Recently, I went with my father to a doctor’s appointment. At a certain age, it becomes a standard part of your exam to do a memory test. During the memory test the doctor asked my dad to list seven words that started with the letter “F” in less than a minute. I quickly came up with more than seven words in my mind, because “f” might just be my favorite letter.
No, seriously, some of my favorite words start with “f.” In fact, I think the meaning of life can be found in a list of words that start with the letter “f.”
I have gotten ahead of myself. Let me start this post over.
Do you ever think what is my life about? Or wonder what people will say of you when you die?
I know that is a bit morbid. But, I will never forget the things that were spoken at two very different funerals I attended.
The first was the funeral of my husband’s grandmother. I did not know this grandma very well, because she died shortly after Jeremy and I met and married. But I did spend a few times with her in her home, and I felt a peace and quiet joy in her simple, yet pain filled life. She lived alone, in her older years, and had terrible arthritic pain. But, she never complained when we visited, and always was the most hospitable hostess. She made us food, and we had a lovely conversation. Sadly, when she died, and her children gathered around to remember her, her daughters did not have kind or loving words to speak of their mother. It was shocking and sad to hear them speak so poorly of their mother at her funeral.
The other funeral was for my own grandmother. Twenty-five years ago, my dad’s mother passed. I took my five children (at that time) to her funeral. It was a bittersweet funeral, as everyone shared joyful and kind memories of my grandmother. Person after person spoke of her generosity, gentle-spirit, and kindness. I felt honored and humbled to be her granddaughter, and I hoped, there at that moment, that I would be remembered with such words.
Today, I was thinking of a friend who recently lost a loved one, and I went down the rabbit hole of wondering what would people say if I died today.
That is where my list of “f” words come into the story. My favorite “f” words are faith, family, farm, freedom, fellowship, friends, and fun. It just so happens to be seven words. I hope that when people think of me, remember me, they think of these seven words.
I want my children to remember that more than anything else faith in Jesus Christ was my whole purpose in life. Today, we were in our Galatians bible study. We talked about how justification/salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ, Yeshua our Messiah. There is nothing more important to me that teaching my children, and living out this truth. I hope when I die my children say, “She loved God and His Word so much that she studied it, taught it, believed it, and lived it to the best of her ability everyday.”
For me, personally, I believe God called me, along with my husband, to be Kingdom Builders. I believe he gave us a vision to grow a family, and to train them in righteousness. This, to me, is the meaning of my life. It is my goal everyday to interact with my children and grandchildren in a loving and purposeful way. This isn’t easy with 17 children. But, I hope that they know that they are my ministry.
FARM (Genesis 1:11-12, Deuteronomy 11:13-15, Isaiah 30:23, Hosea 10:12, Matthew 13:24-48, Mark 4:26-29, Galatians 6:9, James 5:7-8)
This is a top priority to me. I am not a farmer, but I try to be. I am not a gardener, but I try to grow good fruit. Farming to me means so many things. We started a little homestead when we moved back to Michigan from Pennsylvania about 14 years ago. We started with a small garden plot and some chickens. The first reason we wanted to homestead, or farm, was and still is, to teach our children valuable lessons. The second reason is to grow our own food. We have done many different things so far on our farming journey. We have raised beef cattle, we have raised milk goats, we have raised sheep, chickens, and turkeys. We have butched our own livestock, and wildlife that we have hunted. We have grown crops in a garden, and preserved them. We have planted fruit trees, and we have grown grapes and berries. We have had many successes and many more failures, as we learn. But, the beautiful lessons we learn and understand from these experiences that relate to our faith, and God’s Word are so, so many. I love how our Messiah often refers to agriculture in His lessons. As we try our best to learn how to be good farmers, we also understand better the lessons and parables of Yeshua.
FREEDOM (Leviticus 25:10, Galatians 5:1, 13, John 8:36, 2 Corinthians 3:17, John 8:32, 1 Peter 2:16)
The greatest gift I ever received is the gift of salvation, freedom, from my sin. Jesus Christ is the one and only person who ever lived and died without committing sin. Everyone else, and I mean, everyone, has sinned. There is no one before or since the creation of the world who has lived a righteous life except for Yeshua (Jesus). I am broken by the thought of Him dying on a cross for me. I am nobody, but because of Him, I am adopted and chosen as God’s daughter. I am not a slave. No I am an heir to the Kingdom of God. I am free to stand up and walk up to the throne of God and He says, “Come daughter, what is it you request?”
