Monday, February 13, 2012

first time

I went to church yesterday... for the first time.  Ever.  I have been a believer my whole life, always known God and always had a relationship with Him.  As a child we didn't go to church and after I got married, we (as a couple) did not go to church.  After having children I found a wonderful group through the church where we meet twice a month for fellowship.  I still didn't attend Sunday's service.  I had many excuses but then I realized fear was what was holding me back.  I knew I wanted to get there but being the insecure person that I am, I didn't want to go alone.  I tried many times to get my husband to go but it never worked out.  So today a good friend of ours, Jessica, came with me.  It was awesome!  My only regret is that I wish I would have started going sooner.  It was a beautiful service, the music touched me, the pastor is wonderful, the message spoke to me, and best of all I left feeling full.  Today's message was love.  One of my favorite!

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; loves does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4

My sister and I read this at my brothers wedding 12 years ago without really completely  knowing what it all meant.  We were 21 at the time and I was still in the stage of figuring out who I was.  I thought I knew love but the love I thought I knew was not the love this verse speaks of.  Having true love and experiencing love from deep within, I get it now.  It is not lust, a feeling, it is love, a lifestyle.  I can honestly say for the last 11 years with Anthony, it has been the easiest relationship ever.  I am in a happy marriage because we are patient with each other; we speak kind to each other; we are not jealous, instead we encourage and support each other's accomplishments.  We know we are imperfect; we act and speak with love and gratitude towards each other; we know that with God, all things can be worked through with a good result.

We also touched on the 5 Love Languages.
~Words of affirmation
~Quality Time
~Physical Touch
~Acts of Service
~Receiving Gifts
I read the book a few months ago with really high hopes of learning how to speak directly to my husband in his own love language.  When I finished the book I was actually more confused.  I thought I knew my language and I thought I knew his.  It turns out we both have 2 equal languages but not the same ones.  We both need to learn each other's language.  Learning a new language as an adult can be difficult but the end result is so worth it.



I got lucky with this guy I married.  I thank God everyday for providing me with such a blessing.
Tomorrow is Valentines day, a day that gives us another reason to celebrate our love for each other.  I know a lot of people feel like the day is overly commercialized but we look at it as an extra special day to make a point of expressing love.

FindingBeautyintheOrdinary.com
Linking up where my cup is 1/2 full

21 comments:

  1. I love this post! We are looking for a church to attend as a family, I'm really hoping we find one soon. So glad that you went & that you loved it!

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  2. I love this...we are looking to find a new church as a family, but I keep dragging my feet. We've gone to church our whole lives but for some reason I'm terrified to try and find a NEW church. I loved this post! And I am so glad you went yesterday.

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  3. You and your husband are so cute.

    Tab

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  4. i am a HUGE believer in the love languages and know it will bring immense joy to your marriage. and i am so happy to hear Karen you went to church, maybe Satan was causing you to fear going before but you fought him off and you went!!

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  5. Really good post. I love going to church. I went as a child,as a teenager I wanted nothing to do with it.But Once I had kids I knew God just had to be real. It took me many,many years to talk my husband into going to church.Once I finally did he loved it. Unfortunately sometime last year I decided I wanted to try a smaller church and he will not go with me. Now we don't go at all :(

    I think this is great for you and I pray you will gain another support system through church.
    :)

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  6. so glad you enjoyed church!! True that you don;t need church to be a believer but it sure does help you grow ;)

    My love lang. is words of affirmation...I wasn't shocked by that I was a little shocked to learn my husbands...but it really does make a difference knowing how someone feels loved!!

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  7. I have been to church since we moved here... it has been a year and a half. I need to just get some of your courage and go.

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  8. Loved everything about your post!

    Good for you on taking that step and going to church!

    following!

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  9. I'm glad that God has brought you to this point in your life! Church is such a wonderful place; time solely devoted to worshiping your Savior and doing it with others who believe the same thing!

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  10. Way to go girlfriend :) Church shopping makes shoe shopping look EASY. I'm so glad you enjoyed the service. I too need to get connected to a church...but moving so frequently makes that difficult! My fault though. Thanks for the reminder :) xoxo

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  11. Oh wow, we are really so much alike.... it's like you spoke my mind Karen! Thank you for truly "getting it" in your life and for writing this post so I can remember that I "get it" too. I needed that today!

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  12. I just read your about me section. What a positive outlook you have. You truly are an inspiration!
    And I'm so happy you found a church. It was a month that I havent been able to go to church, but finally went back again yesterday and nothing can compare the refreshing sense of Christ being there again. Its deff a thing to look forward to each week :-)
    Found you thru the link up at Heather's
    xoxo TJ

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  13. So beautiful, thanks for sharing Karen. I loved what you wrote about love...and good for you for finally getting to church xo

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  14. I love that picture of you two...so romantic!

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  15. Beautiful pic. Did you and Jessica go to Riverview? Good for you guys!

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  16. i love this. going to church and then lunch with my hubs on sunday is one of my favorite things to do... it really gets my weeks off to a great start!

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  17. beautiful pic and i am so so proud of you for going!!!! we have had a hard time getting plugged into a church out here. back home we were so involved and it was like family. i understand how hard it is to go by yourself. i usually avoid it!! thanks so much for linking up, dear friend!!

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  18. Hi Karen,

    Thanks so much for your lovely comments over at my blog earlier today! I'm so glad I got a chance to read your blog today. This is a beautiful post (and pic) and a wonderful reminder that no matter what's going on in our lives, we need to always be grateful for the things that really matter in life - first and foremost, love. Very inspirational indeed and a perfect share for Valentine's day!

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  19. i'm so glad you took that first step and thanks for bravely sharing it with us.
    xo

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  20. Thanks for sharing...though by the title I was hoping for something a bit 'juicier'! LOL!!

    Seriously though super excited that you went to church, the fullness feeling is awesome right!?! So happy for you. Hope the whole family goes this Sunday...I know the kids (and Anthony) will love it. Grant loves church (keeping in mind his 'church' is just playtime with other kids his age at church).

    XOXO
    Beck

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  21. it's so awesome that you decided to go!!! i have been to church all my life, and loved it as a kid, then i got to the youth group, and it was different. i didn't like big changes and it was kinda big for me. so i stopped going. then things changed with the youth group. i had to kind of re-meet everyone, because i hadn't seen them in a while. well this has kinda gotton off track, but my point is, church was awesome-is awesome, and God brought me back, and i'm so glad He did. and i'm super glad that you went too.

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