This Winter I Hope My Electricity Bill Is Through The Roof!!!

This past Sunday in church my husband gave an illustration to enhance one of the points in his message.  The story was about a woman who finally got electricity running to her house after many years of living without it.  When the electric company came to read her meter, they found that almost no electricity had been used.  Thinking that something might be wrong with the wiring, the gentleman knocked on the door and asked the woman if her electricity was working properly.  She told him it was working just fine.  In fact, she told him that she used it every day.  As soon as the sun would go down, she would flip her switch on until she had lit all of her candles and then turn it right back off.  This woman was tapped into the power, but she was not using it.

That story immediately sent my mind to thinking.  For many years I have struggled with a battle with in me...my self vs. The Holy Spirit.  I don't think that I am alone in this battle.  I think that most active Christians struggle the same way and might not even know it.  It has only been recently that I have realized that I have a problem with it myself.  You see. I have been saved since I was a child.  I have been active in my church, gone soul winning for years, taught Sunday school classes, led ladies meetings etc.  You name a ministry and I bet I have been involved in it at one time or another.  Yet here I am at the age of 35, and as I look back I can hardly remember a time that I was doing any of those ministries under the power of the Holy Spirit.  Now don't get me wrong, I was always doing it to please the Lord.  I have always loved Him and wanted to serve Him.  My motives were never to get glory for myself and bring attention to me, but looking back now I do realize that there was not much involvement or power from the Holy Spirit.  I was like the lady in the story.  I was turning the power on just long enough to light my own candle.

Can you imagine trying to clean your house by candle light?  You could do an okay job, but you would have to work much harder than you would if you could have electricity to see by.  It would take much more time and energy to clean it by candle light and in the end it probably wouldn't look as nice as you thought it did.  Once the electricity gets flipped on, you would look around and see all the things that you never realized were left undone when you were working by candle light.

This is where I feel I am in my life right now.  I have been consciously trying to work and serve with the Holy Spirit's power in my life now.  The light switch has been turned on and now I realize that all those things that I thought I had accomplished by candle light don't look so good.  I have a long list of accomplishments and by the grace of God even some results, but how much more could there have been if I were Spirit controlled.

That is my aim now.  I never want to turn that light switch off again.  It is so easy to do things in my own power.  Got has given me a few talents and if I am not careful those talents will push the need for the Holy Spirit to the side without me even realizing it.  It is easy to need the Holy Spirit when you are not good at something or uncomfortable, but we need to determine to yield to His power when it comes to our strengths as well.

What about you?  Have you been using your "electricity"  or is your meter reading low as well?  Lets determine that this winter season our "electricity" bill will be through the roof!  (I never thought I would say that sentence!)  :)

Blessed by His grace,

Rachel

My Daughter Wants Me To Turn Into An Old Lady!

This morning I read a great blog that challenged parents to sit down with their kids and ask them this question: If you could change one thing about me, what would it be?  They were allowed to tell you anything with out consequences.  The author of that blog said that his daughter told him that she wished he didn't have a cell phone.  It gave him a new perspective.  I decided to take this challenge so I sat down with all three of my girls and asked them this question:  If you could change anything about me, what would it be?

None of the girls wanted to answer right away, but I reassured them that they wouldn't hurt my feelings and that I truly wanted to know so that I could make our relationship better.  My middle child Olivia started.  She is 9 years old and has quite the personality.  She yelled out almost immediately, "I wish you would let us watch Sponge Bob!"  That is my Olivia :)  Concerned about the important things of life!  That show drives me crazy!  Even the sound of Sponge Bob's voice is like nails on a chalkboard for me.

My youngest, India, piped in next.  She is 5 years old.  "I wish we could eat at McDonalds every day!"  Well this conversation was getting real deep!  My oldest daughter had yet to speak up and was acting very hesitant.  I reassured her she could tell me anything without getting in trouble.  Autumn is 11.  She is just entering that teenage stage of life.  She still hesitated.  Her sister piped in, "Autumn tell her that thing that mom does that embarrasses you."

Oh no, I was in for it now!  Reluctantly, Autumn said, "I wish you didn't borrow my clothes."  Autumn and I are the same size right now.  We wear the same size shoes even.  Every blue moon I will borrow something of hers to wear.  Now realize, Autumn is wearing something of mine almost every day.  I asked her why it bothered her so much that I would borrow something that was hers when she borrowed from me all of the time.  I thought she was just being stingy, but her answer almost shocked me.

She told me that when I wear her things it makes me look younger and she wanted me to look like a mom.

