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rachelgrace07
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Name: Rachel Grace
Birthday: 4/26/1985
Interests: God -comprehending His grace.
Jesus -showing His love.
Holy Spirit -following His lead.
Expertise: Nothing; I'm just an apprentice, but by God's grace I am being broken to be made more like Him. I like to study nursing, practice guitar, and I am taking each day as a lesson in God's faithfulness - trying to be more faithful myself. And all that I've learned is that I have wayyy more to learn - God's faithfulness is everlasting, neverending, eternal. So there's a long path before I could be called an expert in anything.
Occupation: Student, and Me
Industry: Nursing, prayerfully missions
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  rachelgrace07
Member Since:
6/28/2004
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| She said "Yes!' And that she, is me! Details HERE!
=) | | |
| It was an accident... Literally.
Here I was, drowsy, driving home. I had just finished working the night shift and was in the middle of the 50 minute commute home. Hair pulled back into a pony-tail and I was dressed in scrubs. Seven fifty-three(7:53) in the morning and I had just worked over twelve hours. Looking up from messing with the radio, I saw it coming. On the road home there are several small bridges going over small creeks. These bridges are usually about 10 feet long and very narrow. Concrete next to the white line. And this one was such.
I looked up and tried to correct - I was heading for the guardrail - a concrete guardrail. I jerked the steering wheel back and corrected, but not enough. The passenger-side tires were what impacted with the four inch high and 5 inch wide base of the guard rail. I found out later that the front tire rod broke immediately, as well as the back tire, wheel and back axle.
My car vaulted into a spin, passing directly into the other lane and ending up facing the opposite direction in the opposing ditch. Due to the speed I was going, I slid around and went into the ditch about 20+ feet from the bridge. The tire tracks are still there. This happened a week ago Sunday, the 16th of March.
My coffee cup and mug had flown from their cup holders and were lying in the passenger seat. I began to shiver. Shaken. I looked around, trying to think of what a person should do first in this situation. Aware that the engine was still going, I reached and tried to grab the keys in the ignition. The engine turned off. My cell was still lying in the console and I picked it up - "Do I call Mom and Dad, Boone, or 911 first?" I wondered. Dialing 9-1-1, I told the police where I was and they said that they would be there soon. Then, Boone was on his way, Mom and Dad were notified, and all were praying.
Helping Samaritans. A guy on his way to church stopped by. Two guys on their way to play tennis stopped by - they gave me a granola bar. Another lady in her truck stopped by. All of them got the same reply - "Thank you, help is on the way. Bless you for stopping, I am fine and will just sit in the car for warmth and wait." The shaking had stopped by now and, satisfied that I was ok, they each left.
No tickets were written, the car was totaled, and I was entirely rescued. God provided amazingly through the insurance comany (GEICO is fabulous, btw). God provided amazingly through my sweetheart, Boone. And I am ever more blessed. I had to work another night shift that night, and Boone drove me to work. I got a surprise ride home with one of my old classmates and never have been more blessed. That Monday morning Boone and Dan Rankin took care of getting the car towed to the right place to be inspected. I rested and then headed with Boone, in the rental, to SC to visit Boone's beloved "Ma" - his grandma. After being blessed during that trip, we found out that the car would be covered by collision insurance.
Then, Boone and I spent the this past week traveling in the rental car from Raleigh to Charlotte and back again to Raleigh, to find another car. The dead car, which I totalled, was a '95 Toyota Camry Wagon, tan, with a V4 engine and over 200,000 miles. God has given me, debt free, (you may all laugh, but it's true!) a '95 Toyota Camry Wagon, burgundy, with a V6 engine and 140,000 miles!
All in all, I am safe - no injuries besides a few sore muscles. I have a similarly sensible car that has fewer miles and a more powerful engine. It's been a wonderful learning experience with Boone, learning how he supports me, teaches me, and how much he loves me. And I have absolute confidence in the God that is teaching me to trust Him with the surprises, whatever they may be.
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28 | | |
| Rock SolidI am here, again, standing in the Holy Place where the ground does not shake. I had not departed, Lord; no, during the time of trial, I have simply knelt before You. And Lord, You answered with Your faithfulness. I praise You for Your faithfulness, help me to be faithful; my heart longs to show my gratitude to You. I know that I can trust You through all things, Father, my Daddy. Help me to be Yours, so completely, that I may double and return the simple "talents" You have entrusted to me.
***
"We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but
not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were
completely controlled by people. To be faithful in every circumstance
means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith— the Lord
Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart,
which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not
recognizing that He had ordained the situation. We never saw what He
was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated
in our life. This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we
will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances,
He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses."
