Hi! Quick note to say that I'm going to Latvia on a mission trip tomorrow! I'm going with my uncle Bob Bentley and a team of young people from Lester Memorial UMC in Oneonta. We're going to be doing a Worship Workshop at Camp Wesley. I'm sooooo excited! It was a spur of the moment decision for me, as I have only known about the trip for about 10 days! My bosses are amazing and worked it out so that I can miss two weeks of work for it! I get back on July 3, and then the next day I head to Camp Sumatanga to be a counselor at Sr. High Week 2! I'm going to be tired but super blessed by the end! Please pray for me and the team as we travel and minister. Hopefully we will share God's love to many people in Latvia!
Thanks!
~Rachel
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
A plethora of onomatopoeia!
Man alive, I have not updated this blog in forever! I apologize to my dedicated readers (insert un-ladylike snort of disbelief here). Sooo many things have happened since the last time I wrote. I'll give you an update about the good things first, before moving on to family troubles. Ready for the good news?
*Dum da da DAAA!* (That's my attempt at writing a trumpet fanfare phonetically)
I GOT A JOB!!
*And the crowd goes wild!* HHHHHHHHHAAAA!!
(I don't know why I keep attempting the onomatopoeia. It's obviously not working)
More to the point, I got a job that will actually help me with my calling. I'm the new Children's Minister for The Bridge UMC. It's a new church plant in Huntsville. It's a part time job - Sunday morning and Tuesday nights - but it will grow as the church grows. I wish I could put aside my worldly and selfish wants, but since I am not the thriftiest girl, working just a part-time job isn't going to cut it for me. So I'm also working full time at Latham UMC in the daycare and preschool. I started at the daycare this week, and I'm loving it! Tomorrow will be my first Sunday at The Bridge. I met many of the church members at a cookout on Tuesday; they seem like a close, caring group of people. I'm pumped to get started!
I moved back to Hartselle to live with Mom and Dad, and we're all adjusting to being under the same roof again. There's something comforting about being back home! :-)
This post has been sitting as a draft for over a week, so I guess I should finally post it!
*Dum da da DAAA!* (That's my attempt at writing a trumpet fanfare phonetically)
I GOT A JOB!!
*And the crowd goes wild!* HHHHHHHHHAAAA!!
(I don't know why I keep attempting the onomatopoeia. It's obviously not working)
More to the point, I got a job that will actually help me with my calling. I'm the new Children's Minister for The Bridge UMC. It's a new church plant in Huntsville. It's a part time job - Sunday morning and Tuesday nights - but it will grow as the church grows. I wish I could put aside my worldly and selfish wants, but since I am not the thriftiest girl, working just a part-time job isn't going to cut it for me. So I'm also working full time at Latham UMC in the daycare and preschool. I started at the daycare this week, and I'm loving it! Tomorrow will be my first Sunday at The Bridge. I met many of the church members at a cookout on Tuesday; they seem like a close, caring group of people. I'm pumped to get started!
I moved back to Hartselle to live with Mom and Dad, and we're all adjusting to being under the same roof again. There's something comforting about being back home! :-)
This post has been sitting as a draft for over a week, so I guess I should finally post it!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Minor Miracles
A few posts ago, I talked about my friend who just lost her dad. I wanted to share a story from that situation and what it meant to me.
I went to church with her only a couple of days after her dad had passed, and we attended the young adult class at her church (that used to be my church in high school). The two of us were the only people who attended the class that day, besides the teacher that neither of us had met before. He left the room to pick out the video for the lesson that day. My friend and I were just talking, and she mentioned that she didn't feel like she was doing a good job of grieving. She felt guilty because it hadn't really sunk in that her dad was gone. The teacher came back in and gave us two videos to choose from. They were lessons from the Nooma series (which are awesome). My friend read the summary on the back of one of the dvds and simply handed it to me without a word. It was a lesson on dealing with grief. The Sunday School teacher had never met my friend or me and didn't know that she was going through a loss. He just happened to pick that video out of 15 others (of course, we know it was God that guided his hand)! We watched the video, and the man in it said so many things that were amazing for Katie to hear. I'm paraphrasing, but he said "you may have lost someone two weeks ago or two days ago (her dad had died on Friday). You may be feeling sad, angry, or nothing at all. I'm here to tell you that whatever you're feeling, it's ok. God is going to be with you, and He's going to heal all of your hurts." We were so amazed at how God had given us that message, and it touched my friend deeply. She took the dvd home for her family to watch.