It was right then that I realized something about my child and I believe most children.  They are not looking for a parent that can relate to them or be hip and look cool around their friends.  They just want a mom.  I don't have to be her best friend or act like one of the teenagers to influence her.  I have to parent her.  This goes against almost everything in our society right now.  Society is pushing away that parent/child boundary and promoting that a parent turns into a child's peer.  This will never work!

Eph_6:4 ... but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Pro_22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

You can't do this by being their BFF, but you can by being their parent.

So I know what you're thinking.  Are you going to let them watch Sponge Bob?  No, my nerves can't handle it and we will not being eating at McDonalds every day.  I will wear less of Autumn's things though.  I will let her turn me into an old lady and I will do it gracefully -except maybe her shoes.  She has some really cute shoes :)

Blessed,

Rachel

That Ugly Green Dress Is Worth WHAT??????

Hideous?  Yes, I agree, but for some reason this gaudy avocado green dress caught my eye.  You see, I have a confession to make.  I am an eBay addict.  I started selling on eBay a little over a year ago and now I am addicted.  I buy vintage and name brand things at the thrift store or garage sales and turn around and sell them on EBay.  It is so much fun.  It has funded a trip to Disneyland, bought all of last years and this years Christmas presents, paid for airline tickets for our whole family to Phoenix, and a whole lot more.  I really enjoy doing it and my eyes are always on the look out for things that might sell.  One time I bought my daughter, India, a gift from the store and when we got home she had a very sad look on her face.  When I asked why she was sad she told me it was because she didn't want me to sell her toy on EBay!  I guess I can go overboard at times.

On Wednesday, I went "EBay shopping" to one of my favorite places, The Goodwill Outlet.  This is the last chance for thrift store items to sell before they get recycled.  This place is an eBayer's dream.  There are huge blue bins full of merchandise.  Nothing has price tags.  Nothing is sorted.  Everything is thrown into these bins and you dig through to find "treasure".  You load up your cart and you are charged by the pound!  Last time I went I had over 60 lbs. worth of stuff to sell.

This place is a madhouse.  Every 2 hours they take out all of the old blue bins and bring in brand new ones.  They make everyone stand behind a line painted on the floor while they are doing it.  When all of the new bins have been brought out the manager says some announcement about no running or pushing, but no one can hear him because everyone is running and pushing to grab all of the good stuff first.  It's insane!

This brings me to the hideous green dress.  I found it in one of the bins.  No one was pushing or running to get it first because lets face it - it's ugly!  I don't know why I decided to toss it in my cart.  Maybe because it looked vintage.  Maybe because when you pay by the pound I would only be paying a few cents for it.  I could just toss it out if it wasn't worth anything.  I went ahead and bought it along with about 59 pounds of other stuff.

The next day I sat down to list all of the items that I had bought.  When I looked up the brand of the dress, Paganne, I was shocked to see how much their dresses were selling for.  I was expecting $15 maybe $20, but all of the dresses by this designer were selling in the hundreds!  WHAT???  And I discovered that the dresses that were signed by the designer sold for even more.  I frantically searched the dress for a signature and guess what?  It was signed!!

Who would have thought that this ugly, hideous dress was worth something?  Not me!

This morning I was reading my devotions and I came upon this passage.

1Corinthians 1:25-29

  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

 

This dress is not valuable because of its beauty. It is not valuable because of its material - its made of polyester.  The reason that this hideous dress is valuable is because it has the signature of its maker.

 

I am so thankful that God uses the base, seemingly worthless things and puts His signature on them.  It is not our flesh that can accomplish great things, but it His hand writing His name upon our lives.  This way all the glory can go to the designer, Jesus Christ!

 

 

So blessed'

 

Rachel

I Want To Be A Goose!!!

This past Monday I was asked to substitute teach in a Kindergarten class at our church's academy.  I taught this class a couple of year's ago so I agreed to help out when the teacher was ill.  Back when I was the teacher, I always had the same problem.  I always ended up with a lot of extra free time at the end of the day.  I am a woman a few words.  It doesn't take me long to explain to the kids the lesson that is being taught.  We get down to business and get 'er done.  Once again at the end of our half day Kindergarten we had about 15 minutes and I had no more lessons to teach them.  15 minutes of 5 year old free time can turn disastrous if you don't give them something to do so I decided that we would go on a walk.  We played follow the leader into the gym where the older students were eating lunch.  I was the leader and the children had to copy everything that I did.  As I started walking around the lunch table I started patting people on the head and saying, "Duck, duck, duck..."  The children copied me.  The older kids at the table gave me quizzical glances and started scooting to the edge of their seats just in case I patted their head and yelled , "Goose!"

