Wow!! It's been a while since I blogged with pictures of my daily life. Time has been flying by so quickly it's crazy to think about!! These past couple months have been so amazing! God is so good and His blessings never cease! I've never felt closer with my Jesus and pray as time goes on, that our relationship will grow more deep and precious. I have had the best encouragement and uplifting words from my Christian friends ( My dear brothers and sisters in Christ ). . . I thank each one of you for being there for me and challenging me to be a better Christian..
Before I go on sharing photos that I have taken randomly throughout the past two months (Most of them you may recognize from Instagram), I just wanted to share this song by Hilsong. You can play it as you scroll down and look at that photos I have shared. :)
Stand In Awe - Hillsong
* * *
A few drawing I did in my free time in September =)
2:00 a.m. photos...gotta love um ;)
<3 This girl <3
My Best friend..!
Working off two hours sleep there :/
~ You always make me smile ~
It's that time again.. lots and lots of Soup
~ I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. ~ (Psalm 27:13)
Better than all this world
Better than all I know Better than life itself Your love is All that I have is Yours All that I'm living for All that I need is You Lord
You are better than life Than anything in this world
You are all that I want In everything You are good I stand in awe of all that You are I stand in awe of You
Everything unto You Everything held by You All of our hope is in You Jesus Nothing compares to You Nothing will take Your place All of our trust is in You Lord
Today, I'll share with y'all a true story. ;) It starts out a little sad but I'll give a hint ( it doesn't last like that for very long ;) ) I really hope each of you, as you read this, feel how effective God's love can be and how He can work in your life in the best possible way!!
There was this young lady, who had a past, and her past brought a lot of pain in her life when she would think on it. It hurt a lot and left a lot of sadness and heartbreak. Even long after God helped her through the pain and hurt and forgiving, she would still have flashbacks of what she went through. Because of the things this girl went through, it left her with a trusting issue. This trust issue stopped her from building relationships with new people. She would feel like she couldn't trust or depend on anyone without feeling like they'd turn on her at some point. The only person she turned to was her personal Saviour, Jesus Christ. He was always there for her with open arms, ready for her to run into. He comforted her in the hardest times and He helped her with so much and to get through so many things with His unfailing love. She knew that God wanted her to make godly, Christian friends, but because of this trust issue this girl dealt with, it kept her from making new friends.
So one evening, the girl started talking with a friend on this issue. The girl started telling her friend why she had these feelings. How she couldn't go through building friendships and then getting hurt by them, how she couldn't go through it physically, mentally, or emotionally again. Her friend had the perfect answer for her..Here's what this person told her... That the past was the past, she needed to face it. she couldn't let it take any more of her present. She needed to let go of any bad memories that she had. That the people and the events from the past, is just it, the past! ("Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14))She couldn't let it take any more of her thoughts or time. She needed to stop letting it bring her down and stop letting it keep her from building new relationships. But most of all, She needed to give God her whole past and let Him mend her heart fully. Of any past hurt, heartbreak, and trust issues she had...
The girl didn't realize that even though she forgave everyone of her past and let go of everything that kept her back, she didn't let God truly mend her heart fully..enough to not let the past creep back into her thoughts and to stop holding her back from trusting others.. So this young ladie's friend told her to do these things: Play this song (I surrender - by Hillsong) and pray HARD, asking God to take away her past and ask Him to mend her heart.
{ I Surrender - Hillsong }
She did just that. She played that song loud on her headphones so no sound could distract her, kneeling down, with arms stretched wide reaching towards heaven, as she sang along to the lyrics and praying at the same time. Feeling each word and the strength of them. Desperate to be filled with His love and mercy. She knelt there, surrendering herself to her Lord. As tears flowed down her cheeks, she told God she was ready to give up the memories that caused her to have trust issues and gave Him her whole past and her whole self. Everything that held her back, she gave to Him. As she cried out to the Lord, she could feel Him taking away her whole past. She could feel Him mending her heart like never before. She just kept saying, "Lord have your way in me". It moved her so much, the tears couldn't stop flowing (out of happiness)!.. She couldn't be more thankful and happy. She was so grateful for her friend to pray with her and had this amazing experience of God's mercy that took away the thing that held onto her so tightly. That her past hurt was gone! And now she could trust again!
