He Restoreth My Soul

Psalm 23:3 "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

This verse is especially true to my heart right now. I am seeing the Lord at work in my life more now than ever. I'm on an upward climb. I am so unworthy of this work in my life, but He is so gracious to me in doing this work! I keep pouring out my heart in gratitude to Him who is not letting me go, is not leaving me alone.

Why would God choose to work in a life such as mine? When there are so many people around me who are falling away from the Lord, why does He choose not only to keep me from falling away, but also to draw me ever close to Himself? There is nothing in me that merits such favor! But that is God's incredible grace!

God is restoring my soul. He is working to perfect my mind, will, and emotions.

My mind, by enabling me first to think joy and peace filled thoughts, instead of complain when things don't go quite as I think they ought. He is enabling me to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." This has been such a struggle for me, but God is not letting go. He continues to pry, and peel my flesh away layer by layer, as a person would peel an onion.

My will, as He continues to show me that what I desire for my life in the flesh is completely different than His plans for me. He has finally brought me to a place where I can fully rest in His perfect plan. Even so much so that I can be joyful when plans are disrupted, like with my flight to Ohio on 3-13-15. Flight was delayed by about 2 1/2 hours, for various technical reasons. But instead of complaining, I found that my first thoughts were those of joy and peace, knowing that God was in control of the whole situation. I didn't worry even once, or even think to complain. I know that is all God's work in my heart. This has greatly been influenced by studying the journey of the children of Israel, and seeing how often God punished them for complaining. I am to just "follow the Cloud" wherever it leads. I should not move unless It is moving. God will direct me in His timing. Meanwhile I am to submit myself to Him, and follow His will on how life is supposed to be lived. This has also been greatly influenced in my life by the lives of George Muller and Nick Vujicic. Both of them purposed to find joy in their situations, and to lean fully on God. This is what I now truly desire in my heart.

My emotions, why not fully under control, are more controlled than in times past. I am rarely given to the emotion of anger. And when those emotions would be stirred within me, the Holy Spirit gently reminds me that "A soft answer turneth away wrath." The times that gentle reminder of the Holy Spirit has saved me from speaking harsh words are more than can be numbered. This is still an area to be refined and perfected in my life, but God is doing a marvelous work in me.

Yes, truly. He has and is in the process of restoring my soul. My heart continues to ask, "Why me, Lord?"

"Why, you ask? For My Name's sake." This is His loving, gracious, and gentle reply. He does not do it for me. He knows how unworthy I am of such love. He does it for Himself. So that He can obtain glory from my life. This is why I am here. To bring glory to a wonderful and mighty God, whose Name is to be praised above all other names.

All glory be to my Shepherd who lovingly restores my soul, and who leads me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake!
I pray this was a blessing to you. God bless you, my brother and my sister!

Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Study....Study....STUDY!!

It's been quite a while since I updated the few folks who read my blog on what has been happening in my life lately. SO much has happened this year, it's overwhelming sometimes to look back at it and see how much time has already flown by! Here we are in the middle of July already! Can someone please tell me where the time went?

So quick update: What has this year held so far? Hmm...studying, oh and more studying, and a little more studying! I faced some of my most challenging courses this year with taking Form & Analysis 1-3 in the early semester (Really, who needs to analyze Debussy's quartet? Why?). Then I had my HUGE Liberal Arts Capstone project. What does this involve? Glad you asked. It involved a LOT of researching, LOTS of writing, late nights (stayed up until 4 a couple times...:-/). Yes, and even some tears. But I finally finished, and received an "A" in the class (made up for all the late nights and tears!).

I officially finished all 33 hours of my music courses at the end of May, and had all those hours accredited and on my transcript. Whew! Then came the "easy" part. Finishing the testing out of the rest of my basics and free electives.

Fast forward to the first week in June, and I took a trip to North Carolina for a week to take some of the most AMAZING and life changing training I've ever experienced! I took a week of Creation Apologetics teaching, and learned how to teach it to others. If you want to find out more about my week, clink this link, which will take you to their website. I strongly believe that this training is essential for every Christian who wants to be ready to defend their faith! While there, I met some of the most amazing people! And an extra blessing was meeting a dentist who gave me some unbiased opinions about my TMJ disorder, and also meeting an amazing biochem teacher who gave me some terrific help on my Natural Science CLEP test. I plan on writing more in depth about my experience in this training, but for now, check out that link!

