Start at the Beginning

There are a lot of aspects of the creation of the universe that I feel I can make sense of but the beginning of the universe is not one of them. To me it defies logic.
There are two possibilities; the universe always existed or the universe was created. Neither of them seems logical. There are a set of rules in place in the universe. For example, anything that has mass is attracted to anything else that has mass. Thus we have gravity. Some of the rules apply to energy. The first law of thermodynamics is that energy is never created or destroyed, it just changes in form. In a solar panel, energy from the sun is converted to electrical energy. If we lift something, our muscular energy is converted to the potential energy in the new height of the object. So, how is it possible for all the energy in the universe to be created. Think of all the energy in the trillions of stars. What kind of power would be needed to create and organize that amount of energy. Most scientists believe that the universe began in a single instant, a big bang from which all the matter and energy of the universe was created. How is this possible? Some scientists claim that the universe goes through a constant cycle, that it expands from the big bang until it runs out of inertia and then collapses back on itself to create another big bang from which another universe is created and so on. If this is the case, how did the system begin?
The idea that the universe always existed also defies logic. How can something with a set or rules containing a finite amount of energy always have been there. Creationists will say that God created it. In science, all theories are possibilities and I am not discounting any options. Neither do I want to offend sensibilities on either side. The purpose of this blog is to wonder about the big questions and hopefully get logical feedback to help me fill in the gaps. The existence of God defies logic also. I am not saying that an all powerful being is not possible, it is just not logical. Where did God come from in the first place. If God always existed, we are back to the problem of how can something have existed for ever.
I'm stumped on this one. Anyone out there have any input?