The story......

So I was sidetracked the other day and when I came back to the blog I'd lost my train of thought. But I'm back today and think I'm on the right train. haha This is going to have to be told in chunks or else it will be one big long blog posting.

So I am a Christian, raising my kids in a Christian church, with a Christian family on one side and Catholic on the other. My journey started when I was in high school and a good friend invited me to youth group. Simple enough right. But to backtrack a little, it truly stated with a Christian club called Visions in my hometown. I started going with my step-brother and it was fun. We had music for the first few hours and then the last hour was a small bible study/lesson. Each week someone would get up and tell their story of how they became a Christian, how their life was before and after and how they walk the walk now while fighting obstacles. It was what I needed. then my step-brother started attending the church that was associated with the club and whenever possible I tagged along. I was seeking but it wasn't my place yet.

This is where my friend comes in. I'd known Josh since freshman year and he and I hung out a lot. He invited me to his youth group on Wednesday night and I thought - why not? So I went and found I knew a few people there and not just from my old school. There were people from my new school and other schools as well. But it felt like the right place for me. I love the bible lessons we learned and even acting out things thanks to the goofy youth minister. He never thought about that person being embarrassed about being put on the spot. If you were there you did something. Ii was great. I started attending church there and loved it even if it wasn't the Catholic church service I was used to. But it was where all my good friends were.

Enter the boyfriend/ future husband and fellow Christian believer. I invite him to attend with me and he finds it ok but its not the right place for him. So I end up moving over to his church and youth Sunday school. But I'm still going to my youth group when I can if I'm not working. This new church becomes my church home in 1999 when we got married. My kids were dedicated here and we continued to attend for 5 years after we moved an hour away. Its even where I finally got baptized a little over a year ago. I love the people there, I miss the people there and the connection we have. And now I have to try and find that over again.

Now here is the background of my life up until the baptism. I am from a family that was Catholic. I say was because we went to church up until I was in 4th grade. i had my first communion, went to CCD, Sunday school and mass weekly. Then something happened and we stopped going. In 6th grade my parent split, but got back together in 7th grade and we moved. This is where my troubles started. I met a guy who I thought the world of, and older guy who liked me and would hang out with me. At the age of 13 one summer day things went to far. And not thinking anything of it I continued living like that for a long time. A very long time. It took another good friend of mine making a promise with me to wait until marriage the straighten me out. That and my parents divorcing, giving me the opportunity to move away and start over. That was sophomore year the divorce happened and by the end of that year I moved in with my mom.

I knew I needed something more in my life and that came during the time between the divorce and my moving. I found my faith. I also realized that where I was wasn't the best place or situation for me to be in. This is where Visions and my friend come in.