Letter 29

Hello Shay,

What a wonderful web page you have! You are such a loving, caring person. Well maybe you can give me some advice, advice that I have been needing for some time now! To start, I am 23 and I have a 3 year old son, Gabriel is his name. He is my life! God surely gave this child to me for many reasons. He has made me such a better person! Since I had Gabe I have really been interested in going back to church, however I really never have grown up in the church environment. Of course, I was taught to believe in God & Jesus Christ, but we never attended church regularly. I have had many problems for the past 2 years, and just recently I've had these voices in my head, "Go to God". Does this mean church? I really want to find a good church to attend, I always seem to put it off on Sundays though. I need some kind of push to just get up and go to a church! I try to pray as much as I can. I know I should every day of my life. I read the Bible & try to get a handle on it, so instead I bought "The Book". It has easier language! I pray and tell God how much I love OUR son Gabriel and how much happiness he brings into my life. I just wish I could be like you and pray for everything and everyone. I did lay down one night with the lights off and prayed so hard and asked God if he could show me a sign that he heard me. I have never before in my life felt so good after that prayer. It felt like he put his hand on my head. I immediately started to cry, but I felt good! Weird, huh? Well, as for the advice, how do I find a good church that will welcome me in? Is it wrong to love your child so much that if anything happened to that child you couldn't go on living? Thank you so much for listening to me. You are a true angel, Shay!

Thank you so much for the compliments! It makes me feel so good when people have good things to say about my site. As for the church issue...

I'm Catholic. Depending on how busy I am, I go to mass as often as I can. I usually get there once a week, sometimes two or three times, but sometimes I can't make it at all. However, I was born in to the church and that makes things a little easier. My father is a dedicated Catholic who goes to mass every day and he brought me to mass every Sunday when I was a little boy. So, its just a habit for me to go to mass. I don't necessarily feel a guilt-driven need to go, but I know that after I've been to mass, I definitely feel better about the world and my place in it. And I know that that is the kind of feeling you're looking for, too. Plus, the community feeling is quite nice and when you're in church its like everybody in there is a possible new friend. So, I greatly admire your desire to go to church. My advice for picking a church is simple:

Find one near you that is based around beliefs that you can easily relate and adhere to. Aesthetics aren't so important so much as you getting what you need from what is said during the service. Another tip I'd like to pass on to you as well as all of my readers is a book called Beginning Again.

I was watching TV early one Sunday a few months ago and caught a wonderful televised service led by pastor D. James Kennedy. He presides over a church in Florida and he wrote a wonderful little manual called Beginning Again. Its for people who are new to the Christian religion. I thought it would be interesting to read, even though I'm a veteran of Catholicism. I received the book a month ago and just started reading it last week. It is WONDERFUL. Lots of great information, lots of great MOTIVATION. It also contains a great catalyst for starting you on your discovery of the awesome lessons of the Bible. Its free and can be ordered by writing to:

Coral Ridge Ministries, P.O. Box 40, Ft.Lauderdale, FL 33302

What you need to remember most when finding a church is to find a place where you ENJOY the services. A lot of people are satisfied to go to church and sleep through everything. This is not really how its supposed to be experienced. So find a place where you enjoy what is being said and what you are participating in.

Church is a great thing, but the best thing about it is that you get closer to other wonderful people as you get closer to God. Even being near other joyful God-loving people will put you in a happier, more faith-filled mood.

Good luck on your journey toward spiritual fulfillment. I'll be praying for you.