I must have had a major brain fart. I wrote this last Monday and thought it posted. I wondered why no one had commented on it, and I just saw it in my drafts folder. So I’m posting it today.

This past Sunday, the pastor preached on knowing God’s Will. It was a great sermon, and one I desperately needed to hear. It confirmed in me some other things God’s been leading me to in the past few weeks after She Speaks. See, I’ve been working on my quiet time, prayer time and reading my Bible. I’ve been praying that God would lead us to the church He wants us to serve in. We’ve been visiting this church for a few months now and I think Duck and I have both been wondering if this is “the one.”

In an effort to get involved a little more, I decided to take Doodle to a Girl’s Night Out at this lady’s house. It was neat how she had stations set up for a pedicure, manicure, makeup and hair. At each station, there were tips for that station as well as scripture to help each of us remember it’s not just about looking good on the outside, we need to be concerned with our insides as well. There were other daughters there who were much younger than Doodle, and others who were much older. At one point, I had let Doodle go into another room with a couple of teenage girls. Hindsight is 20/20 though, and I should not have let her be put in that position. Doodle was very upset because the girls had pushed her into a closet and wouldn’t let her out.

Since that happened, we’ve been questioning whether this church is the place for us. I’m not sure how to explain it, but hopefully you mothers will understand. We know there’s no such thing as a perfect church. We know there are going to be kids who do stupid stuff. But we need to do our best to protect Doodle, and I failed when I assumed those teenage girls would have enough sense to be nice. I have been praying about it, wanting God to show us where He’d have us to serve.

During Sunday School, I was making a mental list — you know, good on one side, bad on the other. The Sunday School class is good. The preaching is great. The music was good for awhile. They have a small children’s ministry — not a lot of kids in Doodle’s Sunday School class and it’s either second or third grade through fifth grade. They have a small youth group. Most of the congregation are older, more mature people.

A big thing for me in a church is the pastor. How does he preach? Does he use scripture? Are we even reading the same book? This may sound funny to those of you who have always been in a good church, but I’ve been in a church where the pastor twists scripture to justify whatever he desires. Thank God, He convicted both Duck and I that we needed to get out of there. A good part of this church is the pastor.

I’ve been waiting for Duck’s direction on joining the church — well, that and God’s direction of course. I find that God will confirm what He’s telling me through Duck. That’s one of my prayers that God makes us like-minded — there are less struggles that way. Unfortunately, the pastor is leaving this church. After his wonderful sermon on God’s Will, he turned in his resignation. I truly believe he is following God’s Will for his life, so it’s hard to be ill with that. I am, however, disappointed. I feel like this was confirmation that this isn’t the church for us.

I’ve heard pastors say before that you just can’t please everyone — meaning there will be people who church hop. I do not want to be like that. I desperately want to find a church where we should be serving and learning. It’s hard not to have relationships with other Christians where you can get support, prayer and grow in Christ. I hope and pray that we are not just being “difficult” to satisfy and are seeking God’s Will.

If you don’t mind, pray for us to find the church God wants us in. That is our greatest need right now.

Just out of curiousity as well, what would you have done if you were me when Doodle was upset? I don’t think I handled it very well at all, but I know we’ll have to deal with bullies more in the future. Maybe I can handle it better next time with your advice.