Broken Faith

Chapter 2

 

I woke up early that Sunday morning. I needed to spend sometime meditating before I went to church. I fixed a pot of tea, grabbed my bible, and turned on my favorite song Lord, I Need You. I needed sometime to myself before church. I needed to think. I needed to know God's will for the situation.

 

Before I knew it Uncle Dave was making breakfast. He was full of surprises.  Something smells good. I am glad you approve. Now sit down here and eat before it gets cold. We will soon have to go to church. You are going to need your strength.

 

Sunday School started at 10:00am. I taught the Adult Sunday School class. I grabbed my church bag and checked to make sure that I had put the announcements and prayer list in. I could see Uncle Dave was waiting by the car. I grabbed my sweater, purse, car keys, and headed to the car. Uncle Dave always wanted to get to church extra early.

 

When we arrived at church I took my bags to the Adult Sunday School room. Then I went to the Sanctuary for opening. Uncle Dave was busy getting ready to lead the opening. I sat down at the piano and started playing some of my songs for service. I liked to practice the songs before people arrived.

 

I couldn't help but think about what was going on. How could two people have such a hold on others in the church? The Sunday School lesson was about working together. Once I finished teaching it was time for me to head to the Sanctuary for Worship. Uncle Dave handed out the bulletins, rang the bell, and took the offering. He had done that as long as I could remember.

 

Sue Culvert came in to the Sanctuary. She always looked like she was going to the Kentucky Derby or it was Easter Sunday. She always wore a hat, high heals, a dress or skirt and top. She looked down on anyone that didn't dress like her. She felt that there should be a dress code for church. Daren Culvert came in the front door of the church. He never came to Sunday School. Daren dressed like he was the preacher. He always wore a three piece suite. He also had to go around and shake hands with everyone in the church.

 

Sue and Daren had to be on every committee of the church. They wanted to be in charge, but do no work. For example Sue was on the food committee. She loved to organize meals after worship of breakfast before Sunday School. She would tell everyone what to bring to the meal and then turn up without a dish to share.

 

Pastor Roy showed up late as usual. It was his thing to be late and then tell me that he had made changes to the service. The changes were always to make the Culvers happy. Another thing that was happening recently is that any special music that I wanted to do for the service had to be passed by Sue Culvert. If she didn't approve of it then it was not to be done. Sorry about her luck. Sue could make changes, but I would change them back.

 

Sue had decided that my prelude song was not going to fly. I had to play a traditional hymn. Most Sundays recently I was told that I was only to play traditional hymns. Sorry about her luck. Today I was going to not only play, but sing Thrive by Casting Crowns. Sue was just going to have to get over it.

 

I figured that they could not get rid of me. There was no one else in the congregation that could play the piano. So once Uncle Dave rang the bell to announce the start of Worship that was my cue.

 

Here in this worn and weary land
Where many a dream has died
Like a tree planted by the water
We never will run dry

So living water flowing through
God, we thirst for more of You
Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire

Just to know You and to make You known
We lift Your name on high
Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide
We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives
Its time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive

Into Your word, were digging deep
To know our Fathers heart
Into the world, were reaching out
To show them who You are

Joy unspeakable, faith unsinkable
Love unstoppable, anything is possible

The sermon that morning was about getting along. I think that was directed at me. After Worship Sue did as she always did and gave me a sermon. You were not to play and sing that song for Prelude. What was wrong with it? It is not a traditional hymn that is what. I hate to tell you Sue, but we need to get away from the traditional if we want to grow and bring more people in. I think we are stuck in a rut. Well, Annabelle you are very disrespectful of the feelings of the elder members of the church. They don't want to hear this garbage. I think that you are speaking for yourself. You need to get with the times Sue.

She stormed off. I had a feeling that Pastor Roy would be speaking to me. She always went to cry to Pastor Roy when her feelings are hurt. I was not going to let them get to me. So when Pastor Roy approached me I was ready. Annabelle it came to my attention that you have upset some of the elder members of the church by playing your modern music. If you do not start playing some traditional hymns for Prelude, offering, and closing that you will be removed as pianist. Pastor Roy, who will you get to replace me if you get rid of me? No one else in the church can play the piano.

Pastor Roy looked at me stunned. I guess that you have a point. Indeed I do. I think that if we do some modern songs that we might get better attendance at Worship. I think that some in the church need to embrace the new music and get with the times. Pastor Roy had nothing to say.

Uncle Dave walked up to me. I see you were attacked from both sides about that Prelude. I loved it today. Yes I was and I think that I got my point across. You just may have. Are you ready to go to lunch Uncle Dave? Yes I am starved.

Uncle Dave and I went every Sunday to this local diner called Jericho Road. They had great food. Uncle Dave always ordered breakfast cause they served it all day. I got a mixed plate. As we ate we would talk over the service. We would also strategize about what to do about the Culverts and Pastor Roy.

