Hello

[SPB1987]

Hello everyone , this is my first post on this website. I have been following and reading this site for quite sometime. I just would like to give you a little background on myself. I was born in Mississippi, raised in Texas and currently living in Kansas. I was raised Southern Baptist but am no longer of that persuasion. I am currently wrestling with many difficult issues in regards to believing and maintaining my faith.

I irregularly attend a Church of Christ with my wife who is a regular attendee. I was baptised over a year a go and I have since fallen away from my faith and have many struggles maintaining my belief.

I would be curious in understanding how you can be so sure of your Christian faith. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[oi_antz]

Hello everyone , this is my first post on this website. I have been following and reading this site for quite sometime. I just would like to give you a little background on myself. I was born in Mississippi, raised in Texas and currently living in Kansas. I was raised Southern Baptist but am no longer of that persuasion. I am currently wrestling with many difficult issues in regards to believing and maintaining my faith.

I irregularly attend a Church of Christ with my wife who is a regular attendee. I was baptised over a year a go and I have since fallen away from my faith and have many struggles maintaining my belief.

I would be curious in understanding how you can be so sure of your Christian faith. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi SPB1987, take a look at this verse:

Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

So I think this verse states that you will be saved. Also you might like to think about what Jesus says here:

Luke 15:4
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

This information seems to indicate that you are entitled to leave the matter in Jesus' capable hands and just relax a little bit knowing that you are His property and when He wants to change you, He will let you know.

The only caveat I know of is the following verse:

Hebrews 6:4-6
4 For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

So this seems to say that as long as you don't turn away from God then you'll be ok. From what you describe it doesn't sound like you are consciously choosing not to believe so that you can commit sin, so I wouldn't cause you to be too alarmed about your faith.

I would just encourage you to relax a little, allow yourself the freedom to be free in Christ and just commit your worries to Jesus because He said "my yoke is easy and my burden is light", you need to accept that and know that you are blessed to have that sort of reality

It is possible you are striving for a kind of faith that Jesus hasn't given you. You might be envious of someone else's faith, but remember that Jesus is the head of the church and His Father appoints everyone their role in the body:

1 Corinthians 12:28
New Living Translation (NLT)
28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.

Of course if there is some sort of problem you are struggling with that you haven't disclosed in the OP, I might choose to show you some different verses, so please let me know whether this comment is helpful.

 

[Annoula]

I would be curious in understanding how you can be so sure of your Christian faith. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

welcome to the CF! i hope you have a good and fruitful journey in here!

actually, i had the same question with you... i was always curious as to how some Christians are so strong in their faith? it looked strange to me because i was not sure about my faith .


just lately, i started realizing that faith is not something that we are all born with. also, even if we loudly declare our faith it doesn't mean that we are strong with it.

each one of us is walking a personal path towards faith.
for some it may struck them like thunder because of some "shocking" experience they had. eg near death experience.
for others it is a long journey, where they make little steps each time, so for them faith looks like a house build one brick at a time.
the house should have strong founding otherwise it can collapse with the first difficulty.

i think i belong to the second category. i am building my "house" brick by brick and i am enjoying it.
it's a life path that keeps me interested in getting to know it better

----

well.. i didn't answer your question by providing evidence, because i think evidence is something objective and has to do with what each person is willing to accept as evidence.
i gave a general idea of faith. i hope it helps.

 

[drich0150]

Hello everyone , this is my first post on this website. I have been following and reading this site for quite sometime. I just would like to give you a little background on myself. I was born in Mississippi, raised in Texas and currently living in Kansas. I was raised Southern Baptist but am no longer of that persuasion. I am currently wrestling with many difficult issues in regards to believing and maintaining my faith.

I irregularly attend a Church of Christ with my wife who is a regular attendee. I was baptised over a year a go and I have since fallen away from my faith and have many struggles maintaining my belief.

I would be curious in understanding how you can be so sure of your Christian faith. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Because God gave the assurance I needed, through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

[zaksmummy]

Jesus said "Seek first the kingdom of God".

I have found when I do that everything else falls into place.

You do it by laying everything else aside and seeking after God. Prayer and reading the bible are a big part of that. Asking questions of God also helps - he will give you the answers.

 

[bling]

Be careful what you ask for.


I am always made stronger by being forced into some really big trial (opportunities). I hit a wall, reach bottom and then I quit trying to figure it out and solve it myself and rely on God’s help. The more times I rely on God and the bigger the opportunities the more I allow Him to work through me and His results are great.


