'unorganized' religion... 'church' on foot & (stroller) wheels ...

in case you're wondering, i'll just come out and say it, "no", this is not about to be a rant against "organized religion" and i'm not about to get into all the reasons i'm starting to feel like i've simply outgrown it.

i will say that in my own 'perfect' little world (and the hubby knows this) if we are going to continue being the church-goers we've been while raising a family, i would love nothing more than to expose them to a variety of different services and various religious denominations each Sunday; more of an "unorganized", eclectic approach to 'learning' and 'church' in the man-made sense of the word.

don't get me wrong, in EVERY sense of the Word, Jesus has made his imprint in this home and won't be going anywhere. it is not a new 'Head' of the household and our hearts that i am in search of.

nonetheless, as the theologian and interfaith scholar, Huston Smith, said it best, i have come to believe the same, that is ---

"God is defined by Jesus, not confined to Jesus". as i have also come to see the beauty in all walks of life and different Faiths and practices, i want the same for my girls.

as one of my favorite Hindu Proverbs states:

"there are hundreds of paths up the mountain all leading to the same place so it doesn't matter which path you take. the only person wasting time is the one running around the mountain telling everyone that his or her path is wrong"

i share my faith in Jesus (God incarnate) and will teach my girls to do the same, but without the 'fear' aspect (i grew up on) that the "salvation" and "eternal" home (either Heaven or Hell) of any one individual they encounter is somehow "in question" should they decline to 'accept' Jesus for one reason or another be it they're of a different Faith or not. i simply don't believe that any of us have been called to play the 'judge' of another child of God.

i only have my own experiences to base it on, but with those experiences and my own expanded view on what Faith in God means, i know without a doubt that my children will learn from me to first and foremost LOVE and RESPECT all walks of life and beliefs. they will be taught to judge by the 'character' of an individual and his/her heart; not their theology or religion, or  their color, or their outward appearance.

so, no matter how much of a long shot the idea of 'perpetual' church-hopping may seem to David (at the present time) i'm thankful that at least we are in agreement over things (like) that Hindu Proverb (while also being Christ-followers).we both agree, as we will teach our girls, that only God can judge a man's heart.

my idea may go something like:

[in rotation] the non-denominational Christian church one Sunday and the Self-Realization Fellowship the next...the Jewish Church one Sunday and the Unitarian church the next. the 'diversified church experience' one might call it.

of course...

he looked at me like i was totally out of my mind. naturally, (i mean) we both grew up in the Christian church and have thus far been going...

what was that premarital lesson we were suppose to remember?!? oh yes, the one where one spouse's 'perfect' idea of raising children is not always going to be the other's. that's right. enter in-- that little word 'compromise'.

we are still learning to cope and bear with each other through the menial, trivial differences of our respective views as they continue to expand and evolve, while we fight to keep the things that 'truly' matter at the forefront of our lives and love for each other.

as i conveyed all my feelings regarding 'membership' to any one particular 'exclusive' affiliation of "organized religion" to my (wonderfully loving) hubby, by the end of our conversation or 'healthy' debate, we were able to come to a 'compromise' and agree on  my suggestion.

that is; two Sundays out of the month we go to the church of his own choosing though never becoming "members" per se and two Sundays out of the month we DO 'church' on foot and (stroller) wheels being active in our community and ministry together 'as' a family, so it will be (as the saying goes) with regard to our girls... "all they ever know"

we can teach our girls and lead by the example Christ has given us over 2,000 years ago as to what "Church" looks like inside and outside the four-man-made-walls of religion.

how might this translate in our own 'Goodale' lives (though not limited to), it may look something like:

• feeding the homeless in our community

• bringing the girls to a nursing home to visit and spend time (build relationships) with the elderly and bringing smiles to their faces as sweet little ones do :)

• having them pack up their old toys and clothes they no longer need or play with and drive them down to 'The Mission' or Goodwill

• taking them to an orphanage on the border of San Diego/Mexico to play with the kids there (to SEE and realize how much they have to be thankful for) and offer up any resources we have to share

....the list could go on forever ....because...it should.

and the beauty of it is that every other Sunday we can wake up and decide 'as a family' who we want to be a blessing to that day.

Hubby: "yeah, definitely when the girls are older"

Me: "Hannah's turning two...she's 'older'" lol

so..... 'what better day' i thought to myself (this past Sunday that is) than "today" to start the tradition!?

David had a soccer game in the morning and i knew he still needed time to mentally 'get on board' with the whole idea. i told him our plan for the day and since he didn't ask us to wait (after he left) i decided we'd venture out jumping up right away.

got dressed and ready; and packed up a bag of our favorite 'Kind' bars (a word i've been teaching Hannah for the last couple weeks) and some sandwiches to bring down to the beach and hand out 'hopefully' before Hannah started fading (i.e.) ready for her nap.

although she had no idea what 'exactly' mommy was doing in the kitchen with all that bread and PB&J on the counter, all it took was the word "beach" to have her up and running to the shoe bag to dig out her sandals...

"beats (*beach) momma, beats "daddy beats?"

"No baby, daddy's playing soccer but we're gonna go to the beach so we can be 'kind' to people who may be hungry today. we're gonna 'share' our food, ok?"

"Otay" "hungie" "mommy beats"

"Yes baby; mommy, Hannah, and baby sister are gonna bring food to the beach and share with people who are hungry"

as the words left my mouth, my heart grew overwhelmed and my eyes were welling up with tears just staring into those deep, dark-chocolaty brown, soulful eyes of hers.

we 'chatted away' about what we were doing and i could see the wheels turning as she attempted to make sense of what i was telling her.

"Ok Hannah?"

"otAaaay mommy"

the ride to the beach was heavenly with the Sun lighting the way, Pandora on, staring back at my beautiful babes in the rear view mirror, and feeling the flood of tears well up in my heart and eyes (yet again) as Jeremy Camp's rendition of 'Overcome' started playing...

all while thanking God for the beautiful day before us and praying that He'd set the people or (person) in our path whom the sandwiches were meant for; that there would be no mistaking who those people were...

in no time we arrived in the village to the little lot behind the fish joint that overlooks the ocean. then making our way across the street (on a crosswalk) a van starts backing up (yes, without even looking) and i could feel my heart fall out of my chest as i struggled to push the stroller faster with one hand and pull Hannah up (after she tripped and fell) with the other AS i'm yelling at the guy "STOP!!!!!"

we made it to safe ground as i got down to my knees (shaking), waved and lipped a silent 'thank you' to the car who had held down their horn at him (in attempt to help save us from getting hit), then turning to Hannah pulled her in closely for a hug of relief. she had the same shock on her face that i had in my heart.

"are you ok baby?"

"i otay momma"

sigh. oh how i love her...

it took everything in me not to curse the man out in front of my children, especially when he didn't even apologize.

it took even more out of me to just breathe it in and let it out, choosing not to let it affect the day before us.

as Hannah reached for my hand, (the way she always does to feel reassured that she's safe), "han momma, han" i couldn't help but smile as the events just a few minutes prior faded away.

we were officially on our 'slow', leisurely Sunday Stroll (a.k.a) our  'Church-on-foot' ...

Hannah held the bag of food in her free hand as all the walkers and  joggers passed by us, smiling at her, though of course all she noticed were their dogs

"Daaaaa!!!" "Daaaaaaa momma"

"Ya baby, aren't they cute!?"

an hour into our walk and not a single homeless individual in site (though i realize this is a stereotype in and of itself)

i had actually known a few of them from a ministry i'd been a part of for six months a while back called "Fill-a-Belly". we would feed the homeless in that area in a borrowed church room on Tuesday nights and hang out playing board games and hearing their stories (those who were willing to open up). it was a wonderful experience.

if there was one thing i learned during that time between all those individuals (families) you would never even know are homeless, to the drug addicts and alcoholics with mental illnesses, the 'face' of homelessness is truly a broad spectrum.

and here i was looking for those familiar faces i'd briefly known back then (before marriage and babies); those faces i still occasionally see on my weekly walks down there...not a single one. "did they all hide out on Sundays?" at this point i still hadn't known what was in store for us.

and naturally, i still wanted to teach Hannah the lesson of "kindness" (e.g. sharing our food and resources) so i politely asked a couple people in passing if we could give them a snack for their walk because we are learning the word "Kind".

they would look confused of course until taking one look at my little sidekick (with her big puppy eyes) holding out a bar in her hand and in no time they were all smiles, saying "thank you" "how sweet of you to share."

by now Hannah had been asking for the 'beats' so we ventured down the hill to the shore so she could play in the sand for a bit, offering a sandwich and 'kind' bar to a little boy and his dad along the way. the kicker; dad 'actually' said (with the look on his face like he was truly concerned)

"i can trust these aren't poisoned or anything!?"

i had to consciously force the look on 'my' face to disguise the thought in my head in that moment; "are you KIDDING me!? i'm with a toddler and infant, do I LOOK like a murderer?"

