Link up party

putdowntheurinalcake    is asking questions about her faith and asking people to respond.

1. I am a(n) ________. (Christian, Jew, Atheist, Muslim, Chocolate Lover, Trekkie, Member of the Church of the Never Ending Laundry Pile, etc.)      I am a christian, saved by grace.  Not perfect by any means, always trying to grow in Christ as I know very well that if you are not growing, you are backsliding. 
2. Why?  This made me think.  I have never been asked why before.  I mean I have been ask to defend my faith but not why I choose my faith.  I was raised as a christian, in a church that I do not believe grounded a person (sorry Mom and Dad).  When I was at a christian camp around age 13 (??) I made the decision to accept Christ as my Savior.  I went to church and learned some, but didnt have a deep relationship with Him.  When my husband and I got married we searched around for quite a while to find a good solid church.  Which is not a lot since we live in a very liberal part of America.  We found a independent baptist church and became involved.   It is by no means perfect, (I work at the christian school that is a part of it, I know), but the pastor does ground you in the word and if you choose, you can grow closer to your maker than you ever thought possible and then realize you have only just started to know Him.  
3. One of the stereotypes I hear a lot about my faith or lack of faith is _______. This is (true or false) because _______.  we are hypocritical.  I actually believe this is true because of all the people who say they are Christians but have never read his word or studied it out to understand it. I know that probably comes across as judgmental, but I see people who say they know Jesus as Savior and say we all need to do this or that, but at the same time are doing the very thing they are saying not to do.  And I am not talking about a one time occurrence but someone who just doesn't have a clue on what the bible says. Like Pat Robertson.   I do think this is changing as the times are changing.  Growing everyone said they were a christian.  Now a lot of people want to be as far away as possible from it.  
4. One thing I wish people knew about my faith or lack of faith is ________.   Is Jesus loves you and I really want you to have this peace that passes all understanding in your heart too.  It is so amazing and will change your life forever.  If you were the only one that was alive in this world, Jesus would have died for you.  You are that special to Him.  You dont have to be perfect, in fact know one is or was, except our Savior.  He wants you just the way you are, broken and all.  If you think you are a good person, thats great, but its not enough.  You have to accept Him and know you are a sinner.  Its like if a bus was coming at you, you just couldnt think, "well ya, I should get out of the way".  You actually have to move.  With Christ,  you actually have to accept the free gift.    
5. If I could apologize for one thing on behalf of my faith, it would be _______.  This is a biggy for me. (Is biggy a word? hmmm.)  Anyways, it would be legalism.   I have a hard time here.  I know everyone has a standard, but really.  We are all the body of Christ.  Why do we have to pick each other apart?  I am not talking about Heaven-Hell issues, but things like speaking in tongues?  I do not speak in tongues, but a very good friend of mine has. That is okay.  We believe the same in everything else.  How about CCM, contemporary christian music?  I thoroughly enjoy CCM.  I know some are not on biblical, so I change the station.  No big deal.  I love the words of praise that I can sing to my God when I am alone in the car (which is seldom Lol) or with the kids together.  David danced and sang in the streets. I love to worship my Lord with song and I dont believe having an electric guitar  is taking away from my worship to Him. Or what about lifting our hands during worship?  I think some people I know would have a heart attack if I did that one Sunday.  That is sad. And the rebellious side of me wants to do it just once, just one time in public.  I do it a lot when its just me and Him.