a history of brett

God pursues His people.  He pursued Israel, He pursues me.  And what makes that so much more amazing; I'm nothing special.

I don't know how much of our personalities we are born with; how much of who we will become is predetermined by genetics, but the way I learned to see the world (my worldview) seems to be largely environmental.  I was born into a fully-functioning, already established family; the fourth child.  My world instantly became what their world already was.  There was no void that needed to be filled, I learned to fit in.  The things that my young mind decided were important to my family became important to me.  From the onset God was pursuing me.

My family was religious.  That much was EASY to see.  For some reason my parents went out of their way to be obedient to God.  We attended a church called the Worldwide Church of God and attempted, along with the rest of the church, to follow a number of the bible's old testament statutes.  We attended gatherings during the feast of tabernacles, actively made Saturday our Sabbath, abstained from eating unclean foods like pork or shrimp, didn't celebrate Christmas (or other 'pagan' holidays), etc.  We traveled to the next county to attend a church that none of my friends, neighbors, or extended family attended.  If we weren't going to be able to attend church, my dad would host an impromptu family service during that week.  My family was religious.

And so, if nothing else, young Brett's mind was cemented with an importance placed upon following God.  Following God was important to my dad, important enough to set our family apart from most other families that I knew.  Following God became important to me.  BUT... my God was a God of rules and punishment.  I feared Him like I feared my dad.  I was determined to be good.