Happy Sunday everybody!
First of all...Welcome to this part of my blog. I hope to continue with this topic every Sunday. Now that we all have our bellies full of Thanksgiving food it was time for me to remember a few things. This morning when I woke up, I needed to see an old familiar face.
I headed down to Ringgold, Georgia to a church called
ORIGIN. It sits right in the middle of town on Nashville St, just directly across the road from the First Baptist. It's a small place and if you blink you might miss it. The pastor of Origin is Rev Shane Craven. Twenty one years ago, I sat in the floor of my home completely broken and needing the Good Lord more than I ever had in my life. That day my life changed and to make a long story short, I picked up the phone book, closed my eyes and picked a church. That church was Mount Rachel Baptist Church in Dalton, GA. Shane was the pastor at that time and became my pastor. Mt Rachel was the one place that fed my spirit in a way that will always be so near and dear to my heart. It was my home when I had nothing. I lived in government apartments and drove a car that had no brakes. My daughter was a baby and I was escaping a bad relationship that was unsafe. I worked at H&R block in Dalton for minimum wage but God was moving. I look back now and think about how covered in Grace I was and I still today, it's amazing to me. We've come so far right?
Today, I have an amazing job making more money than most in the Chattanooga area according to middle class standards. I live in a home that is only seven years old and beautiful. I drive a comparably brand new car and I never have to worry about food to eat or if I will get to vacation this year or not. All my family is healthy and moving forward everyday in such positive ways. So all in all...I'm pretty blessed I would say. Then why did I wake up this morning, needing to remember that place? Perhaps because no matter how good life gets, it can all be taken in just a moments notice and then what? Then what would I have? Seems the more I provide myself and my family, the less I turn to God. It's just so easy not to. To just go through everyday doing what I need to do, pushing for more money, more toys and feeling ever so drained more and more in the process.
See, I don't understand why the world wants us to forget about Christ. I don't get how being a Christian is the most judged thing in America today. What the Good Lord has done for me is more than I could ever put into words and no matter how big and pretty the house or nice the car or how many places I get to go, man.... Jesus is my one place of complete peace. He literally is the only one that has ever loved me without reason and covered me so completely.
Seeing Shane at Origin today and his lovely wife Kim was a blessing to me. Hearing his voice in prayer and being taken back to my beginning, that was worth the drive down. He holds an enthusiasm for the Lord that is contagious and makes me remember.... Sometimes, we all have to go back. We all NEED to go back and remember. Shane is a good pastor and you would love him if you go visit that church. He's a mover and shaker and full on desire for every single person to know the Lord.
Rev. Shane Craven of Origin Church
Every Sunday for a time, I will be visiting local churches in my area hoping to find a home church that will open a new chapter for me and my life. i will be blogging my relationship with Jesus because it's the least I can do. If you only had one person on your side your whole life... how grateful would you be? I am so very grateful today and everyday.
xoxo - Teresa Ann
