It’s been a while since I have written on my faith in God. It’s not so much that I don’t have an active relationship with God, but more that I have not had anything in particular to say about my faith.

One thing I am making a conscious effort to do more often is to pray. God loves to hear our prays-no matter what. He loves our honesty.

Here are some ways I remember to pray:

I do it in the car. When I am done driving my daughter to school or my husband to work and I am alone, I pray. This is a perfect time because it allows me to do it when I am by myself and brings me peace.

I do it when I cook. I may not say it out loud, but I pray for my family when I cook them a nourishing meal.

I do it in the shower. While it may seem silly, God made my body, so I am sure he doesn’t see it as strange to pray to him when I am in the shower.

I do it when I am cleaning the house. I turn on the Christian contemporary music and sing to him.

Most of all, I have learned to do it when I am grateful. I used to only pray to God when I needed his help. I find great joy in praying to him now when I am super happy and content or he brought me to a place of peace.

When do you pray during the day?

Grace Beecher is not your typical teenager. While she runs a blog and many of the things she writes about are very typical, her goals for after she graduates are awe-inspiring. Grace wants to go on a 9 month long mission to show the love of Jesus halfway around the world.

Where is she going? She will be going to the Adventures in Missions, Passport: Immersion trip that goes to some of the poorest places in the world such as Central America, Southeast Asia and Africa. On this mission trip, she will do outreach projects to the poorest of the poor.

I deeply admire any young person who has such spirit and a great goal in mind, one filled with love and a greater calling.

This is not the first mission Grace will be attending. She has also helped build a house in Guatemala as well as spent a month living with the people in Kenya.

Her mission that starts September 1st, 2013 will start in Central America. There, she will spend 3 months teaching English, working with impoverished children and doing community service. After that, she will spend 3 months in Southeast Asia, an area known for human -trafficking and slavery. She will be building relationships with those who are enslaved and giving them the courage to leave the industry. Finally, in Africa, she will be visiting hut to hut and spreading the love of Jesus.

This amazing and inspiring young lady needs to raise 12,000 dollars to attend her trip and according to her blog, she is 1/4 of the way there, but she needs your help! You can donate any amount monthly, quarterly and one time in any amount by visiting her donation page. I encourage you to donate to this wonderful young lady and for her mission.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

*Takes deep breath*

This is a hard post to write. I have wanted to write it for quite some time, but has not had the nerve to do it. I worried I would lose a lot of readers or be seen as “lost” by my fellow Christians.

I feel it is time I “come clean” and confess my true thoughts on who I am and what I believe. This may get heavy, so please bear with me.

I must start by saying I am really disappointed when I am attacked because I am a follower of Christ. It is assumed I am a bigot, I hate poor people, I spread hate and If you disagree with me, you will get met with attacks telling you that you will meet fire and brimstone. This is so far from the truth of who I am and I am tired of being told that is who I am by others, simply because I call myself a Christian.

I have been doing a lot of praying and reading my Bible lately and searching within my heart. My confession? I am not a bigot..I am actually supportive of gay marriage and I don’t hate poor people. In fact, it may surprise you, if you don’t know me, but I am at poverty level myself and yet, I know there are people worse off than me and I pray for them.

I am a democrat. (if I have to define myself politically) While I don’t want this to be a political post, I want to point out that it is possible to be a democrat and a Christian.

I don’t think supporting gay marriage, a woman’s right to choose or helping the poor makes me a lost Christian. I think it makes me compassionate to the struggles of others. I think it means I can see outside my own struggles and love those who struggle differently than I do.

I want to make things clear-I am not saying that being a republican is wrong, but rather being a democrat and more liberal is not wrong for a Christian as well. While I follow politics, I admit, I don’t follow them as closely as I should because I fear what I read and hear is not entirely accurate. I don’t necessarily stick my head in the sand, but I don’t believe everything I read or hear either.

Why do I identify with gays, the poor and others who tend to have a small voice in our society? Because I believe in love. I believe as a Christian, my #1 job is to love. While I can never love the way Jesus did, because I am only human and I admit, I sometimes make rash judgements of not only others, but myself, I strive to love the way he did. I believe God has called me to love everyone, even those who hurt me and even those whom society deems as second class citizens.

I guess what I am trying to say is, my mission in life is to love. I find peace in that and I find a greater understanding of who God is when I love others.

I hope this doesn’t affect your ability to keep on following me on my blogging journey. If it does, I don’t apologize for being who I am or for what I believe.

*exhales*

Picture © Limcheng-en | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images