"For He is worthy to have all there is to be had in the heart that He has died to win."
~Lilias Trotter
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
If It Were the Week of Roe vs. Wade...
Right now, a horrible tragedy is taking place in Washington, D.C. Something that could be the greatest victory for abortion lobbyists since Roe vs. Wade.
Right now is the time for action. Looking back on the year of 1973, when Roe vs. Wade was passed, would you have done something to try to stop it? Currently I am not living in the States, but those for those of you who do... would you follow this clip and possibly do what it says? Then would you post this on your blog for all your friends to see?
Then, would you join me in diligent prayer as our representatives make this important decision? Pray that God would help them make wise choices. THIS IS THE TIME FOR ACTION!
http://action.aul.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FindCongress&AddInterest=1043
Again, PLEASE watch this and post it on your blog. It will only take but a moment. THIS IS THE TIME.
God bless you,
Rachel
Right now is the time for action. Looking back on the year of 1973, when Roe vs. Wade was passed, would you have done something to try to stop it? Currently I am not living in the States, but those for those of you who do... would you follow this clip and possibly do what it says? Then would you post this on your blog for all your friends to see?
Then, would you join me in diligent prayer as our representatives make this important decision? Pray that God would help them make wise choices. THIS IS THE TIME FOR ACTION!
http://action.aul.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FindCongress&AddInterest=1043
Again, PLEASE watch this and post it on your blog. It will only take but a moment. THIS IS THE TIME.
God bless you,
Rachel
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Other's blogs!
Hello friends! Since all of you reading this *probably* already follow (or at least read) this blog, I would like to share with you some of my friends blogs and some of my favorite posts of theirs.
One of my favorites is
Miss Haley's blog Singing in the Rain, and a favorite post would have to be Pioneers, Pancakes, and Bananas (http://http://bigsisteroffour.blogspot.com/2010/01/pioneers-bananas-and-pancakes.html) in which Haley and I ponder *ahem* the deeper things in life, or rather, discuss whether the pioneers used bananas in their pancakes after we decided to substitute them in the pancakes WE were making since we forgot to check to see if we had any eggs...
Another favorite is Miss Gray's blog, The Locket, and I love the post: What's GURL Doing with That Pocket Knife? (http://locketkeeper.blogspot.com/2010/03/whats-gurl-doing-with-that-pocket-knife.html) In which Gray goes to a speech tournament, looks at a pocket knife, guards her words, and is defended by 'boy #1,' all in one day.
Also, Miss Hannah's blog "My Book of Days," and, as for favorite posts, where do I begin? Probably my very favorite is What about your Turban? (http://xian-na.blogspot.com/2010/03/what-about-your-turban.html) In which one is led to consider what our commitment is like and how MUCH we truly love God.
And of course, Miss Lauren's blog, Lauren Reavely, in which I have learned so much and be challenged by her thoughts and wisdom. One favorite post is "Crazy for Jesus in Crazy Times" (http://lauren-reavely.blogspot.com/2009/10/crazy-for-jesus-in-crazy-times.html) In which Lauren reminds us that nothing else should ever compete in our lives for the love Jesus gets.
I also love Miss Hosanna's blog, An Added Frye Blessing (http://anaddedfryeblessing.blogspot.com/) But I can't really tell you a favorite post. You'll just have to read it!
God bless, and hope you enjoy these posts as much as I do!
One of my favorites is
Miss Haley's blog Singing in the Rain, and a favorite post would have to be Pioneers, Pancakes, and Bananas (http://http://bigsisteroffour.blogspot.com/2010/01/pioneers-bananas-and-pancakes.html) in which Haley and I ponder *ahem* the deeper things in life, or rather, discuss whether the pioneers used bananas in their pancakes after we decided to substitute them in the pancakes WE were making since we forgot to check to see if we had any eggs...
Another favorite is Miss Gray's blog, The Locket, and I love the post: What's GURL Doing with That Pocket Knife? (http://locketkeeper.blogspot.com/2010/03/whats-gurl-doing-with-that-pocket-knife.html) In which Gray goes to a speech tournament, looks at a pocket knife, guards her words, and is defended by 'boy #1,' all in one day.
Also, Miss Hannah's blog "My Book of Days," and, as for favorite posts, where do I begin? Probably my very favorite is What about your Turban? (http://xian-na.blogspot.com/2010/03/what-about-your-turban.html) In which one is led to consider what our commitment is like and how MUCH we truly love God.
