I believe because I truly believe

I don't know if it was the result of a teaching I heard at youth group or if it was maybe brought on by a devotional I was reading at the time. Whatever the cause, the effect was that in my teen years I was challenged to learn about my faith. I wasn't deciding whether I believe God was real or not, I was seeking to learn what I believe about Him and why do I believe it. I needed to decide for myself that I believe because I truly believe, not because my parents do. I couldn't just use my parents' faith as my own. While the practice of faith/belief by association may work in other religions, it doesn't in Christianity. Being around other believers, my parents having personal relationships with Jesus, going to church - these are all forms of association, but they don't make me a Christian any more than being around the barn with my horses makes me an equine myself.

I thought of it like this : 

My parents and I have this friend in common, Jesus. We all hang out together in a group with others and sometimes we just hang out one-on-one with Him. We all love Him and we talk about Him a lot. 

While I consider Jesus my own personal friend, we became friends in the beginning because my parents were friends with Him. So it's a little like I'm friends with Him because my parents were. But I'm old enough now to develop friendships on my own, ones apart from my parents, so I want to be friends with Jesus simply because He's my friend, no longer because He was friends with my parents first.

I was out to discover my faith. If I was going to share my beliefs with others, I needed to know why I believed this way. I knew that if I was asked about why I believe the way I do, my answer needed to be more than, "It's how I was raised", "because the Bible tells me to", or "I just do." I had to know what I believed and be able to explain it in a way that would make sense to others.

I had this knowledge that when I face trials in life I need to know exactly what I believe and it needs to be mine. If I don't know why I believe what I do, then the storms of life will sweep me away, of this I was certain. So I took the challenge presented to me and I sought out the answers to my questions. I built upon the foundation that my parents had been laying all my life and I came out of the journey with a stronger faith of my own.

Why am I telling you all this? Because as I was driving in the car the other day, Newsboys' song, "We Believe" came on the radio (a song I absolutely love, by the way.) As I was pulling into my drive, singing along with these words that I can feel, I suddenly began to wonder - "Do the people who read my blog know what I believe?" I decided right then that I was going to write this post (though it's taken longer than planned) and share with you my faith. While every post has my faith in and behind it, I'm sure there will be more posts on what it is I believe specifically in the future. For now, I'm going to share it through the lyrics that started it all (you can listen to/watch the song by clicking here if you'd like.)

In this time of desperation

When all we know is doubt and fear

There is only one foundation

We believe, we believe

In this broken generation

When all is dark, You help us see

There is only one salvation

We believe, we believe

We believe in God the Father

We believe in Jesus Christ

We believe in the Holy Spirit

And He's given us new life

We believe in the crucifixion

We believe that He conquered death

We believe in the resurrection

And He's coming back again

We believe

So let our faith be more than anthems

Greater than the songs we sing

And in our weakness and temptations

We believe, we believe

We believe in God the Father

We believe in Jesus Christ

We believe in the Holy Spirit

And He's given us new life

We believe in the crucifixion

We believe that He conquered death

We believe in the resurrection

And He's coming back again

Let the lost be found and the dead be raised

In the here and now, let Love invade

Let the church live love, our God will save

We believe, we believe

And the gates of hell will not prevail

For the power of God has torn the veil

Now we know Your love will never fail

We believe, we believe

These are the Truths my husband and I live by. We believe in the Trinity. We believe Jesus died to save us. We believe He conquered death when He rose again. We believe that He went to prepare a place for us and that one day He'll come back to take us to His home. 

We believe the Bible to be the Word of God. We believe it to be true in it's entirety. This Book is our guide through all life's stages.

These are the things we will teach our children someday. We will lay the foundation in their hearts and lives by the way we live and the words we speak. We will tell our little ones of our friend, Jesus, on day one of them being ours. As they grow up, we'll encourage them to be Jesus' friend too. And someday they'll face the challenge themselves of discovering their faith and making it personal.

May I pass the challenge on to you today, Friend? Do you know what you believe?

He made me clean

On a beautiful Saturday, while my husband was at work, I spent time with my equine pals. I wasn't feeling very good, but I was having anxiety about being home alone so I went to the barn despite my illness. Being around my horses makes me feel better, not so much physically but definitely mentally. So I spent my day with them and I got a good workout from grooming these six friends of mine. 

Bodies curried and brushed off - check.

Hooves picked out - check.

Manes detangled and brushed out - check.

Fly spray applied - check.

Hugs, pats, and muzzle kisses given - check.

Grass grazed before being returned to pastures - check.

Grooming horses is one of my favorite things to do in life. There's something very relaxing to me in this work. Though it doesn't lend stillness to my body and muscles, it does lend peace to my heart and soul.

                                                 

                                                         This is my beautiful girl, Myra <3

Photo Credit goes to Jodi Bodtke with Giving Tree Photography

"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." - Winston Churchill

Despite my not feeling well, it was a good day. 

When I went inside for a break to wash my hands, I glanced at myself in the mirror above the sink. My glance became a stare and I began to laugh at myself. I had dirt streaked across my shoulders and face, I had a nice sheen going on courtesy of my sweat, and I was also wearing a good portion of the hair I'd just brushed off a horse.  It's not an unusual look to be sporting after one grooms a horse, I just hadn't realized I was getting quite that dirty.

"Well, the horses may be clean," I thought and giggled to myself, "but now I'm wearing all their dirt."

As I stood there smiling at my reflection, I had another thought. A more serious thought.

"This is what happened to Jesus. He made me clean by wearing my dirt."

In the ways that I had streaks of dirt across my face and shoulders, 

He had streaks of filth on His body from carrying my sin and shame.

Where I was now exuding the scent of sweat brought on by working in the sun, 

He was emitting the foul odor that emanated from my impurities.

How the hair that had once been attached to a horse had transferred itself to my body, 

the filth that had once radiated from my heart had been transferred to Him instead.

For me to become clean, He became dirty. 

For me to be made pure in His sight, He took on the darkness of my sin.

For me to become one of His Redeemed, He became the payment for my ransom.

The business of my day gave way to a stillness of the moment. As I stood at a sink with a mirror above showing my dirty reflection, my heart was reminded to give thanks for all He has done for me. 

He could choose to never answer another one of my prayers, my life could be filled with bad thing after bad thing, and my heart would still resound with the Truth that I have learned. The Truth that He is forever deserving of my love and devotion, my trust and adoration. 

He doesn't have to perform more miracles to make Him deserving of my love. He doesn't have to answer my prayers to make Him deserving of my praise. He doesn't have to heal my hurts to make Him deserving of my trust.

Because the sacrifice that Jesus already paid? It's enough 

In that one sacrificial act of love, my God proved Himself worthy of it all. 

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When I was a teenager, I came across a portrayal of Christ's sacrifice that changed how I thought of it. This portrayal made me see it in a whole new light. If you'd like to read it, just click here and allow yourself to once again be awed at the depth of His love for you.