July 3rd, I had my 21st birthday! And no...I did not go out and "party" as some may describe it. Instead, I spent the morning with my family, going swimming with my sister and a friend and their combined five kiddos, as well as my "at home" family and cousin. Then I spent the afternoon helping with little kids (everyone wants to do that on their birthday, right?), had great friends over in the evening, spent some "just girl" time with my sisters and friends, and my day ended with a dear friend spending the night and us staying up late watching one of those "girly" movies.

So, it's July 16th, and where do I find myself now? Studying away! Withing the last 7 days, I have taken three exams for college credit. Yes, you read that right. THREE college exams, giving me a total of 12 hours of additional credit. I took one last Thursday, giving me an additional 6 hours, and took two tests today after only 5 days of studying. I'm looking ahead at the next five weeks (my projected FINISHING date), and I'm realizing that the crazy schedule I gave myself of finishing SEVEN more tests in the next FIVE weeks is actually completely feasible!

So, what has the first (almost) seven months of this year taught me? One main thing.

God's grace is ALWAYS enough!!

I cannot stress that enough. In fact it's so important that I will say it again. God's grace is ALWAYS sufficient for my needs! Folks, I have literally seen Him work miracles this last seven months! How, you might ask? Because I have made it this far in school! It is only by His grace that I am where I am today, and have made it this far! I could NOT have finished those classes on my own. Believe me. I was in TEARS over Debussy (Debussy and I don't get along very well). I was in tears over my massive thesis-type paper. I have no idea how I managed to keep such late hours for such a long period of time, except that I know that God gave me all the strength that I needed! And God definitely gave me all the inspiration I needed for such a challenging subject (why did I pick to do a BA thesis on the aesthetics of music again?).

So all this to say, even in the smallest minute things, God cares, He is faithful, and He will be your strength, if you only ask! I'm not stupid, but I know that I could not have come this far in my schooling without God's continued grace and strength pouring through me. I have learned to ask God on a daily basis to empty me completely of myself, and to pour Himself completely into me. One of the verses I am claiming for this next year of my life is from Ephesians 3, where Paul prays that God will fill the Ephesians with "all the fullness of God." My dad explained that in his sermon this is like throwing a coke bottle into the ocean and watching the bottle become completely filled with the fullness of the ocean, yet there is still so much ocean. But in order for that coke bottle to be filled, it has to empty itself of its contents. 

So my prayer for each of you that reads this article is that you would humble yourself and empty yourself completely of anything inside, and ask God to fill you with all His fullness! His grace and strength are ALL we could ever need, and way more than we could ever hope for! I hope that this has been at least a little encouragement to you. 

Until next time....

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, and may you be filled with ALL the fullness of God! Blessings!

Because of Jesus' Blood,

Faith Christine

Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Waiting on God

A soon-to-be cousin of mine posted a link to this blog. I don't know if I can fully endorse the whole blog, but I definitely agree with everything in this one post.

I know girls who sadly throw themselves at the first guy that comes along. They don't think about the long-term consequences of marriage. As this article states, aside from salvation, marriage is one thing that will change your life forever. But many people don't go into marriage with that mindset. Girls, it is really important to wait upon the Lord and His timing. I love this quote that I read:

"When God has called you to wait, it is because what He is doing during the waiting time is necessary for the best outcome."

That is so true. Girls, if God has you single right now, it is because He is preparing you, and/or He is preparing your future husband for you. If you are trusting God with your future, God has a special reason for you being single. 

Last weekend, I attended the Radiant Purity conference, taught by Sarah Mally. While I "knew" everything they were teaching, since I attended the conference last year, it was good to be reminded and encouraged to wait on God's perfect timing. I loved what Sarah Mally had to say about the purpose of our lives.

"The purpose of our lives is not to get married. The purpose of our lives is to glorify God."

