I'm all for believing.

When I was 15 years old, I went on a camp with my friends which was run by the local church. We went away to the country, we climbed a mountain and I complained the whole way up. I hiked beside a beautiful Texan girl who was the sweetest person I think I had ever met, she was in her late teens. As we reached the top and looked out over the view, the girl said to me -
"Amy, I have never heard anyone complain so much in my life."

Wow.

I looked at her and said, "How do you just be happy with everything? I don't get it."

She replied, "I ask God to make me content with every circumstance."

That really was the end of the conversation, but the beginning of a completely life-changing paradigm shift for me. If God could do it for her, He could do it for me. It wasn't just the no-complaining, it was her whole outlook on life... this peace she had... I wanted it. My insides were far from at peace.

Over the next few months, I just made a choice. I wanted to re-connect with God. I wanted to have a relationship with him... and here I am nine years later... just as convinced that He's real and so able to do .... anything, really. I believe nothing is too big for my God.

But having said that, I often think about some of Christianity's main ideas and how antiquated they seem. Perhaps they have been used in fables and fairytales for so long that they've lost some sort of connection with reality to today's world. Sometimes the thought of Heaven and Hell seems like something out of a cartoon. Like there's a devil with a pitchfork breathing fire, underneath the Earth... or angels playing harps next to the pearly gates. Well, with those representations... no wonder people think Heaven would be lame. If I had to play a harp for all of eternity (Or likewise, listen to a harp being played for all of eternity) I would go a bit crazy and bash down those Pearly Gates begging God for leave of absence, so I could whisk back down to earth to grab my iPod. And Hell seems to be associated with cool guys with tattoos and dirty electric reverby guitar solos... what's with that? If so... muuuuuuch more appealing!

Maybe we need a reality check here - providing you believe that God is a reality.

When I chose God, I chose the Bible and all the info inside of it as my 'truth' - and heck, I'm gonna stand on that! I'm gonna stand the crap outta that!

Heaven isn't about the harps. Its about an unadulterated, undistracted relationship with God.

Hell isn't cool face melting guitar solos. Its about an eternal disconnection with God.

Heaven isn't where good people go.

Hell isn't where bad people go.

Its not about 'good' or 'bad'... I believe (what the Bible says) is... when you choose God, after you die you spend eternity with Him. When you reject God, you don't. And I think everyone gets a chance to know God. Yeah, I believe people get by on death bed repentances... but personally, even though choosing to be a Christian can be difficult at times... for me, the good has always outweighed the hard. I would rather this "blink of an eye" that we inhabit within eternity, (which we call life) to be filled with a deep, sincere and honest connection with the God who threw the stars in the sky like pieces of glitter... who spoke and the world came into being...

Yes, I believe God made the world. No, I don't think its far-fetched or in any way mythical that a massive, omnipotent and omnipresent being could create everything that has ever been. No, I am not intellectually challenged. No, I don't understand science. No, I don't have all the answers. Yes, I will talk with you about this. No, I won't back down on what I think. No, I won't shove my views down your neck. Yes, I understand what you believe is different and I respect you as a person and enjoy the chance to learn about your mind and how it works.

Christians are not perfect. I am so far from perfect. I just want to give it my best shot, and be where God is. I want to be a normal person who lives her life differently. I never, ever want to bash people over the head with a Bible that says not to do that within its very pages. God is my shizz, my alpha, my omega: my beginning, my end. I love him, and I give him my life.