Forged By Faith

Proverbs 17:17 NIV Don't know about you, but I just love how our God works! This past week or so has been one of reflection and learning for me personally. I've been looking back over the mistakes that I've made, the lessons to be gleaned, and the excitement of the chance to do better going forward. There has been this really interesting blend of regret and opportunity that is unlike anything I've felt recently. There is always something to learn and improve if we're just willing to look for it. And it really is amazing to be able to learn lessons that we didn't even realize we need to learn. Much of what I've been thinking about this past week is friendship. That's something that has always meant a lot to me. It's one of those things that I've always tried to do my best with and thought I did a good job of taking seriously. Alas, as with pretty much every other aspect of life, I can honestly say that I've made more mistakes than I ever reali...

Ecclesiastes 4:10 NIV As you probably know, this week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Now in my opinion being thankful has always been more than a single holiday in November. We should be thankful every single day for all of the gifts we've been given in life. I think that's true this year as much as ever before. We've all faced so many changes and challenges and it's crucial to remember that we have plenty to be thankful for even in the midst of so much chaos. So this week I'm going to take each day and post about just a few of the things that we have to celebrate. Today is all about those people that God puts in our lives for us to lean on. Let's face it, no matter how strong or independent we think we are, we all need others. We all need people to talk to, to get advice from, and to help us grow and improve ourselves. Thankfully God knows that too! So He places our friends and family in our lives to help us along this journey of life. He gives us people who love u...

Proverbs 13:20 NIV Leading by example is one of those messages that always seems to be on my mind. I guess I just feel this deep calling to be a good person and help encourage others to do the same. I lived a long time just going with the flow and fitting in wherever others wanted me to be. So I've learned the hard way that fitting in just isn't good enough, and I reckon I feel the need to do something different now. I was in the midst an awesome leg day earlier and I just thought about how great my family is. You know I used to have a ton of friends. Used to have all kinds of people to talk to, but that's not the case anymore. My family has become the rock that I think they we're always meant to be. But I've been thinking a lot about how inspirational they are. They've been through a lot recently. And I know that all of you can say the same thing about people in your life. Those people who face all kinds of things but somehow manage to do with it a smile. I...