Faith

C. S. Lewis--Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable; but when I was an atheiest I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue; unless you teach your moods 'where they get off', you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of faith.
The first step is to recognize the fact that your moods change. The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day.

I like to read--what a blessing--I enjoy reading scripture, reading about scripture, reading testimonies from Christians. That has made it easier for me to remain strong in my faith even in loss. If I didn't read, I might not realize that Christians are not immune to suffering and loss and doubt. I feel sorry for people who are trying to, as CS Lewis says, "train the habit of faith" just by attending church on Sunday. I like to begin each day with an email from Purpose Driven Life. It is scripture based devotional with commentary by Christian writer.
That morning devotional does not take the place of Bible study, but it does start my day with the right mindset. I am reminded that I am a part of something HUGE.

The fact that I am reading that CS Lewis occasionally thought Christianity looked improbable releives my concern when those thoughts of doubt enter my mind.
As I look back on my life, I have many regrets, but the one that bothers me the most is that I haven't always spent the amount of time studying scripture that I should have.
I relied on Sunday School and church to teach my children. I should have been just as diligent about making sure they learned God's word as I was about making sure they learned the academic skills for school.