Ehm, when am I supposed to find time to pray?

[mybabyweightiseightyearsold]

'cos so far, it's limited to when I'm on the pan. And, even then, usually I've got company.

Blokie doesn't go to church, so there's inevitably some conflict between kirk 'v' family time. Add to that, that I haven't really found a "good fit" of a church, and it's all too easy to do other stuff instead. We make it to a church service about once a month. On a good month.

But, I consider myself to be Christian. And, I do read the bible, though, I don't often "get it". And, I read mostly about the stuff that troubles me, like what's the big deal about being gay and why would it be ok to have slaves as long as you are nice to them? And, ehm, about it being ok for my husband to stone me?

God and I chat all the time, usually when I'm exasperated and asking for patience. When I'm sitting on the loo.

Is that better than nothing?

Just to clarify....my husband does not stone me.

i can't guarantee that he's never thought about it, but so far, ne'er so much as a wee pebble. Rotten shot?

If you are chatting to God, that is praying.

It sounds like you should be part of a home group where you could chat with other Christians.

We all have 24 hours in the day, so you are not special about having to find time. It's all a matter of priorities.

Yes that's better than nothing - because you are saying that God is in your life and you want to bring the things that matter to you to Him. Personally I tend to pray most when on five minute cycle trip between school drop off and arriving at work. It's amazing what you can do in that five minutes.

I shall start praying for more than 24 hours in the day. Splendid!

Do you think you should be a member of a church in order to call yourself a proper Christian?

Yes. If you are a Christian, the need to belong to a church community is irresistible, IMO.

i pray before i get up and before i go to sleep. and after i've read the bible. but all of this is often a bit sleepy so i don't think i am realyl qualified to give advice on the topic

Yes, Northern, that's how I feel. I've sort of dispensed with the whole "oh, yer jist so smashin'" prayer intro and just jump right on in there. I figure that if God knows all about the hairs on my head (and, worse luck, on my hairy knees too) then he knows what's in my heart - so we can chuck the preliminaries...?

My minister says you have to say "you're brilliant, thanks for all this, could you do something about that, but if you can't, please give me the grace to accept it"

I don't take that long to pee.

should add, love your username babyweight!

you may need to listen too?

before you go to sleep. when you are reflecting on your day and planning the next few.
I don;t think you have to belong to a church community but it is nice to.

amd my baby weight is nearly 14.

i dont' thinnk you have to belong to a church community, but unless you do you will probably struggle to keep God foremost in your life. i know i have when for example, i have been looking for a new church due to movign, or whatever.

If you don't belong to a church community, you don't have other Christians to learn from and work through the issues we face in our lives.

So, Mrs Meaner, is that any community, or one that you feel comfortable?

There's one that's COE - the minister's a dad at my gate, he's like listening to "pause for thought", but it's all very grown up and the kids hate it. He's very gay friendly, big gay community and has done christenings for children of single sex couples.

There's one that's COS - minster also a dad at the gate. He, and the church, are very anti-the-whole-homosexual-minister-thing. I'm not. Kids love it.

There's one that we both loved, they changed the creche system and I need to be in two places at once. Can't do that.

There's another one that I really like, they like, but it's baptist and so I assume, a bit strict.

See, whilst I believe in God and I make sure he's part of my life (and, I think he's having a chuckle as I figure all this out) I don't much want to join a church that has a philosophy I can't agree with, or that my kids complain about so then I don't get to go into the service.

Ah, I think I've nailed this by accident.

It's not so much that I am too busy to make time for the kirk - more that I struggle with the whole homosexual thingamajig.

I'm not gay, far too dull for any of that business. But, I do think that stuff might get lost in translation and that Jesus seems to have banged on about love and awful lot more than the Old Testament says "not there, don't put it there"

So, is that irreconcilable? At the risk of sounding like an eejit - I really do worry about whether I can be homofriendly and christian. Everything else, can do that, no problem. Gay folk go to the big burny fire? Makes no sense to me.

What if one of my kids were gay? I could no more go to a church that condemns them than I could sacrifice one of them...

it is difficult. unfortunately we travel miles across our city for church which i can access rather than sit in children's groups or where i don't feel like i'm in a school assembly surrounded by very smartly dressed people who are there to show off to their neighbours.

i have attended a baptist church in the past and it was the least strict adn most liberal church i've ever attended (i usually attend c of e churches) so you could give it a try.
i think you probably won't agree wholeheartedly with the philosophy of any one church because there will be as many different opinions as there are people there really.

x post. i don't know really. tbh i don't know what people in my church or the minister - think about homosexuality. it doesn't come up much - if at all.
i'm not really sure what i think. i think i am becoming more liberal as i grow older. i think that acting wtih integrity in relationships is more important than who the relationship is with. but then i worry about ignoring the bible.
but then there is lots of weird sheep sacrificing stuff in the bible that we all ignore so, well, i don't know. perhaps post a different thread on this topic alone and get someone who makes sense to answer (not me!)

Ah, well, I'm in Scotland, so it's Big News here.

A minister in Aberdeen came out after having been ordained. His congregation wanted him to carry on in post, the church suspended him because he was living with his male partner. Big debate last August, decided to allow him to continue to minster, and think about ordaining gay folk for the next three years.

Massive fall out. Massive, split the kirk (again) fall out. Dunno, it troubles me. I can't go and take spiritual guidance from somone I think is, fundamentally, a bit of a git, for thinking that someone's sex life makes him less of a minister? He who is without sin and all that?

I was brought up Catholic. Protestant mother (ah, the shame of mixed marriage in 1970's Scotland) now, would be happy to go anywhere that was relaxed enough to let me figure it out in my own time. Harder to come by than I'd thought - though, that's very likely down to me and my own big gob making myself unwelcome by asking troublesome questions!

Satan loves when people get preoccupied about the role of gay people in church.

Command him to get off your back!

Mrs Meaner, there's only a pre-schooler on my back!

I'm not preoccupied about the role of gay folk in church. The church is.

I am preoccupied with the church having less of a focus on what Jesus said than what folk do with themselves of a night-time. I want to concentrate on how to be a better person, and please God.

If you mention it, that's being pre-occupied in my book!

We never have these discussions in my church. We are more concerned about transforming our local community.

If I mention it, I'm pre-occupied? Eh? Well, it's late!

But, nope, I can't help it...what does your church want to do in order to transform your local community? I hope I don't sound disrespectful, I'm perfectly serious. My local community knows an awful lot more about being inclusive and PC than it does about God.

Our-good-fit-except-for-the-fire-and-brimstone-gay-thing-church has a monthly debate in a local coffee house on a Sunday evening. It's brilliant, they have pro-faith and aethiest discussions about evolution/Halloween/suffering. Genius bit of outreach, and nice coffee to boot.