Planning your future are you?

So I keep planning my future. Am I going to do the fire academy or am I going to finish at LBCC first. How long am I going to stay at my job. Where am I going to live in the next few years. Where am I going to attend paramedic school. What days will I leave open for snowboarding. Which weekends will I ride dirt bikes. When will I meet my husband, what will he look like. Thoughts of my future and the planning I try to do consume me on a day to day basis. I get stressed out when I am on the fence, when I am unsure of what I want to do or what God is going to do. I can't relax until I have a definite plan, until I know exactly what I will be doing.

Last night at Life Group we had an amazing worship sesh followed by a great conversation. God pretty much said "Rachel stop planning your life" So I flip open my bible and stumble upon this: "Everything had already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So theres no use arguing with God about your destiny." Ecclesiastes 6:10

Then today I pick up where I left off in James. I read this "Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." James 4:13-17

God really does teach you what you need to hear at the right time. I thank Him for that. No plan is definite, no plan is set in stone, things don't always go as you wish, nothing works when you do it on your own. BUT: God always has a plan, God always knows whats going on, God wants you to trust him and God will never leave you.

Trust God

Give your life to God

STOP trying to do things on your own- Go to GOD! He is waiting for you.

GOD never fails- HE ALWAYS LOVES

Equally Yoked

So what do you do if you meet someone who seems like a great potential. They are generous, they are kind, they are funny, they have a promising career, they do the things you like to do...BUT they are not on the same spiritual level as you?

This had been running through my head for the past week. The earthy female inside me wants to just go for it and finally have a nice boyfriend; but there is still that foundation inside me that says no this is not what i want for you. I know in my head that we should be equally yoked, have the same spiritual levels etc, but I still didn't fully have a way of expressing it. So today I searched for answers in the Word. (It's crazy how as soon as you learn it from Jesus or the Word it is completely clear and you no longer have trouble in your mind of what to do.)

Yoke= to join together//bind//join

Genesis 2:24

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4

You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, ⁴ for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.

1 Corinthians 11:3

But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God

2 Corinthians 6:14-17

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

“I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
¹⁷ Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you.

Ephesians 5:25-27

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.²⁷ He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

So what I get from this is that Jesus wants us to be able to fully worship Him and live for Him first so that when man and woman join as one they are equally living out Gods word and being a light to everyone together. There cannot be a division of spirituality between man and women. Going through this in one short week sure has taught me a lot on patience. The two things I struggle with the most are impatience and stubbornness. Knowing why I am waiting on the Lord for 'the perfect person' makes me able to wait 20 years if I have to. I would rather be single living my life for God than to hurry God and just go into a relationship with the wrong person and have that huge distraction from God.

So Lord I pray that I wait for someone who will only help me in my faith, that will lead me spiritually towards your kingdom, someone who will love you more than me, and live his life the way you called him to. I will not settle, I will wait on you Lord for I know your plans are great and worth waiting for. I pray that as I wait I use that time wisely. I use it to grow closer to you, stronger in my faith, start living my life more for you and less for me, so that when the time comes that I meet my husband I will have a strong foundation that won't be compromised by the distraction of another person in my life.

Keep On

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

A Life Empowered

The Holy Spirit

Wow! Is all I could say after Darren concluded his sermon Sunday on the Holy Spirit. All my life I knew God. I learned the cool little stories about Jesus dying and raising from the dead, about David and Goliath, etc. But the Holy Spirit was left out. I was a bitarian Christian instead of a trinitarian. This past Summer was the first time I heard more about the Holy Spirit besides his name. I had never heard of tongues, I didn't know about spiritual gifts, I didn't know about this huge section God gave us. Now I'm learning, and I like it. Up until Sunday I learned bits and pieces about the Holy Spirit, I was trying to piece together what the Holy Spirit is and does. Besides being weirded out from 'super spiritual' people/acts, I was willing to figured it out. Sunday cleared everything up. Oh the Spirit was definitely alive at Cohiba!

We were a week late, but nonetheless we celebrated Pentecost Sunday by learning about it:

John 14:15-21:

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

-This sums so much up for me how amazing and brilliant our God is!

Genesis 2:7

"Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person."

The Greek word for breath is pneuma, which means spirit. In the beginning the spirit is what gave us life!

Jeremiah 31:33

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people

Ezekiel 36:26-27

"And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations."

Joel 2:28

“Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions."

We were given numerous examples in the old testament where the Holy Spirit moved for specific purposes specific people at a specific time. We are all able to receive the Spirit!

Pentecost: means 50 years. Day to celebrate Gods outpouring and blessing/and a celebration of a renewed covenant.

Acts 2:1-12

-The Holy Spirit came down with a boom and people started talking in different languages (tongues) glorifying God. God reversed the towel of Babel, for there God confused people with different languages and now He is allowing everyone to speak the same to bring praise to Him.

-The Holy Spirit came to continue the mission God has on earth.

The Holy Spirit is a person, is God. The HS is action. The HS is a promise.

The Holy Spirit fills us up to make living out this life easier. The Holy Spirit makes streams of flowing water pour out of our heart. The Holy Spirit assists us in carrying out Jesus' mission here on earth. The Holy Spirit must be present in our lives, we must accept the Holy Spirit and allow it to bring us closer to God! The Holy Spirit empowers you to be who you are in Christ.

