Inking the Heart Blog

A Prayer for the church . . .

8/30/2020

"GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD."
Matt. 6:11

Lord, today give us grace for ourselves,
for our weaknesses and our faults.
And give us grace for others,
their weaknesses and their faults.

Lord, today fill our bodies and our souls
with food that nourishes our bodies
and Your Word, love and compassion
that nourishes our souls.

Lord, today give us fellowship,
connection and community.
We need connection with You through prayer and worship
and community with others as we reach out
to see and hear
and love one another.

Lord, today give us mercy
as we navigate through a fallen, broken world.
Help us to bend low with the fallen
to be your hands of healing.
Help us to walk out justice and righteousness
as we walk in your ways
being the feet of Jesus
walking out our faith.

The Lord gives.
The Lord takes away.
The Lord goes before us,
walks beside us,
and covers us from behind.

Our daily bread is found in a strong tower,
beside quiet waters,
on a mountain top,
in the refining fires,
gentle whispers,
and
in fields ready for harvest.

Wherever we find ourselves today
we will find all we need
we just need to ask

Lord, Give us today our daily bread.

Amen

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The Author's Purpose - an invitation

4/13/2020

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When I woke up on Friday, March 13 I had no idea how my life in this season would change by the end of the day. At 8:15 my 7th grade students showed up, sat in their desks and were ready to learn. We read, we wrote and we even talked a little about the times and how we need not be afraid since the virus seemed so far away. Threat was drawing near but none of us could predict that by 3:15 school would be over for the rest of the year. Being in space with my students was over; all of our normal daily routines were about to change. Within the next two weeks my college kids moved home, church gatherings were cancelled and preliminary lockdown measures were installed in the community.

Weird times. I had nothing in my memory bank to help me process through these changes.

During that first week home the long hours were filled with activities that eased anxiety and helped me escape from reality. I retreated to Netflix, tended to my home and read.

Before the stay-at-home orders restricted daily activities and even before COVID-19 invaded my thoughts, I bought a book on hospitality. "The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World" by Rosaria Butterfield was a new perspective on hospitality that I was excited to read. But reading a book on hospitality during a time of social distancing had me asking more questions and wondering what or even how was this book going to be relevant.

I pressed on. And after turning pages and completing chapters a table was set out for me with a simple purpose that nourished my hungry heart.

I am one for setting a table. Paper plates, china, colorful bowls or mismatched plates, doesn't matter. It's all for the purpose of gathering people together, strangers meeting strangers, a small community where connection heals, people are loved and accepted, and souls and stomachs are nourished.

But Rosaria, she set a table for me and invited me in, into her life, into her community, into her heart. She told me her story, the memories that shaped her, the decisions that set a course for her life and the detours she took along the way. She shared her thoughts and beliefs, her pain and heartaches and most importantly she pointed me to the Author from which she finds her purpose in her radically ordinary hospitality way of life.

I found myself desperate to sit down with her and ask her questions like:

How do you make sense of this social distancing?
How do you practice this radial yet ordinary hospitality in these times?
What does life look like for you now?
How can I adapt what you do and practice radical ordinary hospitality in my home, my community and my church in ways that meet the needs around me?

She says, "Hospitality is the ground zero of the Christian life, biblically speaking." If that is the case we need to do things differently.

My home has always had an open door and many walk through it and dine with us. We share our lives with others, inviting them in for a meal, for the night or even to stay awhile longer. Social distancing has taken that away from me in the normal sense of how we live our lives.  But I found a sort of respite in this book. A respite from the anxiety of an invisible virus threatening my normal.

She talked about the Nextdoor app. Through it I have been able to bless my neighbors and be blessed by them as well as participate in sharing encouraging words or putting a bear in my window for kids to go on a bear hunt in the neighborhood during walks with their family. She talked about bedside hospitality, of which I am too familiar, and she reminded me that God is "the stability of your times." (Is. 33:6) She talked about grief in children when things are suddenly different around you. She says, ". . . play is a vital part of grief." As a teacher I get that. With the changes in the world my students don't need an overabundance of school work to mimic a school day, what they need is time to process and kids process through "play." In the conclusion she says, "Christians are not fearful hoarders: we are fearless givers." How prophetic is that!

When Jesus says to love your neighbor as yourself but that love in the past has manifested it's ways in coffee shops, community gatherings and most often around the table, a real time radically ordinary hospitality must find new ways to love.

I'm working on that part, as are so many of us. However, this blessing of being offered a place at this author's table has been the purpose I did not foresee, that nourishment I didn't know I was so hungry for, the company I longed for.

