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

My name is Bonnie Gray and I’m looking to live my everyday story in 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 journey with Jesus 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.

“…your real life is hidden with Christ.” Colossians 3:3

As we sift through our stories, the conversations we encounter, and the people that we meet, we feel a longing to express the questions, thoughts and answers God leads us to discover, as we draw us closer to Him and each other.  Because faith is as mysterious as it is real.  And we need each other for this journey.

Because sometimes, we need a double shot of faith. Stay awhile.  Pull up a chair and swap some stories at Faith Barista.

Together, we can get a taste of Jesus on the journey. One brew at a time.

Man, that would be the best.

Why Faith Barista?

No can ever have too much encouragement.  You’ll find encouragement from everyday life as the days unfold with The Ultimate Faith Barista — Jesus Christ Himself.  Join me here and share your faith journey.  One story at a time.

What you will find at Faith Barista: Spiritual reflections, personal stories , devotionals and thoughts on Christian living for a faith-filled walk in everyday life.

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About Bonnie

My name is Bonnie Gray and I’m the writer behind Faith Barista.

I’m a native Californian living in the heart of Silicon Valley, where I watch the sun rise and sun set in the eyes of my husband Eric and our two boys Josh and Caleb.

Rain or shine, I live for the moments I get to write, hovering over my keyboard, fascinated by a passion to find faith in everyday life.

I am the blogger behind Faith Barista, syndicated by Crosswalk.com and iBelieve, and featured writer for DaySpring’s (In)Courage website. I am also the soulful author beyind my debut book due to release in June 2014, published by Revell.

I love exploring how faith shows up in everyday life and my writing springs out of a belief that the beauty of faith often takes place when life goes off script. It’s what happens in the daily grind. As a writer, my articles have been published nationally by McClatchy-Tribune and featured in Christianity Today.

Walking By Faith

I’ve crossed a variety of transitions in life. 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 to figure it out.

It turns out I was already living out God’s calling — walking by faith in everyday life.

To others, it might look ordinary.

To God, the inner life is where real life happens. One day at a time.

Life is the Ultimate Story We Live by Faith

If people were to just look at our everyday lives, we might seem insignificant.
But 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 — is what I’d love to journey into. Will you share yours with me?  I will share mine with you.

The 411

So, why did you start this blog?

Faith is a topic that is my sold-out passion. It’s been many moons since I first became a Christian. 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 growing and full of life?”

I want to know how people keep that fire of faith lit when it’s a flickering wick and how to feed it when it’s embers are quietly burning.

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

[ Find out what FaithBarista’s all about. Read Why FaithBarista? ]

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.  Eric and I are both from the 80’s, love John Candy, OMD, stuffing ourselves with popcorn at the movies, hitting the beach and having coffee with pastries.

2) Wrangling my two boys, Josh and Caleb.  Josh is my eight-year-old son who fires up a bazillion question per hour, kind-hearted observations and steals my heart everyday.  Caleb is my five-year-old cutie who sweetens my heart with honey with his heart-melting hugs, his penchant for stories, singing and butterfly kisses.

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!).

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.

What I Believe

Probably the best way to understand what I believe is to see how I live. Hopefully, reading FaithBarista 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, my church family is The Highway Community Church, Mountain View, CA.

Read The Highway Community Church’s statement of faith here.