Church

My church experience has run the gamut of craziness. When I was young, I went to a Pentecostal Church with a friend, there was shouting of tongues in the midst of  messages, being slain in the power, etc. scary stuff for an un-churched child afraid to say no to a friend...I once was assaulted by an Asian lady at Taco Bell. She insisted I say the Sinner's Prayer, her long curling fingernails wagged in my face before I could go in and get my standard taco and burrito...it was a walk up not a drive thru, no escape, I couldn't lock my doors or roll up my window so there I was saying the Sinner's Prayer because I was hungry...not so much for God's word but for my belly to be filled with a cheap taco and burrito for less than a dollar. The Military provided some good Chapel experiences, some not so good experiences...a few controlling pastors made my life miserable because I had misplaced trust...in them as God's representatives, forgetting that some people are just using God to further their own purposes...my trust needed to be in God, not man living a charade as a man of God.  But God pursues us, relentlessly. I am so thankful for that, he brings me a peace that nothing else can...not even the wonderful peace a cuppa tea with a good Jane Austen or Elizabeth Gaskell novel can bring me, it surpasses all that earth can provide.

I have finally found a Church I love, it focuses on our relationship with God....the pureness and beauty of a relationship with God. It's an organized church, it pays cash for any new building or project. There is no debt. When it is time to build a new building, they write a check...upfront. There are no fund raisers, commitments, etc. There is no manipulating. They serve 12 Correctional Facilities, not forgetting the prisoners as Paul commanded the believers of the early Church.  And laughter...lots of laughter. I learn best when I laugh. I finally feel like I can breathe.

Humility is one of the areas God has to constantly work on in me...I felt superior singing my 300 year old hymns in pretty chapels...now I go someplace with worship music, lights, and dry ice, 12 campuses (my campus meets in a school )  we get a video feed from the Grant's Mill campus where the Pastor is actually speaking. The style of worship is to reach the young who have turned from God...and it works, we have the best young people at Church serving and smiling...it is...amazing.

My dream in life is simple. I want my family to be with me in Heaven, I don't want to miss a soul. I know Heaven is filled with laughter, beauty, peace...my dream here on earth is for my row in church to be filled with my family. I would say a "pew filled with family" but since our church meets in a school auditorium for the time being, so I will be satisfied with a few rows of family worshiping together...I am getting part of this dream now, there are 5 of us in one row...my heart is full. I thought if you would like to join me, you could check out our church via the link...and if you like it, you can worship with me through the wonderful technology of the internet. 9:30 CST on Sunday morning...come fill my pew and my dream of all my family looking to Heaven together until our time on earth is done.

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/spirit-detox