The Little Things Don’t Seem to Matter Much
Each child of the King has a calling and a place.
We each have a part to play in His eternal race.
It sounds so glorious to be a daughter of the King.
But hard to remember the meaning of a thing
Like mopping a floor, making a bed, and such.
These little things just don’t seem to matter much.
Many are the tasks that need done you know.
There are dishes to wash and seeds to sow.
Laundry piles high and grass must be mowed.
We each often feel like we bear a great load.
So many times Christians struggle to be content.
We need only remember Who our Father sent.
A Man, Who was God, yet did not think too high,
He humbled Himself without murmur or sigh.
Jesus Christ Who is God, did things like these:
He washed dirty feet bowed down on His knees.
Christ fed the hungry, and gave of His time
To minister to wretched souls like yours and like mine.
The next time you think that you labor in vain.
Remember that all things are under His reign.
No task is too small to bring Him great pleasure.
And your reward is glory, forever without measure.
Don’t get discouraged or short tempered today.
Every suffering is worth hearing our Savior say:
“The little things matter very much to Me.”
Work needs done, but soon we will see His majesty.
"They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, this storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." I Thimothy 6:18-19
"Let each person live the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him." I Corinthains 7:17
"Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all thigns into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him... "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one anothers feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." John 13:3-15
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed." II Timothy 2:15
Remember Who you serve.
Check out my new pictures on my
picture blog.
Can't Get Enough
"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord."
"Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
"For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left."
"For God is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold His face."
"For none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's."
"Therefore the
Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the
Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him."
"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
"We who are strong have an obligation to bear the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. For Christ did not please Himself."
"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
"May the God of endurance and encouragment grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God."
"In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made one as well as the other."
"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us."
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
"Watch therefore, for you neither know the day or the hour."
"And all the people marveled at the gracious words that were coming from His mouth."
"The Lord is my strenth and my song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him."
Walking on Water
"But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,
“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when He saw the wind, He was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of Him, saying to Him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
...Rebekah thinking.
Chess and Choices
Chess is a game I used to play more often. I don't take the time to play it much anymore, but every once in a while I will, and the game has me thinking. Chess is a game that we can learn from. Chess is a game that tells us something about God:
-Isn't it interesting that the pieces have different roles? In checkers this is not the case; every piece is exactly the same, with the same skills and the same role to play.
-Yet, although many of the pieces are unique, there are at least two of almost everything, and several pawns. Therefore there is variety but not complete individuality. They need each other.
-In Chess you can only make one move at a time; no matter what. In most card games there are ways to loose your turn or go again. Chess is a game of patience.
-Chess is a game of choice. There are a million options, there are a million ways you could move, and yet there is only one way that you do move. This is the most significant point of all, because I have believed all my life that God is in control of all things. I don't believe that man can choice God, but that He chooses man and then begins to work in his heart so that man can respond to the work that God is doing in his life. When I face any sort of serious choice in life I get a little puzzled with God's perfect will. After I have made my choice I can look back and say "God planned that I would choice *blank* all along." Yet while the actual decision needs to take place and I am on my knees in prayer I wrestle with God's perfect will. There are a million moves I could make in life. Each one is vital. -Another analogy, in chess the most "insignificant" moves can be of the greatest consequence. When I play I tend to think that if the move isn't bold and daring it isn't worth doing. Yet, if I take that philosophy to life I won't get very far. The most mundane life choices are far more important than I realize.
Chess is all in the hands of the chess master, and yet he or she works within the preappointed rules. God does the same thing most of the time. He technically could do whatever He wished, and yet He has chosen to abide by the order that He installed in the universe (most of the time.)
I believe that I have more influence in my destiny than a Bishop has in my hand, yet how much more, I do not know.
The most intriguing part is the factor that there are so many possibilities and all of them ultimately affect the outcome of the game. In chess there is not one right way; there are simply better ways and worser ways.
