A Faith Thing

This week in “All About Me” I shared again my journey from unfaith to faith. Not very long ago Dr. Kate did a blog entry on faith. You can read it by clicking here . I agree with a lot of what she says. Faith is not knowledge and faith is not belief. Faith is leaping out into the darkness hoping there is a God that will catch you. Now its at this point that Dr. Kate and I would seem to move in different directions.
When I made the leap into the darkness God caught me. I experienced the presence of God in my life. That presence brought with it a joy and peace you can not find anywhere else. God is as real to me as any of you who read tis blog.
This is both a blessing and a problem. It is a blessing because the experience wins out over any doubt I might have. In some sense I know there is a God who loves me.
It is a problem because you can not prove it to be true. You can share what the experience means to you but you can’t share the experience itself. And in no way can you prove that it’s true. I might be crazy like the person who thinks he’s George Washington. It could be. But I don’t believe I am.
The experience of God drives me to share with others the good news that there is a God and that God loves you. I have learned to do this without expecting others to have the same experience as me. The experience is not what saves me. Christ at Calvary saves me.
I say this because some people on making the leap of faith and experiencing God go through life trying to get others to have the same experience. Like the man who fell into a hole in the woods and couldn’t get out. For the first time in his life he started to pray and suddenly he felt the Presence of God and shortly after a hunter found him and pulled him out. He so wanted people to have “ The Experience” that he went through life pushing people into holes.
I can share the fact that God is real to me but you have to make your own leap of faith or decide to make none at all.

@@@@News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the trains still run, dragons fly, and the Lutherans may have a lady Pastor.– Today Pastor Joan Castle lead the service and preached at Last Lutheran.
Yesterday she arrived early and visited the nursing home. There she made a great impression on the residents. Hilda Swanson, one of Last Lutheran’s oldest members, said that it was so good to have a Pastor visit that was willing to sit and chat a bit. She wished she could have made her some coffee or given her a cookie .Not like that other Pastor who always gave her the impression he was in a hurry to be someplace else. He would give her communion then rush off.
Today she preached. People found her to be as good a preacher as Pastor Marvel or, perhaps, a little better. She was head and shoulders above Pastor Moe.
At the lunch that followed the last service she talked freely with people and answered questions. Her husband would be happy to lie in Pigeon Falls. She was not pregnant. She would at some time in the future like to have a family. She was conservative theologically. She saw her role as Pastor as being a partner with them in the Gospel .She even commented on how good the pasties were they served for lunch.
Next Sunday the Bishop will come and they will vote on calling her to be their Pastor. Until then she can pray and worry.
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Today's Link-Life as I Know It- Two weeks of her life with pictures. Leave her a Dr. John.
Went to church this morning. Our Pastor was gone and the guest pastor was one I knew from the old LCA ( James Plymire). After service we did a little remembering and a little sharing.It was good. In the afternoon I worked in the basement until Peter and family came. He and Lori left the kids and went to the movies. Spanky ( their dog) became the first one to use the new pool. He jumped four feet into the air aqnd into the pool. He swims very well. Then my grand kids and daughter went in and pushed Spanky out. It was a fun day. But now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA