Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Book Review: Radical by David Platt


I just finished reading this book. And I am just in awe. What a life changing read it was! God's timing was perfect on me reading this right before Cambodia - because the authors words got me fired up to be going on a mission trip!

David Platt made some very bold statements that I agreed with in the book. He discussed how we have created Jesus to fit into our culture and not stayed true to who He is in the Bible. Here's a quote from the book - "We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist Him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. We are molding Jesus into our image." And here's another one of my favorite quotes - "We've missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable. We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves."

He also talks boldly about missions making a point that we cannot say we aren't "called" to missions. Because Jesus' last words to his disciples was "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" Matthew 28:19. Jesus told us to go and tell others about Him.

Just to sum up the whole book, i'll tell you the end. The book ended with the "Radical experiment. It is basically 5 action items for a whole year.
1. Pray for the entire world
2. Read through the entire Word
3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
4. Spend your time in another context
5. Commit your life to a multiplying community

I started this challenge on 6.27.11 - more to come on this! Be radical for Jesus!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Cambodia update

Hey everyone,
Wanted to send an update to my supporters to fill you in on what's been happening with our team. Things are going great. God has definitely put together an amazing team. We had our team retreat this past weekend. We relaxed at a family lake house, shared stories, and bonded together as a true family.

We also broke the 21 day Daniel fast together as a team. The 21 days was challenging. The spiritual warfare was rough on everyone. But we persevered through and God taught each of us a lot. Specifically, I learned that I was not fully trusting God. I was in a constant state of anxiety and worry. I have released that and I am starting to feel much better. God is so incredible. I bow amazed at His feet.

Now we are just 24 days away from leaving. I do have a few prayer requests. And as always, thank you so much to all my supporters. I feel completely overwhelmed with love and support from my family and friends. And in the next update, (sent right before we leave) I will have a sentence about each day so you can be praying specifically. Love to you all!

1. Please pray for my team to continue to keep God first and relay on him through the 24 days we have left to prepare for Cambodia.
2. Please pray for my husband, Greg and my son, Finn. It's going to be very hard to leave them.
3. Please pray for myself and my co-leader Jon as we lead this amazing group of people to Cambodia.
4. Please pray for all that needs to be wrapped up before we go. 24 days and counting!

And last but not least, if you still want to give financially, you can either donate online (instructions below) or mail me a check made out to "North Point Ministries" 3955 New Salem Ct, Cumming, GA 30040.

To support financially …
1. Go to www.GOglobalX.org
2. Click on “Give” in the top right corner
3. Select “Cambodia-Battambang” in the Country dropdown
4. Select “Cambodia-Battambang Orphanage 7/21/2011” in the Trip drop down
5. Type "Rachael Walkup" in the Individual section

Monday, June 13, 2011

Lessons Learned

My weekly lesson learned last week was through the eyes of a child, my son. As usual right! I am on the Daniel fast with my Cambodia team. And it is amazing how clear your mind gets in this fast.

Anyway, we were out for a family run. And I was on my cool down. I was pushing Finn in the jogging stroller. He was just talking away to himself. Very cute, by the way!

All of the sudden he starts pointing and shouting "Birds, birds!" He loves birds and planes at this stage in his life. I looked down at him and his big excited eyes were lit up! And what a huge bright smile was on his face. Right then, I looked up to the sky and saw a whole flock of birds in formation. They were beautiful.



The cool thing is just as I saw them, I heard a voice in my head say "Look at those birds and remember Matthew 6:26-27 - stop worrying, my child!"

Here's the verse - " 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6:26-27

Isn't God awesome?! I had been worrying about a lot of things that will be happening over the next 2 months. Even though I might still worry, I know that I can give those worries to God. Ultimately, he will take care of me, you, or your problems - if you bring them to his mighty hands. 

Friday, June 10, 2011

Love grows


The love I feel for my son is just amazing. It grows more and more everyday. Sometimes, I just can't believe that he was knot together and my womb and given to me by God. What a blessing a child is!

Along with the blessing comes the exhaustion. Physical and mental exhaustion. When they are a baby you wonder if they are sleeping and eating enough. Then they start crawling and you wonder what all they will get into. Then they start walking and you wonder where they can get to. And now, they are running and you wonder if he can get away from you. Training a child in the way he/she will go is a very difficult task.

Did you know God cares? I used to think there was no need to pray about Finn eating or sleeping. God had much bigger things to worry with. In the last several months, I've discovered that God does care. Actually He cares a lot. In fact, I'm 100% positive that being a mom has made me much closer to God.

What I'm trying to say here is it took me almost a year and a half to realize that God wants me to pray about the little things. All those little things add up to a big thing. If I'm anxious or worried all the time, I'm not a good mom. So, when in doubt...PRAY. God wants to hear all about it. And he will give you the wisdom on what to do. After all, he is the best Daddy ever!

Heavenly father, today I pray for all the moms out there that need your guidance. Whether it's feeding, sleeping, training, discipline, or something else - we need YOUR wisdom. You are the only one who can truly instruct us to instruct our little ones in the way they should go. Thank you for blessing us. Thank you for pulling us close May we always feel you directing our steps. I continue to pray for more of you and less of me. AMEN!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Summer 2011

The picture above is from June 3rd, 2010. Hard to believe how much this little boy has changed in a year. His sweet soul has taught me so much about life.

This summer, Finn will be staying home with Greg. What an experience for them both! They will be making tons of special memories between father and son. And summer starts this week. What a fun summer it will be!

So...what are your plans for the summer?

And last but not least here's a recent picture of Finn...