Guest Blogger

This week we had a guest blogger! She is a lovely young lady who is pursuing the Lord and a close friend of ours. She has recently shared her heart with us about something the Lord had opened her eyes to. She realized the powerful truth that our strength comes from the Lord and we cannot become or do anything without God (and the joy and peace that comes from it). She so graciously allowed us the privilege to share her email with you all too! Her email follows below:

So I have been reading this book called Dating with a Pure Passion and it has some great points in it that I would like to share! I found myself reading this one particular part over and over... It's so profound because I had never thought of it like this. It read, ”Jesus does not want to help you be patient, kind, or forgiving. Jesus wants to live His patience, kindness, and forgiveness through you.. “ Now I was like “Whoa!’ I was taken back by this! Then I asked myself, “What does that mean??” I pondered a lot on this... I could not even keep reading. I came to the conclusion that we cannot do anything without God. He does not want to "help" us do things.. He wants to be living inside of us and let Himself flow out of us in everything we do. Now I began asking myself some really thought-provoking, tough questions...Do I hold up the image of a ‘good Christian young lady..?’ or do I really, deeply let God flow out of me? Am I doing things that I know are right because I know they are right? Or am I doing them because I know it's pleasing to God?  I want people to see the goodness and joy that God has given me! I want to become a woman of God that can share and inspire others, especially the younger ones who look up to me.;) As we continue on this journey together, I ask that you please pray for me as I go along and cling to God and His Word! I know it will all be worth it!

What an encouraging email! It is such a beautiful thing to have true friends in the Lord where we can share these things with. We are so thankful our precious friend opened her heart, not only to us, but to all of you as well. It’s often when we find ourselves sharing the hard things like she did, then God will give us the strength and He will shine through us to bring Him glory and honor! We hope that this email will give you encouragement and hope in your relationship with God as it did us!

John 3:30 "He must increase, but I must decrease." 

Our Miracle Story

Tax Day

One of my favorite times of year is when my husband and I do our yearly visit to H&R Block to get our taxes done. I know what you must be thinking… Wow! What an exciting life. But really, there is something fun about going with your husband on a “tax date”. It always makes me feel so grown up and mature to sign documents and sit by his side as the lady keys away our information!

Of course one of the reasons why I have always loved tax day is because we have always gotten a good chunk of money back. This year particularly, I had expectations that this tax day would be very good for our upcoming plans for the nursery!

Well. It didn’t quite go like I planned. Towards the end of our appointment, the kind lady looked up and said, “Oh! Well… it looks like you owe this year!” This kind lady didn’t look so kind to me anymore.

As my husband and I walked out of our appointment, he started to discuss how things would need to change in order for us to make up the amount we would need to pay back within a short month. I really started to get frustrated as all my “urgent nursery plans” started to dwindle away. Over lunch, my frustrations grew as my husband and I seemed to be on two totally different planets. I did not want to budge. 

By the time we made it home I was on fire. It was time to lay our restless two year old down for a nap. I went into my closet and I began to cry to the Lord and beg him to show my my heart. I knew something was wrong but I couldn’t lay my finger on it!

I came out of my closet and sat in my chair by my bed and opened God’s word in hopes for some answers. Suddenly it was as if God opened the blinders and shined light right into my heart. I looked up and saw this precious photo of my husband and I holding our baby boy in the hospital. I realized that our most precious blessing came from the two of us being “one”. In order to conceive our child, we had to be “one” physically. What a picture! In order to be blessed, we need to be in UNITY! The Lord wants my husband and I to be in UNITY! I raced through scriptures looking for more about unity and I found this verse that reminded me of our wedding day…

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24

This verse is repeated at countless weddings. But really think about it. One flesh. Unity. Each of us have a natural tendency to have our own ideas, plans, etc. But when marriage comes in the picture, it’s about joining together. It’s about communicating, considering the other person… it’s all about walking in love. And YOU my friend, can practice this very important thing right where you are at home!

I came to realize that the problem went way back before our tax appointment. It came about when I had plans and expectations for the nursery without really being on the same page with my husband. 

Soon after God revealed this to me I went back to my husband and immediately made this right. I shared with him that I want to sit down and come into unity on our plans, and come to some agreement. This is not about me getting what I want, but it’s about us coming together, in unity, and making plans for the nursery. We also talked about other areas of our marriage where we see we needed to be in unity. 

