I was raised by two amazing parents who took me to church every time the doors were open.  Seriously, if the lights were on at the church then we were probably there!  I was fortunate enough to have a pastor who cared for me and my family and in fact, the church was part of our family.  So I have some great memories of growing up in that little church in West Virginia.  However, that was at a time when Christianity was really about one thing...the rules.

As I got older, I began to realize that the list of rules was huge, and over time I felt like there was no way I could ever measure up.  I just couldn't see how I could ever make God happy.  I was under the impression that God was mad all the time.  The God I had pictured in my mind was a big mean giant in the sky.  It wasn't until I was about 32 years-old that I realized that wasn't even close to being true. 

I began to realize that God loves and accepts me just as I am.  God loved me and was willing to forgive and accept me regardless of all the rotten stuff I had done.  By the way, by the time I reached 32 years-old, that was really saying something!  As I often say, I was living so close to the edge of hell that I smelled like smoke.  When I chose to follow Christ my life seriously changed!  When I use that phrase "chose to follow Christ", I mean that I accepted Him as my God, believed He died on the cross and rose again, and then I began to do my best to live by His teachings.  When I chose to follow Him, then my life began to change.  The only thing I can compare it to is coming out of the dark and into the light.  Sounds strange or weird I know, but my life up until then was very depressing and quite frankly...dark. 

What I have learned over the last 10 years is that a lot...no wait, A LOT of the rules I was handed in my youth are no where to be found in the Bible.  Yes, Jesus did give us a lot of guidance and commandments to live by in the New Testament, but if you examine them closely...they are all for OUR own good.  Jesus teaching don't put us in bondage...no, they set us free! 

Jesus taught us how to live a life that is free from anger, bitterness, and resentment.  He taught us how to live a life that full of hope, peace, and love.  First and foremost he said for us to love God and love others.  My greatest desire is to spend the rest of my life trying to do just that.  I know that I will never have it all together.  It is more than obvious that I am one brick short of a full load, but I still hope that for the rest of my life God will use me to help others find Him and find life.  

I want people to realize that Christianity is NOT about the rules...it's not about a religion, but it is purely about relationships.  First, we start with a relationship with a loving relationship with God.  Then we quickly have to begin building loving relationships with others.  I want to last but not least thank my amazing wife for helping me find my way out of the darkness and back to Him.