Facets of Faith

Conversations about life, faith, and friendship.

  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Bio’s
  • Contact Us

Certainty in the Change

05.08.2018 by Jennifer Howe //

Hi friends, 2018 is moving fast! Soon we’ll land in summer, and spring will be the overlooked middle child in the seasons family. The change from winter to summer is muddled in Illinois. And that brings me to change, the thing my distracted brain was supposed to focus on! Don’t miss Tracy’s thoughts on going through change here. Kim shares next week. Check in Tuesdays or sign up to receive every post so you don’t miss a thang…

 

How Do You Go Through the Change? (Pink)

Body and Mind Games
I’m about that age. The math gets easy next year when my birth year and the current year end in nines. Night sweats—any-time-of-day sweats, actually—have come and gone. No one would ever guess, they say. The “metallic roots” were obvious (to me). When I stripped the boxed brown out and tinted the bleached blonde underneath to “natural grey,” I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror. I got strange looks from my friends, too. I still lift heavy things in the gym. I tried Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this year, and I was reminded my brain writes checks the body won’t cash. Some changes wrack the body and mind. I’m adjusting (not so willingly).

Who Am I?
As hard as physical changes are, some changes ambush me differently. When my identity or my heart is in the change’s crosshairs, it’s a whole other kind of hard. My life was recently upended kind of like that.

I officially donned the teacher-mom hat in 2005; but really, I’ve been a teacher-mom from the beginning. Once upon a time, it was me and two active little boys in a very organized school room. The older was a learning “sponge” and a lover of books, including the dictionary. The younger was a carpe diem kind of kid, an experiential learner who kept me on my toes. The three of us pursued learning together every weekday.

I poured energy and time into lesson plans, courses, and grading. Life had a rhythm: summer’s dreams crescendoed to the fall kick-off; winter’s cabin fever gave way to spring’s finish line. The promise of exciting summer dreams fueled the late nights before the fall kick-off. Every year.

After nearly 2,100 school days, I’ve taken off the teacher-mom hat. Now that’s a big change!

My little boys grew into young men. Memories of our favorite read-alouds make me cry. (Thanks, Love You Forever and Giving Tree. *sigh*)

Lather, Rinse, Repeat
If you do a thing often enough, the repetition has an effect. As a home schooling mom, I taught. I taught often enough that I believed I was a teacher.

I teach, so I must be a teacher.

Bear with me. I think we can generalize. Try filling in the blank. I _____, so I must be a ______. The problem is, we mistakenly assume an identity in connection with whatever fills the first blank, good or bad. What happens when something changes?

Some changes are wonderful and wanted:

At one time I lied, so I was a liar.

The change was welcome:

I told the truth, so I became a truth-teller.

It gets complicated when the change is surprising, confusing, or incomplete.

I was a teacher, but now—.

Self-examination can be helpful during a big change. If I get it right, it encourages me to put words on the page and keeps me from wasting time hoping for a big break and a recording contract. It may put my unique, God-given strengths and my weaknesses to work. But I’m not the sum of what I do. I need a healthy source of identity; we all do. We need a “sane, stable, and spiritual” identity. A rational, balanced, solid, spiritual identity comes from one source, frankly: God.

It’s in relationship to God, the One who never changes, that we find an unshakable identity.

Who Are You?
When we’re at a loss for words, when we’ve forgotten who we really are, we can run to the source of truth for a solid description of our identity. Can I share some thoughts, “Word weapons” if you will, for when amnesia sets in?

So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 CJB

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, John 1:12 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:1-2 ESV

Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you— 1 Peter 2:9 MSG

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3 CSB

I love checking myself in the scripture “mirror” rather than the one on my bathroom wall because that image looks like my Jesus. That image represents the welcome change and the help I need in the middle of change. That image isn’t tied to a day of the week, an age, or the people around me.

The verses up there are a smidge of the truth between the covers of a Bible. When I’m going through change, I’m desperate for truths like these. My hope is that we’ll choose to arm ourselves for the mental and emotional battle before we’re in the middle of it.

Let’s ask, “Who am I?” and “Whose am I?” Then answer solidly and sanely from the Source of our identity.

