daughter of the kingdom

2011-12-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

Precious Christmas Video :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kWq60oyrHVQ#!

2011-12-15T19:08:00.001-08:00

A GIRL YOU SHOULD DATE

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.
Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.
Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

– Rosemarie Urquico –

2011-11-17T11:24:00.001-08:00

I absolutely cannot wait for this.

http://vimeo.com/30328894

Check it out, get in the presence and be made whole.

2011-11-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

please, all women of the world, watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igCj3jsbcqs&feature=player_embedded#!

Book Review!

2011-04-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

Just finished Dan Allender's book, Sabbath, which was such a refreshing word in a season where i feel i have just been going, going, going. For a while, i maintained a weekly sabbath of Mondays and found it as my time to calm down, empty my brain of all the million "to-do's" and refocus. It is difficult to dedicate time to rest, and not just sleeping, rest. To literally rest as God did after His creation, sating "it is good" and reflecting and focusing on Him.

Allenders book took a new view on Sabbath as a whole and had an eloquent way of describing Gods purposes in Sabbath rest in a childlike fashion yet containing a brilliant sacred feel. He brings up points that i tend to speak up about in conversations with friends, the role of the church, Sabbath rest for leaders as well as the body, and feasting and delighting. My deepest longing, personally when it comes to the Sabbath is that people would recognize it, as he describes in the book as a time of rest but also play. Having giddy excitement over being with the Lord, experiencing deep happiness and joy that overtakes your whole being.

Sabbath is a great book for anyone wishing to reignite their love for rest and passion with the Father or just simply enjoy the world despite our crazy fast paced, get it quick lifestyle. Taking time to slow down, rejuvinate and enjoy it the greatest lesson of this story.

Support My Adventure!

2011-03-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

Saints,

As I write this I have just left one of my Perspectives classes (on Global Missions) and ironically the focus was our mandate and someone asked why no one is headed to the 1040 window. If you are not familiar with the term “1040” window, let me quickly break it down. The term “1040 window” was coined to refer to the region between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator with the highest level of socioeconomic challenges and the least access to the Word of God, which includes, roughly 2/3rds of the population. These people are 84% with the lowest quality of life in the world, and 82% of the poorest. The major religions in this region are Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and tribal faiths. Within the past few decades, the world has begun to fear this region, because of the political struggles, religious battles, wars, terrorism, etc people have begun to see this area as dangerous, untrustworthy, hopeless. But I have hope for these people who have won my heart.

Many of you may know that I have had the privilege to do ministry in America and the Middle East with these very people and ever since returning from Jordan in 2009 I have longed to return. My time in the States since then has been full of hardships that produced major growth and created new strength that comes only from my Father in heaven. I have been blessed to become continuously closer to both of my parents, and many of my Muslim friends. I have been serving a community of predominantly Muslim refugees in Clarkston who are from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, etc. I had the privilege to work in Grace’s Missions department under Jon Stallsmith who truly helped me find my spiritual gifts, while helping me grow in them by running a conference that equips people to minister specifically to Muslims, to make common ground in order to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, educating people on the true Islam, not the radical fundamentalist version. My heart has remained burdened for these people, and I know that God is leading me to a radical life that involves long-term Muslim ministry both here and abroad.

While I am writing another “support letter” for a mission trip that I believe has been divinely set up by God, I hope that each of you would truly take time to read what I am saying and not just do the simple task of writing a check or placing my letter on your refrigerator. I would hope that by the end of this letter you would be compelled to learn a bit more of the Muslim people and their beautiful, servant-focused culture of honor that I have fallen in love with. These are God’s children. He made them just as He made you and me. I cannot tell you why they were born into what has become such a hostile region, or why they were born into a Muslim family, but I can tell you this, God did not make over 865,000 million mistakes. You see, in the Psalms it says “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed substance, in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me” (Psalm 139:15-16). So before anyone, even our Muslim “cousins” as many in ministry call them, was made, God knew it, and knew the days that were planned for each of us, Christian and Muslim alike. Although they are misunderstood and small groups of them confused and violent extremists, they are LOVED BY GOD despite their faults, just as you and I are. As I have grown in my understanding of God, I have also grown in my complete understanding of how much I cannot comprehend or fathom His love, His unending grace, and His glory. He loves, more than I can understand, and He loves those like His son Jesus, who have done nothing to deserve death, as much as He loves the most violent terrorist, and that is hard to chew on. Before you take time to read on, please reflect and pray specifically for radical Islamic extremists, and if necessary, let us repent of judgment’s we made against these violent people and recognize that only God is the true judge and that God still loves these precious men and women. Thank you for listening, praying and supporting me.

