Post-Partum Heathen No More

Today marked the end of my 3 month hiatus from church. Up to this point, we were just moved here, and then Anna was too little to risk going to the nursery not having had her vaccinations yet. And so, up to this point, Josh and Noah have been visiting churches in our stead, helping to narrow down the field of prospective church homes for us here in Tennessee. So today I got to visit one of the finalists - and not without a little dread beforehand. Trying churches and being new again is alot like being in high school again, or like dating again - a painful, but necessary evil. And visiting their Sunday School (oh, brother, they still call it Sunday School), and being in the worship service (my least favorite part of this visit), and hearing the pastor's message (I learned so, so much) really, really made me homesick for our church home, The Brook, back in Alabama. Anyway, Josh reminds me that we won't find exactly what we had before, and I know that, but it doesn't make me miss our friends and church leaders from the past two years any less. (Alison, you should know we met this church's version of you and it made us grin. She and I hit it off in what little time we had to chat...but as you would guess she was the one person that was quick to befriend us new people in the group. As coincidence would have it we shared a familiarity with adoption. She is a birthmother herself.)

To its credit, the church we visited today (College Heights Baptist) was very likable for even me, and I can be a tough critic. But still, if this were HGTV's House Hunters, this church would be one of those that would stay on our list while we press on for something closer to what we have in mind. I really wish it was a perfect fit because it had some things I truly value and respect in churches and that can be hard to find sometimes. The teaching was not portentous or too full of church speak that can confuse or alienate visitors. At the same time it was full of truth that was not watered down and reflected a genuine people genuinely seeking to resemble the Lord more and more...and with such passion. The fellowship was comfortable and painfully honest. By that I mean that people were being transparent about their struggles and points of need. It was startling and moving and made we want to be around such candid openness even more. When one couple expressed a need for prayer for their family in a particularly tough, tough time they are going through, the husband stated that they were choosing to run to the church and not from it, to which the entire class got up, surrounded them and prayed over them right there. The congregation was mixed races and I even spotted many of the older members (gray haired and in their 70's and 80's) dancing and raising their hands in praise, grinning with joy, as in love with the Lord as a hyped up youth group. So refreshing to see. The sermon (which is often the most important thing to me when we are first trying a church) was delivered by their evangelist-turned-pastor from the book of Exodus and really got me thinking about a number of things. I love and need that...to be thinking about Scripture in ways I had not considered on my own. The pastor spoke with confidence, humor, honesty and called for a lot of "amens" throughout the message, to which he was always, always answered. I quite liked the responsiveness of the congregation. I heard some hearty "C'mon's" several times during the message when the pastor was getting to some good truths that deserved repeating. Everyone just seemed to be so comfortable in their own skin, being themselves in a large group, and unafraid to participate in the church family setting.

Sadly, we missed a couple things. We really need to be in a small group that is more in the same place in life as we are. The Sunday School we visited was 18-35 age range, but really, it seemed to be more along the lines of 35-45. They all had kids 10 years old and higher, some even with kids 18 years old. Good grief...not bad, just not for us. Other downsides were the worship style, the big, big size of the church, the dress code, and the nursery set up/routine, details for which I will not...well...detail. :) Suffice to say, the differences were large enough from what we are looking for to keep us looking, as I said before, for a better fit. So our sights are set on a place next week called Freedom Church, which is actually closer to our home - an immediate plus. Wish us luck.

Here's a quick pic of our sweetie's church nursery debut (how cute are her pants?!):


And, completely off the church topic, but no less cute, our other sweetie's new slippers:



Also, Noah met Santa yesterday on his train ride...and apparently was smitten with the experience. Check it out on Josh's blog for a firsthand account of the event.
We have a date with Santa next weekend in our neighborhood - that won't confuse the boy will it? Seeing the big man again so soon? We shall see...