Thanks for reading along. Have you taken time to seek truth from the scripture “mirror” lately? Tell me about your experience. I’m curious!

 

 

 

Signature, Jennifer Howe

Categories // Going Through Change, Jennifer Howe's Perspective, Life Tags // Change, Facets of Faith, Faith, Identity, Jennifer J Howe, trusting God, Who Am I?

God, I’m Desperate—I Want to See!

03.13.2018 by Jennifer Howe //

Hi friend, I’m thankful you popped in to see what’s happening at Facets. This month we’re talking about that thing we are desperate for God to do, our deepest need. I love writing with my beautiful friends, Tracy and Kim, and if you haven’t taken time to read their hearts on any topic, I hope you will. Tracy shared here last Tuesday, Kim will be with us next week, and I look forward to our guest wrapping it all up the following week. That’s how we roll.

Desperate: Jennifer

I can imagine each of us on our knees, something carefully cupped in our hands held up for our Daddy-God to see—“Abba, please help…” I know I’ve been there, and somehow I think you have, too. To me, it feels like my deepest need wells up inside and finds a voice. I might try to squelch it or let it fly, but it will not be silenced. The heart cry simply must have its way. It must be heard. And it can be overwhelming.

When I tried to find a way to share with you this kind of need, I was at a loss. When have I wanted something so much that time and importance caused my whole self to nearly shake with the ask? I wasn’t sure if I was thankful or sad when nothing came to mind. If I were desperate, wouldn’t it be on my mind day and night? I would think so.

Then I was “gifted” a story.

Seeing is tougher than it looks…
My first pair of glasses were fitted in eighth grade. That’s when squinting in the front row of class finally failed me, and it was time to admit I couldn’t see. I won’t bore you, but the journey of glasses has been hard. I have “tricky” eyes, and each appointment often feels more of a disappointment. Two eyes that aren’t wired to work together is troubling and complicated, so I learned to work around it. The brain is amazing! In my whole four-eyed life, there were two pair of glasses that were great. Just two. The others were—“meh.”

I may have been relieved to find my last doctor left the area, a perfect excuse to go somewhere new. But my poor husband heard my messy, emotional wrestle for days: “I just want to SEE! I hate these appointments. The doc’ asks me to do stuff my eyes can’t do, and I fight the feeling of failure. The prescription is right for the individual eyes, but then it never works for both together. Arrrrrrgh!” (In that last bit, the heart cry leaked all over the place.)

I couldn’t imagine actually seeing, but I was desperate to see.

“The bar is set pretty low if I only have to beat these glasses!” My new optometrist cleared the bulky equipment out of the way.

This time the whole journey toward this set of glasses mirrored what was in my own soul.

God, I’m desperate to SEE!
It’s more than a pair of glasses I need, and I know it.

“Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Luke 6:39b-40 CSB

Sometimes God gives me a peek into my own heart if I’m willing to look. When I can’t see, would I try to lead others, or even tell them how to see the world? Sadly, I might. Especially when I don’t know how poor my vision is.

“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck in your brother’s eye. Luke 6:41-42 CSB

I don’t know about you, but I want to hear that word “Hypocrite!” cut to my soul with a whisper when I need it. I want to know when I’m scrutinizing others but overlooking my stuff. I have friends who act as a “soul doctor” and tell me when they observe it. I’m thankful when they do. I want to listen carefully and respond well whether it’s a friend, family, or casual observer. I want to listen when the voice is warm and soft or direct and scalpel-like.

It’s a process, isn’t it?
The eye exam was my living metaphor. I had to make choices. Listening for and understanding direction can be hard. Clear communication takes time and effort. No one likes to say, “Can we try that again?” five times. Perseverance can look clumsy. Repetition can infuse the soul with frustration and words with what I might call “wrong emphasis.” (I’m can’t be the only one to do that.) But the process is worth it!

When I was willing to admit my vision was poor and I needed help, someone could help me. I only needed to go for that help, hang in with the examination process, and be willing to let the doctor do her work. The result? Great glasses for the third time.

