F is for Faith

The older I get the more important my faith becomes to me. To me faith is believing in God as well as my realtionship with Him. It's me spending time with Him and dwelling with Him through the good and the bad. I wanna share one of my favorite hyms that I think talks about faith.
Enjoy!
What does faith mean to you?

Conversation Hearts, Facebook, and Lent

Matthew 16:21 - From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the Law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.  


Lent starts tomorrow. I've never participated in Lent before. No I am not Catholic I am Lutheran. I just think it is a good idea to give up something for God. I have decided to give up Facebook and conversation hearts.What better way to break (or at least curb)  a bad habit than to give it to God. I also hope by observing the season, the suffering and death of Jesus Christ becomes even more precious and meaningful to me. 
  Conversations hearts you say? I know, I know it, sounds silly but I am SO addicted to them! They are one of the few candies that are gluten free! I buy the bags right after Valentine's Day (when they are on clearance) and make them last till the next Valentine's Day. I just eat 3 or 4 hearts a day and I'm good.  Some times on bad days I might grab a handful though.  I especially love  the new Necco flavors Strawberry, Green Apple, Lemon, Grape, Orange and Blue Raspberry! Bad huh? 
As for Facebook-well I've been cutting on it so it should be no big deal.  Hopefully
I think while I am having Facebook with drawl I am going to start reading So Long Insecurity  by Beth Moore. It should help keep my on God and less on what I am giving up.  
If there is anyone else out there participating in Lent this year I would be interested to hear what you are giving up - I always find it neat the different things people find hard to let go of for a bit. 

Blah

My mood is as gloomy as the weather is today. Not that anything is wrong. I'm just having a blah day. It's not an awesome day but it's not awful either. It is just blah! I wanna curl up with a good book and read all day. Come on, You know you've had those days before!

I forgot to tell Matt to help me take the broken needle out of my machine. Not knowing where any pliers are I am probably take a break from sewing today and do something else that I love. I know, I know, I'll read. I've been reading since before I was born. Okay, I couldn't read then but I was being read to. Hence my love for books!
I am currently reading 3 totally different books and genera. (Dr. Stafford aren't you glad that I am using English verbiage and spelling it correctly! I did learn a few things working in the English Department all those years! :) )
I am reading: Harry Potter and the Scorers Stone, Why I am Lutheran and Audition by Barbara Walters. You are probably wondering why I am reading three things to totally and completely different. Here's why.

First Harry Potter and the Socrcers Stone is just fun. I am a huge fan of Harry Potter. I am rereading the books with some friends and discussing them as we go along. We haven't started actually discussing them yet. I'm sure when we do things will get interesting because we all have very different opinions of things.

Next, Audition by Barbara Walters. I started reading this book because someone recommended. I thought that I wasn't going to like it though. However, when I started reading this book I began to relate with Barb.I didn't think we had anything in common but we do! :) She and I both have sisters with developmental disabilities. I can totally empathize with the wide range of emotions she has toward Jackie and how their relationship has evolved over the years. I that is what my sister and I have (and continue to go through). More about this in upcoming blogs. This book has all kinds of funny moments as well interesting facts about Barbara's life. It's quite a large book at 579 pages but well worth the read!

The last book I am currently reading is Why I am Lutheran? I haven't gotten very far in this book yet. Okay, Okay I am still on the 2 page of the Introduction! But I have every intention of reading it all the way through. Why you ask? Because my husband and I recently started attending a Lutheran church in Baytown. A friend of ours recommend it and we felt instantly at home there. The people are so welcoming and friendly. For those of you that know how I grew up this is a big change. I grew up dyed in the wool Baptist. So to go to a Lutheran church is sacrilege to some of my family-but they will get over it! Yes, the Lutheran church is very very different from being Baptist but it's not bad! Just different. Okay, Carol, back on topic. I am reading this book to help me get a better understanding of what Lutherans believe and why the do the things they do. As I learn more I will share with you.

Time to go read some more!