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| ConversationsThe Scenario:
Dad, Mom and I have just gone through the Arby's
drive-thru. Dad has parked the car in the most convenient spot and run
in to use the restroom. Having considered the hour return trip to home,
Mom soon followed, leaving me in the back seat to eat my Bacon, Ranch
and Turkey wrap.
The car keys are left in the ignition, and my comment as she was walking away:
"Well, Mom, if I get carjacked, you will at least know that I prayed over my B,R&T wrap before I ate!"
Not so silly:
The
good news is that I've been able to spend time in the Word recently. I
have been inspired by the story of a godly young woman, Frances Ridley
Havergal (unwritten law, if you write hymns, you must have at least
three names and must never be called by anything less). Frances had,
(and here I break the unwritten law) by her early twenties, memorized
"the whole of the gospels, all of the Epistles, the book of
Revelations, the Psalms, and even the sixty-six chapters of Isaiah"
(from A Beautiful Fight,
p.24). Many times in my life I have sat down with the firm intention of
memorizing scriptures, and had even made much of James, and Philippains
a part of my memory, but often lost the habit and the memory as school
or work increased. And so I begin again, inspired again, to return and
pursue the Word of God to make it part of my mind and heart.
For, if one wants to be changed by something, one must truly ingrain it into every aspect of their heart, soul, mind and strength.
And
so, I couldn't sleep last night and spent the hours from 1:30a to about
5:00a reading, drifting asleep and then reading again. It reminded me
of in the Psalms, when David talked of the joy in lying waking on his
bed and contemplating the majesty of God and meditating on His
principles, words.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as
in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will
and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12-13
I
have been meditating on God's sovereignty, attempting to be led by
God's word into an understanding of a much debated concept/issue. And
at this point, all I can say is that, whatever the result is - God
cannot be unjust, He is merciful, and His glory will be known by His
just/merciful actions. For Justice and Mercy are simply the ACTION of
LOVE. For one cannot be loving and unjust. And also, one cannot be
loving and unmerciful. All in all, I want to know Him and have this
peace grow to encompass every aspect of my life. And I know that,
whatever the Word speaks, I must yield my heart, soul, mind and
strength. He who created the world may use it for His purposes and
glory.
The hymist, Frances (whose last two names are Ridley
Havergal), after having memorized the whole New Testament, Isaiah, and
Psalms still wrote that "she
longed for a deeper, richer, fuller Christian experience." And her
peaceful heart, guarded beyond ability to comprehend/understand, was
able to wait for that deeper, richer, fuller Christian experience with
"the quiet waiting of present trust, not the restless waiting of
anxiety and despair."
Amazing. Quiet waiting. Present trust. Full knowledge through the power of the presence of Christ.
I
must echo her words, "So I want Jesus to speak to me, to say 'many
things' to me, that I may speak for him to others with real power. It
is not knowing doctrine, but being with him, which will give this" (Frances Ridley Havergal, excerpt from A Beautiful Fight, p. 25).
So
I go back to work this Wednesday, having enjoyed being sick because of
the time it allowed for rest and reflection. And according to His work
in me, continue in this walk of faith.
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with
virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and
self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and
godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from
being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
II Peter 1:5-8
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| Joy - in the Beautiful Fight Most of us have heard the modern translation of II Timothy 4:7 that says, 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' The Orthodox fathers looked at the passage in a different way. They translate the reading like this: 'I have fought the Beautiful Fight.' What a mesmerizing twist of a phrase! We can easily think of what is beautiful, and our minds can quickly grasp what constitutes a fight.
But the two together? A beautiful fight?
Here's the brilliance of it all: in the Christian life of real transformation and sacrificial service, there is drama, passion, struggle and vision - everything our souls need to feel alive. And yet compare this exaltation of the Christian life with how it often gets presented today. Far too frequently, Christianity becomes a list of prohibitions. I'll never forget talking to one young woman, who said, 'Why would I ever want to become a Christian? All they want me to do is dump all the good music from my iPod and wear ugly clothes.' Her words tell me that, at least in our preaching, if not in our minds, we have lost our vision for the glorious, transforming presence of Jesus Christ - how he really makes a difference. This transformation goes well beyond a few instances of slightly modified behavior.
...
When Jesus rose from the dead and ascended back into heaven, and then sent his Holy Spirit to indwell believers, Christianity became a dynamic, supernatural faith of God's touching the world through us. It is not merely a list of beliefs. While rooted in history, it is a living kingdom that spreads even as we speak. This Christianity has a pulse; Paul tells the Corinthians, 'To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.'
Excerpt from A Beautiful Fight by Gary Thomas. | | |
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