Flip that into the spiritual realm, and what does it look like?

Daddy-God, Jesus, Holy Spirit—I can’t see, but I want to! Will you please help me? I want to be the “fully trained disciple” who is like the Teacher. Teach me. Train me. Allow my spiritual eyes to see and love truth, to see and love YOU! Life is hard, and I feel exhausted and helpless sometimes. But I am not helpless. You are my help when I’m in trouble or when I try to lead in my blindness. Can I see YOU in my life?

Jesus said

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Matthew 13:16-17

When we come to Jesus humbly and let him teach, I think that’s better than any set of glasses. Just sayin’.

Thanks for reading along, friend. If you read this far, I love you! (I love you “skimmers,” too.) If this topic at Facets stirs the desperate need in your soul, let’s start a conversation in the comments below. What does your heart cry sound like? We might even pray for others’ needs. Wouldn’t that be something?

If these words were useful to you, who else might be blessed? Share away, my friend!

Signature, Jennifer Howe

Categories // Desperate for God to Do?, Faith, Jennifer Howe's Perspective Tags // Deep need, Desperate, Facets of Faith, Faith, Jennifer J Howe, Luke 6:39-40, Luke 6:41-42, Matthew 13:16-17, Trust

Really Believing, Really Trusting

01.16.2018 by Kim Findlay //

Want to know why I love writing with Tracy and Jen here at Facets of Faith? These questions we take time to answer each month are typically birthed from a discussion we had as friends, sitting around a table at Panera as we ate dinner and encouraged each other. It’s with these two ladies I’m able to explore the struggles and triumphs of faith in real life. Be sure to click on their names to read their posts you might have missed. Or better yet . . . sign up to receive each week’s post straight in your inbox!

I’m sitting here mulling over this month’s question —do I believe in God’s promises, really? I really want to offer a pithy response, a thought that drips with wit and insight. You know, a quotable quote.

Instead, all I have to humbly offer is this life I’ve lived so far. These 46 years filled with such heartache and loss that it could be described as a tragedy. You know, that kind of life that some peer into and compare to their own, only to realize maybe their struggles aren’t quite so bad after all.

Yeah, I’m that one. At least my life isn’t like . . . mine. (Truly, this has been said to me.)

The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.” Lamentations 3:19-20, NLT

And yet . . . as I look back over four decades of living, I see a different story. I see one unfolding and steeped in hope. I see a thread that links everything together —the sorrow, the grief, the despair, and hope. Perhaps in my younger years it was thin and hard to see, but that thread has grown thicker and more resilient with each passing year.

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord  never end! His mercies never cease.” Lamentations 3:21-22, NLT

I’m learning to see my life as a miracle. While I may not have experienced the kind of miracle as Jairus did when Jesus raised his daughter from the dead (Matthew 5:21-24, 35-43), or the healing of the woman who had been bleeding for over a decade (Matthew 5:25-34), or gained back my sight or my ability to walk . . . I’m a miracle all the same.

That thread? The miracle?

Faith: the gift of believing in something, in Someone, bigger. Bigger that my fears, bigger than my worries, bigger than life.

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Matthew 5:36, NIV

I’ve peered into the blackest of nights and touched the searing hot pain of loss, and survived. I’ve learned to breath in the ashes of despair and traverse my way through the valley of death. I was dead, and now I’m alive. I was lost, and now I’m found.

So as I think about God’s promises and whether or not I believe them, my answer is of course I do! Not perfectly and without worry at times, but I know Jesus loves me and has a big, big house with lots and lots of room. I know He’s called me to go and make disciples and sent His Spirit to lead and guide me. After all, the Bible tells me so and, Scripture, the inspired Word of God, does not lie.

. . . in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” Titus 1:2, NIV

I believe in God’s promises because I believe in God. I believe He is real and not a distant grandfatherly-type hovering somewhere above us watching as we race about. I believe God is intimately involved with every detail of my life —the good, the bad, and the ugly, and He is squeezing good out of every.single.drop.

But what does happen when my circumstances appear contrary to His promises? How do I know what is true when pain or fear stares me straight in the eye? How do I believe in His promises when my heart aches? I always return to His character. What do I know to be true about Him?

