Set apart

I love Fall! It is my favorite time of the year. I love buying school supplies, playing in the leaves, and carving pumpkins. The Fall Festivals are awesome and I cannot wait for the holidays to arrive.

I feel like I have been in a rut the past few years around this time of the year. I hate that. I guess it is mainly due to my own self pity. Only those who are close to me know until now have known that I have been unable to bare children. There are so many things to do this time of year that mainly include spending time with your kids. I have felt empty inside.

However, this year I am choosing to fix that. I feel alive again. I am looking forward to all of the opportunities even if I do not have children to call my own. I do have children to buy presents for and take to festivals at present. I choose to enjoy the present and not fret about the future to come.

I know God has set Philip and I apart from the rest of our friends who have children. Most of the time I just want to fit in rather than stick out, but I have to remember I am different for a reason. I searched for the words "set apart" in my You Version iPad Bible. When the results came in I was amazed how many references came up. Over 25 references returned and of all of the passages that returned, one passage stood out to me.

First Peter starts out with a greeting/background of Peter to the temporary residence of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. These believers were being persecuted for their beliefs and had left their homes due to it. In 1st Peter 1:2 we see:

"According to the foreknowledge
of God the Father and set apart
by the Spirit for obedience and
[for] sprinkling with the blood of
Jesus Christ.
May grace and peace be
multiplied to you."

This is the verse that is right before Peter writes about our "New Hope" or a "Living Hope" in Jesus Christ. He continues on in praise to "God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..." (Verse 3) who has given us "According to His great mercy" new birth into a living hope in Christ. Peter goes on to remind us in verse 4 that we have an inheritance that is "imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading". I believe in the mix of it all I too easily loose sight of the bigger picture. I want my "inheritance" here on earth, but as I see here it is "kept in heaven" for me.

As cool as Fall is and as happy as children make me, the real reason for my dismay is I'm homesick. I need to stop focusing on my temporary residency on this earth and start praying for those I want to share my inheritance with in Heaven.

As I am writing this I gleen some help from a post from a fellow You Version user. He/She known as "RYB" closes their post with this prayer and I feel I should as well.

"Father,
Thank you for the living hope we have through your son, Jesus Christ. I pray that you bless every person that will read this post. I especially pray for those who are in the depths of despair and at the cusp of throwing in the towel. Meet them and intervene in their lives, don't allow them to give up. We thank you that you are GOD and you are over the flood.

In Jesus name,
Amen."

Sick of being sick!

Do you ever feel like you catch every cold that comes down the pike? That has been me this fall/winter. It could be the weather, the people I am around on a regular basis (mostly children), my allergies, a combination of the three and my personal habits. However, I hope that my immune system is growing stronger.

In the same way, God wants us to grow stronger. It may take some rough times to get you to the point of growth and strength. In Acts 20:19 Luke reminds us of Paul's trials and how his endurance has aided him.

I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. Acts 20:19 NLT

Peter gives us hope of eternal life in
1 Peter 1:6 NLT -

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.

In reading this I am reminding myself that being sick and trials are a part of our human existance. It is easy to praise God when all is going well, but I have to ask myself "Do I love God even in the trials (the valley) or just when I am on the mountain top? I am currently not so sure if I like the answer.

Security Check

Do you ever lay in bed and no matter what you do your brain will not shut down? If you hear even the slightest sound your eyes fly wide open until your heart rate falls to a somewhat steady beat? You lie in bed telling yourself "I will be fine" and "it was probably just the dog outside" or a "random creaking sound from the house". Are we afraid? Panic stricken? Too many horror movies perhaps?

The Bible reminds me that my security is found in the Lord. Worldly possessions will pass away, but if we believe in Him we shall be saved.

“Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid." Jeremiah 46:27

Won't You Be My love?

Several weeks ago I was putting together a slide show of pictures in the wee hours of the morning. Every year for Vacation Bible School I put pictures rotating to music with the help of my husband and his Mac Book. He usually picks the first song and if there is a need for a second one I get to pick (trust me there always is). This year I had so many pictures that took up so much memory the file was over 1gigabite in space! The computer was locking up due to the size of the file and we had to try many things to get it to work.

In the middle of all of this, I needed to pick out a second song to wrap up the slide show. My attitude was shot by this point. All I wanted to do was to pick out a song and be done with it. However, the perfectionist inside of me took hold. I opened up iTunes and started scrolling through the thousands of songs I have in Philip and I's library. Several months ago I had purchased Philip Mercy Me's new album "The Generous Mr. Lovewell". I hadn't listed to it much, but I thought I would scroll through it and preview some songs to see what I find. Then, I found the one in track number 10.

At the end of the CD sometimes it is easy to get overlooked. However, this song spoke volumes to me. It convicted me and challenged me unlike I had been for a long time. Here are the lyrics:

[Verse 1:]
When you fall asleep tonight
In your warm and cozy room
Know that I'm awake
And I've got no shelter and no food

[Pre-Chorus 1:]
I am not alone
My friends are broke and lost
Looking for someone to lead them to my cross
I need your help, I need your help

[Chorus 1:]
Won't you be My voice calling
Won't you be My hands healing
Won't you be My feet walking into a broken world
Won't you be My chain-breaker
Won't you be My peacemaker
Won't you be My hope and joy
Won't you be My Love

[Verse 2:]
The other side of the world
She is just a few days old
A helpless little girl
With no family of her own

[Pre-Chorus 2:]
She is not to blame for the journey she is on
Her life is no mistake
Won't you lead her to My cross?

[Chorus 1:]
Won't you be My voice calling
Won't you be My hands healing
Won't you be My feet walking into a broken world
Won't you be My chain-breaker
Won't you be My peacemaker
Won't you be My hope and joy
Won't you be My Love

[Bridge:]
To those I call My own
To those I've set aside
As spotless without blame
The chosen ones My bride

[Chorus 2:]
We will be Your voice calling
We will be Your hands healing
We will be Your feet walking into a broken world
We will be Your chain-breaker
We will be Your peacemaker
We will be Your hope and joy
We will be Your love

In our daily grind and rush to go everywhere at once we forget that we are God's chosen people. He has chosen us to show his love daily. Are we? I am as guilty as anyone for not doing what we are commanded to do in God's Word. However, that is no excuse. So my point in all of this is to take a minute today and help someone. It could be anything, even something small. Don't be afraid to show God's love through your actions.

 

Something new & out of my comfort zone!



Hello people of the world! I can't believe I am writing a blog. I pray this will not be filed in my life section "things I start and don't stick with". Who knows how many things I have stored in that file!

My main reason in starting a blog is to have a tool or an outlet to express my hopes, fears, praises, downers, etc. I love so many things and want to express them. Most of all, I pray my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be glorified and lifted up though this. I know I am a young preacher's wife and I have a lot to learn. However, I hope through this wonderful tool I can grow along side of other pastors wives, lay people, and children of God.

I firmly believe we are all on this earth for a divine purpose. I pray this blog will be a part of mine. Please follow me and read my posts. I am also on twitter and you can see my tweets to the right. I pray that you will hold me accountable if you feel I stray from the Word and I hope I can do likewise. Know that you are in my prayers even if I don't know who you are. Know God loves you and if you want to know more feel free to ask me.

Blessings,
Rebecca