Week Eight: Scientology!

I had wanted to do Scientology at a later date, when my investigative reporting skills are a little more practiced, however, with my move next week I am not sure if I am going to find a Scientology center in Asheville, NC. There is a huge one in Dallas so hopefully they can give me the information I need.

So, what do I know about Scientology? Well I know it was created by L Ron Hubbard and is based on his book, Dianetics, which I have not read. I know something about the teachings of Xenu and that they believe he came from the Galactic Confederacy. I know that L Ron Hubbard was a science fiction writer and that, to be honest, some of this stuff sounds a little hoaky. BUT, I had said I would go into each religion with an open mind, so I am going to try to cast off some of the negatives I have heard about Scientology and see what I can find out for myself.

And hopefully they won't sue me;-)

Week Seven: A Baptism?

I have been thinking lately that maybe I need to look into getting baptized. To my knowledge I have never been baptized and sometimes I wonder if it has something to do with my being "cursed". I have for many years thought that I am somehow "cursed"; I was born with this face, these godawful freckles, into an unloving, neglectful family. I've had horrible luck with men and my life has been a struggle at best.

Most of my friends have enduring marriages, with husbands that take good care of them. They are happy and certainly not sitting at home wondering how much longer they will have a roof over their head. I have had a few short lived relationships and none of them ever benefited me in any way. I had always assumed that Mr Right would come along and it would be like Valley Girl or Ghost, nothing would keep us apart, even social class or death and we would be together forever traveling the world. Well, it never happened. I ended up settling for much, much less. Of course at this point I am 40 and alone. To be honest I don't mind being alone, but I do worry. What if I get sick? What if I'm in an accident? Who would take care of me? I guess this is where Christians would tell me that God would be there for me. We'll see.

I have had an extremely busy week with packing and trying to get caught up on homework. I am also going out of town tomorrow so I have been unable to do a religion this week. I will however, be doing Scientology when I get back! I had wanted to do them a little further down the line, but it doesnt appear that there is a Scientology center in Asheville, but there is one in Dallas. I am excited to be doing Scientology! This has to be one of the more interesting religions out there!

Oh, and I still have not gotten back to the Christian Science reading room to see about a healing. I will also try to fit that in next week as well.

Cheers and keep praying.

Week Six: Still Here and The Bible & Me

Well, I never got around to getting to the Luthern Church in Asheville, nor did I get around to talking to anyone about being Luthern, so I have decided to do them again at a later date. Also, I ate something on the road during the trip home that made me deathly ill, so I have decided to skip a religion this week and start again next.

Currently my head is spinning. I have decided, rather suddenly, to pack up and move almost halfway across the US. I'm not sure if I am doing the right thing or not. I do know that the past few months have taken their toll on me and if I didnt do something I was going to lose everything. Sometimes I guess you have to take chances.

My depression appears to be worse today, the stress of moving, being ill, etc are all weighing in on me. I am going to try to contact someone from the Christian Science reading room and see about getting a healing. I am intrigued and hey, it can't hurt, right?

In the meantime I think I need to take some time to focus on the bible. The truth is I dont have a huge biblical background. I am not one of those people that can quote bible verses or tell you where to find whatever scripture. I had always thought one day I would read it from cover to cover, but that has yet to happen. Anyway, I think today I will get out that giant bible my dad left me and go through it a bit. Maybe I can find some comfort and solace in it.

I am still on a desperate search for God. I kind of thought he was with me in Asheville, when I found a house so easily, a wonderful school for my daughter and actually got a few job leads. Was he telling me that that was where I needed to be? Or was it all coincidence? Still wondering and as my head continues to spin, beginning to have doubts again.

A Moment of Insanity and a Luthern Church

After the nonstop string of stressful events last week, in a moment of utter insanity I packed up myself and the kids (well one of them, Selina stayed behind) and drove to Asheville, NC. Why? Well I have kind of reached my proverbial breaking point in Ft. Worth. Its been more than a year since I have worked steadily, I don't have much of a social network there (more on that later) and I am sick of the 100 degree heat.

Asheville was first brought to my attention a couple of years ago. It was named "Happiest Place in America". I was instantly intrigued! A happy place? Here? In America? Aren't we all too overworked, unemployed, underpaid, uninsured, conservative/liberal to be happy???? I first came here a year and a half ago and LOVED it! I had thought about moving here, but because of fear (which seems to rule my life) I didnt do it then.

After Thursday's breaking point and my brief stint into insanity (because insanity knows no fear) I jumped in the car and headed east! I found a house yesterday!!!!! Unbelievably in a great area and even more unbelievably less than what I am paying in Ft Worth! It looks as though God (or insanity) is finally directing me, lets just hope in the right direction.

I am getting ready to go to the Luthern Church here to at least check it out. The great thing is I can continue my quest for God here in Asheville as they appear to have all the religions and some lesser known ones, just like the DFW area!

Keep the prayers coming! They just might be working!!!!

Quest for God. A Waste of Time?

I know I am only on week five, but I am beginning to think my quest is just another waste of time. My effort to "find God" is going to be a little like trying to find Mr. Right. One of those things that happens to other people, but not to me.

I am beaten down. The past three days I have been had my electricity shut off, been inundated by bill collectors and still no job in sight. I was trying to start my own business, but I have been unsuccessful at finding anyone to help with the website. I had a meeting today with two people that I had hoped to get some advice and information from and they never showed. My body hurts, I literally feel like I have been beaten up. I have prayed to God to please give me some answers, something, and of course it all goes unanswered. I am alone, I am scared and I am losing this battle.

My faith continues to wane.

Blind Faith?

I was thinking last night during one of my many bouts with insomnia, why is God such a mystery? Why can't He, for at least one day, come down from the Heavens, shake his cane around and say "Hey people! You better watch out! I'm here!". I think a little PR work would do Him some good. He could clarify a few things, i.e; Where's Jimmy Hoffa? Who killed Kennedy? etc. Make an appearance on Oprah. Clear up some discrepancies on various religious beliefs, update the bible (21st century edition anyone?). Of course this would scare the hell out of some, but it would certainly make things a little easier for us to understand. We could stop wars, healthcare debates, etc if God would just come down for a week or so and lay down the law.

If God is real, does faith have to be blind?

Week Five: Lutheran

I have decided to do Lutherans this week. I don't know anything about Lutherans, but I believe its very similar to Episcopalian and other Protestant religions.

I will try to find out more in the coming days. Once again I am having an incredibly difficult day and wondering where God is. My prayers for work have still gone unanswered, bills are piling up and I have a horrific headache. So much so, that I don't even feel like complaining about it. At some point we all reach our breaking point, and I think I have just about hit mine. Something has to give and soon, please, keep the prayers coming. While they haven't helped yet, they certainly can't hurt.

Christian Science Update and a Healing?

I have received a few emails from Christian Scientists and I need to clarify an error I made about there service. From what I have been told I misunderstood and they don't do the same service year after year. Actually I am going to re post what Tony from England wrote me:

1. Mary Baker Eddy was a lifelong Bible student and even, occasionally, healed others through prayer before having her own significant healing. Following that healing of her own, she then immersed herself even more deeply in Bible study to understand HOW she had been healed, and this is how she describes that experience in another of her books: “This knowledge came to me in an hour of great need; and I give it to you as death-bed testimony to the daystar that dawned on the night of material sense. This knowledge is practical, for it wrought my immediate recovery from an injury caused by an accident, and pronounced fatal by the physicians. On the third day thereafter, I called for my Bible, and opened it at Matthew ix. As I read, the healing Truth dawned upon my sense; and the result was that I rose, dressed myself, and ever after was in better health than I had before enjoyed. That short experience included a glimpse of the great fact that I have since tried to make plain to others, namely, Life in and of Spirit; this Life being the sole reality of existence.” (“Miscellaneous Writings” 1883-1896, p.24)
2. The readings from the Bible and Science and Health that you heard read on the Sunday are considered a sermon – the Lesson Sermon – and, if they are well read by people enthused by the spiritual insights they have gained from studying them during the week, those readings can make for a really inspiring sermon that really touches the heart to the healing presence of divine Love. Also, the actual content is never repeated, it is only the theme that is repeated

I would like to thank those that emailed me! Its hard to learn everything about a specific religion in just a weeks time.

