more virtues....today is FAITH

I came across this today,
"Without faith, we are as stained glass in the dark." anonymous.
Faith shines through us to show others how amazing God is. If we lose our faith then no one will see the light. I have had MANY opportunities in my life to choose to live by faith or choose to live by myself. I have not always made the right choice but I can tell you this. I'd far rather be a stained glass with sunbeams streaming through my many colors than to be in the dark. It is not always easy to live by faith. If our faith was never tested how would we know we had any? when things in our lives go wrong and in the midst of the chaos we can still say, "I believe in God and HE LOVES me no matter what happens," that is when we show others our faith is real. Faith thrives when we stay focused on God rather than on ourselves. Sometimes in the midst of turmoil it is easy to focus selfishly on us and what is happening 'to' us rather than focusing on God and what He is doing 'through' us. Our lives can be an example to those around us even when we don't feel like being an example.
I am going to give you a few of my favorite faith quotes and scripture, as many of you know, I have just a few reasons to cling to these...
1 Peter 6-7 from The Message
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory
Abraham Lincoln wrote..."I've been driven many times to my knees by the overwheliming conviction that I have no where else to go."
Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
anonymous:
Faith is knowing without seeing, believing without fully understanding, trusting without touching the ONE who is ever FAITHFUL.

Faith is more than believing in who God is. It's believing that He will keep His promises.

Romans 15:1 The Message
Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us.

Psalm 57:10
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

I just want to be encouraging to all you who need encouraged. I know more than you could ever imagine that there are times when it is extremely difficult to live by faith. God our Father created each and every one of us for a special purpose. It is important to remember that during the trials of life. Some of us have more than one trial going on at the same time. Some of us are fighting battles that at times seem nearly impossible to win. I promise you God is faithful to those who love Him. He takes care of us from our tiny little desires to our huge battles. We may not understand His purpose in the midst of things, but I know as sure as I know my name that He is watching over us and taking care of all the details of our lives. Faith will carry us through!