Religion: Awful or Awesome

My brain’s not only too full, it must be full of rocks or nuts for me to write about religion! Could there be a more divisive topic, awful or awesome, and sometimes both, and even neither, just… mediocre or lukewarm?  

Allow me to ‘splain why I’m gonna. (The word ‘splain is a reference to the hit movie Princess Bride, so don’t get in a huff just yet! There’s more to come!).

My First 50 Years

We can’t blame my religious beliefs on my parents. There were the occasional Easter morning visits to the local Lutheran church, and I’m not saying that’s because my mother enjoyed dressing her daughters in the latest groovy 60’s fashion ensembles.

Boogie over to 1980, when I was a freshman cadet failing classes at the US Air Force Academy. They assigned me an Academic Adviser (an officer in the Air Force, not another cadet), who invited my needy, confused self to a Friday night Bible Study.

There I saw fellow cadets who seemed to have something I wanted: real (sober) joy. I kept attending and have always thought I became a Christian that year. But I didn’t obey Christ, or even think about knowing Him. I only knew some things the Bible said, but the demanding, in-your-face-world of the Academy was beating me down. Survival was the goal. By graduation, I wasn’t attending the Bible Study or church.

By 1985, I was living without God and spinning out of control. Thankfully, I turned once more to God, rededicating my life to Him at the local Lutheran church.

Fast forward 30-some years. As a Christian, after going to Bible Studies, teaching Sunday School, homeschooling, doing missionary work, and surviving a cult-ish place, I entered a time of depression.

I’ll tell the rest of that amazing story with posts called “Loved from the Pit.”

Apologetics

Because I’ve lived without God so much, I often argue with myself about Christianity to make sure it’s the real deal, and therefore worthy of following. I think God likes when I do this; He can handle it. The practice of giving reasons for what one believes is called Apologetics, and I’m gonna write about it. I gotta figure this stuff out, cuz I don’t want to miss anymore, or be misled and hurt again. Maybe we can struggle through that together. I’m no expert, but I know One.

Emmanuel Moments

One reason I’ve been a Christian so long is because I’ve seen God work in my life, and no, not His physical Being, but in circumstances beyond coincidence, or “the odds”. I call those times or ‘signs,’ “Emmanuel Moments” or for short (not intended to offend!) E-momes). Emmanuel means “God With Us” in Greek (spelled Immanuel in Hebrew. It’s in the Bible in Matthew 1:23.)

This is one reason my depression was so difficult. I knew that I knew God existed, I just couldn’t figure out why He made and used me so poorly. (I see it differently now, of course! Hang in there!) So you can bet I’ll be writing about those pivotal Emmanuel Moments, and other times where it seems He just wants to let me know He’s with me, and cares, and I’m on the right track. (It won’t seem so hokey once you’ve read a few.)

Postscripts:

I gotta warn you, I have a strange sense of humor, but I’ll keep it in check and will never mean it to be disrespectful you or God.  I love the Lord and I don’t think He’ll mind if we have a bit of fun with the Gift of Humor He gave us, and shows in His own Book.

I’m not ready to write about other religions. For now I’m concentrating on my own. 

Ready to explore Christianity, and what that means in real life? Brain too full? Yup. Myb2f.blog.