Since faith was the theme over at the Fancy Word for Simple blog this week and Sandra wanted to hear about my experience at Wellspring last week I figured it would be a good topic for a blog post today. (Well, actually I’ve been intending to blog about it since Monday but it’s been a hectic week)

So Nikki and I decided to go to a church that I used to go to about 2 1/2 years ago. It got me thinking again about what factors there are when it comes to picking a church to call home.

I really like Wellspring. From the moment I pull up to the sign at the entrance I’m happy to be there. I know the building itself shouldn’t be a factor. And I’m actually typically very turned off by a church that puts ridiculous amounts of money into their ‘church campus’. Most of these elaborate churches come off as cold to me. Not warm or welcoming at all.  My favorite church that I’ve attended met in a highschool on Sundays and had their church office at the local health club. They didn’t ever want to be defined by a church building but by the people who went there. Unfortunately that church no longer exists so who knows, maybe there’s something to be said for having a building to call home. I’d still like to think not though. All that being said, Wellspring has a BEAUTIFUL church building. I went to their website in search of photos to include in my post and stumbled on the original architect drawings and not surprisingly it was designed by my favorite local architect.

I know it’s not supposed to be the important thing about church but I do love the warmth that this church has achieved even in it’s design. Pulling up the long drive you feel almost like you’re pulling up to a lodge. Walking through the doors into the church it has that same feeling. Huge fireplace, comfy couches and chairs set up in conversational areas in the lobby, a nursery that looks like a cotton candy factory, a coffee shop with fresh cookies and donuts and even red bull behind the counter to keep the teens awake during church. And speaking of teens, the hang out room for their meetings looks like a night club. A vintage Volkswagen beetle, pool table, more couches and a bar (again stocked with red bull). The entire atmosphere is geared towards being a fun inviting place for kids to hang out. If you want to see photos of the inside you can take a virtual tour here.

So yeah, one of the things I love about this place is in fact the building. What can I say, I’m just wired that way to appreciate warm cottage style surroundings. It makes me smile. I can’t help it.

But there are other things that I love about this church. Like the fact that everyone is incredibly friendly. Like just the right amount of friendly really. Warm smiles and greetings from just about everyone you encounter. Very welcoming. Sad to say that I’ve encountered churches where this is not so much the case. I’d definitely put this at a higher importance than the appearance of the church itself. :)

Then there’s the singing. I LOVE music and I love to sing. I wasn’t blessed with the solo voices that my sisters all got but I enjoy singing none-the-less. Music and lyrics move me more so than just plain words, written or spoken. Something about the music just gives it more impact for me. I guess it’s another way I’m wired. Wellspring sings alot and I love that.

They also have an excellent preacher. I find myself thinking about the message throughout the week and to me that’s important. So often in my church-going past I sat through the service, and I listened (really I did) but once I walked through the doors to leave I didn’t give the sermon another thought. I would say hearing a message that I can relate to life throughout the next week and beyond is definitely an important factor in finding a church home. Arguably more important than a nice building and friendly church members. :) You can listen to the message from our service last week here. (Today’s message isn’t up quite yet).

So now for the one and only con that I’m struggling with at Wellspring. Each and every week (or at least most weeks) they have what i would consider an alter call. I dunno, I guess for me it comes off as showy. I also quite often look at church from a perspective of ‘how would someone unfamiliar with church life feel coming into this church/service for the first time?’ Personally if it were me I think I’d be intimidated and feel quite awkward in the alter call situation. I have the same frustration with churches where they sing songs or recite things where a visitor would feel as if they’ve missed some sort of handout or class they should’ve gone to before attending the service. So I dunno, I really struggle with this. I’ve talked with a few people about it this week and they all seemed to agree but for some reason I feel a bit like a sub-standard Christian for having an issue with this.

Anyway, this has gotten MUCH longer than I intended but I’d love to hear your thoughts on what’s important to you in a church you’d call home and if you’re brave, what’s your view on alter calls?

Oh, and I loaded up the blogpod with songs of faith that are particularly moving to me. They’ve been up all week just waiting for this post. :) I did find some new great songs that I’m dying to upload so if you want to hear my songs of faith soundtrack listen soon because I’ll likely be swapping a few out for some new favorites by tomorrow night. :)

Off to bed now. I’m exhausted. Lots more to post about maybe from the office tomorrow if the phones are quiet enough during break. I’ve been busy finishing up a few blog designs and struggling with a couple new designs.