I have decided to go ahead and look into a healing. I am curious to find out if there is something to these healings. I have to confess that I did have a "faith" healing years ago by a Catholic Priest and it actually brought relief to my OCD. Sadly it was short lived. I am not sure how a Christian Science healing works, but I guess I will find out in the coming days.

I have been asked what it is I am looking for by doing this project. The truth is I don't really know. Its about more than just finding a church I enjoy attending. To be honest, that's not that hard to do. I guess I really want to find "God" himself, something, anything I can believe in. I want Him to come down from the Heavens and make His presence so known to me that there is no more doubt in my mind. I have lost so much faith, I don't believe in much of anything anymore. There are no ghosts, spirits, unicorns, UFOs, no lochness monsters, no big foots. Everything has been explained away. God continues to be, well, elusive it seems. While I had a few small prayers answered the other day, the big ones, the ones I NEED answered, have gone unnoticed. I am still unemployed, still afraid, still worried. Its not just me either, there are a lot of people suffering, going without, struggling to get by. Where is God in this "recession"? Why isn't He making things better? And of course that brings me around to the whole beginning, maybe He isn't doing anything because He isn't there to begin with? *sigh*

Well, the only immediate prayer I need answered right now is that I sleep tonight! Cheers.

Christian Science, Time Warp?

I was saddened to hear that the Christian Science church near my home had its last service last week. Apparently this was due to declining membership. I was able to attend another CS church not far from me, to be honest, now I think I understand why the first church may have not been able to sustain members.

This is not a progressive religion by any means of the word. Being there was almost like going back in time. The service relies solely on readings from the bible and Science and Health. They don't have ministers or preachers, they have what they call "readers". Readers are voted in by other church members and have to commit to three years of reading. They literally stand at the front of church and read the passages. There is no sermon of any kind. They are reading, from what I understand, the exact same thing that was read last year and the year before on this same day.

The church itself was beautiful, more like a chapel than anything else. There werent a lot of people there and not many young people at all. I think this is largely due to there failure to be progressive or offer anything really other that bible and Science and Health readings. I think see how anyone can relate to or embrace this type of church service. I found the whole thing to be terribly, well boring. It was certainly a learning experience though, I am so glad to have experienced a Christian Science service. However, I guess I can safely say I am not a Christian Scientist.

Christian Science, God's Healthcare Plan?

Yesterday I went to the Christian Science reading room to learn more about the religion of Christian Science. I have to say it was fascinating! Like I have mentioned I really didn't know much of anything about Christian Science and didn't really know anyone who was a Christian Scientist. The Christian Science reading room is a source for anyone that is Christian Scientist or wants to learn more about it and it is their only means of outreach. The reading room is literally just that, a reading room. They have a lot of CS literature, archived editions of the Christian Science Monitor, bibles and much more.

First the Christian Scientists don't shun medical care, that's a common misconception, they are a religion of choice. What they do is encourage and practice spiritual healing. Everyone in the religion goes to a class taught by a CS teacher to learn how to heal. The two women that run the reading room, Betty and Linda were more than willing to answer any of my questions. Betty, who I would guess to be around 80 (I didn't want to be rude and ask her age) proclaimed that she has never so much as taken an aspirin!!! Never had medical care of any kind, yet she appeared to be in great health and very lucid for her age. The other woman Linda, said she had been ill when her neighbor introduced her to CS years ago. She was healed through the CS teachings and was somehow able to forgo a surgery she was going to have.

Mary Baker Eddy started Christian Science in the 1800's. She had become ill as a young woman and was able to heal herself after reading one of the Psalms (neither women could remember which one). She didn't understand why, so she started studying the bible. She went on years later to open a college which eventually evolved into the religion of Christian Science. Eventually she wrote Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, writings that are still revered and refered to today.

