about my journey in Faith when I have a chunk of time to devote to it. For now, I will say that I knocked and the door was open for me. I let down my defenses and ideas that I got from my upbringing in the Catholic tradition and God reached out to me. I now consider myself to be a Christian Mama. I am glad that a lot of the things I learned while Catholic do not equate with the Word of the Bible and that we have found a wonderful non-denominational church (Calvary Chapel) with an amazing Pastor who is also "recovering Catholic" and the Fellowship of some great people.

There is much more to the story than I can type right now but if you remember my last post in this forum where Jay and I were butting heads ~ Well I got plenty of signs once I got rid of any expectations.

i wish you well on your path, mama :smooch:

I look forward to hearing more Meeshi. I'm glad to hear that you and Jay are on this journey (and hopefully not bumping heads anymore! :p).

I wanted to tell you that I too was raised Catholic and I started attending a non-denominational church when I started dating Mike. Whoa. talk about different! :lol: Goodbye stain glassed stations of the cross, hello palm trees and big screen projectors, LOL! Anyway, it was an offshoot of Calvary Chapel too. It was a nice place to grow in my faith. I learned so much, as the teaching style was verse by verse through the bible as opposed to other snippet/topical type teaching styles. I was able to connected so many dots and so many of the blanks left from my childhood faith, were filled when I started reading the bible. Yet, I still have so much growing to do...it never ends, LOL. Right now God is teaching me grace...in a new way.

I know you will have questions and different expectations, but along the way, I hope you can find rest and assurance.

about my journey in Faith when I have a chunk of time to devote to it. For now, I will say that I knocked and the door was open for me. I let down my defenses and ideas that I got from my upbringing in the Catholic tradition and God reached out to me. I now consider myself to be a Christian Mama. I am glad that a lot of the things I learned while Catholic do not equate with the Word of the Bible and that we have found a wonderful non-denominational church (Calvary Chapel) with an amazing Pastor who is also "recovering Catholic" and the Fellowship of some great people.

There is much more to the story than I can type right now but if you remember my last post in this forum where Jay and I were butting heads ~ Well I got plenty of signs once I got rid of any expectations.

Wow! You have really changed since I joined this board. You actually inspired me to dig out my Native American spirituality books about a year ago! (And helped me realize it's okay to explore all kinds of thought.) I am glad you have found something that makes you feel good- you deserve it!

I wish you well, mama. I hope you find what you are looking for. :)

:heart:

:heart:

I look forward to read about (and hopefully being inspired by) your journey.

I wish you well on your journey.

:hug: So happy for you, Meeshi!

:heart:

Thats great Michelle :)

That's wonderful Michelle! I pray that God continues to help you to grow in Him and that your new church is a blessing to you. :) If you ever have any questions, Bob and I would be happy to answer any of them.

Well....okay!

We each find our ways to the creator one step at a time, one process at a time.

Enjoy your new direction!

Meeshi, I'm thrilled for you. I look forward to hearing more of your story.

Jeni

I am so happy to hear that you have reached a satisfying place on your journey. I look forward to reading your story.

:hbeat: :heart: so glad that you're working through this, Meeshi. I love you!

This excited me today. I thought from reading your other post that something had changed but didn't get a chance to respond.

I am looking forward to hearing about your journey. I am glad that you and J have found a place where you can worship and share together and I hope that it will be a place of peace and growth for your family.

Thanks for sharing this today!

I'm happy that you're finding peace and spiritual beliefs that feel right. This sure has been some year for you guys, eh?

Kerri

I am so happy for you, too!
God is so good :heart:

Meeshi, I'm so glad you were able to find the path that's right for you. I'm proud to call you a "sister of faith".

about my journey in Faith when I have a chunk of time to devote to it. For now, I will say that I knocked and the door was open for me. I let down my defenses and ideas that I got from my upbringing in the Catholic tradition and God reached out to me. I now consider myself to be a Christian Mama. I am glad that a lot of the things I learned while Catholic do not equate with the Word of the Bible and that we have found a wonderful non-denominational church (Calvary Chapel) with an amazing Pastor who is also "recovering Catholic" and the Fellowship of some great people.

