Welcome to Faith Barista – a blog that serves up shots of faith for everyday Christian living.

My name is Bonnie Gray and I’m an everyday Christian looking to live a life of faith.

I’ve always been fascinated with the challenge of keeping faith hot and fresh in the daily grind.

I write at Faith Barista to share my faith experience with God and in the process, find others to learn about theirs.

Being an everyday Christian isn’t so easy because there is so much stuff that gets in the way of trusting God and being true to who He’s designed us to be.

As we walk through daily life, the world calls us to be focused on the outer walk, with everything that surrounds us.

But the inner life is where real life happens. It’s where God calls us to be and faith can get us there.

As I sift through my thoughts, the Bible, conversations or happenings around me, God whips up drinks of inspiration and encouragement to draw me closer to Him each and every day.

Are you also after that fragrant aroma of Christ in your daily cup? If so, join me here at Faith Barista.

Together, we can get a taste of seeing Christ show up in our lives.

Man, that would be the best.

Why Faith Barista?

This site is dedicated to collecting the rich blends of encouragement that we receive from The Ultimate Faith Barista, Jesus Christ Himself, sharing our faith journeys, and refreshing eachother’s cup, one comment at a time.

What you will find at Faith Barista: A variety of spiritual reflections, personal stories, commentary on pop culture, devotional articles, and Christian living tips to stimulate a faith-filled walk in everyday life.

Subscribe to Faith Barista

Please stay in touch with what FaithBarista.com is up to by subscribing via email or RSS feed. Also feel free to connect with me on Twitter.

Contact

If you’d like to get in touch with me — have a question or a topic of interest you’d like to see covered — I would love to hear from you.

Please email me at FaithBarista(at)gmail(dot)com.

About Bonnie

My name is Bonnie Gray and I’m the Christian writer behind FaithBarista.

I’m a native Californian living in the heart of Silicon Valley here in the USA. I am married to the love-of-my- life Hubby and we have two boys, a three year old and a six month old.

Rain or shine, I live for the moments I get to write, hovering over my keyboard, living my childhood dream as a writer and my life-long passion to find faith in everyday life.

I am editor and author of Faith Barista and a contributing writer for Dayspring’s (In)Courage website.

I used to think God’s calling was found in church ministry, overseas missions, or even in the workplace, as an engineering and marketing manager in high tech. I was continually searching and longing to figure it out.

It has taken me a while to really get it, but I finally discovered that I am already living God’s calling, right where He wants me, on the walk of faith.

Everyday life is the ultimate full-time ministry.

To others, it might look ordinary. To God, the inner life is where real life happens. One day at a time.

So, why did you start this blog?

Faith is a topic that is a sold-out passion of mine. I have been a Christian for some time now, and it’s been many moons since my faith in God was brand spanking new. Even though I’ve got some mileage on me (you see the wrinkles?), I am still fascinated by the challenge to keep faith hot and fresh.

I’m continually asking, “Why is it that some Christians are hot on fire for God, always up to something, learning, growing and full of life?”

I want to know how people keep that fire of faith lit when it’s barely a flickering wick, how to fan it, so it flares up like a bonfire, and how to feed it so that even the embers of faith glow and warm those around it.

I started this blog to share my faith experience, and in the process, find others to learn about theirs.

Why did you choose the name “Faith Barista”?

I love the idea that I can be a “barista of faith”, because we are all apprentices, learning the skill and art of walking by faith. We learn from the master craftsman of faith, Jesus Christ, who serves up just what we need for each day’s journey.

In turn, we can be a priesthood of faith baristas, offering one another encouragement to live out our faith. Now, that’s exciting!

What do you do when you’re not writing at Faith Barista?

If you were to knock on my door, you’d find me:

1) Hanging out with my best friend, Hubby, love of my life. Hubby and I are both from the 80’s, love John Candy, OMD, stuffing ourselves with popcorn at the movies, hitting the beach in the summer, and having coffee with pastry.

2) Wrangling my two boys, TJ and CJ. TJ’s my three year old toddler who fires up a bazillion question per hour and steals my heart everyday. CJ is my four month old baby who’s constantly trying to shove all ten fingers in his mouth and makes adorable faces that turn even macho guys into girlie men.

On top of my dresser, you’d see:

Piles of books, non-fiction mostly about spirituality, God, the Bible, parenting, marriage and relationship, and magazines. Thank you cards to write and water bottles to keep me hydrated.

On the weekends, you can catch me:

Doing family and friends stuff like hanging out at coffee shops, parks, kids bday parties, breakfast joints and sandwich shops, running errands, going to Safeway, Target or trying to get rid of junk (I’m a recovering pack rat!).

So, are you a “legit” Christian blogger?

I’ve always been passionate about studying the Bible and bringing believers together for community. It’s all about experiencing life together that has made being a Christian continually new.

Ministries I’ve had the joy of serving in: Leading student ministries as the Executive Committee Chairperson for West Coast Chinese Christan Conference (WCCCC), working as an overseas missionary in Hong Kong, teaching Bible Study and Small Group Training workshops, graduating from Peninsula Bible Church’s Pastoral Ministry Intern Program and launching PrimeTime, a ministry for singles in their 3o’s (this is where I met Hubby and got married. I swear, that is NOT why I started it!).

LIFE is the ultimate full-time ministry

Even though I’ve had opportunities to serve God in these ministry roles, they are nothing compared to the most meaningful ministry we are called to: LIFE.

If people were to just look at our everyday lives, we might seem insignificant. Thank goodness, that’s not how God sees us.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Cor. 4:7

This hidden life, this life lived in Christ. This is what I’d love to tap into.

Will you share yours with me? I will share mine with you.

What I Believe

Probably the best way to understand what I believe is to see how I live. Hopefully, my blog will give you a good idea of what that looks like.

But, to put it succinctly into words, I’ll point you to my local church’s statement of faith.

I am a member of the body of believers of Jesus Christ all over the world. But, locally, I am a member of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, Palo Alto, CA.

Read ALCF’s statement of faith here.