Dressing in my armor daily!

I have been praying this verse every morning before I get out of bed since the first week of January. I'm really enjoying it. And once I get up I feel totally prepared to handle what my day has in store.

The Armor of God - Ephesians 6:10-18

 ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

This verse totally is applicable to life. Look at the descriptions below...
 (The notes below are from my Mom's retreat)

•  Helmet of salvation: the battle begins in your mind, pray to guard your mind
•  Breastplate of righteousness: heart = emotions, pray to guard against our emotions
•  Belt of truth: God's word helps us combat false beliefs, pray to guard against false beliefs
•  Sandals of peace: be a peacemaker, pray against chaos
•  Shield of faith: Knowing God goes before us, he's our protector, pray against worry and anxiety
•  Sword of the spirit: master one verse at a time, pray to guard us against the enemy
•  Pray in the spirit: pray without ceasing!

We CANNOT win the battle without God! And everyday is a battle whether you want to believe it or not.

Part One: Abandonment

**Please note-today starts a 5 part series I will be writing on things I learned from Shattered Dreams. **

 The first step to finding true joy in your Christian life is abandonment. The dictionary defines the word as "giving up control or influence to another person."

"The search to discover God requires that we abandon ourselves - that we give up control of what matters most, that we place our confidence in Someone we cannot manage." -Larry Crabb

The three items from that quote I found most important were : abandon, give up, and place our confidence. It's easier said than done.

Abandonment is no easy task. It requires that we give up control. If you've been reading this blog any amount of time you know I struggle with giving up control. 

Dreams. We all have them. And it's not wrong to have them.  But how do you feel about abandoning all your dreams. It will be for a set of greater dreams. What dreams do you have? Could you give them up?

To me, the most important part is that abandonment has me place my confidence in God. I place my life in His mighty hands. And I am willing to place my dreams, thoughts, and confidence in His hands too. 

What about you? Are you willing?

Rules, regulations, and practices

I took on the Radical challenge almost 2 months ago. And one of the challenges is to read the Bible everyday. I'm doing a chronological plan through the You Version Bible iPhone app. It's been pretty good so far. I really enjoy reading all about God.

Right now, I'm in Leviticus. You know, the most interesting book of the Bible. HA! It's all about rules, regulations, practices, processes, etc. It's amazing to me how detailed God is in His instructions. Look at this (it's basically how to be forgiven for your sins)

The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands—“‘If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.  He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the LORD. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before the LORD.  Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and carry it into the tent of meeting. He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary. The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering—all the fat that is connected to the internal organs, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys— just as the fat is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the internal organs and the intestines— that is, all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp to a place ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it there in a wood fire on the ash heap. 

Leviticus 5:1-12

All I have to say is that I'm so grateful for Jesus. I don't think I could kill an animal as a sacrifice. 

What are your thoughts when you read this? I am thinking about taking some seminary classes just to have more of a theological background.

Surprises

I'm working through reading through the whole Bible in one year. I'm following a chronological plan. It's been great so far. As I was reading through Job verse 9 really popped out at me. So I looked at it in several different translations.

"After all, he's famous for great and unexpected acts; there's no end to his surprises." Job 5:9 MSG
 
"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." Job 5:9 NIV

"He does great things that we cannot understand and miracles that we cannot count." Job 5:9 GW


 "Doing great things, and there is no searching. Wonderful, till there is no numbering." Job 5:9 YLT

What I really saw through these verse was that God does things all the time for us. But we need to take the time to see them. I have missed seeing God. Have you?

Today, I chose to be surprised by God. And to see Him in the little things that I typically miss and give Him all the glory. What will you chose today? Try to see His surprises for a week. He will show you - maybe in a sun set or in the eyes of a child.

If anything remember this - "After all, he's famous for great and unexpected acts; there's no end to his surprises." Job 5:9 MSG

My God in Everything...

I have been so busy the last few weeks. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. But I will be caught up soon and back to my normal posting. But my grandfather just sent me this video and it gave me chills. So I had to share with you all. This is an 11 year old boy describing Jesus in every chapter of the bible. Enjoy and get pumped up - Our God Reigns!

Verses on my heart

Hey friends-
I want to be held accountable for the scripture on my heart. So I'm posting all the verses I memorized this year. Quiz me sometime and we will see how I do :) I cannot stress enough how important it is to memorize scripture. In times of trouble, the words of God will come to mind. These particular verses were really helpful to me this year. Check them out!