If you caught on or was wandering, yes, that story was based on me and my amazing experience of God's great mercy and love that happened recently. I wanted to share this story with all of you because lately, I've been having so many people tell me how much hurt they're going through right now or went through and just don't know how to feel like that part of they're life is over and just want to start living in the now for Christ, letting go of the past. One huge part of this process of having peace again is Forgiving. Forgivness is such a huge part of a Christian's walk with Christ and moving on in life from those who hurt you. 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matt. 6:14-15).You can't move on in life having this burden hanging over you because you haven't forgiven your past and the people in it...I have this huge heart for God and wanting to please Him..He forgave me of my sins and died on the cross way before I repented of my sins.. "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:8-12)." So I, out of love, forgave anyone and anything from my past. When you forgive, it has to come out of a heart that truly means it. You haven't truly forgiven if your heart didn't really mean it..With all my heart, I love those who have hurt me and I pray for them all the time. 12
I'm overjoyed that God mended my heart, wiped away my past, and took away my trust issue. "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." ( John 14:13).I now see that I need to build friendships that are established on the same thing and priority. Which is honoring Christ in everything we say and do and giving God all the glory.
So with what God has done for me and shared with me to share with all of you who have a past that you no longer want, I really advise you to get into deep prayer ( also, if you have someone that you're close to, ask them to pray along with you ). Cry out to Jesus and ask Him to take away all the pain that Satan has caused. Plead to Him to mend your heart from hurt and to fill it with His love. Search your heart and surrender to God. Have the Love like Christ to forgive those of your past and really mean it with a heart full of love for them. You'll gain so much in return for obeying Christ.
~ It's a incomparable feeling to Have our Lord Jesus fill you up with His love that never ends and for Him to work in your life so powerfully. I want each of you to feel it..The power of prayer is so mighty and strong..God calls each of you to come to Him..if you haven't, break down and surrender to the One who gave Himself for you. There's no greater joy. ~
What is it to truly rely on Christ and His timing..This has always been hard for me to fully grasp. It's hard not knowing answers when you want to know them now, or not knowing why things are happening the way they are but you just want to feel comfort in knowing how things will turn out. Well recently, I've felt the LORD telling me to fully rely on Him..On His timing, on how He will move in my life. If you know me, I really can't handle waiting for answers. I like to find them out then and there or at least try to, but lately, I can feel God saying "Rachel, please don't worry about it. I have everything under control. Everything and everyone I have placed in your life is here for a reason. Don't worry My child. I have done and given you these things because they have a purpose.. and I will reveal them to you in My perfect timing when I know you're ready for it. Take comfort in Me right now and keep faith and trust in Me.. I won't let you down"... I'm not sure if you understand, but when He speaks to me and I hear this, I get all emotional ( we girls have our moments ;) ) because it's such a miraculous thing to hear God speaking to you. It truly does give me comfort when I realize that God has placed everything and everyone in my life for a reason and even if I don't know what tomorrow, next month, or next year will bring, I can take joy and comfort in knowing that God will work things out for those who truly love Him and want His will for our lives. "And we know that in all things God works for the goodof those who love him, whohave been calledaccording to his purpose." (Romans 8:28).That is not promising that it wont be tough. I'm sure each of you reading this has something in life where there's uncertainty. Everyone does. Not sure where things are going in your life or when God will move in certain areas.. It will get really hard not knowing things.. but all this leads to one thing. Relying on Christ. . .
We need to keep reminding ourselves that Jesus Christ, the King of all Kings, Our Lord of all the Earth is holding us in His mighty hands, Never to let us go. "So do not throw away your confidence;it will be richly rewarded." (Hebrews 10:35) We need to keep our faith in Him up with a spirit of rejoicing. Because there in Hebrews it says we need to keep our confidence(Faith) high in Christ because when we do, He will reward us with what we desire in Him. That includes keeping our confidence and faith in how He will bless us, when he will reveal the things we want revealed (His timing is perfect), And we need to know that all we do will be done for the Glory of Christ.
