hi....ive never posted here before...but i wanted to introduce myself to this thread....im still finding my way to god...but lately ive felt his presence in my life so much....ive often thought about checking this thread out...and...well....here i am....nice to meet you all...
There's a Hillsong United song with a line that says "Chains be broken / lives be healed / eyes be opened / Christ is revealed". I think that describes what I hope this thread is and can be... a place to realize we are not prisoners to sin, that Jesus has come to heal our broken lives, and that we might be able to see more clearly his love and incredible compassion. I'm glad you decided to post!
im so glad i found this thread. was only wondering today if there was one. i dont know bout u lot but i find it so much harder being a 'christian' and dealing with the crap that si/sh brings. ibe been strugling with my faith for about a year, stressful job which i love and many other stuff. but recently. somehow, have completely gone off the rails in my life or so it seems. i seem to have turned into a person that i really dont know anymore. doing stuff i never thought possible. but im also very confused. the only thing i really hate is the self harm. im trying to quit. slipped up a little today after being clear for a few weeks. :( when im in church i feel so horrible, awkward, unsure of stuff. you see, im not the model christian youth worker i should be. my outside life does not match up at all with my church life. yet when im away from church - doing stuff, i dont get the condemnation feeling. it feels fine. church and god etc goes out the window which i know deep down should be wrong. i just feel so messed up and dont know what to do anymore. im too scared to ask for help from ppl in the church. im also scared that one day im gonna go too deep. i dont want that. i just want to return back to how i was of that makes any sense. sorry for rambling
Hi, everyone! Just checking in...how are you all?
For all the new people since I've been around, my name is Jacie. Nice to meet you all!
Also...I know this is kind of a longshot, but...I'm looking at colleges to transfer to, and was wondering if any of you are at or know someone at:
1. Messiah College
2. Liberty University
3. Eastern University
Those are my top three. :)
Heather is at Messiah.
A lot of people from Liberty came and worked at the camp I worked at (in Texas). They were all really amazing, cool, genuine believers... It seems like a really great school. "The unlikely disciple" is a book about this guy who goes to Liberty, and ends up discovering that they're not a bunch of religious fanatics, but that they're a group of genuine believers.
I think you should look at it.
bekster, welcome to the thread. i'm sorry you feel like you can't ask anyone at your church for help...many times the people around us see and know more than we think they do. you might be surprised.
unfortunately there is no magic button to press so you can go back to how things used to be. it takes hard work and time, but you won't get there at all unless you start in that direction. take baby steps. find people you can talk to [that's why we're here!]. ask God for help. one of the things He has been teaching me these past few months is that you can always ask for help, no matter how far away or unworthy you're feeling.
and because I have absolutely fallen in love with this song, have some lyrics:
Quote:
the door broke when you slammed it shut,
and the cracks kept reaching long after you left.
through the floorboards, branching towards the hall,
like vines that never rest...
climbing like fire through the walls.
a single spark that claims the whole forest -
i know, i know... it's all for the best.
but honestly, i would rather be
safe from a distance than here...
when i fell to my knees
to sew the damage shut,
i couldn't believe...
a bright, staggering light
came flooding into me
from out of the seams.
so i reached deeper in
and pulled my whole world wide open,
and for each broken mile, a billion
miracles happen at once
in everything... in everything.
but i'm safe from a distance, right here.
everything i love
was made of porcelain,
ready to break.
but the bright, staggering light,
it anxiously waits inside.
like nesting dolls, the secret hides.
and like every birth,
it was a necessary pain...
i know, i know...
it's all worth the wait, worth the weight.
Porcelain, by Sleeping at Last. You can listen to their new album here.
hi all *waves*
i am not very religious.. i drift in and out but i really want to find my faith eventually.
my dad is very religious, he and god are quite close.
hes struggling right now.. and i am wondering.. this may sound so stupid..
but.... if im not sure that i beleive in god.. and i pray to him.. does he hear me? my dad says he anwsers all prayers.. but what if i dont even know if hes there or not?
ok i just sound ridiculous now lol
thanks peoplee
xo
"They say time heals all wounds. I don't agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessons, but it is never gone." - Rose Kennedy
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
as if i just found this!!!
yayayayayyay!! christian thread :)
im a christian/catholic have been all my loveely life :)
and have been SI for bout 2 years
used to go to church heaps but now i dont think i should
i felt bad the first time i didnt go and now :S
i still believe in god and all but, i wish i could be a better person
for him.
heheheheh christian thread
emxxxx
when like gives you hell kick it in the balls and RUN!!!
Hi guys i'm not really sure what i'm looking for here but just wondered if maybe anyone could relate to this.
I'm feeling a little lost and ... I don't know, disconnected from God.
I feel almost like i've forgotten how to pray. It's not something thats ever come naturally to me, but in the past i have had a good prayer life. At the moment i feel like i'm just going through the motions, i go to church i read the bible but i don't feel the emotional connection anymore.
Does this make any sort of sense to anyone?
People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed
only if there is a light from within.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try - Mother Teresa
Hi.
I'm Eloise, i'm 14 and i've been a christian for around 7 years since an old friend told me about her church which i became interested in and asked my parents to go!
My faith has strengthened over the years, i have been pulled closer to God, and no matter what happens, i always turn to him.
