So, so happy, but asking your prayers!!!

[Monica, child of God]

I am so happy! My son, who will be 14 next month, told me this morning that he is thinking about getting baptized :clap: Yay!!! I have been doing a self-styled Orthodoxy 101 class with him at home, going through the basics of our faith. He also really, really likes the mission parish that we have been going to lately. It is not as grand and ornate as the cathedral parish were I am still a member. It actually meets in an office located in a business park. But the spirtual life is so strong there and it has had an impact on him already.

That is the good news. The bad news is that my husband is sure to oppose his being baptised an Orthodox Christian. So please pray for us. And ask the saints in heaven to pray, especially St. Sergius of Radonezh who my son is particularly drawn to. I would rather not share his given name at this time.

Monica

[Mary of Bethany]

Prayers for you all!

:crosseo:

Mary

[nikostheater]

:crosseo:I am praying for your son to be baptised and for your husband to let him and for him to see the Truth and Light of the Orthodox faith...
Prayers.

[Lukaris]

:crosseo:

[Dewi Sant]

:crosseo:

Just out of interest, are you a convert (or Orthodox anyway) after or before marriage?

:crosseo:

[Monica, child of God]

:crosseo:

Just out of interest, are you a convert (or Orthodox anyway) after or before marriage?

:crosseo:

An all around convert :) I wasn't Christian when I married. My husband and I were baptised on the same day in a Protestant church. Seven years later I encountered Orthodoxy and converted with my husband's consent. Since then he has regretted the decision and opposed my being Orthodox. For a whole year, he would not allow my son to come with me to services.

M.

[Thekla]

Lord have mercy ...


(what wonderful steps :) )

[Matrona]

Lord, have mercy! :crosseo:

[Dewi Sant]

An all around convert :) I wasn't Christian when I married. My husband and I were baptised on the same day in a Protestant church. Seven years later I encountered Orthodoxy and converted with my husband's consent. Since then he has regretted the decision and opposed my being Orthodox. For a whole year, he would not allow my son to come with me to services.

M.


Sorry to hear of your situation.

My prayers
:crosseo:

[ma2000]

God bless!

[Philothei]

Lord have mercy and may our Lord gives you strenghth and patiennce ...I will pray to Theotokos for your family.

God bless,
Philothei

[SaintMarina]

That's great news, Monica!

Will keep your family in my prayers. :crosseo:

[Dorothea]

That's great news! Just did a prayer to St. Sergius. I will continue to pray for your son and your family, Monica. :)

[Chocolatesa]

:crosseo:

[Monica, child of God]

Thanks for all the support and prayers. i will keep you posted.

M.

[Theophorus]

:crosseo:

[MariaRegina]

Monica, you have my prayers.

I am delighted for your son.

If you husband is so opposed to Orthodoxy, ask him to write down his objections and post them here.

Maybe he will read the responses just out of curiosity.

[Monica, child of God]

He would not be interested in interacting with Orthodox Christians. He is very resistant to even hearing our points of view. In a nutshell, his objections are rooted in what he feels is necessary or unnecessary. I was explaining the practice of asking the intercession of saints to him on Saturday. I gave the standard spiel: they are not demi-gods, they do not have super human powers, they simply pray for us, what the word prayer means, yada, yada. I also said that this is the role that God has ordained for the saints that have passed to the other side before us. Just as pastors and deacons and Sunday school teachers have been called by God to do that work, God has given saints the work of praying for the Church and so we cannot say that we do not need them to do this work for us.

He then said that it does not say anywhere in the Bible that we are supposed to pray to saints. I replied that the Bible is not a rule book. There are things that Christians do and require of others that are not laid out in the Bible. The bible does not say that we should gather manuscripts and make Bibles. It does not even list what books should be included and what should be left out. And yet all Christians think it is necessary to groups the Scriptures and distribute them together in some form or fashion.

Marriage is another example. The Bible does not say that having a marriage ceremony is necessary for two people to be considered married. And yet all Christians require that union between a man and woman be recognized in some form (either religious or civil) before two people have sex, establish a household and have children.

He didn't really have a response to that. I am pretty good at putting together arguments which is actually a barrier when we talk about these things. My husband would prefer if I were less sure of the rightness of what I believe. But because my beliefs are not my own but rather the teaching of the Orthodox Church I cannot help but be certain in my communication. He would like me to phrase things this way, "Some people believe icons were used in the early Church" instead of "The Church has always used icons." It would be disingenuous for me to pretend to be unsure of something I am completely sure about: sigh:

M.

[Matrona]

He then said that it does not say anywhere in the Bible that we are supposed to pray to saints. I replied that the Bible is not a rule book. There are things that Christians do and require of others that are not laid out in the Bible. The bible does not say that we should gather manuscripts and make Bibles. It does not even list what books should be included and what should be left out. And yet all Christians think it is necessary to groups the Scriptures and distribute them together in some form or fashion.

And to think, without us cannibal necromancers, they wouldn't even have a bible to take things out of context from! :doh:

Anyway, I'm praying for you Monica. I'm glad I converted long before marriage because I can't imagine how difficult it must be to have a non-Orthodox spouse.

[cassc]

Lord Have Mercy!

[Monica, child of God]

So I have gone through all the basics of getting baptized into the Orthodox Church with my son. He is thinking about everything we have dicussed. Please pray for him. He will be turning 14 in a few days and heading into tough waters as far as temptation goes. Baptism would be a wonderful thing right now but I don't want to pressure him. It has to be his decision.:crosseo:

M.

[flod logic]

:crosseo:

[fuerein]

My prayers, sounds like a complicated situation for you both.
:crosseo:

[ThePosterFormerlyKnownAs]

Prayers for your son as well as your whole family.

[Monica, child of God]

Thanks for praying :)

M.

[AxionEsti]

Prayers for you son and your husband! :crosseo: Also prayers for you, too.

[kamikat]

Monica, this is wonderful news! I'll be praying for you and your family!

[Monica, child of God]

So my son and I talked again after DL. It seems that part of his hesitance is that he does not have a "conversion story" like the ones he has heard at the baptist church my husband goes to. Before anyone is baptised there, they give a testimony of how they went from darkness to light.

I asked my son whether he ever remembers a time when he did not believe in Christ. He said no. I asked if he ever remembered not going to church or praying or listening to Scripture. He said no. I said, "That is because you have been raised as a Christian. Unless you fall away from the faith and come back, you may never have a testimony like people who go from being non-Christian to Christian." I added that when there is something that God would have us do and we put it off for our own reasons, we are in fact disobeying God even if those reasons seem legitamate. I reminded him of the story of the man who said he wanted to follow Christ but delayed to bury his father. Christ's response was, "Let the dead bury their own dead."

Please join me in praying that my son would not let barriers that only exist in his mind to keep him from entering the Church :crosseo:

M.

[Monica, child of God]

So my son has decided to be baptized! Yay! He has chosen St. Augustine for his heavenly patron :) He goes to a Christian school and they had to write two essays on Augustine. He became drawn to his story of conversion even before he knew that Monica (my patroness) was his mother! I credit the prayers of St Monica and St. Augustine of course.

The not so great news is that my husband is not taking it well. There is a lot of despair coming from him about our family and our marriage. I don't know what to do. I cannot see preventing my son from following his convictions especially with all that is going on in the world. But I don't want to see things fall apart either. Pray for us :crosseo:

M.

[Protoevangel]

Prayers!

I missed this thread the first time around (I was trying to "fast" from CF during the Nativity Fast).

[Matrona]

If you would not mind, could you mention your husband's first name?

[fuerein]

Monica,

Congratulations with regard to your son! And my prayers for the rest of your situation.

:crosseo:

[Bushmaster78FS]

Wow, it is an awesome thing going on with your son. He has a testimony indeed, how he became so attached to Orthodoxy. Everything before than that was the prep. he is now ready and more than likely he will play a great role in your husband's awakening. I am wondering if someone at your husband's congregation fueling his opposition. Because once should one see and experience the Divine Liturgy, there is no joy in the pop songs and length sermons of sunday Baptist church.

:crosseo:

[Mary of Bethany]

So my son has decided to be baptized! Yay! He has chosen St. Augustine for his heavenly patron :) He goes to a Christian school and they had to write two essays on Augustine. He became drawn to his story of conversion even before he knew that Monica (my patroness) was his mother! I credit the prayers of St Monica and St. Augustine of course.

The not so great news is that my husband is not taking it well. There is a lot of despair coming from him about our family and our marriage. I don't know what to do. I cannot see preventing my son from following his convictions especially with all that is going on in the world. But I don't want to see things fall apart either. Pray for us :crosseo:

M.

That's amazing about the names! I will pray for all of you.

Mary

[Saint Melania]

Lord, have mercy. :crosseo: Praying for you and your son, and also for your husband to be understanding.

[Saint Melania]

So my son has decided to be baptized! Yay! He has chosen St. Augustine for his heavenly patron :) He goes to a Christian school and they had to write two essays on Augustine. He became drawn to his story of conversion even before he knew that Monica (my patroness) was his mother! I credit the prayers of St Monica and St. Augustine of course.

The not so great news is that my husband is not taking it well. There is a lot of despair coming from him about our family and our marriage. I don't know what to do. I cannot see preventing my son from following his convictions especially with all that is going on in the world. But I don't want to see things fall apart either. Pray for us :crosseo:

M.
Just keep reminding your husband that faith is a very personal thing. I hope he comes around to understanding very soon.

[Monica, child of God]

Thanks everyone. I have to confess that I am feeling pretty sad right now...and lonely.

M.

[Philothei]

Monica, I will pray for your family... So good to hear that God is working through you...:).. Do not get discouraged... God is with you and He will be always. Just pray for your son and your husband it is the best tool we have to fight the evil one....

Prayers,
Lord have mercy,
Philothei

[Protoevangel]

Thanks everyone. I have to confess that I am feeling pretty sad right now...and lonely.

M.
I know how you feel. :hug:

My wife won't pray with me. She won't discuss anything regarding faith. She was thinking about leaving me for a while.

Things are slowly getting better. Not much, but little by little.

You are in my prayers.