Friday's Challenge on Posted by Rebekah

This month ended the spring season of the fast pitch softball league that our daughters play for.  This was the first season for our youngest, Summer, to play t-ball.  She’s five years old and well, five year olds can be quite funny!

Her favorite thing to do in tball is bat.  She is a little too eager sometimes – most of the time – and even hit her coach one time because the minute he sets the ball on the T – she is already swinging!

Are you as eager as a little t-baller to play the game?  What game are you talking about, you may be asking?  I’m referring to the game Sunday at your church!  Sundays for many of us isn’t just a day off – a day to relax.  It is a time where the game is on – it is time to serve the Lord!  So what about you?  Do you find every excuse NOT to be involved?  Or are you going to leadership asking for a job?  Asking what can I do?  How can I help?

This past Sunday, I received a Facebook message from a new young lady saying she would like to work in the church nursery.  I was blessed by her response!  Their family is going through our new member’s class – Foundations 101 – and before even completing the class, they are jumping right in.  Serving at the picnic, volunteering for the nursery, signing up to help in children’s ministry, donating items for junior camp, sponsoring children for camp.

They haven’t been approached to help.  It is a true, genuine desire to serve.  They are eager to step up and bat – just like my daughter!

Then after her batting, my daughter has a second thing that makes me laugh.  She will step up to the plate to bat, stoop down and “clean” off the dust and dirt off home plate, and then resume batting position.  One time, she ran home, touched the plate and then stooped down to clean it off!  I couldn’t stop laughing!  But you know, we can be like her too in our service at our church.  No, it isn’t her job as a player to “clean” off the plate.  Usually, that is what the umpire does.  But in t-ball, we don’t have umps.  So I guess she thought she would do it!  Sometimes, things may not be your “job”.  They may not fall under your job title as a responsibility.  Do it anyway!  If it needs done, fill the need.

So today’s challenge is:  Be eager to step up to bat in the area of Christian service.  And do what needs to be done even if it isn’t your job.  You will be a blessing to others and your pastor if you have this spirit and attitude!

Will you take the challenge?

Thoughts on my Dad

Here is a blog post I wrote seven years ago that I wanted to reshare today on Father's Day.  

Father's Day 2009

I wanted to write a few thoughts about my dad...

When I think about my dad, I think of the word "Simple".
Dad has always enjoyed the things in life that are simple.
Black coffee...
a hot dog roasted over a campfire in the backyard...
a cold can of Pepsi on a hot day...
a walk around the neighborhood with the family...
a rerun of The Andy Griffith Show...
a Sunday afternoon nap in the recliner...
ham sandwiches and deviled eggs at a picnic in the park...
a trip to the local zoo with the grandkids...
a date at Subway splitting a $5 footlong with Mom...
a simple handwritten thank you note...
a drive to the Double D Ice Cream stand for a twist ice cream cone.

I appreciate this quality in my dad. I have found that I am more thankful for the "simple" things in my life by observing this quality in my dad growing up as a kid.

In appreciating the "simple" things...life suddenly seems a whole lot sweeter.

We don't have to wait for that 25th wedding anniversary cruise to the Bahamas to be happy. We can be happy every week with our spouse at Subway enjoying a footlong sandwich together.

Thank you Dad for enjoying the "simple" things in life and thank you for being my Dad! I love you!

Friday's Challenge on Posted by Rebekah

Every Friday @ 12:30pm (CST), you can hear a weekly challenge from me on Faith Music Radio.  My podcast is called Posted by Rebekah. You can listen online HERE or download the free app for your smartphone.  I would love for you to join us, listen and take the challenge!

Tune in any time of the day to Faith Music Radio for uplifting Christian music and talk. 

Here is today's podcast in blog post form. :)

Every May, we have two swallows that show up at our door.  Literally, right above our front door.  It never fails.  They have been as predictable as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.  Every year, they try to build a nest out of bits of mud they attach to the side of our house.  Every day, I hose off the bits of mud and they try again. Finally, after several weeks, they move on.  Where to I don’t know.  But they will be back.

They sure have a lot of diligence.  It doesn’t matter if their hard work gets knocked down, they will try again.  Persistence.

We need a little more persistence in our lives, don’t we?  What have you started doing, you went off track and need to get back to?  There is not much in life that is just impossible to get back doing.

Being faithful can prove to be difficult sometimes.  Remember the story of the servant in Matthew?  “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”  God doesn’t make us to be faithful over so many things that we just can’t do it.  The servant was faithful over a few things.

I admit – sometimes, I feel as if I have so many things on my plate of life, that is it really possible to be faithful in all?

Here are a few thoughts to continue to be faithful:

1.     Don’t take on more than you should.  Set your boundaries.  Realize your limitations.  Fix your priorities.  Do what you can and do it well.