At times i have wanted to say 'i hate god', but in my heart i know i still love him so i can never say that!
3 people close to me died in a matter of 2 weeks, and that was the worst time for me - when i was 10 i think.
I told god how much i hated him, but when my grief was gradually healing, i asked god for forgiveness and my bond with him became strangely stronger than before.
Many things have happened since then - i have witenessed nothing short of a miracle (i can't go into detail, but basically something happened that brought 3 families together including mine and we all helped eachother which gave us all such a huge amount of healing from the pain we were feeling before)
God is wonderful to me, and although i have not had a good life recently, and even now, i still wait in anticipation for what is planned for my near future.
All i can do is trust god and be patient.
Anyway, thanks for setting this thread up - i havent read past the 1st page because i didnt have enough time lol.
hi all *waves*
i am not very religious.. i drift in and out but i really want to find my faith eventually.
my dad is very religious, he and god are quite close.
hes struggling right now.. and i am wondering.. this may sound so stupid..
but.... if im not sure that i beleive in god.. and i pray to him.. does he hear me? my dad says he anwsers all prayers.. but what if i dont even know if hes there or not?
ok i just sound ridiculous now lol
thanks peoplee
xo
yes, God knows all the secrets of our hearts. even when we don't pray he is working for our good. but when we pray we allow for the possibility of God coming into our hearts. so don't be afraid to pray, he will hear every word no matter how uncertain you are. because ultimately prayer is more about God than it is about us.
Hi guys i'm not really sure what i'm looking for here but just wondered if maybe anyone could relate to this.
I'm feeling a little lost and ... I don't know, disconnected from God.
I feel almost like i've forgotten how to pray. It's not something thats ever come naturally to me, but in the past i have had a good prayer life. At the moment i feel like i'm just going through the motions, i go to church i read the bible but i don't feel the emotional connection anymore.
Does this make any sort of sense to anyone?
sometimes we experience dryness in prayer. it's very natural and can either lead us to give up on prayer or we can use it to come closer to God. keep praying, keep going through the motions. don't worry about feeling great zeal ro affection, these are gifts which are God's to grant and we shouldn't try to control them. be open to God in this dryness and he will lead you through it. it's a matter or trust, time and perseverance. perhaps you'd also like to try different types of prayer, so if you usually use set written prayers, try meditating, or the other way round.
yes, God knows all the secrets of our hearts. even when we don't pray he is working for our good. but when we pray we allow for the possibility of God coming into our hearts. so don't be afraid to pray, he will hear every word no matter how uncertain you are. because ultimately prayer is more about God than it is about us.
thanks so much, ill keep trying *hug*
"They say time heals all wounds. I don't agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessons, but it is never gone." - Rose Kennedy
I just got back from christian camp on friday, and it was the most amazing thing ever ever ever. I learnt so much, about how much God loves us, and what he's done for us and all sorts of things. One thing that really hit me is that there is nothing, no sin or disgusting act, that we could possibly do to make God love us any less or screw up what he has done. And thats so encouraging, because I always worry that SI and my ED, which aren't things I can control very easily, will distance me from God and mean that I can't be close to him and so it's really reassuring to think that Jesus died whilst we were still sinners, not when we were being good people and so no matter what I've done, I can be loved by God. Even when I'm not loving myself.
I don't even know what I'm trying to get at. It was just amazing. And my dorm leaders were the loveliest, loveliest people ever. I'm really sad to have left them. I guess we all question mental illness as a kind of inbetween thing...not quite illness, not quite sin. Or maybe that's just me. But like..knowing that I can make the stupidest decisions in my life, and that if it isn't what God wants then it won't work therefore I can't screw my life up completely, well thats really good to know. It had never really hit me before how incredible what God does for us is, but he has done the most amazing things for me, and I'm so grateful.
Ahhh :)
"That is why, for Christ's sake,
I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships,
in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong"
(2 Corinthians 12:13)
there is nothing, no sin or disgusting act, that we could possibly do to make God love us any less
Love this! So true. I'm glad you had such a great time. I'm gonna steal this and put it in my signature if you don't mind. Such truth. It's a real reminder, thanks for sharing!
In church on sunday I was reminded that all we need is Jesus. We have all we need to live and to do what God has planned for us. Nothing more, no special prayers, no crufixes, no amazing study bibles... Just Jesus.
Also I'd love peoples ideas on this subject.... I read a book called Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado and on 17th August it read the following
' "Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given me, that they be one as We are." John 17:11
"May they all be one," Jesus prayed. One. Not one in groups of two thousand. But one in One. One church. One faith. One Lord. Not Baptist, not Methodist, not Adventist. Just Christians. No denominations. No hierarchies. Not traditions. Just Christ.
Too idealistic? Impossible to achieve? I don't think so. Harder things have been done, you know. For example, once upon a tree, a Creator gave his life for his creation. Maybe all we need are a few hearts that are willing to follow suit.
What about you? Can you build a bridge? Toss a rope? Span a chasm? Pray for oneness? '
What do people think about this??
I grew up in an Anglican church and have often thought about going along to other churches to see how we differ. But my problem is where do i draw the line? What are sects/ cults? Are Quakers Christians? Christian Scientologist? etc etc etc....
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