Sunday after service I had Ryan pray for me. I have tried so hard to stay away from the Holy Spirit, afraid of what He will have me do, afraid to let go of earthly things. I am ready. I want all God has to offer and I want to give back. I want to Spirit in me to guide me to do anything God calls me to do. I want to let go of things un-Godly. I want more! While Ryan was praying I heard him praying away stubbornness and impatience! Oh he hit it on the spot! Two things I struggle with most are patience and and a hard heart. (Please pray for those struggles in my life) Then he said he felt like it has taken me longer to let go and accept, but that its okay because God has things happen at different times for different people for different specific reasons. Last summer when I heard what seemed like 1,000 stories of Holy Spirit encounters I was so bummed, wondering what is wrong with me, is my relationship with God not good enough. Well once again God taught me that His timing surely is perfect. Because now that I have heard about the Spirit, and all the things He can do, and how it affects people around me I am finally ready to let go and accept.

Let The Holy Spirit in and LIVE A LIFE EMPOWERED!

A Firm Foundation Doesn't Move

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7: 24-27

Lately I have been in a Spiritual Slump. I do not want to be at Life Group. I do not want to talk God with people. I do not want to pray. I have been taken over by earthly things. Ultimate Frisbee. Snowboarding. Lake. Work. School. ETC. (side note: although i say those things, i still absolutely love going to church on Sundays, i love serving and using my abilities for Christ, i just don't want to do the mental things, like learn more pray more etc)

Last night at The Garden in LB was amazing. God spoke to me big time through Darren! I have not really learned and taken heart to what was being said at the garden for quite some time.

Saturday night i went to riverside with Emma, on the way back we had an hour to talk, and it was a great talk! i realized how great it feels to get things off my chest. i had such an abnormal joy after talking, and all sunday i was just filled up with joy. the craziest thing is even though i "forgot" to pray (or i just didn't pray about the things me and Emma talked about God still answered my un-spoken prayers. I wanted to get out of the slump, learn more from God, walk with God to be like Jesus, and be used by God for others, using my abilities and hobbies for His Kingdom.

So back to Matthew 7. To first change things you must learn what is wrong. I figured out and pin pointed what is wrong in my life. The foolish man builds on the sand because it is EASY to build on sand, but when you build on this sand you risk there being rain and storms and floodwaters. Notice in the above verses it says WHEN the storm comes not IF. There will be trials and tribulations and building on sand WILL NOT let you stand firm, you will crumble and fall and have to pick up your broken pieces. BUT if you build on the firm foundation (even though it is tough to build on the rock), when the storm comes you may get a few shingles flying off your roof, or broken windows, but your built on a firm rock, your foundation is not moving, ever! I realized I built my foundation on that rock. I started building up on this foundation, but it got hard. I figured it was "too hard" so I tried to move my foundation to the sand to complete my building the easy way. But because my foundation is on the rock it is not moving, ever! God will not let me go to the sand now, I'm stuck and I need to complete what I started, no matter how hard it will get.

So now it's time to contact my contractor (or carpenter ;) and ask how and where to build.

PS: I love to serve and I love to be active. This is how God is going to use me and here are some ideas either God has given to me:

-Start a "half time show" or fun day once every other month for the kids at Covenant Pres to gather and play an organized game or activity.

-Free babysitting with Sara- we want to show the love of God through our ability to play with kids, starting with our neighborhood- because after all we do need to love our neighbor as ourself and this is a good way to start

-Do sport gathering at the Garden- ie. Play a game of Ultimate Frisbee Sunday after am service!

-Disciple! start it within our home- I live with 5 girls, if we are going to be disciples lets start with each other! we should know everything about each other, our struggles our praises our everything!

If your reading this, you are now accountable for keeping me accountable ;)

keep it simple stupid

i feel like this is what God is saying to me:

"do not worry child. i love you. why would i want you to starve, go homeless, go thirsty? i will make sure you have all you need (not want). i know what your going to ask me for and i have it ready for you. do what i have called you to do.

i'm not anxious, i am the kingdom, and live to carry out my kingdom. therefore, don't be anxious.

today has enough troubles. so dear child do not waste any time thinking or worrying about what will or will not happen tomorrow.

i love you." -God

he loves me

he cares for me

he is not worried

he knows what i need

I do not have any reason to worry

When We Die

The enemy has been defeated

Death couldn't hold you down

We're gonna lift our voice in victory

We're gonna make your praises loud

We lift your name up!

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What happens when we die? We go to heaven.

As Christians, we think we know what happens when we die. We get to go to heaven and have eternal life. Shouldn't this excite us, and let us be unafraid of death?

Today, I read in 1 Corinthians 15. This chapter is a heavy chapter for me. Paul writes about Jesus' resurrection. Paul writes about who buried Him, and who saw Him rise. Paul explains that Jesus proved to every person that there is life after death, that resurrection can happen. Paul went on sharing about death, and what happens when we die.

Why do we die?

V22-23 We die because we belong to Adam. Because Adam sinned, we sin, and the punishment for sin is death. BUT because we belong to Christ, we will be given new life.

So when we die, there is hope, not sadness. V42-44 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. ⁴³ Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. ⁴⁴ They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

When we die we live again! We are being transformed into our heavenly bodies. Here is the rest of chapter 15 that I couldn't break into parts because the WHOLE thing is worth reading.

⁵⁰ What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

⁵¹ But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! ⁵² It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. ⁵³ For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

⁵⁴ Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

⁵⁶ For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. ⁵⁷ But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

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Satan thinks that death is his victory. But oh is he wrong! Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, death is now means Satan has been defeated. Death does not mean the end of life. It means the beginning of eternal life. A life better than earthly life. A life you get to live next to our Lord. A life of all knowing. A life of no school, work, stress, emotion, money, dos and donts. A life you can ONLY achieve if you live your earthly life the way God wants you to.

Will you achieve eternal life? Will you defeat Satan?