Jenna
My family had always gone to church for as long as I could remember. It was more of a duty not really anything spiritual. I was given praise for my ability to memorize and recite almost anything they threw at me. As a child I knew the doxology, the Lord's Prayer, all of the books of the Bible in order, all the "famous verses" (John 3:16, 10 commandments, Beatitudes, etc.), and several hymns. To me, however, all of this meant nothing. I went to church and Sunday school and choir practice and youth group every week and all I took away was Jesus loves me and if I believe in him I will get to go to Heaven. Nothing really was introduced into my perfect world to shake it up so I never really needed to search further. That was until seventh grade. That year my family moved to Kansas City, KS. I had moved many times before so this was no big deal, or so I thought. However, when I got there I realized I suddenly had no friends that understood what I was going through and my parents simply weren't enough. Coincidentally, seventh grade was the year our new church gave confirmation. I went because it was my "duty", but somewhere along the way someone told me what it really meant to be a Christian. They told me that you needed to not only believe that Jesus died to save you from your sins, but you must also ask him into your life and let him take over. With this sudden realization I gave my life over to my Lord at our Confirmation lock-in. It was then that I discovered my personal savior, not just the hero of my favorite Bible stories. My savior Jesus Christ came into my life and I really was born again. I have grown in my walk with him and I have learned what it means to hunger and thirst for the word. With the release of the first Left Behind movie, I became obsessed with the rapture, tribulation, and end times prophecies, not to mention the popular book series. I can't wait to meet my savior face to face, but until that time comes I will tell everyone I can what it means to be a Christian.
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