Sometimes It Just Happens

Last night, our family invited another family over for dinner. At about 5:58, two minutes before said family was scheduled to arrive, Mom checked on the pizza in the oven and smoke started pouring out. Apparently some pizza that was not on a baking sheet had spilled between the rack and fallen on the bottom of the oven.

Now, you have to understand that our smoke detector is very close to our oven. So our very loud smoke detector will go off even if something is not burning. Here is the scene that ensued after finding that the pizza had started dripping onto the bottom of the oven.

Mom runs to grab some oven mits and take the pizzas out of the oven, while Dad and I frantically start throwing open windows and the sliding glass doors. Then Mom grabs a spatula and starts scraping burnt pizza from the bottom of the oven. Dad starts waving oven mits around the smoke detector to keep it from going off. Then, in an attempt to scrape all the pizza out of the oven, removes the oven racks while I continue to wave the oven mits around the smoke detector.

Of course, it just couldn't be that easy. There were also... ahem, *technical* difficulties putting the oven racks back into the oven. Yes. And pizzas still were not done baking. Lovely.

The scene continues.

Dad: "I wonder why these racks won't go back in?" CLING, CLASH, CLUMP! Titus: "OUCH! My finger is stuck!" I run over and find that Ti's finger is stuck under the closet door. I pull his finger out from under the door, attempting to be gentle. CLING, CLASH, CLUMP! CLING, CLASH, CLUMP!

With a happy ending for all, Dad figured out how to put the oven racks back into the oven, the pizza was put onto a baking sheet, and our guests still had not arrived. Yay!

The moral of the story: it never hurts to be just a couple minutes late for dinner at my house.

A Hungry Baby

I have not posted my '$15 or Less' weekends these past two weeks! I have completely forgotten... so sorry.

With that said, I would like you for a moment to please think of the worst sound you can imagine. For mothers, I would imagine that there are few sounds that are worse than that of their hungry baby's cry. The cry of a truly hungry baby is something that plagues many areas, even today. For $9, one can provide food for a starving child for a whole week through Samaritan's Purse International Relief.
(Photo credit: Samaritan's Purse International Relief: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/)

God bless you all!

Will I Be His Disciple?

A friend of mine is involved with an online writing class/ forum. It's called the One Year Adventure Novel program, and from what I've seen, it's really neat. Some of the students (or authors, I should say :) really are amazing. Sometimes my friend will tell me about things that various students post on the forum for everyone to read and enjoy. One young lady, named Ashley Jones, on the forum wrote a poem that really sticks out as something we as Christians should think about more often.

Muslims and American Christians

"The Muslims bow to the floor
Their voices all in one accord.
They shout in unison, to Allah they pray
All their lives, five times a day.
They even bow in a certain direction,
Facing Mecca with flawless perfection.
The people honor the month of Ramadan
By giving up the food they rely upon,
By abstaining from ignoble deeds,
And not adhering to their every need.
Don't you find there behavior sort of odd?
Since they serve a false god?

So-called ‘American Christians’ hardly pray.
Not even close to five times a day!
Attendance levels look kind of bleak
They go to church maybe once a week.
The self-styled Christians live their own lives
Not paying mind to another’s strife,
Nor giving to the needs of the poor,
Wanting for themselves more and more!
Scorning Jesus Christ’s name,
Playing their silly little Christian game.
Don’t you find their behavior sort of odd?
Since they serve the true God?"

~Ashley Jones, Copyright 2010


Now, no matter how much one agrees or disagrees with the theological views of the Muslims, you have to admire that kind of commitment! Fasting, ignoring thier own personal preferences, and praying upwards of five times throughout the day.

Wow.

What if Christians in America (an avowed 81% of Americans) had a commitment like that?

The last two lines of the first stanza ring true with me. "Don't you find their behavior sort of odd? Since they serve a false god?" My answer: a resounding 'YES!' It's easy for me to say this because I have been redeemed and loved by the true amazing, all-powerful, loving, rational, merciful God-- the One and Only.

BUT-- am I willing to give Him the same kind of complete, total, and absolute devotion that the most devout Muslim would give to Allah? It's a silly question, really, but it's a valid one. Isn't it only right if I do?

Will I serve my God no matter what expectations I'm surrounded by? No matter who I'm with? No matter where I am? Will I love Him with the kind of love with which He first loved me? Will I give Him my trust; my whole heart?

Would I give everything up for the One and Only?


Luke 14:27, "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me, he cannot be My disciple."

He Is My Portion

Lately, I've been reading a lot in my devotions about how God is all we need.

Lamentations 3:24, "I say to myself, 'the Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'"

Exodus 15:2, "The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him."

1 Chronicles 16:11, "Look to the LORD and his strength; seek His face always.


Psalm 28:8, "The LORD is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one."

Psalm 73:26, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalm 105:4, "Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always."

Isaiah 12:2, "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation."


