by faith she

I've been reading "Dance Stand Run" by Jess Connolly. Whether this book is just solid gold or it's just the first time I've sat down to soak in almost an entire book in years (probably both), it's been speaking right to my heart in the best balance of truth and love, and you're definitely going to hear more about it. 

At the end of the chapter I just finished, we read from the Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 is often called the "faith chapter" because it tells the story of imperfect person after imperfect person who accomplished something for the Lord by trusting Him. 

The author challenged us as readers to write our own "faith chapter" - recounting how we have been delivered and sustained, the storms we have endured, the victories we have won by faith in our God. She even suggested speaking life into our future by declaring how we will move forward by faith. 

so I did. and I wrote it in third person, because I like it like that.

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 by faith, she graduated high school after two different cultures and found hope for the future. 

by faith she flew across the US and spent a year learning that God is close and everything she needs. 

by faith she believed that He had created her intentionally, beautifully, for a purpose, in spite of what those around her though. 

by faith she persevered through another school year filled with triumph and adventure, but also great loss, pain, and grief.

 by faith she said no to opportunities that would feed her pride, returned home to quiet herself and seek His will. 

by faith she stepped into a position that inflicted new anxiety but also brought companionship and sweet, stretching ministry. 

by faith she returned to school, was pushed past her limits, humbled, and surrounded by community. 

by faith she returned again to finish well - and by faith she obeyed to set a different finish line, farther away. 

 by faith she persisted in difficult relationships. 

by faith she continued to steward what God had entrusted her with. 

by faith she learned to bloom where she was planted. 

by faith she surrendered to the calling of Sabbath and learned to stop and read books again. 

by faith she stepped out in vulnerability and love. 

by faith she cried out to God in honesty, and he heard her prayers. 

by faith she (slowly) slept more, worried less, and gave her to-do lists over to her Heavenly Father.

 by faith she looked to the next step, 

without taking her eyes off 

of the Author and Finisher of her faith.

 by faith, she will not grow weary in doing good.

by faith she will step into the unknown by pressing into the One who knows.

by faith she will keep the first things first, because she knows she is living for an eternal kingdom. 

 by faith she will renew her heart and mind to be in line with the mind of Christ, 

and her identity in Him. 

by faith she will be healed. 

by faith she will breathe deeply, because nothing is out of God's hands.

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each of these statements remind me of a few things:
#1
my life has not been easy, nor will it ever be.
#2
my God has never failed me, and He never will.
#3
my quality of life will improve 432% if I acknowledge and believe #1 and #2.

I was encouraged and strengthened by writing this out, and definitely shed a tear of hope (is that a thing? it is now) when I started writing future-tense. God is calling me (and all of His children) to trust Him enough to obey, but also enough to obey in faith and live in the peace that He has promised instead of in panic.

you don't have to write as much as I did (or you can write more!), but I think it would be valuable for you to take a moment and remember what God has brought you through by faith, and declare how you will live because of trusting Him and His promises. 

or feel free to steal one of my previous statements - I believe healing and freedom and a secure identity are desires that God has for each of His children. <3 

photos are from a last minute ride up the Alyeska tram in Girdwood, AK.