Introduction to a New Beginning.. Are you Ready?

Is one of your new years resolutions growing in faith and building a better relationship with God?

You can find that at the top of my resolutions for 2013! Not only is it a goal of mine this year to become closer to God and build my faith- but as so many of you already know.. My family and I have had a very trying year (2012) and with all the people who are "inspired" by our story.. I think to myself... "What if I actually tried to inspire people? What would happen then?"

With very little free time, I made a list of all the things I thought I wanted to do ... and unfortunately they all require a whole lot of time I just simply do not have at this time in my life. I initially wanted "Faith of a Family" to be my "scratch paper" for a possibility of one day publishing our inspiring story. When I realized there is so much more to come, I need to hold off on that but still keep it in the back of my mind. My entire focus was and still is on building faith in other women and in some small way helping them see the positive in life so that they to will take every negative situation they are in and find some way to turn it into a positive learning experience that they will grow to become a better person because of the path they have been given.

Life is not easy and in case you didn't know this... the older you get, it doesn't get any easier.. Many of us do not have the time to get together in a group setting on a given week night because of whatever reason.. So hopefully this will be a tool some of you find helpful to build faith. I am just like you. I just want you as individuals to realize... I am only this strong because of the decisions I have made in my life. I could very easily have said, "Well, this is to much to handle. Just put my daughter in an institution." I could go around sobbing my eyes out because my life as I knew it, is over. I could be the mom that gets wild and crazy and lets go of all responsibilities every weekend, only to return to them grouchy and hungover on Sunday. There are a lot of thing I could have done... but I chose to hang on to what little faith I had left and see where I ended up...

So, how does this work?
            -I will post bi-weekly posts on this blog on Sundays.. then I will post questions onto the Facebook Discussion Board "Faith of a Family" ... If once you read through this and would like to join, because I have it set so private you will have to message me or simply 'LIKE' this when I share it on my facebook page and I will send you an invite to join. We look forward to a great group to grow together in faith :) ..  
            - Although I have a very busy schedule, I (think) I am ready to make the commitment to building the faith of at least one other family and inspiring another young woman. If only one other person is inspired by sharing things on this blog/discussion board on facebook... I have succeeded and it will have all been worth the time.
             -I am going to commit to biweekly posts..So every two weeks on Sunday evenings I will post here on the blog and then post some discussion topics/questions we can talk about that week. Be as open as you would like. IF you want to share something please do. There have been so many times when I almost held back something because I wasn't sure how it would make the person I was speaking to feel... 98% of the time that thing I thought about holding back is what inspires people the most.
             -Occasionally, I will ask what is something we should spend some time discussing.. I am open to anything. I don't want to share too much, but I will share some of the things I plan on covering.. I am going to start out very simple talking about the Foundation of Faith. Another point I want to discuss is Families: a Fountain of Faith (in this post I want to talk about all the different types of families.. discuss working with step parents, blended families, broken homes, etc.) Marriage will be another topic I cover.. some who aren't married, can still join in. . . maybe the outside opinion will be beneficial to the group. (again keeping in mind we are going to be respectful to everyone) ... Those who are not parents/step parents I will be posting about Raising Your Children.. (you may still participate in these posts -- (ex: when you have children you plan to..? -- after all some of us who have been through those stages may get a chuckle out of some of the ideas-- all in good spirit though :) ..)  Something I really hope we have a positive outcome from is "Relationships"..this will cover faith in the work place, how to influence and encourage friends without being pushing an a so called "Holy Roller" :) ... and even focusing on how to restore friendships... Your Identity in Christ! :) (I'm pretty excited about that one but it will be a little while before we get to that).. Being a Woman of Character.....
              Well... I better not share too much.... but just enough to get you excited I hope. :) I really do hope to see many of you get involved and be inspired to get a positive outlook this year! This year is what you make it... the obstacles are already set in place and you are going to have to deal with them no matter what... God wont move those obstacles.. he set them in your life for a reason and YOU have to get around them. Don't make that a negative...
 

Discussion Board Settings:
This will be a closed group, I will control the people who are in and the people who are allowed to join. If I think an individual may be in this group for any other reason other than to grow in faith and inspire others with their own stories... they will be removed. We are adults, .. some of you are mothers...time to grow up.

If anyone has a problem with others sharing what is said in our closed group... or say you have a story you would like to share but do not want others to know who it is from.. you may private inbox the story to me and I will post it from an "Anonymous Member" ... I want each and every one of you to know that God has sent you down your path for a reason... You may not see it now but you will. Sometimes it takes sharing your story and others saying "Did you realize..." that was kind of what happened in my situation.

This is a place to come for positive energy and a place to inspire others as well as be inspired. I really hope this is something that you can all get involved with, build that foundation of faith (first with you then with others :)..) and really have a positive outlook on the negatives in your life. (Trust me when I say ...its possible!)

Another thing I want to make clear this is not just about my story... its about all of us taking our stories and experiences and being able to say "That's God right there!" There is no other explanation.. I hope we are all ready for this :) it could get interesting!

Have a blessed day :)