And of course, Miss Lauren's blog, Lauren Reavely, in which I have learned so much and be challenged by her thoughts and wisdom. One favorite post is "Crazy for Jesus in Crazy Times" (http://lauren-reavely.blogspot.com/2009/10/crazy-for-jesus-in-crazy-times.html) In which Lauren reminds us that nothing else should ever compete in our lives for the love Jesus gets.
I also love Miss Hosanna's blog, An Added Frye Blessing (http://anaddedfryeblessing.blogspot.com/) But I can't really tell you a favorite post. You'll just have to read it!
God bless, and hope you enjoy these posts as much as I do!
Friday, March 12, 2010
My 50th Post Needs to Have the Words of Some Wiser than I...
... So I have decided to dedicate this post to some of my favorite quotes. Some are funny, some profound, some serious, and some might not make sense. :) But I love these quotes! Do any of them speak to you? Do they make you smile? Think? Laugh? *Whispers* cry? Okay, I'm not expecting any of them to make you cry. But here are some quotes that God has been using either to encourage me recently, or to make me smile. Many of these are Bible verses, too. Here we go!
"If the going is really easy, beware. You may be headed down hill." ~Anonymous
"Hold everything in your fingers lightly... Otherwise it hurts when God has to pry your fingers open, to make you let go..." ~Corrie ten Boom
"If you would understand Christ's words fully and taste them truly, then you would strive to form your whole life after His example." ~Thomas a Kempis
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." ~Hebrews 13:8
"There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still." ~Betsie ten Boom
"I have made two important discoveries. The first, I am a very great sinner. The second, Jesus Christ is an even greater Savior." ~Isaac Newton
"How great must be the God we need! How much greater is our God then our greatest need!" ~Anonymous
"I was born in the morning, NOT last night!" ~Gracie (my five-year-old sister) when trying to be, for lack of a better term, 'ripped off' by Titus.
"He [Moses] regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw Him Who is invisible." ~ Hebrews 11:26-27
"Our hearts are restless, until they find their rest in You." ~St. Augustine, speaking to God
"You can never begin to live until you dare to die..." ~Anonymous
"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior." ~ Habakkuk 3:17-18
"God can heal a broken heart, but He has to have all the pieces." ~Anonymous
"Doing God's will is like dancing. When two people lead, nothing feels right. Once one notices that and lets the other lead, it's as if the two become one." ~Anonymous
"The remarkable thing about fearing God is that if you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else." ~Oswald Chambers
"The call to follow Jesus is by definition a costly call—we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. Whereas we often seek comfort, security, wealth, greatness, and power, Jesus calls us to forsake all this and trust in Him as the only path to life and joy." ~Brad Konemann
"If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" ~Jesus, Luke 9:23-25
And one of my all-time favorite Bible verses, and the best promise I can think of, is this:
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, NAILING IT TO THE CROSS." ~Colossians 2:13-14
I hope some of these encouraged you (or at least made you smile!)
Love,
Rachel
"If the going is really easy, beware. You may be headed down hill." ~Anonymous
"Hold everything in your fingers lightly... Otherwise it hurts when God has to pry your fingers open, to make you let go..." ~Corrie ten Boom
"If you would understand Christ's words fully and taste them truly, then you would strive to form your whole life after His example." ~Thomas a Kempis
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." ~Hebrews 13:8
"There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still." ~Betsie ten Boom
"I have made two important discoveries. The first, I am a very great sinner. The second, Jesus Christ is an even greater Savior." ~Isaac Newton
"How great must be the God we need! How much greater is our God then our greatest need!" ~Anonymous
"I was born in the morning, NOT last night!" ~Gracie (my five-year-old sister) when trying to be, for lack of a better term, 'ripped off' by Titus.