I have been preparing to go, yet again, to a land that many people think me crazy for even considering visiting. God has been speaking to me about my return, training me, healing me, and preparing me along the way. I have researched, read, and studied these beautiful people in the 1040 region of the world and in my own homeland. I feel led, by God, to reach a people that are so lost, yet exemplify so much of what Christ called us to do. For you to understand a bit more let me share some of my experiences. While in Jordan in 2009 I met Rawan, a very devout, and highly educated Muslim woman in Amman. She takes 5 buses to get to and from work at an English education center, and heads home to cook for her 8 brothers. She invited me to dinner in her home, took me out for tea and argeelah (or hookah) and constantly gave me praise about my Arabic and my modesty. She has lost hope, because authorities in London will not allow her to take a job if she is veiled. She left me with her family’s prized prayer rug. I also hung out with a college student named Fatimah who is a bit on the rebellious side. (Her name actually means, one who I kept from bad character, I think the Lord wants to redeem her name!) She wears shorts, racy tops, has her nose and eyebrow pierced, goes on dates and only prays during Ramadan (a month of fasting). She along with 8 other University students accompanied me throughout most of downtown Amman treating me to gifts, and honoring me. Before I left Amman her father personally wrapped and delivered His beloved Quran to me as a display of the utmost honor. Her father, has been to Mecca 8 times, has read and memorized the Quran over 50 times. Ahmed and Osama (now a believer, Praise God!) are brothers, who, throughout my time in Amman, treated me to night after nights of argeelah, tea and meat feasts, as well as an exclusive trip to the Dead Sea with loads of college students, accompanied by a private DJ. Leaving Amman I realized that I had a lot to learn about servant hood from these people, and I have. I spend time in Clarkston with refugee families, speaking about Jesus and reading from the Quran and the Bible, especially with my friend Duaa, and have seen many come to faith. I leave for Jordan, expectant of how God will move there with Fatimah, Rawan, Ahmed, Osama and others, but also sad to leave my Muslim friends in GA (Duaa especially) for a time, grateful for the more they have taught me about their culture and faith.

While this email is getting lengthy, please bear with me, as I will now fill you in on my actual plans for Jordan this time around. I will obviously be reconnecting with all my friends in Jordan, whom have been facebooking me in anticipation of my arrival. Many of them have had a chance to meet my sister via skype and inform her how excited they are for my return, praise God! My focus upon arrival will be to get established in the area I will be living, in a home with some “workers” that is placed strategically I think by God in between the 2 largest malls, not for the shopping, but for the people! I will then speak with my contacts through the UN at a Palestinian Refugee Camp 10Km outside Amman where I will be volunteering. My Arabic class will start in August, and I will hopefully be able to start some Holy Book studies with students on campus. I have also made connections with a group of women who do art therapy for women who have been abused. This is a touchy subject in the M.E. and one I feel God is leading me towards pursuing as my true focus for my ministry. Throughout my stay I pray that God will use me to usher people into an encounter with the one true Savior Jesus and that many would come to know Him in my time there. God has already been setting up contacts for me over there and I have not even landed! I was even just informed by a M friend in Clarkston that His brother in law, who is King Abdullah’s personal “secret service agent” would help me with anything I needed! (Like maybe setting me up for a meeting with the King?) I can’t contain my excitement, but there are still many things to be put in place before I leave.

I will be finishing up my “preparation” time in these next few weeks finishing classes, completing a 3 day intensive training through my sending agency, and raising money, through fundraisers, letters and prayer. This is where you come in. I need to raise roughly $8000 dollars by the first week of June, which includes flights, housing, food, transportation, and small expenses like visas. Before asking you for financial support, I would ask that you would partner with me in praying that God would allow me to trust that He would “supply all my need according to the riches of His glorious Kingdom”, believing as it says in Habakkuk that all we must do is ask and God will respond “see if I will not fling wide the gates of heaven and pour out abundance on you until there is no more need”. Pray for more hours for me to work as I am trying to raise at least a quarter of this cost myself. I hope that you also would focus on asking the Lord how He might have you give. If He might have you just dedicate a time of prayer and intercession for me or give a specific amount. If you feel led, you can donate money in one sum or as a pledge for each of the 7 months I will be there, or donate airline points or buddy passes (which is the most expensive need).

I want you to understand, that above all, I would appreciate your prayers, through this fundraising time, and as I am abroad. I would like to request specific things from you to pray for, if I may be permitted to do so. Pray for the people of the 1040 window. Pray for the 865,000 million Muslims in the world who are ripe to receive the Kingdom of God. Pray for divine appointments, to meet with students and even high up leaders in authority over Jordan. Pray that the people of Amman would have encounters with Jesus. Pray for Fatimah, Rawan, Ahmed and the many others who inshallah will soon find hope in the Savior of the world and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Pray for the rich educated devout families, the poor, people in the slums and the Bedouins of the Wadi Rum desert. Pray that God would reveal to me, His specific vision for my life in missions. And pray please, that God would encounter me, in whole new ways while I am in Amman, so that I might serve and love out of the overflow of His goodness to the people of the Jordan. As I close this I also pray that God would bless you with an abundance of His love, speaking sweet truths to you about how He sees you as His child and I bless you with the spiritual coverings in Ephesians 1.

Salaam,

Rachel

Book Review

2010-12-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

Hey friends,

Just finally finished, "Seeds of Turmoil" by Bryant Wright.

Knowing that i have been to the Middle East and work closely with Muslims from the Middle East, this was an interesting read for me. The argument of whose line is blessed (through Ishmael- says my Muslim friends), always comes up in conversation and this goes way back to the beginning. He touches on how Abraham is where it all started. Things or questions your Muslim friends may even have about Issac, Sarah, Jacob and Rachel, are addressed and cleared up. It was definitely a great read, and one that i will pass around. If you have any interest in knowing the roots of this "turmoil" this book is a great starting place. Also, if you are interested in biblical history and geneology, this is for you. Very educational and eye opening at the same time.

2010-08-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

I recently recieved a copy of Ravi Zacharias's book Beyond Opinion (Living the Faith we Defend). Many people had recommended this book to me but i must say i didnt expect what i got.

Now i admire and love Ravi's work but some of it is just so over my head. A lot of Apologetics seems like a big hefty clpud full of information to many people and i felt the same way for a while. This read took me longer than i usual book because i wanted to soak in what was being said.

By far the best chapter of the book was Existential Challenges of Evil and Suffering. I had recently been asking the Lord about the constant battle between heaven and hell and the pull of the enemy on all of humanity here on earth. I had been walking through understanding what it means to be a child of God and focusing more on the facet of God that is a Father. If anything, people should by this book simply for the insight Ravi so eloquently gives on the fall of man, the entering of evil, and understanding Gods heart in the midst of a fallen world.

An excerpt for your liking: "In fact one of the most forgotten realities emerges from thr Scriptures. Jesusstruggled with the burden of having to be separated from his Father in that momentary event of his crucifixtion, as he bore the brunt of evil....The incredible truth was that at the very moment his Father seemed farthest from him, jesus was in the center of his Father's will. That is precisely what an understanding of the cross means. Only when one comes to the cross and sees both in it and beyond it can evil be put in persepective". (Chapter 9)

While parts of me are confused or even slightly disagree with parts of this book, it would be a great start to an Apologetcis lecture.

Wait.

2010-07-26T12:17:00.001-07:00

man, i remember this time. (from 2008) and the words that flowed from my heart. this was a great season.

"He is able to do immeasurably more that all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us". -Ephesians 3:20

Desperately, helplessly, longingly i cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and i wept for a clue to my fate,
and the Master so gently said "Child you must wait".

"Wait? You say wait!" my indignant reply.
"Lord i need answers, i need to know why!
Is your hand shortened or have you not heard?
By faith i have asked, i am claiming your Word.

My future and all to which i can relate
Hangs in the balance and YOU tell me to WAIT?
Im needed "yes", a go-ahead sign,
Or even a "no" to which i can resign

And Lord, you promised that if we believe
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord ive been asking and this is my cry:
Im weary of asking, i need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, i learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "you must wait".

So i slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, "So im waiting...for what?"

He seemed then to kneel and His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said, "i could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause the mountains to run.

All yuo seek, i could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want-But you wouldnt know Me.

Youd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
Youd not know the power i give to the faint;
Youd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
Youd not learn to trust just by knowing Im there.

Youd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
Youd never experience the fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
Youd know that i give and save.... (for a start)
But youd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of my comfort late in the night,
The faith that i give when you walk without sight,
The depth thats beyond getting what you asked
Of and infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.

Youd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that "My grace is sufficient for thee".
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But Oh, the Loss! If i lost what im doing in you!

So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, "Wait".

