More Than Just Mama

My last post I wrote about making deposits into heaven blew up online. I felt a little awkward writing it. One reason is I am not a writer, so I was hoping it all made sense lol. Second, because I totally opened up and was worried what people will think.

I received so many positive responses from my last post it left me speechless. So, it inspired me to write this as a follow up in hopes that it too can make a positive impact in someone’s life, even though I know there will be some haters after.

It is crazy how we can all read the same exact thing but feel and interpret it completely different from another. This blog will likely create opinions that are polar opposites, but here we go…

There are certain “hot topics” right now that when they come up in conversation people feel awkward. Of those topics, these are a few I typically would try to stay away from:

-Abortion

-Politics

-Vaccinations

-And most of all…religion

Religion :/

My husband never feels awkward talking about anything. That’s some confidence right there lol. He lets people know what he thinks and how he feels at all times. Is that a good thing? Yes, but sometimes I wish he had a filter! Haha!

Me? I usually avoid controversial topics. At times I wish I had my husband’s confidence. People get so freaking defensive if you don’t agree with their ideas or beliefs. To each their own I say. I always do my research and love to hear why people choose the choices they do. Some people, however, have a heart attack if you ask questions about their beliefs/actions/conclusions.

One of my girlfriends read my last post and told me that since she read it she wants to go to church again, but her husband doesn’t want to.  I asked him why? He said it’s just not his thing. I usually avoid the topic of religion. But this time I didn’t 🙂

Today I am a Christian. I was saved October 27^th 2010 in Mexico. That day will forever be one of the most special days in my life. This may sound silly but I feel more whole now. I live life with a purpose.  I told to my girlfriend’s husband how I totally get where he was coming from because I felt like he does for 25 years. Prior to that day in Mexico I had many hesitations with becoming a believer.

I explained to him the issues I had with “religion” and the reasons why I hesitated on becoming a Christian for so long. For years I had formed reasons why I didn’t want to go to church and had these “opinions” of what Christianity was:

Opinion 1: Too many crazy Christians out there. They seem all holy yet judge others and tell others they are going to Hell. I didn’t want to be associated with crazy people.

Opinion 2: Bad things happened to others and me. Why would God let people die in a terrible way? Murder, war, cancer…if He was real, He would stop all that, right?

Opinion 3: I don’t have all my “ish” together. I’m not good enough and too broken to be a Christian.

Opinion 4: Church seems like a failed establishment and all they want is your money.

Opinion 5: How can you believe in someone or a place you have never seen?

As I told all this to my friend he nodded and said “Exactly!” So I asked him if I could elaborate on each, and why I feel differently now.

He said “sure”.

I took a big gulp, and couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth.

Opinion 1: Too many crazy Christians out there.

From the outside looking in, it seemed there are two kinds of Christians, and both freaked me out. The first is the kumbaya Christian that literally seemed perfect. You know who I mean. The person that only listens to worship music, recites the bible nonstop in normal conversation and seems to be perfect. They intimidated me. I know I’m not “perfect” like that and probably never could be. Why bother becoming a Christian then? I don’t want to mess up. It’s just easier to not become one.

The second kind is the Christian that thinks they know everything and judge everyone. They are holier than though and no matter what you say or do it’s wrong. They hold hateful signs petitioning outside abortion clinics telling people they will go to Hell and God hates you.

Why on earth would anyone want to become a believer seeing that? I just didn’t realize that not all Christians are this way.

Both of these examples made me hesitant about church and becoming a believer. How sad, I was going to let a few extreme “religious” people ruin my relationship with God. Turns out there’s a third type of Christian, the ones that are kind and compassionate, follow the example Christ gave us; the kind I want to be.

Don’t let other’s actions ruin your relationship with the Lord. Some people who claim to be Christians might just be misguided. And others might be very intense fans of God. That may be weird to some. Take a moment to think about some sports fans. They paint their faces, dress in team colors and scream for their team at the top of their lungs. Doesn’t that seem a little weird too?  How is cheering for the Lord seem strange but cheering for a sports team not?

Opinion 2: God lets bad things happen to others and me. Bad stuff happens. It just does. I’m no pastor. I did not go to bible school so, let me explain this the best that I can as a new believer.

God doesn’t pick for these terrible things to happen. We asked for free will, and He gave it to us. When we make great choices and good things happen, we praise ourselves. When we make bad decisions and bad things happen, we curse God because He allowed it to happen.

What we choose to do with our free will is up to us. We make good and bad decisions, and we live with the results/consequences of both. There is so much good in this world correct? Then there has to be bad. There is good and evil. Light and dark.

God does not want to see us suffer. When bad things happen He says to pray to Him. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7-12)

Sometimes the outcome is not what we wanted or prayed for. God knows the best for us. How does someone who loses his or her child, spouse, or family member understand this? They pray and pray for a sickness to be healed and nothing happens. They still lose their loved one. It’s so cliché to say they’re somewhere better or God has a plan.

But the bottom line is He does and He did not want that child to suffer, your parent to have that illness or for you to lose your friend. We live in a world that is broken. God is here to help us survive this world the best we can until the next, as long as we stay faithful to Him.

Opinion 3: I don’t have my ish together. I can’t be a Christian. 

I’m a Christian. Am I a good one? Depends. Some may think I am. Some may think I am not.

I definitely have places to grow to be more Christ-like. However, I am still a Christian. There are so many haters out there. Yes, sometimes my actions may not be appropriate but that does not mean I do not love God and God doesn’t love me. I want to be better but I am human. I struggle. I’m not perfect.

What I learned is I don’t need to figure out how to be perfect on my own, and once everything in my life was in order, now I get to come to church. Turns out the very point of church, and having a relationship with the Lord is to BEGIN the journey of becoming a better person, and not the other way around.