To keep God from presenting you with a really big challenging opportunity that you cannot keep from accepting, look for the little everyday opportunities around you and take the little Godly type Love and little faith you do have and use it. Amazingly it grows with use. You can enjoy god working through you and it is both challenging and rewarding.

 

[SPB1987]

Hi SPB1987, take a look at this verse:

Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

So I think this verse states that you will be saved. Also you might like to think about what Jesus says here:

Luke 15:4
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

This information seems to indicate that you are entitled to leave the matter in Jesus' capable hands and just relax a little bit knowing that you are His property and when He wants to change you, He will let you know.

The only caveat I know of is the following verse:

Hebrews 6:4-6
4 For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

So this seems to say that as long as you don't turn away from God then you'll be ok. From what you describe it doesn't sound like you are consciously choosing not to believe so that you can commit sin, so I wouldn't cause you to be too alarmed about your faith.

I would just encourage you to relax a little, allow yourself the freedom to be free in Christ and just commit your worries to Jesus because He said "my yoke is easy and my burden is light", you need to accept that and know that you are blessed to have that sort of reality

It is possible you are striving for a kind of faith that Jesus hasn't given you. You might be envious of someone else's faith, but remember that Jesus is the head of the church and His Father appoints everyone their role in the body:

1 Corinthians 12:28
New Living Translation (NLT)
28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.

Of course if there is some sort of problem you are struggling with that you haven't disclosed in the OP, I might choose to show you some different verses, so please let me know whether this comment is helpful.

Thank you for your response. I have lately been thinking that maybe I was baptized for the wrong reasons. I had a strong desire to believe but maybe I really did not at the time. This is an issue that bothers me immensely. It may not be so much that I do not believe but rather have some misplaced questions and anger directed at God.

I was at one point of time a full blown atheist. Growing up in public school I was always taught to believe things that I thought were contradictory to the bible(old earth, evolution, ect). This sparked my initial disbelief. I am now past that stage and realize that science and Christianity are perfectly compatible with one another.

My current dilemma deals with pain, suffering and evil. I often can not reconcile a belief in a benevolent God when their is so much pain in the world. Every time I hear of a child being born with cancer or anything along those lines this issue comes up. This is just a matter that I have a hard time dealing with. Like I said earlier, it may not be so much disbelief as it is misplaced anger or just simply not understanding.

Thanks again for your response.

 

[SPB1987]

welcome to the CF! i hope you have a good and fruitful journey in here!

actually, i had the same question with you... i was always curious as to how some Christians are so strong in their faith? it looked strange to me because i was not sure about my faith .


just lately, i started realizing that faith is not something that we are all born with. also, even if we loudly declare our faith it doesn't mean that we are strong with it.

each one of us is walking a personal path towards faith.
for some it may struck them like thunder because of some "shocking" experience they had. eg near death experience.
for others it is a long journey, where they make little steps each time, so for them faith looks like a house build one brick at a time.
the house should have strong founding otherwise it can collapse with the first difficulty.

i think i belong to the second category. i am building my "house" brick by brick and i am enjoying it.
it's a life path that keeps me interested in getting to know it better

----

well.. i didn't answer your question by providing evidence, because i think evidence is something objective and has to do with what each person is willing to accept as evidence.
i gave a general idea of faith. i hope it helps.

Thanks for your response. It would make sense that not everyone will be able to accept faith easily.

 

[golgotha61]

Thank you for your response. I have lately been thinking that maybe I was baptized for the wrong reasons. I had a strong desire to believe but maybe I really did not at the time. This is an issue that bothers me immensely. It may not be so much that I do not believe but rather have some misplaced questions and anger directed at God.

I was at one point of time a full blown atheist. Growing up in public school I was always taught to believe things that I thought were contradictory to the bible(old earth, evolution, ect). This sparked my initial disbelief. I am now past that stage and realize that science and Christianity are perfectly compatible with one another.

My current dilemma deals with pain, suffering and evil. I often can not reconcile a belief in a benevolent God when their is so much pain in the world. Every time I hear of a child being born with cancer or anything along those lines this issue comes up. This is just a matter that I have a hard time dealing with. Like I said earlier, it may not be so much disbelief as it is misplaced anger or just simply not understanding.

Thanks again for your response.

