| Author | Message | ||
| Olga Registered user Username: Olga Post Number: 18 Registered: 11-2005 |
Hi everyone, I just found out my parents will be flying in Monday night; they will stay w/us for a while, a month, two, more? I'm ok with that since I love them and they miss the grandchildren. I'll need prayers and God's wisdom to know what to do and say as they are SDA--eventually they will see that I don't attend any church and they will ask. I don't plan on telling them anything this week about my experience with the church/EGW, etc, (I'm just looking for a stress-free Christmas holiday if that is possible). As I said on another post, I'm dreading telling them even though I'm a grown-up woman. I just know this will be hard for them to hear and accept, I know they'll think I'm taking my children down the wrong path. Anyways, I'm kinda freakin' out about it and can't look forward to the holidays and beyond so please pray for me and my folks as well. Thank you!!!!! | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 3082 Registered: 12-2003  |
Olga, I will certainly pray for you to have great wisdom and courage and love--and that your parents will have open hearts. Dear Father, please give Olga peace in her heart over this impending visit. Please give her courage and wisdom, and help Your presence to be more real to her than is her parents' possible criticism. Please help her to rest in You, to rejoice in your birth and sacrifice, to celebrate Your gift with an open heart. And please help her parents to see the difference in Olga and to be open to knowing You and the truth of the gospel in ways they have not known You. Thank you for holding Olga and her family close to You, and thank You for being with her through all this. In Jesus name, Amen | ||
| Javagirl Registered user Username: Javagirl Post Number: 117 Registered: 6-2005 |
Olga, I will definetely pray! I can identify with this situation. Ill be around family for an extended time as well at Christmas. I have agonized about what to say to my family, and worried about the timing... (Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phil 4:6) Every time I have been prepared to discuss my "beliefs" with them, something has come up to stall the conversation...("For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8.) God HAS given me opportunity to share my FAITH with them, if not my doctrinal understanding. Maybe thats the point. (In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matt 5:16 ) A devotional that helped me with this comes from Nancy McGuirk, The REST of Your Life. Many Christians worry about friends or loved ones who do not know Jesus...We take it upon ourselves to tell our unsaved loved ones what we have that they don't...... The best way to witness for Christ is to be more concerned about our OWN faith than the lack of it in someone else's life. By spending time in God's presence daily we will become more like Christ, more yielded and filled the the Spirit. If we follow the Spirit's guidance, He will lead us into opportunities in which Christ's love and light will flow through us to another person who doesn't know Him. We should pray for God to provide a setting and time of His choosing when that person is hungry to hear the truth... An effective witness for Christ means sharing Christ's love in the power of the Spirit and leaving the results to God. Therefore, the best way to prepare to be a witness is by getting to know Christ better and being guided and empowered by Him on a moment-by morent basis. There is only one Savior, and the more faithful we are to Him , the more clearly others can see Him and come to desire Him for theselves. ANYWAY, ....having quoted and believed all that, the temptation to worry and try to plan out the perfect strategy for presenting the "truth", and the tendency to run various scenarios thru my head, still pops up repeatedly... SO OLGA, I will pray that we both quit "kinda freakin'out"  , and that we will trust and rest in the faithfulness of God. And I will pray for your folks as well. Hugs JavaGirl | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 2105 Registered: 3-2004  |
Olga and JavaGirl, I have put both of you on my prayer list. God, You are the Almighty, the I AM, please be with these ladies while they are in the presence of their families. May your love shine through them to their SDA families. Guide their conversations and thoughts and may Your will be done at all times. Hold them in your awesome hands at this time. Diana | ||
| Snowboardingmom Registered user Username: Snowboardingmom Post Number: 12 Registered: 11-2005 |
Olga and JavaGirl, I will definitely be praying too. I know exactly how you feel -- it was me in anticipation of Thanksgiving. I was pretty stressed about it. For me it was a little different. It was the first time seeing my family since I had already vocalized my doubts and concerns with SDA teaching. I knew for sure that our Thanksgiving visit home would be filled with efforts in trying to bring us back. It turned out not to be at all. In fact, there were many times I thought the topic was going to come up, and it quickly disintegrated when a distraction came (like the phone ringing, baby crying, etc.) The time wasn't right I guess. God does create opportunities though. That's what happened when I told my parents. In my head, I had decided that I wouldn't tell them about it until I knew for sure, 100% what I believed (which I figured would be a long time from now). God had different plans. I was talking to them one evening (actually Friday night -- Sabbath), and my parents point-blank asked me what I felt about the Church. Completely out of the blue, and off the topic. Whoa. Well, I had two choices. I could lie to protect them from hurt, or share