Of Prayers Requested and Answered

Alright ladies, I had a fabulous God-given day. And I would love to share part of it with you. :)

Number one, the weather was gorgeous! It was a beautiful day to be alive. :)

Number two.
Bryant has the freshman take Physical Science and the sophomores take Biology. Last year, one of the science teachers was an atheist (the one Rachel B. had). We had heard about some teachers that had to be hired before the school year started. I didn't think anything of it til I talked to my youth pastor tonight. He started telling me about some ladies they were going to interview to fill in a few roles at FSM and how one of them, who had an interview next week, called to cancel.
The reason?
She got a job teaching biology at Bryant High School. :)

Now, while it has been a fabulous day, I do have a request. While staying home alone with Kara and Connor, Kara accidentally forgot she wasn't wearing hotpads on her hands and touched a pan right out of the oven for a second. She dropped it and her fingers were turning red. We're not sure if she has a severe first degree burn or a mild second degree burn, but we're grateful that it's not infected so far and that we were able to reach our parents to make sure we were treating it right. If I could ask you girls to pray, a praise is that we knew what we were doing and a prayer is that my sister's fingers heal quickly.

So! What do you girls think? Having a good summer so far? Had any answers to prayer?

Chapter Thirteen

Ok!!! So CHAPTER 13!  I triple checked to make this was the right one.   Intro The intro starts with the fact that with Christ He will remove negative feelings if we ask him to.  A little personal lesson I have have been learning this month.  When I find myself angry or upset about a circumstance in life (which happens everyday) if I humble myself and pray the anger is removed.  If I am praying about a sadness I have the pain doesn't always go away but I always have a peace about it.  It never stops amazing me how fast God answers prayer!  I have seen that so much recently, in life changing things and in details of life.  Another thing that caught my attention was the feeling of being forsaken.  Even Christ felt it.  The poem Footprints in the Sand came to mind.
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,  "You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always.  But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.  Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied,   "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you."  -Mary Stevenson.
   Anytime we feel forsaken all we have to do is call on Him.  God is perfect He won't leave you.  So that means that it is your fault, unintentional or not.  We are the ones that always find ourselves drifting.  The disciples had the privilege of walking with Christ daily and they still failed time.  Be in rhythm with Christ. If you're not you will be able to tell in every aspect of your life.   9 Ways to Get Free of Negative Emotions 1. Refuse to be anxious about anything, knowing that God is in control of your life when you ask Him to be.  John 16:33 tells us that Christ has overcome the world already!  I love that!  The battle is already won. We will still have tribulations, but THE WAR IS WON!!!  "We don't need to be anxious about everything, we just need to pray about everything." 2.  Refuse to be RULED by anger.  Anger is the right-a-way for sin --> Satan.  "An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgressions" (Pro. 29:22).  It is so true.  When I look back at times when I was angry I see now the hurt in the others eyes or the pain I stirred up.  I was often so wrapped up in myself I didn't even see it, or even care.  That is something that if you don't catch will eat your relationships up an cause serious regret.  Even if you are forgiven you still live with the regret until you make things right with the Lord.  Once things are right you are free and God can continue His work in you.   3.  Refuse to be dissatisfied and always complaining.   Being dissatisfied only makes you uncomfortable.  It also makes everyone around you miserable and pushes them away.  If you are tempted to be dissatisfied remember Philippians 4:11, "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content".  It is possible to be joyful in every situation. Remember joy is not the same as happiness.  4.  Refuse to envious of what other people have.  Don't live in The Land of If Only instead focus on Jesus.  When you think about our Lord nothing compares and all the material things fade.   4.  Refuse to allow depression to rule your life. Psalm 6:8-9 God wants to lift you out of depression. 6.  Refuse to be bitter about anything.  When bitterness sets in it eats you away.  People notice a bitter soul.  Bitter people seem incapable of showing love.  When bitterness takes hold of your heart it also cuts of blessings.  Ask his to give you a spirit of thanksgiving and praise.   7.  Refuse feelings of rejection.  Always remember that god has not rejected you.  You can always turn to His open arms and find everything you need and more.  When God is the center of your life God will give you favor with other people.  8.  Refuse to be hopeless about anything, not matter how hopeless it may seem.   "Hopelessness is death to the soul.". Without hope there is no reason to live. Hopelessness drives people to do desperate things, things that can never bring them true hope.  Ask God for an attitude of gracefulness.   9.  Refuse to let fear rule your life.   Spending time in God's presence pushes fear out of our lives.  "If God does not have first place in our hearts, then we will be constantly fearing man."

