Church is important to Southerners
I know I risk the loss of readers by talking about religion, but church is important to Southerners. Being a Christian wife and mother, it is especially important to me that you know right up front that I love Jesus and owe my life to Him. I realize that not all my readers will share my view and I promise not to shove religion down your throat. Jesus did not do that so it would not be right for me to do it either.
I am never alone
The Cross is seen in many homes down here. It’s not just a decoration we take lightly, instead it is a reminder of the sacrifice that was made for us.
You’ll notice in my writing that I refer to myself as “I”, “we”, “us”. The reason I tend to do it is I realize that I am never alone. NEVER…I represent Christ first. He is always with me. When nobody else is around, He is always there. Usually, I have a child or my husband within arms reach. I represent our family in everything that I do and I do everything with my family in mind.
He was wearing a blue tie
I grew up riding the church bus to Sunday School and church services. My parents did not attend regularly. In fact, I can only remember one time my father went to church. I can still see him in the hallway outside my parent’s bedroom door. He was wearing a blue tie. I don’t know why he didn’t go to church, but he sent us every Sunday. Mama never learned to drive so occasionally she’d ride the bus with us.
The strange thing was in the other building
This is probably 10 years after my baptism. Yes, Daddy was fond of his guns, although I never knew him to hunt. It’s a Southern boy thing.
One of those Sunday mornings, my mother was in Big Church and I was in Children’s Church. Big church was the new sanctuary next door to the old sanctuary. That’s right, the old sanctuary was the Children’s Church. That Sunday morning as a ten year old girl, I accepted Christ as my Savior. The strange thing was in the other building, unbeknownst to me, my mother was doing the same thing. She and I were baptized two weeks later by Bro. Fred Wolfe at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, in Mobile, AL. This was the same day I mentioned above when my father went to church to witness our baptism.
The reason I can tell you the exact day and place I accepted Christ is because it changed my life forever. That’s something important in the Church. You either know you accepted Christ, when and where, or you need to.
One of the first questions Southerners ask
Notice I even told you the church name. In the South, one of the first questions you may be asked upon meeting someone is, “Where do you go to church?” or “Which church do you belong to?”. It can be downright uncomfortable to be asked that question when you neither attend nor belong to a church. Southerners are not trying to put you on the spot, they are just interested in you and want to connect on a personal level. Church is very personal. In fact, church family is closer than biological family for many people.
Church days are Sunday and Wednesday
We start ’em out early with Vacation Bible School. That’s my sweet Michael about three years old, with a couple of my 4th and 5th students.
In the South, church days are usually Sunday and Wednesday. More and more, Sunday School has been replaced with Small Groups. However, in truth, there is nothing that really replaces Sunday School. The connections are so much stronger in Sunday School in my opinion. Being structured, with a set time and length of class, as well as having familiar classmates, the setting is perfect to build long-term close relationships.
Youth trips, camps, mission trips, puppet ministry
Dynamic youth groups are an excellent draw for teens. Some of my most fun activities and deepest worship experiences where in association with teenagers in the youth group. Only thing is, I was a parent to two of the teens at the time. Youth trips, camps, mission trips, puppet ministry are just a few samples of teen activities that will forever put a smile on this lady’s face.
You can always count on your youth group to show up at a Sweet 16 Luau Party in the Middle of December!
We don’t put our candle under a bushel
I am going to end this post, but beware that I will throw this subject into other places on this site. I mean Christ is in me and shines through me. We don’t put our candle under a bushel. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
