Jesus said in Matthew 17:20

. . .For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

How many of us take this for what it really means? Do you know how small a grain of mustard seed is? Take a look at this picture. . .






I am guilty of not having even this much faith. All that He asks is that we simply believe. That's it. No more, no less. This is what it means to be like a little child. I remember when I was a small girl and my parents told me something, I believed them without question. Their word was what was. Of course, I eventually learned that they weren't infallible, but the point is, all I did was believed or trusted what they said. Why? Because my parents were a source of comfort, shelter and love; and they still are, but as I've grown more mature, Christ has become my ultimate source of comfort, shelter and love. It boggles my mind that as a child I was able to trust my parents, fallen human beings, completely. Yet I fail to put even the smallest amount of trust in the Creator of the universe! The one and only true God-the great I AM.

Lord, have mercy upon me! When God says He takes care of the sparrows and He loves me so much more than them, He's gonna take care of me. Period. There are such things as miracles. Period. When I pray, God's going to answer. Period. When God says He's going to do something, it's gonna happen. Period.

After all that, we cannot forget what verse 21 says:

Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Faith comes by spending time with the Lord. My friends, when you say you have faith, do you really mean it or are you saying it because you know that should have it, but don't. If you don't, get on your knees and pray and pray, and if you feel led to, yes, fast too.

Let us strive to live what we believe, to take God at His word, and to put Him above ALL else.

In honor of our one year anniversary, the Sisters of the Armor group decided to make a quiz for y'all to enjoy! So please be my guest, and let me know which SOA girl you are! 'Tis quite fun! ;) :)

The Quiz

(or maybe I should say winter. . . *blah*) Anyways, my dear, sweet friend Ana tagged me! It's a list of some of the favorite things I like about fall. So here goes. . .


1. Favorite smell? Pumpkin spice.

2. Favorite food? Turkey? :P

3. Favorite color? Burnt orange

4. Favorite drink? Apple cider

5. Favorite treat? Caramel-covered apples

6. Favorite place to go? The pumpkin patch. :D

7. Favorite candy? Hershey's chocolate bar w/ almonds. (this will always be my favorite candy, and, yes it is a candy ;), no matter what the season)

8. Favorite movie to watch? Is there such a thing as a Fall movie? Umm...seasons don't affect my choices of movies. . .

9. Favorite clothing to wear? Well, I like to stay warm, so light long-sleeves with comfortable jeans.

10. Favorite outdoor activity? Playing in the leaves.

11. Favorite football team? Ana, I cannot believe that you said that!!! Such treachery!! You are banned from Alabama! :P ;) My favorite football team is of course the beloved Broncos (even if they do give football a bad name. . .)

12. Favorite fall holiday? Thanksgiving

13. Favorite Haunted place, as in “frequently visited?” I have absolutely no idea . . . lol

14. Favorite Food at Thanksgiving Dinner? Dressing

15. Favorite Pie? Pumpkin

16. Favorite Fall Hobby? I don't categorize my hobbies by seasons either. . .unless you consider drinking hot-chocolate a hobby.

17. Favorite Fall Memory? My uncle used to farm a lot of cotton and peanuts, and one fall, we went to visit at harvest time. I loved playing in the cotton bins and making tunnels in the woolly, scratchy cotton. And there was also a peanut bin filled with -guess what?- thousands of peanuts. . .oh, those peanuts were the best-tasting peanuts ever!! We'd take a paper bag of 'em to my great-grandmother and she'd boil them for us. . .*delicious*

18. Favorite Fall Sight? The brightly colored trees.

19. Overall Favorite thing about Fall? How God just takes His multi-colored paintbrush and splotches the land with beautiful colors.

20. Overall Favorite Season? Mmm, I think either spring or fall or winter or summer. . .I just can't decide. :P

Words cannot describe how I feel, yet I cannot keep it contained inside a heart that will burst if something is not said . . .

I crush the nails into His hands, and with every piercing blow He whispers,

"I love you."

Crush

"I love you."

Crush

"I love you."

Crush

"I love you."

But my ears are deafened with the resounding crack of nail against hammer. I finish and arrogantly stand up taking pride in my work. The cross on which He is lain is stood up and He limply hangs there. I then smile and mock this 'King of the Jews'. "Ha! Pretender, are you so weak that you cannot save your own life? Who are you when you do all these miracles yet. . ."

Those eyes. Those penetrating eyes. They weren't full of anger, or fear, or confusion. No, they were filled with love and pity.

Pity? Love? I looked down at my hands covered with blood. I looked back up at Him.

Pity? Love??? No, no!! He cannot possibly love me! After all I have done?! I fall to my knees and cry uncontrollably. What have I done??

It has been years since that day, but I still stumble and fall.

I fall.

"I love you."

I fail.

"I love you."

I stumble.

"I love you."

This time, there is no nail pounding to drown out His whispers. Tears flow from my eyes as He picks me back up.

This is my God.

Why am I doing this?

For God's glory.

Then what is there to stress about?

Nothing. Yet I still have stress.

What is there to be afraid of?

Nothing! Yet I'm still afraid.

I'm doing this for God's glory. Doesn't that mean everything is going to work out?

Yes, but not the way I expect or want it to.

I'm doing this for God's glory. Doesn't that mean there won't be any trials?

No. Trails purify me and make me strong-glorifying Him all the more.

What matters above all else?

God and serving Him.

Stress
Fear
God

Why does God love me?

I don't know.

Choices
Attitudes
How I live

But I do know that He loves me, and that's all I need to know. He loves me enough to take away my stress and fear. And I have the choice to give them to Him - humbly bowing before Him and letting Him live through me.