There is much more to the story than I can type right now but if you remember my last post in this forum where Jay and I were butting heads ~ Well I got plenty of signs once I got rid of any expectations.

OMGOsh, I am so happy to read this. I did read one of your other posts and you said something about faith in God and I started to ask you about it, but you know, my pg brain, it escaped me. (((hugs))) to you mama. I am proud!

I have gone to a Vineyard Church which is a branch off of a Calvary Chapel, just much more charismatic! I loved learning the Bible at every service!

I am so happy to hear that you have reached a satisfying place on your journey. I look forward to reading your story.
*ditto* mama.

Wow. Wow wow wow. I don't think I ever expected this when I first "met" you on here. It is SO true that if you open your heart, God will reach back, and send you the way for you. :heart:

Wow Meeshi!
I wish you peace on your faith journey. I am glad that you guys are not butting heads anymore.

Hmm, you know, I have tried several times and the story is so long, detailed and in depth that I just don't have the time to type it all out with Luna crawling all over me. :help:

I will say that I have been getting messages from God, as strange at it may sound to those who do not believe. I can remember back to about 2 weeks before I met Jay I was changing a lightbuld and balanced precariously on a chair when the chair started to wobble and I thought I was going to go down. At that moment, I heard a voice that was like one of my own thoughts but somehow it went through my whole body and instantly gave me a feeling of security and peace. The voice said, "I would never let you fall." and the chair steadied under me. I knew at that moment, as sure as I knew the sky was blue, that it was the voice of the Divine. At that time, though, I considered myself a Goddess worshipper and had a hard time believing it was the voice of a Goddess. I also know that the message wasn't that I would never have hard times (because goodness knows I sure have) but that I would be taken care of.

Two weeks later, I met Jay and we began our life together.

Looking back, I can see how our path together has, step by step, led us to where we are today. A series of "coincidences" brought Jay to AA on the night that he first went, hooked him us with a man of Faith as a sponsor even though he was very much against all of the "God stuff" he spoke of....Led Jay to the Fellowship of some wonderful people and a fantastic Pastor.

It is no secret that my upbringing in the Catholic church pushed me far away from any sort of God based religion. So many parts of it, to me, seemed so wrong that I rebelled against the idea as a whole. I found that the Earth based spirituality suited me because it was based on things I could see first hand. I didn't like the doom and gloom and guilt of my first church. I hated confessing to the man behind the grate in the confessional. There was no joy, little praise and a whole heaping pile of guilt and uncertainty in that faith.

Luna is starting to fuss, but I will get caught up to where my other "head butting" post left off. Jay really wanted me to try going to church with him and I was against it based on past experiences. We had a few arguements, some heated, but we can laugh about them now. One day Jay came home from church excited about when he had learned and wanted to share but I shut him down. He was trying to get across to me that he was feeling so much better but was aggrivated with me and in the heat of the moment he angrily said, "Don't you want what I've found?!?!". It doesn't come across so funny in type but I will always remember his angry look while he was trying to show me the peace he had found.

Anyway, I was looking for some sense that it was all real. I read The Case for Faith and it started to dawn on me that smetimes you have to take a leap of Faith if you really want to give something a fair shot. One Saturday evening in March I was literally told by God that I would be attending church with my family the next morning. It was like a thought in my head and not my own, but it came with a feeling of peace and sureness. I was nervous and had my apprehensions but also had this feeling of a hand on me, guiding me. I went the next day and found that there could be joy and laughter in learning about God. I left church that day and felt different. Not to say that I was converted right away, but a lot of the walls I had built up were coming down brick by brick. And as the weeks went by, we were going through the same of life's trials but I would start to freak out and then get these calm messages, thoughts and feelings come to me. Peace. God. He was reaching out for me, helping me. Amazing.

