F is for Faithfulness, and 365 Days of Blessings, Day 312

F is for Faithfulness!

–adjective
1. strict or thorough in the performance of duty: a faithful worker.
2. true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.
3. steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant: faithful friends.
4. reliable, trusted, or believed.
5. adhering or true to fact, a standard, or an original; accurate: a faithful account; a faithful copy.
6. full of faith; believing.

Faithfulness is every day, constant, trustworthy, and constant.

In my current WIP, I have been attempting to highlight faithfulness, and a lack of faithfulness through the story, but I know I haven't quite shown what I want to say. My MC has spouted out a bunch of stuff about faith and doubt in her dialogue, but that is so not what I want the story to be like. So, I have to sit down and revise . . . faithfully. Of course, revising faithfully every day is a struggle for me. So, it goes around. Doubt, faith, trust, daily constance, step after step for the right direction.

Faithfulness often requires a steadiness of thought, and an active decision to stick with a project, or a person. There are times when faithfulness seems to be an uncommon blessing in our world, something rare and precious. And yet, I see it in my life daily. I just need to remember to look for it.

Blessings in Faithfulness:

1. The Lord is faithful to me. He is faithful to each of us. As a shepherd, he seeks us out even when we are lost, or in danger of jumping off a cliff of our own making.

2. The Lord works in and through His Creation to show us faithfulness. In the seasons, the orbit of the earth around the sun, the growth from seed to flower to fruit, the Lord works in and around us deeply entrenched in the daily life of His creation. There are problems of course since the fall in the garden, the world and all that live in it wait for the final redemption and return of the Lord. But in the parts of creation that continue to thrive, we see God's handiwork.

3. When we turn to the Lord and turn our lives over to Jesus, He works in us and through us, growing His fruit in our lives. One of these fruits is faithfulness.

4. My husband's faithfulness to his faith in Christ. When I see him reading his Bible, I remember to pick mine up. When I see him at work in our church, I get to work. When I see him helping someone in need without being asked and often without recognition, I remember that I don't need a plan to serve, I just need to do it. When I see him in prayer, I pray with him.

5. My husband's faithfulness to our marriage, and to me. Many, many years ago - back in the dating days - we both struggled with faithfulness in our relationship. We placed our relationship in God's hands before we married. The Lord healed us both individually and as a couple, and has blessed us with honesty, faithfulness, and trust ever since. Of course, waking up every day and giving thanks for each other and our marriage helps too. (That's that daily decision to walk in faithfulness part)

6. My husband's faithful parenting. His relationship with our daughters is sweet, precious and includes those every day moments that mean much over a lifetime. Plus, he's really fun to be with . . . if anyone is going to start a snowball fight while skiing and snowboarding, it will be him. If anyone is going to find a fun spot to ski through some trees that ends in a jump, it will be him. He's a fun Dad, and a faithful one.

7. My parents faithfulness in their marriage. Their example has guided me.

8. My in-laws faithfulness in their marriage. Their example has guided me too.

9. We have some friends whose faithful marriage shines bright with love and joy. It's awesome to see. And thankfully, I'm not just talking about one couple here, but several.

10. The faithful work and service of those who come to our church every week, especially those who serve in worship.

11. Daily writing. I am thankful that I have been able to write every day in some form or fashion, whether it's here on my blog, with my WIP, poetry, or in small journal. Writing is like food for my mind and soul.

12. The faithfulness of my dogs and my cat - ok, that seems to easy, right? But the reality is, if you've ever owned a pet and treated that pet well, they reward you with amazing amounts of faithful dedication. Our dogs and our cat follow us around the house. They meet us at the door, and sit by us when we sit. They wake us up in the morning better than any alarm, and they keep us in good exercise routines . . . or can, if we walk them every day at the same time, they'll make sure we walk.

Scripture Blessings:

"Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals."
Psalm 36:5-6

“'See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.'" Matthew 18:10-14


"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23