While jogging along in my sweet new frog-like five fingers, I began to realize how little I actually looked around to take in the world I live in. This was the first run I've ever taken without the distraction of an iPod. I smelled two freshly cut grasses, and another with a fecal accessory left behind by a canine. I heard the obnoxious cries of a diesel engine behind me, long before it passed by. I took the time to stare down a dog and calm remain at the same pace as it chased me. :) I felt the ground beneath me, withstanding the weight of yet another ungrateful passerby. I was alone. Just me passes through this world full of scenery waiting to be appreciated by the senses. It was great. And I prayed. This was one of the most genuinely simple prayers I've ever prayed. I was really able to take in the presence of a conversation between myself and God while noticing the world he created around me. It was a fresh area of gratitude. As I ran, thanking him for the simple idea to leave the iPod behind, I realized what a great time I was having in this unique conversation. I realized that such a prayer was unprecedented. Most have been spoken within four white walls. Whether they were the four walls of a hospital room, praying for my brother's or some other beings life or the four walls of a church, over-adorned with petty items to help accentuate the show we were putting on; I had truly never learned to take it all in and really learn from God while I prayed. I have learned so much outside of the church routine that I thank God I had the courage to leave and still feel confident enough in my faith. Our faith does not require church to exist. It requires it for growth. If a Christian finds themselves at a church that does not help them grow outside of a comfort zone, or weekly routine, they are wasting their time and are better off without. Creating yet another weekly ritual in my life was not what I needed to grow. I needed genuine relationships between myself and God and myself and others, others who sought to grow as I did. Most of the people I discovered weren't growing as Jesus followers, but simple people with a different perspective looking to change the world a little for the better. What does that say about me? I'm a Christian who has yet to produce anything even close to these non-followers who truly do this out of their hearts and souls. It means I've been following stagnant people. These luke-warm relationships brought nothing but hurt and shallow feelings. I'm on a hunt for another church, because I do believe having a church home. I won't stop growing until I find one though, because my faith isn't held within white walls, plush pews, self-righteous approvals, decorative bibles, cool t-shirts, a love limited to africa or soup kitchens, a certain amount of church going friends, christian education, or a well put together stage set. Because, I am more than that. I am a complex human like everyone else. With a passion that will not be satisfied by such petty things. Simplifying Jesus down to rules or cool shows puts him in a box. Expanding him through our relationships, limited by no standards, justifies His greatness. By limiting who we allow our contacts to be, we limit Him. By socially excluding someone from a church group or your life, we create a cold heart, a seed crushed by our own thorns. That's a heavy burden to bear.