An authors purpose in the various books out there are multifaceted. Some take us on a journey to faraway places, some open doors into a whole new world, some inform and others invite you into their lives. Those are my favorite reads.

Books have a beginning and an end. People have a beginning and an end. This part of our story is only that, a part. Our past is different than today and who knows what our future holds, but it WILL be different than today.

I will probably read a few books during this time. They will take me on an adventure or teach me something new. However there is one book I never tire of. That is my Bible. I love the history, the people, the stories of redemption, the miracles, and the invitation to live life with a radically ordinary hospitality that gives hope, healing and purpose to our lives. Rosaria says it best:

And that is what the Bible always does.
It tells the whole story.
And the whole story is one of multi-directional hope -
of past and present and future, of what will come to pass,
and of what must be fulfilled in order for hope to manifest.

The other night my family and I were finishing up a series called "The Chosen" about the life of Christ. As season 1 came to an end with Jesus walking into the town of Samaria, my son yelled out "It ends with a cliffhanger!"

Yes, but if you have read the book you know what happens.

Unfortunately we don't know how this pandemic will end, we don't know what tomorrow or even next year will bring, we don't know the details of the end of our story, but if we have read the Book we know there is hope and a purpose through the trials.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God, and are called according to His purpose for them.
Romans 8:28

I hope you have picked up a book or two during this time of "social distancing." I hope the author's purpose has brought you joy, taught you something new or taken you on an adventure. I also hope you have picked up your Bible during this time. The Author has a story to share with you, a bit of wisdom much different than you will hear from the media, some hope for your day and a purpose for your life. That purpose might be an invitation to living a radically ordinary hospitable life of loving others and being loved by the Author Himself.

Blessings to you from at least 6 feet away!

Love,

Rachael

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Wandering through 2019

12/30/2019

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Today, December 28, 2019 I went for a walk. For me that is kind of a big deal because for the last two days I have been sick in bed. My sickness started exactly a week before Christmas Day. I woke up with a terrible sore throat and it went downhill from there. However, there were places to go, dinners to be made and presents to buy so I kept going. The day after Christmas I had to stop. Not only was it doctor’s orders but my body was tired, my lungs needed to catch a breath and I needed the nourishment of rest, hot fluids, antiboitics and to be entertained instead of entertain. Thank you Disney+ for your healing powers. But seriously, what mother has time before Christmas to take care of herself? It was almost precisely at the stroke of midnight on December 25 that I turned into a pumpkin and the magic of Christmas dimmed.

Those vague days between Christmas and New Years have brought those familiar feelings of dread. What lies ahead this next year? How will life change? Who will I lose this year? These days grief and fear are intertwined within and I struggle to break free on a daily basis. The end of one year and the beginning of another seem to enhance these feelings. However, today, after staring at a screen for two days, wrapped in warm blankets and under the safety of a place I call home I broke free. Not sure if my lungs were ready for the crisp cool breeze or if my legs had the strength for a walk down a familiar path, I forged ahead. My forging ahead allowed me the time to think back on the past year.

It has been a year of wandering, searching for my place. Longings, desires and dreams have awoken, and I am not sure what to do with them. I struggle with the questions: Do I want more from life or do I want less? A simpler life, perhaps, or is the voice within me crying out for a place to be heard? Do I stay in the background and continue to wait until things look like I think they should, or do I step out in faith and forge through the forest unsure of when a clearing will come into view?

I’ve walked this familiar path alone many times over the past year. I’ve watched sunsets and people, listened to the wind through the trees and the amphibian melodies floating on murky waters and I’ve done important work on this path. I’ve been brutally honest with myself under the safety of the great big sky where my dreams, desires, hopes and fears have had no boundaries. My freedom in Christ allows me to search those depths and not be ashamed, feel unworthy or keep those secret things hidden. With each exposure I open my hands and surrender that thing to God asking that each desire, hope, and dream be transformed into God’s will for my life. I am perfectly aware that some things need to be buried deep and may never emerge. My surrender is with the full knowledge that I am heard but that my desires, hopes and dreams may be transformed into something so different from what I could possibly imagine. This freedom I have to be shamelessly honest sets me free to allow God to work freely in my life believing that even in this period of wilderness wandering I will know what is right and good for each moment.

Your own ears will hear him.
Right behind you a voice will say, “"This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
Isaiah 30:21

As I have pondered these things in my own heart and prepare to bury them with Christ I do so not as a time capsule to be one day excavated and examined as a reminder of what once was, but I bury these things as seeds that must die. God may choose some of these things to emerge with life and bloom in a beauty I can’t even fathom at this moment. He may choose to sprout some that will emerge slowly and eventually show itself as a righteous oak with deep roots feeding off springs of living water. Or some may just simply need to stay in that deep dark place where it is up to God to resurrect in His time if that ever is to be. Either way I end this year with a hope that I haven’t felt in past New Year"s experiences.

My experience this New Year’s is for the most part void of fear, upheld in hope that will be carry me onward, and with a joy in the passing of 2019 that will be my strength. For I have and will continue to do this:

Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed in the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
Colossians 3:2-4

This 2019 wandering through the wilderness has been a holy experience for me. C.S. Lewis calls this the Holy Wild and I certainly have not felt alone. My desperate longing for God alone through this time of uncertainty and depth of honesty that has emerged within has been a comfort; He is my sounding board. As this year comes to a close, I do pray for each person reading this post. May something somehow resonate with you.

Maybe there are some things you need to be honest about. I promise you will find freedom if you take that risk. Maybe shame, embarrassment or fear keep your heart clamped up tight. May I remind you that God sent his son, Jesus, to us as a reminder of His favor upon on (Luke 2:14). Start there, in the quiet of that place where it is just you and Jesus, believing this truth: the favor of the Lord rests upon you.

I do believe for you that when you bury your own longings, dreams and desires with Christ that He will breathe life into them. This next year might not look like you expected it to, but I pray that as time enfolds so will His purpose, His will and His desires for your life. May peace and joy remain unwrapped as you share in God’s “Glorious Unfolding” throughout 2020.

Blessings,

Rachael

P.S. As I ended this post I was reminded of the the song "Glorious Unfolding" by Steven Curtis Chapman

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Pondering . . . Paths

2/3/2019

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A few Saturday's ago I was wandering down this path. It was a beautiful clear day on the coast and I wanted to sit on the beach and read quietly. I was in a new area and wasn't sure how to get down to the sandy beach, but I found this path, so I decided to follow it. It was smooth traveling until I got closer to my destination. Either I had taken a wrong turn somewhere, or this path was not a beach access path. At some point this path ended and I found myself walking through slippery mud, on a very narrow, unkempt path along the side of a hill.

I did not snap a picture of this part of the journey. It was messy, dangerous, and my arms were heavy laden with a latte, my book, a towel, and my purse. As I traveled alone I remember thinking, "I hope nobody is watching me." How clumsy I must have looked half bent over trying to keep my balance, holding on to branches to pull myself up over mounds of mud and trying not to slip down the muddy hillside into the flooded inlet. I struggled through this alone with my load along this slippery slope until finally arriving close enough to the beach where I could hop down about 3 feet and land in the sand.

Eventually I found a place to rest and read. The weather was absolutely perfect!

On my back to the car I found a more well-trodden, paved path up to the top of the hill.

And I got to thinking: As people journey through life no two people's paths are ever exactly the same. The scenery and level of difficulty will always have some variations.

On this trip I was visiting a friend who had just experienced some loss. For a short while our paths intersected and together we walked through the grief until it was time for me to continue on.

For a few weeks now I have been trying to reconcile, to put into words what happens to the view of our own individual paths when we choose to walk alongside someone else on their journey through life.

How can you walk down your own path and walk alongside someone else on theirs at the same time when their view is so much different than what your's is?

The word connection keeps coming to mind.

When the paths we are on cross, even if only for a short time, there is a connection. So, we stop and talk Enjoy the view. Talk about disappointments we've had along the way. When there is history in the relationship we talk about how different this path looks compared to how we imagined it would be. Sometimes we take note of the dreary view, or sometimes we share the joys we've seen along the way.

But I was still struggling with finding words for how our paths look when we take a long walk down someone else's path with them

Then yesterday a long time friend of mine reminded me of something, and I found the words I was looking for.

She reminded me of a time years ago when we went on an inner-city missions trip to San Francisco. Part of that trip included each team member being blindfolded for a period of time. I fed her soup when she was blindfolded. When it was my turn for the handicap I had to board a crowded city bus. I couldn't see anything, but she was my guide through that dark and unstable period of time.

When I think of times I have traveled alongside someone for longer periods of time it was a dark time in their lives, a time when fear, doubt, grief, trauma or insecurities blinded them. People experience dark times when the future is uncertain, when doubt tests their faith, when the Truth of who God is in their life is either forgotten or yet to be grasped, or when life throws a curve ball and all of a sudden everything that was familiar and comfortable has slipped away.