After lunch it was time for a nap. The day would soon be coming to a close. Tomorrow I had to go to work. I worked as a Preschool Teacher. Sue Culvert was my aide. I sat up on the couch and did some meditation. I should not let Sue get to me. I was going to show her some Christian love like she had never seen before. I was going to surprise her. I was going to change her for the better.

Next week: Chapter 3 

What Faith Can Do

Recently some things have happened that have upset me. At the time I wanted to cry and scream about it. Basically act like one of my students. So instead of all that I took a few minutes to give the problem over to God. It made me feel better. It was like a weight was lifted off of me. I felt so good.

The thing is that when something upsets you, you need to give it over to God. You have got to have faith. Faith can move mountains. It reminds me of the song God On The Mountain. When things go wrong God will make them right. God is God in the good and the bad times.

You just have to let God lead you during times like these. The song Daystar talks about this. It is a song about letting God's love shine through us. We need to be a light in the world for Jesus. We need to show Jesus to others. Bring more lost souls to Christ.

So when things are getting you down just turn to the master and let him take control. He will hold your hand and see you through.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Recently things have been going on in my church that have upset me. I keep asking God why does this have to happen to me. I wonder when God is going to work in the situation. Then I realized that God is going to use me in the situation. He wants me to bloom where I am planted. I am a child of God and I need to let his light shine through me.

I know that the things that are going on are unfair, but I know that if I change to do God's will instead of letting the situation get to me then things are going to change. I know that things are unfair right now. I just have to bloom where I am planted to get a change to happen.

I have been told that I need to leave the church and let it go down the path of destruction. That is a great though, but I know that by leaving that means that I am giving in to what those in the church causing the problem want me to do.

I know that I can't change the people of the church. Only God can do that. There is a person in my church that every Sunday after the service gives me a sermon. This person preaches to me about one thing or another. This has gone on for years. This bothers me, but I have taken it.

I have come to the conclusion that from now on when this person gives me the after worship sermon that I am just going to turn to them and say "Jesus Loves You" or "God Bless You". That will throw them off guard and make them forget what they were preaching to me. It might just change the way things are going. I am going to do more of blooming where I am planted.

I am not going to let things get to me. I am going to bloom in the situation. I am going to let God take control. I am going to let him shine through me. Those people in my life that don't have a strong faith in God like I do are not going to get me down.

With God all things are possible. I have to remember that. I have to remember that when I am confronted by people who try to break me from being who I am that it is just the devil trying to test me. I have to bloom where I am planted and let God take control.

We go through tuff times, but God will be right here to see us through them. He will help us to bloom where we are planted to do his will.

So when times get tuff we need to just make the most of it by blooming where we are planted.

Broken Faith

I have always wanted to write a book. So I recently decided that instead of a book that I would write my story here on my bog. So I am planning to once a week (or more) write a new chapter of the story. I hope that you will enjoy it.

Chapter 1

 

It had been raining since 2:00 the previous afternoon. The wind was howling so bad. My cat Donnie had scrambled under the covers cause he was scared of the wind. I couldn't sleep. I heard a noise down the hall. Uncle David couldn't sleep either. He came down the hallway to my room. Annabelle are you awake? Yes Uncle Dave I am awake. Is something wrong? I rose up from the bed. I could see that Uncle Dave had his bible with him. He always had it with him these days.

 

Can I come in? Sure you can. Your chair is ready for you. Uncle Dave had moved in with me about six months ago after we got the word that he had cancer. Uncle Dave had lived alone for most of his life and I knew that he could not go through this alone ever though he had a special lady in his life. When Uncle Dave move in he insisted that we put an easy chair in my room so he could sleep in it if he ever needed to.

 

I got up from the bed and helped Uncle Dave settle into the chair. I covered him up with a quilt that a friend had made him. I crawled back into bed with Donnie. Uncle Dave was looking out the window. Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do, Uncle Dave said. Philippians 4:13 has always been a verse that has given me strength.

 

You know God can do most anything. We just have to have faith in what he can do. Yes, Uncle Dave you are so right. We had been going through a lot of things lately. I had to admire Uncle Dave's faith despite everything that was going on. I could not understand how he could have so much faith despite everything that was happening at church.

 

My family had been members of Calvary Presbyterian Church for generations. The people there had been family to me. My father Wade Jones had been the pastor their for years until he died unexpectedly. Then the church found Pastor Roy Masters. Pastor Roy gave me an uneasy feeling from the beginning. I could not put my finger on just what it was.

 

There was this family in the church, the Culverts, Sue and Daren who for years had wanted to take over the church. They had tried hard to get rid of my family and anyone that sided with us on things. Cricket Morris had become Uncle Dave's close friend and was the subject of the Culverts brutal attacks.

