Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving and Finding the Church A book review

Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans

Rachel H. Evans shares with her readers the journey she took when church as she knew it growing up became something unknown and unwanted. She reveals her struggles finding what “church” really is. She leads the reader as she discusses the various sacraments of the church – baptism, confession, communion, Holy Orders, confirmation and others. She guides the reader through the steps she took to find what she needs in a church and how it affected her walk with God.

The author, Rachel Held Evans has written several books and is a well known blogger, but this is the first of her writings that I have read. 

“Millennials aren't looking for a hipper Christianity.... We're looking for a truer Christianity, a more authentic Christianity.”

This quote from the beginning of the book (above) says what many feel today about the church. Evans explains how many churches today do not meet the needs of the congregation and do not show the love of Christ to everyone as they should. I believe many people, not only the ones Evans relate to the most, are searching for what the church is supposed to be instead of what it is. They are looking for the Jesus who spent time with the sinners; the ones who others shunned.

The author shares the experiences they had as she and her husband visits various churches in search for what they desire in a place of worship. Each time they grow more and more disheartened as they fail to find what they need. This book gives insight to different types of congregations and doctrines; which church welcomes the lost and those who don't; some of which I can not agree with. The reader is inspired to search his/her own heart and soul to find exactly what it is he/she expects from the church and from Christianity.

If you are searching for Sunday, or what church is once again, then check out this book. I found it difficult to read and understand what I read in some parts, but that may just be me, and have nothing to do with the book itself. This is my honest opinion and the only compensation I received was the book itself.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Latest Projects and What is Going On

 What you see below is what I have been creating. The top one started it all. A lady in our church wanted a smaller diaper bag for her baby girl and wanted it in purple and pink and girly. This is what I came up with. She loved it, and still uses it. I love the way it turned out, too.  By the end of the day I posted this, I had orders for two more. Those are the ones you see below.

This one is for a former student's baby boy. It turned out so cute! I really like this one. I used six inch squares on this one instead of five inch. It includes Minky Dot which is not a lot of fun to sew with, but love the results. It isn't quite the color she wanted, but it was all I could find locally for Minky. She loves it, too.

 This diaper bag is for a friend from 36 years ago. We attended church together when our DH's were in the Navy. We had our first children on the same day: today: 36 years ago. Yep, our daughter is 36! It doesn't seem like it has been that long ago. She ordered one for someone she knows who is having a girl. She is doing the nursery in lady bugs and pink and chocolate brown colors. I incorporated some fabrics in the bag to go with her theme. It was all pink.

I haven't finished the baby quilt that I was commissioned to make. I have the top finished and began quilting it yesterday. I have the rows and columns blocked in. I want to do a little extra special quilting using my quilting program for my machine on this especially each red corner. I was going to add a picture, but I couldn't get it to load. The weather has been bad this morning, and we have satellite Internet, so you may or may not know what that means. LOL I will most definitely post a picture when it is finished.

We had the grandson and daughter up for a week during the week before Easter. We went to our first Civil War Re-enactment at a memorial close by. It was really interesting to watch. Boy, those cannons were loud! Our grandson who is almost nine enjoyed seeing it and the museum of Indian Arrow Heads, old weapons, etc. there. Mimi and Mama did, too. Papa wasn't feeling too well, so he didn't get to go with us. He is scheduled to have back surgery within the next couple of weeks, so he was in pain. We enjoyed having them visit and miss them terribly. 

I spent one day this week in the doctor's office. DH has been trying for over three weeks to get me to go. My chest was hurting me all the way through my back off and on. I have been coughing, stopped up and overall feeling bad. I got better, but then the chest thing wouldn't go away, and it got bad on Tuesday while I was sewing. My doctor is out of town this week, so we went to the local Urgent Care center. I left there with two injections and three prescriptions. He checked my heart and did a chest x-ray, but the cardiac enzymes would not read on their machine, so the next morning, he sent me to the ER. I stayed there with DH all day long!!! Nothing! She said all my blood work was good, EKG was good, no blood clots, etc. Decided it was bronchial spasms from allergies. I hate the feeling of an elephant sitting on my chest. Don't you? Well, I think this is long enough, but the the fact that I've been sick more than not since Christmas is the main reason I haven't posted often. Not feeling well, leads to not much sewing getting done, leads to not much to talk about. Hope you all had a blessed Easter with family, and be creative today!

God Bless,

Teresa

Happy Easter!

He is risen! He arose! He arose! 

He is no longer in the tomb! I thank you, Jesus for dying on the cross for me, and rising the third day for my sins. I want to wish all of my followers a Happy Easter, and a blessed day!

http://funmozar.com/happy-easter-sunday/

Blessings,

Teresa

Awakening

This definition came from Dictionary.com.

adjective

1.

rousing; quickening:

an awakening interest in ballet.

noun

2.

the act of awaking from sleep.

3.

a revival of interest or attention.

4.

a recognition, realization, or coming into awareness of something:

a rude awakening to the disagreeable facts.

5.

a renewal of interest in religion, especially in a community; a revival.

While riding along in the truck with my DH the other day, this word came to mind as I viewed the trees starting to leaf out, the daffodils blooming, the pear trees in full bloom with gorgeous white blooms, and the grass turning green. I thought nature is awakening from its sleep. It brought to mind the need for Christians to awaken from their sleep and apathy towards their walk with Christ. We need to pray more, to read our Bible more, to serve others more, to attend church more. I fully believe that God brought this to my mind. 

So many of us, me included, don't take the importance of our walk with God as seriously as we should. We are lax in our worship, and need to awaken our spirits and give Him the praise and worship He and only He deserves. A discussion with our grandson this past week about the importance of following in Christ's footsteps also gives me a reason to 'awaken' my inner spirit and draw closer to God. DGS is a Christian, but is still learning about this walk, and what is expected of Christians as he is only eight years old. His innocence and love for God is so inspiring, and precious to me.

This is Easter week. How do you celebrate Easter? Our choir will be performing our Easter concert on Sunday morning. Does Easter bring an awakening to your soul? It sure does mine. Thinking about the sacrifice that our Lord and Savior made for you and me brings me to my knees wanting to do more for Him, be more like Him, worship and praise Him more. What about you?

With Christ's love,

Teresa