-Anonymous

I am definitely one of those people that is extremely impatient. I get frustrated on the road and want to get everywhere fast but most of all i want to know what i am supposed to do with my life. I never ask for patience because i know then God will make me wait.

It has become even more evident in my life in the past year or so how impatient i am about the future. I am constantly searching for answers about the type of ministry God is calling me to. I love to love and serve people, i love children, i love coffee and books and singing and art and Jesus. But that doesnt exactly narrow it down.

What am i passionate about? What gifts should i utilize for Gods kingdom? Am i ultimately doing what God is calling me to do? And who am i to say i know what i am supposed to do? Ive been trying to use discernment between Gods voice and my own.

So many of us have been enveloped and sucked in to society's view that we must live this fast-paced stressful life in order to have what we want. In order to have the car and the house and degree and the job. We are constantly told to go to college and take out loans and go into debt and graduate and get on with the rest of our lives. But all these are just lies.

God calls for us to be uncomfortable, NOT overwhelmed.

That is all i have ever been. Overwhelmed.
I do too much and i want to help too many people.
Am i seriously forwarding the kingdom if i have no time for myself and my quiet time and spend more time with people and in all the ministries i am involved in? Am i doing a thing for Christ if i am constantly bombarded with thoughts about my future and what i am supposed to do while being so swamped by what i am doing now?

We simply need to slow down.
Stop asking for an answer to our future because God knows
He knows we want an answer and he has one.
Its just all in his time.

Lord, help me slow down. help me wait. and wait patiently.
Grab hold of my heart and say Child i have a plan for you. There is no need to worry about it right now. Calm my heart that wants to jump out of my chest and scream "what do you want me to do!?" and help me listen to your voice when you choose to give me an answer.

this was good. good season of learning what it means to slow down.

thank you Papa.

2010-07-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

another old one... hoping to have this same mindset as the new semester begins.

i no longer want to go through a semester without knowing at least five faces in every class,
i want make friends there, witness to those and make the friendships last.
i no longer want to walk in feeling free,
and leave the classroom knowing a lot of those people will never be.
i no longer want to pretend i am praying,
the prayer i say i pray for all those who are simply just waiting.
i no longer want to sit knowing the person next to me isnt in the kingdom,
but rather i want to bring them in with rejoicing and singing.

because what if every class was a glimpse of what was to come?
what if i reached every teacher, every student, everyone?

then the campus would be bursting at the seams simply awaiting,
the kingdom of heaven to victoriously keep raining.

so Jesus would come down and reclaim all of the campus,
and i wouldnt have to worry if the people next to me in class would be in heaven with us.

i want to steal away all the brokenness and shame,
and replace it with joy and love, all in Jesus name.

so God place my heart on my face, so people can see your love,
knowing that my life's dreams and happiness come from above.

grab the souls of all the people at KSU,
draw them gently, lovingly, joyfully back to you.

draw them to you, through your servant daughter,
and bring down the kingdom, come down Abba Father!

"A merry heart does good like a medicine; but a broken spirit dries the bones."
Proverbs 17:22

let your love be the medicine to heal the campus and let me be the nurse that ministers Lord!

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:37

let me be your worker and labor for your glory. the harvest is here! use me Lord!

2010-07-26T12:13:00.002-07:00

and another old one...

“To be nobody but yourself in a world that’s doing its best to make you somebody else,is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. Never stop fighting.” - E.E. Cummings

we are His. and he keeps us as His. as His unique, beautiful creations.

i am unique.
i am free.
i am His.
i am me.

be you.
be free.

2010-07-26T12:13:00.001-07:00

re-posting this from a long time ago...

friends, i encourage you to take this note as an opportunity to do a short sort of biblestudy with the Lord. start by asking Him to come into your time with Him right now. invite Him in.

Think to God. Re-center on Him so you may be with Him. We are inseperable to him, ask Him to come to your heart right now and consume all the things that hinder your love for Him. ask Him to penetrate every part of your heart.

Try saying, "Lord, make your heart known to me, bind up all the things that steal my time away from you and your love, you are a high priest whose name is love, so let your love replace all else right now. Draw me near to you Lord, draw me closer than ever before, call my name. dwell richly inside of me, touch me, whisper your name to me, lay your hand on me in love, Amen"

to better understand His love we must recognize that He created relational beings.He did not create us just to live but to commune with Him and be with him. He craved a beloved. We were meant to be lovers. You were made by a relational God for a divine relationship with Him. He is the ONE. The relationship/love that will fulfill you is the one with Him. We are the bride of Christ.

Misty Edwards has a song called baptize my heart that simply says, "God is a lover, looking for a lover, he fashioned me, he formed my heart"

Love is birthed inside of us because God loves us. He wants to KNOW us. We must have a profound dissatisfaction with simple love. We need to crave deep intimate love with the Father. God has undying jealousy for us. Love is made complete in us. We must develop a healthy consistency in a relationship with the one who gave His all for our nothing.

Strong love. Pure love. Deep love. Insane love.
The more we see you, the more we love you.

Our Father chooses to love us. Chooses to be with us. Chooses to delight in us. How powerful is that???

“the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness. ‘the Lord is my portion’ says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him’. The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” –Lamentations 3:22-26

“or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says ‘he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us….draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”? –James 4:5,8

our destiny is to be with Christ, to be in love.
Take advantage of the time we have with Him. The relationship. Love more purely. When you are seeking the Lord through love there is the kingdom in your eyes.
“we are never nearer to Christ than when we find ourselves lost in a holy amazement at his unspeakable love” –John Owens

“when we love God we naturally run to Him, frequently and zealously” (Isaiah 40:22-24)

The Lord longs for us to respond to Him with love expressed throughout our lives. Reverent intimacy. More song lyrics- “Its just you and me here now. Only you and me here now. My love”
Our love for Him comes out of his love for us. (Philippians 3:10)
Let us be obsessed (excessively occupied with a single topic) with the Lord.
Be transparent. Be vulnerable. Be raw! We need to be way out in deep water with the Lord.

“ see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God and so we are” -1 John 3:1
“in this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propriation for our sins” -1 John 4:10

Colossians 2:
Abound in thanksgiving. You are filled with Him. God made us alive together through his brutal death on a cross. Nailed/ beaten/bruised.
“the most important commandment is this….Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” –Mark 12:29-30

Jesus’ mission on earth was to establish a new covenant based on love. He was sent to fulfill the early covenant by changing it to a covenant of love rather than rules and regulations. He doesn’t make us love him, he offers his love to us. We must realize how great his love is. He is not one who only gives 20% when you give 80%. He is a 200% fully involved lover.

Our normal reality should be walking and talking with God asking for His love. “search me, know me God” David knows that the Lord already knows but he wants to be pursued even more.
James was known for wearing holes in the ground because he spent so much time in prayer and intimacy with the Lord.
Paul wrote to the Philippians- “my brothers whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, stand firm in the Lord, my beloved”

Love him tenderly as he loves us. He is more than agape/intimate love.
Rest and breathe him in. walk in his love and glory. Have faithfulness.
Lean into Him. Let intimacy develop. Develop TRUE intimacy. Love Him.
Psalm 62:8- “pour out your heart before Him”
Psalm 62:12- “that to you O Lord belongs steadfast love”
Let us be vulnerable. Unconditional love.

True and honest. Worthy and noble. Just and right. Pure and holy. Lovely and beautiful.

As our intimacy with God increases our hearts prayerfully consider and care for the world and non-believers more.

Some Prayers for us:
"Let us love you more than ever before to make up for the heartache that your children have caused you. We have for so long betrayed and broken your heart for selfish reasons. We are a broken humanity for toying with our creator and our lovers heart. You are our greatest lover. We should long to be with you, to be intimate with you. You are our greatest lover, though you deserve better. You are the most gracious lover of all yet we continue to neglect you. Forgive us."
"Let us understand your immense deep love for us so that we may better serve you and your broken children. We long to bring you more lovers. Let us love like you love. Let us be the tangible love that people need. Let my face read “lover” when people see me so that they may come looking to experience and receive your love and the truth about your love through me."
"Your love for world and your children is so ridiculous that we cannot imagine or even grasp it. Why would you choose to love your betrayer? Why would you choose to bless us? You are too kind to a people who are too ungrateful and unloving. Im sorry for ever breaking your heart. Help us experience you in a way that makes us long to never break your heart ever again. Let us all be one less brokenheart for you. Let us use your love to speak to the nations!"
Teach us how to love like you.

“with God as my witness, how I yearn for you with all my affection of Christ Jesus” – Philippians 1:8

If any of us have experienced the pain of a broken heart or a broken relationship imagine how God must feel when we pierce Him everyday. We must be ridiculously in love with the Lord always. He is greater than any other lover. WALK IN LOVE!
“ (he) gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice” –Eph 5:2
the passion of Christ Jesus is stirring me to love you!
Lets get BLASTED with Love!!!
YOU ARE ENOUGH LORD.
love is the greatest thing God has given to us and it’s the greatest thing we can give in return.

