SOME THOUGHTS ON GOD'S INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE

Hi there . . . I'm going to start with this . . . I'm not going to got into full details about my life . . but I do want to share a little bit about myself . . just in case people might relate to me . . . or in case people are wondering if I am really a real person . . . not just a character on the web . . . So . . I am trying to present as many facets of myself to you as possible . . . without . . of course giving away where I live or details about my family and things of that sort . . . Anyhooooooo . . ..

So . . . Yes, I admit it . . I did grow up in church . . . so yes, technically yes, I would have been open to the idea of God from the moment I was born . . . Many atheists believe that Christians are just brought up with the idea of God and suddenly somehow accept it . . . . even though . . yes we all have to make a commitment to Christ, yes . . however . . . I know that many people generally believe what their parents believe . . if their parents are Jewish . . people are generally Jewish, if their parents are Protestant or Catholic, people are generally Protestant or Catholic, respectfully. And of course . . if people's parents are atheistic, worldly, skeptical, rich, poor . . pretty much ANYTHING . . . Yes! it's seems that the kids end up following suite much of the time. HOWEVER . . . . we have to remember that this is most of the time . .. . What makes someone question what they believe? What makes someone know that what their parents believe is true? What makes someone even care? What makes someone think it even matters to find out what is true? . . . . well these are things that some people have asked themselves for centuries . . . . . . . but in today's culture it seems like the next new pair of shoes is more important than the fate of our souls in relationship to the universe, if we even have souls, as some question.

But back to me . . . so the earliest knowledge of God that I can remember was my mom telling me that she loved me and that more importantly . . . God loved me . . . . I don't remember how old I was, but i was definitely being held in her arms and tiny . . definitely younger than three years old . . . This is the earliest memory of my life that I have . . . and I believe that I remembered this for a reason . .. not only this . . but my mother must have been saying this to me over and over . . so that I would know! My mom was pretty cool . . . but there have been some pretty hard times between she and I . . . . . which is one of the reasons that I know God is real, because God has been with me whether I was in good or bad situations . . . and whether I was doing the right or wrong thing even . . . once you accept the free gift of God's Salvation for your own . . . He will never let you go! Never! NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO!

When I had issues with my parents and I was on my own for the first time in my own apartment . . . somehow I realized that this whole "faith thing" was all me now . . . couldn't say . . . .yah . . 'this is the church my parents go to' or whatever . . . . it was up to me now! Was I going to follow God faithfully no matter what the circumstances? Was I going to make the effort to go to church without having my mom and dad drag me out of bed? Was God going to be real for me? I was even thinking to myself, what would God show me? Is He even really there? . . . . . Yah Baby . . . Yah . . HE WAS THERE and IS HERE WITH ME in everything I do, in every breath I breath, in every moment of my life. I remember telling my Dad on the phone . . . . "God is with me! even now" I remember that still small voice, as I looked behind me to the car that contained everything I had . . . and seeing a Bible, saying "I am with you"

I remember God speaking to my heart when I was deciding whether or not to go to a prestigious school, warning me to not go or I would become like my grandmother . . who was proud and cruel. I knew her type . . . and I didn't want to be like that but I didn't care . . . I was too hurt to think about other people . . . I wanted a life for me . . . and then I remembered God's promise to take care of His flock and all of His Children. I decided against going for the prestigious scholarship at the upperclass school even though it was what I had always wanted. . . being made fun of for wearing stained clothes to school . . I woud have loved nothing more but to prove to the world that it was my circumstances they were laughing at, not me, besides that the scholarship was what everyone expected me to take . . . . But like in many cases, faith in God appears foolish to the world, and I was called foolish by many people . . . instructors friends, family, etc . . . . all because I didn't believe God was calling me to go there . . . . Just because maybe I believed God would call me to the right path . . . Just because . .. maybe I believed God was real . . . and continue to believe . . . But Paul says in the scriptures that God "uses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise" and so . . . I still believe that my choice will be shown to be what was best for me . . . I am happily married now . . . and without the Lord's guiding perhaps I would still be alone to this day . . . You see . . . . The Lord helps us to see that there are things that are more important than Careers or Education or Business or Fame or Fortune or
anything in this world that people think is the bees knees. God has to be FIRST! and all the other needs in your life will 'be added unto you' . . . something my grandfather always said . . . . well . . .

that's about all the typing I have in me today . . . . . . . on the outside . . . following God may look crazy to some . . . but the peace that He gives us in our hearts is what people can't see . . . . and it is worth more than a thousand lifetimes of worldly pleasure!

Thanks for your time . . . . . - May God Bless You All!

-The Creation Chick