Monthly Archives: February 2012

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02/27/2012

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Sing-Along Scriptures

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Not 4 Sale


Yesterday was Freedom Sunday, and in honor of this protest against human trafficking, I proudly wore the words “NOT 4 SALE” on my arm. I’ve always been passionate about this issue, and after my trip to India with Bombay Teen Challenge, both the horrors and hope have become even more real to me. So here I am, championing this cause until I wake up this morning and stumble across a passage of scripture that makes me feel like a hypocrite.

“But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers –
would you now return to me?” -Jeremiah 3:1

The words stung my heart this morning because they reminded me of an important truth I had allowed myself to forget. There I was with the words “NOT 4 SALE” tattooed across my arm while I was selling myself short of God’s best for me. Somewhere along the way, I had allowed myself to get caught up in the little things – the petty distractions of life – when all the while God has been standing by the wayside saying, “Hey Rebekah, I have something so much better waiting for you if you’d only take the time to notice.”

It’s amazing how easy it is to stray from God’s perfect will. Even more amazing how difficult it is to see that you’re slowly slipping away from Him. Like I said, it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. Once you allow your life to get so filled up with little things, there’s no room for the truly important things.

Yet all along, God stands by the wayside with open arms, begging us to return to Him. Loving us when we are undeserving. He opens Himself up and gives us the opportunity to bring Him joy… or to break His heart once again by turning our backs on His desperate plea.

Let me make this clear: You are not for sale, so stop selling yourself short. God has something amazing in store for you, so stop chasing fantasies and let Him restore you to His wonderful reality. He doesn’t care what you’ve done or where you’ve been; He misses His little girl. He is begging you to return to Him, but ultimately, the choice is yours. Will you retreat into the shadows or run into His open arms?

As for me, I choose life.

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02/21/2012

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Fairytale Fallacies

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Two Dreams; One Life

“If there’s one thing I’ve always believed, it’s that you can’t let a relationship get in the way of your dreams.”

“But what if you have two dreams, and they both happen to be right in the same place at the same time?”

“Well, then I’d say you are a seriously lucky guy.”

So, I knew that I was enjoying Kate Brian’s modern-day telling of The Princess and The Pauper, but that scene made the book for me. Finally, a novel that puts romance where it’s supposed to be. She’s right, you know. It’s always a bad idea to let a relationship get in the way of your dreams. What I’m waiting for (and what I would encourage you to wait for) is the day that my two dreams just happen to be in the same place at the same time.

You see, you only have one life to live, but if you’re anything like me, you probably have more than one dream in that pretty, little head of yours. And it’s hard ~ it’s so, incredibly hard ~ to figure out which one you want to spend your life pursuing. But the thing is… it is possible to accomplish more than one dream, if you go about it the right way. Which leads us back to that “which-dream-do-I-want-to-chase-first” dilemma.

Here’s my opinion: Not Prince Charming.

Wait, wait, wait. Don’t get all discouraged and click that little red “x” in the corner of your screen. I’m merely trying to say that the marriage dream is a little harder to force. In fact, forcing that dream is a really bad idea, as it generally only leads to heartache. As much as we hate to admit it, we have no control over Prince Charming’s timing. (I mean, look at Sleeping Beauty ~ she had to wait one hundred years.) The thing is, it takes two people to fulfill that dream, so until your future husband shows up and offers some help in that department, I recommend pursuing the one you can accomplish on your own.

Neither dream is worth sacrificing for the other. The right guy is going to support your other dreams. So live in your first calling until the moment you look up and realize that both of your dreams happen to be right in the same place at the same time. Trust me, God’s cool enough to make that happen.

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02/13/2012

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Things That Inspire

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A Few Other Voices

I thought you might get tired of hearing from me, so I decided to give you all a break today, by instead linking you to three other bloggers who really touched my heart this last week.

1) I’ve been following Sarah Moon for quite some time now and love how open she is with her doubts and questions. I especially love that we don’t always have to agree; she’s open to differing opinions. But she had my heart with this post. Check out how honestly she shares that sometimes you don’t find God in church; sometimes you find Him somewhere else.

2) Ironically, on the tale end of that, I found my way over to Julianna Morlet’s blog where she writes about “unchurching” herself for a season. (Really, I’m not against church or anything. You’ll find me there every Sunday morning.)

3) Don’t worry, it’s not about church; you can breathe easy now. Sarah Nutter is relatively new to the blogging world and extremely new to my world, but I love her already. Check out her post about hating sin and loving grace.

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02/10/2012

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Live the Journey

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Remember This Day

Have you ever sneaked a peek at the ending of a book before you declared it readable? I’ve never even been tempted to do that. Honestly, I like surprises too much. I mean, I’m the kind of girl who sets her iTunes on shuffle because the normal playlist is too predictable. But there is one story that I wish I could flip ahead a few pages, and that’s the story of my life. But while I can’t fast-forward to the ending, I can read it backwards ~ which is what I’ve been doing the past couple of nights.

It’s amazing what you can find while reading old journal entries. Life looks so different in hindsight. Take the scene where I’m lamenting that I may be doomed to be a loner for the rest of my life. It was a legitimate concern then, but reading it now makes me laugh because I realize that God seriously must have been shaking His head and saying, “Oh Rebekah, you know those two guys you briefly mentioned in that second paragraph? …Yeah.”

Because what I didn’t know on that desperate day was that I had just made initial contact with two people who would soon become some of my dearest friends. But now, here I am, marking the corners of my journal pages with stars and little notes that say, “Remember this day.”

Why? Because I know that, eventually, I’m going to have more of those moments where I can’t see any good in my present situation. I’m going to have more days when I question the way God is working in my life. There are going to be more journal entries riddled with the same frustration that plagues the pages of my past. And if I can just look back and remember the good that came of those seemingly hopeless days, maybe I’ll find the courage to face the unknowns of tomorrow.

If your mind is full of questions to which you feel you’ll never find the answers, I want to encourage you to write them down. Remember this day. Because one day, you’ll be able to read your story backwards. One day, you’ll be able to look back with new eyes and see the things you missed while consumed with the moment. And one day, you’re going to look back and marvel at the wonder of it all.

Oh yes, you’ll want to remember this day.

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02/06/2012

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Live the Journey

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What If? What Now?

The past is a funny thing. It shapes our lives and never gives us a chance to go back and change anything ~ no matter how badly we may want to. Last night, I found myself asking a dozen “what if” questions, trying to imagine what my life would be like had I reacted differently in a certain circumstance.

The problem with “what if” is that it generally begins with a regret. And before you know it, you’re in over your head regretting things. Thankfully, my “what ifs” ended with “What if it’s better this way?” and “What if this is what God intended all along?” But that isn’t always how the story goes.

“What ifs” have a tendency to leave us in the past and keep us from enjoying the present. “What ifs” have a habit of leading to more “what ifs.” Before you know it, your life is a serious of doubts. But you see, even in the midst of the hardship and struggle, the questions and uncertainty, God is ultimately in control of our lives. Not one decision escapes His notice. Not one choice slips through the cracks. God knows exactly what is coming around the corner, and we can rest secure in the fact that He is making something beautiful from the ashes of our lives.

I’m not saying you won’t have regrets. Unfortunately, we all make choices we’re not very proud of. There will be moments that you stop to wonder, but you can’t let those questions tie you to the past. Instead of “what if,” ask “what now?” Take the lessons you’ve learned and put them into practice. After all, you can’t change the past, but you can change the future.