Book: "A Lineage of Grace"

I'm currently reading "A Lineage of Grace" by Francine Rivers, and I'm completely involved in the stories she weaves. I've always found the women of the Bible to be of particular interest (well, I'm a woman, and there aren't as many women in the Bible as there are men, so it's easier to keep the stories straight!), and these stories are right up my alley. There are five novellas - one each for Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary, all women from the lineage of Jesus. So far I've read Tamar and Rahab, and have started Ruth's story. I started reading the book yesterday.

In addition to the great recreations of what the lives of these women could have been like, there are also study sections at the end of each novella, which have been prompting me to make some "dangerous" prayers (asking God to search your heart, to show you areas you need to improve, and things you need to do, are always dangerous inasmuch that if you ask for it, God's going to grant it to you, and you may not like the answers you get!) - I've been learning a lot, and Rivers does a great job of using every scrap of detail from the Bible in her narration. Because of this, I've noticed things from the Biblical accounts that I wouldn't have noticed had I been reading the account straight from the Bible. After each novella, you end up reading basically the entire story in the study section, and there are questions designed to make you actually think about the passage and about what you just read.

I highly recommend these novellas to young women in particular, but to anyone who thirsts for a deeper understanding of God and the Bible, and I look forward to finishing up Ruth's story and reading through the rest of the book!

(snagged from inspire4less.com)

Why I Hate Automatic Flushing Toilets

Yes, I do feel that I need to write a blog about this, because they annoy me so very much. I'm sure the developers liked the idea, and thought the concept was a great one - after all, if you make it automatic then you won't have to touch the nasty handle, and you also won't have to worry about other people touching the handle and then not washing their hands. That's cool, right?

My complaint isn't with the idea - it's with the actual product. I was raised to be borderline "germaphobic," and I absolutely hate going in a public restroom and using the toilet only to have it flush while I'm still standing there. Why is that such a big deal? Well, water droplets from the toilet are known to fly out of the toilet in a cloud and can land as far as six to eight feet away. If you don't believe me, try putting dye or food coloring in your toilet, flushing it, and holding a piece of paper over it.

These droplets can land everywhere in this six to eight foot radius, including the walls (partitions in the stalls), doors, floors, the toilet paper dispensers (and the toilet paper itself) and even the ceilings. Yuck! If the sink is within this radius, it can be the most affected by bacteria from the spray, because it's a moist environment. Believe it or not, the seat is actually one of the areas with the least amount of bacteria, because the seat is too dry to support a lot of germs.

So anyway, this is why I hate the automatics, because they flush before you're finished. With the "old," manual ones, you could finish, unlock the partition door, slap the handle with your foot, and then bolt out of the stall with minimal spray contact.

I know I sound completely ridiculous. I mean, I should be thankful for plumbing, not ranting about the wonder of modern technology, right? Don't get me wrong - I'm very thankful we don't have to use corncobs as toilet paper anymore, but every once in awhile my pet peeves get to me and I just have to let it out. Thanks for indulging me.

Oh, and keeping your toothbrush on the back of the toilet? That's just wrong.

Hymns

I've recently been researching hymns in order to find some that are "period" to sing at re-enactments. Doing this has made me realize that I haven't sung many hymns in a long time. Sure, I sing a few hymns in church every week, but a lot of the songs we do are contemporary. Now, before you worry that this is a rant, let me say that I love contemporary Christian music. It reaches the hearts of today's people in ways that a lot of music can't. I always feel revived after I get to sing "Shine, Jesus Shine" or "God of Wonders."

However, there is a lot to be said for hymns, and I think today's churches sometimes forget the importance of hymns. I realized just how much the "old standbys" mean when we were trying to fill some time for our small church in Lafayette where I'm part of the worship team. We asked for requests from the congregation, and a young adult suggested "The Old Rugged Cross." Previous to that day, this song was "nice," but I'd never thought too deeply about it. But as I stood there singing it a Capella (because it was in a terrible key and we're a somewhat inexperienced worship team), the tears just started to roll down my cheeks. Never had those words rung so truly in my heart.

