Church...

Gracepointe Church and the people of Gracepointe have been so heavy on my heart today. I am not sure why, nor am I sure why I feel the need to start writing to see where this goes, but I've opened my computer and we'll see what happens... I have grown up in church my whole life. I have the most amazing mom who has shown me all about God's love at every turn. My goals in life are constantly growing and changing with every new stage of life. However, one that remains the same as a parent to two young children is to always put God first in all that we do. I want my children to never doubt how big Jesus is and how much his love is for them. All throughout the time Jason and I dated and now married nine years, we have struggled to find a church home that fits the needs of all of us and really speaks to the desires of my heart. Once upon a time we had settled on a "mega-church" of the sorts. I am not sure how big you need to be to have the title of "mega" but it was a large church. It had multiple campus where the preacher was streamed in to watch. We drove the extra miles to be at the home base so we could actually be in the church and not have to watch it on the screen. We went, we sang, we listened, we got fed in the word, and we went home. We really liked it... a lot. Then we had kids. Then we had to wait in line to check our kids into the system. Then we had to drop our babies off with people we didn't know and depending on the service time, we may have never even seen before. It was safe, yes. The people we kind, of course, but something was missing. Fast forward to now. We have been members of a relatively small church in Denton, TX for two years. I have found myself a little eager to try other churches in the area lately and then clear as day,  I know it was God who reminded me of this: Gracepointe has shown the love of God to my family over and over. My daughter's Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Tanya sends her cards in the mail to tell her that she is loved and missed if she is not there. My son runs in the door and right into his Sunday school room , where the people cheer and call him by name. When my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, Pastor Dave met me at the door and stopped me in my tracks with a hug and God's word and let me cry. The deacons of the church call and text to ask about my mom. Christi, whom my heart loves dearly has happily helped me with my kiddos. Amy Peteet has pulled me aside to just stop and pray and as I hear her and feel God's grace and begin to cry, my heart warms to know that my goodness, the people of Gracepointe are sharing the love of Christ with it's people. I have people that love on my children, pray for my family, and call me friends. What a great place it is to show that we are all people transformed by Grace, walking in faith. I still ache sometime to have more of an "experience" on Sunday mornings, but I think that's between God and I. So, I sit towards the back, sing and praise, and lift my hands to my creator, praising God for all that we have been blessed with and all the grace he shows me on a daily basis. Then I hug Pastor Dave on the way out the door, he asks about my family, and I think... this is the most involved with a church that I have ever been and I know that it is not by accident. This is our church home.