Praise God; that was the phrase I would here every morning when my dad would drop me off for school. Although my family has gone through many hard times, they have grown to know Christ and wanted to share that with their kids. I grew up in the kind of household that if you said “shut up” then you were going to be spanked several times. I knew one thing on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights; you go to church. Church became a hobby to me, I didn’t hate going there but it was just what you did. I thought that all families were like that also, I didn’t realize till my teenage years that not everyone goes to church every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. But as I grew older and started really listening to what my friends would talk about at school, I saw that life wasn’t all about going to church and being a Christian for some people.
During my seventh grade year, my church went to a youth rally at a local church on weekend. Because of this rally and the message it sent, I realized and wanted to give my life to Jesus through baptism. It was awesome, I got home as a young teenager and actually talked to my mom about what it really means to be a Christian and to pick up your cross and follow him. So that very next weekend, my dad baptized me in front of the whole church on Sunday morning. It was an awesome feeling knowing that because of Jesus’ grace and mercy, I will be with him one day and spend eternity with him. Although I was on top of the world at this point, I still didn’t know fully what I had gotten into. So the next few years, I live the typical Christian life. I was trying to be the perfect person by doing the right stuff, I would try not to cuss, I would try to wear as many WWJD bracelets as I could so that I wouldn’t have to talk to them about Christ and they could just see it on my wrist, I would not join in on conversations with my friends that I knew were not right, I was just living life on cruise control.
Overall I didn’t really have the great of an experience and that was the reason why I went back to my family’s house, and was able to continue my education at a Christian school; such as Azusa pacific University which I love. I love the fact that I am also learning more about God, and having a wonderful people that are getting to know more about God as well. My overall experience made me more grateful to be where I am today and to be able to focus more on my life being around my family.
After seeing though the eyes of my pastor I’ve come to realize the importance of faith and committing to one’s beliefs. Returning to church after two massive losses has helped my mother in many ways and it has also taught me as a young man how small things that I could do would turn to have a big impact on someone’s life the same way my pastor impacted my life and the life of my siblings.
I was able to go on a mission trip to Minnesota Native American Reservation, Squaw Lake when I was 13. I learned the four Spiritual laws, and I accepted Christ through the training. I was able to share the Good News to mostly to teens and kids. His Holy Spirit deeply filled my life, and I wanted to grow my passion for God.
My beliefs are important to me. I wake up every morning with a cup of coffee in my hand and turn on the daily news. I see many problems occurring around the world, but most of us are too blind to actually do something to help. We are too blinded by our society's cultural that we can’t separate ourselves from the good and bad.
Growing up, I was raised by a single mother of four and I was fortunate enough to have an extraordinary mother, who always put her children before herself and sacrificed a lot for our well being. I was brought up, in a Baptist Christian household, which has strongly influenced my beliefs, values and life decisions. My mother made it her duty to help build her children’s relationships with God. By making sure, we knew the importance of having him in our lives, and that we knew the word of God. I remember as a child, my mom use to read us scriptures from the bible and explain them to us in an age appropriate manner. I greatly appreciate her efforts because she was the force behind my connection with God and it has made me into the women I am today. Some
I have never felt more welcome and loved in my entire life, the energy in that room from all these people was incredible.This was the day I began my transition into adulthood, I made a commitment to this community, to God. I turned my life around, I started working harder in school, I matured, and had a positive outlook on my situation. Because of young life I learned
My family taught me about Jesus at a young age, so I always knew I wanted to have a close relationship with him. Knowing that God is going to have my back no matter what was the best feeling to me. He will never leave a person or turn his back on them. The fact that the Bible guides people is one of the amazing things to me because one scripture can change a person whole life. My discourse community teaches a person about faith, love, and everything a person will ever need in life. Jesus encourages people, and supports people when they fail. Being a Christian motivates me and gives me a meaning of life. Being saved is easy, but the hard part is following his guidelines. He knows people are going to make a lot of mistakes in life, but the fact that he doesn’t judge them is amazing. Accepting Christ means a person has escaped that judgment and therefore they will have external life. Being a part of this discourse community has brought me to a new place in life, and for that I am
It is amazing how one week in your life can completely change it. Just one week out of the thousands that we live through can completely turn our life around. Mind racing, imagination chugging down the tracks like a train, this is what I thought about when I was on my way to a camp in the middle of nowhere. Green trees surrounded this place, the bright flashing water rushing from all around you, the smell of the flowers and streams fills your lungs. This place is called Falls Creek in Davis Oklahoma, this is a place where people go to get closer to christ. I was never a really good christian and I was forced by my girlfriend to go because she begged me to saying, “It is a life changing experience!” I did not believe her lies but now I realize after the fact that I was
We attended several different churches growing up all of a different denomination. The one thing that stood firm in all the churches was that God had all the answers. When you are unsure of what to do next look to him and he will lead the way. I watched my mother pray, attend Bible Study, and Wednesday night service. The one thing I do know is we always had what we needed when we needed. There was no time in my childhood that I went without.
