textbook truth

I was reading through one of the books I have to read for school this fall called Psychology: through the eyes of faith. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I loved it and it inspired me and challenged me in so many ways. anyway, there's one chapter on behavior and attitudes-action and faith. and at one point, it suggests that at times faith follows action. action follows faith naturally, but it is talking about feelings as well and we needn't wait to feel a certain way to go do it, because oftentimes we never will. Anyway, I wanted to throw a quote that's included in the chapter from C.S. Lewis:

"Believe in God and you will have to face hours when it seems obvious that this material world is the only reality: disbelieve in Him and you must face hours when this material world seems to shout at you that it is not all. No conviction, religious or irreligious, will, of itself, end once and for all (these doubts) in the soul. Only the practice of faith resulting in the habit of faith will gradually do that...
People ...are told they ought to love God. They cannot find any such feeling in themselves. What are they to do? The answer is... act as if you did. Do not sit around trying to manufacture feelings. Ask yourself, 'If I were sure that I loved God, what would I do?' When you have found the answer, go and do it."

Another quote later on from the authors of the book:

" The principle has its limits, of course. W can become so preoccupied with doing things that we no longer have time to quietly receive God's Word of grace and direction for our lives. Like the Pharisees, we can sustitue our deeds for God's act or think that any kind of action will do. To say that action nurtures growth in faith is not to tell the whole story of faith. But it does tell part of the story."

One more quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's 'The Cost of Discipleship':

"Only he who belives is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes...Jesus says: 'First obey, perform the external work, renounce your attachments, give up the obstacles which separate you from the will of God.' Do not say you have not got faith. You will not have it so long as you persist in disobedience and refuse to take the first step."

Okay, so these are just a few little glimpses of what I've been reading and thinking about. Wish I could write it all out! But I would love to know anyone's thoughts on this: feel free to comment!