One of our pastors quoted this yesterday while she was teaching our pre-service class. She had heard it long ago from another pastor, and I wrote it down. It was the only bit of notes I took during yesterday's class, and yet it was so powerful.
"The difference between faith & positive thinking is positive thinking only works when you're thinking. Faith works all the time."That used to be me before I found my faith. Miss positive, bubbly, optimistic outlook. Miss never-had-a-bad-day. But what happened when I did have a bad day? I fell hard, and I never understood why.
How many people can you think of who consider "something" to be what keeps them happy? I know people who, for them, running is what takes away their stress. Or singing. Or dancing. Or writing. Or reading. Or lifting in the gym... or other things, too—other things that aren't so positive... like drinking (for me, it used to be a margarita—or several—that took my cares away), drugs, addiction & self-harm. BUT WHAT HAPPENS when those things go away? What do you have left?
I'm so grateful for my faith and the fact that I don't have to do each day alone. I am guided, I am protected, I am filled to the brim with happiness and a radiance that doesn't come from me. It's faith. And it's beautiful.
I know that this blog has readers of all different backgrounds, beliefs, and walks of life. And if this post isn't for you right now, that's OK. But if you think it might be, leave a comment or send me an email. No matter where you are today or what's keeping you happy, just know I'm thinking of you & I'm overjoyed that you're here reading this. Have an awesome, awesome day.
93 comments:
absolutely love this. have a great day :)
Aw, Aunie. This post totally put a smile on my face today. Thank you.
Faith is a beautiful thing and it radiates through this blog. You always present yourself with grace. From a fellow Believer, love this post. :)
My faith has gotten me through the toughest time. It's the foundation in my marriage. :)
I loved this. God has really testing my faith lately (and this old head and neck) and it's so true! They work together but man, faith is just amazing.
I Love this and am putting it on our chalkboard in our kitchen tonight!!! Faith truly is amazing!!
This is so inspiring. I'm dealing with anxiety and this day has been rough but this post made it 1000x better!! Thank you so much!!
Great words of wisdom!!
Laura xx
P.s. I am hosting a Michael Kors watch giveaway on the blog this week. If you are feeling lucky, check it out:
http://www.atouchoftartan.co.uk/2013/10/michael-kors-giveaway.html
You have an awesome day too sweet girl!
Thank you so much. Hope your day was great too, J!
You're very welcome, Miss Hannah. Glad you liked it.
Thank you, Shannon. I'm so glad you see it, even though I don't talk about it too too often :) You still see it though :)
Ours too. Faith is the strongest rock you can stand on!
I can't do anything without it. Isn't it crazy how things fall apart when we don't take care of our spiritual relationships?
Oh that's wonderful! I love putting good reminders like this front and center :)
Oh no, Olivia! Keep strong, girl. Believe in the fact that He does everything for a reason... He loves you and will ONLY give you what you can handle. Thinking of you today!
Thanks so much, Megan :) You are awesome!
Thank you so so much!!(:
Ain't God good! I may be human, but thank God He's not!
Thank you for this! It's so so so very important to be reminded of this, and today was one of those days for me. God's control, wisdom, love, reign, power, etc. are not conditional on my love, obedience, success, productivity, physical circumstance, emotion, 'wisdom', etc! The world we live in makes it so easy to forget/lose sight of that. <3
What a great sentiment, thank you for sharing!
xx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
Love this!
Just sent the link to my friends! So true, many many thank yous for sharing this. Xo
Aunie: This is beautiful and inspiring.
What a great affirmation. What a powerful moment.
Love it.
www.katerivonstealsnewlife.blogspot.com
How fun! My family does a gingerbread contest too! I don't know why we don't do a pumpkin carving contest- my parents grow pumpkins so we have a ton to choose from. Anyway... My votes for the cactus/desert pumpkin :) Good luck :)
They are all very unique but I personally like the Vincent van Goh Starry Night pumpkin the best the spider is runner up and the cactus is third. Cant wait to see who each one belongs to.
This is an awesome idea! My family carves pumpkins every year but I have never thought of this. They are all wonderful but my vote is for the spider! Great job!
Those are some impressive pumpkins! I think I like the cactus and starry one the best.
That spider one is so awesome!
Love the spider!
The spider one has my vote too, but these are all very creative!
Spider-Man!!!!! No contest :) But they all look great
I love them all! I vote the stars and circles, I like all the way around designs.
Stars and dots or the Van Gogh Starry Night one? :)
I gotta go with the second one!
I love the stary night one, buuuut the cactus one is REALLY fun. So I am going to say that is the winner for me!