During these times we need the company of one another in the darkness. We need to take a detour into the darkness of that friend. However, we are not called to be a light for them. That's Jesus' job. We are called to bring Jesus to them as the light in that dark place. It's not about what we can do for them, it's about what He can do, what He says and where He leads. Together you follow Him until the path becomes clear again.

Those are the most beautiful paths I have ever walked on. Their path became my path as we walked with Christ through the darkness. Whether it was me emerging from my own dark time with a friend by my side or vice versa. This is what gives our journey beauty. This is where true connection, community and love is found.

During those times when the paths lead up steep grades or down into valleys, when the way is slippery and you feel like a clumsy fool with a heavy heart and arms full of burdens, find someone to walk with you. If you see someone in that place, be that person and walk with them

It's amazing! When you look back you realize that the light of Christ lit the way the whole time and the connection of companionship was an anchor of hope that gave strength for each step forward.

"What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this."

John 13:7

Thank you to those of you who have been my companion through those darkest times. To those that I do life with I am thankful for our friendship. Together we will always find the light of Christ to see us through whatever life has in store for our future.

Love,

Rachael

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I AM . . . full of fear

1/6/2019

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On New Year's Eve I played a game with some friends where I had to rate the last year on a scale of 1-10, then the other players had to guess my number.

It is a little embarrassing to admit that my number was the lowest of the entire group. My number was a 5.

There are some justifications for my answer such as for every negative event, I was able to see a positive outcome, so that leaves a 50 percent bad and 50 percent good year with a perfectly acceptable number of 5. I know in reality that my number should have been a bit higher, however on this particular night I answered through the lens of "where I am at right now."

You see, New Year's Eve always has me standing on the edge of a cliff looking down into the vast unknown and I have no choice but to jump and see where I land in a year. When I look back at the past year I see painful twists and turns that I didn't expect and life shaping events that drastically changed my life (okay, maybe "drastically" is a bit too drastic of a word).

My perspective that night was so filled with fear of a future that I could not see, predict or control and I was just going to be free falling into the new year.

This "feeling" is not the truth. I know that. Somehow, the next day, I stumbled upon the verses in Isaiah 43:1-2 and I inserted my name in them Feel free to insert your name as you read the verses below:

But now, Rachael, listen to the Lord who created you.
Rachael, the one who formed you says, "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you."

I am not standing on the edge of cliff being asked to jump off into a scary unknown space. This is just a new calendar year. The date changes as it continues to do each day. I have done this 45 times already in my life and not once can I look back and recall a time where life consumed me to the point where I had not hope.

This word "consuming" led me to read Exodus 2 where Moses comes upon the burning bush. Moses is amazed that the bush is burning in a blazing fire yet not burned up. An angel of the Lord says, "Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground." Then he goes on to tell Moses how there are people in distress and suffering and the Lord's intent is to rescue them but he commands Moses to go and do it for him.

I am reminded that my home has been a place of holy ground Our doors this past year have been open to those wading through rivers of difficulty. It's been a place for others to find reprieve from the fires of life that oppress one's spirit.

So why all this fear inside me?

I believe Moses was afraid too. He protested God's call on his life and began both his protests with the words "WHO AM I . . .".

God answered, "I will be with you. . . . " EXODUS 3:12

I'm afraid of more bad things happening. I'm afraid of more loss. I'm afraid of failing. I'm afraid of the changes coming either real or perceived in my own family. I'm afraid of not being good enough, smart enough or strong enough. I'm afraid of any weaknesses being exposed. I'm afraid of the paths that will be chosen for me and the trials that I will face along the way.

When Moses asked, "Who am I?" God's only response with this initial protest was "I will be with you."

Strangely enough that promise eases my fear. Isaiah 43 reinforces this promise by saying the Lord has called me and I am his. Again He says He will be with me. I will not drown in difficulty, I will not be consumed by the troubles of this life.

"For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
Isaiah 43:3a

I can't honestly say that I am not afraid of what lurks around the corner of tomorrow, but I do know that know matter what I am not alone. God doesn't answer Moses' question of "Who am I? quite yet. I believe it is in the journey that Moses will discover that. He does give Moses a purpose though. Moses initially rejects this purpose, however God relentlessly pursues Moses and eventually Moses obeys and walks down the path that the Lord has paved for him. I hope to write more about that in the future.

In the allegory Hinds' Feet on High Places the main character Much Afraid is traveling along the Shores of Loneliness along with her companions Sorrow and Suffering when she succumbs to an encounter with Pride. In her weakest moment she calls out to the Shepherd and he shows up hurling Pride over the edge of the cliff into the sea. It is after this fearful encounter with her own weakness when she proclaims to the Shepherd:

"But I do tell you now with all my heart that you are my Shepherd whose voice I love to hear and obey, and that it is my joy to follow you.
You choose, my Lord, and I will obey."

Much Afraid was coming to the realization that the path the Shepherd chose for her was best. It wasn't the safest or the easiest, and it didn't always make sense to her, but she was coming to trust his ways, follow his lead and fear less. Eventually she gets a new name.

I don't know if you struggle with fear like I do, but I do know that regardless the same promises remain for you. It's a new year and none of us know what that will look like. It could be better or it could be worse. It could lead you down a path you choose or one chosen for you. We just don't know and really, we don't need to know. But one thing I do know. We will not be alone. Let's hold on to the promises in Isaiah 43. Make them your own. I'm sure at some point we will all need those reminders.

Blessings,

Rachael

Illustration above is from Hinds' Feet on High Places: an engaging visual journey

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A Prayer for My Daughters

7/28/2017

5 Comments

The high places are my favorite. It is there that I can listen, focus and regroup from whatever life threw at me in the months past. This particular spot is a familiar one. Several years ago I stood on this same lake as my much younger daughter tried to catch one inch fish with her hands. I wrote about that here. Last week both my girls provided a hearty fish lunch from their 8-12 inch catches. My girls are growing up.

Way. Too. Fast.

During my devotions one morning I read a prayer that General Douglas MacArthur wrote for his son. I have a son. I made a copy of that prayer and am going to stick it in my bible. I will share that prayer with you at the end of this post. However, what my heart also desired was to have a prayer for my daughters tucked away in the pages of my bible too. So I read a few passages of scripture and prayed for my girls.

This is what I prayed:

Fashion me a daughter, O Lord,
who will cloth herself
with strength and dignity,
and puts on humility to serve others,
knowing that the only honor she may receive is from You;
a daughter who is trustworthy and full of wisdom
when the foolishness of this world tries to sweep her off her feet.

Fashion me a daughter whose teeth are servants of God
not arrows to pierce and put down;
one who laughs without fear of the future
and who boldly walks through the doors of opportunity
opened by Your hands only.

Direct her steps, I pray, to walk through the refining fires
of hardships that expose her pride
and lead her from the valleys to the high places
where she will find where her help comes from.
Here let her exposed heart be purified;
here may she find the courage to rise out of the ashes
and embrace the beauty within
knowing who she is and whose she is . . .
Your beloved.

Fashion me a daughter whose banner over her is love;
a love that radiates through her:
extending her arms to the needy, shining kindness through her eyes
yet strong of faith and full of wisdom
being careful not to allow others to take advantage of her.
May she love well and be loved well by one who recognizes
she is more precious than rubies.

And when, according to the standards of this world,
her beauty begins to fade, may she count
her blessings daily and may they be as stepping stones
of grace, compassion, mercy, strength, wisdom and peace
for herself as she prepares to meet her Savior
and for others traveling a little behind her on their journey.

Then my mother's heart will find complete rest at the feet of the one we both call
Father, Savior, and Redeemer.

Amen

And they are off before I am ready to let them go. The oldest first, then the middle one, and finally that dreaded day when the youngest packs her bags with all we have poured into her and sets off.

Lord hear our prayers for our children!

Below is the prayer I mentioned earlier that General Douglas MacArthur prayed for his son. Feel free to copy and paste both prayers and stick them in your bible also as a daily reminder to pray for our children.

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to
know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself
when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending
in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his
backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and that
to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort,
but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.
Here let him learn to stand up in the storm, here
let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal
will be high; a son who will master himself before he
seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh,
yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the
future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough
of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet
never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so
that he may always remember the simplicity of greatness,
the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain."

Blessings,
Rachael

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For Your Week Ahead . . .

9/5/2016

1 Comment

Solitude is
the furnace of transformation.
But
the world
burns for our conformation.

In this world our compulsions drive us to be
relevant
spectacular
and powerful*.
We run toward friends, work and varieties of distractions
for the temporary high of affirmation while
Greed tries to drown our authentic selves
as we
swim for our lives
every day.

