Tummy Time Push ups to achieve Milestones

Most of you are aware that I am a new mother. In Sept,  I gave birth to our son, Josiah.  Josiah and I have been working on a daily routine. Part of this routine contains a period of time called “tummy time”.  During this time. Josiah must be on his tummy performing a task. Tonight while we were working on our tummy time I noticed a few things and it made me think about how God treats us in a trial.

During tummy time, Josiah has to be on his belly working on push ups. He hates this activity and throws a hissy fit.  I think there are two reasons for him being so upset. 1) He can’t see me so he thinks he’s all by himself; 2) Its hard for him-a) he’s not coordinated, b) he’s lacks strength in his upper arm, tummy and head control muscles c) he doesn’t understand why he’s doing the activity.

I am a physical therapist. I have him do this tummy time to prepare for the next milestone/stage in development. Josiah needs to be on his tummy to improve his strength and coordination for crawling. I also let him struggle a little before I help him. I am right next to him the whole time speaking comforting, encouraging words. The whole time he is crying but performing the activity. Sometimes I give him physical support or stability so that he can work on strengthening and assist with his coordination. When I see that Josiah is getting tired or is getting too frustrated I stop the tummy activity. Then I pick him up, console him, and tell him how good he did during the activity. I also reward him for his hard work

 

Isn’t this like God. We are in some trial that he allows us to be positioned in. He puts limits on the test. He knows why we have to go through the test in order to achieve the next milestone. We can’t see Him. We hate the test and throw fits. The whole time God is with us. He sits or kneels next to us tells us through his word to “keep our head up” or “you can do it” or “you are doing great keep it up!” We can’t see Him but He wants us to trust Him that He is doing what is best for us.  There are times that God will give us assists to improve our ability to achieve the test. As I said earlier God limits the test; he sees that we can’t tolerate the test much longer so He (like me) stops the tests picks up His child then consoles them and reassures them of their success. God gives us rewards also after a trial.

 

Video

The Dangers of Wayside Ground

Recently I was sitting in Sunday school with the teens and another leader encouraged a young teen to read the parable of the Sower. I felt compelled in the last few days to this particular parable in the scripture of Mark 4: 3, I found myself only considering this parable

The Sower went forth(with purpose) to sow(scatter/broadcast) seeds upon the earth. As the sower sowed it fell on 4 types of ground: the wayside, the stony, the thorns, and the good ground

vs 14 tells us what the seed represents: The seed in this parable represents the Word of God. The sower is guided by the Holy Spirit to go out with a purpose to share the Word of God. The sower can be:

a pastor, a teacher, a CIA leader(christians in action), layperson, a teen etc

The types of Ground represent the different types of receptiveness of those that hear the word of God

The sower is aware that he may not always reach ground that accepts the seed, allows the seed to grow, fullfill its purpose, and yield fruit abundantly yet he/she still goes out and casts seeds anyway in hope that wherever the seed lands(the word of God lands) that the ground will be accepting and ultimately transformed into something better than what it initially was.

Let’s look at 1 type of ground 

The wayside: side of the road

Notice in the parable that “some” seed “fell by the wayside” but not all the seed fell there

“Fell by the wayside”-(complete oxford dictionary) To fail to persist in an undertaking. The seed fell by the wayside but the ground did not/was not able to accept the seed(the Word of God)

Why: continue looking at vs 4 The fowls of the air came and devoured the seed up.

Okay lets go back a minute:
notice that this ground(the hearer) did hear the seed (the Word) but was not or did not accept the Word of  God. Therefore a bird(Satan) swooped down ate the seed from the ground(vs 14). This ground is an easy target for Satan to swoop down and rob the hearer of the life changing Word of God.

MacArthurs commentary states it this way: This ground(hearer): 1) is careless with the Word of God, 2) sees the Word of God as “trifling” or insignificant to his/her life, 3) sees the Word of God as having very little value for today, 4) Views God’s word without respect or seriousness. In essence esteems God’s word as nothing more than bird poop.

Why is it that some of us(myself included) have at times or presently have reguarded or viewed God’s Word as bird poop when in reality it is more valuable than my unborn baby or my wedding ring and vows

I challenge you to today to not let Satan rob you of the life changing Word of God. I challenge you to allow the seed to take root, to flourish, and to grow in your life. I challenge you to accept the Word of God with Respect every time you hear it and allow it to grow and flourish in your life

 

 

 

 

Coming together

This Sunday I was really proud of my church family. We have a family in our church that is going through a particularly hard time. My husband and I are especially fond of this family as they have been a tremendous encouragement and a source of friendship. Before, service one of the family members had informed us of the hardship that was occurring. I told my husband if the mother of the family went to pray I go and pray with her. Invitation time to pray came and the lady went up. I went up also but to my amazement and excitement other women came too to pray for this special lady and her family. There were about 6-7 women at the alter supporting and encouraging and interceding for this woman and her family needs. It was exciting finally this is real Christianity loving, demonstrating support in trials. This is not always seen today. Most people are absorbed in their own day to day grind to see needs around them. It was just a really sweet moment at our church

Rebekah

Getting Ahead

Have you ever had it suggested that you deny your moral values or integrity to “get ahead”. Well today I did.  One of my patients that I am treating for a specific disorder suggested that I tell an untruth on her insurance so she could get ahead. Can you say “insurance fraud”  I refused, stating that the code that I am charging under is correct and will remain the charge that we will cont to charge for the treatment.  Next we were talking about babies and all things related to a baby. Again my pt suggested that if I had something borrowed and not new that I should lie and get the new part from my insurance. I informed her again that I would not do this… Why you ask,Rebekah its a little white lie for your benefit. Well, I will tell you… not more than 1 hour before this conversation I had my quiet time like I do every morning. In my quiet time I prayed and ask God what advice He had for me that day since He already knows what I will face and how to walk wisely before Him. Anyway I was guided to Prov 11:3 for my instruction.

Prov 11:3 says:  The integrity of the upright shall guide them but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.

Lets look at this verse:

Key words:

Integrity                             vs.                                      perverseness

upright                              vs.                                       transgressors

guide                                vs.                                        destroy

Shall-take it to the bank, cash the check already God’s making good on a  promise!

Who are the upright?-Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord  and in his law doth he meditate day and night>

The upright are:1) not led by ungodly counsel, 2) they delight in God’s word and think about it day and night, 3) the recongnize what is sin, don’t make room for it, and don’t progress in to sin. They fear the Lord: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, The upright view God and His wisdom as valuable it is a treasure to those that seek Him

 

What do the upright do differently than everyone else?1) They are seeking God with their whole heart, they are meditating, thinking on God’s word, instant in prayer, seeking wise and Godly counsel to direct their paths, they do not grieve the Holy Spirit, They love GOd and Fear(reverentially respect) the Lord

What is integrity? MOral values…

How do we get integrity? Reading, praying, meditating(thinking on God’s word), Listening intently to God’s word,

Who guides the upright? Who influences them?,  God influences the upright. HOly Spirit guides the upright

Where do their moral values come from?   The word…Again God cannot lie and sin can not be in His presence therefore God’s word and his ways are not perverted. They are the straight unvarnished truth from a loving Holy, righteous God who wants us more than anything to live like Him and walk like Him and make Him our every day 1st place choice

         God’s word guided me today even though my life and integrity was tested. I listened attentively to the few minutes I had with GOd for the simple fact that I want to know what He wants me to do. My part is to follow as directed because God simply wants His best for me in all things.

But GOd also makes a promise in this verse…WHat is God’s part of the deal?  God’s word will guide us if we let it and If we listen        Today I got to see God directly keep his part, I followed him and He kept me out of big hot water. Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe                                                           

Weights and Measures

In the last Month, I have been spending my quiet times in Proverbs. This study has been slow but rewarding!

Nolan and I are experiencing new territory. Soon we will be parents of a new bustling baby boy. We are very excited, nervous, and a profound sense of deep responsibility to teach this child to love God and serve Him with all his heart. Therefore, I have found the need to have more wisdom. I am also experiencing some challenges at work which I cannot mention. The only place I know to get what I need is to God’s word and find out what it says for myself. I have one particular message that I keep finding intriguing:

Prov 11:1

A false balance is abomination to the Lord: But a just weight is His delight

A balance:

A scale: for weight measurement

Represents: honesty and standardized measure

Righteous evaluation of motives and actions(strong’s concordance)

Abomination: detestable, loathesome(Strong’s concordance), intense aversion(dictionary)

Why would God be intensly adverse to a false balance?

1) Its inaccurate, It lies: The scale could tell you you’re 120 when you are really 140 or you’re 140 when you are 120. Either way you are affected by the inaccuracy of the scale if the scale tells you you weigh more your attitude is affected-you can become depressed

If you are told falsely by the scale that you weigh less than you do you may also be affected into a false euphoric state while that extra 20 lbs is silently effecting/destroying your health(HTN, diabetes, damage to tissues)

Titus 1:2 God cannot lie. It is in His nature to be truthful. Jesus said “I am the way, the Truth, and the Life” A Holy, Righteous, Truthful, God can not be in the same room as that which is a lie. A lie is a sin. God is Sinless(without sin) What part does sin have with no sin…Nothing. God has no part with sin…in fact He hates it, abhors it, loathes it, intensly despises it, etc. He’s not going to wink at sin. He can’t its not in his character. Proverbs 6: 16 talks about the things that the Lord Hates at least 2 of those things involve lying.

2) The balance is not performing its intended function…Thus not honoring the “Maker of the Scale”

the balance is a means of measurement: However, the false balance is not judging the weight accurately. God talks about casting out salt when it looses its savor, He calls it “Good for nothing” except to be trodden under men’s feet. Is it not the same for an unjust weight? Its exactly the same. The only way that the balance can have its function restored is if it is calibrated by the “maker of the scale”

So what Rebekah: What does this mean to me? Well, I don’t know about you but I feel that the scale is a  metaphor for me. I am just any average ordinary scale with two choices: 1) Be a just weight that is accurate and performs its function/serves to the delight of the Maker(Jesus Christ) or gives others acurate, factual, information that is in perfect balance or harmony with Christ or:

2) Be an unjust weight that is inaccure, dishonest, and does not fulfill its purpose and brings others to a false sense of security or self loathing. A balance that is destructive in nature and displeasing to Christ which made me.  A weight that is good for nothing and should be cast out and trodden down

Dear Heavenly Father,

Talk about your no brainers!!! You are the one that created me. You have a specific plan and purpose for my life. Sometimes I confess that I do not understand your methods but it is not for me to question you but to trust you with all my heart and lean not into my own understanding. Father you have proven yourself trustworty in my life and in the lives of many of my Christian friends. I thank you and praise you for this.

Father I confess that I am not perfect though I would like to be. Father there have been times that I have been the unjust weight. Father I am sorry that I sinned and displeased you with my actions. I recognize and acknowledge that sin can not stand in your presence. I ask your forgiveness and to continue to make me new before you. God that I would(with your help) strive to be a just weight and your delight always AMEN

 

 

 

Being separated…

Okay before I worry anyone who read this regularly: NO I am not separating from Nolan. We are still very much in love and have a happy marriage.

What I am talking about is a theme that seems to keep coming up in my quiet times, when I go to church, when I am at work, and when I listen to the radio on the way home.  The need to be separate. To walk a Christian life that is pleasing to God and acceptable in His sight. Why is this so important?

Well, I heard an interesting reason on Focus on the Family Radio show today…in essence the guy was saying this: That we are God’s representatives in this world. We are to represent God’s character so that people who need Him will see the difference in our lives and be drawn to Him. However, when we have scandals in our churches, when we hate our brothers and sisters for petty stuff, when we don’t honor our marriage vows, when we don’t love and nurture our children, when we don’t reach out to help those in need, when we don’t guard our thoughts, speech, and actions we represent Christ badly. We say to this world that God is a phony.

Well, my friends God is not a phony! He is living, loving, and very real God. He understands our faults, is in tune with our desires, and is a Good Father and Good guide for this life.  Rebekah how do you know this? I have experienced his love and care in my own life. He has been faithful in all areas of my life.  Because God has been so faithful I feel strongly that I should be faithful to Him. I should not take His grace or my Christian freedoms for granted and live any way I please. But I should guard my heart, protect my mind, read His word, keep my thoughts and speech filtered, pray, pray and pray some more,  and manage my actiions. Rebekah, this is impractical no one can ever live like this day in and day out. You’re right not in my own power but with God’s help I can. Sure I will mess up(I am a hopelessly flawed sinner) but I have a Saviour who loves me and accepts me as I am. I don’t have to clean up for Him. I just bow humbly admit my faults and ask for forgiveness then absolutely turn my wrong.

