Faith (Hebrews 11:1-3)

© Karen Kyle Ericson, all rights reserved.

My prayer for Egypt:

Dear Heavenly Father I lift up those in Egypt to You.  I pray for Your mercy and grace on these people.  Please help them to turn from violence and seek Your face.  I pray for Christians who are being persecuted, for those who are in fear and those who are lost.  Let Your amazing light shine upon these people that they may be able to find peace instead of destruction.  Please shelter the innocent under Your wings of love. Encourage their faith.  You have shown me Your light is always brightest in darkness Father.  Nothing is impossible for You.
In Jesus Name, Amen.

Sometimes it's hard to know how to pray...  when others are down, we lift them up.

This was scratched into a wall in Auschwitz during the Holocaust in Germany:

"I believe in the sun when it's not shining, I believe in love even when I feel it not, I believe in God even when he is silent."  Unknown

My heart and prayers are with those in Egypt.  It's hard to understand how human's can make this beautiful world so dark.  Sadly it's been our struggle since the beginning of time.  I've always loved the quote above. It reminded me of Hebrews 11 in the Bible.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.  
Hebrews 11:1-3 (New King James Version)


The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.
 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see. 
Hebrews 11:1-3 (The Message)


Our faith is more important than anything on earth.  It's how we can carry on and believe good can happen to anyone, anywhere.

Odds and Ends:
This has been a great summer in New Jersey.  I had so much fun doing my first garden.  The flowers are beautiful : )  Of course, God's a Master Gardener.  He must've thoroughly enjoyed coming up with all the colors and shapes in flowers.  I can see His sense of humor in the snails that carry their homes on their backs.  We also had some giant carpenter bees.  They help the flowers grow of course and tend to freeze in place!!?  I've looked outside a few times to see a frozen bee dangling on a flower...

While I was working in offices, I thought women at home were lucky.  The truth is, they have their own struggles like loneliness and boredom.  I'm having a blast which drives my neighbors crazy at times : )  

As I've been working on these blog posts I've been using PC Study Bible (link) which can be purchased and downloaded online.  It's a great tool, I recommend it.  I can copy Bible verses and paste them into my blog without worrying about messing up Scripture by typing it.  However, I work on a Mac now.  So I was using my Windows laptop to copy Bible verses into the blog, then shutting it down to go back to my Mac and do the artwork or photos.  Doh!  I finally downloaded the OliveTree (link)  software which is available through the Apple App Store for Macs and iPhones. I love it.  I was able to get seven versions of the Bible, study books and maps for a good price.  It will be much easier blogging now 
: )

I'm still trying to decide between reading through Hebrews or studying about Peter in my blog.  Character studies in the Bible are so fun!  Let me know if you'd like something.

God bless and feel free to comment if you like.