Blogging With Faith ~ Nicole

Get excited, because you will love today's guest blogger! Nicole is just the cutest thing ever! She just radiates joy (and this is just from reading her blog)! She is just about as southern as they get and I love it! Really makes me wish I had grown up in the south! Her blog is the single most inspirational of all the ones I follow. She is so honest and open about her faith and one of the most encouraging writers I have ever read. Read this post and then make sure to check out her blog, you will come back again and again to hear what she has to say!

Hey, sweet girls!  My name is Nicole and I blog at bloom about being a new wife, loving two fur-babies, starting my journey as a teacher, and doing it all with Jesus.  

I love this little series that Tavia started and I'm humbled that she asked me to contribute.  When Tavia first emailed me the floor was open for me to choose just about any topic that related to my walk with Jesus.  I knew almost immediately what I wanted to chat with you about.  It is something that has completely changed my faith and my walk with Jesus.  It is something that has had the biggest impact on my marriage.  

Community.

For many, church seems like an option.  You can go, you can not go; it doesn't really matter as long as you still love Jesus.  Oh, what a misconception!  Coming together with a body of believers is something that has been a necessity from the beginning.  There are examples all throughout the new testament of how believers stuck together to impact others for the gospel.  They gathered to be encouraged, to be challenged, and to ultimately spread the news that Jesus is the Christ.  Today, our churches should be doing the same thing.

My husband (then boyfriend) and I starting going to a brand new church plant in January of 2012.  I grew up in a large church, and he didn't grow up in church at all so the idea of a church plant was completely foreign to the both of us.  It met in a school, there were maybe 30 people there, and there was no "sit in the back and scoot out".  My experiences with church was changed then and there.  We knew the Lord had lead us there for a reason so we joined at the very first membership class in February of 2012.  Since then, our lives have changed.  We've learned that church isn't about a big praise team, a thousand members, or a building.  Church is about meeting together with other believers to be encouraged, be kept accountable, and be challenged to share the gospel with a lost and dying world.  

In a short year and half our lives have changed.  We've been discipled, we've served, we've joined a community group, we've reached out to visitors, we've met new friends, and we've been taught biblical truths.  I'll forever be grateful that I've been able to more fully see the type of community that the Lord intended for us to have.  

Here are a few things that will help you if you don't have a church home or if you aren't active at your church...

Get up and go!  If you never wake up on a Sunday morning and try out a church, you'll never find one!  I know it can be difficult and awkward to walk into a new place, but I promise you that it'll be worth it!  Talk to the couple next to you.  If you're new, hopefully someone will approach you, but there is no harm and striking up conversation to the person, couple, or family sitting next to you!  You'll never be involved in a church if you don't meet and love the people in it.  That's true community.  Serve.  Jesus came to serve and we can show others the gospel by loving them with our actions.  Serving is such a huge part of being involved in a body of believers!  Join a small group.  Many churches have gone away from Sunday School and have started more home-orriented small groups.  Small groups are a great way for you to connect with other people from your church.  Some of our best friends are in our community group and it is so incredible to have their love and support as we are on this journey together.  Small groups help you to stay connected, accountable, and serving.

I feel like I just said a lot.  :)  There are SO many things that I can say about the importance of being a part of a local body of believers.  It has truly changed my life and my marriage.  And for that, I will always be grateful.  

Thank you, Tavia, for opening up this discussion today!  As always, you can visit my blog or email me at bloomtheblog@gmail.com if you want to continue this discussion!  Thanks for having me, y'all!