Rebekah

Older and Wiser…Why young women need to have older women in their lives

Yesterday, I was running early for church. My husband had a birthday and I brought cupcakes to share with our teens. However, the church doors were not open(5:30 pm and church starts at 7pm) so I sat with two of my favorite elderly ladies in our church and discussed life issues. I discussed my newest adventures in teaching 13 year old girls and how I was teaching them to get more excited about their Bibles and Bible study. These ladies were so encouraging and they told me stories from their past. They spent time with me and shared the desires of their heart. One of them gets to share her testimony to our teens next Wed night. It was interesting to hear about her life. Her friend said “I shared my testimony months prior” She informed me that she thought “What do I have to share that would apply to teens today-she’s 92” Here’s my thoughts on that, there is nothing new under the sun eventually we will run into a person who has a similar story to ours. Us younger folks need to see people who are older who have been in similar situations and made it successfully through the circumstance. Or we need them to help hold us accountable when we are struggling with discipline. We need the encouragement to keep trying and we can benefit from their advice. You never know who is watching your life…walk as Christ would walk. Speak as Christ would speak. Think as Christ would think. Serve as Christ would serve. Obey as Christ would obey. Lead as Christ would lead.

I found a keeper!!!!

Nolan and I are having our first wedding anniversary today. We went away for 5 days on vacation. This morning we woke early and talked about the past year. In recap, we have not had a typical first year of marriage. We have made many changes: Moving from MO to Michigan, making job changes, becoming more involved in church etc. In the past few months we have been going through some challenges. Today as we sat by the ocean we got a chance to really discuss these challenges and found that once again we have been knit together in a common bond and a common goal. I think Nolan felt relieved to know that I listen to him and I understand some of the things that have been discussed in the past few months but we thought we were miscommunitcating.

Looking back on this year from my standpoint: Next to accepting Christ, deciding to marry Nolan has been a huge blessing. I love my husband and I love our marriage.  Moving to Michigan was a good thing. We have grown so close because of this move. I was able to demonstrate several times my fierce loyalty, faith, and submissiveness to my husband. My husband is much happier in his job. And we are getting to serve in church. In recent months we are making friends and we are getting to influence some teens for Christ. God has called us to something special though we are not sure exactly what direction that is at this moment. We just want to be faithful in the things God has given to us right now. It is a privelege and a pleasure to serve him.

I love my husband for many reasons. First of all he is not me…nor is he a girlfriend…no he is all male! Amen and Praise God! He has attributes that I do not have. He is decisive. If I need to get quickly to a solution I ask Nolan he can get you through all the gook in 2 seconds, solve the problem, and get me home in time for dinner! You think I am kidding but I am absolutely telling you the truth. The man is a born problem solver. He looks at the world through a totally different view point culturally as well as genderwise and there are times when this comes in handy. It keeps me out of trouble. This man makes it easy to be myself. When I am with Nolan I am totally comfortable in my skin and there is a confidence and a reassurance that I do not have when I am with any other person. I love how this man protects me…sometimes in the littlest of ways for example when we walk off a sidewalk and are crossing the street he quietly tells me to hold up if the way is not clear. This is often necessary because I am often talking when we cross the street. I love that he opens doors for me, this makes me feel loved, appreciated, and most of all respected. This man is my mate. He is an absolute gift and I treasure him. I should tell him, show him, and demonstrated that same love everyday of the year. I am looking forward to another year of marriage so that I can do just that. I know there will be struggles and challenges but I also know there will be joy and much laughter also.

Who’s advice should we heed…?

