Adventures in Christ

Adventurous has never been a word I would use to describe myself.  I have always been more of the cautious type.  In fact, a lot of my good choices in life were made in the interest of safety rather than it being a good "moral" choice.  As a child, I followed rules because adults were intimidating.  I never dabbled in drinking because there was no appeal to me in losing self-control, much less vomiting.  Cheating in school was never considered because the risk of being caught was... well... risky.  Whenever I moved to a new city, I established my route to work or school and stuck with that, shopping only at the stores along the way.  I use the crosswalk at all times and get anxious when my husband leads me otherwise.  I use my blinker on desolate roads.  You will never catch me in the express lane with 13 items in my shopping cart.  Rules are meant to be followed.

Perhaps that is why the Christian lifestyle has always had its appeal to me.  As the exact middle child of seven children, I have always found myself to be a sufferer of "Middle Child Syndrome."  At the top of the list of symptoms- the inability to make decisions.  Rules often eliminate the need to make a decision.  The decision has already been made.   So when it came to a lifestyle of following Christ in the sense of moral decisions, I had very little struggle.

Jesus has always been a safe choice.  He gave me purpose, answered my whys, and left no uncertainty for me about where I was heading after this life.  I felt like I had all bases covered.  Jesus was a first aid kit that I carried in my purse and pulled out when faced with the boo-boos of this life.  And He also helped me avoid many "ow-ies" along the way.  Safe.  Just my style.

But lately, He's been getting really risky.  This word "adventure" keeps coming up in my daily thoughts.  There is this pull toward excitement.  To me, up until very recently, following Christ has always been about leading my life in a moral way that serves others and points them to Him.  There never appeared to be any risk involved.  The problem with my definition is it was still my life and I was not giving up a whole lot.  There was no sacrifice in leaving an old life behind- maybe some of you snicker at my opting for "How Great Thou Art" over Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" as described in my last blog, but that was about as sacrificial as it got.  It was still my life with a future that I had always had mapped out- stay-at-home mom with lots of kids and a little bit of time to write.  A nice, safe future.

I have often envied those Christians with the powerful testament of that life-changing moment where faith took over and the life of drinking and drugs became history.  Recently I attended a witnessing workshop and heard from people with testimonies like this and I cried at what beautiful works of Christ they were.  They were men that lead these brash lifestyles choking up as they shared what they lived for now and what they left behind.  They were jars of clay with ugly beginnings that Christ was molding into beautiful images of Him.

I know when I tell you I have always been a straight-laced fuddy-duddy, Christianity seems like an easy decision.  It may seem to some blindly-made, lacking intellect, done only out of what was "the right thing to do."  I hope that my previous blogs have made you think otherwise.  There was definitely a lot of mental struggle for me, and I did a lot of research to come to the convictions I profess.  Still, the life-changing moment never happened for me.  I can tell you moments of growth, but no one would look at the Katie-of-old and the Katie-of-now and proclaim, "My! How you have changed!"

But lately, I have been feeling it coming on.  The risk, the excitement, the adventure.  My heart keeps pounding at the thought of it.  This blog was a start.  Not that it was a bold change, but it was a commitment to start speaking about Him on a regular basis and offering Him up to those who don't know Him.  I hesitated the first time I went to share it on Facebook.  What if it offends?  What if it begs questions I cannot answer?  Yet, if I wrote only for the edification of those already firm in their belief, what good would it really do?

Then I read the book "How Good is Good Enough?" and I told my husband I wanted to make it available to anyone seeking.  "Offer it on the blog?" I thought.  Risky.  Supply and demand and postage costs would be unpredictable.  But God keeps telling me to do it.  So here I am, joining Him for an adventure to offer to you, whoever wants it, the book "How Good is Good Enough," and trusting that He will provide for the demand.  If you have ever wondered how good you have to be to get into Heaven, if all religions lead to the same place, if there is anyway to know the answer to life's biggest question; you need to ask me for this book.  You can email me at bloggingtobless@hotshepherd.org and I will get you a copy.    

I'm leaving behind a life of pew-warming and predictability.  Following Christ is all about handing over your life so that He can mold it into its original design.  I know I am safe in Christ but I am ready to live through Him.  I don't know what He holds for me in tomorrow, but that is the whole idea of adventure.  Want to join me?