Ok, Luna is insisting that I come away from the computer but there is a condensed version of my story. And it continues....

:heart: Meeshi, I can so completely relate on so many levels - from the experience with the voice leading, to the childhood being raised in a church that led to a strong negative experience with God and religion, to the leap of faith.

You are encouraging me to try again. We've been going to a Catholic church because my dh is Catholic and it just doesn't fit for me, but that doesn't mean that I should give up on all faith. I think I need to start reading again.

Thank you.

:heart: Meeshi, I can so completely relate on so many levels - from the experience with the voice leading, to the childhood being raised in a church that led to a strong negative experience with God and religion, to the leap of faith.

You are encouraging me to try again. We've been going to a Catholic church because my dh is Catholic and it just doesn't fit for me, but that doesn't mean that I should give up on all faith. I think I need to start reading again.

Thank you.

:heart:

Meeshi, thank you for sharing your story, or at least a piece of it.

I'm sitting here in tears. It takes a STRONG woman to step out in faith. Thank you for sharing a bit of your story here. :heart:

(And Rebecca....yes, keep reading. :hbeat:)

I'm sitting here in tears. It takes a STRONG woman to step out in faith. Thank you for sharing a bit of your story here. :heart:

(And Rebecca....yes, keep reading. :hbeat:)

yeah that...to both. :)

How awesome is it when God pursues us?? He WANTS a relationship with us. Not just to be a God who sits in heaven with lightning bolts in His hand waiting for someone to slip up.

The most amazing thing to me is that God wants ME and all I can do is to respond to that. :)

Meeshi - I'm so happy for you. That Lee Strobel book is an awesome one. I'm glad you found it. I'll be praying for you as you begin this new walk....

Thanks for sharing your story. I love hearing how people come to their place in faith. So cool that God uses different things for different people to draw them to him.

How awesome is it when God pursues us?? He WANTS a relationship with us. Not just to be a God who sits in heaven with lightning bolts in His hand waiting for someone to slip up.

The most amazing thing to me is that God wants ME and all I can do is to respond to that. :)

:agreed: What an awesome story Meeshi!

:heart:

Wonderful Meeshi!!

I have taken somewhat of a similar path. Out of paganism. Read the Bible and came to believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. However, I could not find a church that was totally right for me until I attended Catholic. ;)

I think as long as we are trinitarian in belief and rely on Jesus as our Saviour....we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

I look forward to hearing your story in detail sometime. God is so good and He never gives up on anyone....not one.

Michelle

Michelle,

I am just in awe and I'm so excited for your family. I prayed for you and Jay, back when I read your head-butting thread, that you would be on the same page and that God would reveal himself to you. I can't imagine how stressful it was to have Jay convert and believe so differently than when you first met. Of course as a Christian, I am just thrilled that you two are also Christians. God is amazing. I can't wait to hear more and more of your journey. It is one journey that never ends. :hbeat:

Wonderful Meeshi!!

I have taken somewhat of a similar path. Out of paganism. Read the Bible and came to believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. However, I could not find a church that was totally right for me until I attended Catholic. ;)

I think as long as we are trinitarian in belief and rely on Jesus as our Saviour....we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

I look forward to hearing your story in detail sometime. God is so good and He never gives up on anyone....not one.

Michelle

I have a friend that was a non-believer and then was a pentecostal for 17 years and is now turning Catholic she cannot put down her books on the Saints etc.

By the way Meeshi homebirthinmama's story is similar to yours!

I read your post in the market board and went searching :) I'm so happy for you meeshi :hbeat:

I am also a christian, which you may already know. If you every want someone to chat with or pray with you, you can PM me any time :)

The prayers of fellow Amity mamas are very influential, I will say that. My faith has grown by leaps and bounds, and at least some part of it was due to the prayers of a mama here.

