Operation: Sanctuary

WOW. This post has taken forever for me to get to. Operation Sanctuary actually began back in late November. My wonderful and beautiful friend, Miss Laura K, shared the idea with me. Operation Sanctuary began as a way to make your space in which you spent your time with God, which was our bedrooms, obviously, more organized and pleasing to God. The idea was to make your quiet place more enjoyable, and a place you WANT to go to spend time with God. It took me a while to get the project started, considering I wanted to paint my room. I had to wait until Christmas Break to start. It now being mid-March, I'm pretty much done with everything I wanted to do (Took long enough, huh? :P)

Let the pictures begin!

MY ROOM FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS:

Don't mind the Christmas decorations. ;)

 

THE PAINTING PROCESS:

AHHH, IT'S SO AMAZINGLY GREEN. It was called Lime-ade. :)

Wall numero uno, complete.

Yeah. Don't mind my occasion boredom during this tedious project of trimming. :P

I guess my boredom wasn't so bad huh. :)

Wall numero dos, complete.

Wall numero tres, complete.

Thank you K-Love, for keeping me such good company. :)

I used the whole gallon of paint and had to buy another... AND SOME SWEDISH FISH! Mmm!

Wall number quatro, complete!

After a total of eight coats of paints, I FINISHED YAY!

THE FINAL PRODUCT:

 

Curtains > Blinds

My lovely, wonderful, amazing, little corner. :)

The end! :) 

Operation Sanctuary was awesome, I love my room way more than I did before. It definitely encourages me to spend more time there, especially in regards to my quiet time with God. Maybe your changes won't be as drastic as mine, but I definitely encourage you to try it out sometime! :)

When the Sun Breaks Through..

WINTER.

When you see that word, what do you think of? Maybe you think of snow, hot chocolate, Christmas, or school break? 

The city I live in is one that has many cloudy and not so sunny days. Especially now that it's winter. Sometimes I find all these cloudy, cold days a bit gloomy. I long to see the rays of the sun beaming through the blinds of my windows.

Lately I've been realizing that winter is more than just a cold, darker time. It's what precedes the brighter time, the spring and forthcoming warmth of summer. It takes winter to reach summer. Ironic as it is, I would say symbolically I am in somewhat of a "winter" kind of season, in regards to my spiritual life. Not that I am dead or my spiritual life is pathetic. I mean it in the sense that I am waiting for the warmth of summer, I am waiting for that light. 

Many days I feel I am in some form of darkness in my winter, trying to be patient on God and His timing for when summer will come. 

Today I was driving home from church and though it was cold, the sun was shining. While coldness was present, the sun was breaking through too and its warmth was right on the tip of my skin. 

It reminded me of the reward which the warmth of the sun and summer in general give.

I took this today. :)

So while I'm in my own winter and days can be cloudy and cold, there are gaps and holes forming to where the sun is breaking through, and through these gaps, I am warmed by the love of God and with His everlasting hope that He continually gives to me! 

I have never been the biggest fan of winter, but slowly I am realizing that if it weren't for winter, I wouldn't appreciate summer as much. The same goes for where I'm at in life right now... The "winter" I am experiencing isn't always the most pleasant, but I do have a growing hope for the days of summer and when the sun breaks through! Through this winter, God can prune away the dead parts of me and when "summer" comes, I will be fully colored, blooming and alive! 

My Challenge to you: If you're going through "winter" currently, praise God. There is good reason for His putting you through its process. It will form in you a stronger and deeper love for Christ, along with a firmer walk with Him (if you let it). Be on the look out for what God is trying to teach you.  

If currently you're not in a "winter", praise God as well! If winter ever comes upon you, never view it as a negative thing. Consider it a blessing in which God is raising you up to be a strengthened follower of Him! :)

"It is when the death of winter has done its work that the sun can draw out in each plant its own individuality, and make its existence full and fragrant. Spiritual growth means something more than the sweeping away of the old leaves of sin--it means the life of the Lord Jesus developed in us." 

-Elisabeth Elliot

A Path Through Suffering (35) 

Are YOU in need of a paint job?

This past week was Christmas break, which pretty much all went to painting my room. (I will do a separate post on that eventually.. :)). 

As I was painting, I noticed something.

I had a lot of marks on my wall that had been created over time. Along with that I had many, MANY holes from hanging up things or posters, etc. With a little plaster and paint, all those marks were covered and seemed to simply vanish. It was as if my wall had a fresh start and all those marks were forgotten! 

"Okay Rachel... why are you telling us about disappearing marks and holes?" You may think.

By covering over these marks, something dawned on me.

Is this kind of like what Christ does for us? 

He takes our bruised, damaged and marked up hearts and "paints" us a new, clean and transformed one. 

Through His covering over of our sins, He presents us with a brand new and unstained heart!

(No, this is not a picture of my wall. It wasn't THAT bad, thankfully!)

Thank you Jesus, for giving us all "paint jobs" to our hearts. :)

So what do you think? Do you need a paint job? Maybe a few "touch ups"? 

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

The Candy Cane Story

A story I heard last year and thought I would post! I don't believe it's actually true.. but it does make for a great meaning, one that is memorable too! :) Enjoy.

A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas; so he made the candy cane to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The candymaker then shaped his cane into the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down to to reclaim the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Thank You, God!