Also, with chess I sit there and think through what could happen if I do *blank*, and then choose the most likely and then what I would do in response to it, and etc etc. The frustrating thing is that it's all assumption. I don't really know if my opponent is going to do. When I play chess I base my moves on several things:
-the rules of the game. (obvious, but it's an interesting point)
-the least perceived amount of harm
-the most perceived amount good
-the games History
In life I use similar guidelines. I don't know there's a whole lot of things in this that I am missing. I guess the main point that I want to drive home is that I am struggling with the idea of there being more than one option open. I like to think that there is one way that's the best way and when I am in submission to God's will that is what happens. It's not that easy. Ok, I hope you at least sort of followed this, and that you can perhaps help the explanation.
faith
I am excited to open a new chapter of life. I have begun my final year of highschool. Yeah, see when you're in Mr. Pulliam's writing class you never stop doing school so I'm a senior. I have faith that I will grow and change this year. I am excited. I have some summer goals, but I thought instead of making this all about me, that you guys should share what your goals are.
"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up."
James Baldwin
"Lets have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."
Abraham Lincoln
"I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for..."
Thornton Wilder
"Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good."
Vaclav Havel
What do you think of these?
of life and of wonder
Life is full of surprises. I mean most stuff just happens like normal, and yet there are things that happend that you would never have guessed. The best things, are the things that may have been expected, but exactly what is expected is hard to know. For example, when a gardener plants her seeds in the ground, she has an idea that "forget-me-nots" will come up, but she doesn't know when exactly, and she doesn't know how many, and she doesn't know exactly how they will look either. She just hopes and believes that God will continue to work through the sun, and the rain, and the laws in the earth to bring that little seed through the ground. In comparison when I plan out different things in life and work towards that plan, I don't know exactly when, or how, or what will go on. All I know, is that God is in control. I can search out how He has worked in the past and consider that that may be how He will work again, but I cannot be positive. James reminds us that we must not even say "Tomorrow I will do this and go there..." because we must remember that it is all in God's hands. We don't know what tomorrow will bring. Yet, we can be sure, that for those who trust Him He has more in store than we can imagine. Just like the gardner who so often forgets the wonderous outcome of her labor, so will we be rewarded in His good time.
Today is my parents birthday. Yes, they were born on the same day. Daddy is three years older than Mom. It's fun. Wow, May is going to be over soon, and that means June, and after that is July, and in July I am going to be in New Jersey. I can't begin to explain how excited I am. *Shakes head* It's God amazing? I really wasn't planning on going anywhere this summer. I just didn't feel any great pull. Yet, He led my heart in the direction He willed it to go, and I if God so desires I will be spending most the month of July serving Him and His church. I can't stop smiling about it.
Well, thank you all for being wonderful. Maybe you don't think you are wonderful, but I do. See, I think that our God is wonderful, and since you bear the image of my God I think you are wonderful as well. What a delight it is to know that every human being on this earth has at least one purpose, and that is to bear His image to the world. Abortion is a horrible thing. When a person is killed, God's image is killed.
Love today.
Our God is an Awesome God
He made this world is seven days.
When He was finished in six days He took the last one to rest. He wanted to show us how to live.
He made the sea, the sky, the rock, the plants, the animals-everything.
He saw that it was good.
He made Man is His own image.
He formed him out of earth, and then with a live-giving kiss Man came alive.
Man bore God's image in his strength, truth, endurance, wisdom, and power.
Man with all his responsibilities and wonder was not good.
Man was alone.
It wasn't that Man was not completely satisfied with God and the beautiful world he was in.
Man was without flaw, God had made him in His image, and that he still was.
Loneliness is not good.
God saw that Man was lonely.
He took Man, whom He had made, and caused him to sleep.
Now Man was vulnerable.
Now God could work out His plan.
God opened the Man, and took out his rib.
From the very flesh of Man, He made Woman.
She was also in the image of God.
She embodied God's compassion, beauty, grace, gentleness, and virtue.
God placed her in His beautiful garden.
She saw Man sleeping, and her heart beat quick.
She could not imagine such happiness as to think that he was to be hers.
God led her to Man.
She watched as He awoke him from his dreams.
For the first time Man looked on Woman with wonderment and delight.
She was beautiful.
With her, he would never be lonely.
As these two came to love each other, they became as one.
Thier perfect union was an emblem of God's love for His people.
