On the topic of religion…

When I was growing up, I did not have anyone in my family who was very religious, and religion was not a key part of my upbringing. My parents used to go to a catholic church a long time ago (over 23 years), and I was baptized when I was little. Due to a falling out between my parents and their church, they opted to forego religion, and the only times we ever stepped foot into a church was for a wedding or a funeral. We never prayed, we never attended church services, and religion was never discussed, save for very rare occasions.

I had a great group of friends in school, yet none of them were actively involved in the church. I did not have a religious friend to pull me aside and speak to me about the bible, my future, or to bring me to church with them. I didn’t feel the strong tug in my heart to go on my own either, so I went along in life without thinking about going to church.

Through all of my life, I knew that there was a God, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and to promise us salvation should we accept him as our Lord and Savior. Even without going to church, I knew in my heart that this was true.

Luckily for me, a few years ago I met Tonya (for the second time). As we fell in love and began to plan our future together, we occasionally discussed religion. Religion is very important to her; she wants a Christ-centered life, and wants a husband who has a Christ-centered life as well. She bought me my first bible for our first Christmas together, which is a learning bible. It has been a wonderful resource for me. On each page, alongside the words of the bible, are several common/popular questions asked about the passages, and provides the answers to those questions. Of all of the gifts she has given me, the bible is probably one of the most important ones, aside from the desire to help bring me closer to God.

Over the past year, Tonya and I have been looking for a regular church home. Several months back, we came across First Assembly of God (http://www.firstagcr.org/). We have been going there on a nearly-consistent basis. Unfortunately my schedule requires me to work Sunday mornings once a month, and so I am unable to attend on those Sundays. Our church features several services each Sunday, with a traditional service at 9am and a contemporary service at 10:30. We attend the 10:30 service, which has a live band and a great atmosphere. Our pastor has just finished a series on breaking the chains of the seven deadly sins, and is beginning a new series this coming Sunday.

About two months ago, shortly after the beginning of the new year, Tonya and I attended service as we normally try to do. At one point during Pastor Larry’s sermon, my mind started to think about my desire to attend church on a weekly basis and becoming more actively involved in our church community. I had been looking to get out of Target for a while and find a steady Monday through Friday job. After leaving, my mind continued to think about the possibility, and I felt that God was urging me to become more active. After much praying and pondering (and a little help from Target by passing me over on the promotion), I decided to start seeking a new job that would help me fulfill that goal.

My hopes are that, with a new job, Tonya and I will be able to start going to church every single week, and start to explore different activities and ministries within the church. I think it would be great for the both of us individually, as well as a married couple. As we attended Easter service today, a group of children from the youth group did a performance in complete darkness – they created images with their hands (in white gloves) against a black light, alongside a song (the name of the song escapes me, I’ll ask Tonya later). It was really moving, and it made me think about having a young child who’d be up there one day, celebrating God.

This entry kind of jumped around a bit, so I apologize if I went from one topic to another quickly. Long story short; Tonya helped draw me closer to God, which is one gift that I cannot begin to thank her enough for. I read my bible on a nightly basis, and I want to start reading to her on a regular basis as well. I would like for us to sit down and discuss matters, and memorize particular passages or verses that have have meaning to the events in our life. I want to become a good Christian husband and a good Christian father when we have kids. I want to become more involved with the church and with God himself. I’ve even contemplated the idea of becoming involved (eventually) with church leadership in some sort or capacity.

If anyone has any suggestions on good reading on the topics of being a good Christian husband, living a Christian life, etc, please feel free to give names and authors. I’d appreciate it!