaitlyn's last MRI showed the cancer is gone. Praise the Lord! Her health has been our number one concern.
I'm remembering a song I was listening to on Sunday as I was getting ready for church. The song is "God Will Take Care of You".  It's all about not being worried or dismayed. God will take care of us. I was deciding whether to tithe that Sunday because our finances have been so bad but I decided I was going to give God's His share. It's a scary thing because my husband still hasn't found a job and we spend very little if we do get money.

Please understand, I'm not saying it's okay to give money you don't have. If you don't have money in your bank account then it's is silly to write a "rubber" check.

Anyway, the girls needed something out of the car so when they opened the front door there were bags of groceries left by an unknown angel. She or he put an envelope in one of the bags with cash inside. Tim and I were flabbergasted but so very happy. Then we arrive at church and someone gave Pastor an envelope to give us  that contained a grocery gift card! We were just blown away by this.

At times I feel like we don't deserve God's blessings but actually none of us on this earth does.  So what do you do when God blesses you in an unexpected way? You pay it forward and bless someone else. We have extra laundry soap and toothpaste  that we have been happy to share with others. It's really alot of fun and you feel good doing it.

I don't know what all the coming holidays will hold. I hope that we will be able to bless a family this year like we have been blessed so far.

Gay Marriage and Chick-fil-a

Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-a  who is a born again Christian, caused an uproar recently when he said  he doesn't support same sex marriage.  So he doesn't support same sex marriage! Get over it! Just because someone believes that marriage should be between one man and one woman doesn't make that person a bigot!  We live in America and he is allowed to express his how he feels about the issue. After all he was asked and he told.  You may not agree with him and that is your right too. I have two dear friends whom I love dearly who are lesbians. I don't agree with their lifestyle and they are aware of that but I'm not a bigot and they don't consider me to be a bigot either.

It sounds to me like the gay rights activists want a "don't ask. don't tell" policy applied to anyone suspected of not supporting their lifestyle . Talk show hosts will be banned from asking their guests their position on the subject. Candidates will not be allowed to mention it. It will be banned from church sermons.  Because if you say you don't support gay marriage the media will have a field day and turn the whole thing into major controversy. They do it to sell  more papers and get  more people to watch their programming. So don't ask. don't tell!

Boycott the restaurants if they want. After all it is  I don't think it will make a difference in sales anyway and it's not going to change Mr.Cathy's mind. They have awesome food and there are plenty of people who are willing to eat there who may or may not agree with Mr. Cathy. I'm looking forward to the Chick-fil-a restaurant opening here in town as a matter of fact.

 Give me a break! There are far more important things happening  in our world  than how someone feels about same sex marriage!
 I think the shooting in Aurora, CO is the first thing that comes to mind. The unrest in Syria? The presidential election? Just to name a few. I think these are way more important.

I  probably won't be posting on this subject anymore. I just needed to get this out of my system but I can tell this is going to be interesting.

More Thoughts on Headcoverings

 I was thinking that probably more important than the style of coverings is how we behave while wearing our covering. Are we showing Christlike behavior in public and at home? Are we judgemental, have an "holier than thou" attitude towards Christian women who don't cover?
I hope I have never come across that way. I'm very quiet and shy so I hope that because of that people don't think I'm that way.

I have heard people say that some head covering Christian ladies have been the rudest and most judgemental women they have ever met. Ouch! I only know one woman like that and no amount of gentle rebuke will change her.  I can see why people would lump us all together and think we are part of a "clique"  whose members act like they are better than everyone else and excludes people who aren't exactly like them.

I would hope that people see a sweet spirit in us that points them to Christ. It's late so I think I'm heading to bed. Not to mention I have a sore throat that started early this week and it seems to love me so much that it won't go away.

Christian Women's Headcoverings

On a recent trip to Los Angeles I noticed a huge presence of Muslim women with their various types of coverings all of which clearly identified them as Muslim or were some of them actually Christian women?

The Bible in 1 Corinthians 11 doesn't give any size, color etc regarding type of coverings but I wonder if we Christian ladies are going to obey this scripture should our coverings convey that we are Christians and not Muslim?  This is just a question that's been on my mind lately. I've seen pictures of lovely Christian ladies who cover but their coverings indicate they might be mistaken for Muslim.
Please don't think I'm condemning any Christian woman who choses to wear those type of coverings. I'm just wondering if the Muslim type of coverings is ok for a Christian woman to wear. Those who choose to respond I'm looking forward to your answers.

Giving the Devil Too Much Credit?

This thought came to mind as a ponder these last few weeks of dealing with the cancer Kaitlyn was treated for. Several well meaning Christians have saod things like "Satan caused your daughter to have cancer" or " Somthing from your past was let in to cause your daughter's cancer" and things like that.
Are all illnesses from the enemy? I believe that the Lord allows some things that aren't pleasant to draw us closer to Him but I'm confused about this issue. I'm interested in what you readers have to say about this.
Remember comment moderation is on so hateful, mean spirited posts will be rejected.