Sunlight shone in brightly upon my Holly Hobby bedspread. I opened my sleepy eyes and scanned the room, trying to focus on the new day. My sister was still snoozing on the other side of the room, under her matching twin bedspread. It was Sunday morning.

Music filled the air out in the hallway, as my dad whistled his favorite hymn while buckling his Sunday belt in front of the full length mirror near the bathroom. "Time to get up!" my mom would sing out soon. And if Jenny and I did not respond soon after, my dad would pound on the already opened bedroom door and bark, "Get up. It is time to get dressed for church."

Sundays were our family days. They were the one day of the week when our family would go to church, then to lunch, then to nap together. I hated those days as a child...but what I wouldn't give for one of them back today! I miss you Dad!

Growing up, I was "at church" every time the doors were open. It was rare for my family to miss class on either Sunday morning or Wednesday night. "Let's go to church" was a regular part of our vocabulary.

As a child, church was a place to sit with our friends, a place to make arts and crafts, a place to visit with family, a place to sing songs, and to be quiet while someone prayed endlessly. It was a place where the preacher would talk for what seemed like hours about someone named Jesus...someone I had very little connection with.

But, as I grew up, my life changed. I made many mistakes and bad choices. I did not live at home anymore, so I didn't have that Sunday morning whistle for encouragement to get up. Therefore, I fell away from "the church". I stopped attending regularly and grew further from the Lord.

At the lowest point that I can remember, I decided I missed "church", so I started visiting new congregations. I settled here at Highland Oaks in 2003 and fell in love with the people.

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I feel like the Holy Spirit led me to HOCC to learn something important about my Christianity. I have learned that "church" is not about the friends you see or the family that is there. It is not about what you made in Sunday School or what anybody else really has to teach you.

Church is about GOD!

It is about you singing to HIM. It is about you talking to HIM. It is about you listening to HIM. It is about the words of the songs meaning something to you and to HIM. It is about you feeling the Holy Spirit working in you while you are praising HIM.

Church is not about anything but

you and the Lord!

So, now when I get up on Sunday mornings to get ready to go, I get dressed-- not for my family-- but for the Lord.

When I enter the worship center, I don't look for my friends to sit with, I search for a spot where I can sit with the Lord.

When the Praise Team climbs onto the stage and begins the first song, I don't just sing memorized words. I emphasize each phrase and direct it straight to the Lord.

Every prayer, every word of the sermon, passes through my heart on its path directly to the Lord.

Once I gave up my love/hate relationship with "the church" and began to focus on the Lord, my Sunday mornings became more than just a beginning of the week event.

It became my time to be with my family,

my Father,

my God,

my Lord.