In addition, sometimes the oldest hymns are the ones that touch us the most. Whether it's Phil Keaggy style or Celtic style, one of my all-time favorite songs will always be "Be Thou My Vision," which may have been written as early as 8th century AD I recently found it online and discovered that it has more than the standard four verses I'm used to hearing. There's a fifth, rarely-sung verse that goes after the first two verses. For your enjoyment, here are the five verses:



Be Thou My Vision (Ancient Irish Hymn)
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
Thou my best thought by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, thou my true word,
I ever with thee and thou with me Lord;
Thou my great Father, I thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my battle shield, sword for the fight
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight;
Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower:
Raise thou me heavenward, O power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:
Thou mine inheritance now and always;
Thou and thou only first in my heart;
High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O Bright Heaven's sun!:
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all. 

 With views like these, is it any wonder that the Irish wrote "Be Thou My Vision?" (Pictures from the book, "Spectacular Ireland")

Hobbies: Historical Re-enacting

Erik and I love historical re-enacting (the other blog I write is dedicated to all things of the 18th century). We were at an event this weekend in Northern Indiana and had a great time there. We were able to enjoy time with several of our good friends, participate in "battles," and even attend a church service geared toward re-enactors (I'll be talking about that in a minute). I also was able to put on my "pretty clothes" and be a girl on Saturday evening (I usually portray a ranger alongside the hubby).

Quick Pause: What is historical re-enacting? Basically it's when a bunch of people (participants) gather and recreate a time period (usually centered around a war, like the Seven Years' War - 1750s - or the Revolutionary Wary) for the public at large, usually over a weekend (these gatherings are known as "events). The participants are almost always volunteers, taking time out of their own schedules to interpret history for visitors. Generally, the participants sleep in canvas tents, eat food baked over a fire, and only take showers if "shower" means wading in the nearby creek or river.

One thing I love about this hobby is that you make some really good friends - and then you get to see those friends every other weekend during the Fall and about once a month during the Spring, and you get to spend all weekend camping together. It really is a blast. Everyone (even those who are our 'targets' during battles) becomes extended family. You develop an appreciation for these people that only comes from seeing them after three days without a shower, clean clothes, or most of the modern amenities we've come to take for granted. Try cooking a pound cake in a dutch oven over a fire. I deeply respect these people and admire them for doing their best to present history to visitors. I'm proud to be a member among them, and I definitely consider them (especially my own unit) to be my extended family.

Frequently there will be some kind of sermon on Sunday mornings at events, because it's usually difficult-to-impossible for participants to go to their regular churches (some people come from several hours away to participate in these events). The thing I truly love about my unit is that we are all born-again believers. Now, if you were a re-enactor, you would be laughing right now, because the rangers of the 1750s were known for committing a huge assortment of what would today be considered war crimes. Pillaging, killing livestock, burning farms... It was all part of a day's work. We may re-enact "ranger scum," but we're all firm believers.

There was a last-minute sermon this morning. It wasn't planned for the event (as many of the sermons are), and the man who presented the sermon was asked to do it approximately fifteen minutes beforehand. However, even with this lack of preparation and knowledge of the sermon beforehand, every single ranger in our company (all seven of us) attended the service. I was proud of our unit for stopping what they were doing and attending. My sister and I lead (or attempted to lead) a few period songs on the fly, and we had our own little service, under some trees, by a river. It was wonderful.

The man presenting the message spoke about how just as re-enactors are expected to know about their particular passion, and to study it and learn from it, so we as Christians are expected to know about our passion (Jesus) and study and learn about Him. We can use the "First-Hand Account," the Bible, or we can use "secondary sources," like a study booklet. The important thing is that we consistently and persistently pursue God's Word and His desires for our hearts. The last thing our presenter pointed out was that we will always be learning. We can never learn all there is to know about God. I think it's very important to remember that - just because we've been Christians for fifty years, for seventy years, for however many years, doesn't mean you know all there is to know. You've only begun to scratch the surface.

WIP: House Hunting

Erik and I have been house hunting for about a year and a half now. Erik did his best to find a house that was up to my standards before we got married, but we finally had to settle for a rental house until a better house could be found. It's not a bad house - it's on an acre, surrounded by cornfields, and the neighbors aren't right on top of us. However, I'm from the country, grew up on seventeen acres, and am really picky about where I live. My family moved to town the year preceding our marriage, and the only way I survived was by telling myself it was temporary.