There are a few people that call themselves Christians that do hateful acts in public, and of course that gets A LOT of attention. I HATE how some people give ALL Christians a bad rap because of a few extreme ones. That makes me sad. We are here to love one another. If someone chooses to do life differently than you that’s fine, but don’t hate or judge. It’s not your place to do so. Focus on your own life and try to live it the best you can.

Opinion 4: Church is a failed establishment and all they want is your money.

I don’t know the bible well. I’m not a kumbaya kid. I don’t always make it to church. I swear and drink. We all have skeletons in our closet. I’m not the perfect Christian. Hence why I go to church!

Some people avoid church because they say it is filled with hypocrites. They see some church goers leave on Sunday and go do drugs, cheat in relationships, get arrested, curse, drink, and the list goes on and on. They see some people attending are screwed up therefore they say church doesn’t work. People write it off as a failed establishment, and the people who go are hypocrites.

If you looked at schools the same way people look at churches, then they are no good either. All the people that go to school aren’t brilliant; therefore that’s a failed establishment too. Yet, that’s the point. People attend school to eventually gain an education. Church, and most establishments, are created and designed to help a person grow.

Hospitals are another example. You could walk through any hospital and see people that are sick, dying, disease stricken and unhealthy. You could say hospitals are failures too. But, that’s the whole point of the hospital, to have sick people come, get the help they need, and hopefully leave healthy.

Church is a place where people in all walks of life attend. Some people are still making mistakes, some bigger than others. Each at one time had poor judgment, careless decisions, bad choices, and even some regrets. And for some reason, to some, that means the church doesn’t work, God doesn’t work, and anyone who goes is a hypocrite.

But, just like school isn’t built for people already educated, and hospitals aren’t built for the healthy, churches aren’t designed for the perfect. They are designed to have people arrive broken, struggling, defeated, challenged, and tired. They are made for people who acknowledge they aren’t perfect, and never will be, but are willing to look inward and to make some steps to change. We all need healing. Church helps to remind us and to get back on track. You go to feed your soul.

Check out different churches in your area if you want to start going. Some just are not the right fit for you specifically. Find the church and a pastor that you enjoy. I guarantee you that you can find one. Maybe you will even make some new friends 🙂

Opinion 5: How can you believe in someone or a place you have never seen? 

Before I became a believer I could never understand how people could believe in something they couldn’t see or touch. I thought they were desperate or crazy ha!

Question?  What is the worst that could happen to you if you believe in God?

Say you believe and live a Godly life. You die and heaven is real. BOOM! You will be stoked! The Bible says how incredible and surreal it is.

Say you don’t believe in God or heaven. You believe that when you die that you get put 6ft under and your body decomposes. That’s it.

That’s fine…if that’s okay with you. I just don’t believe that this is it. Call me naive or brainwashed, but I believe that there is a greater purpose in life than living, dying, and decomposing.

Say I really do just live, die, and go into the dirt, but I lived a Godly life because I was “foolish” enough to believe in a higher being, something greater than me, something spiritual. Whelp, I can’t really see a negative in that. It doesn’t hurt to live life being a good person, loving and trying to help others the best I can. I have nothing to lose.

Starting to believe in God, the God you can’t see or feel takes faith. But if you go out on faith and believe, you start to see and feel God in many areas of your life. I wish I could explain it better, but God my husband and I have seen God’s work and felt Him in our lives all the time. There is no doubt in my mind He’s real, but it took the faith to believe in the first place for Him to show up in our lives like He has.

Don’t let certain people’s opinions or experiences ruin you from becoming a believer. It might just be that little extra something to make your heart happy that you never knew you needed 🙂

Ha, as I read what I’m writing I can’t believe it. Trust me…if you told me 5 years ago that I would be writing this and telling people maybe God is missing in their life, I would just have died laughing!!! I feel so awkward when God comes up. OMG it’s so awkward! It’s awkward like when at church people close their eyes during worship and put up their hands. WTH?!?! Awkward! Oh wait…. I DO THAT NOW! Embarrassing! I can’t believe I am putting this in writing! I stared at those kumbaya people with their hands raised high, singing at the top of their lungs. I felt so odd I wanted to leave! Not anymore lol.

Here is a thought. I love going to concerts. When I go to a concert I put my hands up (occasional fist pump if it works lol) and yell the songs at the top of my lungs. How is that any different from singing worship with your hands raised high? I can’t see God while I sing worship but I feel Him.

I’m choosing to talk about religion now. Not only because this is my blog and I can but I want to help someone out there that feels the way I did. I’m not saying you have to go to church. Some believers live in countries where they can’t go to church. It’s all about your relationship with God, I’m hoping you’ll open your heart and consider having that relationship.

You might not have been a believer at all and this maybe sparked some interest for you.

You might be a believer that hasn’t been to church in forever and this helped remind you how much you loved it.

You might be so anti religion and later become a pastor from this LOL.

In conclusion (this sounds like a term paper ha) it turns out that just writing my last blog, being honest from my heart I did the unthinkable. The greatest achievement I believe is to help someone know the Lord. It’s an accomplishment like no other. Never thought I could do it because I’m not the best Christian. I’m def not the person someone should look up to spiritually. But, I did have friends and random people say my last post opened their eyes. Either it made them want to try church, read the bible, or that they missed it and wanted to reconnect.

I’m just a believer trying to do my best in this world. How that looks for me may look different for you. I screw up every day! Literally! I talk to God and have relationship with Him. Forget the word religion and use the word relationship. God wants to have a relationship with us. I want to do all I can to help His kingdom to the best capacity I can. If I can help open the hearts of a few to the Lord then I did my mission. You know how people say they feel like something is missing in their life? Sometimes it’s the big guy upstairs.

Now go out there and make some deposits 🙂