Faith

As a part of this weeks Awana assignment my 2 children in high school were to write a 300 (or more) word essay on what Faith means to them. 

After much protesting, whining & proclaiming that they "couldn't!" they "didn't know how" & "I can't write a paper. I don't know what to say!" they came up with some insightful words.

So to bless you today I've decided to share their words here.

(names have been changed to protect the innocent)

Enjoy!

How To Live By Faith 

by Hxxxxx Sxxxxx

For one to live by faith first one has to trust in God. After all that's where the the word faith comes from and in order for one to trust in someone, one has to believe in them and to believe in them you have to have faith. You have to have faith even when you feel like there's nothing left to believe or put your faith in.  I guess that's how I look at it because yes you will go through times when your faith is shaken and tested but just as you're about to give up you see something in front of you that comes from your faith. Hope. You see hope that comes from Jesus because He gave you that hope so that we could have faith to believe in Him and that's where this verse comes in:

 Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is the substance for things hoped for the evidence of things not seen"

That verse talks about faith and hope being the evidence for things we can't see. It takes a lot of faith in our God to trust that He will pull us through the hard times especially when we don't know what will happen.  It's hard to have faith when bad things happen and when the bad things  happen hurt us more than anyone could ever understand but, lucky for us, there is someone who understands. God does.  He's there the whole time looking down on us saying, "just have faith in Me, just keep believing I'll pull you through." Just hold on and that's all you have to do. Just have faith that He will be there and just as you're about to fall because you can't go any farther, He'll be there to pull you back up again and you will know it because you kept your faith strong. Even when it was shaken and even when you were tempted to give up you didn't because you saw hope which gave you faith to believe and that's what kept you going. That's what keeps me going when I feel like giving up and when my faith is shaken I look around me for hope and I find it.  That gives me faith to keep going through everything I face. Through every hard time. Through every temptation I face I have faith that God will pull me through. That He'll be there when I cry out to say that my faith is low, that I'm not sure if I can keep going. Faith is a powerful thing and it can move mountains and heal your broken heart if you let it. That's how I look at faith and without it I don't even want to think about where I would be now because it's helped me through more hard times then I could ever say. It would take a whole book to say how many times I've felt like giving up and then God came in with my faith to say, "Look. There's still hope."

My Essay On How A Christian Lives By Faith

by Wxxxx Sxxxxx

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" Hebrews 11:1

 This is a pivotal verse in the faith driven Christian walk, faith is what makes up the Christian faith. Faith is how we are saved in Christ Jesus.  Christianity is not a works driven religion. Faith is what makes our religion, not works, just as the phrase the "Christian faith" implies.

Faith.

'State wholly and steadfastly in God. Faith lies at the very heart of Christianity, and its importance for today’s Christian is clear from the fact that Protestantism was born through the rediscovery of the great words' “The just shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17 kjv). This definition is from Logos bible software.

Faith is key to my life and my walk with God.It gives me strength in difficult times, it helps me resist temptations,with faith I can be of good cheer as Paul would put it.  Faith helps me in difficult times where without faith it would be ever so easy to become depressed and mad at God or to give in to temptations.  Often faith in times of trial and temptations is what sets you apart from non believers and makes people notice and wonder what is different about you, which can lead to you being able to share with them the gospel of Christ Jesus, in whom you have the faith that sets you apart.In the last few years of my life, faith is what has kept me happy and not always sad and discouraged which is surely how I would have been without my faith in my Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, the risen son of God. I am at a loss for words for how important and wonderful faith is for the Christian walk.

Blessings.

Helloooooooooo

So, yeah. It's been a coon's age since I blogged.

Well, 2 months actually.

(not technically sure exactly how long a coon's age is...)

But! I have reasons.

No really,

First my computer died. Sigh.

Yes. My beloved "Pinky" gave up the ghost. And all of my files, & photos, & downloads, & links & passwords & everything.

It sucketh. Verily.

And then...we moved. The longest, hardest, saddest, happiest, most painfully exhausting move ever.

We moved home.

Back to our tiny little abused homestead in Southern Oregon.

Which needed to be cleaned & painted from top to bottom of every room. Every barn. It seems like every square inch of every acre. Sigh.

We couldn't bring up anything or anyone without first tearing down whatever was left of where it used to go & rebuilding/refencing/resomething before we could actually do anything with it.

It was really obnoxious.

And tiring.

And saying goodbye to our California friends was the most gut wrenching heart stomping experience ever. I can't tell you how much I cried.

But, at last. We are here.

And sort of kind of mostly maybe unpacked...

It's been a lovely crisp, cool, beautiful fall here.

We wear sweatshirts & use down blankets & have fires...it's awesome.

And the beauty here...oh my the beauty here.

It' s good for my soul.

I just look & look & look & my eyes drink it all in.

We are still (and will be for a very long time) redoing fencing & repairing barns & replacing pipes & painting & whatever else we can get to before everything freezes.

It's going to be awhile before our homestead is back to what it was.

But we will get it back.

We will.

And tomorrow we have a very special birthday coming.

Somebody is turning 18... (nope, not me)

Stay tuned.

Blessings.