The other day I sat at the mechanics and chatted with a young man. He had moved from Wisconsin recently and hadn’t settled in for very long.

Are your kids ready for "real life?" Prepare them with the lessons in this 10 day series! Plus there are 24 other mom's contributing to the Tips for Homeschool Moms series! Check it out!- DaytoDayAdventures.com

We were chatting about cars and such so I almost didn’t bring it up. But I felt the “nudge” to invite him to church. His whole face lit up when he understood what I was asking.

He’d been to another church the previous weekend so he was looking for a church home. I love that he was seeking to find a place of worship despite the craziness of adjusting to a new town, job and home.

Moving away from home is hard . . .

When Steve and I got married we had a period of time where we didn’t go to church. We were both in school and then I was pregnant and it was TOUGH to find the energy to invest in church and our faith. After a period away we were able to plug in to a new church.

We chose a church because we liked the atmosphere, teaching and there were LOTS of people our age. Today MANY of those families are part of our close circle of friends. I still call on them when I need prayer, support or help in anyway even though we've moved and attend a different church now.

Parents, it is important to talk to your kids about what it is like when they will be out on their own. They probably have NO idea how hard it will be to take their faith on as their own instead of “leaning on” their family’s habits to support them. Be honest about any struggles that you had as a young adult.

Grown up faith

I want to address the rest of this post at young adults but much of this applies to all Christians. Grown up faith is less about attending church, listening to sermons and singing praise songs and more about becoming who God wants you to be by listening to him speak. Now don't get me wrong--finding a church home is REALLY important. But there is WAY more to being a Christian than attending the "right church."

Ask yourself these questions.

Who directs your life?
When you make a decision how to do you decide what is right?
Are you basing how you live on any particular ideas?

Beware of the idea that you can do this "adulting" thing all by yourself.

It's not going to happen.

You need to have a group of people supporting you and cheering you on but most importantly you need to be directed by God and his word. I'll say it again. LIFE IS HARD.

If you let him, God will show you who he wants you to become and it will be the wildest and most amazing ride. But you have to be listening and paying attention for this to happen. There are many ways to "listen" and I'd like to cover 3 of them.

Finding a church home: Don't cling to the old

You aren’t alone if you are hesitant to find a church in a new place. It is NOT easy to walk in to a place that you've never attended and where you don't know a single person.

Things to do when you visit

Take a friend. Seriously it makes it easier.
Find out when the services are so you don’t walk in late. (embarrassing moment)
Listen to online sermons if they have them to get familiar with the order of worship.
Don’t dash out right after service. If you can, chat with a few people. Ask them what they like about the church.
Find out when the next church event is outside of Sunday morning. GO! Church isn’t all about what happens on Sunday.

Things to avoid at a new church

Comparison--it's deadly. Good traditions shine a spotlight on God’s word, move us to serve and help us to draw nearer to God. When you go to a new place don’t expect that the church will be just like what you are used to back home.
Avoiding people. God's family is made of some amazing people. Get to know them and their stories. You will be blessed. I promise

Prayer

Have have ever prayed on your own? If not you should start because you are missing out on one of the best things as a Christian. Talking to God is your best way of drawing near to him at a moment's notice. He's a breath away, ready to listen, help, reassure and love you. Just talk to him. There are many "forumulas" for prayer out there but honestly he doesn't care--he just wants to hear your voice searching for him.

Read your Bible

I know all the excuses.

No time.
It's boring.
I've read it before.

Trust me I've used all the excuses but here's some advice. Just do it. When I don't read everyday (even for 5 minutes) then my attitude and ability to handle "life" goes south. It's like my ears are stuffed with cotton and when I read and try to hear God in his word then my ears are cleared. When you open that book you are inviting God to speak to you!

Developing a grownup faith of your own independent of your parents is a marathon. You will run too hard at times and then need to rest and recover.

Have patience with yourself.

God will stretch you in seasons of difficulty and then provide a time for peace.

What season are you in right now? Do you need to make some changes in order to hear what he is saying to you again? I'd love to hear from you on this topic so I can encourage you as you continue your journey.

Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter or via the Day to Day Adventures email newsletter!

This is the seventh day of the 10 day series of Tips for Homeschool Moms. (If you aren't a homeschooler don't click away!!! MANY of these topics will apply all moms!)

10 days of real life lessons NOT learned in school

If you don't want to miss ANY of these posts, sign up to have them delivered directly to your inbox. It's so easy to forget things. Be smart and make it easy on yourself!

Also don't miss the posts on these topics--24 other bloggers are contributing to the series!