Freedom from sin is the greatest freedom of all. But, I also praise God that I am free to read, study, teach, share His Word, the Bible with my children, friends, and others. I am humbled that God chose to place me in America in such a time as this. We have so many freedoms, and I want to be a person who is remembered as being grateful for those freedoms and privileges. I never want to take them for granted. I hope and pray that as long as we are free to proclaim Jesus in this country that my children will do just that.
With freedom comes the gift of fellowship. It is truly a privilege to be able to gather together with other believers. Church, congregation, fellowship, community, etc. It does not matter what you call it, but having a group of people to do life with and to gather together to encourage each other in faith is not only a privilege, but a necessity. I hope that my children know that even though, we haven’t always attended a traditional church, we have always believed and still believe that gathering in the name of Messiah is important. We are told to gather to sing hymns and psalms, songs of encouragement together. We are told to gather to read the Scriptures and learn from them. We are told to gather to celebrate God’s blessings, like harvests. We are told to encourage each other in love, and during difficult times. To rejoice with each other, and to weep with each other. Fellowship is for accountability, encouragement, and to bring more meaning to our lives by serving others. Fellowship can often take us out of our comfort zone, and place us in a place where God can use us and grow us in our relationship with Him and His people.
Friendship, I have been blessed with many good friendships over my lifetime. I am sure God will continue to bless me with people to be a good friend to. I hope that those friends I have had look on our relationship with fondness and joy. There are seasons in friendships. Sometimes one friend is closer in relationship with you for a while, and then they fade into the back of your day to day life. But, if they are truly a good friend, you will find they are always there when you need them. We have a saying in our home, “family makes for the best of friends.” This proves to be true for me. My parents and siblings, as well as my in-laws, are some of my closest friends. The reason family makes for good friends is they know you on you best days, and your worst days, and they love you on both. That is of course, if you have a healthy family.
Healthy friendships grow when we take the time to nurture them and invest in them. Friendships are like marriage, the best ones take effort and work, but it is 100% worth it. There is one friendship that takes top priority in my life.
That is my friendship with Christ. I do my best to be very intentional in my relationship with my Messiah and Master, who is also my friend. I am to daily talk to Him, to daily listen to Him. I try and read His Word daily. Like any good and beneficial friendship, I have to make an effort to get to know Him. I hope my children realize they can seek Him when they feel alone or like they have no friends. He is truly the friend that never leaves or abandons us.
FUN (Ecclesiastes 8:15, Psalms 149:3, Proverbs 17:22, Philippians 4:4)
I bet you didn’t see that making my list. I admit my idea of fun, doesn’t look like games and parties all the time. (But, I am a pretty good host of parties with games.) I am often seen as a pretty serious person, and I think my children would definitely say that their dad is the fun parent. But, I do think having fun and making learning fun is super important. When children, or people, are enjoying themselves they are more likely to retain information. This is super important to me.
As a child, I was delayed in reading and other academic standards. Therefore, I was sent to have special tutors and teachers. Those special sessions involved games and activities that were fun in order to help me stay focused and hopefully retain what was being taught.
I truly believe the key to success in life is joy. The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Joy isn’t necessarily equal to fun. But, having fun sure can lead to joyful times. Joyful memories are great ways to create hope and peace in our homes, family, children. I can’t think of a better way to create joy than a bonus “f” word. You might call it the great 8th “f” word. (wink,wink)
FEAST (Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 16, Matthew 26:17-29, John 7:2-37, Revelation 9:9-19)
I love the FEASTS of the Bible. The special appointed times that are given to us by God to meet with Him. Wow, did you see that coming a bonus “f” word. I truly hope my children know that I love God’s feast, and do them because I find them beautiful and meaningful. I don’t do them because I am afraid that I will somehow disappoint God, or lose my place in His FAMILY. I know that I am fully justified through FAITH in Christ alone. I do them because they are FUN. They are a great way to remember the faith of our forefathers (another great “f” word). The feasts are a fabulous (hehe) opportunity for FELLOWSHIP with FRIENDS and other believers. Another cool thing about feasts is three of them that are all about FARMers bringing in their harvests and giving thanks. And one of the feasts, Passover, is all about FREEDOM!
See what I did there. There are so many great “f” words. I think it might just be my favorite (wink) letter.
I hope you enjoyed this fun post, and that it brings meaning to your lives.
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