Oh Those Country Churches!

Wow, so today Pops and I decided to try out a little country church that his boss/friend told him about. Apparently he and his wife just started going there, and said that we might like it.

I hate to say it, but this was the first time I've been to church with my dad the entire time I've been out here at the ranch. I think that that's reflected in my poor spiritual life as of late. Not to say that church is the only important part of my relationship with God, but it sure does play a part. We thrive in community. I believe this with all my heart, but lately I've been searching for community outside the church. Whether it be with friends or at work or whatever, I have almost shunned the church entirely. I have such a hard time being there sometimes. But Donald Miller says something interesting about church. He says that that's the real place where we learn to love other people and I'm thinking that he has a real valid point. I'm commanded to love those around me like Christ did, and what better place to do that then the church? There are some people that are hard to tolerate in church, let alone love. So it really is a learning experience and a growing experience.

Anyways, all that to say that it's been a while since I've been in church and I had some reservations about it.

Well, this place was seriously out in the country.
Part of the directions were that we'd hear banjoes and hillbilly music as we got closer. And I could've sworn that I heard some faint yodeling and washboard percussion. But I'm not sure. There were also like a parade of country animals on the roads. We saw deer, cows, wild turkeys, and roadrunners all over the roads. It was nuts!

But we finally made it and it really is the perfect picture of "country church." Like when you imagine a country church, this is the mental picture that pops into your mind. There were only like 12 people there, but it was actually really good. The message was good and the people were friendly. I could ask for nothing more.

But yeah...don't give up on church and on the people there.
We were created for community, especially community where we come together to worship and praise the one true God. I think I lost sight of that, but...lesson learned. haha