“O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1. What a wonderful place the Lord has graced us with. Go past our Father’s house on any evening, and you will see cars in parking lot and lights on in the building. The opportunities for members and friends of Ascension to grow in there faith seem endless.

“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 I was only 7 when my dad died. He died in September and I can hardly remember him, much less what I got for Christmas that year. I do remember one gift though, a diary. My oldest sister gave it to me hoping that I could spell out my grief so to speak. To get me started, she turned to the anniversary date of my dad’s death and made an entry stating that fact.

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8. In those few words I found a description of my habits in life. It seems so obvious that the ways to grow in my faith walk should include studying, discussing, praying, memorizing, and worshipping. That should be a “no brainer”, right? Best intentions include all of those things, but even our very best efforts produce the gap between possibility and performance.

“I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord.” Psalm 77:1-2a. I was taught the power of Christ from Sunday School on and then fell away from the church. I believed in God, but did not praise Him. As a product of multiple generations of alcoholics, one day I went to an Al-anon Meeting to see “what is this all about?”

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death.” Philippians 3:10 (Better yet, read all of Chapter 3!). The career of Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee and persecutor of the early Church, took a dramatic detour when he met the living Lord on the road to Damascus. From that day on everything that he had previously built his life upon, all the accomplishments by which he defined himself, became meaningless.

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.’” Luke 17:5-6. You probably already know that a mustard seed is not very big – about the size of a pinhead. And sometimes I feel like my faith is even smaller than that! (Do you ever feel that way?)

“We have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:9-10. Growth is a byproduct of many factors. You cannot simply say to a seed, “Grow” and expect to see results – at least I can’t! You have to provide soil, sunlight, and water and these all work together to cause the seed to grow.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 (NIV). Throughout my time in the military this verse brought great comfort to me. I moved a great deal and so I did not always have a friend when times of trial appeared. If a time of anxiety is approaching, I open the Bible and reread the entire passage. Like most people, I need the reminder that God has everything under control so there is no point in worrying about tomorrow.

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18. We’ve all heard these kinds of statements before: “The more you know, the more you know.” Or this one: “Practice makes perfect.” And what about: “Try it; you’ll like it”. These are common sayings. But did you ever consider these clichés when pondering your life as a Christian?

“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be astounded. They will put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3. Last year, I found myself struggling through two miscarriages. Both of them were completely unexpected because I had already had two healthy, uneventful pregnancies.