And do the days fly by! Can you even see them, hear them, or remember them? They are like a swallow swooping over, ahead, and behind. Like water that slips through your fingers, so the days are.
Make the most of them as they pass, mind you, or you will never remember their former existence.
There is no glory in a day gone by without purpose or passion. one must take hold of the time given and act upon the strength allotted by God. If the energy sits wasted and unused, it will be a disgrace and dishonor to the Giver.
Why ask for strength if there is no purpose behind the request other than personal gain?
Ask for a healthy body and a strong back so that you may use them laboring in the harvest. Maybe you cannot labor. Don't let this stop you, beloved. Run onward and upward. Pray, encourage, love, do what you can for His glory.
Days do pass where you feel like you are not working for the glory of our Lord. Examine your heart and ask yourself why this time passes by. Seek what is high above. Lean on the Almighty.
Place your EVERY day in His hands. He will turn your hearts to himself.
Is there anything you can do of your own power that is good? No, beloved. Christ, and only through Him, can we endeavor to do what is right.
May the ruler of the skies, the oceans, and the mountains also be placed in your heart as the ruler over your time and the gifts He has bestowed upon you.
Blessings,
Rachel
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
An Angel On The Scene
That sound was unmistakable. My breath caught and my fingers froze over the keys at the computer desk. I was at home all alone. I had a big day planned. I was going to get some emails sent out, clean my room, do the laundry, make some bread, start on dinner, and do some wedding planning. My thoughts flew to the road out front of our house. I knew what that sound meant. Shattering glass, crushing metal, and breaking plastic.
My heart was screaming, "Hurry up! hurry up! Get out there!"
My mind was screaming, "No, Rachel! Don't do it. You don't know what you might see."
Within thirty seconds I had grabbed my cellphone (I was praying I wouldn't need to call 911), slipped on my shoes and was sprinting out the driveway. My heart was racing, my stomach in my throat. What would I do? What if I had to call 911? What if someone was badly hurt? What if someone was dead?
My lips worked as I ran, "Father God, Please help whoever is in that car. God, I pray that you would give me the strength to do what I need to no matter what I might see. God give me strength because I can't do this in my own power. Only you can save, only you can give me the guts it takes to be brave right now."
I reached the end of the drive and looked down the right side of the road (I was expecting it to be there, I guess, because that is where one of the last two accidents took place). No vehicle. Something like a box was in the trees along the right side, but it wasn't a car, or a person. My gaze wandered across the road.
There it was.
I had to think for about 1/10th of a second and my fingers were typing the numbers 9-1-1. It seemed an age and a half before anyone picked up the other line.
"Hello?" My voice shook.
"Yes, what is your emergency?"
"I...um. There has just been a bad car wreck right out in front of my house."
"Ok, what is your location?"
"_ _ _ _ Hilham Rd." [you can't believe how hard it is to remember your own address in a situation like this]
"That is in _ _ _ _ _ _ county?"
"Yes sir."
"Are there any injuries?" He asked.
By this time I had crossed the road and was striding down the fence line with my eyes trained on the overturned truck.
"I am assuming so. The vehicle is on it's roof."
"I need you to check if there are people inside."
My throat clenched. What would I find on the other side of this crushed vehicle? Fear almost took over.
"Sir, I'm scared. I don't know what I might see."
"I know you are. But we need to know if anyone is hurt."
"Okay."
I prayed furiously as I came up on the battered car. How could anyone be alive? Oh, Father, give me courage.
Then I stepped around the vehicle.
"Yes, there is someone inside. He is injured. We need help." I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Was I going to pass out?
No. I wasn't going to pass out, because I had a job to do.
"Okay ma'am. There is someone on their way."
"Thank you." I said before hanging up.
I began to speak to the bleeding man in the truck. Thankfully, by this time someone had stopped and was jogging out to me in the field.
"Is anyone hurt?"
"Yes! Bad head injuries. Can you help?"
He knelt in the broken glass and plastic and looked into the overturned machine.
"Just him. Okay..."
"How can I help? What can I do? I can get blankets towels...anything. How about his head? Do we
need to do something until medical personnel arrive?"
"Yeah, go get some towels. I don't really know, we might need them."
I bet you if any Olympian had run as fast as I did back to the house, they would be a gold medalist. Where was this ability coming from? How was I even thinking straight?
When I returned, the guy who had stopped to help was on the phone. He then hung up and said, "We can't do anything until the ambulance gets here. His skull is cracked and it would be dangerous to try and do anything."
"Do you mind if I pray?"
"No! Go ahead."
Right there, I poured out my fear, my faith, and my hope. I prayed for life, yet at the same time I asked that God would perform His will. I stated my dependence on him and my trust for His timing. I asked for healing and life, I pleaded that peace would overwhelm the whole scene.
As I stood in the presence of the Almighty, my eyes looked on in sadness. God gives life and breath, but he is also the one who commands our destiny, even death.
I didn't want it to happen, but the picture of this crushed vehicle and broken body was etched in my mind. I know it will stay with me forever.
It seemed like hours before the first policeman arrived.
After that it was a whirl. The ambulance came. They removed he barely breathing man from the vehicle. Then a helicopter came and landed in the pasture. They life-flighted him to Vanderbilt.
After everything was cleaned up I was still replaying it in my head.
I wanted to know if he made it. How would I ever know?
Later when I was contemplating everything and trying to wind down and pray about it, my dad called me upstairs. His eyes were teary and he folded me into his arms.
"He didn't make it, Rachel."
My chest burned, and my heart ached.
The emotion of it all started to pour out of me. I escaped the house and took up residence on the back porch rail, a place where I perch when I am thinking, praying, crying, or singing. I couldn't stop the torrent from flowing out. I was sad. I wished (and still wish) I could have done something. Wasn't there anything I could have done that might have saved his life? Could I have been less of a wimp and not been scared to walk around the truck? Should I have gotten closer and tried to comfort him?
A thousand questions like these held me in the pain of uncertainty.
A thought occurred to me as I sat there. God was with me throughout the whole event. It was Him who called me to run out there in the first place. It was Him who gave me the steady hands to dial 911. It was Him who gave me the strength to cross the road. It was He who gave me the courage to go around to the other side of the truck, even when everything in me was telling me I would regret it.
I do not regret it.
God showed me how much I need to rely on him. He showed me how much I do rely on Him and somehow didn't realize it. He taught me that my hope is in Him, nothing else. He showed me what it meant to be afraid, yet act upon that fear by leaning on Him. He showed me what utter helplessness one can feel, and the all-encompassing love and peace He can give.
Don't ever think that because you are afraid, you are a wimp. If you have Christ, you are strong. You have a hope that is higher than any other. Imagine how I might have felt if I didn't have that hope. I probably would have taken a lot longer to get out to the accident. I probably would have passed out. I wouldn't have been able to pray over the dying man.
I thank The Almighty that he sent me out there. It isn't pretty to think about the things I saw. It was a rather shaking experience, really. But somehow I am thanking God that he sent me.
I can't tell you why it had to happen on February 20th. I can't tell you why it had to happen on "our" curve. I can't tell you why I was the only one home at the time. I can't tell you why I was the first one over there. I can't tell you any of this stuff, but I can say that it was all just that way for a reason.
I am grieved for the human life that ended. I wish that it hadn't happened, but at the same time I have to praise my Lord, because He knows what He is doing. I ask for peace upon the family, and grace for the rough times to come.
February 21st, I couldn't concentrate. I knew I had to go over there. I had to go see the place of the accident. My heart was heavy as I walked down the driveway. My left hand clenched my little ESV bible in my pocket. I knew the very passage I was going to read over the scene. Tears began to stream down my cheeks as I walked, remembering everything. The green wood fence was shattered in a twenty foot swath. Barbed wire and glass made the place a maze to go through. There, out in the grass was the place where the truck had landed on its roof. Little belongings, change, pieces of
headlights, and fence lay all around the gasoline stained area.
Flashbacks brought me to the day before.
I reached back in my pocket and pulled out my bible. People drove by on the road, probably wondering what I was doing. I didn't care though. I was going to pray over this spot. I was going to read Psalm 139.
My voice shook as I cried. I couldn't understand where the emotion was coming from. It felt like I
was being folded into loving, strong arms.
Here I read Psalm 139 out loud:
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3 You [c]scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5 You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
This was the very cry of my heart as I stood and sobbed.
Peace. Peace. Peace.
He was there, holding me.
Without the Almighty I am nothing. I was nothing, am nothing, and never would be anything without Him. By His hand, I was an angel on the scene.
~Rachel
My heart was screaming, "Hurry up! hurry up! Get out there!"
My mind was screaming, "No, Rachel! Don't do it. You don't know what you might see."
Within thirty seconds I had grabbed my cellphone (I was praying I wouldn't need to call 911), slipped on my shoes and was sprinting out the driveway. My heart was racing, my stomach in my throat. What would I do? What if I had to call 911? What if someone was badly hurt? What if someone was dead?
My lips worked as I ran, "Father God, Please help whoever is in that car. God, I pray that you would give me the strength to do what I need to no matter what I might see. God give me strength because I can't do this in my own power. Only you can save, only you can give me the guts it takes to be brave right now."
I reached the end of the drive and looked down the right side of the road (I was expecting it to be there, I guess, because that is where one of the last two accidents took place). No vehicle. Something like a box was in the trees along the right side, but it wasn't a car, or a person. My gaze wandered across the road.
There it was.
I had to think for about 1/10th of a second and my fingers were typing the numbers 9-1-1. It seemed an age and a half before anyone picked up the other line.
"Hello?" My voice shook.
"Yes, what is your emergency?"
"I...um. There has just been a bad car wreck right out in front of my house."
"Ok, what is your location?"
"_ _ _ _ Hilham Rd." [you can't believe how hard it is to remember your own address in a situation like this]
"That is in _ _ _ _ _ _ county?"
"Yes sir."
"Are there any injuries?" He asked.
By this time I had crossed the road and was striding down the fence line with my eyes trained on the overturned truck.
"I am assuming so. The vehicle is on it's roof."
"I need you to check if there are people inside."
My throat clenched. What would I find on the other side of this crushed vehicle? Fear almost took over.
"Sir, I'm scared. I don't know what I might see."
"I know you are. But we need to know if anyone is hurt."
"Okay."
I prayed furiously as I came up on the battered car. How could anyone be alive? Oh, Father, give me courage.
Then I stepped around the vehicle.
"Yes, there is someone inside. He is injured. We need help." I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Was I going to pass out?
No. I wasn't going to pass out, because I had a job to do.
"Okay ma'am. There is someone on their way."
"Thank you." I said before hanging up.
I began to speak to the bleeding man in the truck. Thankfully, by this time someone had stopped and was jogging out to me in the field.
"Is anyone hurt?"
"Yes! Bad head injuries. Can you help?"
He knelt in the broken glass and plastic and looked into the overturned machine.
"Just him. Okay..."
"How can I help? What can I do? I can get blankets towels...anything. How about his head? Do we
need to do something until medical personnel arrive?"
"Yeah, go get some towels. I don't really know, we might need them."
I bet you if any Olympian had run as fast as I did back to the house, they would be a gold medalist. Where was this ability coming from? How was I even thinking straight?
When I returned, the guy who had stopped to help was on the phone. He then hung up and said, "We can't do anything until the ambulance gets here. His skull is cracked and it would be dangerous to try and do anything."
"Do you mind if I pray?"
"No! Go ahead."
Right there, I poured out my fear, my faith, and my hope. I prayed for life, yet at the same time I asked that God would perform His will. I stated my dependence on him and my trust for His timing. I asked for healing and life, I pleaded that peace would overwhelm the whole scene.
As I stood in the presence of the Almighty, my eyes looked on in sadness. God gives life and breath, but he is also the one who commands our destiny, even death.
I didn't want it to happen, but the picture of this crushed vehicle and broken body was etched in my mind. I know it will stay with me forever.
It seemed like hours before the first policeman arrived.
After that it was a whirl. The ambulance came. They removed he barely breathing man from the vehicle. Then a helicopter came and landed in the pasture. They life-flighted him to Vanderbilt.
After everything was cleaned up I was still replaying it in my head.
I wanted to know if he made it. How would I ever know?
Later when I was contemplating everything and trying to wind down and pray about it, my dad called me upstairs. His eyes were teary and he folded me into his arms.
"He didn't make it, Rachel."
My chest burned, and my heart ached.
The emotion of it all started to pour out of me. I escaped the house and took up residence on the back porch rail, a place where I perch when I am thinking, praying, crying, or singing. I couldn't stop the torrent from flowing out. I was sad. I wished (and still wish) I could have done something. Wasn't there anything I could have done that might have saved his life? Could I have been less of a wimp and not been scared to walk around the truck? Should I have gotten closer and tried to comfort him?
A thousand questions like these held me in the pain of uncertainty.
A thought occurred to me as I sat there. God was with me throughout the whole event. It was Him who called me to run out there in the first place. It was Him who gave me the steady hands to dial 911. It was Him who gave me the strength to cross the road. It was He who gave me the courage to go around to the other side of the truck, even when everything in me was telling me I would regret it.
I do not regret it.
God showed me how much I need to rely on him. He showed me how much I do rely on Him and somehow didn't realize it. He taught me that my hope is in Him, nothing else. He showed me what it meant to be afraid, yet act upon that fear by leaning on Him. He showed me what utter helplessness one can feel, and the all-encompassing love and peace He can give.
Don't ever think that because you are afraid, you are a wimp. If you have Christ, you are strong. You have a hope that is higher than any other. Imagine how I might have felt if I didn't have that hope. I probably would have taken a lot longer to get out to the accident. I probably would have passed out. I wouldn't have been able to pray over the dying man.
I thank The Almighty that he sent me out there. It isn't pretty to think about the things I saw. It was a rather shaking experience, really. But somehow I am thanking God that he sent me.
I can't tell you why it had to happen on February 20th. I can't tell you why it had to happen on "our" curve. I can't tell you why I was the only one home at the time. I can't tell you why I was the first one over there. I can't tell you any of this stuff, but I can say that it was all just that way for a reason.
I am grieved for the human life that ended. I wish that it hadn't happened, but at the same time I have to praise my Lord, because He knows what He is doing. I ask for peace upon the family, and grace for the rough times to come.
February 21st, I couldn't concentrate. I knew I had to go over there. I had to go see the place of the accident. My heart was heavy as I walked down the driveway. My left hand clenched my little ESV bible in my pocket. I knew the very passage I was going to read over the scene. Tears began to stream down my cheeks as I walked, remembering everything. The green wood fence was shattered in a twenty foot swath. Barbed wire and glass made the place a maze to go through. There, out in the grass was the place where the truck had landed on its roof. Little belongings, change, pieces of
headlights, and fence lay all around the gasoline stained area.
Flashbacks brought me to the day before.
I reached back in my pocket and pulled out my bible. People drove by on the road, probably wondering what I was doing. I didn't care though. I was going to pray over this spot. I was going to read Psalm 139.
My voice shook as I cried. I couldn't understand where the emotion was coming from. It felt like I
was being folded into loving, strong arms.
Here I read Psalm 139 out loud:
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3 You [c]scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5 You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You formed my [i]inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [j]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [k]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [j]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [k]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 O that You would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
20 For they speak [l]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [m]take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
20 For they speak [l]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [m]take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any [n]hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any [n]hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
This was the very cry of my heart as I stood and sobbed.
Peace. Peace. Peace.
He was there, holding me.
Without the Almighty I am nothing. I was nothing, am nothing, and never would be anything without Him. By His hand, I was an angel on the scene.
~Rachel
Saturday, February 15, 2014
One Heart's Cry To The Almighty
Ah, every day is like a beautiful blessing from the Almighty. He puts breath into these lungs so that I may sing the song of His glory. He puts strength in these bones so that I may run the race and win the prize. He gives me the life, the blood that flows through my veins as a testament to His mercy and grace. He lets me see, taste and smell so that I might enjoy the goodness of His creation. And how beautiful it is!
What is it that I run after? Am I running that I might win the prize for His glory or am I running a race for the praise and pride of men?
Let me run the good race. Let me sing the song for You, O Lord. Let my blood be poured out if You ask it of me. For the life within me has been given by Your grace. Pour me out, if it be Your will, O God. May my every thought be sifted through your Word, through Your heart, Lord. It isn't my thoughts that I crave, but Your thoughts, Jesus. Let me struggle and win. May I fight the battle for You and come out victorious. Lord, use me, keep me, sanctify me. God, make this dead body new. Bring strength to these wear bones and let me run. God, I am all Yours. I am not my own, but I am my Beloved's. If I am not my own, I shall be beautiful and holy. If I am my own, I will only bring disgrace upon this body You have made. Take all of this fragile frame and use it as You will, not as I will, Lord, for You alone are able to bring forth goodness...
Ah. This is my heart's cry, Almighty. Amen.
~Rachel
What is it that I run after? Am I running that I might win the prize for His glory or am I running a race for the praise and pride of men?
Let me run the good race. Let me sing the song for You, O Lord. Let my blood be poured out if You ask it of me. For the life within me has been given by Your grace. Pour me out, if it be Your will, O God. May my every thought be sifted through your Word, through Your heart, Lord. It isn't my thoughts that I crave, but Your thoughts, Jesus. Let me struggle and win. May I fight the battle for You and come out victorious. Lord, use me, keep me, sanctify me. God, make this dead body new. Bring strength to these wear bones and let me run. God, I am all Yours. I am not my own, but I am my Beloved's. If I am not my own, I shall be beautiful and holy. If I am my own, I will only bring disgrace upon this body You have made. Take all of this fragile frame and use it as You will, not as I will, Lord, for You alone are able to bring forth goodness...
Ah. This is my heart's cry, Almighty. Amen.
~Rachel
Monday, January 27, 2014
Glorifying Him Through The "Busy"
Have you ever been going through a trial, a busy time, or just been having a streak of 'bad days' and thought, "If I could just get through this...", "Maybe once this is over", "I can start _____ after..."? I know how you feel. I do it all the time. It is perfectly logical to want to remove the "thorn" in your side or to look past it, right? We all desire to be comfortable and have things just the way we planned/ hoped/dreamed. I have had time to think about this a lot lately. Does God really want us to "do our time"? Does He want us to merely be "getting by"?
Are you just "doing your time" at work, college, home, school? Are you just trying to make it through? Are you waiting for things to get better to start glorifying Christ?
Think about what God may be teaching you. Think about what you are missing out on because you are looking at these occurrences as prison bars rather than blessings. Think about all the little irritating things that happen throughout the day, and how you can turn the little things around and honor God by thanking Him for them.
I am going through a busy season in my life (but aren't we all?). My Mama is working (a lot). My Dad is looking for a vehicle because an accident with a deer caused us to loose our family van. Two of my siblings are going to TTU for nursing, and the other sibling is going to the community college (in the opposite direction of TTU). With 2 vehicles to work with, things get tricky! They all have classes every day, too! I am trying to keep up around the house and farm (I never knew what it was like to pick up after, cook for, and clean for six people!!!). It's also hard to keep my head in the game around the house when I am planning for a wedding! I am getting married in May (AND THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO!!!). But it is all going to be ok. It IS ok. God is working through the busy to teach us what He wants.
I catch myself thinking, "Once this is over...", "After the wedding I can better do..." etc. Why do I think this? Why am I not jumping on the glorious opportunity to shine His light RIGHT NOW? I can glorify Christ in wedding planning. I can do His work while I am at home cooking dinner. I can glorify Him anywhere I am at, why don't I do it?
"Therefore, my brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58
Let us toil, but let us rejoice! For it is He that we are working for! It is He who has given us this labor to do! It is He who is going to help us through and fulfill us as we strive after Him.
Is it possible to look at this thorn, this trial as a blessing? YES! It may seem like a terror now, but it will make you stronger! If you rejoice in the Lord and the work that He has placed before you, it won't seem like the burden that you once thought it was.
Are you just "doing your time" at work, college, home, school? Are you just trying to make it through? Are you waiting for things to get better to start glorifying Christ?
Think about what God may be teaching you. Think about what you are missing out on because you are looking at these occurrences as prison bars rather than blessings. Think about all the little irritating things that happen throughout the day, and how you can turn the little things around and honor God by thanking Him for them.
I am going through a busy season in my life (but aren't we all?). My Mama is working (a lot). My Dad is looking for a vehicle because an accident with a deer caused us to loose our family van. Two of my siblings are going to TTU for nursing, and the other sibling is going to the community college (in the opposite direction of TTU). With 2 vehicles to work with, things get tricky! They all have classes every day, too! I am trying to keep up around the house and farm (I never knew what it was like to pick up after, cook for, and clean for six people!!!). It's also hard to keep my head in the game around the house when I am planning for a wedding! I am getting married in May (AND THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO!!!). But it is all going to be ok. It IS ok. God is working through the busy to teach us what He wants.
I catch myself thinking, "Once this is over...", "After the wedding I can better do..." etc. Why do I think this? Why am I not jumping on the glorious opportunity to shine His light RIGHT NOW? I can glorify Christ in wedding planning. I can do His work while I am at home cooking dinner. I can glorify Him anywhere I am at, why don't I do it?
"Therefore, my brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58
Let us toil, but let us rejoice! For it is He that we are working for! It is He who has given us this labor to do! It is He who is going to help us through and fulfill us as we strive after Him.
Is it possible to look at this thorn, this trial as a blessing? YES! It may seem like a terror now, but it will make you stronger! If you rejoice in the Lord and the work that He has placed before you, it won't seem like the burden that you once thought it was.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Friday, December 27, 2013
Go, Humble Yourself
You know that moment when everyone else is wrong and you are right? The time where there is no possible way you could be in the wrong? The time when you say what is on your mind because it is the obvious "truth". I hope you can note my shade of sarcasm here. In the heat of the moment (at least for me) I am right and I have no doubt in my mind about it. My pride takes over and my bad side comes out.
The other day I had one of these moments...Someone treated me in a way I thought I oughtn't be treated, so I spoke out in anger. I was deaf to the truth endeavoring to whisper in my ear, as I left to room feeling offended, hurt, and upset. As I continued about my work, I knew deep down that I was wrong but I couldn't bring myself to how I was wrong. Something inside me began to cry, "God, break me! I am blind to my sin. Show me where I am wrong. Bring me to my knees and humble me.Shatter my pride and give me the strength to admit when I have sinned." Something clicked at that moment. My mind flew to my quiet time a few hours earlier. I was reading Proverbs 6. Verses 2-3 say, "If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, Have been caught with the words of your mouth, do this then, my son, and deliver yourself...go, humble yourself..." This stopped me in my tracks and the Spirit brought about the repentance I had been desperately longing for. All of this leading to an apology and a reunion with the person I had upset.
I tell you this so you may learn from my mistakes as well as your own. Remember; the truth is not in what you think is right, it is in what God commands as right. Even in the heated moment when you have been wronged by someone, don't shut out the fact that you are capable of being wrong. Remember the weakness in your own flesh as you (easily) remember the weaknesses in others. Stop and ask God to humble you, even if you are angry and feeling unforgiving. Ask Him to bring you to a place of repentance and realization.
We are human, sinful, and weak, but through the grace of God, we are conquerors. We can better combat our human nature, when it is apparent to us that it exists. If we deny the weakness that courses throughout our frail bodies and minds, we are foolish. When you sin, don't wallow in condemnation and sorrow, recognize your fault, plead with the Father, ask forgiveness, and learn from your sin. It may sound odd, but I say, get as much out of your mistakes as you can. Examine points where you were weak and study what you can do differently to honor God the next time.
Every mistake, ever blunder is a learning experience. What will you make of them?
Blessings,
Rachel
The other day I had one of these moments...Someone treated me in a way I thought I oughtn't be treated, so I spoke out in anger. I was deaf to the truth endeavoring to whisper in my ear, as I left to room feeling offended, hurt, and upset. As I continued about my work, I knew deep down that I was wrong but I couldn't bring myself to how I was wrong. Something inside me began to cry, "God, break me! I am blind to my sin. Show me where I am wrong. Bring me to my knees and humble me.Shatter my pride and give me the strength to admit when I have sinned." Something clicked at that moment. My mind flew to my quiet time a few hours earlier. I was reading Proverbs 6. Verses 2-3 say, "If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, Have been caught with the words of your mouth, do this then, my son, and deliver yourself...go, humble yourself..." This stopped me in my tracks and the Spirit brought about the repentance I had been desperately longing for. All of this leading to an apology and a reunion with the person I had upset.
I tell you this so you may learn from my mistakes as well as your own. Remember; the truth is not in what you think is right, it is in what God commands as right. Even in the heated moment when you have been wronged by someone, don't shut out the fact that you are capable of being wrong. Remember the weakness in your own flesh as you (easily) remember the weaknesses in others. Stop and ask God to humble you, even if you are angry and feeling unforgiving. Ask Him to bring you to a place of repentance and realization.
We are human, sinful, and weak, but through the grace of God, we are conquerors. We can better combat our human nature, when it is apparent to us that it exists. If we deny the weakness that courses throughout our frail bodies and minds, we are foolish. When you sin, don't wallow in condemnation and sorrow, recognize your fault, plead with the Father, ask forgiveness, and learn from your sin. It may sound odd, but I say, get as much out of your mistakes as you can. Examine points where you were weak and study what you can do differently to honor God the next time.
Every mistake, ever blunder is a learning experience. What will you make of them?
Blessings,
Rachel
Monday, December 16, 2013
Rise Again
Reinforcements Coming
By Rebekah (Pearl) AnastThere is a mighty army
Being trained to stand and fight,
A battlefield of soldiers
Learning what is right.
A Company of warriors
That will boldly take the word
To every tribe and nation
Till every soul has heard.
There is a mighty army,
I’ve seen them everywhere;
Most are wearing diapers
And dragging Teddy Bears.
Infants in the training,
Drilled in right and wrong,
Mom and Dad are making
Soldiers brave and strong.
There is a mighty army
Trained in righteous war,
Cheer them on to victory,
Children of the Lord!
I read this in the Jan-Feb 2014 NGJ (No Greater Joy) magazine today. It is a powerful picture of how things have changed. This was written in 1996, a year after I was born. The biblical idea of raising children, and bringing them up in the Lord has faded into the background of society. Many young women and men no longer have the desire to get married and start a family of their own. It is more about success in their personal lives and what they can accomplish on their own.
Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), the woman who has a vision for family and marriage is looked down upon. She is considered week and strange. Her desires to be yoked to a man in marriage, to be a helpmeet, are rare.
When the foundation of a society crumbles, it is natural that society itself should crumble as well, right? Maybe I'm seeing it differently, however, I will not deny what is happening every day in America (and around the world). People have grown cold to what was once supposed to be a warm blessing. They have broken what was created by God to be sacred and beloved. People are trampling the ground, the holy places once held in high regard.
A child in the womb is no longer a blessing from God above, placed there for a purpose, but a curse, one that has to be "disposed of". Now, marriage is not a unity or a promise. It is a possibly and a maybe, something that can be broken. Family is no longer a house standing together, but a house divided. And, if you know the Scriptures, a house divided shall fall (Mark 3:25, "If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand."). The sad part is, not many know the Word. Not many see what is happening, because they are unaware of the Scriptures. Do you see families who are united? Do you see children who are willing to listen and learn from their parents? Do you see the majority of parents pursuing their children and spending time with them?
It makes me sad when I see the family foundation crumbling. When I see children rebelling against mom and dad. When I see marriages failing because two people thought that love and physical attraction was all they would need to keep them together.
If only the family model could be restored to this country (and others). Can you imagine the strength there?
If Christ is the foundation of the family, it will stand united. If the house is united, the society will be strong. If the society is strong, the nation will be also. Christ is unstoppable. If He is within you, you are strong, for you bear the weight of the calling of Christ. You are an ambassador for the Kingdom.
I want to see a rising up of young men who have a burning passion to love, care for, and pursue a wife. Men who have the guts to lead in humility and courage. Young men who are willing to take upon themselves the responsibility to support a family, and raise their children to be strong in the Lord. Men who are servants of the Almighty.
I have seen such people. I have watched them work. I have heard them talk. I have seen them walk by faith. I have also witnessed them stumble. You know what they do when they fall? They rise again. They don't rise by their power, but by the power dwelling richly within them. Christ brings them back to their feet, so they can dust themselves off and press on. Phillipeans 3:13, "...But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." They press on. Proverbs says, "For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again..." I want to see the men and women who rise again.
Anyways, to make a long story shorter, I was impressed and deeply moved by the little poem above. I hope that some of what I have said makes sense to you. I so long to share some of what God has been placing on my heart. I am sorry I am not more clear in my writing. When God places something heavily on my heart, I have to get it out somehow! I pray for you and hope God speaks through this to you. Help our families to rise again.
Blessings always,
~Rachel S.
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