So important for me to remember. Now that I'm 20, I can't help but wonder even more than before when God is going to bring "that guy" for me. But, I have to remember that my purpose in life is NOT to get married. My purpose in life is to glorify my Creator and Redeemer. He gave His life for me, so why should I not give my life to Him for His glory?
Before this conference, I had already determined that I didn't want to get married unless I could serve God better married than I could single. To hear Sarah, who is 34 and still single, say that was a huge impact on me. This is not to say that I want to wait until I'm in my 30's to get married. If the Lord wills, I would like to be married within the next five years. But I don't know that that is in God's plan for me, and if that doesn't bring the most glory to God, and if God can use me better as a single young woman, then I would rather stay single. This heart attitude has definitely been very difficult for me to come to. But I know that it is better to be single, serving the Lord, and happy, than to be married and miserable.
Something else Sarah said really stuck out to me:

"God is not going to keep us single one day longer than we are supposed to be single."

How true that statement is! God knows better what His plan is for us than we do! As long as I am single, God has a plan for my life! I have only to submit to His beautiful plan for my life, and He will fulfill it.
I am to be a waitress. A waitress does not stand around doing nothing. She walks around finding ways that she can serve, because that is what her employer wants her to do. The idea of "wait on the Lord" (as in Psalm 27:14) means that while I am waiting for God to bring the next phase of my life, I am serving Him, and serving others. I love this mindset of being a waitress, and pray that the Lord continues to remind me that this is my calling for right now.
So I write all of this mainly to encourage other young ladies. But, it can most definitely apply to young men. If we are following God's call for us right now, and keep walking down the path that He has for our lives, eventually our paths will cross with the person we are supposed to spend the rest of our life with. Our paths will join, and we will continue down the path together, running for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.

I encourage you all, "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14). God has a beautiful plan for each of us, if only we will trust Him and submit to Him. If we try to write our own story, or if we jump at the first person that takes an interest in us, or we are interested in, then we could mess up the beautiful plan that God has for our life. Not to say that God is not sovereign over everything, because He will even use our mistakes to fulfill His ultimate plan. But we do have a free will, and we must submit that will to the Will of God for our lives, and allow Him to write our story for us. Relinquish the pen to the great Author. He will write a story for you more beautiful than you could imagine.

Just some thoughts for tonight. I pray that you will take them to heart, and allow God to work His beautiful plan in your life. Stay strong in Jesus! Trust always in Him, and He will direct your path.

Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Run and Jump

Tired...oh, so tired. Why do I feel like this?

For the last couple of months, I have experienced extreme exhaustion. I experienced that right after coming home from Taiwan, but knew that was definitely from jet lag. But the last couple of months? Why have I felt tired? There would be mornings I just found it difficult to get out of bed before 8, and even then I would be groggy, and could barely drag myself through the day. I was not going to bed extremely late at nights either. Supposedly, I should be getting enough sleep. This could not be a hangover from jet lag.

The middle of April, I walked into my local blood donation center to give blood. Overall, I was feeling well, but still had this feeling as if I had been awake all night. I waited for a long time, and finally they called me back into the room to test my levels, and have me answer a bunch of questions. They pricked my finger, and took my hemoglobin levels. "12.0. I'm sorry, you can't give unless it is 12.5." Disappointed, I left the donor center, with an appointment to come back in a couple of weeks.

The Wednesday before last, I went back for my appointment. After waiting a while, they finally called me back. Again, I got to have my finger pricked. "11.8. Your iron is too low. You can't give blood today." She gave me a pamphlet on low iron, and food to avoid, and foods to eat. She said that I might consider the fact that I am borderline anemic.

I went home, and did some researching on borderline anemia, and found that I had all the symptoms of it. But at least now, I know the cause of my extreme exhaustion, as well as some other problems I've been having.

Since last week, I have had my ups and downs. There would be days I would feel just fine, and then other days I just could not pull myself out of bed before noon, because I would be so tired.
Yesterday was a pretty terrible day. I felt completely exhausted, and every time I would stand up, I would start to black out. I had to pull myself together to go teach yesterday afternoon, but I barely even made it through that, and just crashed after I got home.

