Written by Guest Blogger Andrea Frazer

Living as a Christian with a non-believing spouse, I find it imperative to seek spiritual support wherever I can. For me, this means calling Farmer Tracey once a week to check on her ailing chickens, get updated on her older sons’ pig business, hear tales about her toddler boy’s big dirt adventures, get the latest details on the FOURTH SON growing in her belly (that’s a lot of boys, people) and to pray.

Oh yeah. That.

When I really stop and think about how odd it is to speak to a Jesus I have never seen in the flesh, with a woman who I have never met in person, I tend to question my sanity.

“Andrea, really… shouldn’t you just see a shrink once/week and be done with it?”

Perhaps.  (And honestly, I’m not against therapy. I go occasionally, and that’s a whole other blog.)

But if it’s true that we are guilty by association, then I want to be convicted with someone who encourages me to “keep on keeping on.”

Farmer Tracey is a rock star of a Christian, mother and homesteader, but with four boys in her brood, not to mention a husband and more homeschooling duties than cups of Yuban I’ve ingested over the years, I refuse to bug her on a daily basis.

This begs the question: Am I really that needy for prayers on a daily basis?

The sad truth is that yes, I am.

For 40 years I went about my life mostly relying on my own logic. And don’t get me wrong – I’m a smart person. I’m not a sheep that is just going to blindly read a Bible and never question the content. In fact, I have soooo much more to learn about this Bible business such as:

* How can I feel more confident that what is in there is the truth?

* What about those missing books?

* Who really wrote it and what popular leader of the time edited it?

* What is missing? What is not?

A theology class would do me a lot of good.

But back to my original point, I can’t just rely on my feelings anymore. Feelings are fickle. God, if He’s who He says He is in the Bible, is the same before, now and in the future.

Hebrews 13:8 promises:  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

It’s all well and good that the Bible gives me direction, but I need to be surrounded by PEOPLE who remind me of this, too.

It’s why every Wednesday I haul my butt thirty miles to a Bible study that mostly consists of elderly women named after houseplants. They shine when they say the name “Jesus.” They are not judgmental. They do not criticize. The walk in Christ.

For someone that used to run her own life, walking with God is a good thing for me.

Matthew 18:20 says “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” If there’s coffee along with this social setting, I’m game.

What about you? Do you have a group of people who are sharpening your iron of faith? If not, what do you do to encourage yourself to “keep on keeping on?”