A little background about me: I grew up Baptist and sorta-kinda attended church growing up.
It was that weird thing where my family would maybe go occasionally for special holidays or when I would stay the night with my cousins or close friends and would go with them.

I attended youth group from sixth to eighth grade maybe even some of the ninth grade, but I initially went to youth group on Wednesday evenings just because I liked hanging out with my youth pastors and friends on those nights. I never truly immersed myself in the message of Jesus. I mean think of middle school you; you're more worried about playing whatever sport you play, who your middle school crush is, or how you can convince your parents to let you stay with friends on a school night.

Around ninth grade, I completely stopped attending church altogether. I had felt as though all my Church experiences growing up were bad. Because in Church we were always taught "not to do this, not to do that." I felt as though I had been shamed for not reading the Bible enough or not knowing every Christian radio station and song, or not following the Ten Commandments inch by inch and often times going to my family's hometown Church on Sunday's made me yawn. The sermons always bored me and I felt as though I never got anything out of the messages.

Even my roommate freshman year of college would ask me to go to Church with her and I flat out said no or would just avoid the question. I would sleep in on my Sundays and she would go by herself most of the time. Sounds pretty crappy, doesn't it? I avoided going to Church at all costs. Even hearing the word made me shutter.

Now, just because I wasn't in Church doesn't mean that I was off being rambunctious and a wild child getting myself into trouble. I've always been independent and had a level head about what I wanted for myself and my future. I am not perfect whatsoever, but the biggest thing that steered me away from Church was the fact that people I knew who attended Church regularly were honestly some of the worst people I know. They did almost opposite of how the Ten Commandments tell you to live. Talking down to their parents, stealing, cheating, taking the Lord's name in vain, coveting.

To be honest, I knew better people that had never stepped foot in a church, I knew more selfless people that never opened a Bible, I knew more righteous people who didn't even know if they believed in God.

The Bible says "'You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things." Romans 2:1

I am not trying to judge others, I'm merely stating my experience with Church growing up.

Over five years passed until I ever stepped foot in a church again. Right before my Junior year at OU, Life Church opened a new campus in Norman on August 6th, 2017. The Norman location was the tenth Church in the Edmond-OKC-Metro area & the 18th Life Church in the state of Oklahoma! Life Church immediately made me feel at home. I not only had those friendships surrounding me as I walked through Life Church's door with about seven of my closest friends, but the message series by Pastor Craig Groeschel impacts me every single time. I forget that I'm even sitting in a "Church."

I have never felt closer to Jesus. Amen.

I still believe that you can have a relationship with God on your own, no church building needed. Life Church has been a place I often look forward to attending. Campus Pastor Brian Bruss always has a warm welcome smile and why not enjoy some awesome current worship music. One of the best parts is that if you can't make it to the church that Sunday to grab some delicious coffee and a note-taking memo; you can access all of the sermons online at

lifechurch.tv.!

So if you've made it this far in my article, my challenge to you is to catch yourself from yawning but instead catch yourself nodding at how much you can relate to the message Pastor Craig spells out for you in your daily walk with Christ.

Special shoutout to my Aunt Anessa, old youth Pastors Travis & Becky, Sydney, Kaycee & a few others for never giving up on me and for always reflecting what its like to be on a God-Fearing walk of life with Jesus Christ.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5