January 5, 2012

• A Short Spiritual Autobio of Michael S Miller, Jr (aka me)

  At the age of five, I accepted Christ while at a church my babysitter went to. The Sunday School teacher took me to the back of the classroom and told me about Jesus, and I accepted Him into my heart as my savior. It wasn’t until a neighbor invited me to the church that was held in the auditorium of my elementary school that I began going to church regularly and on my own. I was the first Christian in my family (supposedly…my dad said he was saved years ago, but sadly, I have doubts). Being only five, I had no concept of time, so it wasn’t unusual for me to wake up hours before church even started and walked the few blocks to my school, often before the janitor arrived. I loved helping to set up the chairs and listen to the worship band practice. And I always sat in the first row (if it was a Baptist church, I never knew). I remember being late to service once and got caught up in Children’s Church…and hating it. I wanted to listen to the pastor preach. I wanted to hear the details of what Scripture actually said. That’s how I remember it, at least.

  With my dad in the military, we did move around a bit. I can’t recall when, as a family, we started attending church regularly, but every time we visited my grandparents, we always went – very fond memories of Sundsay School then, oddly. There was also a point at which my own growth in Christ and regular church attendance sparked in my mom (who I had always thought was a Christian, herself, for years) a desire to read the Bible more. Eventually, she, too, accepted Christ, but I was unaware of when this was. She only confided in me that it was because of me…or rather through me.

  At 14, we moved to Alaska and started attending a Southern Baptist church. Getting connected in youth group and with the pastor, and new experiences in relationships with students in high school prompted me to take a more serious claim on my faith in Christ. As a child, I always just believed in God, but now I knew I needed to delve deeper into my relationship with Him. With the guidance of my late pastor, his successor, and the youth pastor, a tiny spark for an appreciation of apologetics and hermaneutics lit in me.

  After moving out on my own to Washington (state), I discovered my Home Church of all churches: Allen Creek Community Church. Pastor Rick Thiessen’s sermons and personal answers to my many, many probing spiritual and Biblical questions fed my early desires to understand God’s word and how to apply it in my life. Having long since learned that my primary spiritual gift is encouragement (secondary is teaching), Rick’s style of ministry fed me to the core. I still email him often with questions.

  During the next ten years, I began writing lyrics to songs (that hopefully will some day have music to them) and also hosted a personal web site that I designed (thank you HTML web design course in high school!). My goal was to offer articles on various Biblical topics and encourage people to know God better, personally. When a friend introduced me to a blog site, what began as a public journal to connect with friends turned into the perfect medium for me to continue a newfound love for writing. My interactions with other bloggers – Christian, non-Christian, and everything in between and then some – was like adding a nuclear explosion to my passion for interpreting Scripture with integrity and defending the faith with accessible logic. What formed was my two blogs, the long-standing NaitoOfNarnia and my more recent re-ignition, Rhindon.

  More recently, I moved to Texas in late-2010 to pursue a special Lady I met through my blog site and to confront the deep-rooted issues of maturity I had not properly addressed. During this past year, God has put me face-to-face with my rather severe lack of integrity, honesty, and a stronger work ethic. Latent dreams, a Woman who has the grace, forgiveness, and patience of God, Himself, and a desire to be a more Godly man (thank you, “Courageous” movie and other motivators) have been a huge driving force in helping me to change my heart and lean heavily on God, both spiritually and in other daily factors.

  As of the beginning of 2012, I expect a continuation of God-inspired trials, but also a certain hope rests in me that much of my past struggles will see a ripe yield of blessings, too.

  • 10:47 pm
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