I really believe it can be so easy to be unaware of how out of "sync" we are with our family members. This situation really raised my awareness. So how in unity are you with your family members? Are there areas in your relationships with your parents where you have expectations that maybe they are unaware of? Like where YOU plan to attend college, what career YOU have in mind, or what YOU want to do this upcoming weekend. Or do your parents have expectations of you that you have not communicated with them on how you feel? This is an excellent time to start practicing communicating to prepare you for your husband one day!

God uses everyday situations (like tax day) to work out the kinks in our relationships and show us what is in our hearts. You can’t put a price on a wonderful learning experience that really grew my husband and I closer together. Coming into unity is more valuable then any tax refund! :)

5 Gals' and 5 Modest Outfits

From time to time we want to share with you some modest "outfit inspiration". 

In an upcoming blog post we will be talking about personal experiences with modesty...

Stay tuned!

Smokin' Potatoes

I know most of you have heard the phrase "Don't cry over spilled milk", but have you ever heard that you shouldn't cry over smokin’ potatoes either!? Well, neither have I until last summer when I found myself crying over smokin' potatoes.

It was a hot day in August and we were cooking baked potatoes for our friends. As people started to arrive the potatoes were still cooking, and somehow the entire oven started to smoke. Moments later, the whole house was in a smoky fog and it got so bad it made our eyes burn.

I happened to be the only one in the kitchen as one of the older ladies came rushing in. She frantically started asking me questions like, "How long has the potatoes been in the oven?!” and "What should we do to stop it from smoking?!” and "What’s causing the oven to smoke?!” and "Why hasn't anything been done about the smoke yet??!”…

Immediately, I went into defense mode. I felt as though I was being blamed for the uncontrollable smoke that was taking over the house. Within moments, I started to shut down and take everything she said personally. Thoughts were rushing through my head like, "Why am I getting into trouble" and "I wasn't even the one who put the potatoes in the oven" and "Why is she talking to me this way... who does she think she is?” and “She has no right to come at me this way, this isn't even her home!”

Obviously, I got personally offended and didn’t handle the situation very well. My pride was hurt and I was very embarrassed. From that point on, all I could think about that evening was those stinkin' smokin' potatoes!!

There were several things the Lord taught me through this situation:

1. The importance in working everything out~

In my heart, I knew this needed to be worked out. Something as small as smokin' potatoes can eventually turn into something much bigger if I didn’t get my heart right. God commands us that when we have issues with our brothers and sisters in Christ we should always work it out. Ephesians 4:26 says, “BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do NOT let the sun go down on your anger.” When we leave things undone (unspoken disagreements and judgments) between each other it can cause “divisions”. In 1 Corinthians 1:10 it talks about not letting divisions be in the Church, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.”

2. Showing respect comes from the heart~

Technically, on the “outside” I didn’t say anything disrespectful to her… But on the inside I was fuming like the smoke seeping out of the oven. In our journey with the Lord, situations will arise where things can stir up our pride and we are given the opportunities to either get caught up on our personal offenses or really respond in love and seek what the truth is. As young people, there should be a high level of respect for the elders in the Lord and we should always consider what they have to say with a humble heart. 1 Peter 5:5, “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”

3. Living with others in a humble and understanding way~

Not only does it take humility and maturity to respect and listen to those who are older and wiser than you, but also it takes more humility to accept it when it comes in a way that’s less than how we would want it presented. In Romans 12:16, it talks about living in harmony with others and not to think more of yourself over others, “Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits.” God is with the humble, not the proud. Just because YOU wouldn’t say something or approach a matter the same way as someone else would doesn’t make them wrong or invalidate the truth.

Thankfully, the Lord gave me strength to be honest. The most amazing thing that happened when I humbly came to my friend and shared with her my feelings, was that my eyes were opened to the TRUTH. The truth was that she didn’t mean to come across as being “frantic” or even “abrupt”, but she really loves me and was only trying to help. She even apologized for coming across that way and we worked everything out in love and in humility!

There is ALWAYS something to learn in EVERY situation. The truth will set us free but first it may offend us. The important thing, in growing in the strength of the Lord, is accepting the truth no matter how it is presented to us.

What I learned that day with those smokin' potatoes is to humbly accept any concerns or instruction from those who are older and wiser than me in the Lord.

Whirling, Swirling, Spiraling...

Something about that title makes me think of ice cream. But, unfortunately girls I am not talking about ice cream… I am talking about our thought life.