The biggest thing:

Ephesians 3:
that we may grasp his love for us.

and the last thing to do is:
close your eyes.
focus yourself on imagining the deepest parts of His love for us.
imagine His love in all its fullness and glory.

now think.....its MORE than that

Let the Lord cover you in love.
Be intimate with Him.
ask Him to call your name.
His is the greatest lover of all.

2010-07-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

Jesus Camp Movie.

Has anybody seen this?

I think the tactics of training these young people may be a little different than what the world is into. Id like to watch and come to my own conclusions. The body of Christ is surely raising up inside these students and they are ready to become a generation of change. but are they taught to do so in a peaceful manner? and how much of hearing from the Holy Spirit is involved? Ill watch and see.

2010-06-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

I recently received a copy of Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. This is a 365 day devotional, like so many others that we know out there. It was neat knowing that the underlying theme was peace in His presence, something that i have been struggling with Recently. Having peace in my circumstances, having peace with my family, with my job situation, and even peace with Jesus. In her introduction alone, you get to understand a bit of where she comes from and how the Lord has impacted her life in different areas of the world. How He has grasped hold of her mind, to stop time and allow her to view His majestic beauty and even how she went through seasons of desperation for some sense of hope or peace in her own situations, in work, in her family, in her relationships, just as so many of us do. She continues to go on in the introduction about hearing from the Lord personally, something many people think they have to earn or wont ever understand. I love that she begins such a simple devotional with such a massive truth, that Jesus does speak and we can experience Him greatly while we rest in His peace and in His presence. Each day, she has written something the Lord would have said to her or was sayign to all His people and included references to biblical passages about such focuses.

It reminds me of an old classic i think that many women in the church have found called

"Come Away my Beloved", by Frances J. Roberts. But unlike that book this covers a whole year, and while Jesus Calling isnt themed or separated in category, you know you will always be able to go back to certain days to rememeber the truth you found the first time you read it.

Definitely a good devotional to give to your friends. Perfect for a gift!

adventuring.

2010-05-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

going on a bit of an adventure, well i guess ive been on one with the Lord.

walking through a lot, processing a lot, thinking a lot.

wishing this process would happen quickly...more quicker?

whatever. im over it.

i need a good book.

2010-03-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

i want to live in a boxcar.

The seasons are changing

2010-02-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

Its been a while. and i dont have a ton of followers- (thanks Tricia!)

I wanted to clue you guys in on whats going on in my life right now.

Recently, i have gone back to school at KSU, commuting, and helping take care of my dad as he recooperates from his kidney transplant, praise God! While life is constantly changing, the Lord has seriously begun to teach me more than ever that no matter how hard i try or how organized and planned i think i am, he always charts my steps. Since last August- (i found out i wouldnt be in school and was planning on my dad having the transplant in the fall)- God has been showing me how quickly things change and life gets "disrupted" from what i originally had planned. But he has been molding me to just LET GO and let Him handle everything. ive always been a planner and slowly his is ripping my schedules and my ideas out of my hands and placing them in His.

I write this all to tell you that i am embarking on a very exciting journey in this season. This time last year i had no idea i would be living at home, helping my sick father, experiencing extreme hardship and only relying on only God to get me through. The past 6 months have been a trying time leading up to now. While it seems so inopportune for everything thats happening now to actually be happening, its what the Lord intended.

The largest part of this season, i beleive, is the spritual transformation i am going through. I am stepping into the water completely and submerging myself in His grace in order to be taught and learn more about myself, my giftings, and who i am called to be in His kingdom.

I have the opportunity to be involved in a school of ministry internship under Dwight and Candy Haymond. From now until May i will undergo what the Lord has told me is a time of intense pushing and pulling. The Lord is going to open my heart up and shove all the things of Him that i have not yet understood inside, as well as tearing out all the things that are not of Him, even those that are of Him (but just refining them and placing them back inside). I expect this season is going to hurt. but its going to be a good hurt. A supernatural hurt that changes who i am in Christ and how he uses me. The Lord continually has been placing 1 Corinthians 12:31 on my heart- "eagerly desire the greater gifts".

The vision of this school is To mold and equip God’s children to be and do Kingdom Realities. Dwight and Candy will teach us more on hearing God, being Jesus to the world and growing in ourselves and our giftings, as well as teaching us about the gifting we can have through growth in the kigndom. We will learn the ministry of Sozo (inner healing), learn more about dreams and visions and how to interpret them, spiritual warfare, bathing in prayer and intimacy (soaking), how to be in tune with a spirit at all times, and the Fathers creative heart. We will also take part in great conferences/trips to other ministries in the Southeast (mornignstar, bethel, mehesh, etc) to gain growth from those ministries and spirit-led people.