It is important for you to have like minded Christians helping you be lifted in God's word and encouraging you in your walk with Christ. To help reassure you that your not alone in this world and that we are going to continue to walk with Christ throughout the good and bad times. Always being a blessing and loving each other. I am blessed to have my friends and family here to help encourage me in Christ and lift me up with scripture. "Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future." (Proverbs 19:20). Even friends that I haven't known long, it's a blessing that I've met you. Because having a friend that I've not known long but has helped uplift and motivate me to become a better Christian is better than having a friend your whole life who has not been an encouragement to Christ and who is leading you away from Him. The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. (Proverbs 12:26)
And I love this song ( The Struggle - by Tenth Avenue North ) for so many reasons... Because we are free, we are free to struggle. We are Children of the Lord struggling in this world, dropping dead weights as we continue to sing praises to Jesus. And yes, we Christians will still have to struggle in this world but Jesus' might blood He shed, washes us clean. "for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for manyfor the forgiveness of sins." (Matt. 26:28).So as we continue to rely on Christ and what great things He has planned for us, let us keep our hands help high and voices singing to the One who gave us life and continues to bless us, even when we can't see it just yet. His wonderful plans will reveal in Christ's perfect timing.
As I woke this morning and walked outside, the weather screamed out "fall is here". I have waited all year for weather like this! So I am so grateful for this weather and want to enjoy as much of it as I can! :) So for my morning devotion, I grabbed my bible, some coffee, and my thoughts and sat outside soaking in the sunshine, breeze and nature around me. Right now, In my morning devotions, I'm reading through Psalm.. Today was Psalm 84. As I read this chapter and after, I felt restored, refreshed and invigorated as to what's to come! I'll share a few of the verses I read this morning. When I'm reading through Psalm, I read really slowly and taking in every word that is there..because there is so much information and words with meaning in there. So the verses I share with you, please take the time to let them sink in. Feel the power of them and how strong just a few words are. here is Psalm 84:1-2...
How lovely is Your tabernacle,
O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Yes! My heart and flesh is crying out for Jesus..Wanting to be with Him in His courts, in Heaven. Longing, yearning, wanting to be in the presence of the Almighty. . When I think of Heaven, I think of how pleasant it will be, how wonderful it will be to have knowledge like never before. To have no more trouble, hard times, or sorrows like we often have here on earth...Everything and Everyone will be perfect. What a thought. I mean really, perfect is a word we cannot use here on earth unless we are referring to Jesus Christ. He is truly the only One perfect."As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him" (Psalm 18:30)"So to one day have the knowledge like Him is mind boggling! . . Here is some more verses from Psalm 84:10-12...
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in
the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness
For the Lord God
is a sun and shield; the Lord will give
grace and glory; no good
thing will withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Yes, one day in heaven would be better than a thousand anywhere else. Wouldn't you agree?! ;) I also find so much comfort in this part "no good thing will withhold from those who walk uprightly". Being a true believer, we need to follow what God commands us to do. Yes, we will surely fall down but we need to acknowledge when we fall down and then pick ourselves up again asking God for forgiveness. We are imperfect persons living in an imperfect world, but being a Christian, you will know what is right from wrong in God's eyes and you will want to strive to do right before the Lord. You will feel conviction from the Holy Spirit and the main thing is, that we strive to be like Christ in all of our ways."Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (Philippians 3:12).The Lord knows we will have bumps in the road that causes us to sin but He also will know who continued to ask for forgiveness and made the effort to walk uprightly before Him. God can not stand Fake Christians. Those who speak of God and then live like the world, you can't truly be saved. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:21-23) See, many will live there lives acting as Christians yet are lying to themselves. God is a merciful God but He is also just. He gives people what they deserve, like a good Judge. I'm not here trying to talk down about people who are truly not Christians, rather try and give hope that there is a truer way to Salvation that actually leads to eternity in the most high place with our Creator. It is so very important to know that you have a close relationship with Christ. To live out the Bible to your fullest, giving it your all. "But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." (Luke 11:29)Thatyour mission here on earth isn't to please yourself, but please God. We are here to encourage, uplift, train, mentor, and bring people to truth about God. "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:13).We are here not to hate, but to Love everyone Like Christ has loved us. If we are to be like Christ, we need to try and love like Him. Think of all the love Jesus had/has for us. He loved each and every one of us so much that He died an unspeakable death so that we ( anyone who comes to Him ) might have eternal life through Him in heaven. He loved us so much, that He didn't want to see us end up living eternity in hell. (John 3:16). So He gave His life, to the ones ( like me before I accepted Christ in my life ) who spat at His face, who mocked Him, who tortured Him and nailed Him to a cross. After we did that, what does the Lord say? "Then said Jesus, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do'..." (Luke 23:34) . . .That, people, is what you call true love. I know if that was me, I wouldn't have forgiven them. I would have had more hate in my heart than I could bare. But you see, He went through all of that so we don't have to hate, so that we can love those who persecute us, who beat, hurt, mock us.. That one day we can glorify God in Heaven. That is true definition of LOVE. . .
