Given the latest Compass Class series on faith, I thought it serendipitous that I ran into this Faith Meme over at BlogMinistry.com. I've got a few other irons in a few other fires right now, so I'll get back to filling this out for my own sake. But if anyone out there wishes to play along, here's the 10 questions to answer:

1. List three words that describe your faith.
2. Describe one belief about which you are very certain and one belief with which you struggle.
3. What is your mission in life?
4. Describe one thing that interferes with you authentically living out your faith.
5. What is your favorite story from the Hebrew Scriptures? Why?
6. What is your favorite New Testament story? Why?
7. Describe a meaningful action you took because of your faith.
8. Does your faith differ from that of your parents? If so, how?
9. Who or what was most important in the development of your faith.
10. Pass it on! Tag at least two other religious/faith bloggers.

The last, I'll have to pass on. But if you want to take a swing at it in the comments or email this around to a few hundred of your closest friends, who am I to stop you? I'll be on this either tomorrow or super-late tonight just to put myself on record.

UPDATE: Finally ... some free time:

1. List three words that describe your faith.

Inquisitive, Unwavering, & ... I really don't know that I have a third word for this. I think the first two present enough of a dichotomy to play off one another. Maybe there's a zillion other words that could describe my faith and I'm just lacking a good thesaurus. But I believe that having something in your life in which you're solidly sure of, yet have a positive, questioning nature to bounce questions off of that rock ... that's a lot to have in life. So maybe I'm just trying to avoid being seen as selfish by having a third word on this?

Certain: that Jesus died on the cross for my sins.
Struggle: that God's will in our lives is easily discernable.

To be a blessing to the world within my reach - one that serves as a positive force for change in the world, among those who come into some form of contact with me, and to serve as a living testimony of what God can do in the lives of any of us.

Just one? Possibly selfishness is the biggest that comes to mind.

I'm not entirely sure it qualifies as "a story," but I tend to lean on Isaiah 55 as something akin to a "life chapter." It just speaks to too much of my own relation to the Word and to God as a thirst. Lacking that as an answer, I'll offer the exploration of Canaan as my official answer. Caleb and Joshua serve as wonderful reminders of how God's promises don't fade over time ... even if it takes time to realize them.

I hate giving one of the "easy answers" to these wonderful questions, but aside from saying "any of the Passion Week stories" or "just the entire book of Luke," I suppose I might be able to limit myself to suggesting a fondness for the "Parable of the Sower" in Luke 8. Again, like Isaiah 55, it just instructs so much more understanding of God's word. Taken together with Isaiah 55, there's two compelling teachings to balance - to seek God where he may be found, and to ensure that His word falls on good ground. Those are two distinct and challenging tasks. Together, they sort of play on that inquisitive nature. If I'm asking where God can be found in any situation, there's bound to be any number of situations where that taxes the mind. And ensuring that this falls on good ground? Again ... not always easy. But those are the words I live by.

Tough one for me, since I tend to neglect delineation of those things I do on faith and those I just ... well ... do anyway. I think the biggest, most meaningful act that comes to mind was knowing I had to step away from my parents when there wasn't much encouragement upon being born again. The sad part of that is that we had gone to church as a family when I was younger. I remember reading through my dad's study notes from his Bible Study classes, even. But, at some point, things changed. On the one side of things, I sensed that my parents didn't exactly think much of this since I'd already been baptised as an Episcopalian long, long ago. But even more problematic were our family discussions that brought out the fact that they really didn't believe what they professed to believe earlier. Knowing you've got to walk that walk of faith alone is tough. To this day, I'm amazed I came through it all still believing ... still seeking for a church home years after I thought that that too might be a dead end for me ... still believing that I'm here to accomplish something for God's glory and that it's just up to me to listen and believe in that will for my life.

Greatly (see above). Another discussion for another day, perhaps.

All along, the two biggest aids seem to have been my old standby of music & books. But I'd have to add an immense debt of gratitude to a long-lost penpal named Jorge, who helped me grow, who guided me, and will forever rank as a great friend whom I can never thank enough. It was through reading - that inquisitive nature, again - that led me toward being born again. It would also lead me to a better understanding and strengthened walk of faith over time. Music would add more uplifting, blood-pumping moments along the way. I'm never one to discard a great song that I enjoy. So I owe a fair amount of gratitude to bands like Stryper, Geoff Moore, Ken Tamplin, and Mike Stand & the Altar Boys for offering their ministry to aid in that walk. In the end, there's no substitute for a church community, and I'm just as grateful to many fine individuals I've met at Lakewood over the months I've been there. My walk without a church couldn't have happened without a lot of things to pick up the slack. But the last several months (going on a year here, pretty soon) have been some of the most rewarding months of my life.

Of course, that reminds me ... Joel often tells people to give Lakewood a year of your life. Since I'm about to hit the one-year mark, I've already had a few contemplative thoughts about what that year has meant for me. Eventually - and soon - I'll get around to putting that in blog form. For now, I'm just piling a little self-induced pressure on myself not to let that opportunity go by.