When God Shows Off Part 2

So I left off with Chris' experience after our first service at our new church.  

For the first time in forever, break out into a Frozen medley, Chris actually wanted to go back to church the next weekend. Our week was obviously different.  There was a different emotion that fell over the house. We still fought like cats and dogs but it was different.  Looking back on it now I truly believe it was God stepping in and showing himself to both Chris and I on a more real level.  Of course we both know He had always been there, but you have to be willing to accept His grace to see it.

Sunday came and we found ourselves at church again, no longer strangers but still didn't really know anyone. It became a weekly date for Chris and I.  We were able to drop Alex off in the kids ministries area and spend one on one time together learning about the Lord and growing our relationship with Him and each other.  This time with each other would become very important as we faced difficult times together over the coming weeks and would ultimately play the biggest part in the healing of our relationship.  

We spent the next few months becoming more involved in the church and began serving in the kids ministries together.  We would serve for one service and then go to the sermon for the second service. Alex was loving every minute of being at church.  He was making friends and would ask starting on Wednesday, "Mommy can we go to church today?"

As we became more involved we began to feel connected to this church.  We felt like we didn't want to miss a Sunday ever, in fact I would often go after I worked all night and it was still the best part of my week. 

It was incredible to feel attached to our church and develop relationships with people in our church and want to be back every Sunday to catch up with them and be fed by God's word.

In the winter our church held a "class" of sorts that was a "get to know the church and each other" class. It was so much fun to get to know more about our church and the foundation on which it was started, and more about the people who surround me each Sunday. This is where it was learned by church leaders my love of photography.  And from that day forward I became a part of a team permanently, I began to take photos for the church.  It is an incredible way to express my love of photography but more importantly my love for Jesus Christ.

I think this is where I will leave off for this week and we can continue next Sunday with the first time Chris and I saw a miracle in our lives and our Baptisms. 

When God Shows Off, Part 1

You may or may not know this but about a year and a half ago Chris and I began on a new journey with Christ.  We sought out to not find a religion but rather a new and renewed relationship with our Heavenly Father.  And along the way we have rebuilt our relationship with each other and as parents.  

When Chris and I found our new church we were at a terribly low place.  Divorce hung low over our heads and was a daily mention.  We were drowning in debt and couldn't find a way out.  Chris and I could not stand to be in the same room as the other and we never had a nice thing to say to each other.  We were fighting all the time and I am ashamed to say a lot of that fighting was in front of Alex.

Chris and I each grew up practicing the same religion(different than the one we define ourselves with now) but neither one of us went to church each week and religion was not something that was ever mentioned outside of the 4 walls of the church.  We got married in the church I grew up in and never went to church together after that day, except maybe Christmas and the day Alex was baptized.  When I would go to church I would beg Chris to go with Alex and I, but Chris' response was always, "I don't find God in a church." So eventually I stopped asking and stopped going altogether. 

Fast forward to fall 2014 and I was looking for a safe trick-or-treating environment for Alex's first real trick-or-treating experience.  I was browsing Facebook and came across a "Top things to do in the fall in Cincinnati."  On the list was a trunk or treat event hosted at a school not far from our home, it was being put on by a church that I had never heard of.  The event was that night so Alex and I packed up, got his costume on and recruited my sister to go with us.  

We headed over and the experience we had there was fantastic.  It was organized and fun, but also full of people.  And being who I am, I was people watching and listening in on conversations.  It was so awesome to hear people talking about Jesus and how much they loved their church.  This was something I wanted to look into more.  Well the next day I received a text message from an amazing lady, who I am beyond blessed entered my life, and she told me that we had won a basket from their raffle and I could pick it up on the following Sunday at church.  

My next hurdle would be to see if I could get Chris to go with me.  So I told him a little white lie.  (Yes I lied to my husband to get him to go to church.)  Amazingly he agreed.  I remember back to that morning and it was a really tense morning and I know there was fighting involved.  That was until we got out the car, that's the way it always was.

As we we pulled into the lot of the church there were people directing us as to where to park, and as we were getting out of our car they welcomed us and asked us how we were doing.  Then as we walked up to the doors, there were greeters there as well.  They were incredible, one in particular, who Alex now looks for every Sunday, recognized us as new people and walked us inside and sent us to the raffle basket for us to redeem but also spoke with us a few minutes and encouraged us to stay for service and also encouraged us to take Alex to the church nursery.  

We did just that.  From the time we walked in the doors Chris and I both felt welcome and wanted.  Neither of us had ever felt that way in a church before.  Then we entered the auditorium for the service to begin.  This was such a different experience than what we were used to.  Our church we were from sang hymns, this church sang songs about God but they were up-tempo and people were outwardly showing their affection for God.  It was an amazing sight to see and I was hooked!