Without accepting confessions as legitimate form of evidence to be used in the court of law, the justice system would be in complete disarray what with most suspects making confessions to the police, also having a high likelihood of going on to be convicted. Confessional evidence is of great importance seeing as it is one of the exceptions to the hearsay rule. Although it is of high regard in evidential law, it would be naïve to say that the law on confessions is down to perfection, especially with such high-profile cases such as the Guildford four or Birmingham six which brought to the surface the potential possibility of fabrication by police and perversion of the use of confessional evidence to bring about a certain result in a case. While known as the most powerful form of evidence to be adduced, it is also known as the “best and worst form of evidence” to deal with. Whether the implementations of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act has succeeded to remedy the dilemmas in respect to confession is up for discussion.
My family and I did many different things throughout the week together, but the most important family activity was going to church on Sunday mornings. I grew up in the First United Methodist Church in Monett, Missouri. I have participated in various mission trips and service days as a member of this church, and I regularly shared my talents through special music. Throughout all of the obstacles that my family has faced, my church family has been our rock in which they gave their thoughts and encouraging words in times of need. My faith is a huge part of who I am, and I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without the love and support of my church
For the next couple of years afterward I lived in an apartment with my brother and dad. In sixth grade my dad met Donna. Donna has now been my stepmom for approximately five years. She is thankfully about 100 times better than my last stepmom. Back in 8th grade is where my second major event in my life occurred. My friend invited me to her church. I had never been an avid churchgoer, but I decided to give it a chance. At that point in my life I was going through a difficult time and decided maybe I could benefit from going to church. Now four years later I’m still attending the same church and am pondering the thought of pursuing a career as a youth pastor. Becoming a Christian was one of the biggest decisions I have made in my
While I was there, I spent the majority of my time frustrated with my Mom for making me go to a camp all about Jesus… I was so certain that he had abandoned me. On the second to last night of camp, a man named John Randal spoke on the power of prayer. Amazed by how it seemed as if he knew exactly what I had been longing to hear; I decided in that moment to dedicate my life to Jesus Christ. After that I knew there was no going back. I swore that I would do whatever I could to help others find the hope in this world that they have been searching for just like I
...ollowing in my sister's footsteps, I began learning from her experiences. We tread lightly around the subject of the religion these days. Thankfully, there are no wild debates at the dinner table on holidays. We respect one another's beliefs and agree to disagree about them. She often tells me, "You should come to my church!" when I call her seeking sisterly advice or needing a sympathetic ear. I have attended her church and admire how she's strengthened her parish and community. That's more inspirational to me than any Sunday sermon - as she is one who sincerely lives in the word, even when it's difficult for her.
As I stated before, I grew up in church. In fact, the church I attend today is the one my father started attending when he was only seven months old. I have strong familial ties to my church and that is ultimately where my faith began. I sometimes reminisce back to when my father would sing Amazing Grace with me and my mother would teach me Bible stories. Together, my parents were my Sunday School teachers from third to sixth grade. I loved going to church as a family: my sister, my parents, and myself included. My sister, two cousins, and I even formed a singing group at my church in honor of my grandmother, Minnie (we were called “The Minnie Maberrys”) Needless to say, my family has been an integral part of my faith. I have sought encouragement from them and the wisdom they have instilled in me will remain with me for a lifetime. Another crucial facet of the growing of my faith has been the Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization, or FCA for short.