From where I've been to where I'm at

Yesterday I went to our Saturday night service & I got to thinking during the beginning of the service about where I've come from & where I'm currently at.
What I mean is from the different churches I've come thru to today.

**Disclaimer: Long BLOG ENTRY BELOW! TAKE TIME TO READ!!!**

Where did I start? Well, it all began when my dad started dating a lady named Patricia who eventually became my dads' 2nd wife (he's on his 3rd now). Patricia went to church so all of that was new to me. I had never set foot in a church before & probably never would have without her influence.
At the time we visited a Foursquare Church in Federal Way. The name escapes me right now...
Anyway that was where I got saved for the first time.
I know, I know, for the first time? Well I would have to say that when you are that young you understand what it means, but I wasn't truly living my walk until years later. I mainly just went thru the motions for a long time.
I learned something from that church though.
One of the silly things I learned was how to use a bible there. How funny I know, but coming from a non-christian home I had no idea how to look up verses!
But the biggest thing was I learned to be healed emotionally. Even though I was young ( I got saved before 6th grade that summer) I could just tell at that church there was a huge ministry of healing there. It was a place to be able to grieve & be healed emotionally. I had had a lot of hurts up until that point some ran very deep but I do believe a lot of prayer was sown into me at that time & eventually it bloomed.

Then we ended up at Christian Faith Center (CFC) and I'm not really sure why we left the other church.... But you know how you go where you're parents go.
I went to CFC for a long time. A really long time when I think about it.
What did I learn at CFC?
Well I learned a lot of things, some really good things & some things that maybe effect me still to this day. I might want to put a disclaimer right now that Casey Treat is an excellent preacher & I believe it was the people who might have helped form some of those unhealthy things into my heart all those years. I think we as man like to twist things to comform to our ways even though that might not be God's heart.
I learned to believe for things in my life. Live a life of expectancy. I learned to dream for my future. I learned a lot about renewing my mind. That was the big thing when I was there & maybe it still is to this day...I haven't been back since we left.
I met some wonderful people there. Some of you I know still to this day just from going to that church! And I'm blessed to know you all!!
I dont' regret my time there at all. What I regret is staying there too long because of my pride. My pride kept me there & only made my heart harden more & more the longer I remained there.
You all might remember that I was an intern for 2 months under Steve at that church. I learned more in that 2 months then I have ever learned in my walk!! But that is a whole other blog entry! :)
Eventually after Noah was born we left CFC because I couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't a good parting. Got a little messy in the end & I do have to catch myself when I talk about that church. I need to watch my words.

Then we went to Real Life church when Noah was still a baby. I think he was nearly one by then. That was where Steve went after he left CFC to start RLC so we followed soon after.
What did I learn from RLC?
At RLC I learned to serve.
Serve was one thing I never actually did there isnt' that ironic?! I didn't put myself in any sort of volunteer position or anything like that, but I learned from Steve how to serve God's people.
I learned that was Jesus's way he ministered, he came to us to serve & become one of us. I hadn't ever really learned that before so it was all new to me.
James did all the serving for us! I was too busy licking my wounds of past hurts most of the time. Allowing myself to be shut off from the church and allowing few in. I preferred to sit back & mock those around me instead of learn who they were and let them speak into my life.
No wonder I had few friends!!
But people didn't give up on me. They still would talk to me & include me just like those of you who still go to RLC do today.
Nothing went wrong when we left RLC. I just felt like I wasn't growing anymore & I wasn't getting anything from the sermons and because I was limiting myself to get involved because I was too involved thinking that no one wanted me to be involved. And might I mention, that was MY thinking alone. I assumed that I was to stay out of leadership since I got pregnant while still in a position of leadership while unmarried. Shame does that to you. And its a tough one to come out of.

So we left RLC over a year ago now & ended up at Puyallup Foursquare Church. Its funny how I came full circle already. Got saved at a Foursquare church & here I'm again at one! Must have been a God thing! :)
What have I learned at PFC?
Well, I haven't learned everything yet, but I do believe the biggest thing that I felt God putting on my heart last night was that I've learned God loves me.
Isn't that funny?
What a simple concept. Of course we know God loves us, but do we really believe it all the time? There was a scripture on the back of a girls shirt last night too that reminded me of it, Romans 8:38-39. (yes you have to go & look it up!)
I've come to realize that God truly loves me & thinks I'm special. It helps to have your pastor reminding you of it every Sunday!
And I've learned a lot of new things about our church as a church. I view the church as being something totally different then I did way back when. I love what my church has up around the auditorum about what their core values. They ring so true in daily life as well.

CORE VALUES
1. WE VALUE THE WORD OF GOD. From Genesis to Revelation we believe that God’s word has relevant answers for today’s tough questions. Heb. 4:12 NIV
2. WE VALUE LOVE. In Loving God and Loving People, love must drive everything we do. From recreation to confrontation the motive of all actions is love. Luke 10:27 NLT
3. WE VALUE SMALL GROUPS. Our mission is to Connect And Relate Everyone.Acts 2:42 NIV

4. WE VALUE PEOPLE. We believe every person is a gift and has gifts to be utilized by God. Every person is a minister because ministry is who we are, not what we do.Eph. 4:11-12 NIV
5. WE VALUE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. We help Seekers to become Believers, Believers to become Disciples and Disciples to become Teachers. We want to encourage and cheer the development process.Matt. 28:19-20 NLT
6. WE VALUE A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE. Jesus Christ gave His very best at the cross; we can give no less.Col. 3:23 NLT
7. WE VALUE EVANGELISM. We will invest time and resources to help seekers find God. We will use conventional and unconventional means to reach the lost at any cost.Luke 19:10 NIV
8. WE VALUE BALANCE. On a cultural spectrum of A through Z, we operate at M to achieve balance in order to reach the broadest range of people.Phil. 4:5 KJ
9. WE VALUE THE ATTITUDE OF SERVITUDE. We want to imitate the example of Jesus Christ.Matt. 20:28 NLT
10. WE VALUE SUBMISSION TO AUTHORITY. To the degree we are submitted is the degree that we will lead.Heb. 13:17 NIV

So right now while I take time to learn about myself but also about another church I can look back & think about how far I've come & look forward to the future now. Because now when I look back on my life I'm not bound anymore by my past binding me & making me afraid. I had to let go of the past & remove myself from a lot of things that reminded me of my past to reach this point, but in the end it was worth it.
God is so Good.