There is a cost to this school, and i am in no way able to pay for it on my own. I have no source of income, and while my parents would support me they are in no way able to because of my fathers health. The Lord has been teaching me about trust and faith in Him and His powers, especially in the realm of financial provision. This is something the Lord has been trying to get me to release to Him for a while. I pray that in this season i will also come to a place of complete reliance on the Lords provision and faith that He will do as he has spoken. This is going to be a life changing experience and i am so fortunate to have Dwight and Candy as mentors and friends. One gift the Lord has placed in me is the ability to be "teachable" a lot of times more so than others. I am always longing to learn from those above me, wiser than me, and those with more experience, and Dwight and Candy are. They have the education of a pastor/theologan, but also have a great understanding of the spirit realm through years of ministry.

I pray that as you read this and as you know me and my heart, that you would ask the Lord about what he has for me in this season and also about whether you feel this is an opportunity to support my spiritual growth in a financial way. While the school includes a trip to Africa i will be unable to go because i am back in school but the rough costs for me will be around $1500. That includes books, conferences, gas, teaching, special speakers, etc. I have been praying as well that the Lord would bless me above the neccesary cost so i can offer an extra financial blessing to Dwight and Candy for their ministry and in a few other places that have influenced my spiritual growth the past 3 years.

Please seek the Lord about any contribution and know that you are not only supporting me in my growth but sowing into the future generations but supporting me in any future ministry the Lord leads me to do. Any donation would be greatly appreciated. Checks can be made payable to Lifegate Ministries.

More info can be found at: http://lifegateinternational.com/

I love you all and pray that the Lord is with you in this season as well, teaching and molding you to look even more like Him. Seek first the Kingdom!! Blessings.

Rachel

Fall is coming.

2009-08-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Living at home is seeming harder than i thought.

i love my family but being away for 32 years and planning my own schedule only to move home and not have as much freedom as before is killing me.

still working up at Grace and doing all sorts of work, my internship will officially be over at the end of September after JIQ @ Midtown. sort of excited to have a break from the work and possibly do some running around. i need another job though. if im going to be paying for everything next semester i need to work. and save. everything.

so badly want to live in Atlanta. going house looking/dreaming with Lindsey today before manuscript study. excited. for houses and manuscript study. it should be good.

got a lot of rest last night. went to bed early, woke up late. trying to catch up on work right now. we'll see how much i get done before i leave with Lindsey.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." -John 14:27

Jordan update!

2009-07-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

ok...so everytime ive tried to update something goes wrong.

not a lot of time to write now.

i think im just gonna have to end up hanging out with all the people who want to know about the trip when i get home and just tell them everything then.

sick right now. day 2 of sickness.

the rest of the team is at JRA teaching and will be back later. some people doing cultural exchange with some college students later tonight and hoping to hang out with some focus people later too.

be praying for our relationships with:

Sana'a, Amani, Amel (hope) and her friend Chris, Abeer, Baran, Fatimah, and a purple dress girl whose name we cant remember. thanks for your prayers!

Rachel

2009-07-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

packing packing packing.

ready to go!

2009-07-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

i cannot wait to leave wednesday for jordan but there is so much to do before then.

wrestling with the fact that tons of my family/friends have recently brought up my safety, not just in Jordan but in other places as well and it is kind of making me worry.

ready to be in Jordan, despite any fears (not that i have, but others), and ready to love on people like crazy. ive been dreaming about this for months. i dont think its set in yet that i leave in 2 days!

pray for the team and pray for encouragement and strength and comfort for my family while im gone. really worried about what will happen while im gone but im placing it in HIS hands.

2009-05-28T07:53:00.001-07:00

"i will look with favor on the faithful land that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me"
-Psalm 101:7

"He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king as his friend"
-Proverbs 22:11

2009-05-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Its a new season.

A season of growth and maturity, realization and....growth.
Its an interesting time.
a full time.
a busy time.

but a wonderful time.

Im dying to see where im headed.

Working at grace as one of the missions intern is wonderful and im able to see the fruits of my labor and how we are getting people involved. JIQ is gonna be big in june and the one in august is @ Woodstock and should be HUGE. Jordan is coming quickly and i have raised....NO money.
I dont know how im gonna get there but its gonna happen.
Im dying to be immersed in the Muslim culture and love on some cute Jordanian kids.
They have my heart already and i havent even met them.

