As I said, I would ponder these questions and get back to you…

A question for my Christian friends – when did you first read the Bible and sense the presences of God guiding you?

9…..

when my mom, who left me at 3…
told me that He would never leave me, nor forsake me.

His presence has been so real to me Ed. I can’t say any more than that.
Through the heat, the brokeness, he has revealed himself time and time again.

there is so much to this story, I can’t take up the space here….:–)

The first Detroit All-Star I remember was Al Kaline, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Kaline .

Kaline’s career is a testament to hard work and never giving up. A bone disease in childhood had deformed Kaline’s left foot, leaving him with constant nagging pain.

We understand stretches of losing being from Detroit. Those Tigers! But my dad was a Tiger fan “before it was trendy” here a couple years ago when they were winning.

My dad has taught Emma to cheer (even Anna is working on it). She knows “Take me out the ball game” and loves going to the games with Papa!

That was a long All-Star game, 15 ininnigs. Your dad and brother must have got home very late.

Last year was a bad one for my Mets, something I have had to get use to. The Mets are playing better right now, nine wins in a row. At least I am not a Cubs fan. They have had to wait 100 years for a World Series championship.

“It wasn’t until I was 26 before I began to dig, to look into the meaning and context of the books. It has been an amazing ride. I learned I had misunderstood much from being spoon-fed. I needed to find the answers for myself. I’m 46 and have just barely scratched the surface.”

Truths about the important things in life, like faith, we need to discover for ourselves, not the just the definition of words, but how these words will help us lead our lives.

I think learning is a life long pursuit, even for the most knowledge person about any subject. Every day the world changes. Every day we can learn something new. That’s one thing that makes me look forward to each new dawn.

A fun side note — if I remember right, you are a big baseball fan (right??). My dad was visiting my brother in CT and they went to the All Star game at the soon to be no more Yankee Stadium.

Yesterday’s discussion at Tam’s was great. I didn’t participate because I couldn’t see how to answer succinctly. It’s a problem I have. I have now responded on my site to one piece of your question concerning the soul/spirit distinction. It’s not my words, just biblical definitions and nuances I found. It may interest you, just wanted to let you know.

Now, about the Bible…I started reading the Bible for guidance at age 11. I had a New Living Bible (a paraphrase) which helped me to more easily understand. I’d tried many times to read King James and just couldn’t get through it. It wasn’t until I was 26 before I began to dig, to look into the meaning and context of the books. It has been an amazing ride. I learned I had misunderstood much from being spoon-fed. I needed to find the answers for myself. I’m 46 and have just barely scratched the surface. But it’s been the most enlightening study I have ever embarked upon, and I LOVE to study.

My parents and grandparents led me to the Lord. They were all ministers of some sort. I loved what they modeled and wanted to live the same.

Your questions are great. Thanks for the prodding to get me thinking, it’s been good.

You story, an inspiring one, points out the difference between the words religion and faith. One is just a label the other describes how people lead their lives.

We share in having found our way in life after reaching the bottom of the well. I think knowing what despair feels like helps to inspire us to keep that faith we have found in our lives every minute of every day.

Sometimes this can be hard work but the taking the easy path is no fun.

Children learn not by the words their parents speak to them but by seeing how their mothers and fathers live their lives. This is a lesson that your parents learned and have passed down to you as you have to your children.

Keep up the good work!

To answer the questions in your post: I thought about it and really there’s a lot to my personal experiences of becoming a Christian. You can read the more detailed version in my “me” section on my blog but the short version is I grew up in a Muslim home and worshipped a god that never responded to me. It didn’t matter what I did, how I acted, what I said, where my heart was, it was never enough. I came to America for college and was surrounded by Christian friends. I believe the seed was planted right there. I had my first church experience with my boyfriend [now husband] my SR in college. Another seed planted. I believe my best friend/spiritual sister was the one who inspired me in terms of human inspiration. I saw the joy she had and I wanted to know what it was about. She was and has always been an awesome witness to me. But if I really think about it, my inspiration really wasn’t all that human. It was the darkness that I had been experiencing for 24 plus years of my life. It was the loss of hope and the increased depression from childhood abuse. It was the feelings of despair and the lack of joy that inspired me to know more about Him.

I got saved on January 31st 2006. The day I got saved, I started reading the New Testament. Note that before I was saved, I did go to church and “heard” scripture being read but did not neccessarily take any of it in. It wasn’t until after I got saved that I actually sat down and read the Word. So my coming to Christ wasn’t based on what I read in the Bible perse, it was based on the Spirit of God that I had a divine encounter with. Anyway, you cannot imagine how the Word spoke to me during that time. I couldn’t put it down. The joy, the peace, the hope that I experienced is undescribable. The healing that I experienced from a long time illness that I was going through was amazing.

And ever since, moments in my life where things have been uncertain or I have needed answers, I have read the Word and received answers. Whether it was on how to pray about a situation, or whether to be still, or how to respond, or how to act. God has been faithful to give the answer through His Word. I have been sick and God has directed me to promises concerning His healing in His Word. I have been hopeless and He has directed me to scripture concerning Him being our hope and our salvation. I have been confused and He has directed me to scripture concerning wisdom. I have been scared and He has directed me to scripture concerning fear not being of Him and that He has give me a spirit of power, love and sound mind. His Word is truly living. After having spent 24 years of my life not knowing Him, I can truly vouch for that.

Have a blessed day!