This was the relationship I had always wanted with God.  

The pastor gave an awesome sermon and it was one that kept not only myself intrigued but also Chris.  After the sermon was over Chris looked at me and said, "For the first time in I think forever, I felt God's presence today." 

I feel like that will be a great place to end this post.  I would like to make this a weekly bit until we come current with our life story.  God is moving in big ways in our lives.  Chris and I have made a promise to do all things for His glory and we would be wrong not to share the amazing ways He is moving in us.  We hope you enjoyed this and come back next Sunday to hear the next part of our journey with God.

Do you have questions about God or do you long for a relationship with him instead of just a religion?  Please leave your questions in the comment section below and we would be happy to answer them for you or get you in touch with someone else who can answer them.

Movie Review: War Room (No Spoilers)

I went to my church group this past Sunday and this movie was brought up and highly recommended Chris and I watch.  They also told us that we should buy it and not rent it because it is that great.  So when I left that night I stopped at Target and picked it up along with some snacks.  I told Chris to get Alex to sleep and we would have a makeshift date night.  

This movie did not disappoint!! I laughed, I cried and I got goosebumps all multiple times throughout the movie.  

I felt as though the plot line was fluid and not predictable.  I found myself trying to guess at what was going to happen and each time I was wrong.  But the message and theme were incredible.  I feel as though it was a good family movie and it was a very relate-able movie and hits home with many families.   I know at least in our family Chris & I have had times in our lives when our careers have become more important than each other and our relationship fell by the wayside.  

But I also love that it reiterates the power of prayer and it encourages developing an intimate relationship with Christ.  My life and the life of my family has drastically changed since we developed our new and renewed relationship with Jesus Christ.  

On a scale of 0 to 5, with 5 being great and 0 being terrible, I would definitely give this movie a 5.  It is for sure a movie I will watch multiple times and I will definitely beginning to put into practice a few of the techniques mentioned in the movie.

Inside my Devotional

Can you say personal?  I truly believe a person's journal or devotional are one of the most personal things they own.  However it was not until I saw someone else's that I began to have one of my own.  Through my journey in this devotional I have not only found out more about myself but also found out many, many things about God.  So I thought I would use my little space on the interwebs to show you my devotional and encourage you to start one of your own.

I have a pink journal that was my very first devotional.  This notebook is falling apart and the pages have bends and show lots of signs of love.  I love this book, as it signifies to me the start of my new walk with Christ and also was there with me the day I was baptized. It will forever hold a special place in my heart and I am sure I will frequently look back to it to remember that special time in my life.

I use my devotionals in many ways.  My most common use being my church service notes. Every Sunday I take this book with me and write notes from the sermon in it and also write down the verses read during service.  Then once I get home I will go through the notes again and then write the verses read in my devotional.  I myself am a visual learner and have found that if I write these verses I understand the lesson more. This is my favorite use by far.

One other use I have for my devotional is to use the S.O.A.P. method. 

Scripture

Observation

Application

Prayer

Often our Pastor will use a book & chapter in the bible but not give a specific verse.  I take these opportunities and use these instances to use this method.  I have found out so much about myself through doing these and find that they are generally so easy to do once I get going. 

And finally I use my devotional as a journal.  There are plenty of times when I have a hard time formulating my feelings into words and find it easier to just word vomit all over the page.  These entries are some of the most emotional and cathartic posts I have and find that I have grown so much when I reflect back on these posts.

I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into my devotional and would love to answer questions if you have any!

I'm Going Back to Work

I'm cleared to go back to work with modified duty as of today!! Only I don't know where I will be working?  It was mentioned that me using my iWalk crutch could be a safety hazard in an ICU and makes it extremely difficult for me to sit and down and feed babies easily.  So my work will be finding a temporary job, likely a desk job, dun dun dunnnn.  I am not made for a desk job, but I am extremely grateful that they are accommodating my work restrictions period.

So today I would like to share a simple prayer I have prayed in preparation for returning to work after being off 7 weeks recovering from surgery.

Heavenly Father,

Please place your healing hands over me and make my transition back to work as peaceful and non-stressful as possible.  Please give patience to my temporary co-workers as I am learning a new job and grant me the ability to learn these new tasks quickly and become a great help to this department.  I know all things will go as you have planned and intended for you know my path and will not lead me into anything not intended for me.  Thank you for the path of healing you have lead me on and that the hiccups we have encountered have been minor and that things are looking up! 

Amen.