A small Confession...

Okay...so we're not morning people. Neither Craig or I care to get up much before 10 am on weekends. This is normally not a problem, since we don't have kids, and we have trained our dogs to be non-morning creatures as well. Well in the summer, it becomes a problem, because...we'll our church goes down to one service in the mornings...and it is the early service! So my confession begins...so we've slept in for a good majority of this summer's Sundays and we'll...(we've missed church... A LOT). Being in a small town...people notice when you show up and when you don't...people...including the Pastor. So yes indeed...some guilt is felt as we sleep in on Sundays, but not enough to get us up bright and early the following Sunday. It isn't the guilt that motivates us to "eventually" get up and go to church. After several weeks of no church, things just start seeming more hectic, less manageable, more restless. Why? I pray, I try to actively seek a daily relationship with the Lord, and most (certainly not all) days I feel I have succeeded...so why is church such a necessity? It sounds weird...but I have often wondered this? Organized religion...why? After some pondering (yes...I like to ponder), I have some thoughts. I think learning the word and hearing sermons is like food for our souls. Church is there to replenish us weekly. Come Sunday night...you may not even remember what in the world that morning's sermon was about, but regardless, you know it was received. It is like eating a meal...and a few days later, you can't recall for the life of you what you ate...but it doesn't matter, your body was replenished. Hearing the word....it is the same thing. Do I think God looks down at us as terrible Christians if we don't go to church? Absolutely not. No way! However, God created the church, because He knows we need that spiritual replenishment...that replenishment that is so difficult to get on your own...impossible...no, hard...absolutely!. I am ALWAYS quite amazed how much clearer the cloudy becomes after attending church (even when it is terribly boring). Things just feel calmer...more manageable...more..."oh, yeah, I can handle this." God is wise, he knows more than me (I have to remind myself of this daily). The truth, we can not walk through this life on our own, we were not designed to do so. We must walk with Him, and part of us being successful in doing so...is indeed (for most of us), going to church, and yes...getting up early on Sundays. So....if life starts feeling out of control, and you've prayed, and you've prayed...think...when is the last time I went to church? It might...just might be worth getting up for on Sunday mornings.