Too Good Not to Share - Part 2 - Grand Prairie,TX

That's why I laugh when people who are "not religious" try to have "educated" discussions about what it means to have a relationship with God. Unless you know Him, you don't know Him. I was raised in the Catholic church, then converted to Lutheran when I married my husband, but I never ever knew Him until last summer, and like you mentioned, it knocked my on my butt! It was nothing short of awesome.

I cultivate that relationship like any other relationship is cultivated. TIME. I pray, I meditate, I talk to Him, I ask Him for help, I honor Him, I study the bible, I listen to His word, I praise Him, I pray over my children, I thank Him, etc., etc. Spending time with Him is the only way to truly know him.

Great question T.!

This is great!! and very insparational!!!!!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

Such excellent and positive posts!!
I think the Bible is the way to know God because it is His word. Then, you have to have conversations--prayer.
I do Precepts Bible studies by Kay Arthur. They are very in depth and I retain the material. A good one to start with is Lord I Want to Know You. http://store.precept.org/p-535-lord-i-want-to-know-you.aspx

Just start talking. Your personal relationship with God doesn't live in the santuary of the church. Its with you 24/7. Having the type of relationship you mention means putting all of your trust into it.

Ex. 2006 - I was 7 months preg. hubby comes home from work and says I've had it, I'm quitting!! (He had someone approach him about changing jobs, but when he asked about open positions there, he was told they weren't hiring, we'll let you know. ) Whoaaaaa. Wait a second. I understand your mad, but we have a kid coming, PLEASE hold on until you find another job. Then I prayed. Please help me. Please help him... The very next day, he received a call from the 2nd company offering him an interview 2 days later. They offered him a job at the interview....

In 2009 we were both laid off (yes from that job in 2006). What do you do when God takes away the job he gave you??? There came a point where there was a bill due - $103.09 phone bill.It was 1 week til payday. The current paycheck went to the mortgage and daycare. Nothing left. On Wed. I realized I couldn't pay it. What am I going to do. It has to mail by Friday, but I won't have the money til next Friday. It was going to be the first bill since layoff that I couldn't pay. Thurs. night, going through the mail, there was a refund check, that I knew was coming but didn't know when. The amount was $100.99. Oh my! I know we have $3 in change. I was almost giddy!! I continued opening the mail, anxious to find that change! 2 letters later was a letter from my car insurance. Enclosed was a refund check for 'overpayment' of $2.13. I sat there and cried. $103.12 had been delivered to my door, just when I needed it most. The bill for $103.09 mailed on Friday morning.

2010 - we wanted to buy my son a new ATV. we were unhappy with the inexpensive one we had purchased the year before for his birthday. We sold it for $400. Looking on craigslist, the only one we could find that we liked was $1200/obo. How can we make this happen? There is no way to come up with $600 - 800. We watched the listings for a few days. It was still listed. So we asked family, which we NEVER do, if they would loan us the $$. They were a bit stunned. This must be important to you, you never ask for $$. Yes. It is. Okay, we're in. So we responded to the listing and waited. The next day there was still no response from the craigslist. Well, I guess it wasn't meant to be. Opening the mail that night, there was a 'mortgage adjustment check' for $600+. I just sat there. Stunned and crying. I ran to the phone and called my husband. He was stunned. I called my mom. She was stunned. I ran to the computer and reemailed the craigslist. I have cash!. The guy called me within minutes. Met up with him and Grandpa, in case we needed extra $. The guy accepted the $1000 cash for the ATV.

2010 - leaving the parking garage, I didn't have enough money on my commuting card to pay to get out of the Metro system, and pay to get out of the garage. No money in the bank. Payday was in 2 days. I was off the next day. I had a garage card in my car, but had no idea how much money was on it. My plan was to go to my card, get the other card, walk back to the ticket area to check the card amount. My only other option was to wait 6 hours for the 'charge' time to pass. When I got to my destination, the power at the gate area was unexplainably out. So they let us out at no charge. Great! but I still didn't have enough for the parking fee. Guess what?!? The power was out there too, and we didn't have to pay for parking! I was sending thankful blessings half the way home!!

Sounds like you've got it! The walk with the Lord, like any journey, has its highs and lows, so we aren't meant to live on the mountain top all the time. It has been in my lows, however, that I've experienced the very real presence of Christ the most. I believe praise is what our Lord wants from us, and I've seen miracles come out of it.

I totally disagree with Nikki... you can spend every single day of your coworkers, or your husband, or your kids, but just because you spend all that time with them doesn't mean you know them in depth. You can't ever truly know another being; most people don't even know themselves.

On the other hand, I can see where there are people who go to church, yet have very little 'true' faith. I can also see where there are people who have deep faith and have never stepped foot in a church. So yes, I see where your pastor is coming from, T.. It's not just a matter of saying 'I'm religious', it's BEING religious, putting action to your words.

I think it's good to remember that "love" is a verb. A "doing" word more than a noun....so if faith and worship are love of God, then we've gotta be ACTIVE participants, right? Sounds like you are!

One of the best ways to get to know God is to be where he is at. At least to start. So a good bible based church is a good start. And attending services that foster intimate meetings with God. (i.e. revivals, women's retreats, prayer meetings) Since it sounds like you already met him, frequent encounters are good. Almost like dating, making arrangements to spend time in his presence. And once you establish the relationship, then you can have confidence that he is everywhere that you go. Then you can look for him in everything you do and everything around you. Praise is a GREAT way to be in his presence. I know I'd show up if someone was praising me. (LOL)
In Megan's post she mentioned that in those moments she saw God working. It wasn't luck or coincidence, but God arranging things in her favor. And because of the things he has done, I'm sure she sits in full anticipation of what he will do next and will praise him for it in advance.

The spirit of gratitude that you had after your daughters accident is the sprirt of God blossoming in you. You can already see the changes happening in you. And everything in you won't change overnight, but the way you see things when you understand that God is in control will rock your entire world. And becasue of that you will begin to respond differently. Praise God for that. He is everywhere that you go and in everything that you do, and now that your eyes are open, you will see it.
And if you can't see him working, you may need to question what you are doing and where you are going and alter your actions accordingly. :-)
It wasn't luck or coincidence, it was God. When problems come to try and throw you off track, keep your faith and know that God is in control. There is a lesson from every test.
Thank you so much for this post. I hope others are encourage just by your desire to know God personally.