{ Please listen to this worship song :) }
One of my favourite thing to do is get lost in worship. Music is definitely a big thing for me but more than the actual music, it's the time I have with God and the lyrics I sing to glorify Him. To listen to worship music while eyes closed and feeling God's presence all around me. It's a feeling I wouldn't trade for anything. After I read through my morning verses, I played a song that was on shuffle hoping to get a good worship song with meaningful lyrics. And wow, Did I! ( the song I'm sharing with y'all ) I have only heard this song once before, but right there, surrounded by God's creation after reading those verses about Heaven, I went into total worship mode. I didn't want to come out of it. . . Ever. I wish I could stay right there praising God until He comes back. Then I was thinking, "Wow, if I love it right here praising God in my back yard surrounded by fresh air and worship music, and to think heaven is going to be so, so much better! "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)It excites me people! We need to share our excitement with others. We want others to see how much peace we have in knowing we have a Saviour who holds us in His hands and will never let us go. Unbelievers will see this peace in our hearts and know that something is different about us. Curiosity gets the best of most of us, hm? ;) So maybe just us acting as Christians should, will bring someone to Christ. And not just showing God's love while out in public, but around the clock, because we will want to.
I thank each of you for reading through my posts that are always typed out of what the Lord lays on my heart to share. I also encourage you to take a few minutes to be alone with just you and God. Turn on the song I've shared and have this precious time alone with Him, worshiping His name. It's a feeling no amount of money can buy.
This Post pretty much describes itself by its title. :D I believe the Lord really wanted me to type this post up to share with others. You may wonder, "How do you know He was wanting you to type a post about friendship". . . At first, I wasn't really sure what my next post was going to be on. I usually wait until the Lord gives me the words and things to type on. I look to Him. I type what I know He want's me to type. Well, recently quite a few people ( followers, friends ) mentioned to me that I should really think about doing a post on friendship. After them telling me that, I was like, "Lord, thank you for laying this on my heart". :) Each time, He has His own way of showing me what He wants me to write about. First, I'd like to start out by saying that apparently, this is going to be typed from a Christian's perspective of the definition of friendship. Not through the world's eyes but through Christ's, and what He sees as what a true friend should be. . . There is a difference between the world's and God's idea of friendship. So here is what a true Christian friendship should look like. . . I will first start out by writing the type of people God wants His children to spend most of their time with. If you are a true Christian, then you should be spending most of your time with fellow believers. I am not saying that you should never be around unbelievers, because then we would never be able to be a light in this fallen world or ever witness to anyone. What I mean is, we should be carful with who we hang around and spend most of our time with, or who we call friends. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says "Do not be misled, 'Bad company corrupts good character' ". This verse isn't just talking about thieves, alcoholics, and criminals... it is also saying, do not spend time with those who speak wrong about others, those who gossip, blaspheme God's name, curse, and act as hypocrites. Because I have personally seen people who were persuaded into the worldly acts because they started spending more time with those who did those things that I stated up above. "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. ( Proverbs 13:20 )" Even I had to deal with that.. I mean, who hasn't fallen into sin? But I asked the Lord to forgive me, and He did! . . . I had to learn that you have to be very careful when choosing friends. "One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24) . . . If you want to have a lasting true friendship, then both people will have to have the same priorities in life. That is to honor God in all that we do and give Him the glory. So what makes a lasting true friendship? . . .
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.Get rid ofall bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:29-32)
. . . . .
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.You are my friends if you do what I command.I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. - John 15:12-15
We should have a love for each other like Christ loves us. We should be willing to do anything for our friends. like Jesus died on the cross for us, we should be willing to do the same. . .
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is one of the most important things in a friendship. We should love our friends as Christ loves His church. And our friends should have that same passion. So. . .
{ a true friend will be kind, not easily enticed by jealousy, does not dishonor others or is easily angered. A true friend will not hold on to past wrongs but forgive. True friends will not delight in doing wrong but takes pleasure in doing right. A true friend will always defend for what's true and right, always hopes and prays with us for God's will. . . A true friend's love for each other will never fail, because Christ's love never fails us. }
. . . . .