Have you ever been in a sticky situation or in a circumstance in which some aged advice would be appreciated. So, we go to wherever we go for advice. Hopefully that advice is valid, accurate, reliable, and relevant for the specific situation. But sometimes we find that we turned to the wrong set of friends, etc for advice and we are in a worse situation than when we started. You have been there and so have I.  Psalms 1:1-2

This is one of my favorite Psalms. During college I memorized it. Recently I have found the need to return to this passage to study it. I recently changed jobs and one of my coworkers has ran off 3 people prior to me. So I have come to the psalms and proverbs for comfort, for strength, for encouragment, and wisdom to know how to handle the situation.

I began to do a word study of things that popped out at me as I was studying Here are my thoughts…

walking—standing—-sitting. These are transitional movements in physical therapy.  Many times in P.T. I am interested in progressing a patient by getting them to  sitting—standing—-and walking. However, in this text the opposite is occuring there is a transitional regression or decline occurring.

The text states that this regression starts because of ungodly counsel or advice was heeded. This advice was heeded innocently at first. Maybe it was as subtle a problem as what to wear on a date. You ask you fashion trendy friends what to wear on the date. They say Hey girl to get your man you must wear something low cut…leave the turtleneck at home and wear this more revealing outfit that shows off all your curves! Maybe you heed this advice. You go on the date, you are not yourself, your outfit makes you self conscious, but you have the boy’s attention like never before(negative reinforcement) You like this attention from the men. You never got this attention before. For the first time in your life someone thought you were “hot”, “beautiful” and “desireable” So you start buying more revealing outfits…the lower the cut the better(now you are standing in the way of sinners) This only means that you are following a sinners characteristics. You are starting to wear the things six months before you would not wear.

A couple of months go(of low cut clothing wearing) by and you meet up with an “old turtleneck wearing” friend and you make fun of her to her face informing her that “she needs to get with the times and change her ways to more like your ways”(now you are sitting in the seat of the scornful) In essence you are passing judgement on your “old turtle neck wearing friend” Well you don’t see your friend any more…you part ways.  So you continue on the path…continue wearing low cut clothing and outfits and one night you are out with you are out with your boyfriend and things go to far…something happens…innocence is lost. You are left in shambles, disillusioned, wondering who you are and how you got here. You are left alone to pick up the pieces, 9 months and a baby later you wonder about your “old turtleneck wearing friend” Whatever happened to her?…you hear through the grapevine that she is married to a wonderful man and has a good job…etc basically the life you desire. The only thing that made you two different was the advice heeded and the choices made.

Your old “turtle neck wearing friend” also had the same fashion trendy friends as you but she did not heed the advice instead she asked God/went to the Bible to find out what to wear on her date. She dressed modestly…She was able to be herself on the date, her true inner beauty shown through, her future husband was attracted to her modesty. He thought she was beautiful even though she did not reveal anything. On her wedding night she reveals to her husband that which was hidden and he is astounded by her beauty. In his eyes she is breathtakingly beautiful. She blushes but is secretly delighted of her husband’s amazement.

Blessed(happy) is the man(or woman) that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful

BUT(gotta love buts in the Bible)-contrast

His delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night

When in need of advice we often consider sources that are inaccurate, invalid, unreliable and irrelevant. When in need of advice we need to turn to a truer, more accurate source. The only true source for advice on any subject is the Bible. It is our handbook how to live as Christ. In my own life I have found that when seeking advice siding with God and His ways is always a win-win situation. Seeking Christ and his ways does not “cost you more than you want to pay, or keep you longer than you want to stay”

Testimony and Teaching

I got to give my testimony a week ago wednesday night. Since then our teens girls have been more responsive to me. I get more hugs and feel like I am making more of an impact. For the last 4 months it has felt like I was riding pine waiting, thinking “put me in coach, I am ready to play”. Well the game is on. Today is Sunday we are having a revival and our church secretary has many obligations (she also teaches the 13 year old girls) I prepared a lesson just in case she may have to perform other duties this morning and after a long wait I finally got to teach. I have missed teaching I haven’t taught a Bible lesson in awhile. However, I  have daily quiet time before work and there have been somethings that I have felt compelled to share in the last few months but have not had the opportunity. I have longed to get back in the saddle so to speak and teach God’s word. My only hope is to spur others to love God even more and to follow him faithfully. It is absolutely worth it to live for HIm with all your heart, soul, and mind