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Last January, life brought a lot of change all at once and I had a very difficult time coping with it. I am a full time student working on my master's degree, my wife and I decided to try to have a baby, I changed positions at work, and my marriage was 'just going'... We were also chasing the cheetah using Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University to get out of debt. Things are going great right? Not so much...
I fell into a depression trying to cope with so much change all at once and trying to manage it on my own. The first night of school back in September, I met Jim. We happened to work for the same company and found out that we had been in some corporate meetings together. We chatted about Dave Ramsey that night and I told him how it's changed our lives even though "we're not really church people".
In February, everything started to buckle under the pressure. My wife and I have had lots of discussions about life and how we both seemed to be missing something. We have spent so much time on school and work, we were stuck in an endless loop of wondering why we were not content with our lives. When I told this story to Jim, he invited us to Reality which couldn't have come at a better time. My wife and I began attending church for the first time in our lives on February 5th, 2012. On February 12, 2012, I gave me life to Christ, asked for forgivenes of my sins, and asked him to come into my life!
Since then, I have the exact same challenges as before but I have never been happier and confident to face the trials of the day. Steve's five week topical sessions are fantastic and every week on the way home, my wife says "I don't know how he does it but Steve talked all about exactly what I've been dealing with this week". Julie's spirit and her beatiful voice can fill the room with energy and love from her first note to her last along with a very talented band beside her.
Reality, you have been exactly what I didn't know I was searching for.
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| - Attender since 2012 |
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I was an abuser.
I abused drugs, alcohol, people and myself.
I always had an ulterior motive for everything I did, basically, what is in this for me.
Of course, I hid this from everyone, including myself.
I was lonely, angry and scared.
I was lost.
I found Jesus by accident, or so it appeared to me.
Looking back, I can see the over arching agenda God has always had for my life.
I didn’t have an immediate “ah ha” moment and then all of those things instantly disappeared. It was a process in which those parts of the horrible “old” me died away; sometimes peacefully and sometimes with a fight.
Now;
I don’t abuse drugs, alcohol, people or myself.
I love others and I love me.
I am happy AND joyful, not angry.
I am far from the completeness that God has in store for me, but I continue to run the race to be as Christ like as possible with my words, actions, thoughts and deeds.
Thank you Jesus for rescuing me. |
| - Attender Since 2006 |
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I was raised going to church and I'd always believed in God, that was until my marriage fell apart and believed that God didn't exist at all. I never had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ until I found Reality Church.
2005 was both the worst year and the best year of my life. My husband's drinking had literally driven me away and when I left him I became very rebellious. While I was going through the things of our marriage, I threw away all of my "religious" items. I no longer believed that God existed because if he did why was I going through this crap.
After I left, I started doing things spontaneously with no regard to how it would affect me afterwards. I had an affair, I was drinking myself, which is ironic since that's what drove me from my marriage, I vowed to commit suicide, because everyone else would be better off without me, and turned my back on my family and God. I went back only to leave again. I went back and left again. While gone for the third time, I agreed to go to marriage counseling. BRUTAL is all I can say about that.
In the interim, my husband had referred himself for substance abuse counseling and had quit drinking. A little too late as far as I was concerned. Anyway, he had gone to another church and been baptized after he quit drinking, which I had wanted him to do for years, again a little too late. After counseling, I definitely saw a change in my husband but I couldn't find it in me to forgive the years of emotional abandonment. Eventually I moved back home, and my husband had been attending a little church at a movie theater. Funny thing is it's the same church I wanted him to try with me before all hell broke loose. I decided that I would give it one last ditch effort to keep our marriage together.
Reality Church not only saved my marriage, but saved my life as well. You see, it wasn't until Steve spoke about the parable of the Prodigal Son did I get how much I meant to God. My life has been different ever since. We've forgiven each other and recently celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. |
| - Attender Since 2005 |
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I don't even know where to begin! I have grown so much in just four years since attending Reality Church. There is a wonderful support system at Reality that helps me in my walk with the Lord and shows me how to better serve him. This church and its wonderful leadership allow me to feel free and loved and yet teaches me that there are boundaries and limits.
The opportunities at Reality are limitless. No matter what your gift, there is a place for you to serve God here. I have learned how to speak to others about the love of Jesus (Just Walk Across the Room). In Journey Groups we not only learn about God's word, we are able to safely and securely speak about how it impacts our personal lives while making life long friendships.
I have seen first hand the miracle of how a few people who are truly dedicated to spreading the Good News can bring 10,000 people into a park on a Saturday afternoon. At Reality I am encouraged to do things to serve God that I never thought I could do and I realize that my life experiences have been leading and preparing me just for this role.
And if all that isn't enough, the examples set and the lessons learned at Reality have brought my husband and me closer spiritually and emotionally with a new level of love and understanding and patience - even though we have been married for nearly 46 years we are always growing at Reality. I am so very grateful that the Lord brought us to this amazing church. |
| - Attender Since 2008 |