Thankful Thursday- Alameda Church of Christ

"Seeds of discouragement can not grow in a grateful heart."
Today we are thankful for our amazing church, Alameda Church of Christ. When Stephen and I first starting dating we were in totally different worlds when it came to the churches we were used to. I had grown up in the Nazarene church and he grew up Church of Christ. Our first date was actually to church on Easter Sunday. I was attending a church in Edmond that is a little more progressive than maybe some. Stephen now refers to it as "rock and roll" church. Stephen was used to no instruments, so going to a church with a full band was quite a shell shock. When we got married, we tried what felt like a million churches in Norman and never found one where we really felt comfortable. When Stephen's parents moved to Norman, they began attending the Alameda Church of Christ. For some reason, I was really resistant to this. I honestly don't know why other than I didn't understand some of their traditions and beliefs and I had heard skewed versions of what they were all about. His parents continued to invite us often and yet we still didn't go. Then in September of 2007 when our lives exploded, that church embraced us like we had been life long members. They brought food to our house for days. There were people coming over who we had never met who would hug us and pray with us. Rusty, the pastor was available anytime we needed him. The day he came over to help with funeral arrangements, we instantly felt a comfortable connection with him. Over time, we started attending Sunday services, but not regularly. We would always feel the love and compassion of the people there. We eventually started going regularly and we are so grateful for everyone there. You instantly become a part of the "family" when you are there. We love it. Rusty has been a mentor to Stephen and encouraged Stephen to be baptized, which he did last May. Our lives are so much better because of the amazing people at Alameda and we are so happy to call it our church.