...and then i had to remind myself that not 'only' are we living in another day and age, but people just must not be used to this type of 'unnatural' social behavior...a mother with her two very young girls walking around the beach offering food to people in passing....and just like that he was "off the hook" for his outlandish comment :)

they thanked us for the bar and sandwich and then waved goodbye as i thought to myself:

"well, that's that i guess...a few minutes down here and maybe we'll head back. Hannah's exhausted" (yes, i am always engaged in self-dialogue)

and here's where i must interject a side note:

if you happened to catch my 11:11 on 11/11 post on Facebook than you already know that this is a synchronicity that happens quite frequently in my life. that is; i always just 'happen' to look at the clock when it's 11:11 no matter how many hours have gone by in between when i last checked the clock. it's that 'little voice' inside...

the period when the door between the two realms (spiritual and physical) are wide opened and my Spirit guides & angels are trying to convey a message to me.

it's gotten to the point where i don't even have to look at the clock sometimes to just 'know' that it's 11:11. last night for example...i was probably about 40 minutes into doing my routine yoga stretches as i was simultaneously praying. the last time i had checked the clock in the night it was 9pm (when i was heading upstairs).

as i'm laying on my bed stretching, eyes closed, praying...out of nowhere 'hear' the 'voice' tell me 11:11 so i began asking my guides what i needed to pray for.

i finished my stretches/prayers a few minutes later and went to reach for my phone... what do ya know? it's 11:15pm (which told me i definitely was 'hearing' the voice earlier at 11:11pm)

anyhow, back to the story...

it should have come as no surprise to look down at my phone sitting in the stroller as i was telling myself we'd head back home in 10 minutes or so...and what time is it? of course...

11:11  :)

i smiled, closed my eyes and prayed...

opened my eyes while simultaneously  "hearing" the voice 'there he is' ....

his name is Antone and at a first glance, i wouldn't have pegged him for one. clean shaven, a hat and sunglasses, nicely dressed, with a guitar on his back, dragging behind him (what i at first -from a distance- took to be a black music amp) turned out to be a suitcase.

"Hi there!" i say, as we get close enough to chat.

"any chance you're hungry for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or maybe a "Kiiiiind" bar (as i turn and smile at Hannah)?"

i then turned back to him explaining that i was teaching her the word "kind" and today was about sharing our food.

"Oh that's so sweet of you, but I don't want to take your food."

"no please do! i mean, only if you really want one... we actually purposely made these sandwiches to bring down here and pass out to some of the homeless community...we're doing "church on wheels" today ...but we haven't come across any"

a big smile surfaced across his face as he said "i'm one of them".

i smiled back "well then, i guess this bag was meant for YOU!"  (turning to Hannah and asking her to hand him the bag as i told her "awww you're so KIND Hannah")

he graciously took it and said 'thank you', you wanted to be a blessing today; this is great, now i don't have to buy food"

we chatted for about 15 minutes until Hannah's patience ran thin, tugging at my leg to take her to the water...

he had a wonderful story to tell and an even more beautiful Spirit to match his story. he talked about how blessed he was everyday...how God continued to provide for all his needs; that he also did his best to be a daily blessing to other people, admitted that being homeless was his choice...there were reasons for the choice...

i searched out an opportunity and God answered with a man named Antone...

Hannah finally succeeded at pulling me away, but just before we parted ways with Antone, i asked him if he would mind me taking a picture of him as i relayed my plans to start a photo book of all the faces we met on our journey so we can remember their names and faces and say our daily prayers for them as we look at the book.

he was happy to!

we enjoyed another 35 minutes with our feet in the sand listening to the ocean waves hit the shore...

H-E-A-V-E-N on earth.

we caught Antone again on our way back up to the parking lot as he was jamming out, being a 'blessing' with his guitar for everyone around him. we danced to his singing and playing for a bit before waving goodbye...

as we drove home and Hannah passed out in the car...my heart was full...

it was such a beautiful day with my two girls, enjoying the sun, the sand, nursing Adelynn as i watched Hannah stare off into the ocean and play with sand;

the people of our community, in such a small, simple, satisfying way had 'made' our Sunday 'church-on-foot & (stroller) wheels' such a wonderful day...

GOD. is. so. GOOD