sandra5461
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« on: June 27, 2010, 07:48:23 PM » |
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Hello everyone. Glory be to Jesus Christ!
It is my first time on the forum and I am asking you all to pray for my son Stephen. He is 17 years old and we have always gone to church as a family. He was raised in an Orthodox home. He told me today that he doesn't think he needs a religion in his life right now. He is questioning the Liturgy, Communion, the Gospel readings, etc. He doesn't think God guides us in our lives. He labeled himself as a "realist" and said that his decisions are made by himself and nothing else is influencing him. I feel a piercing in my heart just as the Theotokos did when Christ was on the cross. I never expected this and I feel like I got hit with a 2 x 4 piece of wood.
Please pray that God makes Himself present to Stephen. I am also praying to St. Monica for her intercession.
Thank you.
In Christ, Sandra
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Salpy
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« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2010, 07:51:59 PM » |
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Welcome to the forum!
It sounds like a teenage rebellion. I'll pray for him.
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St. Hripsimeh pray for us!
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SolEX01
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« Reply #2 on: June 27, 2010, 08:37:13 PM » |
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Welcome to the forum.  Lord have Mercy.
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scamandrius
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« Reply #3 on: June 27, 2010, 09:54:44 PM » |
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Welcome to the forum.
Hopefully, this is nothing more than teenage rebellion and that, in time, he will come back around.
Lord, have mercy.
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I seek the truth by which no man was ever harmed--Marcus Aurelius Those who do not read history are doomed to get their facts from Hollywood--Anonymous What earthly joy remains untouched by grief?--St. John Damascene http://myorthodoxjourney.blogspot.com/
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LizaSymonenko
Христос Воскрес!!! Christ is Risen!!!
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« Reply #4 on: June 27, 2010, 10:26:34 PM » |
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Welcome to the forum.
...continue to be a good example and gently nudge him in the right direction.
Hopefully, it's just a phase (peer pressure, etc.) and he will come around in time.
Lord, have mercy!
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Conquer evil men by your gentle kindness, and make zealous men wonder at your goodness. Put the lover of legality to shame by your compassion. With the afflicted be afflicted in mind. Love all men, but keep distant from all men. —St. Isaac of Syria
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GabrieltheCelt
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« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2010, 11:49:18 PM » |
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Hello everyone. Glory be to Jesus Christ! Welcome Sandra. Glory forever!  He told me today that he doesn't think he needs a religion in his life right now.
I can't add too much more to what others have already said. I think we all go through a period of rebellion and finding our own way in the world. When I was his age, I completely stopped going to church as well. A few years later, I converted to Islam!  It took me awhile, but I realized just how much I need Jesus in my life. I don't have children, but I can only imagine what you must be going through. Please know that I will be praying for Stephan and your family. Lord, have mercy!
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« Last Edit: June 27, 2010, 11:50:51 PM by GabrieltheCelt »
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Heorhij
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« Reply #6 on: June 28, 2010, 08:13:17 AM » |
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Lord, have mercy!
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Love never fails.
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Michał Kalina
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OC.net's trickster
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« Reply #7 on: June 28, 2010, 08:26:40 AM » |
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Lord, have mercy!
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formerly known as mikeDespite being a Polish citizen I am not a Pole.  Long live Belarus! "It's my constitutional right!"
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PeterTheAleut
The Right Blowhard Peter the Furtive of Yetts O'Muckhart
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EXTERMINATE!
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« Reply #9 on: June 28, 2010, 02:09:54 PM » |
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Lord, have mercy!
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Papist
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« Reply #10 on: June 28, 2010, 03:26:13 PM » |
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Lord, have mercy.
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"The only-begotten Son of God, wanting us to be partakers of his divinity, assumed our human nature so that, having become man, he might make men gods." - St. Thomas Aquinas
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Fr. George
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May the Lord bless you and keep you always!
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« Reply #11 on: July 19, 2010, 10:17:41 PM » |
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Lord, have mercy.
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"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the one who can't read them." Mark Twain --------------------- Ordained on 17 & 18-Oct 2009. Please forgive me if earlier posts are poorly worded or incorrect in any way.
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JLatimer
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« Reply #12 on: July 20, 2010, 12:01:56 AM » |
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Lord, have mercy!
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1 Samuel 25:22 (KJV) So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
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ytterbiumanalyst
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« Reply #13 on: July 20, 2010, 04:40:57 PM » |
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Lord have mercy!
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"It is remarkable that what we call the world...in what professes to be true...will allow in one man no blemishes, and in another no virtue."--Charles Dickens
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Ionnis
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« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2010, 03:02:23 PM » |
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Lord have mercy!
Sandra, I went through a similar phase in high school. Just be there for him. Let him know that you love him and just give him some time to think things through. Both of you are in my prayers!
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“Till we can become divine, we must be content to be human, lest in our hurry for change we sink to something lower.” -Anthony Trollope
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JLatimer
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« Reply #15 on: July 29, 2010, 01:15:28 AM » |
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http://www.theologic.com/oflweb/forfolks/prayer2.htmO Lord, our God and Creator, Who honor man in Your own image; Who teach Your elect, so that those who heed Your teaching become wise; Who reveal wisdom to babes: open the heart, the mind, and the lips of your child and servant, that he/she may receive the power of Your law, and understand what will be taught to him/her, to the glory of Your all-holy Name and the building-up of Your holy Church. Grant that he/she may comprehend Your Will, and fulfill Your commandments. Deliver him/her from every oppression, evil thought, and desire. Amen.
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1 Samuel 25:22 (KJV) So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
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Nyssa The Hobbit
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« Reply #16 on: July 29, 2010, 02:01:44 AM » |
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I've known so many people in school and college who didn't seem at all religious, but now, years later, their Facebook statuses are full of Bible verses. So don't despair. 
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Author of "Tojet" (fantasy) and "The Lighthouse" (Gothic), info available at my website URL.
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IXOYE
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« Reply #17 on: July 29, 2010, 08:15:15 AM » |
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Lord have mercy!
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