I've been told it is best not to share your thoughts on religion and politics with acquaintances. I usually tend to follow this advice. Well, I'm going to just bend the mold for a minute.
I have never been vocal about my beliefs or thoughts on faith and religion, so it is hard to find the right words here. It has always been fairly private to me. However, I try to live my life in a way that others see my faith through me, without having to preach it. I'm not that outright in telling my beliefs, but I hope that others know them anyway. I want to live in a way that shows God's love. I strive to continuously grow in my own personal journey of faith, but while I tend to keep that to myself in words, I hope the actions come through to others.
I enjoy listening to KLOVE, positive enoucouraging radio. Just like most music genres, there are songs I like and songs I don't totally love. So it is another radio station in my rotation, I flip around a lot. In January the radio station issued the 30 day challenge: to listen to nothing but KLOVE for 30 days. So through January and February I did just that. Well, almost. The radio station did not change in my car for 30 days. It was all I listened to at work. I thought I would get more tired of those songs than I did. It was a blessing to have that in my life everyday. My faith was more on my mind. I was striving more than usual to stay positive and hopeful and keep things in perspective. It was an excellent source of comfort to hear those encouraging words every day. I'm glad I took the challenge. Although I've gone back to a larger variety of music, I still listen to KLOVE often and always feel encouraged from it.
Now, for the season of lent, I am re-reading (I think this is my 5th time) The Purpose Driven Life. It is a 40 day journey, that again focuses my thoughts on my faith. It is always interesting to see how I read and interpret things differently from each time I read it based on what's happening in my life. My favorite day each time - Day 16. Summed up: "The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now."
My relationship with the Lord is ever growing and I want to continue striving to live a life of love. I have a lot of questions, sometimes doubts, but I am learning and continuing on my journey. I enjoy my conversations with the Lord, it can be anywhere at anytime, but those little moments are pretty awesome.
Always be joyful. Never stop praying.
--1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, NLT
Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
-- Colossians 3:12