"He [Moses] regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw Him Who is invisible." ~ Hebrews 11:26-27
"Our hearts are restless, until they find their rest in You." ~St. Augustine, speaking to God
"You can never begin to live until you dare to die..." ~Anonymous
"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior." ~ Habakkuk 3:17-18
"God can heal a broken heart, but He has to have all the pieces." ~Anonymous
"Doing God's will is like dancing. When two people lead, nothing feels right. Once one notices that and lets the other lead, it's as if the two become one." ~Anonymous
"The remarkable thing about fearing God is that if you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else." ~Oswald Chambers
"The call to follow Jesus is by definition a costly call—we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. Whereas we often seek comfort, security, wealth, greatness, and power, Jesus calls us to forsake all this and trust in Him as the only path to life and joy." ~Brad Konemann
"If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" ~Jesus, Luke 9:23-25
And one of my all-time favorite Bible verses, and the best promise I can think of, is this:
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, NAILING IT TO THE CROSS." ~Colossians 2:13-14
I hope some of these encouraged you (or at least made you smile!)
Love,
Rachel
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Where is the Cross?
Recently in World Literature, we read the story "The Mansion" by Henry Van Dyke. For those of you not familiar with this work, it is about a very wealthy man named John Weightman. He gives, and gives, and gives to many different charity organizations. This seems noble enough, yes? Until one reads further and Mr. Weightman proudly states that he has given and 'invested' his gifts into organizations that he is sure will more than pay him back, through either prestige or admiration or respect or something of that sort. One night, he has a dream. He dreams that he died and went to Heaven. When he gets there, he meets many other people who are also preparing to see their mansions. Among them is a widow with several children whom she raised in purity and love; a nurse who took care of cancer patients; a teacher whose whole life was dedicated to training his pupils to grow to be strong men; a doctor who could have had a brilliant career but gave it all up to work as a medical missionary in Africa; a gorgeous girl who gave up her desire to marry so she could care for her hurting father; a poet who worked merely to cheer people; and a lady who, although an invalid most of her life, had but one goal that she accomplished-- giving others a sense courage and love from being around her; and others who had had the one pure ambition of pleasing Christ.
Although Mr. Weightman believes that the good these people did is of some impact, he is sure that none of them can compare to the great things HE has done. So one by one, all the people are shown their beautiful mansions. Finally, it is just Mr. Weightman who has not yet seen his mansion. When he reaches his 'mansion' he is sure that there has been an error. It is not so much a mansion as... well, as a hut. Here is the conversation that ensues:
"'But how could such a house be prepared for me,' cried the man [John Weightman] with a resentful tremor in his voice-- 'for me, after my long and faithful service? Is this a suitabel mansion for one so well known and devoted? Why is it so pitifully small and mean? Why have you not built it large and fair, like the others?'
'That is all the material you sent us.'
'What!'
'We have used all the material that you sent us,' repeated the Keeper of the Gate.
'Now I know that you are mistaken,' cried the man, with growing earnestness, 'for all my life long I have been doing things that must have supplied you with material. Have you not heard that I have built a school-house; the wing of a hospital; two-- yes, three-- small churches, and the greater part of a large one, the spire of St. Petro--'
The Keeper of the Gate lifted his hand.
'Wait,' he said; 'we know all these things. They were not ill done. But they were all marked and used as foundation for the name and mansion of John Weightman in the world. Did you not plan them for that?'
'Yes,' answered the man, confused and taken aback, 'I confess that I thought often of them in that way. Perhaps my heart was set upon that too much. But there are other things-- my endowment for the college-- my steady and liberal contributions to all the established charities-- my support of every respectable--'
'Wait,' said the Keeper of the Gate again. 'Were not all these carefully recorded on earth where they would add to your credit? They were not foolishly done. Verily, you ahve had your reward for them. Would you be paid twice?'
'No,' cried the man, with deepening dismay, 'I dare not claim that. I acknowledge that I considered my own interest too much. But surely not altogether. You have said that these things were not foolishly done. They accomplished some good in the world. Does not that count for something?'
'Yes,' answered the Keeper of the Gate, 'it counts in the world-- where you counted it. But it does not belong to your here...'"
How powerfully this speaks! Although I know that God does not need our money to build a mansion in Heaven, I really don't believe that this is the point of the story. The them of this story (stated as a question) is : What motivates you to do the things you do? What is the motivation for the actions you take? You could be the most giving, mature, kind, patient, and loving person in the world-- but if you were not doing these things for God's glory, aren't they useless? Isn't any work that we do apart from God's grace of no use? Think about it. Our patience, if used for our own glory and not for the glory of God who has changed our hearts, can quickly become something that makes us proud. Our giving could either be for God's glory, or for our own: so that we are praised, recognized, and shamelessly promoted.