The love of Man and Woman is an example of the way we love Christ.
The first love story pointed the way to the beauty of Christ's love through the ages.
At the end of the sixth day, God saw Woman standing with Man, and it was good.
Everything was good.
Love is good.
Many people have taken this story and used it for some sort of "no dating" tactic or something, I just wanted to write it out, and maybe cause you to think about the way the first romance worked out. No, it won't happen this way for any of us. Girls, none of us were made from a man's rib. Guys, none of you will ever be the only human being on earth. It may seem more obvious that God is the author of Adam and Eve's love story. Yet, He should be the author of ours as well. He should be the one to lead. When God's people wait on Him, we are living out the love that we have for Him. He is the Master. He knows best. He may not always do things the way we would have Him to. See, Adam did feel alone, even in a perfect world before God brought Woman into his life. How much more pain must we go through now, after the fall, before God will "work all things together for good?"
Waiting on God can seem like a chore at times. Yet, when one really ponders who God is, and what He has done, waiting for His will is far from distasteful. I know that when we allow Him to work in and through us, we will be made perfect in our weakness. When He is King of all things, including the romance of our lives, then we will have a beautiful love story.
Where ever you are on the love story spectrum, whether it be lonely and waiting, or married to the love of your life, continue to see God as the author of your love story. It doesn't start with a romantic relationship, and it doesn't end with marriage. Our love story begins when God saves us from destruction. Our love story will never end because we will be always in His presence.
You may wonder why I feel free to say these things, considering I am seventeen years old and have never experienced many of the things that a person would call romantic. To you I will just say that God has given me a romantic heart. I don't believe that I have to wait until I am married to delight in God and look to Him as my true love. Also, I get discouraged in this area at times. I simply hope that now my thoughts can be of some encouragement to you on your journey. We are here to help each other. We are here to love one another.
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil, and holdfast to what is good." Romans 12:9
Continue to seek His face. He will not disappoint you.
For My Mom
I just need to take a second to say that my Mom is the coolest. I love her, and I owe her basically everything. She's the best.
Alright, I am going to have an interesting afternoon of attending openhouses. I don't exactly understand why these three guys had open houses on Mother's Day, but they are, and so we are going. Anyways, I hope that you had a fantastic morning of worship.
Love your Mother today.
another great rainy day
Good morning, how are you? I hope that you are doing well and that even though there is still rain falling from the sky that your spirit is not dampened. I am working on my last World Views assignment for my life time. It's one of those situations where I am really really happy, and yet there is a small pang of saddness too. I won't see a lot of these guys after our final meeting. It's intense to be in a class with people for three years in a row. I am going to miss them. Now I can sorta understand what it would be like to graduate with a school. I mean, you are with those people for more than 12 years of your life. It's would be hard to handle.
I am glad that I am just a junior. I don't feel ready to leave home and begin such a massive change. I am excited about this last year of highschool though, it is going to be great. I am also excited about this summer. It's a good life.
Ok, well I should finish this paper, and get back to the other things I have going. Please continue to live life worthy of the King, and don't forget to love.
we made it
Well, we are all still alive. My parents get home today around lunch time, and we will be ready for them. The house is really clean, and the kids are ready for Mom to be home. This morning Kez missed Mom so much she had to climb into bed and snuggle with me for a while ( she usually does that with Mom in the morning.)
In case any of you were wondering Kez still rides Wilson, and I am not too concerned about it. The child weighs less than Wilson is capable of feeling on his back. Plus, my Father, who loves both Keziah and Wilson more than any of you, supports the dog riding situation.
I am going to garden today.
I am glad Mom and Dad are coming home. It's not easy playing Mom for a few days. I have a new found appreciation for my Mother. Thanks Mom.
"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appearswe shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure."
I John 3:1-3
of birthdays, dogs, and other such things
Today my littlest brother Sam is 7. I know, he's so old. I have to go get him a present of some sort, and I have yet to decide what he would most like.