Before Chrysalis, I never really noticed God actively working in my life, but since I felt him in that weekend, I am seeing Him all over the place. It was incredible to feel the Joy of the Lord in the middle of that sad situation, and I consider it a minor miracle that He could bring comfort to my sweet friend in that time.
Make sure you watch out for God in the little moments of your life!
I went to church with her only a couple of days after her dad had passed, and we attended the young adult class at her church (that used to be my church in high school). The two of us were the only people who attended the class that day, besides the teacher that neither of us had met before. He left the room to pick out the video for the lesson that day. My friend and I were just talking, and she mentioned that she didn't feel like she was doing a good job of grieving. She felt guilty because it hadn't really sunk in that her dad was gone. The teacher came back in and gave us two videos to choose from. They were lessons from the Nooma series (which are awesome). My friend read the summary on the back of one of the dvds and simply handed it to me without a word. It was a lesson on dealing with grief. The Sunday School teacher had never met my friend or me and didn't know that she was going through a loss. He just happened to pick that video out of 15 others (of course, we know it was God that guided his hand)! We watched the video, and the man in it said so many things that were amazing for Katie to hear. I'm paraphrasing, but he said "you may have lost someone two weeks ago or two days ago (her dad had died on Friday). You may be feeling sad, angry, or nothing at all. I'm here to tell you that whatever you're feeling, it's ok. God is going to be with you, and He's going to heal all of your hurts." We were so amazed at how God had given us that message, and it touched my friend deeply. She took the dvd home for her family to watch.
Before Chrysalis, I never really noticed God actively working in my life, but since I felt him in that weekend, I am seeing Him all over the place. It was incredible to feel the Joy of the Lord in the middle of that sad situation, and I consider it a minor miracle that He could bring comfort to my sweet friend in that time.
Make sure you watch out for God in the little moments of your life!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sent from my phone! Yay!
I was praying "Lord, I need to get my life back on track." Then I realized, I don't have a track to get back upon! I'm trackless! I know I'm supposed to be serving Him, but I haven't started yet. Really, I have no idea how to start. It's like I'm waiting for something. I don't know what. I like change, but I don't like this transition period I'm in right now.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sadness...
One of my very best friends called me this morning to tell me that her dad passed away of a heart attack last night. All I could think to say is I'm sorry and I'll be praying. What else can you say that will mean anything? When this same thing happened to another best friend a couple of years ago, I felt like I didn't know how to be a good friend in that situation. I don't know if I'm any better prepared to give comfort now than I was back then. In the face of incredible sadness, what can a friend do besides give as much love as possible?
Another thing that is bothering me about this is that I was awake praying around the time that my friend got the call from her mom. I know there isn't really any way I could have known, but I wish I had had some sort of hunch to pray specifically for the McGlawns. If I was talking to God already, couldn't he have put a thought in my head to pray for them? I don't know if it would have done any good, but it would have made me feel better. At least I can pray now.
During that time of prayer, I read Psalm 130. It seems to fit now.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
Another thing that is bothering me about this is that I was awake praying around the time that my friend got the call from her mom. I know there isn't really any way I could have known, but I wish I had had some sort of hunch to pray specifically for the McGlawns. If I was talking to God already, couldn't he have put a thought in my head to pray for them? I don't know if it would have done any good, but it would have made me feel better. At least I can pray now.
During that time of prayer, I read Psalm 130. It seems to fit now.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Boo Mono!
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to pray when you don't feel good?