what I really felt and hope it was the right time. So I proceeded to talk to them about it. It was so perfect. Not perfect in that they were okay with it (they definitely did not expect to hear what I said), but perfect in the setting. It caught me so off guard that I just spoke from the heart. It wasn't rehearsed (like it probably would have been had I known we were going to talk about it), it was just genuine. And the Bible texts were so fresh in my mind from all the recent study, that I was able to retrieve them easily. My parents response? Well, they panicked and told me that I shouldn't make any decisions just yet. And that maybe they should get me 3ABN (my parents are huge 3ABN and Amazing Facts fans) so that my questions could be answered from a 'biblical perspective' -- ie...SDA perspective. Bless their hearts. Since then I have been praying for them (as I'm sure they are praying for me). Well here's where the testimony part kicks in (I've been wanting to share this all week, but haven't had the chance). My mom called me last Tuesday and said, "Guess what I did this last Sunday?" Having no clue, I told her I didn't know. She proceeded to tell me how she decided to visit a Sunday Church!! I just about dropped the phone. My parents have NEVER set foot in a Sunday Church before. It was a non-denominational church that rents out their SDA church on Sunday. She said that they were surprisingly very nice and accepting even though she was not a member there, and she mentioned a joy that she hasn't often seen in an SDA church. I was trying not to laugh when she said that she was surprised that the sermon was mostly right . Ironically, the sermon was about having the assurance of salvation. Here's the most amazing part. She said that although she didn't really agree with all of what the pastor said, she was going to go back and visit again!! She said everyone was so warm and friendly, and if anything, it made her want to study more so she could recognize where the pastor was wrong . I said very little about it. I figured that it looked like God had it under pretty good control, I didn't need to add to it at that time. I have no idea what my parents motives are for doing this. Maybe it's to better understand me in my walk right now, or to look for the wrongs of Sunday churches. Whatever works. Little does she know that the Holy Spirit is all primed and ready to go. I am so excited about this, I can't even begin to tell you. And shocked. If you knew my parents, you would realize that this is a miracle. Nothing else explains it. Anyway, the whole point of this long post is that if God wants the opportunity to happen, believe me it will happen. And when things fall under His time table and plan...wow, look out...be prepared to be amazed!! | ||
| Snowboardingmom Registered user Username: Snowboardingmom Post Number: 13 Registered: 11-2005 |
Oh, and one more thing just to top off how amazing God puts things all together... My mom's phone call couldn't have come at a better time. It was during that time (this last week), when I was so overcome by doubts (hence when I posted about "Doubts that Spread"). I was so incredibly discouraged. In my mind I was ready to be done with it all, and just not deal with it anymore. I wanted to quit the searching, quit the questioning, quit it all. And then this... Praise the Lord that God doesn't give up on me like I wanted to with Him. What a patient God we serve. I'm a constant mess, and yet He still wants me. | ||
| Randyg Registered user Username: Randyg Post Number: 88 Registered: 12-2004 |
Dear Friends, As many of you know, I came out of the closet(?) with my letter to my church and family about 4 weeks ago. Over the Christmas season I have met up with many of these dear friends at the Academy where my wife teaches and my 2 youngest attend. Most don't know what to think or say. My approach has been to make a point of greeting each and every one of them and thanking them for their friendship and my appreciation of them. I can honestly say that all of them have appeared relieved that I broke the ice. Some have expressed sadness that I have left, and I quickly pointed out that I was right there and was happy to share or help in any way I can. They will see in your demeanor a new found sense of purpose and freedom, and a loving assertiveness that is rarely seen in Adventism. They will see that you no longer have your guard up about what everybody will think about this or that. Living with integrity and honesty in spiritual matters will in itself cause those you come in contact with to reflect on what they believe, and why they believe it. Many can not stand the thought that what they have always believed to be truth might actually be error. This is a very frightening thought when they have not done the study, or searched the scriptures,to see for themselves the beauty of Grace unfolded in front of them. When pretense, ritual, and tradition are set aside, for many Adventists there is not much left, unless those voids can be filled peace, love, and joy. These are the byproduct of accepting Grace, and not trying to earn our way to heaven. As my friend Pastor Tim pointed out to me regarding this very topic of sharing. "This will be an exciting challenge for you". My thought was "if he only knew". Please remember that our job is to "live the fruits of the Spirit". Let God do His work in His time. Being patient will of course be a challenge. Blessed be the tie that binds, Randy | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 2108 Registered: 3-2004 |
Snowboardingmom, Randy and all who read this, I am always awed by how God works. Thank You God for presenting the opportunities to tell others, especially SDAs about You and Your love for us. Thank You for Jesus. Diana |
