Ingredients for Faith: Whipping Up a Stew Just for You
Part 2 after last week. This one will require work, friends. Get out those pens and paper! We dig into finding you the Ingredients that will make your faith stew truly yours.
This past Sunday I didn’t want to go to church. It’s a leftover of my enormous pot of church wounds — the ones that sting because in so many cases I just didn’t feel like I belonged; the ones that have been bandaged up again and again and still haven’t healed.
Church wounds are the worst. There are so many kinds for so many people. My wounds are really all the same one that keeps getting ripped open again and again and again: With only a few exceptions, I have rarely felt like people have cared that much whether I am in the church or not. Sure, people have smiled at me and said hi, but very few have welcomed me in as though I were an integral part of a group.
This Sunday, however, I did go to church. And I took my 11-year-old really awesome kid with me. Me and him — him and me — we sang at the top of our lungs the chorus to “Goodness of God”:
'Cause all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God.
And I looked at him as we sang this line:
Your goodness is running after, it's running after me
Your goodness is running after, it's running after me
And I thought my heart might explode.
It’s a visual I don’t want you to miss. God’s goodness is chasing after us, running us down, ready to overcome us and heal all that makes us feel shameful and hurt and wounded.
Every so often at night, my son holds his arms open as I say goodnight and he says with a smile, “Bring it in!” as his way of wanting a hug.
I like that.
“Come back here!” I imagine God saying to us. “Bring it in!” he chimes and grins.
I am not imagining this very valueable and real trait of God — his goodness chasing us down. It’s found in Psalm 23.
To be honest, I’ve never liked Psalm 23 because it talks about death. I can see, though, why people love it. But skipping over the first few verses, we get to this precious promise in verse 6:
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life…”
The Message version of the Bible renders it this way:
“Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.”
Revisiting “A Stew Just for You”
Last week I shared with you the analogy of a pot of stew and what we often think should be part of a good faith-filled life. Here was my list of ingredients that I believed should be part of the aromatic pot of faith stew:
Morning Bible study
Daily prayer
Serving others
Being part of a local church community
Evangelism
If you remember, I shared how my pot felt empty and how distressed I was by that. But God chased after me with his goodness and whispered to me: “But Laurie, it’s EMPTY. Waiting to be filled. There’s unlimited potential to fill it!”
And then I promised you I would give you my thoughts on how we can fill our pots with ingredients that are unique to what faith should look like in each of our lives.
Are you ready?
Finding the Right Ingredients
The reason I began this blog talking about God’s goodness chasing after us is because I believe the first Ingredient in our pot is this: an irreplaceable, non-generic, lovable, and worthy God. I promise to not be weird or heretical or inflammatory, but our faith pot must begin with having something in there that is worth sharing with others! We simply cannot jump to the action items. It’s the foundational ingredients that matter!
Every Christmas Eve my family makes mushroom soup as part of our Slovak tradition. It looks yummy but it tastes awful. Similarly, our faith isn’t just about the actions we take, but about the core component of any belief: a God who inspires us to act.
If you are missing Ingredient #1 in your stew, go read every single one of my blog posts. :) Just joking. Kind of. In truth, that is what this blog is all about — helping you find your faith again. But really, go read the Book of John and Romans 8 — they are great places to start!
Now that we have our main ingredient in the pot, how do we add flavor — how do we make it personal and inviting to others? One of the best ways to enrich our faith is by asking ourselves meaningful questions. Here are three to start:
Why do I believe in God?
How do I experience God’s presence in my everyday life, and what does that reveal about who He created me to be?
What unique gifts, talents, and passions has God placed in me?
Question 1: Why do I believe in God?
This question may seem simple, but it’s tougher than it looks. There are countless reasons people believe — personal experiences, a sense of meaning and purpose, what you’ve been taught, the beauty of creation, a longing for connection, answered prayers, or a moral compass. There’s no right or wrong answer, but it’s a question that demands an answer.
Why do you believe in God? Your answer could be complex, and that’s okay—mine is. I have to believe that someone is in control of this chaotic world. I’ve seen so many people reflect God’s goodness to me. I’ve lived without God for a season, and it was awful. And now, my mom is with God. She believed in him until her very last breath.
Your answer matters because it will shape what goes into your "faith pot." For instance, because my parents modeled God’s sacrificial love to me, Ingredient #2 in my pot is this: Be the best mom I can be, so my kids see Jesus in me.
Here’s another example: I remember the hopelessness I felt without God, and I never want anyone else to feel that way. So, Ingredient #3 for me is to be a hope-giver. When I see someone struggling, I don’t turn away — I lean in and try to help.
Question 2: How do I experience God’s presence in my everyday life?
I shared about my son and I singing with our whole hearts about God goodness at church. Why can’t we do that in other moments? My son is. He has taken up the guitar and is composing songs about how life can bite us and hurt us but how God’s love is always there. He experiences God in music. How do you experience God’s presence in your everyday life?
There are countless ways: through nature’s beauty, creative pursuits, reading, silence, time with loved ones, hobbies, or even reading Scripture. How you experience God will add more "Ingredients" to your faith pot!
I remember walking my dog one evening, staring at the stunning red and yellow sky. A guy nearby pointed up and said, “God did a really good job tonight, didn’t he?” It was such a simple, authentic moment of evangelism — just giving God credit where it’s due. Now, that’s one of my Ingredients: reminding people of God’s creativity through moments of beauty.
Here’s another one: I’m not great at sitting still, and God knows it. So, in moments of silence, I’ll often text someone with a word of encouragement. Ingredient #5 for me is this: Turn my distractions into opportunities to bless others.
Question 3: What unique gifts, talents, and passions has God placed in me?
If this question feels tough, don’t worry — like the others, there are endless ways to find your answer. Maybe you already know what excites or moves you, or maybe you need to ask friends or family what they see in you. You could also look back at your life and see what memories stand out. One thing’s for sure: your answers will become key "Ingredients" in your faith pot!
For example, I love to write, and I hope that my writing “Ingredient” is helping you on your faith journey.
What about you? Are you a writer? An artist? A creator? Do you love baking, organizing, or encouraging others? Are you skilled with social media, photography, teaching, or learning? Maybe you love puzzles, sports, or playing music. Any of these can be an Ingredient that brings joy and encouragement — to you and to others.
Here’s an idea: love to read? Start or join a book club and use that space to offer friendship and encouragement. Love to cook? If you live near me, there’s a Ronald McDonald House nearby that welcomes homemade treats for their guests. Whatever your passion, there’s a way to use it for good!
They All Come Together to Make Your Very Beautiful and Entirely Unique Faith Stew
After doing the exercise, I realized that my list of Ingredients that make my perfect pot of faith stew look a little different than what I thought they needed to look like. Mine truly reflect who I am:
Wholehearted belief in a unique, loving, and worthy God
Striving to be the best mom I can be
Being a hope-giver to those who are hurting
Highlighting nature’s beauty to remind others of God’s creativity
Turning my distractions or “wasted” moments into opportunities to bless others
Writing to uplift and encourage people in their faith
Some of these wrap into broader and more traditional pot of faith ingredients; some don’t. But this is how my faith will flourish.
See that pot above? It’s goodness that’s fills — and changes — the room. That’s what happens when you fill your pot with the right Ingredients.
What are your list of Ingredients? I can’t wait to see how God will use your overflowing pot to encourage you and to help our world!
Much love to you,
💚 Laurie