~Laurenda~ said:
Would you mind sharing your testimony with us?

(how you became a Christian)
Well, as I've said before I grew up in the Presbyterian church. I truly can't remember a time when my church life & church family weren't important to me. I was very active at my church as a teen, most of my best friends were from my church, and I had some wonderful role models in the young adult women at my church (praise God for Kathy Donle and Joanne Wilson).
When I was 18, I attended a Koinania retreat with people from my church as well as several other churches in the NW Ohio area. God had obviously spent a lot of time "readying" me, because while I always loved, respected and, yes, feared the Lord, this was the first time my heart was truly turned toward Him. All that I had learned over the past 18 years of Sunday school, worship services, retreats, youth fellowship fell into place that weekend in October 1974. I will be eternally grateful to God for the grace and mercy He showed me, I was truly without merit.
I am sad to say that there was a period of time (late 70's) that I didn't worship regularly. My husband was a non-practicing, semi-agnostic Catholic and didn't have any place for corporate worship in his life. I allowed myself to be swayed by his practices. However, as soon as my son was born, in 1981, I knew that I needed to be in a church regularly. My cursory knowledge wasn't enough to enable my children to walk with the Lord. Out of respect for my husband I did attend a Catholic church for a while (less than a year), but never felt at home, was never comfortable with much of their doctrine. So, I started looking elsewhere and God eventually brought me to Providence Reformed Baptist Church where I worship now. Having been brought up in the Reformed tradition finding a church that was solidly Reformed was like coming home. I'd been missing them and waiting for them before I knew them. I've worshiped with many of the same people for ~13 years now (2nd church, same folks - we're a plant). I'm especially grateful for Pastor David who constantly challenges me to study and to learn more. He's truly opened my eyes to our Christian fathers.
Funny - I have 3 sisters, a handful of cousins, aunts & uncles, a dad and step-mom still alive - but when I think of family, I think of the folks I worship with every Sunday.