I don’t want to oversimplify or make a case based just on this book of the Bible but the book of Job gives a good example or why there is suffering, death, and evil. In my understanding the book of Job can be used as a microcosm of the world’s suffering, death, and evil.

Satan accuses the believers before God (in the case of Job it was Satan’s contention that Job loved God because God blessed Job) and God allows him to have his way with man but only to the limits God sets. The fact that Satan can only do to man what God allows tells me Satan is answerable to Him and that greatly increases my faith in God’s goodness toward me.

The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God, Romans 10:17 , so one of the ways to grow into a trusting relationship with Him is to read His word as much as you can and study it. When I say study, I mean to use the disciplines of Bible interpretation and application. If you would like more on this, I would be honored to give more information. I don’t want to intrude on your time if this is not what you desire.

On a personal note, when my grandson was six months old, he passed away from what the doctors called “sids”, sudden infant death syndrome. I was devastated but like King David knew he would his dead infant son in heaven, I know I will see my grandson in heaven also. Children go to heaven when they die; the reference of King David’s reaction to the death of his son is one of the witnesses to this truth.
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."

 

[SPB1987]

I don’t want to oversimplify or make a case based just on this book of the Bible but the book of Job gives a good example or why there is suffering, death, and evil. In my understanding the book of Job can be used as a microcosm of the world’s suffering, death, and evil.

Satan accuses the believers before God (in the case of Job it was Satan’s contention that Job loved God because God blessed Job) and God allows him to have his way with man but only to the limits God sets. The fact that Satan can only do to man what God allows tells me Satan is answerable to Him and that greatly increases my faith in God’s goodness toward me.

The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God, Romans 10:17 , so one of the ways to grow into a trusting relationship with Him is to read His word as much as you can and study it. When I say study, I mean to use the disciplines of Bible interpretation and application. If you would like more on this, I would be honored to give more information. I don’t want to intrude on your time if this is not what you desire.

On a personal note, when my grandson was six months old, he passed away from what the doctors called “sids”, sudden infant death syndrome. I was devastated but like King David knew he would his dead infant son in heaven, I know I will see my grandson in heaven also. Children go to heaven when they die; the reference of King David’s reaction to the death of his son is one of the witnesses to this truth.
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."

That is a great way of addressing the issue. I do find one problem with this. What about cases where the pain and suffering is the result of something hereditary? Do you also feel that God has allowed Satan to tempt you in this regard too?

 

[oi_antz]

My current dilemma deals with pain, suffering and evil. I often can not reconcile a belief in a benevolent God when their is so much pain in the world. Every time I hear of a child being born with cancer or anything along those lines this issue comes up. This is just a matter that I have a hard time dealing with. Like I said earlier, it may not be so much disbelief as it is misplaced anger or just simply not understanding.

Thanks again for your response.

There is no such word as "benevolent" in the bible. It is possible your image of God is not accurate. If that is the case, then you have probably been trying to fool yourself into believing that God is someone He is not. Take a read of this verse:

Exodus 33:19
And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

So perhaps you need to accept a cold hard fact that the world is a place where death is all around us. This coincides well with John 1:5

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it"

This is a hard world to live in, there is a lot of darkness out there. You and I have been blessed to grow in the surroundings where the light of Christ has illuminated our hearts and minds, but not every part of the world has the light of Christ yet been made welcome.

Remember what Jesus says "the gospel will reach every nation and then the end will come". I think when the end comes and we have Jesus' reign over the world, then you will see the benevolence you are craving to see.

Take a read of this prophecy which is my favorite passage in the bible:

Isaiah 11
6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
7 The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.

This verse is what I pin my hopes on, that one day hopefully sooner than later, the earth will be full of the knowledge of God and we will have Christ's reign. But there's a battle of light against dark, that is Christ against death, and we are called to take sides in that war:

Matthew 12:30
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

I want to know in your words, because you mentioned that you aren't sure you were baptized for the right reason, what was the reason you were baptized?

 

[SPB1987]

There is no such word as "benevolent" in the bible. It is possible your image of God is not accurate. If that is the case, then you have probably been trying to fool yourself into believing that God is someone He is not. Take a read of this verse:

Exodus 33:19
And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

So perhaps you need to accept a cold hard fact that the world is a place where death is all around us. This coincides well with John 1:5

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it"

This is a hard world to live in, there is a lot of darkness out there. You and I have been blessed to grow in the surroundings where the light of Christ has illuminated our hearts and minds, but not every part of the world has the light of Christ yet been made welcome.

