Confirmation Statement of KB

What does Jesus mean to me?

When I think of Jesus, I think of my faith, love, and hope. Jesus is my one and only true role model. He means the world to me. He makes me strong when I am weak. He is the reason I am here and the reason I have faith. He-died for us and that is the greatest gift in the world. I am so blessed to have role model like him, and so is the rest of the world. To me, Jesus is everything, my friends, my family, my breath, my spirit, my shoulder to cry on, and my life. He lives in me. He gives me hope when there is none to be found and gives me love when no one else is around. He means so much that I couldn't survive without him. I turn to him for a friend, a parent, a brother, a sister and he always delivers. Jesus is my escape from the world. He creates this place of complete serenity for me to escape to when I am tired of all the drama, and fights, and anger in my life. Since he is always there for me, I feel protected and happy to be here. Life without him wouldn't be the same and people without him wouldn't be the same. It means so much to me to know that there is always going to be this ray of light and hope, to know that he is always going to be there, and know that no matter what mistakes I make, he will always forgive me. Jesus makes me realize how great life is and helps me appreciate more then I already do. And without him, I wouldn't be the same, great person that I am today.

How have you grown in faith and understanding of God's grace these past few years?

My growth in faith and understanding of God's grace has changed my entire life. Faith has brought me to understand God's grace, so, in a way; his grace and my faith are connected. God's grace strengthens me and my faith. It makes me stronger than I could ever imagine. I have grown from just understanding his grace, to truthfully realizing what his grace is. I can not imagine our world without God's grace. I have grown to learn that through God's grace my life is more hopeful, loving and I am forgiven for my sins when I ask. This is what makes my life just plain great! His grace make me realize that there is always hope and to never give up on things. My faith has helped me understand that I should know that God is always with me and will keep me wherever I go. If God's grace is with me, then I will be safe. God's grace gives me hope, and hope gives me love, and love gives me life, and life gives me faith, and faith gives me God's grace. We receive grace as a gift from God. My faith has grown to the point where God's grace is beginning to make sense to me. Grace is not just a gift, it is also a blessing.

Why do I wish to affirm my faith in baptism at this time?

I want to affirm my faith in baptism at this time because I want to be closer to God and his church. To be confirmed means to strengthen, and I want to be stronger. I want to be more involved with God and his church, I want my faith to deepen. Confirmation is about receiving the Holy Spirit. Affirming my faith can be scary because it is a sign of getting older, but I choose to think of it as an opportunity to appreciate my faith, God, and his church. I also think of it as away of showing God how much I truly love him. Being confirmed will help me understand God better, but I still have a lot to learn. Even long, long after I have been confirmed, even if I am 100 years old, I will still have a lot to learn about God, and that is the exciting thing about God, you can always learn more. I want to affirm my faith so I can get closer to God, to pray with him and just talk about stuff with him, even though I do that now. I think being confirmed can help me feel more comfortable with my faith and God. Being confirmed, to me, is just what I need to have as a growing teenager, to be stronger, in my faith and mentally, and to have someone there to talk to who you know is listening.

How am I and how do I intend to use my gifts, talents, and abilities for the ministry of the church ?

I intend on using my gifts, talents, and abilities to show the rest of the world about God. By using my gifts, I feel I can influence other people to do things to be closer to God like joining a church or just talking or praying to God. There are a lot of people in the world that need help from God and someone needs to show them that God is there and he is listening, like he always has and always will. I hope by using my gift of faith that God's grace has brought upon me, I can help people turn to God for help. I plan to talk to people about joining the church and I plan to convince people that God is there, and that they can turn to Him and talk to Him at any time. I also will help serve people in need in our community like feeding the homeless, helping repair homes, cleaning up the community and helping with the Angel tree project. Using my faith to do all these things, I hope my faith will grow because of it. I also am going to aim to encourage other people, who have my same faith, to talk to other people about it too. Being confirmed can help me do these things, but I can't do it all alone, so I will get involved with the community and plan to have people talk to me about my faith and, I am hoping, my faith will grow because of that too. Life without God is no life at all, and I hope that by using my gifts and talents that 1 can help people realize who God is.