kimberly’s story.

My path to resilient faith has not been easy or straightforward. From an early age, I embraced the “idea” of God, but I wrestled with going “all in.” Like so many people, I struggled with the difficult subjects of suffering and evil. How could God allow such things, I asked? As a result, my youth was filled with a kind of dance — one step forward, two steps back (sometimes twenty steps back). But no matter how much I tried to run from God (and I did at times), I could never completely abandon faith. And through it all … God never stopped pursuing my heart.

Eventually, I stopped running. I met my husband, gave my life to Christ, and started attending church more regularly. But, something still wasn’t right. I felt “stuck.” I wasn’t advancing in my faith at all and I didn’t know what to do next. For me, the real catalyst was the birth of my firstborn child. As I held my sweet baby girl in my arms I knew that I needed God if I was to have any chance at getting the parenting thing right.

Shortly thereafter my husband was transferred to Texas and we began attending The Woodlands United Methodist Church. On our first Sunday I saw an advertisement for an upcoming women’s Bible study . . . and recognized it as a chance to develop my relationship with God. That Bible study and that church became the instruments that God used to transform me and deepen my faith. I simply couldn’t get enough of Scripture. Each week’s lesson made me want to learn more. From there … God paved the way for me to embrace my calling.

That passion God ignited in me for God’s Word? It never left — it just grows stronger. Although there are aspects of faith that will always be a mystery (by God’s design), my relationship with God has led me to a place of resiliency. Here’s what I’m sure of: God is good. God’s Word is life-changing. And it is absolutely worth it to take a leap of faith.

XOXO,
Kimberly

What I believe

  • God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. God exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is both holy and loving.

  • Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God. Both fully man and fully divine, he lived a sinless human life and died on the cross to atone for our sins. He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven and will return again to earth. He is Lord over every realm of human life.

  • The Holy Spirit is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. When we receive Jesus as the Lord of our lives and the forgiver of our sins, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. He provides us with power for living, enables us to understand spiritual truth, and guides us in doing what pleases God. As Christians we seek to live under His control daily.

  • The Bible is God’s word written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the final authority for determining our Christian beliefs and how we are to live.

  • People are made in the spiritual image of God — we are rational and moral beings. Because we are God’s creation made in God’s image, EVERY person possesses great self-worth. Although each person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of self-centeredness which the Bible calls “sin.” This attitude and its resultant actions separate us from God, creation, others and ourselves.

  • Becoming right with God and having our relationship with God restored is what the Bible calls salvation. Salvation is God’s free gift to us. A gift of grace. We can never earn it or achieve it by self-improvement or good works. We accept God’s gift of a new life when we turn from our self-ruled life and accept Jesus as our Savior. The new life that God gives us is an abundant life in this world and eternal life in the world to come.

  • Though we are not made right with God by our own goodness, “good works” are not optional for the Christian life. When we give our lives to Christ, it is expected that we will grow towards loving God with all our being and our neighbors as ourselves. As Christians, we are called to a holy life of self-sacrifice, following in the footsteps of Jesus.

  • God brings believers together from all over the world to form a family called the church. With Jesus Christ as our head, in self-sacrificial unity and mutual love we serve as Christ’s body — His hands and feet reaching out in the darkness with the light of the Good News. We operate as such by the power of the Holy Spirit and under the authority of Scripture, following the example of Jesus Christ in leading holy lives, devoted to God’s will.

  • I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen.