Before DSH and I were married, right after he moved up here and we began getting to know each other in person I hadn’t been attending church for at least 2 years. One of the first things we did once he was living in the same area was to attend the church I’d attended for years. It was a big church, a mega-church by any standards, and it was the only church I’d known as a Christian (I became a Christian in 1988).
DSH is a lifelong Christian, he grew up in a Christian home and had always been active in church. He was used to small churches, and my home church was a big change.
We were in the habit of going to a local farmers’ market early on Sunday morning before church, and one Sunday when we were driving back to my house we passed a sign advertising a church service outside a community center. The church had a very unusual name – Restoration Life – which immediately caught my attention. I researched it online and listened to a couple of the podcasts to see what the preaching was like, and if the doctrine seemed sound.
It all seemed good, so we checked it out one Sunday morning in August of 2006 and were immediately impressed. The regular pastor was out of town, so the associate was preaching. His sermon was excellent (about Psalm 23) and he had a wonderful accent. We decided to continue attending, and two years later we feel completely at home. We love our church 
The most effective way to really connect with others in a church and to get established is to get involved with helping. DSH and I began with volunteering to help set up and clean up the coffee and donut tables once a month. That was back in late 2006.
Since then we’ve become more involved with our church. DSH helps with setting up the chairs and sound equipment and tearing them down and putting it all away each Sunday, we are part of a wonderful small group that meets once a week, I head up the team for setting up the donuts, coffee, visitor information table each Sunday, we help in the nursery, and now I’ll be getting involved with the women’s ministry.
I’ve always wanted a real church home and to be an active part, and now I am! God is so good with answering wishes and giving us even more than we’d dreamed. God is a dream fulfiller.