Hebrews 12:1-3
John 15:4,5,7
Psalm 90:12
Ephesians 5:15-16
Matthew 6:33
Galatians 2:20
Colossians 1:27b
Philippians 4:13
Matthew 6:19-21
1 Corinthians 4:2
Philippians 2:2-4
Philippians 4:11-13
Hebrews 13:5
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Psalm 139:13-15
1 Peter 3:1-4
Philippians 4:6-8

What words have you memorized on your heart?

Infinite Grace

Yes, that's me-i'm pretty tired! But i'm holding a ticket to the Women of Faith conference I went to with my mom this weekend. It was absolutely amazing! God's timing is so perfect. The topic was Infinite Grace and what better time to show that to me. Below are some notes from the conference that really stuck out to me. My favorite speaker was Patsy Clairmont. You can check out some of her stuff on YouTube.com. Also she has a blog and you can visit it-http://www.patsyclairmont-blog.com/ She is just a REAL women of true faith. Also, before I go into my notes I wanted to tell you about a series Andy just finished this week called "The Fives Things God uses to Grow your Faith". Today's sermon was on Pivotal Circumstances. I encourage you to watch the sermon http://www.fivethingsgoduses.com/pivotal Andy even mentions Ashly and Denny. I now see some good in that situation-God has used their story to touch over 20,000 people this Sunday. Praise the Lord!

OK, so I know you are ready to see what I learned this weekend! Here it goes-
The Pre-Conference "I Second that Emotion"
This was all about how woman have so many emotions. And we can't just wear them on our sleeves. We should be reminded that "Emotions don't have a brain they are only feelings." Patsy did a visual aid by using tangled up rubber bands. Sometimes as women we wake up all tangled. We must keep God on our minds at all times. Satan is out to devour us and he will get all up in your thoughts. The enemy comes into our thoughts to condemn you. As Christian women must be in the Word of God so we can be protected. Jan, another one of the speakers, spoke right to me as she said these words-"God has not forgotten you". Also, I was reminded that "we must do what we know to do and then trust God with the rest." What a concept-in good times it's so easy but in the low parts of life-that's when it's hard! Anyway, it was all very encouraging!

The Conference
It started off with some wonderful praise and worship from the worship team. One of the songs spoke to me and I have the words below. It's a beautiful song-so look it up when you can.

Rescue

You are the source of life, I cant be left behind
No one else will do, I will take hold of you
I need you Jesus, I need you Jesus
My heart is yours for life, I need your help in mine
No one else will do, I put my trust in you
I need you Jesus to come to my rescue where else could I go
There's no other name by which I am saved-capture me with grace
I will follow you, I will follow you
You are the source of life-I cant be left behind
No one else will do father, I will take hold of you
I need you Jesus to come to rescue where else could I go
There's no other name by which I am saved-capture me with grace
I will follow you, this world has nothing for me
This world has nothing for me, this world has nothing for me
This world has nothing for me this world has nothing for me,
I need you Jesus to come to rescue where else could I go
There's no other name by which I am saved- capture me with grace
Cause I need you Jesus to come to my rescue where else could I go
There's no other name by which I am saved capture me with grace
Capture me with grace, capture me with grace
I will follow you, I will follow you
This world has nothing for me, this world has nothing for me
I will follow you!

Now, doesn't that song just sum it all up for you! I need you Jesus to come to my rescue. That's exactly what I have been crying out. And here it is in a worship song. Max Lucado also spoke and he was great! My favorite quote of his was this- "John 3:16 is 26 words of hope beginning with God and ending with life." What a beautiful summary of truth! The next day we were taught about true grace. We all have weaknesses. And God will meet you in your weakness and fill in the gaps. My weakness is anxiety, fear, busyness, and lots more. But God always finds a way to show me a verse or speak to me through a friend. What is your weakness? Will you allow God to take over? If you feel abandoned-know that you are not! For encouragement you can read Isaiah 41.

To sum it all up-it's like my soul was refreshed and I needed that! I hope you enjoyed my summary. I will leave you with a video of "Redeemer" by Nicole C. Mullen. I hadn't really listened to the words lately. I found this video with the words right on it. For me, this was a reminder of just how BIG God is. He knows every hair on my head and every thought in my mind. Praise be to HIM!

Thanks for reading! Sorry for such a LONG post-I had a lot to share with you all :)

Tell me how was your weekend???

In HIS mighty grip-
Rachael

God works in mysterious ways

So as you all may know I have been very angry with God about the whole situation with Ashly and Denny. I have only talked to God about it once and will again when I'm ready. But I find it funny-that today I open up my daily devotional and this is what I get...

(Wow, I'm always reminded how God works in mysterious ways-he speaks to us in many different ways)

How to Deal with Your Anger
by Rick Warren


If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Don’t give the Devil a chance. Ephesians 4:26-27 (GNT)

*** *** *** ***

Conflict happens. There’s no avoiding it, and so there’s no avoiding anger in your life.