That being said, it's really not easy to find a good house. While we haven't been checking out every house that comes up, we've been doing our fair share of searching and house-visiting. At long last, we decided to try talking to a different Realtor, having been told "this guy is really good." The first house he e-mailed us was one we already went and looked at on our own and didn't like. The second house, however (which he e-mailed us over the weekend) looked almost too good to be true. We replied that we really wanted to look at it, and scheduled an appointment to see it tomorrow afternoon.

Well, a few hours ago we found out that another offer had already been accepted on the house. Needless to say, we're both really disappointed, and right now it's hard to remember that God is the one taking care of our plans. My fallible human mind goes, "but God, this house looked perfect! Why would you let us see this great house only to not let us have it?" but I know that's the wrong way to think. I have to remember that God is the Master Planner. The Bible verse in my title says it all: "For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) My goal this week is to cling to that verse and remember that God is my Author. And He's not one of those mean authors who do things to their characters just for the fun of it :-P He's the one and only Writer of our lives.

I Timothy 4:12

"Let no one despise your youth,
but be an example to the believers
in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit,
in faith, in purity."  ~ I Timothy 4:12

This is one of my all-time favorite verses. It was the verse myself and three other homeschool girls picked as our high school graduation verse (graduating class of four - how's that for small?), and it's stuck with me ever since. The verses about having strength, or trusting in God, or praising Him are all wonderful too, but this one gets me every single time I read it.
A lot of teenagers have a rough time of high school. I remember my high school years with fondness, but I don't miss the drama. I've never liked drama, and high school seems to inherently be drama central, even if you're a homeschooler. Public school, I've heard, is exponentially worse, because there are a lot more kids from a lot of different backgrounds at a public school, and everyone is trying to find their place in the world. No one wants to be the odd man out, and no one wants to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.
That's why I love this verse so much. It doesn't say "just go with the flow," or "be an example if it's easy." As Christians, we're supposed to be strong examples of Christ's love regardless of how easy it is, and we're supposed to be examples even when young (and, I would argue, especially when we're young). If you are willing, God will use you. It doesn't matter if you're 12 or 82.
Additionally, note the first part of this verse. "Let no one despise your youth." That doesn't mean we should be arrogant little stuck-ups because we're young. That means that regardless of our age, we should be standing up for the Biblical principles in which we believe. Be strong. Be courageous.  Stick out like the sore thumb. Don't be afraid of standing up for your beliefs. If you're young, you're going to make mistakes, that's part of growing and growing in the Lord.
When I was about seventeen I was leading my junior fife and drum corps (yes, you read that right. Think marching band but with only small, flute-like objects and snare drums), and we were at this event in a valley, in the middle of August. It was sweltering. I was having a really hard time thinking because it was so hot, and I made several mistakes as I tried to lead my corps through the show. I called wrong songs, did things out of order, and generally made a fool of myself. When we'd finished the show, I left the event site and went out to the parking lot. I found our van and crumpled down beside it (I didn't have keys to get in, and I probably would have roasted anyway) and just cried. I couldn't believe what a terrible job I'd done. After about ten or fifteen minutes, someone else came out to the vehicles. It was one of the Dads from the corps came out (his van happened to be right beside ours) and found me there, huddled on the blacktop, sobbing. He helped me up, gave me a big hug, and said, "It's okay, Rachael. Everyone makes mistakes. In fact, there's only one person who didn't, and they killed Him on the cross."
Those words gave me the strength to go out and perform our show again the next day, and they've been on my heart right along with this verse since I first heard them. Everyone makes mistakes. No one is perfect, and the only truly Perfect One they hung on a cross to die. Isn't it worth my time to praise His name and stand up for His word whenever I get the opportunity, no matter my age?

An Introduction To Me

Hello!

I'm a young housewife who frequently struggles with trying to figure out where she should be in this life. I was raised a homeschooled Christian, and would be lost without my Daddy God. I'd like to use this space to pour out my heart, talk my way through difficult life circumstances, and hopefully be an inspiration to others who want to follow God but sometimes lose track of the path. It's my goal to always be on the path to Him, but I'm a fallible human. If you're fallible too, follow along as I seek to truly know my Lord and Savior.