Seeking the Lord and asking for this to be a wonderful time of revelation.

Also, really asking for time with Spring. She seems like a wonderful girl with an amazing heart and a crazy spirit. Artsy, fun and inspiring. we'll see how the summer goes.

Pour out blessings Lord. crazy awesome, unimaginable blessings! and i will praise you!

Psalm 71:15-19

My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.

I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.

Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.

Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?

2009-04-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

i cant wait for this.

Jordan, Middle East, Muslim friends, history, here i come!

restored.

2009-04-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

i am restored.

more than ever before.

and i am realizing it now more than ever.

i need to paint.

2009-02-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

Spring:

Spring, where are you?
can you get here at last?

my heart is dying,
so get here real fast.

the color you bring and the bright shiny faces,
the spontaneous adventures in unique new places.

spring is my favorite time of the year,
so why do you hide your glorious weather my dear?

so many anticipate your beautiful state,
so hurry up and get here, why make us wait?

moderation

2009-02-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

im in this season of my life where i am longing for actuality. i no longer want to feel like the things i aspire to do are just a mere possibility. i want to embrace the gifts i have in order to use them to do the things i am craving in my soul to do.

i honestly didnt think i would ever get to this point of consistency in my life. like a consistency of colors throughout my apartment i have become consistent with my walk with Christ and with the number of things i am involved in. now im wondering if consistency was the right word to use. all i know is that i have become so content with being a part of things that i love and being consistent in the work that i do inside those things. i am immersing myself in things that bring light to what ive recently begun to call the "present day kingdom". i am embracing the Christ that i know now and am trying so very much to bring that person out so that those that do not know Him might have a chance to grab on to something so tangible and real, more than they've ever experienced before. so that they might have a chance to develop a healthy consistency in a relationship with the one who gave His all for our nothing.

the only downside to consistency is that i long to break out of that and bring life to the dreams i hav within those things i am involved in and within my very soul. i have this intense want to be a public speaker. to experience some intense encounters with the Lord like i have been blessed to experience lately and share those things with men and women all over the world so that they might find a little joy in the life they live. a little comfort. a little reassurance that the God of the universe is working through them. i want to share my own personal experiences as a normal teenager, college student, daughter, and friend, as well as those experiences that ive had that could have only happened through Christ. i want to invite my fellow brothers and sisters into something so extreme that they must beleive that theyve experienced it only through Christ.

i want to sing. and sing well.
i want to speak and have the Lord speak through me. and have the words be so powerful that the people listening could only beleive my words came from the Father.
i want to paint. and collage. and create.
i want to be a living canvas for all to see. for everyone to glimpse at my skin and see a reflection of the painter. for those people then, to look back at their own reflection seeing the majesty that is within them that was created uniquely by God. i want my colors to run together into a perfect mix of emotions: joy, sadness, love, triumph, glory. i want my colors to be clear. i want my colors to bring life. i want my canvas to reflect not my soul and my heart but the one who created me. the one who made me unique. i want the art i imagine within myself and that i create to be just a glimpse of the art that I AM and that YOU ARE. because we are living art. art that is displayed for the world to see. and our Father is the most talented artist. he created the universe and the places we call home, but more importantly he created himself (the spirit), with skin on, with a mind, soul, and heart. that meaning he created us. and we are the most beautiful paintings of all. let me be an appropriate depiction of the art he meant to awe the world.

2009-02-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

i love to read.
right now im reading through the book of Luke in the New Testament. I love that Luke wrote so poetically and just wanted the Gentiles to hear the truth about Jesus.
his words and accounts are powerful and really give us insight to the life of Christ.

I encourage everyone to find some book of the bible that they might enjoy and sit down and read it, just as you would a regular novel. If we spend time in the Word, we are spending time with our Father, and in turn he refreshes us and speaks to us with a gentle voice of a Father, which He is to us.

"my soul magnifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my Savior for He has looked upon the humble estate of His servant, for behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed for He who is mighty has done great things for me and Holy is His name."
-Luke 1:46-48

Our Father chooses to love us. Chooses to be with us. Chooses to delight in us.
How powerful is that???

to start this thing off

2009-02-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

so i dont really know how to get started with one of these things but i feel like it is just another way for me to speak up about the Kingdom of God and what the Lord is doing in my life.

maybe, just maybe, the Lord will bless this pge and impact someone's life in order to draw them closer to Him and to His love. God Bless everyone who reads this.
Rachel