We have a new dog. He's a yellow lab and his name is Wilson. I like Wilson, except that he's super huge and if he ever eats anything off the counter... we will not be on good terms. Kez is pretty much Wilson's biggest fan, although my Dad might be tied with her. They both love the dog. Kez likes to ride him. It's really cute. Anyways, don't be alarmed when you come over and there's a massive beast standing in our yard. It's just Wilson.
I just got back from my final at Marian. Oh, I am so excited. Rebekah is done with Marian classes until next fall. It's a reason for great rejoiceing. I felt like both of my finals went really well. I hope that it's not just feeling but actual fact. We shall see.
Ok I have Worldviews stuff to get ready for. Have a great day.
ok you guys
I am so ready for summer. I only have 8 days and then I will done with school. That doesn't seem like a very long time, but it is an eternity. Argh. I have a final tomorrow and ten pages of writing for Worldviews class. I will be doing that jazz tonight while everyone is at the play. I'm excited about having a quiet house.
The good news is that we had our last Pulliam's class today. I'm excited about that, but then we have summer homework so it sorta doesn't really matter.
I had my first real final ever this morning. It was for History. I feel really really good about it, which can be a bit scary. I don't know I really knew the answers for everything, so we shall see.
I need to go to the bank...
This weekend is workday at church. I am going to be doing that for a while.
This Monday my parents are leaving for two days!!! We are all going to be here hanging out. Actually, Levi and Sam are going to Grandma's but I'm in charge of everyone else. Don't tell, but we are going to party like there's no tomorrow.
I got my first A+ A+ paper today. I was excited about that. Except that it was just a verse, and so it didn't really seem like it was that big of a accomplishment.
Alright, I am going to work on stuff now. Thanks for listening to my rants. I hope to get on here in a few hours with good reports and encouraging words. Until then, just hang in there for Jesus' sake. He is really good to us.
Love you guys,
Rebekah Ann
how shall I then live?
Ok, I am happy. God is good, this week has been ok, and I am really excited to be where I am in life. I had a long talk with a girl from school today, and I just realized how easy God has made my life. I mean, I know that might sound strange, but seriously I have never struggled with the frightening things that so many girls struggle with. I have always known that I am loved. I have always known that God is with me. I have always understood what it is that I am supposed to do.
I am not saying that I never struggle. I have to wrestle with God about things all the time. What I am saying is that He has been so good. He has spared me from so much. I am thankful.
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and I just want to be lazy and reject all the responsibilities God has given me. It's a wretched attitude. I feel like deserve to be grumpy. I don't.
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:4, 6-7
What an amazing promise? Sometimes I get really tired of guarding my heart, and I get anxious. You know what, God wants me to let my supplications and thanks be given to Him and then He will give me peace, and He will guard my heart.
If you read this blog post, will you please write something you are thankful for. It would be an encouragement to the rest of us. Thank you.
God knows...
I have had some quality conversations tonight with some quality individuals. My Daddy took me out for an evening chat. Thanks Dad, I love spending time with you.
I just got done chatting with my wise little sister Beth. She has grown so much these last few months. I owe her everything, and it amazes me how well God planned our lives. I think too hard, and I make everything too intense. Beth, she sees the simple side. She is always pointing out the true facts, and I need her so much. I hope I always listen to what she has to say.
I guess I have just been struck by how well God knows me. He knows me, and that can be the scariest thought in the world. He knows me, and that can be the most secure feeling in eternity. God knows...
"I love you" Tears
Most times tears are sad and marked with pain,
and then they fall with sorrow like hot rain.
Last night my tears were not of this kind.
They were, "I love you" tears.
Northside had communion last night.
If it was "only a service" I would have been alright.
I started to cry when it all dawned on me
I couldn't fight "I love you" tears.
Westside had their last service with us.
We didn't do much there wasn't a big fuss.
It's just when I realized they were leaving for always,
I began to cry "I love you" tears.
Worship is intense and real
that is why it was such a big deal
when these stood and were sent.
We all cried "I love you" tears.
Last night the tears streamed down my face
because part of my heart was moving to another place.
and that is why I couldn't stop
crying "I love you" tears.
I guess I didn't realize
how much I love all you guys.
I really do, but I have no fears
I just had to cry "I love you" tears.
