Reply #43: I hear you.

[progmom]

If you're interested, I'll tell you about my experience.

-I too believe that there is a God.

-I believe that God is love, and that He can be found in every expression of love.

-I love what Anne LaMott said, that her two most powerful prayers are: "Please, please, please," and "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

-It feels to me that Christ was telling us that the most important thing for us to do is to have a personal relationship with God. Church can be good for me to keep His message more front of mind, and to learn more specifics about his teachings, but if months go by with no church for me, I don't really feel too guilty.

-As a Christian, my most important mission is to be caring and supportive and forgiving of others. Christ said that the two most important things we should take from the Old Testament is to love God and love our neighbors. This includes trying to help people who are homeless or hungry, offering a shoulder to people who are sad, trying to understand the perspective of people who are hurting you, and ultimately trying to forgive them.

-I'm (generally) very quiet about my faith. (It's been a little harder lately, just on DU, because I have felt the need to defend left-leaning Christians) I would never deny being a Christian, but I also would never feel comfortable bringing it up out of context.

-I don't do this because of some fear of missing out on heaven when it's all over. I do it because it truly makes me feel better about myself. It's also very comforting to know that I am never alone. Even in my darkest hours, I feel God with me.

When I attend church, I go to a United Methodist Church. We have women clergy, the church is very inclusive reagarding homosexuality. My brother is gay, and it's a very important topic for me. Also - Methodists aren't Calvinists.