There have been times when I just felt like crying. Now, I know that this may not be a big deal as compared to people who suffer from diseases, or cancer, or other serious health issues. But it was frustrating to me. I am so tired of feeling tired. So tired of not being able to accomplish really anything, because of a lack of focus. Because of this, I have not really been able to do school like I ought for the last couple of months. And that only added to my frustration. Yesterday was definitely a day where I just felt like crying. Yesterday, I also had some other struggles, that I kept having to give to God.

Now, you're probably wondering why I have told you all of this. I am setting the stage for how amazing God is in all of this. 

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I listened to my audio Bible on my phone. I love the dramatization of the Zondervan audio Bible, as it gives me a new perspective on the Bible, as it makes it come alive. I have been reading through the Bible, and was in 2 Samuel last night. Because of extreme exhaustion yesterday, I did not get a chance that morning to read my Bible. So this was my go-to, with the little time I had left before bed. 2 Samuel 22 started playing, which is pretty much word-for-word of Psalm 18. The Lord caught my attention with these two verses.

"For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him." 2 Samuel 22:30-31.

I had been frustrated, yet not griping or complaining to God about it (because I realized that I break 130 commands when I do that, so I can't do that anymore). But when I heard these verses, they became more alive to me than ever before. I felt as if God spoke to me through these verses and said, "Faith, by me, you can run through all these struggles as if they are not there. You can jump over the walls in your path, such as health issues, no matter how high or difficult they might be, if you only look to me for your strength. My way is perfect, even when it may seem thing are going wrong." I was overwhelmed by this. I realized that I had not been seeking Him for all of my strength. I was not trying to do anything in my own strength, but I was not asking Him to fill me with His strength. Through Him, all things are possible, even the difficult things.

Thankfully, I know that I can fix my problem by eating a high iron diet, and by taking some supplements to help raise my iron levels back to normal. Hopefully in a couple of weeks, I will feel normal again. But I am choosing to thank God for allowing me to experience this in my life, to teach me yet again that I cannot depend upon my own strength, and that I have to ask for His strength. By His strength, I can get through anything in life, no matter how difficult the situation.

So my challenge to you is this:

Seek His Strength! Become completely weak, so that He can be made strong. Remember that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. And make sure that when you know you are completely weak, that you do ask Him to give you His strength.

I pray that the Lord is able to use the lesson I have learned to help you in the future. My goal is to glorify Christ in every situation, even in the tough situations of life. Stay strong in Jesus!

Because of Jesus Christ and for His glory,

Faith Christine

Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Magnifying Christ

I was reading Philippians 1, and I got a lot out of that chapter. But verses 20-21 stuck out to me in a way that it had never stuck out at me before.
"According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Especially the phrase "Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death."
Christ shall be magnified...wow...how often do I put myself on display, instead of putting Christ on display?
Christ shall be magnified in my body...when people look at me, do they see Christ?
This caused me to question myself. When I dress in the morning, am I causing Christ to be magnified by the way I dress and the way I look? After all, my body is the temple of the Lord, so should I not look like it? In my conversations with others, am I causing Christ to be magnified? In the music that I listen to, am I causing Christ to be magnified? Christ must be magnified in everything I do! Do the motives of my heart magnify Christ? Do I strive to make Christ magnified in every area of my life?
So, I leave you this challenge. When you get dressed in the morning, and especially for going to church, is it in a way that would most glorify and magnify the name of Jesus? After all, when we go to church, we are there to worship Jesus. Does He not deserve your very best? Does your appearance represent Christ, and magnify Him? You are the ambassador for Christ, so you should look like one! When you are listening to music to drown out noise in the house while you work or do school, is it music that would magnify the name of Jesus? Or does it magnify yourself, and your flesh? When you go to church to worship, are you just there to impress others, or to truly worship and magnify the name of Jesus? Do you strive to do everything in your life to bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus, and to magnify Him?
I know I definitely do not always strive to magnify Christ in everything I do, and that is wrong, and I crave His forgiveness for not doing so. I hope that this was as challenging to you as it was to me! God bless you all! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you in His hands!

Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Live at Peace

This post from my previous blog dates September 18, 2011:

As I was doing an in-depth study/memorizing Romans 12, this verse really struck me.
"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peacebly with all men." (Verse 18)
My first thought was, "Okay, God wants us to do everything possible to be at peace with those around us." But, as I analysed it more and more, the phrase "as much as lieth in you" stuck out to me. I thought on it, then it hit me! Jesus lies within me! I have all the power of God lying in me! So what God is saying is that with every bit of strength that we have within us, which as Christians we have the strength of Jesus Christ, we are to live at peace with those around us. Isn't that amazing?! God gives us infinite strength to leave at peace! We just need to seek that strength that lies within us!
Romans 12 goes on to talk about not revenging ourselves, but rather repaying good for evil. This has to do with living at peace with all men. It's not easy to let go of our anger at others, and let go of our so-called right to avenge ourselves. But we are told to live at peace, and we are told to seek that peace from within us, where Christ dwells.
Well, that is my thought for today! I hope it was a blessing and challenge to you, as it was to me! God bless your weekend, and may we all strive to live at peace with all men, using the strength of Jesus Christ that lies within us!

Have a blessed day! Stay strong in Jesus! He's got you! His death covers everything!

Because of Jesus' Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Mindful of Me

Psalm 8

"O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"

I read this beautiful Psalm this morning, and the verses in bold stuck out to me. Who am I, what am I that God should even look at me? That God should even think a single thought about me? But He is mindful of me! He knows my every thought. He knows my every burden. He wants us to cast all of our burdens upon Him, because He cares for us. Who am I that God should care for me? And the thing that continues to overwhelm me is the fact that He sent His only Son to come and die on the cross for my sins. Why would He do this for me? His love overwhelms me! I am a wretched sinner. My righteousness is as filthy rags. All the good works I could ever do are as dung. Nothing in me is good. Nothing in me is holy. But he still chooses to love me!! Why does He do this? Because He is love!! God is love! (1 John 4:4) Have you stopped today to think about how awesome His love for you is? Have you stopped today to thank Him for this love that you do not deserve? Way too often we take His love for granted. Thank Him today for this love that you and I are so unworthy to receive. Just some thoughts for today. God bless you all! Stay strong in Jesus!!

Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

The Relapse of Concentration

I have read yet another amazing devotional from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, and I just felt like it needed to be shared with my fellow believers, because I believe it is a problem all of us face in our lives.

"But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days." 2 Chronicles 15:17

Asa was incomplete in his external obedience; he was right in the main but not entirely right. Beware of the thing of which you say---"Oh, that does not matter much." The fact that it does not matter much to you may mean that it matters a very great deal to God. Nothing is a light matter with a child of God. How much longer are some of us going to keep God trying to teach us one thing? He never loses patience. You say---"I know I am right with God"; but still the "high places" remain, there is something over which you have not obeyed. Are you protesting that your heart is right with God, and yet is there something in your life about which He has caused you to doubt? Whenever there is doubt, quit immediately, no matter what it is. Nothing is a mere detail.
Are there some things in connection with your bodily life, your intellectual life, upon which you are not concentrating at all? You are all right in the main but you are slipshod; there is a relapse on the line of concentration. You no more need a holiday from beating. You cannot have a moral holiday and remain moral, nor can you have a spiritual holiday and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely His, and this means that you have to watch to keep yourself fit. It takes a tremendous amount of time. Some of us expect to "clear the numberless ascensions" in about two minutes.

I would like to call attention to the underlined passage: The fact that it does not matter much to you may mean that it matters a very great deal to God. Nothing is a light matter with a child of God. How many areas of our life have we not completely surrendered to God, because we don't think it's a big deal? Have we completely and totally surrendered every area of our life to Him? Have you given your music standards to Him? Have you given your dress to Him? Have you given all of your friendships to Him? Are you ready to tear down every "high place" and truly follow God with your whole heart? We need to lay every thing down at the cross of Christ, and follow Him with our whole heart. Are you ready to truly surrender EVERYTHING to Christ? Are you ready to tear down those high places?