Remember what Jesus says "the gospel will reach every nation and then the end will come". I think when the end comes and we have Jesus' reign over the world, then you will see the benevolence you are craving to see.

Take a read of this prophecy which is my favorite passage in the bible:

Isaiah 11
6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
7 The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.

This verse is what I pin my hopes on, that one day hopefully sooner than later, the earth will be full of the knowledge of God and we will have Christ's reign. But there's a battle of light against dark, that is Christ against death, and we are called to take sides in that war:

Matthew 12:30
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

I want to know in your words, because you mentioned that you aren't sure you were baptized for the right reason, what was the reason you were baptized?

I was getting baptized because I felt that I was ready to take that step. I really felt like I did believe in God and have faith in believing Jesus is who he said he was. I was baptized on the same night as my wife. My wife still believes in God firmly and attends church as much as she can. I know in someways my on the fence position may hinder her in developing more as a Christian.

I am now starting to wonder if I confused my desire to believe with actually believing. This is just a very complicated subject and I do not know how to deal with it. I have tried to talk to people at the church we attend but I do not feel comfortable doing so. This is just one of those issues that I will eventually have to settle.

The strange thing about all of this is...I really feel like this is what I am suppose to be doing. I feel like I am being drawn to this in someway. It is a very weird feeling that I can not describe. I have been reading the bible a lot more over this past week and this is just something that I am sure I will eventually figure out.

 

[oi_antz]

I was getting baptized because I felt that I was ready to take that step. I really felt like I did believe in God and have faith in believing Jesus is who he said he was. I was baptized on the same night as my wife. My wife still believes in God firmly and attends church as much as she can. I know in someways my on the fence position may hinder her in developing more as a Christian.

I am now starting to wonder if I confused my desire to believe with actually believing. This is just a very complicated subject and I do not know how to deal with it. I have tried to talk to people at the church we attend but I do not feel comfortable doing so. This is just one of those issues that I will eventually have to settle.

The strange thing about all of this is...I really feel like this is what I am suppose to be doing. I feel like I am being drawn to this in someway. It is a very weird feeling that I can not describe. I have been reading the bible a lot more over this past week and this is just something that I am sure I will eventually figure out.

Hrm, well ok I don't know what to say that will help you. Let us know if you manage to identify the cause of your doubt, salvation is meant to be simple, not complicated. If it is getting complicated it is a sure sign that you are having trouble digesting some particular information. It could be that you are missing a piece of the puzzle or that you've chosen to believe something that is false. Are you able to identify and isolate the cause of the problem? Are you 100% certain that it isn't just that you disagree with Jesus' commandments? (I ask that question because that is what divorced me from Him not long after being baptized, I felt attracted to lusty guys).

 

[CryptoLutheran]

Hello everyone , this is my first post on this website. I have been following and reading this site for quite sometime. I just would like to give you a little background on myself. I was born in Mississippi, raised in Texas and currently living in Kansas. I was raised Southern Baptist but am no longer of that persuasion. I am currently wrestling with many difficult issues in regards to believing and maintaining my faith.

I irregularly attend a Church of Christ with my wife who is a regular attendee. I was baptised over a year a go and I have since fallen away from my faith and have many struggles maintaining my belief.

I would be curious in understanding how you can be so sure of your Christian faith. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know if I'm "so sure of my Christian faith", i.e. I don't claim I'm certain that what I believe is right.

Some odd years ago I made peace with the fact that much of what I believe is a bit absurd, and that most of it simply isn't rational. I didn't need to be able to rationalize everything even though I consider myself a rational person. That elements of faith involve aspects of being human that don't always match up to the expectations of a post-enlightenment culture; and that's really okay.

In fact not only did I make peace with that, I've fully embraced it and often find a lot of joy in the great mysteriousness of faith. I find that at the end of the day I really do believe and find explaining why I believe to at times to be difficult--though not for lack of trying to (it's something I've thought about rather consistently for most of my life). I can talk about how that when I read the Gospels the Jesus I encounter there is tremendously compelling: I want to follow this person, I want to believe what He said, I want to dedicate myself to Him. It's not that I can't find good teachings, good messages, good ideas elsewhere, I can and do; but as wise, and as good, and as profound so much of what I've read is I ultimately find that this Jesus compels me by the sheer weight of His person to be a Christian.