And Jennifer, my Catholic church has big screen projectors! It might have palm trees as well, were we not in the midwest. ;)

I am so glad for you and your family. :hbeat:

Michelle, I am so tremendously happy for you. Your story is a lovely light in my otherwise gloomy path right now.
Thank you for sharing it! And welcome welcome with joy to our Lord's family!!!

I am so joyful for you, Meeshi. Many blessings to you on your journey!!

lol...my prayers for you many years ago I see are coming to pass....Meeshi I always saw you as having such intense purpose. I know God has amazing things for you.

Hmm, you know, I have tried several times and the story is so long, detailed and in depth that I just don't have the time to type it all out with Luna crawling all over me. :help:

I will say that I have been getting messages from God, as strange at it may sound to those who do not believe. I can remember back to about 2 weeks before I met Jay I was changing a lightbuld and balanced precariously on a chair when the chair started to wobble and I thought I was going to go down. At that moment, I heard a voice that was like one of my own thoughts but somehow it went through my whole body and instantly gave me a feeling of security and peace. The voice said, "I would never let you fall." and the chair steadied under me. I knew at that moment, as sure as I knew the sky was blue, that it was the voice of the Divine. At that time, though, I considered myself a Goddess worshipper and had a hard time believing it was the voice of a Goddess. I also know that the message wasn't that I would never have hard times (because goodness knows I sure have) but that I would be taken care of.

Two weeks later, I met Jay and we began our life together.

Looking back, I can see how our path together has, step by step, led us to where we are today. A series of "coincidences" brought Jay to AA on the night that he first went, hooked him us with a man of Faith as a sponsor even though he was very much against all of the "God stuff" he spoke of....Led Jay to the Fellowship of some wonderful people and a fantastic Pastor.

It is no secret that my upbringing in the Catholic church pushed me far away from any sort of God based religion. So many parts of it, to me, seemed so wrong that I rebelled against the idea as a whole. I found that the Earth based spirituality suited me because it was based on things I could see first hand. I didn't like the doom and gloom and guilt of my first church. I hated confessing to the man behind the grate in the confessional. There was no joy, little praise and a whole heaping pile of guilt and uncertainty in that faith.

Luna is starting to fuss, but I will get caught up to where my other "head butting" post left off. Jay really wanted me to try going to church with him and I was against it based on past experiences. We had a few arguements, some heated, but we can laugh about them now. One day Jay came home from church excited about when he had learned and wanted to share but I shut him down. He was trying to get across to me that he was feeling so much better but was aggrivated with me and in the heat of the moment he angrily said, "Don't you want what I've found?!?!". It doesn't come across so funny in type but I will always remember his angry look while he was trying to show me the peace he had found.

Anyway, I was looking for some sense that it was all real. I read The Case for Faith and it started to dawn on me that smetimes you have to take a leap of Faith if you really want to give something a fair shot. One Saturday evening in March I was literally told by God that I would be attending church with my family the next morning. It was like a thought in my head and not my own, but it came with a feeling of peace and sureness. I was nervous and had my apprehensions but also had this feeling of a hand on me, guiding me. I went the next day and found that there could be joy and laughter in learning about God. I left church that day and felt different. Not to say that I was converted right away, but a lot of the walls I had built up were coming down brick by brick. And as the weeks went by, we were going through the same of life's trials but I would start to freak out and then get these calm messages, thoughts and feelings come to me. Peace. God. He was reaching out for me, helping me. Amazing.

Ok, Luna is insisting that I come away from the computer but there is a condensed version of my story. And it continues....


Reading this made me tear up, im so happy for you, welcome to the christian faith. My dh was raised catholic(went to a catholic school even) and he had much of the same feelings you had about it and when he became a adult he left the church that was until we met and I was obviously Christian.


Im very happy for you :heart:

I will repeat what everyone else said. I am so very very happy for you! It is just so wonderful to have discovered something so pure and beautiful. Your post gave me chills up my spine, good ones.