He doesn’t lie.

He has a plan (Jeremiah 29:11).

He is sovereign and knows exactly what He is doing (Isaiah 55:9).

And He loves. He loves me. He loves you. Scripture says, in fact, that He is love; everything He does is motivated by His love. If I believe that truth about God’s character, then I can believe in every promise —the ones I know and those I don’t. The ones I see, and those I don’t. The ones I experience, and those yet to happen.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8, NIV

Do I believe in God’s promises? I declare a resounding yes! because I see the work He has done in me and all around me. I’ve experienced the healing touch of His Son, Jesus. I’ve tasted the goodness of His Word as it’s come alive through my life. I’ve felt the overwhelming depth of God’s love for me through the power of the Spirit and the presence of those who love Him, too. I hear whispers of hope through the stories of those who have gone before but walked in faith with their eyes firmly fixed on Him. People like Abraham and Joseph, Mary and Esther, Job and Paul . . . and me.

I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words.” Psalm 71:15, NLT

What about you? Do you believe in God’s promises? Really? Jump over to our Facebook page and share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!

Categories // Do You Believe God?, Faith, Kim Findlay's Perspective Tags // encouragement, Faith, healing, hope, Kim Findlay, Lamenations 3, Scripture

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • …
  • 16
  • Next Page »

Search this website

Subscribe

* indicates required

FACETS is on Social Media!

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • Blessings—as You Go…
  • The Blessing of Knowing God
  • The Blessing and the Battle
  • January 2021: The Blessing
  • A Weary World Rejoices: Pondering and Remembering

Recent Comments

  • The Blessing of Knowing God – Facets of Faith on The Blessing and the Battle
  • Maryfrances on The Blessing and the Battle
  • The Blessing and the Battle – Facets of Faith on January 2021: The Blessing
  • Reawakening the Invitation to Dream – Facets of Faith on The Trinity: Intimately Knowing & Growing
  • Rudy Euceda on Finding Jesus Next to Me

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2015

Categories

  • A Weary World Rejoices
  • Blooming in Marriage
  • Changes
  • Connection Before Correction
  • Desperate for God to Do?
  • Difficult People
  • Do They Know They Are Loved?
  • Do They Know They Are Loved?
  • Do You Believe God?
  • Do You Give Her the Royal Treatment?
  • Do You Kow You Are…
  • Do You See What I See
  • Expecting the Unexpected
  • Faith
  • Finding Family
  • Forgiveness
  • Freedom
  • Freedom on the Road to Calling
  • Friendship
  • Going Through Change
  • Going Through the Change
  • Guest Perspectives
  • How Do You See 2020?
  • How does God respond to me?
  • How Does Prayer Fuel Hope?
  • How Does the Enemy Try to Silence You?
  • How to Love When It's Hard
  • Intimacy
  • Jennifer Howe's Perspective
  • Joy/Humor
  • Kim Findlay's Perspective
  • Life
  • Life Lessons
  • Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Surrender
  • Mama Guilt
  • Megan Abbott's Perspective
  • Perspective
  • Precious Attributes of God
  • Resurrection Power
  • Safe to be Really Me?
  • Say No
  • Say Yes
  • Singing in April's Showers
  • Spring Forward with God
  • Thankfulness: How do we serve?
  • The Blessing
  • The Blessing: January 2021
  • The Do Over
  • The FACETS Team
  • The Lion the Lamb and the Mirror
  • The Story of Christmas
  • The Trinity: Intimately knowing and growing
  • Thelma! Who's Your Louise?
  • Tracy Stella's Perspective
  • Trusting God When Afraid
  • Truth and Denial
  • Turning Little into Much
  • Uncategorized
  • What are You Going Back to?
  • What Do I Have to Offer
  • What Do You Do for Fun?
  • What Do You Dream About?
  • What has God rescued you from?
  • Who Burnt My Turkey?
  • Who Do You Love?
  • Who Do You Say I Am?
  • Woman of God?

© 2025 · Facets of Faith · Built on the Genesis Framework