becoming a member.

these last four days have left me at a loss for words.

this past Sunday's service at church marked the first day of a 4-day revival.

first off, i should probably give you a little background..

cliff and i have been raised up in two different churches our entire lives.

"mine", so to speak, is a small, non-demoninational church.

whereas "his", is considered "The Baptist" church of our community.

their members probably quadruple the amount that we have at ours.

mine has never been overflowing with youth.

it's walls contain members my parents age or older, for the vast majority.

of course, this doesn't matter in the eyes of the Lord.

just as long as we are all there for one main purpose.. and that is to worship Him.

but to Cliff and I, we struggle there with people of "our" age.

there aren't many, if any at all, that are recently married.

in all essence, we long for a place to call "home".

a place to be involved.

a place to go and chat about certain issues with people who are going thru and experiencing the same things as us.

at the Baptist church, we've found that.

it's been a long time coming, but i've been struggling with the issue of "transferring" my membership to this partcular church.

it's not about them gaining "another" member.

it's not about them "winning me over".

it's not a game, per se, at all.

did you know that this actually crosses some folks minds?

we honestly like it here.

the Lord spoke to me over these last four days.

Monday night, again Tuesday night, and last night I made my way down to the altar to pray.

something I had never done before.

I've knelt at the altar to pray during Christmas communion each year and as I was saved during Christian camp.

But, walking to the altar, alone, was a big move for me.

The Lord was powerful. I found my heart beating harder with every word the guest Pastor would pour out.

this feeling I had never felt before.

it was so intense that I knew without a doubt that the Lord was speaking directly to me.

the Pastor nailed it when he asked the simple question, "are you a benchwarmer or a player on the field?"

it hit me. my stomach fell.

i am a benchwarmer.

i never before had gotten up off of my pew (aka "bench") unless it was to stand as a congregation to sing a song of praise.

last night and the two nights before, i was changed.

i was moved by the Lord's spirit.

my final decision was made Tuesday night after discussing things over with Cliff.

last night we made it to the chuch a few minutes early so we could meet with the Pastor before service started to discuss transfer of membership details.

and at the end of worship, cliff and i walked to the front of the church and stood with the Pastor as he announced our/my decision.

the entire church was so kind as to "welcome" me in with warm hugs as i stood at the back door as they each went to leave.

i am proud to say, i am revived.

what a glorious few days it has been!