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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

You said, "are you finding Christ through your church or connecting more with Christ in your church than outside of church." What does that mean? What do you consider a "relationship with Christ"? Do you have one and how is it expressed?

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It means does the church you go to help you understand who Christ is. Reading the bible and studying helps but often may not be enough and we need those such as ministers or priests to help bring us to Christ that bit more to clearly understand what we are reading.
My relationship started as always a bebeliever but never felt his presence or heard his voice or had my heart touched just felt like talking to air. Now I am overwhelmed by his presence I feel it, I hear him and am moved when I know he is. Working through me. My testimony came at a cost bbut one worth paid cause it brought me back to Christ I speak with him daily many times I know he's here and such. I have much more growing to do and while I have my seasons I know he loves me and forgives me. He is my redeemer my healer my savior my Lord.

Wondergirl, he says he's not coming back because of hypocrites like me.
Note the same contradiction:
" I don't care what she is or what faith she desires to follow. I jjst want her to have a rrelationship with Christ.."

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Originally Posted by BornAgain618

It means does the church you go to help you understand who Christ is. Reading the bible and studying helps but often may not be enough and we need those such as ministers or priests to help bring us to Christ that bit more to clearly understand what we are reading.
My relationship started out as always a bebeliever but never felt his presence or heard his voice or had my heart touched just felt like talking to air. Now I am overwhelmed by his presence I feel it, I hear him and am moved when I know he is. Working through me. My testimony came at a cost bbut one worth paid cause it brought me back to Christ I speak with him daily many times I know he's here and such. I have much more growing to do and while I have my seasons I know he loves me and forgives me. He is my redeemer my healer my savior my Lord.

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Those are all very nice born-again words, but what do they mean in your life in this world? How does hearing His voice and feeling His presence improve your life and the lives of those around you? How does He work through you? What does faith in Him lead you to do?

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Those are all very nice born-again words, but what do they mean in your life in this world? How does hearing His voice and feeling His presence improve your life and the lives of those around you? How does He work through you? What does faith in Him lead you to do?

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He has no clue. That's why he has to fight with his girlfriend over this.

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Originally Posted by joypulv

He has no clue. That's why he has to fight with his girlfriend over this.

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I'm still grinding my teeth over his comment, "Yet like many women nooffense are hard headed."

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Those are all very nice born-again words, but what do they mean in your life in this world? How does hearing His voice and feeling His presence improve your life and the lives of those around you? How does He work through you? What does faith in Him lead you to do?

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I was once a bar hound every weekend being 26 its typical but when I was 23 I got into a dui accident that woke me up had noclue where to start or search but a buddy was trying forever to get me in a bible study group he attended. I would make excuses not to go but after my wreck I knew I didn't want to ddie and not know Christ. I never read the bible just what was taught and told through private school.
Hearing, feeling and knowing him directs me to a better life and while I have always been one to take charge and control my life I learned many of my downfalls and backtracking in life's path is mainly due to me not letting Christ in my heart and allowing him to take control. I have always believed but never took time to know who this man Jesus truly was. Since then I have fallen off balance and back on track several times but every day I know he is with me making me better and while I pray for wisdom and to know him more every day I find small blessings that show me he is showingmewho he is.
I no longer drink, I attend church and stay in my bible taking notes and lessons and have personally transformed my personality and reality much significantly. He has transformed me not I transformed I should say :) I have lost friends and family due to not doing what I used to but I could lose everyone and everything but long as I have Christ by my side and at the end he calls me friend that is all I need and is all I work toward in my life is to knowhim

That is a wonderful story, and I for one am glad for this person (who won't talk to me, so I'm talking to anyone else).
I hope he continues on his path of transformation. I hope leaves his poor girlfriend to do what she wants, when she wants, for her reasons. I don't think Jesus fought with anyone who didn't follow him.

Wonder I greatly apologize I waswriting off the tip of my head and not thinking exactly how to word things and that while inexcusable is just in my experience that once women settle on an idea or custom then nothing changes that whatsoever. Look at households and decisions and families while naïve to say willing to say most decisions evenif made jointly are finalized by the woman's input. Not a bad thing I think women fight for what they believe is right and men jjst settle with whatever and leave it at that. I meant nointebt to offend jist worded it incredibly awfully wrong for that I apologize. I'm sure joy will pick and tear this apart forthat I skip all of her replies and look forward to your kind and respectful inputs
Joy no need to reply I will not be reading asingle word saying this so you don't take time from your day to post what won't be read or given attention to by me.mentioning this due to emails I get of replies by you. To those with kind and respectful inputs and opinions thank you all

(I haven't emailed BornAgain?? )

When you reply I get emails from any user replying so when I see a response from you it says you've received a reply from joy...
Only replying to this to clarify so please don't insinuate this as a contradiction.

