Knowing God part 1

I picked up a little book by Beth Moore called Discovering God’s Purpose for Your Life. In it she examines Philippians 3:10

My determined purpose is that I may know Him that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person. Amplified Bible.

In chapter 2, Beth challenges us to write a book. A book called Knowing God. She envisioned an actual notebook but I decided to use my blog instead. So here goes…

Knowing God
By Miriam Richardson

Chapter 1 Knowing God through Family

I cannot remember a time when I didn’t believe in God. I was blessed to have a Christian family. I have often said I’ve been attending church since nine months before I was born. My family was in church every Sunday morning and night and every Wednesday night, all of my life. Unlike some parents who send their children to church, but seldom show up themselves, Mom and Dad always went with us to church. They were very involved, in fact Dad was a deacon and Mom was active in Sunday School, WMU, Bible School and many other activities.

I learned that God is my Heavenly Father. My natural father was not perfect (none of us are) but he showed me by his example that fathers are loving, that they discipline us when we need it and teach us how to live. So to me, viewing God as Father is a good thing. Dad loved to garden and taught me to appreciate creation and the Creator. He liked to travel and took us to many beautiful places that God created for our enjoyment. He taught me to tithe and to give over and above the tithe to missions and other church programs, but he not only gave his money but his time to the church.

Mom also set a good example for me to follow. She was always willing to play games (often Bible based), sing songs, was very caring and kind. She was also very soft spoken. I can’t really remember her ever raising her voice. She taught me to respect and care for older family members. When I was young my Great-Grandfather (her grandfather) and later my Grandmother (Dad’s mother) lived with us. She took care of them with patience and love. I’m sure that it wasn’t always easy and I may have seen life through the rose colored glasses of being the youngest in the family but my memories are of loving parents who loved God and taught me to love Him too.

Even my sisters taught me alot about how to live, sometimes as much by seeing what got them in trouble, as by their good examples. Being the baby in the family does have it’s advantages!