Happy Veteran’s Day!

I’m thinking tonight is a good time to share this little video ‘cuz it pushes my moody post down a bit and I may have some new visitors to this little blog. I certainly don’t want them thinking I’m a grumpy pants. :) I think of this song every year around this time and I’ve been patiently waiting for the leaves to start changing and Halloween to be near to post it here on the blog so others might appreciate it the way I do. :)

That Martina sure has a way of tugging at your heartstrings doesn’t she?

So why am I worried about new blog visitors you might ask? Because the incredibly  sweet Kim over at Today’s Creative Blog has featured my little ‘ol blog today. Just because I made a little blinkie for her that I now get to display proudly here. :)  I’m totally flattered and I hope her readers aren’t too disappointed if they drop by.

When I look at the list of blogs that she’s featured I feel a little like I’m back in high school and just trying to be part of the cool group but worried that my clothes aren’t cool enough or I’m not funny enough or my bangs aren’t big enough (oh yeah, that style went out years ago, didn’t it). :)  I should probably go re-read my sweet friend Nancy’s blog post for today. :)

Speaking of music there’s some GREAT tunes on the blogpod. Like who hasn’t fallen in love with Ingrid Michaelson’s song on the Old Navy sweater commercial? And Natalie Grant’s latest release which I hope means a new album soon although I couldn’t seem to find any talk of one. Natalie’s got a pretty sweet website design too. Love checking out music artists websites. Courtney DeLaura posted about Rilo Kiley on her blog recently and ever since I’ve been hooked. Fun stuff. And then there’s a song called Falling Slowly that’s actually been in two movies that I’ve seen recently. This one, which was rather disappointing, especially for having a rather impressive cast but this one was really really good. The entire thing looked like it was filmed by someone’s dad with a handheld video recorder but I just loved the music and the story and, speaking of accents, I could listen to that strong Irish accent all day long. :)

Kay, back to work on blogs and probably watch the bachelor. I’m still watching (sortof) but I’m a little bored with it. Bring on So You Think You Can Dance. :)

Have a great night!

Found these little cards here and filled one out digitally Friday night.

Feeling a little better now but it’s been a rough week. Seeing a grandmother who was always so strong and independent become so frail is tough. Seeing her casket carried to the gravesite next to my grandfathers by my brother and cousins was even more difficult. But to be honest I think it’s entirely different circumstances that made the loss of my grandma this week particularly difficult. Circumstances that I chose for myself that I don’t regret but that seem to emphasize otherwise bearable feelings of being alone. The email from my mom letting us know that Grandma had peacefully passed on came late Tuesday night after any friends that I could call had already gone to bed. Going to bed alone each night is a lonely feeling anyway but it’s emphasized when you could really just use a hug. Going home to an empty house after the visitation Thursday night was equally emotional for me, emphasized by a severe storm (which I normally love) and tornado warnings nearby (which is a bit scary when you’re in a 2nd floor apartment). I live alone by choice so I’m not looking for pity. I just want to remember what this time in life was like for me and this is my only journal so those of you who read unfortunately get the bad with the good.

Fortunately there is good to share too. I’m feeling better today. Wishing there were 2 more days to the weekend. But I got to spend alot of the day yesterday surrounded by the most adorable nieces and nephews on the planet. Sharing tiny cookie bites with Ainsley, watching Isa wink, cuddling with Selah in the nursery and getting one of the world’s best hugs from Paige just a few of the good bits.

And I haven’t even blogged about me new sweet baby niece that I got to hold for quite awhile Thursday night. She was such a honey. This is Gracyn Kay. You can see lots more pictures of her here.

Off to work today and then working on blog designs tonight. I decided it was time to start a separate blog to post about the design stuff. I felt like it was sortof taking over this blog. So if you are interested in what’s going on in the blog design part of life you’ll find all that here from now on. I have a lot of ideas for this new blog including links to fun blogging tools, advice on posting, tutorials and of course posts about the current blogs I’m working on. So, the following is the last (well, last regular) peek at a blog that I’ll be finishing up hopefully tonight…

And finally a fun little quiz that I stumbled across and had to check it out for myself. I think it was right on for me. Funny cuz I really never think of myself as having an accent. Apparently mine is an Inland North accent. What’s yours?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak “Standard English straight out of the dictionary” but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like “Are you from Wisconsin?” or “Are you from Chicago?” Chances are you call carbonated drinks “pop.”
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
North Central
The South
The West
Boston
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Have a great Monday.