As I circled the table and patted each head I started to think which child seated at the table would be a good sport and chase after our class if I choose them to be the goose.  After all, I didn't want my impromptu  game to fall flat for these adorable cutie pies.  I carefully chose my target.  She was watching us closely.  She had a smile on her face.  She was perched on the edge of her chair.  She was ready and willing to entertain these sweet Kindergartners in a chase of duck, duck, goose.  I tapped her head and yelled, "Goose!"  She didn't disappoint.  She waited until each child tapped her head and yelled Goose and took off on the chase.  The Kindergarten class loved it.

As we were running around the table I heard a few of the other students murmur the words, "I want to be the goose!"  They also were eager and willing to participate.  It did my heart good.  Later that evening I started to think that must be what it is like for God sometimes.  I can imagine Him up in Heaven seeking for that perfect person to accomplish a task on hand.  I can see Him walking around the cafeteria table of life looking for that person who is on the edge of their seat.  He is looking for that person with the right attitude that will drop everything that they are busy with to do whatever He asks of them. 

When I was circling the table there were kids that didn't even stop eating there lunch to pay attention to what we were doing.  I didn't pick them to be the goose.  There were people with their heads down making no eye contact.  I could tell they didn't want to chase us.  I didn't pick them to be the goose.

I chose the person who was making it crystal clear. "Pick me!  I'll do it!"  They were my goose.

Eze_22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

That is how I believe we should present ourselves to the Lord as well.  We need to be attentive to Him.  We need to be on the edge of our seats, willing to drop our peanut butter sandwich in an instant to follow Him.  Don't get so busy with your "lunch" to see what is going on around you.

I want to be the goose!  I want Him to pick me!  I want it to be my turn to accomplish His task.  How about you?  Do you want to be a goose?

Blessed abundantly,

 

Rachel

I Only Shave My Legs Up To My Knees!

TMI????  I know, right?  But I have learned in my few short weeks of blogging that if your title doesn't get people's attention, they won't read what you have to say.  Well, it worked didn't it?  You are still reading!

It is true though.  Almost every time that I shave my legs I only go to the top of my knee.  Why, you ask?  Because I don't need to go any farther.  All of my clothes come down to my knee, so why put out any unnecessary energy to do more?  I know, I am weird like that, but as I examine a lot of areas in my life, I find this same pattern of only doing what is absolutely necessary.  For instance, last Sunday I wore open toed shoes to church.  As I slipped them on I realized that I needed to paint my toenails.  Only 2 1/2 of my nails showed through the peep toe so those are the toes I painted.  I have been walking around all week with 2 1/2 painted toenails on each foot.  It goes on.  I always only set the table with the utensils that we will need for that particular meal.  If we don't have use for a spoon, it doesn't go on the table.  Only what is necessary, that is my motto!  I got new windows earlier in the year and all of the sills need painted.  Did that get done?  Of course not, the curtains hide them anyways.  No one can see them so why paint them, right?  You see my pattern?  Only what is absolutely necessary!

While this habit of only doing what is required might not adversely effect anyone in my day to day life (except my poor husband with my pokey legs) I have to be very careful that it doesn't spill over into my spiritual life.  As a pastor's wife and a ministry leader in our church, I find quite a few people that are only willing to do what is absolutely necessary for the Lord.  I see people only doing what is "required" of them and never serving the Lord with their whole heart.  These are the kind of people who question every standard and walk as close to the line of worldliness as they possibly can.  If you can't give them a chapter and verse for a standard or guideline, they completely dismiss the idea.  They feel they don't need to study scriptures to find God's thoughts on a subject or allow the Holy Spirit room to convict them about anything.  Only what is required.  Only what is absolutely necessary.  That is their motto.

This kind of Christianity is permeating our society.  No wonder the generations coming up seem to know nothing about their creator and Savior.  When we only do what is necessary in our Christian walk many people will suffer.  We are commanded to be light and salt to this world.  The "only do what in necessary" philosophy makes you focus on yourself and not on the needs of others.  How will this standard effect me?  Attending church will take up all of my free time!  Giving offerings to the church will hurt me financially.  When we begin to focus on ourselves we forget about the purpose that God has put on each of our lives.  We are supposed to be ministering.  Being light and salt definitely requires us to do more than what is required and absolutely necessary.  We have to have a close walk with the Lord so that He can use us effectively.  We have to die to self.  That definitely meets the requirements of going above what is absolutely necessary, but that is what Christ has asked each believer to do.

Galations_2:20   I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The Lord has done much more for me than what was absolutely necessary.  The least I can do for him is to serve Him with my whole heart!

With all my heart,   :)

Rachel