CONTENTMENT

I HAVE BEEN IN A SIMILAR SITUATION YEARS AGO. I HAD A ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT AND MY DAUGHTER (2 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME) AND I HAD TO LIVE IN. WELL MY OLDER SISTER AND HER SON MOVED IN ON ME (SHE HAD A GOOD JOB). SHE NEVER HELPED FINANICIALLY. THEN MY YOUNGER SISTER MOVED IN(NO JOB). THEN TO TOP IT OFF MY OLDEST BROTHER MOVED IN WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND AND HER DAUGHTER (BOTH NO JOB). MY BROTHER AND HIS GIRLFRIEND WERE BOTH ON DRUGS. I STILL DON'T REALLY KNOW TO THIS DAY HOW WE ALL STAYED IN THIS ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT. BUT I DO KNOW I HAD TO PUT MY FOOT DOWN. I WAS SCARED AT FIRST BECAUSE I WAS ALWAYS THE ONE THE FAMILY THOUGHT WOULD NEVER SAY NO. BUT ONE DAY ON MY WAY TO WORK I LOCKED THE DOOR TO MY APARTMENT(EVERYONE HAD GONE TO WORK OR DOING WHATEVER) AND MY BROTHER AND HIS GIRLFRIEND WERE SITTING OUTSIDE ON THE PLAYGROUND AREA, LOOKING SO SAD. I JUST PASSED BY IN MY CAR AND WENT TO WORK. WHEN I RETURNED, I TOLD ALL OF THEM TO LEAVE AND DID NOT CARE WHO GOT MAD. OOHHH THEY WERE ANGRY WITH ME, BUT GUESS WHAT? THEY GOT OVER IT. STAND YOUR GROUND. GOD WANTS US TO HAVE PEACE IN OUR LIFE. HE SAID THAT HE CAME THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY. THAT IS A RIGHT NOW LIFE OF ABUNDANCE,JOY AND PEACE. QUOTE: 2 PLACES THAT EVERY PERSON SHOULD HAVE PEACE; THE GRAVE AND IN YOUR HOME. i FORGOT TO TELL YOU THEY STAYED LOT LONGER THAN 2 MONTHS.

I DO BELIEVE ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED. I KNOW THAT I'M NOT SAVED BY MY WORKS. I'M SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD. NOW BECAUSE I'M SAVED, I WORK (THIS IS SO THAT EVERYONE WILL KNOW WHOSE SIDE I'M ON). THE WORD SAYS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUIT. I'M JUST DISPLAYING MY FRUIT!

I'M SO RELIEVED THAT I'M NOT ONLY THAT HAS FELT LIKE I'M LEARNING TO BE A CHRISTIAN ALL OVER AGAIN. I UNDERSTAND WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS WE MUST RENEW OUR MINDS DAILY.

Can you explain why it takes more courage? You have to be reckless in your abamdonment of trying to live your life the best way you know how. You must also be patient for him to change your situation. Perhaps a very bad one. Perhaps for years. After enough years have gone by and you see that you have gained no benefit for all your prayers are service to God, you begin to realize that God is not all that personal. I have stopped praying because its never done any good. What have I prayed about?....To be more like him, for my miserable health to get better, for my spouce to stop drinking, ect..ect.. Not one prayer answered ever. I have had whole Chruches pray for this situation. I have never in 44 years neen a "miricle". I don't believe in them anymore. I do believe that there is a creator but I am coming to the painful reality that what I tryed to attach to "Christianity" is merely a system for social crowd control and a good one. I'm not against it. I just have no faith in it because its never come through for me in any situation. In short, it isn't real and I am just now coming to this reality. If my situation is to improve, it will be up to me to improve it. I don't feel as God has abandoned me. I know he was never with me to begin with. I have gone through the list of things that Christian's might be doing to not get answers from God. I'm not perfect but I called and prayed and begged and cried...nothing. Its not worth the effort and energy I put into it. We're on our own and thats the bottom line. Mine are the only footprints in the sand. Regards Dan Romans 10:17 (King James Version) 17So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We don't look for signs, thats for unbelievers who doubt, we are living by faith believing and knowing God cares for us and is our help in need, not because we are so good, but because He is faithful and He will do what He promised. God will work everything out for good for them that love the Lord I believed in him for 27 years. Guess what. My family has been damaged for the past 6 years due to my crap health. Oh!! Yes...I have prayed. Many have. The more I prayed the worse things got. Then folks come up to me and say..."hey ...your not the only one that gets a raw deal". This is true and it only goes to proove my point that much more. I have stopped praying finally. It hasn't mattered. I think the Bible and Christian ethics are a good guidelines for a civil society. Other than that, their powerless. There are no such things as miricles. If one of those TV healing preachers want to try to change my mind, good ...lets go down to Texas Children's hospital and empty out the cancer ward for starters. The harsh truth is this...we are on our own. One good thing about coming to the realization that faith is a myth is the fact that you don't have to feel abandoned by God any more. Its just the roll of the dice or natural selection. You can pray until the cows come home for God to feed all of the poor inocent children in the world who are hungry. Bottom line...An agonostic whose willing to step `up and give money or food to them will do more than prayers. If others wish to pray...pray on. I'm finished with begging a non-personal God to help me in my time of trouble. Dan I JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU DAN. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR GOING THROUGH AND I CAN'T PRESUME TO EVEN GUESS, BUT I HAVE HAD TIMES WHEN I FELT THAT MY PRAYERS WERE HITTING THE CEILING (SO TO SPEAK) BUT GOD IS CONCERNED ABOUT YOU AND YOUR SITUATION. JOHN 16:33 THESE THINGS I HAVE SPOKEN UNTO YOU, THAT IN ME YE MIGHT HAVE PEACE. IN THE WORLD YE SHALL HAVE TRIBULATION: BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER[TAKE COURAGE; BE CONFIDENT,CERTAIN,UNDAUNTED]; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD. TAKE COURAGE IN GOD!!!

HELLO EVERYONE, I'M NEW HERE. I LOVE THIS DISCUSSION BECAUSE I FEEL MANY HAVE GONE THROUGH CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE OUR FAITH IS TESTED. MY OWN SITUATION IS THIS: EVER SINCE I WAS AROUND 12 YEARS OLD, I'VE EXPERIENCED ACNE. I'M NOW 34 AND STILL I'M GOING THROUGH THIS. ON TOP OF THAT I'VE HAD LOW SELF ESTEEM MOST OF MY LIFE. THEN GOD CALLED ME TO PREACH HIS WORD. MY FAITH WAS TESTED TO THE POINT I THOUGHT MAYBE THIS ISN'T GOD BECAUSE HE KNOWS HOW I FEEL ABOUT MYSELF AND HOW I LOOKED. BUT GOD IS SO AWESOME BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH I STILL HAVE THIS PROBLEM, I FIRST KNOW IT'S NOT ABOUT ME. SECONDLY, THIS BODY IS ONLY A TEMPORARY HOUSE I LIVE IN, SO I WILL HAVE A GLORIFIED BODY ONE OF THESE DAYS. I DO FEEL IT'S HARD THOUGH TO KEEP STANDING STRONG AND KEEP TRUSTING GOD WHEN THINGS START PILING UP ALL AT ONCE. BUT HAVING FAITH IS NOT LOOKING AT THE CIRCUMSTANCE BUT THE ONE WHO IS ABLE TO SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM.