Where is the Love?

You know, we wonder why there isn't more love in the world. Right?

I mean, there are so many hurting people out there, and we as Christians talk about all day long about how we should go help them and stuff, 

but do we ever really?

Do we ever really give up our comfortable lives and just SERVE?

Do we ever really want to?

Now, I'm not saying you have to go and be like Ghandi, for instance.

He gave up everything to be poor and live like a peasant, in order to reach out to the hurting people around him.

But I'm not saying that is for everybody.

I do believe that God gave us what we have for a reason.

Not to squander it and continuously seek after more, 

but to be thankful for it and to put it to good use.

So WHY AREN'T WE?

I find myself so comfortable in the lifestyle that I am given that, although I constantly talk about helping others and serving the poor, I find myself maybe not wanting to.

Because it would mean giving up a piece of my comfort,

stepping out of my comfort zone,

and actually doing something for someone else for a change.

And it can be really scary.

But I think this world needs more of that.

It needs more love.

So, as Christians, and as a people as a whole, why do often find it hard to love others?

Well, I am not saying that I have all the answers or that I know why, 

but I can only speculate.

I think it is because we do not love OURSELVES enough.

I'm not saying that we have an issue with the way we look necessarily, although that could be one of the problems,

but really,

that we are not thankful enough for who WE are and what WE are given.

How can we love others unconditionally, when we can't even love ourselves?

I heard a sermon last night about Gratitude.

And the pastor said "Imagine Jesus as a waiter holding a giant pitcher of ice cold water. And we are all sitting in a restaurant, some of us maybe have had a hard time the last few years and our glass is only  half full or a quarter full, while others of us have had a pretty good time and have our glass 3 quarters full or more. And some of us, instead of being grateful for what we have, CONSTANTLY thirst for more. We aren't satisfied with what we have, no matter how much or how little it is, and we are always asking for more.

And Jesus is just telling us to WAIT. 

Just be patient. 

Be thankful with what you have now.

Be content and happy with the person that you are and the things that you have.

Because it is when you are truly thankful for what you have,

when He will come and fill your cup up with more.

He will bless you and your cup will "overfloweth"."

So stop WAITING for more.

Stop expecting your life will get better and waiting for it to change before you go do good unto others.

Do good unto others NOW.

Because it is when we are truly thankful for who we are, and what God has given us,

that we will find ourselves Wanting to love on others.

Wanting to give our lives in service to the Lord.

And love will come out of that.

Because...

Love begets love.

A wise man once said

"Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame."

That was King Solomon in case you were wondering.

Oh.

Did I mention he was the wisest man that ever live?

Literally.

Now chew on that....

Forever His,

Rachel

Forgive and Forget.....Right?

I have always had a thing against people who hold grudges.

"Who are YOU to hold a grudge against this person who has barely hurt you at all, while you sit here doing your own thing half the time and when you go to God for forgiveness, HE doesn't hold a grudge against you. So why would you hold a grudge against someone else???"

I just never quite understood it. 

It's kind of like the parable of the rich man and the poor man in the Bible.

Where...

This one rich man owed another great man a large sum of money. When he told this great man that he could not repay him, the important man forgave the debt of the rich man immediately and let him go on his way.

But this same rich man then goes back to his life where a very poor man owes HIM a very small sum of money.

And instead of forgiving the very small debt of the poor man, the rich man threw him in prison because he couldn't repay the debt!

How could he!! Right!?

I mean he just got a huge debt that HE owed forgiven, but then HE can't even forgive this small debt this poor man owes him.

It just does not make any sense.

But that is EXACTLY how we are.

We are that rich man. And the great man is Jesus.

And we sin OVER AND OVER AND OVER again, and yet every time we come to Jesus and tell Him that we can NOT repay the debt we owe Him, He forgives us anyway. 

IMMEDIATELY He forgives us.

Time and time again.

And then when a friend of ours (the poor man in the parable) comes to us and does us wrong in some way or can't repay us for something they have done, then we just sit here, unwilling to forgive the debt. 

Unwilling to just let it go.

And we punish this person.

By either holding this grudge against them (or I guess we would throw them in prison like in the old days lol).

And it just doesn't make any sense!!

Who are WE to not forgive and forget when Jesus forgives and forgets CONSTANTLY.

ALL THE TIME.

EVERY DAY.

Because if He didn't, we would all be dead men right now.

Because we can't repay that debt.

We can NEVER repay that debt.

He had to pay it for us.

It's funny though.

As much as I have a thing against people who hold grudges,

somehow, the more I am hurt by people and the more I get angry over little things,

the more I find MYSELF holding grudges.

The more I find MYSELF unwilling to just

Forgive.

and 

Forget.

So I know it is hard.

And often times it is just a pride issue.

God forgive me for that one as well.

But just as Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself,

so should you do this.

And by doing this, you will find that holding grudges just seems kind of silly.

Jesus forgives and forgets immediately.

Why can't we?

Forever His,

Rachel

Comfort Zone Issues.

So I was sitting on the bus today. 

Just minding my own business.

When I thought of something.

I realized that I was just sitting there. Quiet. Untalkative. and unnoticed.

And I was fine with that.

I didn't really care to turn to the person sitting beside me and say "Hey! How are you doing today?"

I didn't really care to ask the girl standing in the aisle if she had a good day.

I just wanted to sit there. Quiet. Untalkative and unnoticed.

Because I was comfortable that way.

Have you ever found yourself in that situation?

Where it is just so easy to fly through the day doing things YOU want to do and talking to people YOU want to talk to instead of actually reaching out to complete strangers?

Didn't Jesus hang out with the complete strangers?

Didn't Jesus talk to those who were never talked to?

Why can't I do that?

Sure, I may be a social person, but no social person enjoys going out of their comfort zone, no matter what it is.

I don't want to be THAT girl who starts talking to someone random I met on the bus.

Who does that?

I'll tell you who.

Jesus did that.

And I should too.

Who cares if it makes me feel uncomfortable?

Who cares if it make me sweat?

Do you really want to go through life without taking any chances or stepping out of your comfort zone?

Sometimes those chances can be the most rewarding ones of all.

You never know unless you try.

So I sat there on the bus.

Trying to muster up the courage to talk to someone I don't know.

But I felt so comfortable just sitting there silently.

So I just kept sitting there, silently.

And I came to my stop, and I got off.

I didn't change someone's life today.

And I didn't go out of my comfort zone.

But I PRAY that next time I will.

I PRAY that I will have the courage and that boldness next time.

God wants us to go out and make disciples.

How can I do that if I can't even talk to a fellow student on the campus bus?

So I will pray.

And I will seek.

And I will find that courage.

Because I know the Lord can give me some.

I just hope He gives me a desire to reach out as well....

Forever His, 

Rachel

The Seasons of Life

Just as the seasons of the year change,

so do the seasons of life.

They come and go without warning,

and change just when we don't expect them to.

I still remember my first day of 8th grade.

Now I am a Sophmore in college.

Where did time go?

Not only do the seasons of life change,

but we change with them.

I used to be quite, reserved, and shy.

Now I am louder, more outgoing, and definitely not shy.

Sure, I still have some of those more reserved aspects.

I am a conservative Republican for crying out loud.

But I have changed.

At least for the better anyway.

Have I endured hardships during those changes in life?

Yes.

Have I prayed to God that my life wouldn't change?

Yes.

Did God let it change anyway because He ultimately knew it was for my greater good and His richer joy?

Yes.

So why is it so hard when the seasons change?

Why is it so hard when the tide comes in and goes out and then comes back in again?

Don't you just wish sometimes that life would just stand still?

At least for a moment anyway.

So you wouldn't have to go through the discomfort and hardships and stress that come with the change.

Because believe me, those things come.

Good things ultimately come of the change, but it is so hard to focus on those things when you are going through those hard times.

Isn't it?

I mean for a while you are a cute kid.

Fun.

Sweet.

Lovable.

Then puberty hits.

You grow taller.

Become more gawky.

Get horrible acne.

Start needing deodorant.

You are just plain awkward.

And all you want is to get past this point in your life, 

to move on and get beautiful, or to go back and be cute again.

Either way,

you don't want to be that awkward pre-teen!

And the seasons change.

And you grow up.

And you are now in high school.

And you have to deal with boy drama.

Or AP classes.

Or drugs.

Or drinking.

And all you want is to go back to that awkward pre-teen face when all you had to worry about was what acne cream to use and what deodorant to buy.

Why couldn't life be that simple?

But then you change again.

And you go off to college.

And you start dealing with Grad classes.

And bars.

And tuition money.

And growing up.

Why couldn't you have stayed a teen in high school forever?

Why did you have to grow up?

But you see, 

there are good things that come of every change.

Every time you go through one, there is always something better that comes of it.

Unless that change is becoming a raging alcoholic,

because all you will get in that situation is knocked up and put on welfare.

My point is...

Life changes.

People change.

But one thing remains the same.

And that my friends,

is our heavenly Father.

So turn to Him in your time of need,

because He will never turn you down.

Forever His,

Rachel

Sorry. I forgot to pray for you.

Have you ever told someone that you would pray for them and never did?

I mean, like you had the most sincerest of hearts when you told them you would pray for them, and you honestly really wanted to,

but then life kind of caught up with you and you sort of forgot?

Well, this is something that happens to me ALL of the time.

You have a friend who is struggling with something.

You say "I will definitely pray for you." and really mean it.

You leave and get caught up in cleaning your room, doing your homework, and hanging with other friends.

You completely forget to pray for that person.

You realize a week later, when they tell you that "all went well and thank you so much for praying for me", that you never even prayed for them, but not wanting them to know that, say "No problem. I love praying for you."

Oops right?

I feel like this occurs in my life quite often.

Now, I am not a prayer warrior.

Some people can pray, and I just feel like they MUST have rehearsed it or something because it is such a wonderful prayer.

Like really really spiritual and everything.

He's even got a few pieces of scripture thrown in there.

And then there's me.

I pray faster than I can think, I have a tendency to go off on tangents every next thought, and I often forget words when I am praying so I substitute with "I'm not sure what happens but I pray that your will be done" or something to that extent.

God knows what I'm thinking of anyways right?

Even if I don't even know myself....

So sometimes I try to keep my prayers short, so I don't have time to screw up.

I don't have time to forget the right words or to lose my train of thought.

I just pray for one thing, and then I'm done.

Half the time, I feel like God knows it all anyways, so why does He need me to pray for it?

Why should I pray for something that has a set outcome anyways?

God is ultimately in control, so what will my one little prayer do?

But it's not about what I'm praying for necessarily, it's THAT I'm praying which counts.

The Lord loves when we come to Him and just talk.

It doesn't matter what about.

He just wants us to acknowledge Him as the king of the universe and the maker of all things.

And for us to bring our bruised hearts and bandaged lives to Him in pieces, so that He can put us back together again.

Sometimes I feel bad, 

because I often pray the same prayer before I go to bed every night.

It's about 15 seconds long, but at least I'm praying right?

It goes something like this....

"Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you so much for this day. Thank you for keeping us safe and I pray that I will be able to glorify you tomorrow in all that I do. Please keep us safe tonight and to have a goodnight's sleep. I pray all this in your name, Amen. I love you."

And that's it.

Short.

Sweet.

And shallow.

Half the time, I just say the pray as a part of my going to bed ritual.

I don't even think about the words that I'm saying.

Now what kind of a prayer is that?

We wouldn't go up to one our friends and say the same thing over and over again.

For example, if I had a friend, and I wanted to keep up the friendship, I would just talk to them once a day for 20 seconds and say "Hey. I hope you are having a great day. I'm so glad we are friends. I'm glad we can talk about stuff. Have a great day. Bye."

What kind of a friendship would that be?

Shallow.

And meaningless.

Is that how your relationship is with the Lord?

Are you talking to Him out of obligation as a "good Christian" or are you talking to Him because you genuinely want Him to know how your day was?

Sure. He already knows how your day was,

but just as friend heard from another friend that you had a crappy day,

they would still want to hear it from you.

That's what they are there for.

A shoulder to cry on and someone to share excitement with.

And God wants to be that friend to us.

He wants us to come to Him in our best of times and in our worst of times and just tell Him what's going on.

And that's the best part.

He is ALWAYS there.

A friend who sticks by you ALWAYS and will never leave you, no matter what.

So don't come to the Father out of obligation.

Stop praying meaningless things and praying ritualistically.

Come to the Father because you want to.

Come to Him because He wants us to, and He is the only one who can truly satisfy all of our longings and cover all of our fears.

Think about that the next time you go to pray because you feel like you have to.

Pray because you want to.

That is all.

Forever His,

Rachel