It's the little things...

I'm still battling over how to talk to people about God, not if asked questions, but how to start the conversation... I have been asked questions before, many times during my work life actually, but I feel as though when people ask me, I'm giving them my knowledge and opinions, GIVING. 
    I'm not sure I feel comfortable asking the questions to people I don't know.. for example... say the church is doing a 5K race and we are going to try to bring people to God with this event.. all good and fine but how do I do that? How do you go up to a stranger and say " Thanks for signing up for our 5K now do you believe in Jesus? " 
Some people might say yes just to get you off their back, but how do you start a meaningful conversation about God to someone who may not want to hear what you have to say? 
    I think just meeting people, and getting to know people I think I would 'connect" with or relate to would be a good idea. Try to just bond as humans, friends, then get a closer, better relationship before talking about God. 
    The situation would present itself better if a conversation arose between new friends and it would be comfortable for both to discuss if we knew a little about each other. 

I feel as though people don't need to be "pushed" to God, maybe an introduction, a little nudge, or information, in the end all people have free choice and may not want to believe, but its my job as a Christian to spread the word and I want to... but I want to do it different than the people before me... I want it to be an inviting experience... I don't want to push to the situation, I want the people to make the decision themselves. I want to give them all the knowledge and personal experience stories of my witness to God, on their terms, not mine. 

IT's a struggle between what I am comfortable with and what I'm being asked to do. 

I so desperately want to go on a medical mission trip. It would be awesome to give my services in the name of God. I also want to do some things here at home, where people need God just as much as those in other countries do.  

Thinking it through

So how do you approach God to a small town?
Its not a large town, or a town where you are looking for new friends and family, you know EVERYONE... maybe not super close to everyone in a personal way but you recognize people by seeing in town, school and sports events, gas station, post office... we KNOW each other.
So its hard for me to strike up a conversation, well not hard, that was incorrect.... I don't know how to ask people...
 " DO you believe in God? Do you go to church?

On one hand, I think its pretty personal conversation about to start between two people who don't really know each other and on the other hand... why not?

I guess my fear is what I know, how it used to be as a kid...
My parents didn't go to church, they didn't take us to church...
I knew who God was from a very young age, I remember laying in bed and talking to him and praying to him... .but we didn't go to church. My best friend Miranda and her family would always take me to church and my Grandma Rosemary would always make sure I went to all the Vacation Bible Schools at all the churches in town... YEP SMALL TOWN SO 5-6 churches!
When we were in school, there were kids who went to church and lived " different" their parents didn't let them do certain things, didn't let them dress the way we did and as we got older, they got segregated. Not because they were bad kids or acted different, but because kids, like me who only went to VBS knew the teachings and knew the differences, but they also knew they were going to do things those kids wouldn't do, things those kids would have a problem with and some things those kids might "tell" on.

My family didn't act like them, and I didn't speak out about it, so I was in the middle. I was friends and hung out with both sides. No one ever asked me if I believed in Jesus and I didn't feel I knew enough to openly talk about it. The older we got and the more things my one set of friends did, the more I found myself not doing anything with any of them. I had five guy friends that went to youth group with me every week and one real girl friend and that ended up being it.... because I wasn't interested in drinking, pot or parties.

I also remember those Jehovah witness people that came to the door and were rude about the information they were selling, we got to the point that when we saw them in the neighborhood, we would go find something to do away from the front door and wait for them to pass.

Ask my parents if they believe in God, you will get a YES. Do they go to church, no.

So many people in my life have been that way... they are good, God fearing people, they do good things for others, they are righteous, honest and kind people... but they don't go to church.

So I am tormented with starting a conversation where I can't answer questions and I may appear to judge others...

What does He want me to do??

There are many times in my life when I am faced with a struggle..
Like today..
I normally don't go to Sunday school, quite often it is like gossip hour or politics, nothing I am interested in, but my husband goes. Don't get me wrong, the lessons the leaders are trying to get through are good, I loved the video and its message today... but conversation usually misses the message.
SO... conversation started as the local food pantry is in need of some leadership, it seems to be "come get your food and go" kind of atmosphere with no teaching or leaning on Christ and they would like to use it as a way to reach out to people... OK good thought.
Then the subject turned to are the people using the food bank and public assistance truly living in poverty or just "using" the system because the system is flawed and people just want to live off the system and have no desire to fend for themselves.... Both realistic points.
 Then the conversation goes on to talk about people abusing the system and how people make more living off the system than they would working.... and this is where it gets, in my opinion ridiculous.

First comment was, its a generational thing, they are lazy but that wasn't the kicker, the next comment was , aid was made to control certain people.....

I was so taken back by these comments, I just sat, in shock for the rest of the time....

First of all, there are abusers of EVERY program on the planet... government assistance, taxes, laws, rules... you name it someone has figured out how to cheat or abuse it.

I think people in general just want to take care of their own and give them a better life.
I think sometimes parents who had nothing as a child go to great lengths to give their children everything and sometimes make huge financial mistakes in the process...
I think the generation before mine is at fault for this one... kids learn by example.. if mom was on welfare and told her daughters ( I myself have heard this conversation among daughter and mother)
" The more babies you have the more money they give you, you cant work if you have to care for those kids" ----- young, uneducated girls start having babies and get all into a serious commitment of children before they are grown themselves.... and now... those kids who are my age, are doing everything they can to keep those kids in school, out of trouble and get them on the road they were never shown.

To me, it seemed like the focus was to preach to the poor and bring them to God... which is a good concept, but who exactly ever thought the poor didn't already believe?
Just because they are in a hard time and needing food, does not mean they do not believe in God. Some of the most faithful people I know do not have an extra penny to their name....

So I guess my new goal is to find more productive, unoffensive ways to lead people back to church, or to church for the first time and to invite people back who left.

My story starts here

My family.... The reason I go to work, the reason I selflessly cook, clean, get up every morning. I never wanted much, I was happy to live simple, live humble and just be simple. 

Then things started to move, move quickly. 

Things soon were no longer simple. 

Little people came, they needed things, lots of things... not only time, attention, food and water, but things.... 

So life began... quickly

God is Good.