Oh poop! (Excuse my French)

Ok so I was working on my post for tomorrow. I was soooooo excited about it because we talked about this stuff in Sunday school today and it tied right in!!! Well, I had made sure to turn to the right chapter but I forgot to move my bookmark. I came back to my room after giving Dad his Father's day gifts and got right to work... ON LAST WEEKS CHAPTER! By page three I was sure this stuff sounded familiar... So that's why I thought "Oh poop!". I was being good too... Well gotta go start the next chapter. I won't have as much to say since we didn't probably talk about the same thing in SS. Love y'all and MISS YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH! Yours Truly, Scatterbrained Rachel

Chapter Twelve: Lord, Help Me Make Wise Choices

As I was sitting in my room, reading the chapter and thinking about what I wanted to write in my blog post, I was listening to an old Disciple (awesome Christian band) CD and there was a line in a song that went like "Decisions will make you or break you." Thought that was cool and it goes right along with the chapter :)

For those of y'all who haven't read the chapter yet, it talks about making wise choices and asking God for wisdom. When we ask God for wisdom, He will help us to make righteous decisions in all things. All we have to do is ask for his counsel.

Ms. Jeanne's post last week was pretty detailed :) but I am going to just write a few paragraphs on my thoughts :)

~

On page 128, Stormi writes about Lot in the Bible (Genesis 13:10-13). Lot was looking for a place to live, and without consulting God, he chose a section of land. He thought it was a fantastic place to live; however, it turned out that he was surrounded by wicked people, and he ended up being captured. "He chose what he thought was best, rather than asking what God knew was best."
John 16:13: "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth..." Only God/Jesus/The Holy Spirit know the truth and can lead us into the truth; only He is wise, and only He knows what is best. When we act according to what we think we know, we are obeying and acting according to the flesh. Because the flesh is only out for worldly gain, our motivation for those actions is always wrong. We may be acting out of selfishness, hate, etc. And as we see in the example of Lot, there will be consequences for making foolish and rash decisions. Decisions will make you or break you.

It gets hard when we want to do things that we clearly realize are wrong in the eyes of God. That's the flesh! That's Satan speaking! But fortunately God is more powerful; it's SOOO important that we ask God for wisdom as well as strength so that we can act in a Godly manner as we resist the temptation to sin.

I love on page 132 where it says "If you make it a habit to always ask God for wisdom, then when you have to make quick decisions with no time to ask anyone anything, you will make a wise one because of the wisdom God has placed in you."
We need to get in this habit now because as we are starting to get older, more often we will be faced with those kind of situations when we need to make a decision.... FAST. I can think of several times when this happened to me, but I didn't think to ask God for wisdom and I ended up making a decision that probably wasn't the best.

The list on page 129, "Ten ways to walk in wisdom," has several things we can do to grow in wisdom; I love number 3: "Bring God into everything you do." Y'all, if we could bring God into everything we do.... oh my gravy, our lives would be SO different. And awesome. Maybe just keep that in mind this week, to bring God into everything you do. Ask His opinion on stuff; talk to him when something goes wrong; praise him for the small things; instead of talking to myself (LOL i do that alllll the time), talk to God! He is always there! Seek His wisdom in everything; don't be afraid to ask for help. Decisions will make you or break you, and I'd rather not break.

Keep This In Mind!

Hey girls! (and Ms. Jeanne of course) This morning I was walking my dogs and I thought "Ah! Abi is leaving for France today!" So just remember to keep her in y'all's prayers! :)

Sanctus Real bus fire...

Hi girls,
I just wanted to ask you to send up a quick prayer for the band Sanctus Real. On Saturday night their bus caught on fire and burned to the ground. Thankfully everyone is alright, but they lost phones, laptops, clothes, personal items, etc. Thanks for much for praying-I know the guys appreciate it!
Love,
      Bethany

Here's a link if you'd like to see pictures.

http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2012/06/03.SANCTUS%20REALS%20TOUR%20BUS%20BURNS%20TO%20THE%20GROUND%20EVERYONE%20IS%20OK.asp

Chapter 11--Find Your Purpose for my Life

Chapter 11 Lord, Help me Find Your Purpose for my Life

This chapter was about how the Lord has a purpose for each of our lives. I believe that once we embrace that, it will transform how we see and do life. It is the people who have no reason to live for anything that get lost in doing life and just plain give up. The Christian life is hard but the Lord is calling us to Him. Knowing that He is sovereign and that we do have free will and we do have choices to make every day  gives our life meaning. What we do with that freedom is another story. If we keep our eyes on Him and base our actions on His plan, He will carry us.

I love this chapter and this message b/c I like to think of how God designed each of us to be different, unique and made for His glory. It is in finding out what he has created us to be, to love, to pursue that gives us joy.