 

Most recently they were able to talk the Voting Elders or the Session into voting to kick Cricket out of church. They removed Cricket as Treasurer of the church as well. Then Pastor Roy said that Cricket needed to get some counseling to deal with issues that she had. Never once did they say what Cricket did wrong to deserve this nor did they give her a chance to tell her side of things.

 

Uncle Dave was mad, but he had a strong faith. God was going to carry us through this. I layed in bed looking over at Uncle Dave. I wish I had his faith in God. Then all of a sudden I heard Uncle Dave begin to sing one of my favorite Jason Crabb songs, Please Forgive Me.

 

Please forgive me,

I need your grace to make it through,

All I have is you,

I'm at your mercy,

Lord I'll serve you,

Until my dying day,

And help others find the way,

At your mercy,

Please forgive me.

 

I love that song. Uncle Dave, I think I will sing that song in church on Sunday. He looked at me and smiled. I would love to hear you sing it. You do it so well. I smiled at him. We both fell asleep. We were so tired.

 

I woke up and Uncle Dave was still sleeping. I got up and fixed breakfast. We had a full day of things that had to be done. Saturdays were busy for me. I worked 5 days a week as Preschool Aide on top of studying to get my teaching degree in Preschool and a Christian Ministry degree. Not to mention all the things at church that I did. Saturdays were the only time that I could take a break and get things done.

 

Uncle Dave woke up to the smell of breakfast. Sis, you better had fixed grits for me. Yes sir I did. Breakfast is ready. You better come get it while it is hot. After breakfast it was time to head down to church. Uncle Dave and I cleaned the church each week after the Culverts fired the cleaning staff. We cleaned the church and set things up for church the next morning.

 

Don't forget that we need to pick up the bibles I ordered. Uncle Dave had ordered bibles for his students in the Young Adult Sunday School Class. As part of the class Uncle Dave had been doing a confirmation study. This was so that some of the young adults could join the church. Tomorrow was the day. Uncle Dave wanted to give each of them a special bible to remember that day by.

 

I had a list of things that needed to be picked up for the reception after the service. I volunteered to organize it. Once we finished at the church we headed off to town. We did our shopping and then grabbed a bite to eat at the Purple Cow Restaurant. I loved that place. The owners were Josh and Mary Moore. The restaurant had been in Josh's family. It had the best food of anywhere around.

 

The day concluded with house cleaning, laundry, and fix food for church. That was not to forget reading my bible and prayer time. We always made time to study the bible and pray. Plus we always had some good Christian Music playing all the time.

 

I felt a peace that day. It was like nothing bad was going to get me. God was in control. I was thankful for that. I dreaded going to church on Sunday. You never know what to expect at church. Something always happened. Sometimes it was good and sometimes it was bad.

 

I had a bad feeling about the Culverts and Pastor Roy. They were up to something. I just could not put my finger on it yet. I am seeking God in this. I am going to have to keep my eye on them. They might want me out of church, but I am not going to back down. I am going to keep the faith and stand my ground. God is on my side.

 

 

Coming Next week: Chapter 2  



Broken Church

 

 

I know that every church has problems and that no church is perfect. That is why when problems arise that you need to seek God through prayer. That is hard to do, but if we do it and ask for God's will in the situation then things will in the end turn out for the good of all.

 

Recently a situation has arisen at church to were the elders feel that one of our members needs to no longer do their duties at the church. That this member should no longer represent the church. This member was told that they were a detriment to the work and life of the church. That they needed to get counseling for their problems and that the church would pay for the counseling. This member of the church was not allowed time to respond to the elders or ask questions. This was a done deal. This member was basically told that they could no longer come to church there.

 

The elders believe in a since that by getting rid of this member of the church that all their problems will magically go away. That what was going on in the church will be over. That their battle is over. That is the wrong attitude to have. These elders told this member of the church that they were concerned about them. If that were true they would have talked to the member instead of ganging up on them. They would have prayed about the issues at hand instead of throwing out accusations and hurting people's feelings.

 

The elders believe that their reputation in the community will get better with this member out of the picture. I am afraid to say that they have only made things worse. They have opened a door to a path that will only lead to the downfall of the church. I have been saying for years that if they keep going down the road that they are on that they will end up only hurting the church. No one listens to me cause they say that I am too young and that I know nothing.

 

I keep saying each week that I can feel the devil in our midst. That is so true right now. The devil has taken control of the church. How will they be able to come out of this mess that they have put themselves in.

 

Kicking one person out of a church does not help the situation. Both sides need to sit down and talk about the issues at hand and come to a consensus before one or both parties are hurt. They need to come to a meeting of the minds. In this situation the elders of the church did not even want to take the time to listen to what the member had to say. All they wanted to do was tell this member what was going to happen and then move forward. They felt that their work was done.    

