Living a life of faith can sometimes be discouraging. Have you ever felt that way?

You plug away, day in and day out, doing all the "right things." You spend time with God and in the Word, you teach those things to your children, and yet the fruit of your labor seems slow in coming. The attitudes never seem to change, the "issues" never quite seem resolved. You truly want to honor God with your life - with your thoughts, words and actions - and yet it can be really difficult to continue sometimes when it feels like it is doing absolutely no good.

Aside from the fact that our definition of "good" and God's definition of "good" are quite often two very different things, I truly believe that God is always at work in every situation. Often times His work seems secret, hidden deep within the heart. However, I also believe more of His workings are visible and available to us if we take the time to simply stop and look for it.

I was reading an email from a colleague the other day and to finish off the message she wrote,

I need some God Stories. Tell me your God Stories.

What she meant was, look around your life and tell me where you see God working. The beauty of a God Story is that it can be a seemly small, insignificant thing that when we really stop to think about it, is in fact quite an extraordinary thing indeed.

-That doctor bill for $200 (which you don't have) is nearly overdue when you receive a sudden and unexpected rebate check in the mail for...$200.

-You try to hide the puffiness in your eyes as best you can with make-up because you spent the morning sobbing your heart out to God about how lonely and broken you feel. Later that day you receive a phone call from a friend saying you were on their mind and they wanted to say hello.

-Or perhaps you are the one who can't get that one person off of your mind. So you pray, and intercede for God's mercy, only to find out later that person was going through an extremely difficult, or dangerous, time.

God Stories are all around us. They permeate our lives, and the lives of those we know and love.

When you are feeling discouraged about the lack of fruit you are seeing in your walk with God, or in your children...when you're feeling less than because you can't live up to the Pintrest-Perfect dinners splayed all over the Internet...when you're wondering if the days spent folding laundry, wiping noses (and bums), cleaning messes and making dinners really count in the long run...when you wonder if God really sees you - and if He does see you, if He really cares...when those moments come, stop and think openly, deeply and honestly - look for a God Story in your life recently.

If you're having trouble seeing one, call up a trusted friend and ask them where they see God working in your life. Or ask them to tell you one of their God Stories. Friends, part of being a member of God's family is helping one another see Him when they themselves are in a moment of darkness.

Today, friends, let's lift one another up - let's encourage, let's speak Truth. Let's remind one another that God. Is. Here.

So...what's your God Story?

Blessings, Jen Deibel