In solitude these compulsions,
propeled by greed
stare Grace right in the face
and in that light,
those deep fears
driving our compulsions
find a safe place to be laid down,
surrendered
The authentic struggle
exposes weakness and vulnerability
where the greatest of struggles
lead to the greatest encounters.

In the solitude of these daily deserts
we reject the burning embers within
calling us to conformity
and instead focus on Christ
who in His own desert experience,
when tempted with conformity,
rejected the temptor of greed by saying,

"You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him."

Only in this place do we find our
truest identity,
ultimate purpose
and
deepest desires.

Blessings for your week ahead as you seek out your own personal desert retreats each day.
May all your struggles, failures and desires be consumed with grace and balanced with truth.

Love,
Rachael

* I have been reading The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry by Henri J.M. Nouwen. It has been awful quiet on this blog for the past 8 months. I guess I have been walking through my own desert experience. My experience hasn't necessarily been dealing with conformity to the world but reconciling my own deepest desires to the Lord's desires for me and then struggling through those incongruencies. I don't know that I am back. This post was a real struggle, but I thought I would give this a try one more time.

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A Prayer for When You Want to Leave a Legacy

1/21/2016

2 Comments

I am extremely blessed to attend a church that believes in passing the baton of faith. For years I have heard sermons about the importance of being a woman of faith with a deep relationship with God that goes beyond attending and serving on Sundays out of duty, but doing so out of love for worship and fellowship. This depth of relationship with my Savior has cultivated connections with others that are both genuine and vulnerable as we share life together through the trials, defeats and joys of all aspects of life.

This legacy I am receiving is one I am diligent to pass on to my own children. I do so very imperfectly, my words are not always kind and my actions can be selfish. But then there are times when I strive to be the right example they need from a mom, I attempt to speak truth not just as a mom but as a one who has been there and done that already.

To really be intentional about the legacy I am passing on I have been mulling over just a few ways others have passed on their legacy of faith to me. I am thankful for the legacy I have been given and desire to be a legacy giver of the faith that is the Rock I stand upon.

Lord, thank you for those whose lives illustrate a portrait of genuine faith.
For I too am watched and want nothing more than to also live a life reflecting the authenticity of living out my faith before others.
Lord, thank you for the grace that others have given to me;
they have patiently endured my missteps.
Grace has given me the courage to live a life of vulnerability
gracing others with this gift as we travel together down various paths.
Lord, thank you for a foundation of truth passed down to me from your Word and from those committed to preaching your Word.
May I too preach your Word with my life giving strength and wisdom to others as they seek solid footing.
Lord I thank you for the beauty manifested from the deep roots that faith produces.
Make my roots continue to seek after Living Water exposing the beauty of my own faith
a faith that my own children will hopefully one day choose as their own
and carry on the legacy of faith to the next generation.

Amen

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For Your Week Ahead . . .

1/12/2016

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2016 Week 2 - What if?

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.

Psalm 19:1-4

What if we ceased giving glory to ourselves
and instead gave God the glory
for our talents and personal accomplishments?

What if our lives displayed the bold beauty of the Creator's craftsmanship
as if He was highly skilled and created nothing but masterpieces?

Because He is and He does.
Even the dark shadows of our lives accentuate the beauty
creating a wholeness of perfection He desires for us to display.

What if we displayed that masterpiece with more humility and less words?

Oftentimes a hug, a smile or a kind act speaks a louder message
and spreads further and deeper than words ever will.

Be bold
and believe in the beauty of each stroke God makes for His glory
as He creates your story.

Blessings,

Rachael

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For Your New Year

1/4/2016

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Sometimes beginnings begin full speed ahead
throttle open with desire and good intentions,
valves pumped with energy
and an engine ready to race to perfection
at every turn.

SLOW DOWN
It is a new year with many views we might miss if we speed ahead.

SLOW DOWN
In the desire to race to the top of the mountain we will forget to enJOY the journey.

SLOW DOWN
The bursts of energy will only leave us weary before we know it. Pace yourself pulling over at the REST stops often.

May every blessing that chased you in 2015 catch up to you in 2016.
Slow down and wait for them
for the Lord is our traveling companion and when we speed ahead of His will, His plan
we find ourselves alone and maybe even lost.
In looking at the scenery of life through His perspective HOPE fuels the ride.
May that hope give you eyes to see the goodness of the Lord throughout 2016 and give you strength of heart each day!

Love, Rachael

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My name is Rachael. I wear many hats but author is not one of them....yet. I'm trying it on for comfort, searching for the perfect fit for my creative outlet.

2016 Week 2 - What if?

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