The secular world

[Grace2022]

I like it less and less. I do get on with life but what makes me truly happy is to read the word of God, pray and be with other christians. I find so much of the babble of tv, Facebook and preoccupations of so many people simply intolerable. I love doing work for my church and there is so much going on in my head. Ideas of how to bring more souls to Jesus.
I do have a partner and love him very much. But in thw future when i get old, if i am left alone again, i know i shall dedicate my life to church and Jesus. In fact, the thought of becoming a nun sounds wonderful! Unlikely but appealing. To spend 24 hours a day praising God. I love life but i also love the thought that when i die i will spend eternity with Jesus and praising God..

Does anyone else feel as overwhelmed as i do at being Christian? I became christian about 4 years ago. Is this natural to be so full of the excitement and passion for our Lord? I feel myself growing daily and wish i had more ability and strength to do things for Him. But daily life of running my home etc must be done!

 

[salt-n-light]

I like it less and less. I do get on with life but what makes me truly happy is to read the word of God, pray and be with other christians. I find so much of the babble of tv, Facebook and preoccupations of so many people simply intolerable. I love doing work for my church and there is so much going on in my head. Ideas of how to bring more souls to Jesus.
I do have a partner and love him very much. But in thw future when i get old, if i am left alone again, i know i shall dedicate my life to church and Jesus. In fact, the thought of becoming a nun sounds wonderful! Unlikely but appealing. To spend 24 hours a day praising God. I love life but i also love the thought that when i die i will spend eternity with Jesus and praising God..

Does anyone else feel as overwhelmed as i do at being Christian? I became christian about 4 years ago. Is this natural to be so full of the excitement and passion for our Lord? I feel myself growing daily and wish i had more ability and strength to do things for Him. But daily life of running my home etc must be done!

Im experiencing that right now

Its a bit hard for me, being single and in my 20s in this day and age, because im surrounded by temptations 24/7. To go out, to be around people, to not feel so alone in my excitement. There's alot more expectation to socialize, and especially socialize in more promiscuous/nightlife settings. Even among those near my age at church, because they are easily drawn to more worldly stuff and people, I don't feel I can connect with them. Even with social media, I feel like im forcing myself for the sake of not naturally go off the grid.

So in my solitude, I'm happy I get to watch videos, get to communicate with others on this forum and grow, I'm not pressured and force to do things for the sake of not being isolated.And everyday i fall more and more in love with God. But that means that at times I do feel isolated. Its a learning process though of how I interact with others as a Christian, but its also painful process because the things I use to delight in, even if it was seemingly harmless, I'm finding myself dropping them like flies.

Trying right now to find events that I can socialize/volunteer more to break that lonely cycle. But it would help to find friends I can fellowship with.

Didn't realize how lonely the walk was. Lol, but im joyful and peaceful at the same time knowing and walking in truth. Its a perplexing thing lol

 

[Joy#1]

As a single woman in their 20s, I totally agree with Mskriskris!

It's so hard with the younger generation. No one wants to talk about God because that is a taboo topic. I mean a lot of my good friends, co-workers, etc. So it's hard and I feel like you are on fire for God but sometimes you go through a dry spell. Maybe you go through something hard or your faith is really tested etc.

But I just like to remember that God's love doesn't change. I long to go back to him if I make a mistake through those difficult times because of the passion that He has instilled in me. The more I get to know Him the hard it is walk away from His amazing glory and love. And the harder it is for me to fall from the traps of this world because I can't deny God. He is so ever present in my life no matter what.

But I does get so lonely because you are the only who has chosen to follow God. Even my church friends or christian friends want to go to the club after church. It's definitely a hard road to walk. That's why I also joined this site. It's becoming increasingly rare to find people who love God.

 

[drjean]

Absolutely! We all have 10000 minutes each week to use. It's amazing how much time you have when you don't turn on the tv, use twitter, FB, surf the web! To say "I don't have time" is disingenious imo, with today's electronics (no running to post office to buy stamps and mail packages, you don't even have to go to a store to shop not even for food if you so desire to find time then... you don't have to sit down and write checks or even drive to the bank to deposit them.) Why, you don't even have to go to church to hear God's Word preached! Life is a choice...

Ok, as I said, I'm overwhelmed with the fast and evil pace the world has set for us... but I'm just not participating. As another member recently shared, the more time I spend on God, reading His Word, even sharing here, the more time I have for the necessities of life (cooking, eating, sleeping)... But if that tv or radio goes on /stays on in the morning---nothing of value is done.

 

[Arsenios]

As a single woman in their 20s, I totally agree with Mskriskris!

It's so hard with the younger generation. No one wants to talk about God because that is a taboo topic. I mean a lot of my good friends, co-workers, etc. So it's hard and I feel like you are on fire for God but sometimes you go through a dry spell. Maybe you go through something hard or your faith is really tested etc.

But I just like to remember that God's love doesn't change. I long to go back to him if I make a mistake through those difficult times because of the passion that He has instilled in me. The more I get to know Him the hard it is walk away from His amazing glory and love. And the harder it is for me to fall from the traps of this world because I can't deny God. He is so ever present in my life no matter what.

But I does get so lonely because you are the only who has chosen to follow God. Even my church friends or christian friends want to go to the club after church. It's definitely a hard road to walk. That's why I also joined this site. It's becoming increasingly rare to find people who love God.

We have a lot of single women in their 20s who become monastics in the Orthodox Faith... They live in an alternative reality without mirrors, doing their daily labors in unceasing prayer, and spending their nights in vigils and fasting, and doing the Services morning and evening... They are a joyful and prayerful lot, normally not getting their tonsure as nuns until some 5-10 years of living this kind of life...

The perfecting of the soul in Christ is a beautiful thing...

And it is not for the timid...

But the humble...

Arsenios

ps - The picture of the Ormylia Monastery at 11:3 (minutes), atop the great rock, will take anyone's breath away if they have breath...

 

[Grace2022]

Absolutely! We all have 10000 minutes each week to use. It's amazing how much time you have when you don't turn on the tv, use twitter, FB, surf the web! To say "I don't have time" is disingenious imo, with today's electronics (no running to post office to buy stamps and mail packages, you don't even have to go to a store to shop not even for food if you so desire to find time then... you don't have to sit down and write checks or even drive to the bank to deposit them.) Why, you don't even have to go to church to hear God's Word preached! Life is a choice...

Ok, as I said, I'm overwhelmed with the fast and evil pace the world has set for us... but I'm just not participating. As another member recently shared, the more time I spend on God, reading His Word, even sharing here, the more time I have for the necessities of life (cooking, eating, sleeping)... But if that tv or radio goes on /stays on in the morning---nothing of value is done.

So true! I am ensuring i spend quiet, in fact silent, time alone each day. It's a matter of choice and discipline. I switch off the television and do chores. I let the answer machine take calls. I drive in silence. I love walking my dog alone. Great chances to pray instead. I crave silence. It is essential to my soul to be with God. This world is filled with noise, voices and haste. I want peace.

 

[Arsenios]

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[Arsenios]

So true! I am ensuring i spend quiet, in fact silent, time alone each day. It's a matter of choice and discipline. I switch off the television and do chores. I let the answer machine take calls. I drive in silence. I love walking my dog alone. Great chances to pray instead. I crave silence. It is essential to my soul to be with God. This world is filled with noise, voices and haste. I want peace.

Hear is the tonsure of a nun in Greece: [Foreground on the left...]

I love looking at the seriousness and the kindness in the eyes of Orthodox monastics, be they men or women...

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

So I am using these shell posts of one decimal length to fill in with non-duplicating posts, I pray! This site turns out to have my Avatar, Metropolitan Ierotheos Vlachos of Nafptaka, Greece, being served in a Greek women's monastery in Wisconsin - Their Trapeza [dining hall] is huge, and packed - But it is the quality of being, visible in the faces of the women monastics, that I am seeking to show...

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

Here is another:

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

Well, that was an excursion into multiple postings of the same post, without knowing how to simply delete excess posts...

Forgive me!

Arsenios

 

[faroukfarouk]

I like it less and less. I do get on with life but what makes me truly happy is to read the word of God, pray and be with other christians. I find so much of the babble of tv, Facebook and preoccupations of so many people simply intolerable. I love doing work for my church and there is so much going on in my head. Ideas of how to bring more souls to Jesus.
I do have a partner and love him very much. But in thw future when i get old, if i am left alone again, i know i shall dedicate my life to church and Jesus. In fact, the thought of becoming a nun sounds wonderful! Unlikely but appealing. To spend 24 hours a day praising God. I love life but i also love the thought that when i die i will spend eternity with Jesus and praising God..

Does anyone else feel as overwhelmed as i do at being Christian? I became christian about 4 years ago. Is this natural to be so full of the excitement and passion for our Lord? I feel myself growing daily and wish i had more ability and strength to do things for Him. But daily life of running my home etc must be done!

Hi there; it's good to concentrate on the essentials and if necessary block off the media/social media almost entirely. The depth and simplicity of verses such as the elements in John 3.16 and Acts 2.42 are striking.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Im experiencing that right now

Its a bit hard for me, being single and in my 20s in this day and age, because im surrounded by temptations 24/7. To go out, to be around people, to not feel so alone in my excitement. There's alot more expectation to socialize, and especially socialize in more promiscuous/nightlife settings. Even among those near my age at church, because they are easily drawn to more worldly stuff and people, I don't feel I can connect with them. Even with social media, I feel like im forcing myself for the sake of not naturally go off the grid.

So in my solitude, I'm happy I get to watch videos, get to communicate with others on this forum and grow, I'm not pressured and force to do things for the sake of not being isolated.And everyday i fall more and more in love with God. But that means that at times I do feel isolated. Its a learning process though of how I interact with others as a Christian, but its also painful process because the things I use to delight in, even if it was seemingly harmless, I'm finding myself dropping them like flies.

Trying right now to find events that I can socialize/volunteer more to break that lonely cycle. But it would help to find friends I can fellowship with.

Didn't realize how lonely the walk was. Lol, but im joyful and peaceful at the same time knowing and walking in truth. Its a perplexing thing lol

I'm reminded of General Marshall, US Army Chief of Staff in World War 2. When asked about his morale, he said, No one else takes care of my morale; I take care of it myself.

(In other words, the path to maturity involves self-discipline; and this is especially true in the spiritual realm.)

"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1.3)

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1.7)

 

[faroukfarouk]

As a single woman in their 20s, I totally agree with Mskriskris!

It's so hard with the younger generation. No one wants to talk about God because that is a taboo topic. I mean a lot of my good friends, co-workers, etc. So it's hard and I feel like you are on fire for God but sometimes you go through a dry spell. Maybe you go through something hard or your faith is really tested etc.

But I just like to remember that God's love doesn't change. I long to go back to him if I make a mistake through those difficult times because of the passion that He has instilled in me. The more I get to know Him the hard it is walk away from His amazing glory and love. And the harder it is for me to fall from the traps of this world because I can't deny God. He is so ever present in my life no matter what.

But I does get so lonely because you are the only who has chosen to follow God. Even my church friends or christian friends want to go to the club after church. It's definitely a hard road to walk. That's why I also joined this site. It's becoming increasingly rare to find people who love God.

Again, the Scriptures posted to @Mskriskris in the previous post, above, come to mind.