Pg. 117- “I want you to be certain that God has a plan and a high purpose for your life so that you can move into it right away.”

At your age, you may be thinking….I have no idea what that looks like. Well, now is a good time to evaluate what you are good at and maybe passionate about. That may come in time. Knowing that helps us to use that passion for Him. How cool is that? And for each of us, it is different. I love that. It is easy to compare ourselves to others but God does not want us to do that. We are set apart and fearfully and wonderfully made to be “me” not “them.

Everyone has a purpose:

Pg. 118- “When we don’t become who we think we’re supposed to be, it makes us critical of ourselves and our lives. It causes us to be insecure, oversensitive, judgmental, frustrated, and unfulfilled.”

We don’t need to be like everyone else. I look at people who are made for evangelism, those who take numerous mission trips, those who rally around a cause and bring others to that cause, those who are popular, those who have bigger houses and make more money, those who can preach and teach, those who like to care for little kids or old people, those who can make a joyful noise, etc and realize I am not one of those people. As much as I might want to be Katie Davis or a Chris Tuttle or someone who has a high paying job or someone who could even be in a choir (haha-that would NOT be me) I know that God’s purpose for my life is NOT in the things I think I should be or do, it is in exactly what He has purposed for me. I loved homeschooling, I love being a mom and wife, I love using my photography and giving it away, I love being a champion for marriage, I love mentoring you girls. God has given me the gifts that He sees for me, not what I think I should be.

Ask God to Bless the Work you do:

Pg. 119- “Whatever work you are doing, even if it is only a temporary job, you want to do it well, and you want it to be successful. If you are a student, studying is your job. …… When the work you do is good, it makes you feel good about yourself and your life. “

I say do it all with excellence, not perfection. Do your best at all you do. Setting yourself up for depression and stress when you are disappointed that you did not do it perfectly is unhealthy. Do your work as unto the Lord.

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men

Security is knowing who you are and where you are going:

Pg. 120 “Sometimes the reward is in the result”

Pg. 121 “When you know you are the Lord’s, and you trust where He is taking you, you feel very secure.”

I want all of you girls to feel secure in yourselves. It is critical, esp in the teen years when it is so easy to compare yourselves to others. Don’t give in to Satan’s lies!!

We are all called to help others:

Pg. 121 “Prayer is the greatest gift” (you can give to others and to God)

I have just now gotten into a season of really reaching out to others. I have really focused a lot on my kids with most of my energy for the past 20 years. I made sure that community service was always a part of their value system and put that into our homeschooling life. But now with all this extra time on my hands I am seeing that giving of myself to others is becoming a bigger part of my life. That is not b/c I did not want to, it is b/c I did not have the time I do now. I tell people that are down or depressed to do some volunteer work and get out of themselves. Giving to others gives us a real sense of satisfaction and purpose. I am excited that I shared that with my kids and that now I can give it more effort. There is a season and time for everything. I want my life to count. Raising my kids has been a wonderful season. I am in a new season and I want it to count!

Surrendering your dreams:

Pg. 122 “If  you have a dream that is not of God, when you surrender it to Him, He will take away your desire for it and give you what He desires for you. “

I like this b/c God keeps us straight. He knows what is best for us. We can go our own way and suffer the consequences or we can follow him right from the start by seeking Him thru prayer, counsel, circumstances and scripture and He will make our paths straight. Doesn’t that seem to be a less  painful way in the long run?

Finding your purpose:

Pg. 123: “1 Cor 7:7 for each on has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. “

This is one reason we did the personality profiles. To see that we are all unique. We generally fit into one of four categories but we each have our own uniqueness about us. We are like snowflakes. None are alike. That is why we are each so special in our own way. Embrace that!!! If we all had the same body and clothing and money, would not life and people be boring?

To conclude, the questions on page 125 make us ponder. What would you like to do in your life? Maybe you have no idea (that would be my guess b/c of your age) but know that is a good question to be thinking about as you enter sophomore year and start to think about what is next after high school. Living in your strengths and passions is the best scenario. We cannot all do that for one reason or another but see if you can find what gives you joy. That will help with career/school decision or just as a hobby to help reduce stress or bring you joy or bring glory to God. My photography is not my job but I can use it for Him. I was able to shoot a wedding for free when it would have cost them over $1500.00.  That brings me joy.

Let me know what you got out of the chapter even if it is only one sentence. That works for me!!! It is not about doing your homework, it is about how you are growing in the Lord and hopefully reading each chapter in this book will give you stuff to think on, in the midst of these lazy days of summer. Keep pressing on. My encouragement is to Shine your Light and to be Set Apart!!

Tomorrow is the First Day of our Chapter Discussion!

Cannot wait to hear from everyone!