I was trying to figure out what my next topic would be for my blog when my mind started wandering. I wasn’t really planning on posting again so soon. I’m loaded with work and school work and so much more. But I thought about this and had to get this out while I was thinking about it and still knew what I wanted to say.

First, my backgroud on why I was not raised christian. It wasn’t because my parents weren’t christian. In fact, my dad’s family was Catholic and so was my mom’s family at some point. But more recently my grandmother was Jehovah Witness. As long as I have been alive, my mother didn’t attend church and my dad was not close to me. They together made the decision when I was born though, that they wouldn’t have either me nor my sister baptized. They wanted us to choose when we were ready.

I’ve mentioned before that we had seldom attended any church except my grandmother’s church because we spent a lot of time at her house. I ran far and fast from being a witness the moment I had a choice. I start with that so that this next statement can be understood more, and the gravity of it. The first influence on my faith, was my grandmother.

I didn’t agree with her choice of religions. I didn’t agree with everything they believed or everything they do as witnesses, especially now reading the bible on my own. All that is true, but the most memorable thing about my grandmother in relation to her faith was how strong her faith was. How much conviction she had for it. It is one of the things I admired most about her. In fact, though it did not bring me to Christianity originally, it is what ultimately inspired me to search for what I did believe in. Of course my search took me by way of Wicca and paganism, but I did end up here eventually. Come to find out, I just had to get there on my own. I’ve always been a little rebellious, but I always make the smart decisions in the end.

Now, even though I’m not a witness, I know she would be proud of me. I know that as long as I found God, she would know that I am on the right path. Ultimately, she may thougt about it and said it differently, but she still believed the word. Sometimes I wish that I could have found my faith when she was still alive, but the impact she had on it, still echoes in my mind every time I think about her.

I don’t have too many influences and people who have impacted my faith, but my husband knows, he is at the forefront of that list for me. When he first started reading his bible and declard to me that he believed in God, I would be lieing if I didn’t say that I was scared. I was deep into paganism and a little bit of witchcraft. We had a few arguments or tough conversations about why I wouldn’t be saved just for being a good person. (In my mind, I lived my life more Christian than most Christians I knew and if my faith was the only thing to get in the way then what was the point). Let me say, I get it now. It is hard to see from the outside, but once you understand it, you get it. The day I went to him and asked him to buy my first bible, I could see the brightness in his face, the smile that he was hiding. You see, he told me later that there were many prayers on my behalf. He prayed for me all the time hoping that I would come to Christ and accept Jesus as my saviour. It was about 5 years since he told me he believed in God to the time that I came to him.

Since the day I went to him, I have not missed a day reading my bible. There isn’t a day that I don’t think about how I can do more, even with my busy life. There isn’t a time where I don’t want to be more involved in my church. Once I graduate, I can honestly say that I will be all in. I already have a blog. I’m going to be attempting to start a podcast. I serve on Sundays at my church at the beginning of service and attend classes on Tuesdays (I wasn’t going to continue when the new session started but I will be now). But yet, I want to do MORE.

Having friends in the faith makes it so much easier. I look forward to Sundays. After church we do bible study and dinner with them. Our friends, Ryan and Rachelle, have been there for both my husband and myself in our walk. Their prayers also contributed to me being here to tell you this story today. You can find us every week sitting front row at church ready to be imerssed in the word. This is the best day every week and I couldn’t imagine it being any other way now. They have become a huge part of our lives.

Speaking of church, the final person, or group of people rather, is the people at Church of Hope. Everybody has been so supportive of us and so encouraging. Emily (the pastor’s daughter) has been somewhat of an inspiration to me.  She did a couple services in place of the pastor a little while back. They were the first two that I listened to online, before I was brave enough to step foot in the church. I knew this is where I wanted to be after that but I wanted to make sure I liked Pastor Mark first. Of course, I did. He is so passionate and it comes across in his delivery each service. He makes it easy to relate the lessons in the bible to real life current situations. Mandy, the volunteer coordinator, is so kind and friendly. Gigi who organized our baptisms is so sweet. Everyone is always so welcoming. It feels like home there. It is our home now.

So the people that have the biggest influence in my faith are the people that I surround myself with. Surrounding yourself with others that think like you helps you stay on track, have people to talk to that understand you and will never try to stray you from your path. If you’re still new to the faith, maybe you haven’t gone to chuch yet, just do it. If one church isn’t right, try another, and another, then another. Try as many as you need to until you find one that feels right. A lot of churches, like mine, stream their service now. Find the local churches that do and start there first. Find that somone that inspires you and go for it. Before you know it, you will build a community of people who support you. Maybe a thing inspires your faith. Maybe it is someone unlikely. Even if you’ve got the itch, just an inkling, it is worth exploring. Talk to God. Pray. Start buidling the relationship and things will fall into place as long as your do it faithfully.

“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)

“The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Proverbs 12:26 (NIV)

“Two are better than one becasue they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone that falls and has no one to help them up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)