A to Z Challenge: Faithfulness

A to Z Challenge

Theme: Creativity Toolbox

F = Faithfulness

Faithfulness in faith, relationships, crafting, and writing pushes us to creativity as we find ways to make the every day stuff meaningful and fun.


Faithfulness to me means that "I'm in" every day. It's beyond just a statement of belief and into a practice of that belief.

Faithfulness is important in the creativity toolbox, because I believe that faithfulness forces us to grow creatively. Writing daily sometimes gets a little boring. So, faithful daily practice can force us to find ways to make it more exciting . . . which ultimately leads to more creativity.

I'll share an example from when my kids were little. They wanted my husband or I to tell them the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears every single night. If you've ever read or told the same story every night, you know that it can get a little stale after a while. So we started to get creative.

We told: Goldilocks and the Three Goldfish who lived in an enchanted stream; Goldilocks and the Stolen Skateboard, Goldilocks meets Sleepy "Beautypants" (pronounced Bootypants by our youngest), and many other variations that made us laugh.

Faithfulness in Writing Exercise:
Write Every Day. When you get bored and start making excuses, change something about the way you write. Write a different genre. Write a scene you've already written with just dialogue or just action. Write a letter to your character. Write at a different time of day. Draw something first and then write over your drawing. Just keep writing.


Faithfulness in faith: God is faithful even when we fail. Turn to him, and find out that he's been there all along. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

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

365 Days of Blessings, Days 222, 223 and 224

The last few days have been a struggle for me. Every day we have had tears in our eyes as a family, for the loss of our Pastor, and for the struggle at our church. Last night, while guest performing at a dance recital for another studio, my youngest daughter fell, was afraid to ride her bike on stage, and burst into tears over and over again. I said all the wrong things, overwhelmed by her stress and mine. I felt like the worst mom in the world. I felt like maybe all this dance was the wrong thing for us. Then we calmed down. I apologized. We cried together, and then wiped away the mascara run tears, put on our "blinged" sunglasses and we danced. We came home and cuddled, read together, prayed, and finally found some rest.

I've skipped my blessings blog these last few days for two reasons. I seemed to only be able to think of a couple of things to be thankful for each day, and I didn't seem to have the time at home to write. So, today is a big day, and I'm reflecting back on the blessings that have been there all along.

1. 99% of the time, my daughters love to dance.

2. Water.

3. Tears. I know this one is strange, but I am thankful that God provided for this release of emotion.

4. Cute blue tank tops.

5. Blue sparkly hair ribbons.

6. Friends who lean on each other.

7. Big hugs.

8. Being able to cry in a public place, and not feel nervous about it. Another strange one, but I used to hold it all back so often that I couldn't cry even if I felt like it. Today I cried standing in front of a whole congregation, and it was a blessing.

9. Being able to stand up next to our Pastor and his family for the final blessing, and Godspeed. I know this sound strange, but one of my first thoughts was: "now I know why I'm glad my husband works in the sound and media booth." Because of the overwhelming numbers of people who wanted to stand up there, only staff members and their families were asked to come up, so I got an extended family priveledge, and I nearly tripped in my haste to get there. I felt honored, and I am thankful.

10. My husband, who used to be the silent partner in our faith life together - helping out with youth group because I helped out, etc - has grown in his own uniquely shaped ministry under the direction and guidance of Pastor Paul. He's still one of the quiet guys, but now he runs the microphones, the cameras and the soundboard, teaches kids how to do all those things, and gives 10+ hours a week serving others. Then, he also helps with broken cars, broken computers, etc that come his way.

11. The men's Bible Study that my husband participated in with Pastor Paul and men from our congregation many years ago. It deepened his faith, and committed him to reading and understanding the whole Bible.

12. Even though my youngest has a cold, plus been tired and out of sorts for two days, she wanted to sing with the Children's Choir for Pastor Paul. I am so proud of her. She sang well, and spoke clearly today.

13. Standing as a family for the "laying on of hands" on our Pastor and his family during the blessing.

14. My youngest daughter's first playmate: our Pastor's daughter. They've known each other since they were three-five months old.

15. My first friend when we moved to Gig Harbor: our Pastor's wife, Linda. She is a wonderful woman, with a loving heart for social ministry, loving people where they're at and teaching love by relationship. I am thankful for her ministerial touch in my life.

16. My oldest daughter's friendship with our Pastor's kids . . . even if her friendship with our Pastor's son sometimes resembles a friendly rivalry. They both wanted to be the boss at age 3, and some days that hasn't changed. But I still celebrate that . . . because sometimes that's what being a kid is all about.

17. The Prison Ministry that has been directed and guided by Sharon P at PLC. She gifted me and led me through three years of ministry to young mother's at the women's correctional center. Her ministry is amazing. She asked Linda, our Pastor's wife, and I to start a mother's ministry there, and we did. Somehow, even after we stepped away, it has continued with strength and vibrancy. I am thankful to Sharon for that.

18. The drama ministry of Sharon C at PLC with Evergreen Performers. Without her guidance, I don't know if I would have ever known that drama could be a ministry. And thanks to her, I had the priveledge of dressing up in a beaver costume and playing the part of Mrs. Beaver for a Narnia musical. "It's amazing wot a little bit of spring can do!"

19. Rubber Chickens and Blessing Dressing - an Evergreen Performer Thanksgiving Adventure.

20. The Sunday School/Children's Ministry at PLC has shaped my own ministry to kids and families, and been a wonderful, safe place for my daughters to nurture their faith, and have fun with their friends. (along with memorizing all of their catechism already with five weeks of catechism study each year)

21. The "My Bible" and "Communion" classes my daughters had with Pastor Paul. Thanks to him, both have a greater appreciation and understanding of God's word, and my oldest understands communion. Six hours of intense study with families, and a bit of humor and fun thrown in by a charismatic Pastor makes a big difference in a kid's life.

22. The letters by members of our congregation who have clearly stated their faith in Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit acting in their lives.

23. Members of our congregation dressed in their Go.Do.Likewise shirts, and white and orange to celebrate Pastor Paul's ministry of loving outreach in our community.

24. Schroederfest, and the efforts of Rachelle and Jon, who made it all possible.

25. A Christian family that is bigger than the walls of a church building.

26. A helpful phone conversation with my father-in-law.

27. Cuddle time with kids.

28. Finishing two weeks worth of lesson plans - I know I should have them all done, but there are always nuances that need to be fixed and rewritten.

29. Standing ovations.

30. God is good.

A Scripture Blessing recommended to me by a friend, struggling with the same stuff I'm going through:


If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the LORD will reward you.
Proverbs 25:21-22