Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Beginnings

"The world doesn't need to see how perfect we are: it needs to see how powerful God is. People don't need to see how Christians never have any problems and never make any mistakes; they need to see how God is bigger than our problems and more powerful than our mistakes." -Donna Partow

I really like this statement that Donna Partow made, because before I knew Christ I thought Christians were such perfect people. Oh, how wrong was I.

I grew up in a non-Christian home. My parents did send us kids to Sunday School, but they only went on Christmas and Easter. I quit going to church when I was 12. At that time the adults I knew that went to church, did one thing on Sunday and were different rest of the week. So, I decided I didn't want to be like them. I will say that I always believed in God and believed that Christ was his son. As I look back at my life I see God was always there even during the bad times.

Now, I won't say that my life was all bad growing up because it wasn't. But, life was a roller coaster ride. Never knew from day to day what would or could set off my mom and her temper. If things didn't go her way or us kids did something that would set her off, she didn't spank, and sometimes I thought that would have been better, than her tongue lashings. I learned very young to be as good as possible, but I was labeled as a bad child, so it seemed that no matter how good I tried to be, somehow I still got into trouble.(some of which a younger sister provoked). My dad was pretty even tempered, but even he never stopped my mom's tirades. I thought this was going to be easy to write about , but it is a little tougher than I thought, it would be.

I think I need to back up a little. Some back ground. Was raised by my mom and stepdad(he was & still is a good dad). My stepdad was husband number 3 for my mom. She had my half brothers in her first marriage, then her and my dad had me and my sister. No children from third marriage. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago.

This is only the beginning.

In Faith,
Deb

3 comments:

WaynO said...

Deb, I really believe what you have just discovered. I personally am pulled in a hundred directions and that is the largest purpose in me trying to do my personal mission statement. Hopefully it will focus what I do and don't do so I will be better at getting things accomplished that will glorify the Lord. WaynO
PS I can't get my comments to show up at Shelmar either.

Editor and Publisher Shelly Burke said...

Hi Deb--
Thanks for sharing. That is a great quote! Sometimes I think it's amazing how messed up childhoods can turn into very positive and inspirational adult-hoods--you are proof and so is my husband!!!

P.S. Pastor Wayne--your comments have been "approved" and now show up on the Shelmar Publications blog! THANKS! :-)

Debra said...

Wayne,
At this moment I feel I have direction. Glory and praise to God. It's amazing what ya hear, when you are still for a moment. "Be still and know that I am God." He tells us to be still. We need to do that more often.

Shelly,
I have been asked why God lets bad things happen, it can be a hard concept and for those of us that believe it's still confusing sometimes. But, it all works for God glory.