And to the title of this blog post... I was tucking the boys into bed tonight, and Jack requested to say his own version of prayers. (Ordinarily I say and he repeats, but he wanted to be in charge, so I let him go.) Out of that sweet little boy's mouth came "Now I lay me down to sleep, I having my daily bread, and please keep Daddy safe... Amen!" It took a lot for me to keep my composure, because he combined each separate prayer we usually say into a much condensed Readers' Digest-ish version, and it was beyond cute. Tyler has taken to wanting to pray by himself on his own, and Noah doesn't really have much interest in praying, and I don't force him to, but he did repeat some of the prayers tonight.
We started taking the boys to church around the end of 2013. We found a pretty comfortable, Christian-based church that we felt was a good fit for us, and have been attending in spurts ever since. I say spurts because often times things come up and we can't make it (my work schedule, or visiting with my parents, or whatever else) but it's a comforting place to go. I enjoy the sense of community, they have a great children's ministry, and being able to sit during the service and drink a cup of coffee and munch on donuts are a nice added bonus. I grew up Catholic, so going from very strict, repetitive masses to something of a religious culture shock took me a while to get used to. Can I still believe in God even though I'm "religion hopping"? Does it have the same effect? Am I going to hell? Is this the wrong choice?
It doesn't really matter, honestly... I am far from a Bible thumper... In fact, I am probably not really that great at this Christianity thing (I don't think I was much of a model Catholic, to tell you the truth). I've been mainly going because our church now is pretty comforting, and I love what they have to offer and I think it's important for the boys to be raised with a sense of community and comfort and a God... If they choose later in life to go a different path, not believe, or whatever, that's fine too, but partaking in a community with good morals and values and being accepted, loved, and valued (with some Biblical principles in there) certainly won't hurt them.
The religion argument can go around and around for days. I do believe in evolution. I also believe in a higher being. I don't know exactly what that means, but I don't feel likes I should be pinned to one or the other... Same as in politics (which I don't even want to discuss... But if I like one set of ideals but not all on one side, and same for the other, do I HAVE to choose a label or a side?? I don't wanna!) So for now, I can respect any and all of my friends and family members' choices in beliefs... Whatever tickles your fancy, go for it... If you don't believe in God and think the Bible is a silly old book, that's your every right and it's cool. But I just want to raise my kiddos to eventually be loving, caring, respectable young men, and taking them to church is not a bad way to do it, I think.
I just wish it weren't so awkward and uncomfortable to discuss sometimes.
Until tomorrow... I end this highly unorganized and random post. I should have taken a Tylenol before I started writing this...
I feel you on the community and extended church family. I feel like if something were to ever happen and we needed someone they would be one of the first to call and help. They truly love my children like they are their own. And they accept people as they are, they won't change you. If you're gay, be gay, if you're straight be straight, if you're confused that's ok too. The big thing is love and acceptance!
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