At age 19, I was challenged to prove my religious beliefs. This challenge brought many questions to my mind. How did I know for sure that what I believed was correct? Could I prove the things I had been taught? Was I certain that there really was a God? Could I prove that He existed and that evolution was false? If there really was a God, did He have a purpose for mankind, and why was I born?

I learned through research and extensive study that God does exist and has a purpose for mankind. Putting this knowledge into practice and living His way of life results in peace of mind, happiness and blessings, not just for the present, but forever.

What were some of the things I studied to prove God's existence for myself? I researched the fossil record, studied radioactivity and looked at the wonders of design in nature.

As an example, the human eye possesses 130 million light-sensitive rods and cones that convert light into chemical impulses. These signals travel at a rate of a billion per second to the brain. How could so many intricate components independently evolve to work together perfectly when, if a single component did not function perfectly, nothing could work at all?

Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, described the eye as one of the greatest challenges to his evolutionary theory. In his book On the Origin of Species, he admitted, "To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances... could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree."

The theory of evolution cannot explain why we pursue intangibles like beauty and higher spiritual yearnings. Our minds are far too complex to have arisen passively or accidentally. Disproving the theory of evolution gave me the proof of creation and the existence of God. I now had a basis for belief and a solid foundation on which to build.

Next I went to the Bible. I found that the Bible is the manual or instruction book God gave to mankind. God's remarkable purpose for humankind is revealed in His Word. God created man with a mind capable of communicating with God and thinking like He thinks.

In the Bible I found that God made man in His image and likeness. This is the most fundamental difference between humans and other creatures. The image of God imparts special meaning, harmony, intelligence and design to human life. Man stands apart from all other living creatures because of his relationship with God.

The Bible fills in the missing dimension in human knowledge. In it, God provides the Ten Commandments, which show us how to live (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). The first four commandments show us how to love God, and the last six commandments show us how to love our fellow man. This eternal spiritual law, if followed, will help us develop the spiritual character of God.

I learned that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ" (Romans 6:23). God has determined to give all human beings every possible opportunity to choose life.

The last 30 years of striving to live by God's way have produced great happiness and enjoyment for me and my family. My husband Gary and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary last year. Soon our eighth grandchild will be born. Our family is a close one. I attribute this closeness to putting God first in our lives. Peace results from knowing that if you put God first and trust in Him, He will protect and keep you. You can go to sleep at night without worrying.

In Deuteronomy 6:7, God commands us to teach our children diligently when we walk and when we talk with them. Our first three children are happy, productive adults and our teenagers are a pleasure to have around. We have taught them God's values about sex and marriage. We hope that they will always strive to please God.

We have also tried to teach them to treat others as they want to be treated, and that when we fail we have a loving, merciful God just waiting to forgive us. "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:10-12).

The blessings from living God's way never cease! God has provided all of our needs and many of our wants.

I have learned over the last 30 years that there is a God, that He does have a purpose for mankind and that living His way of life results in peace of mind, happiness and blessings. These things are given now and will continue far into the future. I am glad I accepted the challenge to prove these things for myself.