I think often the why of faith is entirely subjective, and thus it's not always going to be the same for everyone. And like I said, in many ways my own why is oftentimes seemingly ineffable.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[golgotha61]

That is a great way of addressing the issue. I do find one problem with this. What about cases where the pain and suffering is the result of something hereditary? Do you also feel that God has allowed Satan to tempt you in this regard too?

I believe the Bible teaches two sources of temptation. One is Satan who is the “tempter” and the second is our own lusts: James 1:13-15 (ASV)
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man:
14 but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death.

Since Satan is the outside source of temptation, he will not fit the heredity issue but the second source of temptation being our own lusts does fit. However, we can not blame our heredity that was also corrupted by the original sin of Adam, because the Bible also says this: 1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV)
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

So even if there is a genetic predisposition to perhaps some sort of addiction, we do not have to sin in this area of weakness since, according to 1 Corinthians, God is faithful to not allow that temptation to rule over us but He gives us an escape.

 

[bling]

I was getting baptized because I felt that I was ready to take that step. I really felt like I did believe in God and have faith in believing Jesus is who he said he was. I was baptized on the same night as my wife. My wife still believes in God firmly and attends church as much as she can. I know in someways my on the fence position may hinder her in developing more as a Christian.

I am now starting to wonder if I confused my desire to believe with actually believing. This is just a very complicated subject and I do not know how to deal with it. I have tried to talk to people at the church we attend but I do not feel comfortable doing so. This is just one of those issues that I will eventually have to settle.

The strange thing about all of this is...I really feel like this is what I am suppose to be doing. I feel like I am being drawn to this in someway. It is a very weird feeling that I can not describe. I have been reading the bible a lot more over this past week and this is just something that I am sure I will eventually figure out.

I think you may be further along then you realize. The “wanting to believe” comes before believing, since it is kind of on a “need to know bases.” Some people do not want to believe in the Christian God, so God is not going to force them to believe. Trials can give us a really strong reason to believe and moving forward with trusting God to be there, really boasts our faith.

As far as having some let down after Baptism, that is unfortunately normal for most. The change is there and for some, that are immediately thrown into wolfs, can be amazingly strong.

 

[SPB1987]

I think you may be further along then you realize. The “wanting to believe” comes before believing, since it is kind of on a “need to know bases.” Some people do not want to believe in the Christian God, so God is not going to force them to believe. Trials can give us a really strong reason to believe and moving forward with trusting God to be there, really boasts our faith.

As far as having some let down after Baptism, that is unfortunately normal for most. The change is there and for some, that are immediately thrown into wolfs, can be amazingly strong.

You make many good points. Many of my friends(at that point in time) were atheists, agnostics or were just not overly concerned with living the Christian life. I may have just not had the support base I needed to confront these questions at the time. I tend to be a very private person and do not socialize a whole lot. This is something that I obviously need to work on. Thanks for your response.

 

[SPB1987]

There is no such word as "benevolent" in the bible. It is possible your image of God is not accurate. If that is the case, then you have probably been trying to fool yourself into believing that God is someone He is not. Take a read of this verse:

I was unaware that the word benevolent was never used to describe God in the bible. Thanks for informing me of this.

 

[bling]

You make many good points. Many of my friends(at that point in time) were atheists, agnostics or were just not overly concerned with living the Christian life. I may have just not had the support base I needed to confront these questions at the time. I tend to be a very private person and do not socialize a whole lot. This is something that I obviously need to work on. Thanks for your response.

Women are better at this.

 

[SPB1987]

Women are better at this.

I agree with you! My wife is incredibly social.

On a different note...we did go to church as a family today. We went to bible class together as a married couple. The content of the study was quite ironic in many ways. This is my first time attending in probably a month. The class was basically about how men need to step up and take on the leadership roles in the family like God calls us to. This is something that I have often thought about.

On the way home I asked my wife if she agreed with what he was saying and she told me she did. I then proceeded to ask her how she feels about me in this regard. She told me that she wishes I would be the one that leads the family in church and spiritual matters but she also said that she is happy with how I am now. I am very involved in our children's lives(son is 4 months and daughter is 2.5yrs) but I know I certainly am not in the same way the bible calls us to be.

I find this whole lesson to be ironic simply because it deals with some very serious and personal subject matter and I rarely attend. I want to do the very best I can for my family and this lesson really hit home.