The women told me that you don't have to be a CS to be healed and that they believe they can heal anything. They did not go into detail about what a healing consists of, they just explained that you ask God what it is you need and he answers. They said God can cure anything, from catastrophic illness to mental conditions and anything else. I am extremely curious about this. I have an OCD I have struggled with for years (don't want to go into details, that's a whole other blog), it seems to worsen when I am under a lot of stress. I am going to talk to someone about doing a healing on me tomorrow when I attend their services. Maybe there is something to this?

Betty and Linda also informed me that CS don't do baptisms or take communion, although they do have a Sacrament Sunday.I bought a copy of Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and they gave me several copies of the Christian Science Monitor which I plan to read through today.

This was really an interesting meeting for me. With all the talk about health care (or lack of) in the US, maybe all we really need is God? Apparently Jesus wanted everyone to have health care! Well, hopefully I will find out tomorrow when I ask for a healing!

You can read more about Mary Baker Eddy here; http://marybakereddy.wwwhubs.com/

OH MY GOD!!!! Maybe, Just MAYBE, God Listens!!!

So, I have bitched and bitched lately about how God completely ignores me, that my prayers go largely unanswered and that somehow I must be cursed. Well maybe, just maybe, I was wrong!

There are a few things I am in need of, not the big things (like a job, money, etc) just a few simple things I need and would like to have. First and foremost by beloved cat Beatle has been missing for a week now. He disappeared during the thunderstorm last week. I have searched the neighborhood repeatedly, put an ad on craigslist and still nothing. I had written him off as dead, there are a lot of predators in this neighborhood and I though surely for him to be gone this long something must have gotten him.

Secondly, I start my second semester of online college courses next week and I am desperately in need of a printer (as mine was stolen) and a laptop. Its much easier for me to keep up with assignments if I can print reading materials out. A laptop would make it easier to and more convenient to be able to do school work. I have a lot of distractions at home and to be honest, sometimes I just get sick of being home.

Just a little earlier I took the car I am trying to sell to my friends boyfriends car lot. The person that may be interested in buying it wasn't there so we left my car there and he drove me home. On the way I mentioned my house being robbed and how they got my printer and that I was definitely going to need a new one. He told me not to buy one, that they had two extra!

After I arrived home I went into the kitchen to find something to eat. I suddenly heard meowing at the front door. I assumed it was Itsy Boo (my obese calico) but as I turned to go to the door, I thought, wouldn't it be something if it was Beatle. To my utter shock and surprise, IT WAS!!!! Just like that!!!! Theres my sweet kitty that I had already assumed I would never see again!!!! I literally got chills over my entire body!!!

Now, is this God, finally attempting to make contact????? Is He trying to tell me something???? Or was it a mere coincidence that the day I pray for something, two out of the three things come to fruition?

If I have a laptop by the end of the day I will literally pass out.

Week Four: Christian Science

I'm not sure if my investigative reporting skills are are quite up to par enough to delve into Christian Science yet, but I am terribly interested in learning more about this religion so I am going to do it anyway. This is one of those religions that really peaks my interest but I don't really know too much about it.

What do I know about Christian Science, well first it is NOT to be confused with Scientology, they are not linked in any way (I will be delving into Scientology a little further down the road, waiting for Tom Cruise to give me a call). I know that the name Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science are synonymous. I know they I also happen to know that Marilyn Monroe was a Christian Scientist. I know that Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures was written by Mary Baker Eddy and I believe still in print and referred to by Christian Scientists today.

What are some of the things I have heard about Christian Scientists? Well from what I hear they do not believe in medical science or seeing doctors. This is something I will have to ask someone. I am particularly intrigued in doing this religion because of all the talk about health care (or lack of) in the US that is going on right now. This will be an interesting prospective to get.

Well, I will be getting in touch with the Christian Science church here today! Hopefully they will be able to meet with me and answer some of the many questions I have about their church!