Okay, so maybe I'm a little late, considering the fact that Thanksgiving was nearly two weeks ago. But hey, who says it has to be Thanksgiving in order to be thankful? :)

I feel incredible today. Absolutely amazing. The best I've felt in weeks.. months! 

And I want all my praise to go to God, my sweet, sweet Savior! 

I've been working hard at work, in school, and in my spiritual life. I'm taking a week-long break from Facebook until Sunday (which also has been amazing - I don't miss it a single bit!). I'm getting things accomplished, I'm doing (what I think is) a good job too! 

My joy is increasing daily and "it is well with my soul!"

There are so many things in my life that God has blessed me with.

I have incredible friends who I love dearly and they, in return, love me! These friendships and relationships have given me the opportunity to share Christ's love, to share joy, encouragement, and courage. They have given me opportunities to help carry the burdens of others, to be that extra support they need in times of discomfort and troubles and vice versa. I have had some of the best laughs, and some of the best cries (haha). :) I've also had some amazing late night phone calls (Thank you Laura for being so good of a friend to let me lose sleep.. ;P) Hehehe. Not to mention my also, amazing, family. My parents... ah! They've done so much for me... I am so fortunate as to have two very loving parents who have taken good care of me all my past 17+ years. :) Love you Mom and Dad! (Even though they probably will never read this, hahah).

I have, probably, one of the best youth groups and church family in the entire world! Youth group and my church have given me so many growing experiences and opportunities! I love it so much! My youth group each Sunday is so refreshing and starts me out for the next coming week. It also encourages me greatly and has been so meaningful. Youth group has been such an important part of my life the past (almost) two years!

I have a job. Yes, at Panera Bread. Now while it's not the most exciting or the most enjoyable... I still have one. And not everyone can say that! God has given me many opportunities there to share about my faith and also to be an example of Him and His love. 

Lastly but certainly not least - I have Jesus. Yes, yes, YES! I have my sweet, sweet Prince. I owe Him my life... all that I am and ever could be. He has been so faithful to me, time and time again. I have had many down times the past few months and He has continued to bring me through those valleys and refill me with strength and love. He has saved me... and I thank Him for that. He has loved me... and I thank Him for that. He has been faithful.. and oh, how I thank Him for that! I love Him! My life would be so different without Him and all that He is to me. God is not a good God--He is an amazing God! 

I decided to get creative and make my own pic. :)

My challenge to you: Remember your blessings! Whether life is good or bad or even in between for you right now, remember your blessings. What has God given you? What has He blessed you with? What can you praise Him for today? :)

Psalm 103:1-5

"Praise the LORD, my soul;
   all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
 Praise the LORD, my soul,
   and forget not all his benefits— 

who forgives all your sins
   and heals all your diseases,  

who redeems your life from the pit
   and crowns you with love and compassion,   

who satisfies your desires with good things
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

(Check out the rest of Psalm 103 here!)

For Those of You Tempted to Read the "Last Chapter"...

Have you ever read a REALLY good book? One that either has you completely intrigued or engrossed in its pages? ...Ever been tempted to flip the pages to the end and read what happens?

Me too! :) It's hard not to isn't it?

Sometimes I wish I could see what is coming in my life--to "flip the pages" to the end to see what happens. Sometimes I wish God would answer my questions about my life and what is going to happen... just so I could know and then not have to be concerned or anxious. 

Nevertheless, God doesn't tell us directly or fully what is going to happen in the future of our lives. In fact, it's rather like a book, where there may be foreshadowing or hints of what is to come. Our lives are the same, we may receive some guidance from God as to what direction to head that could "hint" as to where we are going to end up. Even then, they can be very subtle and sometimes you really can't make anything of them... just like with reading a book. You have to wait. 

And why do you wait when it comes to reading a book? Because if you didn't, it would ruin the story. You wouldn't be able to appreciate all the chapters that lead up to it--the struggle to reach the success, the happy ending, the coming together of the plot, etc.

And it's the same with God. If God were going to tell us what the outcome of a certain situation was, it would not only ruin the surprise of the ending (which we know with God, it HAS to and WILL be amazing!), but it would also lead you to not appreciate what good ending you received from God. You wouldn't appreciate it because you didn't have to go through the previous stages (chapters) of trusting in God and having faith in Him that He will bring you through that circumstance/uncertainty/etc.

My challenge for you is: Be patient! If perhaps, right now, you have some questions for God or you wish you could know what was going to happen in a particular area of your life, my advice is to simply be patient and to trust in God. Trust me, I know that's easy to say in those simple seven words and a lot harder to do in reality, but it's the best thing you can do (along with prayer)! Just keep progressing through each "chapter" while waiting for God to do His good and perfect will, and I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised! :)

Psalm 27: 13-14

"I remain confident of this:
   I will see the goodness of the LORD
   in the land of the living. 

 Wait for the LORD;
   be strong and take heart
   and wait for the LORD."

Just for Laura..

 

:) <3

December has Come!

December surely has started out with a bang!
It's snowing. :)

Laura K., you have inspired me to take and post some pictures, hehe.

Enjoy!

  

This gorgeous snow fall reminds me of how Christ cleanses us of our sins. From one of my favorite hymns...

"Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow."