Another Talk about Faith

Faith...we hear a lot about it. During a church lesson last Sunday, the teacher talked about how after her first husband died of an illness, she thought for a long time that it was her fault--she just hadn't had enough faith to save him. Wow! That really got me to question what I believe about faith. I don't know how much the Lord interferes in the workings of a fallen world--I know He lets the rain fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45), that He lets life happen. However, I also know He can change outcomes for us.

This past week I read a letter from my cousin Sarah talking about what she's learned about faith from her mission. She said:

"I've learned that faith isn't manufacturing belief in some particular outcome. It is trust and belief in Christ, it is judging him faithful who has promised. Faith is in the Lord, not in an event. With faith, we can and do what the Lord needs us to do, and we can have the confidence to ask for what needs to happen and the Lord will show his power for our good. Miracles happen, I have never seen them change the behavior of a person, but it is nice to receive the help that we need in response to faith."

I agree with Sarah. Faith is not so much believing that the Lord will get us that job, help us sell a house, or heal our illness. (If I just believe hard enough, it will happen!) Faith is believing that whatever happens, the Lord will cause all things to work together for our good. (Romans 8:28)

Vegetarian Day

In an effort to simplify our lives, Austin and I have a weekly pattern that we create our menu around:

Monday=Mexican Day

Tuesday=Italian Day

Wednesday=Soup Day

Thursday=Asian Day

Friday=Pizza

Saturday=Breakfast for Supper

Sunday=Crockpot Day

I was toying with the idea of making Thursday Vegetarian Day, but I don't really know how to make vegetarian food, and most of my meat-free meals fall under different categories, e.g., Mexican day.

Anyway, Austin and I have been watching the DVD series Planet Earth, and I realized that humans are the only species that care about 1.) not eating other species and 2.) humanely killing what they eat. (This revelation came after the fruit-eating chimps deviated from their fruitivore ways and ripped the face off another chimp and ate it.) Humans also uniquely worry about eating too much of any one species, rendering it open to extinction. (This based on the cute Artic fox trying to fit as many cute ducklings as possible in its mouth when the parents weren't watching.)

Nature is not really a touchy-feely sort of place. Animals just eat what their bodies tell them to eat and that is the end of it. Whales, for example, don't organize their week into Krill day and Plankton day and Kelp day. Nope, animals live the simple life and eat what comes their way. And if nothing comes their way, they die.