Do you ever catch yourself thinking things you know you shouldn’t? This has been one of my BIGGEST weaknesses that the Lord is still doing a work in me.

On one particular day, my thought life seemed to be really out of control when I was going through this experience of not knowing if our anemic baby girl, who is still in my womb, would make it or not.

I had thoughts like…
“What if she doesn’t get better”
“Her heart is having to pump so hard it could give out any moment”
“Statistically speaking, a lot of babies with this condition do not make it”
“This is bad, really bad…”
“This will never get better”
“I don’t know if I can go through this anymore”
“Oh my goodness”
“What if this… What if that”

Whirling… Swirling… Spiraling uncontrolled thoughts. And the hard part… It’s SO easy to get caught up in uncontrolled thoughts.

In this particular instance, I knew I needed help. I pulled out one of my most beloved books called, “The God of All Comfort” By Hannah Whitall Smith and turned to the chapter called “Discouragement”. As I started to read, the writer explained that there were many times in the Bible when people felt hopeless with their situation. One particular story really spoke to me-Moses!

The Lord gave Moses an assignment to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, but Moses, looking at his own weaknesses, was discouraged. That's when discouragement caught his thoughts and heart which caused him to try and excuse himself from what God wanted him to do. Moses had difficulty with his speech. The bible says he was “slow of speech”. Have any of you ever tried getting the attention of a large crowd? People by nature are very hard to gather together. Imagine needing to get the attention of everyone in the school auditorium and lead them to their classes.  Imagine doing this with a speech problem.  And then, on top of that, imagine leading this huge group across land for miles and miles. I would imagine it would be extremely difficult.

Moses looked at his difficulty and felt hopeless that he would not be able to do what God was asking him!

“I am not eloquent, but I am slow of speech. They will not believe me” Says Moses. It sounds to me like Moses was whirling, swirling, and spiraling in his thoughts…

But God reminded Moses of a very important truth. Who made YOU Moses? Who made your mouth? Do you not realize that I can work through you and give you everything you need to succeed?

It was as if God woke me up and said… Who made YOU Rachael? Who made your womb? Do you not realize I can work through you and give you every bit of healing you need for your baby to succeed?

He created every organ in my body. He created even the ability for me to carry children! He has FULL capability of healing this baby and I am to trust and rest in Him!

Our thoughts can lead us astray so quickly in every area of our life. The spiraling thoughts that take us down only keep taking us down because of their root. LIES. What we need is God’s truth to bring us back into reality. And God gives us a responsibility in this!

2 Corinthians 10:5 says we are to “Take EVERY thought captive, into the obedience of Christ”. How did I take the thought captive? I ran to the source of truth- God and let Him remind me of what I needed to hear.

Do you ever catch your thoughts whirling, swirling, spiraling, out of control? Run to the One who can pull you out!

THE BIG PICTURE

Recently, I read an article called The Subtlety of Self-Justification | True Woman that really got me thinking about my heart attitude as an early teen (and into my super early 20s). This article NAILED it.

She writes:

"Self-justification is one of the sneakiest and most subtle forms of deceit the enemy uses in the lives of Christians. When we are not open and eager for the Spirit of God to correct and refine us, we often spend a huge amount of time and mental energy trying to convince ourselves that we are just fine the way we are. Then, when fellow Christians challenge us with truth, it either hurts our pride or touches on an area of compromise in our life that we are unwilling to give up. And the only way to avoid admitting that we are in the wrong is to lash out at that person and try to discredit them."

So what was my attitude you ask?

Whether it be the way I wanted to dress, what movies I wanted to see, what music I wanted to listen to, or the standards I had with guys… there was a constant bucking up in my heart in each area of my life. In every area my parents tried to instruct me, I would get caught up on each and every little technicality. I constantly had problems with justifying what I wanted to do regardless of what my parents/others said. I definitely was not open to God correcting and refining me. And what’s worse I constantly played the "blame game" on my parents and anyone else who questioned my decisions or judgements.

And honestly, I didn't just become this way overnight.

This all started somewhere. At some point in my late teens as I gained more "independence",  I allowed the seed of pride to grow inside of my heart. What started out as something small (like a small snowball) began to roll and roll and ROLL and ROLL until I got to the point I was so blinded by my pride that no matter what my parents talked to me about I would find a reason to disagree. My heart had become diseased with pride. I got to the point where I didn’t care about how my choices or decisions and how it effected other people (including girls who were younger then me and looked up to me).

