To quote Theoden, king of Rohan "So it begins."

I've avoided this moment all my life.  The moment when I decide to go 'all in'.  For decades I've studied what it means to live as a follower of Jesus.  I believe Jesus is the Son of God, that I am a sinner, that I can do nothing to save myself, and I've asked Him to forgive me of my sins and be the Lord of my life.  Ah, but it is that last phrase that is the problem.  Since I've never gone 'all in', is Jesus really my Lord?  Could anyone really tell by the way I've lived my life that Jesus is the Lord of my life?  We all know what is really in our hearts, and I know that except for small snippets of time, I have been the Lord of my life.  Oh, I've gone to church faithfully, studied my Bible, and have said all the right things.  But deep down inside, I know I haven't gone 'all in'.  So this is it.  Over the past three years I've been on a journey to write a condensed version of how I should live.  Since I'm convinced intellectually that true Christianity is entirely centered around Jesus living His life through me as I yield control of my life to the Holy Spirit, I understand my version of how I should live will be changed daily.  Nevertheless, the paper I'm posting next gives me a guide that seems right to me at this point in life.

So it begins.  This journey could turn out well.  I could discover that the life I see in the Bible is possible in 2015, and live in the power of and under the direction of the Holy Spirit for the remainder of my days.  If this is the case, the world really can be changed.  Or it could be a shattering experience.  At the end of this journey, I could believe that the life I see in the American church is all there is.  That would mean I see no chance for the exciting, life-encompassing adventure shown in the Acts of the Apostles.  If this is the case, I can go back to my routine of hiking with my family, keeping up with current events, and watching sports...not a bad life, just not entirely fulfilling.

So it begins.