Growing in my Faith
In my last post (read here) I shared a little bit about the first "stirring" I had. In this post, I would like to continue that story...
I always believed in God. I thought the earth and people were created by a higher being, and I believed "good people" went to heaven. But that really was the extent of my beliefs. Truthfully, I didn't give it much thought. I tried to treat people kindly and do the right thing, and I thought that was enough.
Then this "stirring" happened, and I couldn't help but ask myself... Would I go to heaven if something happened to me today? Is God actually real? And if He is, how do I know? What does "Jesus loves you" even mean!?
Getting answers to these questions was a process for me, it didn't happen overnight. Attending church was a good starting point, but I knew I needed more than one hour on Sunday morning to shuffle through the mess going on in my head. Enter Emily. Emily is so well balanced - she is firm and graceful, strong-willed and incredibly compassionate, assertive and full of love. She and I connected immediately.
Emily and I met for coffee a few times and we started reading the Bible together. Line by line, I asked questions, and more questions. A couple that I remember clearly are: "What is a pharisee?" (I thought it was a magical jar or something, I had no clue it was a group of people) "What's the deal with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?" Did I mention that Emily is very kind and patient? Not once did she make me feel weird or silly for asking these questions. She simply pointed out the answers out to me in Scripture. Emily was my Miss Clara. If you haven't seen the movie War Room, go to Red Box and rent it asap!
The second thing Emily did was she challenged Brad and I to get involved in a married-couples small group (this is a great article about small groups.) Our group typically had a topic that we focused on for a few months, read a book that addressed the topic, and we met once a week to discuss it - that was the format of the group. It provided content and structure, but that wasn't where the life change happened for me. My life began to change by simply WATCHING. My misconceptions and the hypocritical things I previously observed began to dissipate. I watched people in that group LIVE OUT their faith. They practiced what they preached. I learned what loving Jesus looks like, by watching them hang out in their living room every week.
We are not meant to figure out this faith thing alone. Faith is meant to be shared. We aren't suppose to keep it for ourselves, we are suppose to give it away. Emily and my small group shared their faith with me, and now I am sharing mine with you, in the hopes that one day you too will share with others. Do you see the beauty behind this? God uses YOU and me to show the world that He is real!
I have an invitation and a challenge for you... I invite you into my life. If you want to talk through anything, I am here. My email is StephanieHuxter@gmail.com, cell 704-618-3273. I'm incredibly serious. I LOVE one on one conversations about faith, so please contact me if something is telling you to do so.
And here is the challenge... If you are a follower of Jesus, remember people are watching. Show the world what grace, love, and truth LOOK like.
Next week I will share some practical things that can help you grow in your faith, but now I will leave you with a photo. THIS was our small group! So don't for one second, think faith takes the fun out of life... I assure you as you can see below, it does not.
I always believed in God. I thought the earth and people were created by a higher being, and I believed "good people" went to heaven. But that really was the extent of my beliefs. Truthfully, I didn't give it much thought. I tried to treat people kindly and do the right thing, and I thought that was enough.
Then this "stirring" happened, and I couldn't help but ask myself... Would I go to heaven if something happened to me today? Is God actually real? And if He is, how do I know? What does "Jesus loves you" even mean!?
Getting answers to these questions was a process for me, it didn't happen overnight. Attending church was a good starting point, but I knew I needed more than one hour on Sunday morning to shuffle through the mess going on in my head. Enter Emily. Emily is so well balanced - she is firm and graceful, strong-willed and incredibly compassionate, assertive and full of love. She and I connected immediately.
Emily and I met for coffee a few times and we started reading the Bible together. Line by line, I asked questions, and more questions. A couple that I remember clearly are: "What is a pharisee?" (I thought it was a magical jar or something, I had no clue it was a group of people) "What's the deal with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?" Did I mention that Emily is very kind and patient? Not once did she make me feel weird or silly for asking these questions. She simply pointed out the answers out to me in Scripture. Emily was my Miss Clara. If you haven't seen the movie War Room, go to Red Box and rent it asap!
The second thing Emily did was she challenged Brad and I to get involved in a married-couples small group (this is a great article about small groups.) Our group typically had a topic that we focused on for a few months, read a book that addressed the topic, and we met once a week to discuss it - that was the format of the group. It provided content and structure, but that wasn't where the life change happened for me. My life began to change by simply WATCHING. My misconceptions and the hypocritical things I previously observed began to dissipate. I watched people in that group LIVE OUT their faith. They practiced what they preached. I learned what loving Jesus looks like, by watching them hang out in their living room every week.
We are not meant to figure out this faith thing alone. Faith is meant to be shared. We aren't suppose to keep it for ourselves, we are suppose to give it away. Emily and my small group shared their faith with me, and now I am sharing mine with you, in the hopes that one day you too will share with others. Do you see the beauty behind this? God uses YOU and me to show the world that He is real!
I have an invitation and a challenge for you... I invite you into my life. If you want to talk through anything, I am here. My email is StephanieHuxter@gmail.com, cell 704-618-3273. I'm incredibly serious. I LOVE one on one conversations about faith, so please contact me if something is telling you to do so.
And here is the challenge... If you are a follower of Jesus, remember people are watching. Show the world what grace, love, and truth LOOK like.
Next week I will share some practical things that can help you grow in your faith, but now I will leave you with a photo. THIS was our small group! So don't for one second, think faith takes the fun out of life... I assure you as you can see below, it does not.
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| Red Neck theme night. You can't make this stuff up... |
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