The time feels right for a little declaration of my faith. Here are the tenets that feel firm to me. I believe in God the Father, who lives in Heaven, and who is very powerful, and totally good, and who had this great idea to give us perfect paradise and also the choice to trust Him about all that.

I believe in His son Jesus, who left Heaven to be become a defenseless baby born in a barn to parents who felt totally ill-prepared, but who trusted God implicitly to lead them as the earthly parents of the Savior of the world.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, who helps us use our gifts for good. I believe this because I constantly see the evidence of where my discernment of certain things is answered with the incredible timing, in spite of how lazy and disaffected I am. The Holy Spirit kicks my ever-living booty to do things that need to be done, or to talk to people, or to love on people, even though my natural tendency is to go take a nap.

I believe in keeping sabbath and to keep it a holy time, which looks different every single week but I know I don't want to go back to not keeping it, because my life is better and more rich and more peaceful because of sabbath.

I believe every single person on this earth struggles and that to struggle is a blessing because it means we haven't given up yet.

I believe that Jesus really helps us when we invite Him into our corner and fight with us.

I believe Jesus had a totally radical message of love and that He ran the guts out of that message and that He expects us to run our guts out in love, as well.

I believe in the Commandments and I believe if we weren't so selfish and navel-gazing they would be packaged as suggestions for happiness rather than as laws that govern.

I believe we do the most long-term good by erring on the side of too loving rather than too judgmental or too condemning.

I believe the boldest statement of faith regarding abortion, divorce, addiction, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and other controversial matters, is in how we treat those who make decisions about these matters and/or who are directly affected by them.

I believe that Satan goes after relationships first; nothing makes Satan happier than dismantling relationships because they are the foundation, the lifeline to everything that is life-giving in this world.

I believe that the Bible is God's word and that we aren't even close to fully understanding it. Not even close, but it's worth it and very life-changing to try and get closer.

I believe grace is the most impossible  gift and I stand forever in awe of the graciousness of a God who creates, sustains, and continues to pour out grace to clowns, litterbugs, losers, me.