Recently I've been challenged with this. Having character is not just doing what is right; it is doing what is right simply because I love the Lord with my whole heart. It is doing what is right not because anyone else will ever know about it, but because the Lord sees everything I do. It is doing right because I have my eyes fixed on Jesus and what He did on the cross.
I want to quote the final section of Mr. Weightman's dream before He awakens.
"'But how have I failed so wretchedly,' he asked, 'in all the purpose of my life? What could I have done better? What is it that counts here?'
'Only that which is truly given,' answered the bell-like voice. 'Only that good which is done for the love of doing it. Only those plans in whcih the welfare of others is the master thought. Only those labors in which the sacrifice is greater than the reward. Only those gifts in which the giver forgets himself.'"
If I am not willing to forget myself, follow Jesus, and take up my cross; I am not worthy to be His disciple. Anything that I don't do with my mind on Jesus' cross, I am doing wrong.
Although Mr. Weightman believes that the good these people did is of some impact, he is sure that none of them can compare to the great things HE has done. So one by one, all the people are shown their beautiful mansions. Finally, it is just Mr. Weightman who has not yet seen his mansion. When he reaches his 'mansion' he is sure that there has been an error. It is not so much a mansion as... well, as a hut. Here is the conversation that ensues:
"'But how could such a house be prepared for me,' cried the man [John Weightman] with a resentful tremor in his voice-- 'for me, after my long and faithful service? Is this a suitabel mansion for one so well known and devoted? Why is it so pitifully small and mean? Why have you not built it large and fair, like the others?'
'That is all the material you sent us.'
'What!'
'We have used all the material that you sent us,' repeated the Keeper of the Gate.
'Now I know that you are mistaken,' cried the man, with growing earnestness, 'for all my life long I have been doing things that must have supplied you with material. Have you not heard that I have built a school-house; the wing of a hospital; two-- yes, three-- small churches, and the greater part of a large one, the spire of St. Petro--'
The Keeper of the Gate lifted his hand.
'Wait,' he said; 'we know all these things. They were not ill done. But they were all marked and used as foundation for the name and mansion of John Weightman in the world. Did you not plan them for that?'
'Yes,' answered the man, confused and taken aback, 'I confess that I thought often of them in that way. Perhaps my heart was set upon that too much. But there are other things-- my endowment for the college-- my steady and liberal contributions to all the established charities-- my support of every respectable--'
'Wait,' said the Keeper of the Gate again. 'Were not all these carefully recorded on earth where they would add to your credit? They were not foolishly done. Verily, you ahve had your reward for them. Would you be paid twice?'
'No,' cried the man, with deepening dismay, 'I dare not claim that. I acknowledge that I considered my own interest too much. But surely not altogether. You have said that these things were not foolishly done. They accomplished some good in the world. Does not that count for something?'
'Yes,' answered the Keeper of the Gate, 'it counts in the world-- where you counted it. But it does not belong to your here...'"
How powerfully this speaks! Although I know that God does not need our money to build a mansion in Heaven, I really don't believe that this is the point of the story. The them of this story (stated as a question) is : What motivates you to do the things you do? What is the motivation for the actions you take? You could be the most giving, mature, kind, patient, and loving person in the world-- but if you were not doing these things for God's glory, aren't they useless? Isn't any work that we do apart from God's grace of no use? Think about it. Our patience, if used for our own glory and not for the glory of God who has changed our hearts, can quickly become something that makes us proud. Our giving could either be for God's glory, or for our own: so that we are praised, recognized, and shamelessly promoted.
Recently I've been challenged with this. Having character is not just doing what is right; it is doing what is right simply because I love the Lord with my whole heart. It is doing what is right not because anyone else will ever know about it, but because the Lord sees everything I do. It is doing right because I have my eyes fixed on Jesus and what He did on the cross.
I want to quote the final section of Mr. Weightman's dream before He awakens.
"'But how have I failed so wretchedly,' he asked, 'in all the purpose of my life? What could I have done better? What is it that counts here?'
'Only that which is truly given,' answered the bell-like voice. 'Only that good which is done for the love of doing it. Only those plans in whcih the welfare of others is the master thought. Only those labors in which the sacrifice is greater than the reward. Only those gifts in which the giver forgets himself.'"
If I am not willing to forget myself, follow Jesus, and take up my cross; I am not worthy to be His disciple. Anything that I don't do with my mind on Jesus' cross, I am doing wrong.
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