Hey, I did it!

Hey, I did it! It may seem like a small thing to just about everyone else living in the 21st century, but for me this is giant step as I am not only technologically impaired - to put it mildly - but also constantly running to play catch-up and years "behind the times" in just about every area of life. What did I do, you might ask? Well, I started my own blog!
I know, I know, to everyone else this seems like "no big deal" because everyone in the modern world has been blogging for years, but as I said, I am chronically "behind the times" when it comes to the technological/computer centered world that we live in. I find myself easily overwhelmed with the speed at which new devices, services, techno-trends, etc are coming down the pike, and so it is not uncommon for me to just "avoid" the new fads so as not to add more confusion (not to mention frustration) to my already busy busy life. To illustrate this point for those who don't know me personally: I don't own a cell-phone, I have NEVER played any of the new gaming-systems after the Super Nintendo, I have never even used an ipad, iphone, ireader, itunes (or any other such "i" device), and I also don't have a facebook/twitter/linkedin account!
It seems to me that as soon as one of these gadgets or fads becomes "all the rage" that the next second you turn around there is something new! exciting! better! coming out for everyone to obsess over and it just takes me too long to get comfortable with one new technological invention that, by the time I feel like I've mastered something, it doesn't matter anymore because it's "out of date". My husband has a fancy smart-phone, top of the line "gadget" that can do everything my laptop does (and more!) and it's so loaded with features for your "convenience" that I can't figure out how to even make a phone call on the silly thing!
So, that being said, about five years ago I decided to just embrace my techo-impairment and live my life without all the modern computer fads, toys, and "conveniences" that we are constantly bombarded with in today's world. It was very freeing I must admit. I no longer had to spend time and energy (time and energy that I don't have to spare, I might add) trying to learn how to manage some new social-networking site, game, phone, or other computer-related device only to find out once I'd spent the time to 'master' it that it was obsolete. I remember around about the time I figured out how to really navigate my "myspace" page effectively, everyone started telling me that myspace was "out" and no-one was using that anymore, but facebook was "in" and everybody was switching to use that instead. I thought to myself then, no thank you! I quit! (Haha.)
Now, I know it's hard for most people to believe, or even really fathom this but, my life has been just fine and dandy all these years... that's right, I am totally content and fulfilled, and rarely ever run into any "problems" living my techNO lifestyle! Admittedly there has been the occasion here or there where I had car trouble and wished for a cell-phone, or needed some on-the-spot information where a portable internet device of some sort would have been beneficial. Yet, somehow, by some strange twist of fate, I have actually survived even those instances. I have found that it is quite possible to get through life, quite happily I might add, just as people have done for thousands of years before the 20th century! To top it all off, I have actually seen so many of my friends and family who seem to have become almost addicted to their technology-- behaving as though they couldn't possibly survive without it-- as they seem to have forgotten that those of us in my generation and older didn't even have ANY of these things for most of our lives!
Now, all that being said, hopefully will explain a little bit why finally starting my own blog is such an incredible leap for me personally. So I would like to take just a moment here, to now explain why I wanted to join the ranks of the online bloggers in the first place. It's really quite a simple; As a bible-believing Christian woman myself,  I needed to find a way to connect with like-minded ladies around the world who share in my convictions and beliefs. The more rapidly we are seeing changes in the world around us, the more and more difficult it is to "stand firm" in beliefs that the Bible teaches us that have become increasingly "un-popular" and even, "politically incorrect" to the point that many people now-a-days not only reject the teachings found in the Bible, but also become upset/defensive/offended by folks who continue to hold fast to those beliefs themselves.
Not so long ago, Bible-believing Christians could gain support and encouragement in their continuing walk with Christ, as we strive to make the right choices and to "push-out" the sin in our lives as it oh-so-subtly creeps in unawares, from members of our church family. It seems to me one of the main reasons that God puts such importance for believers to attend church regularly, as there is much more strength in like-minded people gathering together to hold fast to standards we know to be true, than for someone out in the world "on their own", so to speak. Unfortunately this is also something that has become increasingly difficult in the world we live in today.
Since this is the situation that I am faced with at this point in my life, I began to see the increasing need to find a way to connect somehow, someway, with other people who share a passion for the Bible as it is. In addition, many of my convictions and beliefs are relatively new to me as well. I was saved at 6yrs old and attended church on a semi-regular basis for the majority of my childhood years, however I was raised in liberal churches and have come to find out over the last several months that many of the things I have been taught over the years is either lacking, twisted a bit, or just plain wrong. That being the case, there is even more of a necessity for me to connect with conservative Christian women because in some ways I am the proverbial "babe in Christ" since many of my now-held beliefs, convictions and doctrines are very new to me. Therefore, I have questions, and a lot of them! Since I'm unable to find support and answers for those questions as they arise from somebody in person locally, I came to the conclusion that I needed establish some friendships online instead. I came to that conclusion about two or three months ago but I didn't even know where to start when it came to beginning my journey as a "blogger", haha!
I am an avid reader of several blogs that I have been blessed enough to come across over the last several months, that in itself is a story of "divine intervention" I am sure! As a matter of fact, being lead to those blogs ties in directly with how my eyes were finally opened to the many areas of understanding I was lacking in, biblically speaking. It was a "domino-effect" of sorts, finding one truth that lead me to another and another, and so on and so forth to bring me to where I am today. That is quite a long story in and of itself, so I will try and make another post explaining my "journey of discovery" here in the next couple of days.
For now I will just say that the very first blog I ever read belonged to the wife of a pastor from a small church in Arizona, and I thank God every single day that I "happened" across this beautiful family! My life, and by extension the lives of my entire family, have been completely changed over the last eight months! I am devastated that I lived so many years believing in lies, or not believing/knowing things that I should have know. That being said, however, now my children have the chance to learn and grow in the Lord the way I should have and they will not have to go through so many painful lessons that I endured, that could have been avoided if I had been taught correctly. I will be eternally in debt to Pastor Anderson and his wife, Zsuzsanna, whom I could never even begin to repay -- so I take solace in knowing that Jesus will reward them on my behalf someday!
To conclude this, my first blog post, I just want to send out a heartfelt prayer to everyone who has participated in leading me closer to the Lord to where I am today (and God knows who those people are) that they be blessed in their lives now and going forward. I would also like to invite the Christian women who "happen across" my new blog to introduce yourself because I am eager and anxious to start building fruitful relationships with any and all ladies who can continue to teach and guide me in my personal walk with Jesus. I am on a mission to change the harmful ideas, perceptions, habits and beliefs that have held me back, not only from having a close fellowship with my Lord and Savior, but also from living the best and most healthy life possible and giving those tools to my children so they don't have to learn the "hard way" as their father and I did. I desire to make those changes as quickly as I possibly can and I am keenly aware that I still have a long way to go and a LOT to learn! Thank you for taking the time to read my first post, there will be many more to come!