I'm 40 years old, of English/Native American heritage, interested in world and American history, insatiable reader, seriously introverted, social klutz. I have a wonderful Christian hubby, and my kids somehow grew up to be independent, hardworking, responsible young adults. My life is filled with more blessings than I feel like I deserve.
I was raised in my family's church until my early teens when a series of events, too complicated to go into here, drove me away from modern organized religion. I've struggled with suspicion and fear of any church for over 20 years due to confusion over differences in interpretations and doctrines.
This past year has been a difficult one for me for many reasons, and I've been forced to reevaluate just about everything I ever thought about anything--just total upheaval in my heart and mind. Again, too complicated to go into here, but I do believe that the Holy Spirit has been very busy in my life.
With Hubby's patience, love and unconditional support over the past ten years, I've been able to deal with many of the questions and fears that held me back for so long. I've been studying my Bible again and have just about finished reading the New Testament. I've been doing supplementary reading from a variety of resources for context and perspective, and thankfully Hubby learned to read Greek in college and is always happy to dive into the Greek-English Interlinear and G-E Lexicon for me. We have the Hebrew-English covered, too, for when I read the OT.
I can't believe what a fabulous reference library Hubby's been accumulating in cardboard boxes stacked in a closet in our home all these years and I've never raided it before! Many are books I picked from his wish list on gift-giving occasions, never realizing what a gift I was giving myself as well. I'm asking for bookcases for Christmas. And more books. God does indeed work in mysterious ways. Awesome.
I sort of feel like a Christian in training wheels right now and feel like I'm reading the Word for the very first time. I'm definitely not prepared to debate the fine points of any particular doctrine or that sort of thing yet, because I'm still trying to get a firm grip on the basics and learning how to apply them in my own life. I have plenty of topics of discussion I'd like to get into eventually, but for now I'm going to concentrate on trying not to jump in unless I have something useful to contribute. I'm painfully aware of how much I still have to learn.
I haven't been part of a Christian community for a very long time, but I live hundreds of miles away from my home church and my extended family and I'm beginning to feel the need for fellowship with other Christians. Hubby and I grew up in Protestant churches with very different styles of worship, and have not yet found a church where we can both feel at home, but I know that we will.
I've been vetting quite a few different Christian websites and forums lately, and now that I finally feel ready to participate (instead of just lurking), this forum looked like the safest place to dip my toe in the community waters. Y'all can give yourselves a big ol' back-pat for being the friendliest and most helpful of all the forums I've looked into. Thanks for being here.
I'd be very grateful for your prayers and support, and I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you.
I was raised in my family's church until my early teens when a series of events, too complicated to go into here, drove me away from modern organized religion. I've struggled with suspicion and fear of any church for over 20 years due to confusion over differences in interpretations and doctrines.
This past year has been a difficult one for me for many reasons, and I've been forced to reevaluate just about everything I ever thought about anything--just total upheaval in my heart and mind. Again, too complicated to go into here, but I do believe that the Holy Spirit has been very busy in my life.
With Hubby's patience, love and unconditional support over the past ten years, I've been able to deal with many of the questions and fears that held me back for so long. I've been studying my Bible again and have just about finished reading the New Testament. I've been doing supplementary reading from a variety of resources for context and perspective, and thankfully Hubby learned to read Greek in college and is always happy to dive into the Greek-English Interlinear and G-E Lexicon for me. We have the Hebrew-English covered, too, for when I read the OT.
I can't believe what a fabulous reference library Hubby's been accumulating in cardboard boxes stacked in a closet in our home all these years and I've never raided it before! Many are books I picked from his wish list on gift-giving occasions, never realizing what a gift I was giving myself as well. I'm asking for bookcases for Christmas. And more books. God does indeed work in mysterious ways. Awesome.
I sort of feel like a Christian in training wheels right now and feel like I'm reading the Word for the very first time. I'm definitely not prepared to debate the fine points of any particular doctrine or that sort of thing yet, because I'm still trying to get a firm grip on the basics and learning how to apply them in my own life. I have plenty of topics of discussion I'd like to get into eventually, but for now I'm going to concentrate on trying not to jump in unless I have something useful to contribute. I'm painfully aware of how much I still have to learn.
I haven't been part of a Christian community for a very long time, but I live hundreds of miles away from my home church and my extended family and I'm beginning to feel the need for fellowship with other Christians. Hubby and I grew up in Protestant churches with very different styles of worship, and have not yet found a church where we can both feel at home, but I know that we will.
I've been vetting quite a few different Christian websites and forums lately, and now that I finally feel ready to participate (instead of just lurking), this forum looked like the safest place to dip my toe in the community waters. Y'all can give yourselves a big ol' back-pat for being the friendliest and most helpful of all the forums I've looked into. Thanks for being here.
I'd be very grateful for your prayers and support, and I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you.
And welcome to CF! I will certainly say a prayer for you. Sounds to me as if you're on the right track. Just let the Holy Spirit guide you when reading Gods Word, keep reading it, and keep drawing closer to Him 