I love carving pumpkins! How fun to get to do it with your family. That has always been a favorite memory of mine. Now that I live SUPER far away from my family, I still try to keep up the tradition. This year I did mine with power tools...and it turned out pretty well! http://drewsdclife.blogspot.com/2013/10/pumpkin-drilling.html
What a fun idea - I'm all about competitions!!!
Spider in the web is my top pick but the cactus is a close 2nd!!
The spider is my favorite but they are all great, WOW!
xx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
Me too!!! So thankful for His forgiveness for everything :)
Thank you, Katie. So glad you loved it... I'm so thankful for all that God gives me. He loves me like no one else can.
You're so welcome Kelly! Bless you, sis!
PS Do you prefer Kelly or Kelly Ann? :)
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing, Jaime. It's so important... I really appreciate that.
Thanks so much, my friend. So glad it spoke to you today! :)
They GROW pumpkins? So jealous! I want to start a pumpkin planter in our yard so badly :)
I can't wait to tell... your picks are good! Who do you think did which one? I'm curious :)
The spider is good... I like that one, too! Thanks so much for your vote!
The cactus is my favorite, too :) Thanks for voting!
It is pretty neat, huh? I think my fave part is that each of them was freehanded! No tracing!
It's the popular pick today! Thanks for voting, Pamela!
Ha! Can you believe it was freehanded without any sort of pattern?
And you're right, that one is all the way around... the only one that was! :)
OK, so does that mean the one with the artsy Starry Night design or the spider?
The one with the funky nose was done with power tools, too :) Yours was AWESOME. Love that circular design!!!
PS> The cactus is my fave, too :)
Thanks so much for voting!! Those ones seem to be the top of the charts today :)
Thanks Kelly Ann!!! The spider is so loved today!
Everyone loves the spider today... it is an intricate one :)
I love this idea! I might have to do this with my family next year! My vote is for the stars and polka dots one.
They grow them, but they don't sell them. They are always super generous with their gourds and pumpkins though... like donating to my nieces art class cause not all of the students good afford to buy a pumpkin for carving and donating them to the disabled children's home where my sister works. And it works out great for us too- I had a little one in tears cause a squirrel ate his pumpkin, so Grandpa & Grandma dropped off two giant ones last night. You should definitely grow some next year :) Here's pics of the kids picking theirs out this year: http://themasbruchfamily.blogspot.com/2013/10/pumpkins-gourds-and-even-some-watermelon.html
My son voted for the spider (of course). And my daughter voted for Starry Night :)
Kyle and I agreed on the spider one :)
These are all really great pumpkins and really hard to choose, but I'm liking the cactus one. It's really unexpected to see on the side of a pumpkin and really drew my attention.
oh you guys....this is amazing! it's hard to choose. i love cactus one, but the spider web is so neat. and the lighting comes out beautifully
I think my fav is the spider... but it's hard to choose!
WOW! You guys did an amazing job! I bow to your pumpkin carving skills!
My favorite is the second one.. the one directly above the "Family Pumpkin Carving Contest"...
I lost the different shaving and cutting techniques used!
And, once the polls are closed, and we can know he did what... CAN the ARTEEEEST let me know how they did that? Puh-lease?!?!?!
I did a really cute post about my kiddo, Emry, yesterday. Check it out!
www.katerivosntealsnewlife.blogspot.com
The spider is pretty darn cool!
Definately the spider!
Seriously?! No way!! That is so cool! Mine would be... abstract then :P
VAN GOGH, Starry Night! AMAZING! How do you carve that on a pumpkin!?!??!
Love the cactus!!
I really like all of them. THat is so cool that you guys all crave together.
My favorite though is the spider then then random star/dot one.
Thanks so much for voting! Good pick!
Woop woop 2 more votes. Thanks Laura!
So fun, looks like you guys just had the best time!!!
Nice! It is pretty intricate!
So glad you voted... I agree with you, it's like a desert sunrise/sunset :) Thanks Samantha!
Glad you like them :) thanks for voting Niken
Well you picked a good one!
You're so sweet, and yes I'll be sure to fill you in on the techniques. The one you voted for was the first one finished, too. Can you believe that?
Agreed! Thanks for voting!
You're awesome Betsy, thanks!
I'll have to have the "artist" give you the tips! :)
I love it too! thanks for voting!
You're the best, thanks for voting Cody!
Starry Night is my favorite! Fun Annelise!
So glad you like it, thanks Katie!
My favorite is the Starry Night. The Cactus one and the starry/dotted one tie for second place. :)
The Spider one!
No problem.
Thank you! I agree. I think you do a great job of unapologetically and respectfully writing about your faith in Jesus. It's a gift.
That was the winning one! Thanks for voting :)
That is the biggest compliment you could ever give me. Thank you so much, Rachel. You've totally warmed my heart today. Bless you!
I really love this.
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