 

Is it going to make things better? No not by a long shot. They have only made the problem worse. How is someone going to trust anyone at the church ever again? How can I or any member of the church respect the elders of the church ever again after this? How can anyone respect a pastor who will allow this to happen?

 

This situation is far from over. They have only made the problem worse and have destroyed the church. Right now we need to pray for God's will to be done in the situation and that the devil will let go of his hand on the church. We need to pray that the eyes of every member of the church will be open to what is going wrong in the church before it is too late and that thing get too far out of hand.

 

All I can do now is pray. Also right now I have to watch what I do and say at church. I don't want someone in the church who is out for their own glory to take what I do or say and use it against me. It is sad when you have to watch your back at church. Church should be the one place that you can go that everyone gets along.

 

It is just that when you have one or more people that think that they have to run things it ends up hurting others who are innocent in the process. The damage gets out of control and in the end the church itself ends up closing its doors due to the damage.

 

Churches need to put God first instead of self. That is a big problem today. There are people in the church that only think of self and not others or God. They want what they want and it has to be. Then by the time that they get what they want things are so out of control that the church can't recover.

 

The Devil is at work in a lot of churches today. He works to destroy the church. He uses people in the church to destroy it. Then when the damage is done he moves on. Leaving the church to pick up the pieces and try to move on. By that time it is far too late. The damage is done and there is nothing that can be done to fix it.

 

We need a revival in the church today. We need to get God back in the church before it is too late. I have saw far too many churches break up due to the lack of God in them. We need to put God first over self. We need to get rid of the Devil. We need to open our eyes to what God wants before it is too late.

 

We have to take a step back and re-evaluate the situation. We need to determine if this is what God thinks is best for the church. If not we need to not do it. If we follow the path that doesn't put God first then we are only hurting the church and it's members.

 

Please pray for all churches in our nation. Please pray that we get God back and that he is put first in the church. That we get rid of the Devil before he causes so much damage that the church can't recover.

Seek God's Will

Recently some things have happened in my life that have made me question my faith. I wonder why in the world that God could do this. That why that Jesus who died on the cross to make the ultimate sacrifice for me could let me walk this alone. I am so tempted to believe that God has failed me.

Then I hear Jason Crabb's Through The Fire going through my head. I love that song and it has a great message behind it. I know that that song says that no matter what we are facing God is right there with us to see us through. Then I hear another song in my mind. Kari Jobe's I Am Not Alone says that no matter what we are facing that God will never leave us alone. He is always there with us. God will fight our every battle.

I have done a lot of praying in the last week. More than I have done normally. I have also done a lot of soul searching and meditation about what is going on. I have been seeking God's will in all of this. I have to remember to put his will first and not my own.

If we truly have faith in God then when we have a problem we will seek God's will. If we don't do that then we will be putting the devil first. We will be letting the devil have control. Once the devil has taken control then there is no turning back.

One of the situations that I am currently in needs God's will bad. Things are going downhill fast. It seems that the situation has turned away from God. I have to pray that God's will will be done in the situation and that God will get back in it.

I have to have faith that God will see me through. I have to believe that whatever is going on that God has his hand in the situation. He is going to battle the devil for me and he will win. He will make things right.

So when something is going wrong in your life you need to pray and seek God's will in it. Let God take control. He will carry you through the storm.

Cancer Sucks

 

 

Recently my Dad's brother Uncle Pat was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Though we are not close this makes me sad to know that he is suffering with this dreaded affliction. I have had family in my life that have battled cancer. I can remember when Grandma Webster battled cancer. It was awful to have to watch her fade away. I still to this day remember walking into her house after the funeral, standing in the living room where her bed once was, and crying.

 

Cancer is a bad word to me. It makes me mad when someone that I love has to deal with it. I feel helpless. I know that right now my Aunt Joem and her daughter Rebecca feel the same way. This is the time when I turn to God. I go to him in prayer and ask him to work in the situation.

 

I have done a lot of praying lately. I wake up in the middle of the night not able to sleep and I pray. When I pray I talk to God like he is right there with me and that he is my friend. I also read my bible. It helps to sooth me.

 

Cancer is something that no person or family wants to deal with. It takes a toll on a person. You feel worn. You feel like you can't go on. You want answers. You want to make it go away. You are in shock with the initial diagnoses.

 

People say you should make the most of the time that you have with your loved one. You try your best, but you really don't know what to do. The best think that I know is to find someone to talk to about what is going on. Maybe a trusted friend or a pastor. It never hurts to have someone to talk to.

 

I believe to one day, maybe not in my lifetime, they will find a cure for cancer. That will be to late for those that I love that have passed from this dreaded monster.

 

So as I think of my Uncle Pat and Aunt Joem I say a prayer for them as I do each time they come to mind. I know that God is in control and the he will carry them through this. Uncle Pat is strong and he will beat this. I hate to think of the alternative.