Is that true of you? I think of how often we, even as Christians, try to come before God bringing Jesus plus something else. But we cannot in any way be justifiable before our Lord with Jesus plus anything else. It is either Jesus that we depend on for everything, or it is not. Either God will be one's portion, or something else will have first priority in life. This is sometimes a very hard concept to grasp. We think that we understand that Jesus is all we need, yet sometimes we are not willing to make Jesus all that we have. As Corrie ten Boom once said, "You can never know that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have." It really is easy to think that we can approach God's throne bringing something of our own. But we cannot. It's either Jesus, or something else.

God is jealous for our affections...

Is He your portion?

To My Best Friend

Miss Haley Christine, I just wanted to let you know that you are the greatest friend ever. I'm so happy that I know you, and your family! Some of my best memories are from being with you and Curtis, or just you, or you and anyone else! I really miss you right now, and I can't wait to see you!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Thank you for always being there to help me up!

Because of your love of Winnie the Pooh, I think I'll quote him in conclusion.

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you." -- Winnie the Pooh

On a Hill Far Away

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
Where his glory forever I'll share.

Yes, I'll cling to the old rugged cross... For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above... to pardon and sanctify me.

Safe, at Last

Lately, I've been worrying a lot about the future. For those of you who don't know me very well, I'm sort of a planner. I like to be prepared for the future... I don't really like to just leave things up in the air until the last minute. I like to have a plan. A purpose. A direction.

This has proved a struggle for me over the last few years (actually, longer, but why push it? :) Because my family moves around quite a bit. So whenever I think about making plans for the future, the Lord gently shows me that those plans might not work out by-- how else?-- moving us somewhere different. Our most recent move has landed us in Nagoya, Japan, and while we were planning on going back to our home state after this move, there is a slight chance that we will move to a different state in a few weeks instead. Last night, I cried for a good while with my mom about it. However later that night, I was reading in my devotions about worry, trust, and trouble. I read Matthew 6:25-34,

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry a bout clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

It's so true. Even if I don't worry about what I'll be doing tomorrow or next week or next year, Jesus Christ has granted me today to live for Him! I have enough struggles, enough work, enough everything just for today, because that's all I'm guaranteed. I can live right now for God's glory, or not. The choice is mine. A little later on in my devotions, I read a beautiful promise, "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken." - Psalm 37:25
God never forsakes those He calls! Jesus also promises us, "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

I was also listening to Phil Wickham's song 'Safe' recently. I won't quote the whole song, but the chorus says,
You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms

Even if everything falls apart in the world; even if there isn't anything else I can rely upon, I know this: I don't need to know where I'm going, as long as I know the One that I'm following and I'm willing to give everything up for Him.

If the Gospel Is Boring, What Is a Cause for Excitement?

“If [the gospel] is dull, then what, in Heaven's name, is worthy to be called exciting? The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of being a bore-- on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe.”


~ Dorothy Sayers

God's Word-- Our Light

I'm sorry I'm a little late on my '$15 or less' weekend post over here! But for most of you, it still is the weekend so I guess we're okay. :)
Did you know that there are more Christians imprisoned in China then in any other country in the world (Voice of the Martyrs Global Report, 2010)? Believers in China are in constant danger of losing their lives or going to prison and never seeing their families again. Chinese Christians present such a wonderful example of following Jesus, no matter the cost! Voice of the Martyrs, a Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church world-wide, has a program called "140,000 Bibles for China," in which they are trying to raise Bibles for the world's most populous country. For only five dollars, you can go here: https://www1.vombooks.com/qry/qe_sf_donatenow.taf?_id=A373551896&_function=donate and give one of the most precious gifts to a believer-- God's perfect word. How can we know the God that created us if we do not know the Word that He is written? Let's share God's perfect word!

God bless you all,

Rachel

Where, Oh Death, Is Your Victory?

Gary Thomas in 'Christian News' wrote: "As Vice President, George Bush represented the US at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leo Nid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope. A gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed. She reached down and made the sign of a cross on her husband's chest. There, in the stronghold of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life and that that life was best represented by Jesus, who died on the cross; and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband."

1 Corinthians 15:14 tells us, "And if Christ has not been raised our preaching is useless and so is your faith."

The fact that the tomb was empty on the first Easter morning is not just a 'nice thing.' It is the foundation of all of our faith! Everything that I, as a Christian, believe in is based on the fact that Jesus was risen from the dead! If Christ was risen from the dead-- and He was-- then the work of conquering sin was fully accomplished! He was resurrected, and this resurrection fully paid redemption's horrible price. After that, we could not add to the completion; we could not do anything to make it better. It was perfect. It was complete. Romans 6:9: "He conquered sin knowing that when Christ was raised from the dead, He dies not more; death no longer has dominion over Him." Or as Peter Joshua said, "When death stung Jesus Christ, it stung itself to death."

Let's celebrate the fact that Jesus not only took the horrible pain of the cross, bearing its sorrows, its shames, its sufferings...
but that He also rose from the dead to conquer our worst
enemy-- death.

Now, all those who trust in Christ are not under the law, but under grace. Where can death have victory over those in Christ?