In fact, ignoring or denying your anger will simply make things worse. When conflict comes up, deal with it head on and quickly. Don’t let it fester. It’s a big mistake to think, “Let’s ignore it and hope it will go away.”

The Bible teaches, in Ephesians 4:26-27 (GNT), “If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Don't give the Devil a chance.”

Some people are surprised by this verse; they ask, “Is it ever right for a Christian to get angry?” Yes.

How do I know it’s all right for a Christian to get angry? Well, let me ask you this: Did Jesus ever get angry? Yes!

Did Jesus ever sin? No. Evidently there are times when anger is appropriate.

In Ephesians, we’re told, “If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin.” This implies there is an anger that leads you into sin, but there’s also an anger that doesn’t lead you into sin. There’s a right way to get angry and there’s a wrong way to get angry.

How do you know the difference?

The wrong kind of anger is anger that is not resolved quickly. It’s becoming angry, and then just staying angry all day and then the next day and the next. The Phillips translation of this Ephesians verse says, “Never go to bed angry.”

That will keep a few of us up sometimes! If you said, “In our marriage, we’ll never go to bed angry,” you might resolve problems a little more quickly.

Anger that is not dealt with turns into resentment and then into bitterness. Bitterness is always sin. Resentment is always sin. Those emotions are always wrong.

The Bible says to deal with anger quickly. Don’t let it hang on. Resolve conflict as quickly as possible.

Hope

Today was definitely the saddest day of my life. I have experienced death before but to see that small grave was more than I could handle. I still haven't been able to truly process what happened today. All I know is, Brooks was and is being rocked by Jesus. What a lucky baby! To never have to experience hurt, sadness, pain at all. Brooks will grow in the presence of our Lord. As we go through this valley, I really wonder what people do that don't have Jesus. We are able to cling to the words of our Savior. I haven't been able to really finish talking with the Lord. I know that I will have to be on my knees crying out to God. I just don't understanding why he took Brooks. I know we won't know the answer until we are in Heaven asking Him. But, I do know that we can cling to the cross to get us through this tough time. When I was in Cambodia, we taught the kids about Joseph. We taught them about how no matter where Joseph was, he trusted God. So I guess I need to learn from my own lesson and trust the Lord in this valley. In this difficult time, I want to be a light to Ashly and Denny. I don't have any words to say but I can just stand beside them. I was looking around at some words for comfort and I found some amazing verses. I thought I might share them with you...

Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit

Psalm 37:39
The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble

Psalm 46:1-2
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

Isaiah 40:18-31
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

What verses do you cling to during a difficult season?

True accountability

I don't know if anyone reads my blog on a consistent basis. And thats ok, but it is weird for me to write to myself. So I don't know how much longer I will do this blog thing :) Anyway, I had a great morning devotional and I wanted to share it. Hope whoever is reading has a GREAT day!
Love-RW

A Mutual Dependency
by Rick Warren

I mean that I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you. Romans 1:12 (NCV)

*** *** *** ***

In authentic Christian fellowship people should experience a mutual dependency. This mutuality is the art of giving and receiving; it’s depending on each other.

The Bible says, “The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part” (1 Corinthians 12:25 MSG).

Mutuality is the heart of fellowship: building reciprocal relationships, sharing responsibilities, and helping each other. Paul said, “I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you” (Romans 1:12 NCV).

All of us are more consistent in our faith when others walk with us and encourage us. The Bible commands mutual accountability, mutual encouragement, mutual serving, and mutual honoring.

Over fifty times in the New Testament we’re commanded to do different tasks for “one another” and “each other.” The Bible says, “Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:19 NIV).

You are not responsible for everyone in the body of Christ, but you are responsible to them. God expects you do whatever you can to help them.

God speaks

Alright, it's Friday thats always a good thing. Actually it's a great thing. What are your plans for the weekend? Gregory and Joel will be building a railing around our back deck. I'm really exited about that! I will be spending time with Candace. And also attempting to make sofrito by myself for the first time! Just in case you don't know what it is, i will tell you :) Sofrito is a Spanish seasoning used in rice, chicken, beef, and other dishes. It consists of garlic, peppers, onions, ham, and other secret ingredients (sorry my lips are sealed).

My thought for the day is this: "Getting to know God isn't as difficult as it may seem. It is a simple matter of reading the Bible." That is so true. As a small group we have been reading the Bible and it's so amazing to see how God speaks to everyone in a different way.

Ok so I have two questions for those of you reading: (1) any big plans this weekend? (2) what is God saying to you?

Love always-
R