2.     Don’t look to others and compare.  Compare yourself to Christ.  He is the ultimate faithful one!  Let Him be your motivation and inspiration to be faithful.

3.     Realize there are days and yes, even seasons of life, where you have to be as persistent as those swallows.  You will work hard and put in your all and someone is going to come along and knock it down.  You will do it again and your work will be knocked down again.  Being faithful is not easy – but it sure brings a lot of joy!!

I want to be faithful, don’t you?  So today’s challenge is:  When you feel like throwing in the towel…stay faithful!  Be faithful to your Savior, your marriage, your ministry – it will bring joy in the end!

Will you take the challenge?

Friday's Challenge on Posted by Rebekah

Every Friday @ 12:30pm (CST), you can hear a weekly challenge from me on Faith Music Radio.  My podcast is called Posted by Rebekah. You can listen online HERE or download the free app for your smartphone.  I would love for you to join us, listen and take the challenge!

Tune in any time of the day to Faith Music Radio for uplifting Christian music and talk. 

Here is today's podcast in blog post form. :)

My husband just finished up a sermon series for the month of May called “Living Generously”.  As a person with their main spiritual gift as giving, I really enjoyed this series.  I came across this thought as we were discussing this series together one day.  “Living generously is not a transaction; it’s a relationship.”

We both just loved this thought!  What is the difference between “giving” generously and “living” generously?  I thought of this illustration…

Have you ever seen the movie Annie?  We actually just watched it as a family for the first time last month.  I loved how the story line of this movie painted the picture beautifully for this concept.

When Mr. Warbucks decided to open his mansion home to an orphan for a week, it was merely a publicity stunt.  It was a transaction, if you will.  Yes, he was definitely giving anything and everything to Annie who was visiting his home – yet, it wasn’t out of love.  It was to look good to others around him.  He was definitely giving generously.

As time went on, he and Annie formed a friendship – a relationship.  By the end of her stay at the mansion, she did not want to leave and he did not want her to go.  Why?  Because now – he wanted to “live” generously – not just “give” generously.

And that is how it is in the Christian life.  First, we form a relationship with Christ when we accept Him as our personal Savior.  As we deepen that relationship, we naturally want to give more and more.  More of our gain, more of our time, more of our love.  We just want to “live generously”.

Maybe you are out there listening today and say, “Rebekah, I’m afraid to live generously.” The number one reason people are afraid to live generously is fear.  But the Bible says, “Perfect love casteth out fear.”  When love is in a relationship, it will drown out the fear.

So today’s challenge is:  What is holding you back from living generously?  Ask Jesus to give you His perfect love, cast out the fear in your life, and begin to live generously today!

Will you take the challenge?

Friday's Challenge on Posted by Rebekah

Every Friday @ 12:30pm (CST), you can hear a weekly challenge from me on Faith Music Radio.  My podcast is called Posted by Rebekah. You can listen online HERE or download the free app for your smartphone.  I would love for you to join us, listen and take the challenge!

Tune in any time of the day to Faith Music Radio for uplifting Christian music and talk. 

Here is today's podcast in blog post form. :)

Our family home schools with the Abeka program and we were finishing up our school year.  I was working on completing the last grading period and getting the boxes ready to mail back the last set of DVD’s.  Sierra had given me her box of DVD’s and I went through them to make sure they were all accounted for.  One DVD was missing.  Not what I really needed as a frazzled mom just wanting to finish out the year.

Well, we began to search.  In toy bins, under beds, in DVD cases, under van seats, in the garage storage bins.  We literally, (at least it felt like it) looked everywhere!  Only to come up empty.

I finally gave up the search after several days and I picked up my phone to call the academy to ask the procedure of what happens when you lose a DVD.  And then Summer walks out holding the missing DVD.  And I screamed.  I sure did. For like a whole minute!

“Where did you find that??????” I asked.  “In my DVD player,” Summer replied.

OK.  You got to be kidding.  Here all the time, that missing in action DVD was in the place that was the most logical place to look all along?

Many times, life is like that.  We stress…worry…are anxious…about things going on in our lives.  We think that we need to make some big change and that will be the answer to it all.  May I suggest to pray about it?  My girls and I were praying about that DVD.  My sisters and their kids were praying about that DVD.  Silly?  Maybe.  But God answered!  Just at the time I had given up.

Our new assistant pastor recently gave a testimony of how he had pretty much given up on God.  He felt like he was praying and God was ignoring him.  So he basically said, I’m done.  You have my number God.  You know where to get ahold of me.  Six weeks later, my husband called him about coming to Sierra View.  Not a coincidence.

So today’s challenge is:  Sometimes, you will feel like it is all lost.  You will pick up that phone to make that call because you have given up.  You will tell God – “We’re through”.  And once YOU have given up, God is there.  Because He never has and never will give up on you.  Give whatever you are struggling with to God today!

Will you take the challenge?