Just some things that the Lord has burdened my heart with today. I pray that you will prayerfully consider every single area of your life (ie. your music, your dress, your friendships, etc.) and see if you have completely surrendered those things to the Lord, or if you still have high places in those areas. May the Lord tear down those high places in your life as you surrender them completely to Him! Stay strong in Jesus!

Because of His Precious Blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

The Glory That Excels

I wanted to share with y'all (yes I say y'all 'cause I'm a Texan) the devotion from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers that I read this evening. It really sums up what life is all about. Keeping our focus on Jesus. I underlined the parts that really stood out to me.




"The Lord...hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight." Acts 9:17
When Paul received his sight, he received spiritually an insight into the Person of Jesus Christ, and the whole of his subsequent life and preaching was nothing but Jesus Christ---"I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." No attraction was ever allowed to hold the mind and soul of Paul save the face of Jesus Christ.
We have to learn to maintain an unimpaired state of character up to the last notch revealed in the vision of Jesus Christ.
The abiding characteristic of a spiritual man is the interpretation of the Lord Jesus Christ to himself, and the interpretation to others of the purposes of God. The one concentrated passion of the life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you meet this note in a man, you feel he is a man after God's own heart.
Never allow anything to deflect you from insight into Jesus Christ. It is the test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.

Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus,

I've lost sight of all beside,

So enchained my spirit's vision,

Gazing on the Crucified.

Isn't that amazing?! My favorite quote is "No attraction was ever allowed to hold the mind and soul of Paul save the face of Jesus Christ." I want this to be said of me! That only the attraction to the face of Jesus Christ would ever hold my mind and soul! I pray this has been a blessing to you, as much as it has been to me! Stay strong in Jesus!

Because of His blood,

Faith Christine

Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

Endless are His Mighty Works

"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." ~John 21:25.

How awesome is this verse?! I was reading this verse this morning, and I just thought "I love that!" Jesus has done SO many amazing things, in each persons life, that if we were to write every single thing down, the world would not be able to contain the books! Wow!

I know that if I were to write out every single thing that Jesus has done for me in my life...it could possibly fill a whole set of encyclopedias, and that's just going small. Then you think about that many books times every single person that has ever lived in the world...wow! Just every single breath we take is a blessing from God. Every good thing that happens is a blessing from God. And when we look at the fact that Jesus works ALL things together for good, then even every bad thing is a blessing from God, because it will eventually work out God's perfect plan for our lives, even if we don't see it now.

So, that is just some thoughts for today. I leave you with this challenge. Start making a list of the blessings God has given you just within the last week! If you really think about it, it will make up a decent sized list! May God fill your life with many blessings this week, and open your eyes to see each and every one of them! Stay strong in Jesus!

Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10

P.S. Something I love about this time of the year in Texas? Bluebonnets!!

Faith that moves mountains

This last year, the Lord has really been working in my life, in the area of my faith. I have recently been reading through the gospels, and I see the many times where Jesus says that if we pray in faith,  not doubting, that He will grant our petition. I have also seen many times where Jesus commends someone on their great faith. Today, I was reading in the book of Luke, the story of the centurion, who felt so unworthy to even approach Jesus himself, that he sent others to ask Jesus to heal his servant. "Wow" I thought. Why can I not have this kind of humility? He felt too unworthy to even speak to Jesus in person, or to have Him enter his household. He sent by messenger and said to Jesus that he knew that Jesus was a man of authority, and that if He spoke the word, his servant would be healed.

So I ask myself, do I have this kind of faith? How do we obtain such faith? It is something with which I have been struggling. I want to live up to my name "Faith Christine" to be a Christian of great faith, but I find my faith very weak. But, do I have to have a lot of faith? Jesus says that if we even have as much faith as a mustard seed, then we could move mountains. I want faith that can move mountains.

This has been a long process for me, and the Lord is slowly growing my faith. I find that I just have to decide to step out and ask God to do something, to glorify His name, and to strengthen my faith. He has done some things recently that have grown my faith in Him, and make me want to trust Him more.

So, I leave you with these thoughts. Do you want to have faith that can move mountains? If you do, just ask Him, and He will give it to you. It may be slow and gradual, but He will give it to you.

Because of His blood,
Faith Christine
Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10