I knew God was real when...

Hey Guys, my friend Adrienne shared a great story on the Big Spender Stories Facebook page. I thought I would share it with all of you.

There have been many times when I knew God was real. I have been fortunate that way. But, the flip side of that coin is that I have also had to go through a lot of things to get me to the point that I could see what God was doing for, to and with me.

The time I am sharing here is when I finally understood that this journey begins with a very personal recognition and proclamation. See, I too grew up Catholic, and although I am not putting down the faith, I think that you sometimes miss that this walk with God is on a first name basis. It is a personal relationship, that you are called to share. It is not a generic God saving a generic world through a single act of crucifiction. I never questioned God, I never questioned Jesus, who He was or what He did. I never doubted that Heaven was real, Jesus would come back, Mary was a virgin, nor did I question the reality of Satan and hell. I knew these things were as true as the air I was breathing, but I also didn't get that whole "need to be born again" thing. I always thought that was for the people who didn't even know about Jesus. You see, I looked at it from the stand point that Jesus died for the sins of the world, which meant that whether I was here or not He would have died the same death for the same reason, when in reality, the truth I needed to see was that Jesus dies for the sins of Adrienne, and if I was the only one in the world he would have still done it. That my lies crowned his head, that my hatred drove the nails through his hands, that my greed nailed His feet to the tree. My life, my sins, my evil flesh did this to Him.

When that realization hit me, I for the first time, looked up and called upon the name of Jesus, I said it with the love and familiarity of a beloved friend, a family member, and I realized that when He called my name He knew me just as well. The knowledge of how I lived my life, what I had done to Him, who I really was and just what He died for hit me so hard that I had to pull the car off the side of the road until I could regain composure.

I wish I could say that I have gotten it right since then, but that would be a lie. But I can tell you that from that day forward, I have been walking a different path. Sometimes I get confused and step off, but thankfully my God is always there to grab me by the head and put me back on the path. ... Admittedly it is easier when I am listening to Him though. But then I would only have a short testimony, and well people like me don't have short testimonies.

So that is my first story of When I knew God was Real.

I knew God was real when...

My friend Karen wrote a fantastic post for Big Spender Stories on Facebook. I thought I would post it here as well. Thanks, Karen for sharing your story!

When did I know God was real? Being born and raised in an all Catholic family, one never questioned if God was real. You just knew it and accepted it. You went to church faithfully every week. Said your prayers. Went to confession to confess your sins. Of course I thought I was a sinner as a child. I said and thought mean things. Didn't say the rosary every night like I should. So you probably aren't surprised that I feared God. I experienced my first panic attack in church when I was ten. Not knowing what was happening to me a fear cycle began to occur. I had to go to church every week with my class. Every week I experienced yet another panic attack. This cycle lasted until I was in my thirties. When I became old enough I stopped going to church due to this fear. I later recovered from anxiety and panic disorder. Knowing it was caused by perfectionism, guilt, high expectations, everything the Catholic Church fostered in me. It was how I reacted to the Catholic faith. I am not blaming this type of worship.
Once I stopped going to mass, a new spiritual journey began for me. I began to receive God's word through other medians, such as Sunday morning worship shows, a walk in a snowy park, looking at a clear blue sky, reading books about angels and people who experienced moments in the after life, only to come back and share these stories. I talked to people who had some really cool spiritual encounters, visions, etc. I began to know God in another way. I do not fear him anymore but put all of my trust in Him. I joined a Lutheran church. I love the Message I receive there. The people are one loving community. I have also had spiritual encounters that I will not go into now. It was a blessing to have panic attacks in church. If I never did, I never would have known the loving, forgiving God. So when did I know God was real? Well when I deviated from what was expected of me and began my own spiritual journey.

A Calling to Teach

My good friend Rene Gabbard shared this post on the Big Spender Stories Facebook page and I thought it was so good that I would share it here as well. The discussion topic was "I knew God was real when..." Thanks, Rene for telling your story.

I knew God was real when he answered prayer in a very specific way. It was at the very beginning of my teaching career and I was so frustrated. All my life I had wanted to be a teacher and truly felt that God had called me to teach, but I was so unhappy. Every Sunday afternoon, I would get a horrible headache and my stomach would ache as I faced the reality of going back to school on Monday. One Monday morning, I was stopped at the intersection of Tylersville Road and By-pass 4, waiting to cross the highway when I just started sobbing. I was angry and exasperated and yelling and crying. I'm certain that passers-by thought I was crazy. I just kept thinking, "I can't do this anymore! I can't!!" Then, it hit me. That's right, YOU can't. I had tried to compartmentalize my life and, in my foolishness, I had tried to teach on my own. So, right there at that intersection, I surrendered my students and my career to the Lord. I admitted that I couldn't do it on my own and, more importantly, I didn't want to do it on my own anymore. I realized my teaching for what it truly was--my mission field and I answered the call to be a missionary in the public school system. My goal was to teach for 5 years and then move on. The longer I taught, the more I wanted to teach. And, the more I taught, the more opportunities God gave me to witness to my kids and my colleagues and the parents and, well...the list goes on and on. Nothing that I accomplished in 30 years as a teacher was my doing. It was all God's working through me. I knew God was real when He kept on blessing me and blessing me as a teacher. I learned that all my life belongs to Him and when I try to handle things on my own, the result is disastrous.

Interesting Things

I have several things to mention today. First of all, many of you may have noticed that I created a Facebook page for big spender stories. This will give all of you the opportunity to share your stories with the world. You can leave a short post on the Wall or write a longer entry using the Discussion Board. All you have to do to join is be a member of Facebook and become a fan of big spender stories. Click here to visit the page.

Secondly, I'm doing some research for some things that I'm writing these days. Part of this information depends on you. There will be a series of polls on www.bigspenderstories.com in coming weeks. They will be short and easy to complete, but your answers will be pivotal to my future writings, so please take a minute and help out if you can.

Finally, I have booked some concerts this fall! I am excited that the drought is over, and that I will be able to once again hit the road. Some of these dates will be with my good friend and drama partner, Mike Massie and some of them will be solo music dates. I look forward to seeing many of you this fall at these much anticipated bookings.

As always, thanks for your continued support, prayers, and participation.

Be God's
Greg