Confessions of a NEW Convert
Aug 23rd, 2007 by michelle
I took this idea from -C at her blog, Tranposzing. It seems as though some others are going to be doing similar posts as well (check out Dixie), so feel free to join in!
Here are my confessions:
- I don’t miss “praise and worship” music like I thought I would… or at all
- I haven’t completely gotten used to doing the sign of the cross outside of Orthodox circles
- I like how people seem to dress up more for Liturgy than I was used to seeing in Evangelical churches
- All the “kissing” was weird to me at first, but now that I have seen how important it is to my son, I have a new-found love for it
- I have not had an opportunity to really fast (between being pregnant and nursing) and I actually want to fast
- I do not read the Bible enough- if only I would just read the daily readings!
- I really do like head-coverings, but I am too chicken to actually wear one
- The chain on my cross broke and then my dog chewed my prayer rope… and I still haven’t gotten new ones. This needs to be taken care of soon.
- Being Orthodox has made my prayer life increase exponentially- I feel like I am getting to a point where on some days I am “praying without ceasing”. Pretty exciting!
- Watching my children grow up in the Orthodox church strengthens my faith every day
MamaJuliana- I cannot comment on your blog, but I wanted to stay congratulations on becoming a catechumen!! How wonderful!
“All the “kissing” was weird to me at first, but now that I have seen how important it is to my son, I have a new-found love for it.”
I thought this would be really weird - but one of the biggest surprises is that it is not. It does not feel weird at all (at least to me).
“…I actually want to fast”
May God bless you for that. Fasting is the busiest time of “fall down, get up, fall down, get up” for me.
“I really do like head-coverings, but I am too chicken to actually wear one”
I do not care for them, but I totally respect and admire women who observe this pious tradition.
“Watching my children grow up in the Orthodox church strengthens my faith every day”
Me, too! I am a little jealous of them (my kids were baptized Orthodox as infants.
I would be honored to be on your blogroll and hope it’s OK to add you to mine!
-C
Great reflections! Grinning about the prayer rope and cross.
We have a lot of the same confessions…
I don’t miss “praise and worship” music AT ALL either, and I used to be on the “vocal team”. Ha ha ha!
I love all the smooching and hugging. But that’s just how I am -super affectionate.
I haven’t fasted either - but I’m NOT looking forward to it. I wish I wanted to fast. Lord change my heart!
I feel the exact same way about head coverings too. I think they look very dignified and beautiful. I don’t know why I feel chicken about wearing one.
My prayer life is SO much better now too!
One of my confessions - I’m a very irreverant person by nature, so I’m always feeling goofy when I am trying to be reverant.
When I look back on my faith as a Protestant Evangelical, it seems very stale. No wonder I was constantly struggling with the same things over and over. But one thing’s for sure - I would not be becoming Orthodox if I didn’t believe it was the true Church - because it’s way harder. It kicks my butt.
I recognize myself in many of these. I’ve added my own to my blog.
Hope all is well.
The kissing was hard for me at first…I come from reserved German stock…but in time I have grown to love it although it still isn’t natural for me yet.
Haircovering…same thing here. The only woman in our whole parish who covers her head is a woman who moved here from Russia less than a year ago. So while it is utterly natural for her to wear a head covering, if I were to show up with a head covering it would stand out and appear utterly unnatural.
I loved your list…BTW, I still listen to some contemporary Christian music (well, John Michael Talbot, my contemporary…not yours!
And some contemporary Orthodox musicians as well. And…I have a couple of Orthodox CDs with teens and children singing typical Orthodox hymns…some redone for children…which are some of my favorites. I drew the line several years ago…even before I became Orthodox and, with the exception of Rich Mullins, quit listening to anything from anyone that did not come from a sacramental church body. I figured they had nothing much to sing about if they didn’t understand the sacramental life.
I, too, had trouble with the Bible reading. But I noticed that I somehow find time to read my e-mail everyday and spend time on blogs. (What does that tell you about devotion?)
So, in an effort to read the Bible more, I subscribed to the daily readings at: http://listserv.goarch.org/archives/dailyreadings.html
Now I at least get that done as I feel really guilty if I would take time to read everything BUT that!
Some days I actually get more read ( I want ot get to the point where when I have time to read, the Bible is my first thought) - but I am still a work in progress - or as Protestants are fond of saying, “God isn’t finished with me yet.”