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Originally Posted by BornAgain618

wonder I greatly apologize I waswriting off the tip of my head and not thinking exactly how to word things and that while inexcusable is just in my experience that once women settle on an idea or custom then nothing changes that whatsoever.

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I sure don't know where you are coming from -- and don't want to know. My experience has been totally different. Either the male rules the household, or in a Christian marriage, things are done with mutual planning and agreement.

I'm glad to hear Christ's presence in your life has changed how you live, but now how are you following His second greatest commandment? It sounds like you are hugging all that joy (no pun intended) to yourself and not sharing it with "the least of these" and with others in your life, such as your girlfriend. *cough* In fact, you could begin with joypulv whom you have handily pushed into a corner..

No offense to her but I was raised treat those how you are treated and when pushed assumed and judged while before I would fight with words I now jjst ignore iunderstand that's not the christian thing to do but also know I have much roomto grow and mature that area especially but also if I'm not being talked to in a mature understanding manner I will not do the same instead of talking as an adult she even replies to you with messages of judgment and assumption. I willnot tolerate that although in growth I pray to be able tto for I know its an area I need to.

Far as putting it out in the woworld all my friends but 2 are not faith based and actually have walked away cause I was nolonger interested in activities such as drinking and partying and while I never forced jist would offer Bible studies people would eventually block me online and have not accepted personally. As it says in Matthew. People will turn and hate you because of me. That has happened and I'm okay with it. The girlfriend and I work in food shelters and work with charities iin the public to spread God's great word through our works.
I share my joy with my girlfriend often and typically I get an eye roll which I ask about and she says you're just a bit of a Bible freak. It hurts to know that's the opinion and often keep my excitement contained cause I am unsure how to go about sharing without insulting or pushing cause I understand you can often push when actually trying to help.
A buddy ofmine pushes the bible often to those who don't care to know Jesus but he's confident iit will pullthem in eventually
I do not mean to push offend or insult I am just unsure how to help her findChrist. I do not wish to change only to help I understand in this post that is a fine line hard to tell but any respectable opinions or advice I'd greatly love and give thanks for

OK. We are not supposed to be judgmental and we can't throw stones which we are doing. Wondergirl. Joy came on heavy too. This is not fair and sometimes we have to stand back and JUST not push that button after we read our post through (which I do now, because have learned a lot of lessons here on AMHD).

I am not religious, I mean I was brought up christian, my husband is Catholic, my son doesn't follow his dad's faith, is going with a dutch girl in Germany, so it is a hodge podge and I don't really want to put any pressure on anyone in my family, and not here either.

The OP came here to ask a question, and as, sometimes happens, in pet forums, or whatever, got pushed into a corner, and when you get bombarded on here, well, it is really hard to get out of, get a leg up, because there are just too many of us and not enough of the OP. Get my point. That has to be taken into consideration.

So my advise to the OP is, just let both of you follow your own paths, get married, have children, and having children changes your WHOLE OUTLOOK.

Threads on religion just do not turn out well because we are just too diversified here.



So I don't judge.

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Originally Posted by BornAgain618

No offense to her but I was raised treat those how you are treated and when pushed assumed and judged while before I would fight with words I now jjst ignore iunderstand that's not the christian thing to do but also know I have much roomto grow and mature that area especially but also if im not being talked to in a mature understanding manner I will not do the same instead of talking as an adult she even replies to you with messages of judgment and assumption. I willnot tolerate that although in growth I pray to be able tto for I know its an area I need to.

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Well, then. This situation with joypulv would be a splendid opportunity for you to mature and grow in Christ and in His love, wouldn't it.

The "treat others as you have been treated" and "an eye for an eye" thing is from the Code of Hammurabi, a Babylonian king in the 1700s B.C.

I agree

Thank you, tickle.

And thank you WG for spelling my name in all lower case.

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Originally Posted by tickle

And thank you WG for spelling my name in all lower case.

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I honed my lower case skills on "excon." ;)

He probably loves lower case.

... especially for his "e" -- we had a huge go-round about it back when Cliff and Ram still lived here.

Should I close this thread?