If only I had responded in humility…

Getting caught up on technicalities is a red flag of a heart condition. Pride. And the scary thing is that we don’t always see just how dangerous pride can be until it’s too late.

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom." Proverbs 11:2

So how do you respond to your parents when they suggest covering up a little more? Does your heart say in humility "THANK YOU!" or "Seriously? What’s the big deal?"

What thoughts run through your mind when you're not allowed to see the movie all your friends are going to see? Does your heart say in humility "I will choose to trust my parents with this decision" or does your heart "It’s not like it’s rated R or anything"

Believe it or not, the small situations that come up every day are molding and shaping your heart. Either into a humble heart or a prideful heart.

God is in control...

God is in control... I know, it sounds so cliché.  We’ve all heard it a million times… But have you ever actually thought about what that really means?

This means that God is in control of each and every situation that happens to us every single day.

A few weeks ago I received news that my unborn baby girl, that I am currently carrying, was severely anemic. She had signs of fluid around her heart and brain from the anemia.  The doctor told me the baby needed a blood transfusion immediately to attempt to save her. Even with the transfusion there was no guarantee that she would make it. Her little heart was having to pump very hard and if something didn’t happen quick, her heart would give out.

Now let me just share with you that naturally I am the type of person to worry over every single thing in my life... Bad weather, a little stomach ache, a bee that flies by, etc. You name it- I worry about it.

The day I received this news I asked God to just give me peace. I prayed, and prayed, and prayed all day, “Lord, I don’t know what to ask you, but please just give me peace." 

I remember sitting on my living room couch with tears rolling down my face looking at at a sign on my wall that says, “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God.”  I’ve had that sign in my living room over three years, and until now I haven’t given it much thought.

At that same time, it hit me that God would provide for me what I was asking for. God knew exactly what I needed right then and there, and I can trust Him to provide peace for me when something could seem so hopeless.

We expect peace to come when things go our way. We expect peace to come when we get along perfect with our siblings or parents. But, the truth is that peace comes when we become OK with God’s will in every situation of our life.

Peace came to me through this storm when I decided I would be OK no matter what the outcome of our baby. My hopes and dreams were for this baby to survive, but what I decided was that God’s will is always going to be better then what I hope and dream for. It was such a relief to me when I let go and just trusted God. I knew down deep in my heart that if the baby lived- it would be good. And if the baby didn’t make it-it would be good. Why? Because we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.

What’s more eerie than it being February, friday the 13th?! Being single and having a dateless Valentine’s Day.

Embracing your season in life is sometimes a lot more harder than it looks, especially when it comes to being single.

Ruth was a great example of someone who was whole-heartedly committed to walking with the Lord and was faithful to embrace the season He had her in. I, on the other hand, have been a great example of someone who wasn’t committed to accepting the place the Lord had me in, which was being single. Unlike my past, Ruth didn’t allow her lack of having a husband paralyze her from doing what the Lord called her to do. Ruth didn’t just accept her place with Naomi, but she embraced her role and exceeded in every way. Too often I had spent more time complaining about what I didn’t have instead of taking advantage of what I did have. AKA discontentment. Which is completely normal and human nature; however, these are the very things the Lord wants us to overcome and guard against.

What spoke volumes to me when I read the story of Ruth was how she kept her focus on Naomi and serving her and her needs. Personally, I feel like I have missed opportunities to see the need in others lives because I was so consumed by the fact that I was single and missing out on something better. I missed the opportunity to be a true friend because I was too busy bathing myself in self-pity and feeling sorry for myself because I was lonely. It wasn’t until I started thinking about other people and began thanking God for everything He had done for me in my life that I was able to experience the true freedom in embracing my season in life, not matter what it is.

Choosing to be thankful changed my heart and helped me accept my lot as a single young lady. When you start serving others and caring for them more than yourself you feel a deep, unexplainable joy and freedom. You are free to embrace the role God has called us all to fulfill, to love and serve one another above ourselves.

 Instead of falling into self-pity this Valentine’s Day I challenge you to focus on what you can do for others. Not only on Valentine’s Day but everyday try to open your eyes and heart to others and how you can serve them in their need.

 "Life doesn't begin when you get married. This is your life! You will never find contentment in living for what you hope tomorrow may hold." -Lydia Brownback