I have grown up in the church. I went to a Baptist church, but also visited Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist, Church of Christ, and Lutheran. After my mother remarried, my brother and I alternated weekends between the Baptist church and the Lutheran church, until my mother felt like we needed to pick one and become more established in a class, group of friends, whatever. We chose to attend the Lutheran church with my mother and step-father. In college, I went to the Lutheran church once, but decided that's not where I wanted to be. I went to an Episcopalian church for a semester. I loved the people there, but still did not feel like I was where God wanted me to be. I wanted to try the Baptist church again, but passed by the Methodist church on my walk to the Baptist church and they were about to start - so I went in. I visited there a few times and then again did not believe it was the place for me. I went to a Baptist church and it finally felt right. I began attending a Sunday School class again, which I hadn't done since high school because I was disgusted by the hypocrisy that I saw in the group I was with. I joined the church after a while and it is the church in which Clint and I got married.
When growing up in the Baptist church, I often read through the Bible during the sermon, but didn't understand much (especially when I was reading Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and Numbers!). I'd hear the altar call every Sunday I was there and prayed the prayer of salvation every time, too - asking God if it was my time and wanting to be saved. I remember hearing the pastor once saying that when you were ready to be saved, you would feel it in your gut/stomach area. It would be like butterflies or hunger pains, but you would know it was different. One day, my brother and I were at the Baptist church with my mother and the man she was dating at the time. The pastor gave the altar call and I felt it. I started crying and sat down. My mother asked what was wrong and I told her I had to go up front. So I did. I was nine years old and was baptized about two weeks later (if my memory is correct).
I felt strong for the Lord right away, studied my Bible, etc. That's not the way it stayed, though. I fell away from reading my Bible, did not have a good surrounding of Christian friends, struggled with some depression, and who knows what else - immaturity, etc. In college, I started to grow again. I was reading my Bible and soaking up what I was hearing at church, seeing how God was working in my life and revealing Himself to me. The College and Career class I joined at First Baptist in San Marcos was a great group in which I had great leaders and a group of Christians with whom I could grow in my faith. I still made choices during that time that I now feel or know were wrong.
As an adult, I have continued and am continuing to grow in my knowledge of Christ. I strive to do what is right all the time, no matter how hard that may be. I know many people will not understand or agree with me about what I do or why I do it, but I am learning to please Christ is more important than trying to please men. It's hard, but I believe it is the right thing to do, and Scriptures have supported me in my belief. When talking to others, I want to have God's word as the foundation. I have my own thoughts and ideas, but I know that God does not think like I do and His thoughts are higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9). If something I say does not match up with the Bible, I am not opposed to someone correcting me and I am open to that learning. If something doesn't sound right in what I say, please check it with Scripture. I am still learning and know I will never understand it all. I feel like a sponge wanting to soak it all up, and then squeezing it back out to others - not emptied but sharing it with others.
I hope this gives you an idea of where I come from and my acknowledgment that I myself am flawed and don't have all the answers. I seek God and to share Him with others, and will do my best based on that.
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