I'm sure that we all have had broken friendships. Many of my friends have told me that they had to go through falling out with friends as well. . . Why does this happen so often? Because Satan is out to destroy anything and anyone in his path. If you had to go through that and believe that you were right in Christ's eyes, maybe it was God's will that you be separated from the people you parted with. We don't see the future and we can't see God's plan in our life ahead of time. He does. He could be saving you from more pain, heartache, or danger by taking you out of those people's lives. We just need to learn to trust God's will in our lives and rely on Him to bring the right type of people into our lives to become true, godly friends.
I have had to learn this and it has brought me closer to my Jesus. I made my Lord to be my truest, best friend. Whom I put first in my life. And let me tell you something people, Jesus Christ is the bestest friend you could ever ask for. :) He will never leave nor forsake you. He is there when you have good and bad times. He will never let you down when everyone else in your life does. He is our Saviour, Father, King, Holy One. One who will never get tired of us expressing our feelings and He will always be there to hear our cries. All of this while He embraces us in His arms. . . Who can ask for a better friend than Him? :)
After I gave everything to Him and put all my trust in His will for my life; when I decided to let Him take over and decide who would be taken out of my life and who He would put in it; then, just then did I realize that before, I wanted things my way but God had other plans for my life. He gave me understanding, and through everything the Lord allowed to happen in my life, He has brought true, Christian friends into my life. I couldn't be more thankful for how the Lord has worked in and through my life.
I'll end this post with a heart felt prayer. . .
Dear heavenly Father,
I want to take this time to thank you for
the amazing people you put into my life.
They have all truly been a blessing and I can't
keep from thanking You enough for them.
For placing them in my life at just the right time.
Because Lord, your timing is always perfect and
and I now understand why you allow things to happen
to people who truly love You and want to follow
Your will in their lives.
Thank you Lord for never leaving my side.
For being me closest Friend in even the hardest times.
...
Lord, please mold me into the person You want me to be.
Please use me as much as You can to be a light in this world.
Above all, everything I say and do, let it honor and glorify You Lord.
And help me make a difference in this world I live in.
I'm sure like 99% of y'all know that hurricane Isaac hit the gulf coast states and more. I have been trying to update all of y'all that follow me on Instagram but I have family and friends that don't follow me on that so I thought I would just do one nice size post telling y'all how things went and what we did. It'll be easier. :D
For this post, I would first like to thank God for not letting any real big damage be done to any of my family, friends, or our home. He has been so good to us and I continue to thank Him for His blessings. When we first saw Isaac's path heading straight for us, our first thought was "Evacuate". But after lots of discussion, we decided not to... We boarded almost every door and window there was on our home, so it felt like living in a cave. Isaac decided to take a long visit over Louisiana and Mississippi. Way longer than we expected... I thought the rain and horribly strong wind would never end. I will never forget the sounds the wind made. . .We lost power a couple times and tried passing our time by talking, praying, and watching the news. We did get tornadoes but they came at night, which was perfectly planned.. God knew that we would really freak out if we could see them during the day. He even thinks about the little things that help us. :D
I think so many people underestimated hurricane Isaac. I think God wanted us to realize that even though it was only a category 1 and then turned back into a tropical depression, that it could cause a lot of damage. My prayers are with everyone who flooded or lost so much in it's path. God is in control and people need to not underestimate God's power. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. And as Isaac hit on the 29th, all I could think of was when Katrina hit. How so many people lost their lives, family members, houses, and so much more. We really need to have compassion on all of those people and send our prayers out to them.
And to that, I want to thank everyone who has sent so many prayers our way. They meant the world to me. I felt so much comfort from every comment you sent me saying you were praying! It was like the Lord giving me a big hug. I can't explain with words the comfort of prayer brings. . I can't thank y'all enough. <3
These two pictures are of our lake that over flowed with water.
Our lake over flowed with water. To the point it breached.
And to that, I think I shall call it a quits. This past week was pretty interesting. But I will continue to pray for anyone else who was affected by hurricane Isaac. I'll leave y'all with this verse below. Someone showed it to me before Isaac hit us. Even though he said it's meant for a spiritual storm, it could go both ways. :)
