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Come visit us for today's blog post where we introduce Gospel tracts as an evangelism tool for Christians to share the Gospel with others.
http://sharingthefaith.net/2013/02/01/is-there-a-rectoactive-plan/

Visit us today for this mornings post titled- Motherhood: What and amazing gift from God.

http://sharingthefaith.net/Blog.php

Please check out our new blog site
Today's post regarding pirated software/movies/music and God's Law.

May I be a light in the darkness to others searching for God’s hand to save them. http://Sharingthefaith.net

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Please visit our now blogsite for today's post and a new forum area. God Bless!

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Religion vs Spirituality: What's the difference?

Religion vs Spirituality

Now I have questions that I need to find answers too. I begin my quest for answers. I started to look into the “New Age” spirituality views. I have always been interested in ghost, psychics and other questionable phenomenon. This made the new age outlooks to be very interesting to me. I read many books on the subject.

I liked the thought of a “Mother God” named Azna. Heaven or The Other Side was considered to be here on Earth but at a different frequency level then us. Ghosts are people that have not crossed over and are seen here on earth. Spirits on the other hand have passed over but come to visit us. When we see them on Earth they will seem to be floating a few feet off the ground, this is because they are on that other frequency level discussed earlier. There were many other views on everything from fairies, leprechauns and other fantasy being being real but also on other frequency levels. Hell does not exists as we believe. Dark spirits go into a separate area on the other side where they just wander for eternity or get sent back to Earth to repeat another life. (All this information can be found in books written by famous author/psychic Sylvia Browne.)

I am embarrassed to say that I actually started to believe some of this nonsense. Don't get me wrong, I do still believe in ghosts/spirits and psychic phenomenon. I have seen ghosts and have known of people with special gifts.

Questions to ponder: We would love to have some comments and thoughts.

1. Would believing in a “Mother God-Azna” be considered Idolatry?
2. What about “The Law of Attraction or Quantum physics, Evolution, The Big Bang?” So many questions, so much information to process; what do you do?
3. So many different religions (Catholic, Buddhism, Christian, Methodist, Protestant, etc) what's the difference?

Then you hear in the news of all the Catholic Priest getting arrested for child molestation, is this what religion has to offer?  Do you need to bang down people's door with pamphlets?  Please don't be offended if you happen to be Catholic or a Jehovah's Witness because for some reason when it comes to religion, the not religious or non believers might be a better way of putting it; only pass along the bad news.  Where's the Good News?

Sometime around last summer (2012) I woke up. Amidst another financial crisis, I was drawn back to the thought of church. I remembered always feeling better and peaceful when I attended church and I longed for that feeling again. Fernando had also been starting to come around to the thought of God but stated he wasn't ready to go to church. I had a decision to make, do I go back to Church?

Church, God, Jesus, What?

What is all this about?

As an infant I was baptized in the Methodist faith at our local small town church (Steven's Memorial United Methodist, Vista, NY). As a kid I remember only attending church for weddings, funerals, and a holiday here and there. I always believed there was a God and a heaven but knew very little about the whole story. I might have learned bits and pieces over the years but nothing significant.

In and around 2005-2006 while suffering through my second marriage I started to wonder what all the hype was will going to church and prayer. I began looking around for a church or churches to visit and get an idea how things worked. I of course went on line and research churches in my town and surrounding towns but I didn't feel pulled to any of them. I worked in Fishkill at the time and drove by a beautiful church in Hopewell Junction everyday. I could not help but stare at it each time I passed. It was a little out of the way in proximity to my home checked out the website anyway.

I was in awe of all the community and international missions they were involved in and just had an amazing feeling as I read and clicked through the pages of the site. I happen to notice they not only had a traditional service, but also a contemporary and an even an evening service. Being new to the whole idea I thought the evening service might be my best bet to start. I remember the first service I attended was amazing. A friend attended with me that night and we saw the woman’s choir of Walter Hoving Home. They were fabulous. If you don't know, Walter Hoving Home is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation for women in Garrison, NY.

From that night on I started to attend Hopewell Reformed Church more often; some evening services, some morning contemporary services. I was always welcomed with smiles and I felt so at peace when I was there and for days after, actually longing for the next Sunday to come. Then life got easier for awhile and I stopped going to church. Until, my husband left to Guatemala. The bills started piling up and I found out I was pregnant and life fell apart.

Guess where I was drawn to once again? Yep, Hopewell Reformed Church (HRC). I was again welcomed by a special lady; Pam helped me through my current situation more than she will ever know. I explained to Pam what was going on in my life and how difficult things were, especially financially with my husband gone.

The next Sunday at church Pam handed me an envelope with a check from the church to help me with my expenses. I was in tears sitting in service; I had never known anyone to give money to someone they barely new out of the goodness of their heart. Eventually I needed money to get a new apartment, and again HRC helped me. I could never thank them enough for their generosity. But you know how I repaid them, by not attending church anymore. Life was better again, so I no longer needed church.

After Fernando came into my life we attending HRC once or twice, still welcomed. Pam even remembered my name. Soon Fernando got his diagnosis and our world turned upside down. In his depression and anger he totally denied the existence of God and after listening to his thoughts on the subject I started to wonder and question my beliefs too.