My First Essay

I wrote my first essay last night. It wasn't hard after I started writing, but to get myself to start that first sentence, MAN! It was like pulling my own teeth!

So, today is the peer review, I will let you know how it goes. Here it is to read though:

My God Experience

If you have ever stepped into and Apostolic Pentecostal church service, you will notice immediately that it is unlike any other church service you have ever or will ever attend. The experience is one you will never forget, from the friendly, smiling people to the upbeat, soul stirring music, to the unabashed, straightforward preaching. Being raised in an Apostolic Pentecostal church, I was privileged to experience this first hand for the majority of my lifetime. Two years ago, I had a God experience that changed my life. Everyone that has ever experienced the presence of God will never be the same. It is a life-changing experience that will either change you for the better or, if not acted on, it will be a nagging thought of “what if” for the rest of your life.
Being at church and experiencing the presence of God is refreshing, uplifting and even strengthening. There have been many times that I have gone to church after a long day, exhausted to the point of falling asleep and just from experience of the praise and worship service, I am energized and awake during the preaching. Many of these times I hear something that will help me through either a current problem or help me to understand a problem from my past.
Two years ago, I turned my heart back to God. Even though I had been raised in church, I hadn’t really gotten the revelation of who God really is; what it means to truly be a child of the King; what it’s like to be a love slave for Christ. From that night until now it has been a journey that I wouldn’t trade for anything else I have experienced in my life this far. That experience has changed my thought process, how I deal with different situations, my attitude, the way I dress, and so much more. I am noticeably different.
In the essay “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the author relays a description of what his Aunt Reed, and other adults in her church, says it is like to receive Jesus into his life. Although the essay doesn’t say that whether or not he received Jesus, the description is very telling. Receiving the Holy Ghost, Jesus, is a lot like Hughes’ description, although I wouldn’t put it the same way. The feelings I had when I received the Holy Ghost were joy, elation, like I was walking on air, as if I was a new person, that nothing in my life that I had ever done wrong mattered anymore, and so many others.
Living a changed life has made all the difference in the direction my life path is going. I went from living with my ex-boyfriend and participating in an un-wholesome and dangerous lifestyle, to going to school, working and being in a loving relationship with a man who shares my deepest hearts desire to serve the Lord with all my heart for the rest of my life. My God experience wasn’t a one-time thing, it is an everyday occurrence for which I wake up every morning anticipating what God has in store for me. Who will I cross paths with that I can share this boundless joy with?

I am actually in class right now. So gotta go!