First of all Pure: November 2013

I don't have an exciting testimony. Being a pastor's kid, I grew up in church. I loved singing the old hymns and listening to my father's dynamic preaching. I remember one day at a very young age, somewhere between four to six years old, playing alone in a sunny meadow, this feeling that God was with me, holding me, loving me, protecting me. It was a feeling of utter trust, pure happiness, and a sure knowledge of never being alone again. It is that simple. That feeling has never left me, and is the bedrock of my faith. I have read C.S. Lewis, Chesterton, Yancy, and many other great Christian writers, studied theology and apologetics, and this is what I always come back to when I think about how my faith began. I don't choose to chalk up that feeling to childish fancies, because it goes too deep for that. I think I would have forgotten it by now, if that were the case. This is why I am such an advocate for belief in childhood conversion, and taking these little ones seriously.

I have found that some in the church do not share my views about young children coming to the Lord, and I think that is unfortunate for them, and for the children they discourage with exclusionist views, views that tell the child they are too young to know God. I hope that every parent, children's teachers, and pastors would take children's feelings seriously and help them continue to grow in their faith, helping them flesh it out with every step kids take through the years.

When I hear others' amazing testimonies I don't feel left out, I just think how great our God is, and am happy to think there is someone else in my family now, someone I get to enjoy heaven with. I know all this sounds kind of sappy and Pollyannaish, but that is my general outlook on life. And, as God creates us all different, with different points of view and different ways of relating to Him, that's where I am at. Child like faith is not childish.

As a side effect of my thorn in my side, my rheumatoid arthritis, I have periods of depression. I am happy to say these are short lived, usually, and God has helped me find ways of coping with them. I call and speak with friends who listen well, I pray, I cry, I read, I watch "feel good" movies, I have times to be alone, and times with my friends and family, I play with and care for my animals, I eat well and I eat organic chocolate. Reading my Bible daily is probably the biggest help of all.

Dear Reader, tell me your story and what helps your journey?

Links that helped me (disclosure, I did sign up as an Amazon affiliate, and you can too, if you blog and want to recommend good things to your friends and readers):