Joshanna Schwake

08/30/2026

08/29/2026

08/21/2026

Please help out my friend if you can!

At Pastor Karen’s request, this GoFundMe has been created t… John Pelizzari needs your support for Honoring Pastor John Pelizzari’s Life and Final Arrangements

08/20/2026

Amen!!!

08/15/2026

Self Examination:
What do you do for your local church?

?) do you encourage your church family or discourage them?

?) do you focus and pay attention or are you just there?

?) do you pray regularly for the pastors and the members, or do you have more prayer requests than you do a prayer life?

?) do you come to church to get a blessing or also be a blessing?

?) do you come in with attitudes, criticism, and negativity?

?) do you help invite people, reach out, or do you just leave that for the pastors?

?) do you help with events or do you slide under the radar because you dont like to commit?

?) do you participate or are you just warming a pew?

?) do you give back to the place that has had its doors open to you and helped you?

?) do you volunteer or do people have to beg you to help?

?) do you only help when its convenient or can you be inconvenienced and still help out?

?) do people want to come to your church based on your countenance and your attitude?

?) are you hungry to learn more, grow more, or are you just going through the motions?

?) what does your attitude look like when you come in on a regular basis?

?) do you worship or do you just sing?

?) do you commit to everything else and leave no room to commit to the Lord?

?) are you present for your leaders like they have been present for you when you call or let them know you need help?

?) can your leaders call you for prayer? Or call you for encouragement.

?) does your leader only hear from you when you need something or when you need prayer?

?) do you offer to clean up, and do things with an excellent spirit or do you get huffy that your the only one willing to clean?

?) do you stop volunteering because you were upset because you were the only one volunteering?

?) are you more offended than you are passionate?

?) do you come when you FEEL like it and skip out when you dont FEEL like it?

?) is your list of excuses bigger than your prayer life?

?) do you manipulate your leaders with your participation, your offering, or threaten them that you will go elsewhere?

?) you share jokes, recipes, family pictures on social media but do you help the church spread seed or events or announcements?

?) does your leaders even know that you love them?

?) when is the last time someone came to the church because you were willing to ask or bring them?

?) do you need the pastor and the worship team to pump you up before you can feel anything?

?) can they see you pouting on sunday and shouting on wednesday or are you consistent?

?) do you use your age as an excuse on a regular basis?

?) are you jealous when someone else gets blessed, promoted, used, or see them grow?

?) are you a help to your church or could you do better?

08/14/2026

Signs and Red Flags of Backsliding: (i also did some of these things myself)...

-showing up late (you used to show up early).

-leaving early ( you used to be one of the last to leave)

-sitting farther and farther towards the back (you used to sit close)

-criticizing the services, the pastors, and the worship... you used to encourage now your critical.

-you look for an excuse to stay away or stay out. (At one time that excuse wiuld have never held you back but now you're looking for one to stay away.)

-you feel condemnation overtake you and instead of heading to the presence of God or going to the altar you pull away from it.

-you start trying to convince yourself that no one loves you, needs you, or they just use you. You try telling yourself its not for you anymore or your not actually called.

-you start looking for something easier and choosing what looks easier.

-you leave your bible reading in the dust and that poor bible has dust on it.

-you start reverting back to things you once let go of (you go back to the old music, the old friends, the old drinks, the old hang outs).

-cuss words start slipping out more and more. Your mouth isnt as sanctified as it once was.

-you start saying "I'm tired" A LOT! I just need a break, i just need to chill, i just need a moment. I am tired, i am burnt out, i am weary, i am exhausted. And so you justify the time apart. You say you just want to serve God from home but your serving the tv and the bed and the snacks and the games more than God.

-you jump into a hobby outside of the Lord and say its of the Lord. So you throw all your time, all your effort, and every waking moment obsessing about this and you say its for the Lord, however your moving further and further away from HIM. Sometimes that hobby is making MONEY. You become obsessed with making more money and more money that money replaces holiness!

-you start trying to convince people how happy you are and how good life is, and dont want to really talk or open up because if you do they will see what you have been burying inside.

-you become offended with people you have never been offended with or who has never been against you. People that love you and have helped you long term and now they are enemy number 1 and out to get you. Its easier to get offended and leave rather than you working on whats going on in you! Most people have to get mad before they completely walk out so they have someone else to blame for their backsliding.

-they start clinging to people that are backslidden too. Whether it be a friend, another person that left before, or even a spouse thats not living fully for God. They become glued to them because they want agreement with their decisions and want someone to understand or comfort them. This is what you call replacing the comforter (Holy Ghost).

-they start slipping in decisions and judgements and crossing boundaries that were never an issue before.

-they get happy at first trying to convince themselves they did the right thing and then they become sad and miserable people. Angry all the time. Hard to be around and easily provoked.

The Lord is married to the backslider and he healed me and many others. God doesnt want to leave anyone a backslider and HE is drawing you back to HIS heart but you have to heed to HIM. God desires you to come back to HIMSELF. Come back to Jesus and let HIM heal the places in you that were damaged and wounded! Stop running, fighting, and being stubborn. And some of you may be on the brink of it... turn around and head back to HIS Presence! Pick that bible back up. Go back to the altar, go apologize, make yourself show up early, put yourself back on the front row, say no to the excessive tv. And come back to Jesus!