I've been sick for the past week or so -- it might be mono, but I'm too cheap to pay for the test -- and I've pretty much been sitting around doing nothing. Now, one might think that I would be using this time to get in some bible study, or at least some prayer. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Besides a few times when I've thought "God, can you just heal me already?!," there has not been any noticeable difference in my godliness (especially as it relates to cleanliness). I consider that a shame. A shame, I tell you! This is the perfect opportunity to spend some time with the Lord; maybe He'll even help me feel better sooner! So, this is just a reminder to myself -- get off the computer, already! Go pray or something!
:)
I've been sick for the past week or so -- it might be mono, but I'm too cheap to pay for the test -- and I've pretty much been sitting around doing nothing. Now, one might think that I would be using this time to get in some bible study, or at least some prayer. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Besides a few times when I've thought "God, can you just heal me already?!," there has not been any noticeable difference in my godliness (especially as it relates to cleanliness). I consider that a shame. A shame, I tell you! This is the perfect opportunity to spend some time with the Lord; maybe He'll even help me feel better sooner! So, this is just a reminder to myself -- get off the computer, already! Go pray or something!
:)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I'll take Chrysellaneous for 50, Bob!
Such a silly title for possibly the most important post I'll ever make! But hey, that's how I roll! :P
Apparently, people have actually read this blog, so I guess I need to send this out there to the internets.
As you may remember if you've read my blog before, for the past few months I have been struggling with finding my calling. I didn't know what God's plan was for me, so I was sort of putting my whole life on hold until I figured it out. That sounds bad, but what are you supposed to do if you have no idea what you're supposed to be doing? I made a promise for Lent that I was going to try and put God first in my life. I'll be honest, the first few weeks did not go so well. That's the main reason I haven't updated this blog since the last post. I felt bad for letting the world get the best of me. However, even though I had not done the greatest job with my Lent promise, God apparently agrees that "it's the thought that counts." This weekend he gave me the greatest blessing of all: he showed me His plan.
Friday morning I headed to Camp Sumatanga for a Chrysalis weekend. Chrysalis is a retreat for young adults that is done through the Methodist church. We spent three days at the most beautiful place on earth (in my humble opinion) hearing talks, worshipping and fellowshipping with other Christians. I went into the weekend feeling guilty because of my failure to keep my Lent plan. I told my group (Table of the Valiant, woot!) about my struggles to figure out God's plan for me, and they agreed to pray for me.
Every single talk for the rest of the weekend felt like it was directed right at me. Every word went straight to my heart. I started to feel uncomfortable. I remembered a Behold retreat I had attended way back during my senior year of High School. I had felt a nudge in my heart that weekend that had pointed me toward God as a vocation. I quickly decided ministry was not in the works for me, no matter what God said. No PK who has seen the inner workings of a pastor's life says "ooh! I want to be a preacher when I grow up!" So I put that little nudge away on the top shelf in a tiny closet in my heart and went on to get a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. I figured teaching kids was a noble job, maybe God would just leave me alone. But obviously, I wasn't satisfied as a teacher, and God definitely did not leave me alone.
As I was remembering these events in my life that had brought me to this uncertain and stressful point, I kept hearing these inspiring talks from amazing people. They said "forget about your plan -- God's plan is the one that counts." Wow. Can it get any more straightforward than that?
During a group prayer session on Saturday, I burst into tears and told my group "y'all, I am going to be so pissed off if I have to be a preacher!" They obviously thought this was hilarious (I was told it was the best quote from the weekend), but it showed the way my heart was headed. Saturday night was a candlelight and prayer service. I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil any surprises for people who haven't been on a Chrysalis flight (you should definitely go), but I will say it was an extremely powerful service. I wound up sobbing on a back row because I felt God so strongly, and in my head I could hear one of the pastors telling me that you can't ignore God's call, he will just keep coming back over and over. I told God then and there that I wasn't going to ignore Him anymore. I told Him that I will do everything in my power to follow His plan and carry out whatever it is He needs me to do in my life. Whatever is not in my power is definitely in His.
The rest of the weekend just confirmed that I was reading God's signs correctly. He wants me in His service, and I am overjoyed to be there. I hope to go to seminary in a year or so. Taking this time to work and save up some money will also give me a chance to discern what kind of ministry will be my life's work.
I swore back in the day that I would never be a minister like my Dad. I thought I would be mad if God called me to the ministry, but of course I'm not angry. I feel so relieved to finally know what it is I am supposed to be doing with my life. I was Rachel at the well, waiting for something to happen. Now God has come to take me out into the world and show me the rest of my life, and I couldn't be more excited to start the adventure!
Apparently, people have actually read this blog, so I guess I need to send this out there to the internets.
As you may remember if you've read my blog before, for the past few months I have been struggling with finding my calling. I didn't know what God's plan was for me, so I was sort of putting my whole life on hold until I figured it out. That sounds bad, but what are you supposed to do if you have no idea what you're supposed to be doing? I made a promise for Lent that I was going to try and put God first in my life. I'll be honest, the first few weeks did not go so well. That's the main reason I haven't updated this blog since the last post. I felt bad for letting the world get the best of me. However, even though I had not done the greatest job with my Lent promise, God apparently agrees that "it's the thought that counts." This weekend he gave me the greatest blessing of all: he showed me His plan.
Friday morning I headed to Camp Sumatanga for a Chrysalis weekend. Chrysalis is a retreat for young adults that is done through the Methodist church. We spent three days at the most beautiful place on earth (in my humble opinion) hearing talks, worshipping and fellowshipping with other Christians. I went into the weekend feeling guilty because of my failure to keep my Lent plan. I told my group (Table of the Valiant, woot!) about my struggles to figure out God's plan for me, and they agreed to pray for me.
Every single talk for the rest of the weekend felt like it was directed right at me. Every word went straight to my heart. I started to feel uncomfortable. I remembered a Behold retreat I had attended way back during my senior year of High School. I had felt a nudge in my heart that weekend that had pointed me toward God as a vocation. I quickly decided ministry was not in the works for me, no matter what God said. No PK who has seen the inner workings of a pastor's life says "ooh! I want to be a preacher when I grow up!" So I put that little nudge away on the top shelf in a tiny closet in my heart and went on to get a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. I figured teaching kids was a noble job, maybe God would just leave me alone. But obviously, I wasn't satisfied as a teacher, and God definitely did not leave me alone.
As I was remembering these events in my life that had brought me to this uncertain and stressful point, I kept hearing these inspiring talks from amazing people. They said "forget about your plan -- God's plan is the one that counts." Wow. Can it get any more straightforward than that?
During a group prayer session on Saturday, I burst into tears and told my group "y'all, I am going to be so pissed off if I have to be a preacher!" They obviously thought this was hilarious (I was told it was the best quote from the weekend), but it showed the way my heart was headed. Saturday night was a candlelight and prayer service. I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil any surprises for people who haven't been on a Chrysalis flight (you should definitely go), but I will say it was an extremely powerful service. I wound up sobbing on a back row because I felt God so strongly, and in my head I could hear one of the pastors telling me that you can't ignore God's call, he will just keep coming back over and over. I told God then and there that I wasn't going to ignore Him anymore. I told Him that I will do everything in my power to follow His plan and carry out whatever it is He needs me to do in my life. Whatever is not in my power is definitely in His.
The rest of the weekend just confirmed that I was reading God's signs correctly. He wants me in His service, and I am overjoyed to be there. I hope to go to seminary in a year or so. Taking this time to work and save up some money will also give me a chance to discern what kind of ministry will be my life's work.
I swore back in the day that I would never be a minister like my Dad. I thought I would be mad if God called me to the ministry, but of course I'm not angry. I feel so relieved to finally know what it is I am supposed to be doing with my life. I was Rachel at the well, waiting for something to happen. Now God has come to take me out into the world and show me the rest of my life, and I couldn't be more excited to start the adventure!
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