First of all, I awoke to my 10-year-old sister, Catie, informing me of my new job. My two sister, Andrea and Amy, and I had all applied at an Arby's roast beef restaurant and she hired all three of us! We will be working with each other, which won't be a problem. We get along as well as we do with any of our friends. My dad asked me what I would like to do today and I told him that I would very much like to see the Lord of the Rings again so he said he would get tickets for him and me on his way to work. Later, my mom said that Amy, Andrea, and me were going to see it and that my dad would see it some other time. My mom and the younger kids were going to go shopping.

I got online and talked to Kelli. It started out fine, but she got into me putting my church before her and how I won't stay with her like a year because I'll be away from my church too long. She is fine being second to God, but not to a church with man-made rules. Well, she would never be second to a church like that and I told her so, but she won't believe me. It's hard explaining things to the people in the world. Anyway, she had to go because her brother kicked her off. I was feeling bad and I went to my mom for advice. I told her what we talked about and my mom said "You don't want to lose her, do you?" I said no. She said "Well, you don't even have her in the first place, but I know what you mean." I can't remember it all, but this is basically what I remember from it:

Me: She says that I'm putting her second to a church with man-made rules but I'm not.
Mom: It's hard to explain to people that our church isn't man-made. It's the opposite.
Me: I know, but she says that every church thinks they are the right one.
Mom: Yeah.
...
Mom: Lots of brethren marry and then come in the faith. When you marry, you are putting your spouse first. But when you come in the faith, you put them second to God and they don't like that. Do you think it's God's will for you to marry on your own and then come in the faith?
Me: No. But it's not different from marrying anyone else. There's no one else that's better than her.
Mom: Not on the horizon.
Me: I don't want someone on the horizon.
Mom: I know how you feel.
...
Me: But she says that a church doesn't get you to heaven, your own faith does.
Mom: But if you got an apartment and a job where she lives, then you will just get further from God. The adversary is working with you and trying to keep you from coming in the faith. You can pray that God will help you to just be friends with her and then if nothing happens then it will be okay. If you expect the worst out of this, then it can only get better. Pray that God will help you.
Me: I don't care about me, I care about her. I want God to help her before he helps me. But she says she doesn't want to get baptised ever.
Mom: Have you told her that maybe all she needs is to see our church for herself?
Me: No. But why would she believe that? She said she has already given God a chance and nothing happened so why should she again. But what she doesn't understand is that she never did give him a chance. Like in my hot tub story, she didn't make the filter correctly. But she seems to understand how it's not the church that gets you to heaven, it's yourself.
Mom: But she doesn't understand about our church. If she doesn't have any interest in it, then maybe she's not the one for you. But she could come to our church and God turn her heart. Just be friends for now.

And it went on like that. I almost cried during part of it, thinking of giving her up.

Anyway, before we left for the movies, Ashley called (she is the newest member of our church) and said that her mom doesn't want her going to our church anymore. Her mom thinks that our church is a cult and that we are brainwashing Ashley. Ashley lived in Alaska a while back with her dad, but now she lives with her mom and stepdad here in Oregon. Her mom said she wants Ashley to go to her church instead of ours because there isn't only one way to praise God. Ashley said no because God doesn't want us to join ourselves to other churches, and her mom didn't like that and kept bringing up the brainwashing. A lot of reletives of brethren think we are brainwashed, but no one tells us how to live, we get it from the bible and God. Her mom said she was going to buy plane tickets and put Ashley on a plane to Alaska tonight. Ashley ran away and went to her neighbor's house and called us and asked us to come get her.

Well, I guess it being my birthday is something special afterall, lol.