My faith is the guiding principle that gives hope, meaning & purpose to everything else in my life, though I admit things can look a little murky at times.
We enter the life of faith by trusting in the truth we are presented with in the Gospel: We agree that we've fallen short even of our own standards, much less God's, because of sin, and we are helpless to save ourselves from the consequences of that sin. We accept that our debt has been paid in full through Jesus' voluntary sacfricial death on the cross. We accept his complete sovreignty over our lives and begin a daily walk of loving God and loving our neighbor. And that's just the beginning. See the Bible for details.
The life of faith is not a solo act. It involves a body of believers gathering on a regular basis to celebrate their faith, get to know God better and encourage one another.
I belong to Brentwood Baptist Church. I started going when I was new to town in 2002 and a friend invited me to a Friday night service, where Ashley Cleveland was a featured guest musician. I figured any church cool enough to have her do music was worth checking out. It was. Never mind the size; the teaching is biblical and the people I've met are genuinely seeking redemption through getting to know God better. Can't ask for much more than that!
Some of the most enjoyable times of my life have been spent serving as a missionary in various places around the world; a martyr, I ain't.
South Africa
2006 See my blog (entries for Nov. 2006 - Jan. 2007)
2005 See the BBC team blog (entries for Sept. - Oct. 2005)
2004 See the BBC team blog (entries for Sept. - Oct. 2004) or my own report
NYC, Labor Day weekend, 2003
Minsk, Belarus, May 1995
Ashland, Oregon, 1990-1992
Honolulu, Hawaii, 1988
Magnolia, Delaware, Summer 1986
Puerto Rico, Spring Breaks 1983, 1985, 1987
NYC, Spring Break 1986