It was a tough day. Toddler was so very cranky and another child member of the family, was in a rare form that left me shaking my head. I am feeling like a bit of a failure today. I am just about to get ready for bed and my eldest daughter, who is homeschooled and in high school, asks, “Would you like to read my paper?“
It is so late. I am so tired, but I muster up a half-hearted, “Sure.”
As I read the opening paragraph I am humbled. As I continue, I am thankful. As I finish, I am reminded of the goodness that is His glory and His mercy that is new every morning and abundant grace lavished on me by my God. I am encouraged again, to never give-up fighting, while on my knees, for the hearts of my children. He is causing the growth. His righteousness is raining down. I encourage you to remember “Affirming Words”.
Today, I post her words, too beautiful not to share.
My Faith Defines My Life
by My Daughter
I am a born again believer who dreams of falling deeper in love with her God. My faith is the pure essence of who I am. It defines my character. It shapes my heart. It sets my morals. It is what draws me deeper and closer to my King. My faith is the base of my relationship with my Father. It is what opens me up to learn to be an honorable woman of God. It is the very path that ends with my destiny, my purpose, and starts up again with the reward of enteral life with the Holy One. He is the living breath of life within me.
My faith allows me to enter the presence of God. It allows my empty heart to be poured into with the most unconditional, sweetest, and purest love that else where cannot be found. A love that calls my name, a love that brought me out of darkness and into light. I find a deeper captivating happiness, one that is beauteous. A happiness where people have to stop and wonder, “Where could such lightheartedness and so much rich joy come from? I surrender my heart, all that I am. I am made whole, I am made new, I am made clean, and I am forgiven with the gentle Spirit and cleansing blood of my Savior. He is my Portion. He is enough. He is my Strength, my Protector, my Perfect peace. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” – Psalm 73:26.
The media portrays this way of life that is incredibly intriguing. A life that is full of “glamor, fame, and fortune”. If you follow the people who have been set above others by our society, if you do whatever you can to become like them, you’ll be worthy, you’ll be happy, you’ll make something of yourself in this life. What a straight road to destruction that is! Pouring your life out and all that you are into something that is worth absolutely nothing. It’s a waste of potential. Your last heart beat is the very beat that sets the final mark for whether everything you worked for on earth will perish or be stored in the heavens. If I follow the influence of this world drowning in sin, I’m left feeling unworthy and dirty. I am left feeling empty and disappointed because I’m expecting it to bring me this happiness, success, and satisfaction. However, what I need is not of this world. God is my teacher of wisdom and honor. By Him I am lead to discover who I am. He created me with a divine purpose and with a deep desire to fulfill that purpose. He is the Holy Fire that burns inside me. One of my favorite quotes says, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, so that I could say, ‘I used everything You gave me.’”
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Because my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, everything I do, even things as small as washing my hair, brushing my teeth, working out, deciding what food I’m eating, deciding what to wear, should all be done with Him in mind. Those are all things done to take care of my body. I must do my best to be healthy and modest to better the temple that the Holy Spirit lives in. As well as the bigger decisions like where to live, where to go to college, who to marry, what to invest my time in that will make a mark in my life. By strengthening my body (such as working out or eating heathy) I am more capable of exceeding higher levels so that God may use me for greater things. With all of those decisions I make, I must make sure it is in the will of God if I want to succeed in the most extraordinary way possible.
My relationship with my Love is where I am also taught to be an example to anyone and everyone around me. 1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” Day after day I am constantly fighting my fleshly desires, and my pride does its best to get a hold of me. As His daughter I represent the Kingdom of God. I must over come the temptations of this world using the power He has strengthened me with. My life must be an example of purity and righteousness. I was made to show God’s love. I was made to be crowned with a humble confidence, where my worth is defined by my Creator. My heart is to be rooted with compassion, all others I must put before me. I was called to bring the lost souls to the feet of their Savior. My life is not mine to have, it is mine to surrender to greater the Kingdom. I must be transparent so that the Holy Spirit may shine straight through me, to the throne of God. “He must become greater; I must become less.”- John 3:30
Without Him, I am incomplete. He is my completion, for in me, He marked His home. May I have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. My faith is the very thing that makes me capable of knowing this. My faith counts me among the saved souls, among those who enter the gates of heaven and walk on streets of gold. There I will spend eternity praising and worshiping the The Lover of my soul.