TEEN TIP #2 What if? STOP doubting yourself!

Faltering Faith!

My son is now "into" being a knight. We don't have play armor, but we have a foam sword. Children are so inventive and will not let the lack of anything stop them from becoming whatever they want to be (a lesson to learn). Being the resourceful (almost) three year old he is, he comes running into the living room with the foam sword and the lid to our laundry hamper yelling, "Now, I am a knight!" He found the missing piece to his armor! A sword and a shield were all he needed to feel like a real knight. As I looked at him striking poses and waving his sword and shield around as he fought an imaginary battle, I had to smile. You see, our laundry hamper is not a solid piece, so although my son felt perfectly shielded and invincible with it, I knew that in a real battle scenario this would mean sure death! As my son shielded himself from imaginary foes it made me think about my faith. The Bible talks about our faith as a shield (Ephesians 6:16) with which we can put out the darts of the enemy. The shield Paul refers to is the large heavy shield you might remember seing in "300" or some other greek war movie (not the small bucklers). I'd like to be able to say that I am a person of great faith but the truth is, my faith often falters. Sometimes, I see circumstances, opposition or struggle coming my way and doubt, worry and falter. I am the first to admit, I am no spiritual giant. Although, I have seen His faithfulness fully manifested in my life OVER AND OVER again, I still flinch, at times. I often feel like I am carrying a holey hamper lid, instead of a strong unpenetrable mighty shield... it's kind of like when we "don't want to see" so we cover our eyes but leave our fingers open. I have enough faith to not retreat but I have enough doubt to turn my shield into swiss cheese. I used to get down on myself for this faltering faith. I would say "you are SO unspiritual" or "you are SO negative". However, the more we look into Scripture the more we realize that the great men and women of God, we so admire, suffered from faltering faith too. Abraham, Moses, Peter and so many others had moments where they reacted or flinched, inspite of their intimate relationship to God. This offers me some comfort and I hope does the same for you. Let my son's holey shield remind us that the one who is with us is greater than anything that can come up against us, therefore let me encourage you (and remind myself) that we need to take God at His word and trust that He is with, in and for us. Let's plug up our holey shields with the confidence that comes from knowing what the Scripture says: "Everything is possible for him who believes" - Jesus (Mark 9:23) "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 I hope that at the end of it all I will be able to say along with Paul(inspite of my faltering faith): "I have fought a good fight: I have finished my course: I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

Eterno y Diario: ¡El Relleno Vacio!

Una fritura me recuerda que ¨no todo lo que brilla es oro¨...

Everyday Eternal: Can't Find It!

Sometimes what you are looking for is right in front of you!

Teen Tip #1 Don't Be Desperate!

Trying too hard can be counter productive!