My Very Busy Summer

I'm sorry that I've been so bad about blogging lately! It has been a very crazy week (actually, a very crazy summer, to be exact), and I just haven't had any time to get around to it! I'm starting to think that "Summer Vacation" isn't the right wording because it really isn't much of a vacation...it's more like a break from school so that you can get everything else done that needs to get done :)

First of all, I have a question for all of my followers. What types of things would you like to see more of on this blog? Verses? Photography? My daily life? Bible studies/Articles? Other? I'd like to do a little of all of these, but I am interested in seeing what all of you would like to see more of :) Please let me know!

So, what have I been up to this summer?? We've been trying to get outdoor stuff done, which has been very hard the past few weeks since we have had a ton of rain. On top of farm work, there has been 4-H activities, a horse show last Saturday (prep work for that took up pretty much all of last week), just life in general, and it seems like there have been many other things piled on those. Summer can sure be a crazy season of life, but it it also so fun!

Lately, I feel like the Lord has been challenging me to make time for Him, even when my schedule is crazy. I feel like there have been too many days that I get "too busy" for my quiet time, when in reality, Christ should be the center of my day. Why does it seem that when life gets busy, our devotions seem to be the first thing to be set aside? If we think about it, Christ should be first in everything, especially our day. My goal is to set aside time for Him each and every morning, even if it means getting up earlier. There will probably be days that it does get set aside, but one thing I have found helpful is having an accountability partner. My friend and I decided to e-mail each other once a week to check in and see how we're doing on spending time with the Lord each day. If you find it hard to have your quiet time daily, I would encourage you to team up with someone as accountability partner...it really helps!

Ok, I have one last thing I would like to ask of you. In mid July is our 4-H fair, and I'm entering some photos. The only problem is, 10 photos is the maximum, and right now I have 15 that I'm trying to choose between. I'd love feedback on them, so if you could let me know which ones are your favorites (or which ones you don't like as much) that would be great!!! For a larger image, just click on the photo :)

Sorry this post was kind of random :) I hope you all have a wonderful summer!!

~ Rebekah

NCFIC Road Trip

 The Nation Center for Family Integrated Churches is on a road trip!

I would highly encourage you to check this out (click on the photo above). My family and I went to one of the seminars in our area, and it was really good and encouraging, yet also very challenging. Check out their website for more info about the seminars as well as for the dates and locations.

Answered Prayers...A Dream Come True

She was 7 years old when she started praying for a pony. A black pony with a star on it’s forehead to be exact. She knew God would answer her prayers, she just didn’t know when or how it would happen. She just trusted God, and knew that He would do what was best for her.

The girl, Sarah, had now been praying for 3 years, and she still didn’t have a pony. She just kept trusting and praying. A few days before her 10^th birthday party, her mom got a call from a friend of hers who owned horses and knew a lot about them. This friend had gotten a call from her neighbor saying that she had to move to town by that weekend, and needed a home for her pony. This friend was calling Sarah’s mom to ask if their family would be interested in getting the pony. She said that she would go look at it, and then call back with more details. The next day the friend went to look at the pony, and when she drove up saw that it was a black pony with a star on its forehead. She knew what Sarah had been praying for; this was it! She brought the pony to her farm and called Sarah’s mom. Sarah’s mom and dad decided to go look at the pony and see if they thought it would be the right pony for Sarah. The pony was not trained to ride, but was very sweet and trainable. Her parents knew this was the pony for Sarah, but didn’t tell her about it as they wanted it to be a surprise.

A couple days later was Sarah’s 10^th birthday party and her parents had figured out a way to surprise her. After the party they “had” to take one of the girls (who just happened to be the daughter of the family who was keeping the pony at their house) home. This girl was in on the surprise too, so she asked Sarah to come into the barn so she could show her their hay fort. When Sarah walked into the barn, her mom stopped her and said, “Sarah, did you know that Someone else has also given you a present for your birthday? God heard your prayer, and decided to answer it.” Sarah was then led to the stall where the pony was, and was told that this was her pony, her answer to prayer. Sarah didn’t know what to think! It was so hard to believe that this pony was actually hers! She was so excited, and could hardly wait for the day she could bring her home. Sarah named her pony Midnight Mist, but called her Misty for short. A week later, they went back to get the pony and brought her home. What a neat story on how God can answer prayers, right?

While this may sound like “just a neat story” but one that likely wouldn’t happen to anyone, I know for a fact that it can, and did, happen. The girl, Sarah, is my sister, and Misty is her answer to prayer. Misty has been a great addition to our little farm, and she and Sarah get along pretty well. This is no make-believe story. God does, and will, answer prayers. If He can hear the prayers of a little girl praying for a pony, He can hear your prayers. God wants you to trust Him, and believe that He can do the unbelievable. 

Just as a little side note...this story took place in late October of 2009. We are now working with Misty on ground manners, but would like to start breaking her to ride sometime this summer. Though she can be pretty ornery at times, she is doing quite well. God really knew which horse would be perfect for Sarah from the day she started praying, and even before then. Misty has even taught us a few lessons...such as patience and perseverance :) 

The Sunshine Award

I've been awarded the Sunshine Award by Rose and Homemade Ministries. Thank you Rose!

Here's the rules...

1. Post the logo on your blog and/or within the post.

2. Pass it on to 12 other bloggers.

3. Add links to these 12 bloggers within your blog.

4. Let them know they are receiving the award.

5. Share the link of the person from whom you received the award.

I would like to give the award to...

1. Leah at The Narrow Path

2. Marissa at Servant of the King

3. Emily at Practically Pink

4. Taylor at Surrendering My All 

5. Maggie at Bliss

I have found 5 blogs to award the Sunshine Award to, but most of the other blogs that I follow have already received this award. If you have a blog and would like to receive it, please leave me a comment! I can still give this award to 7 more blogs!!

A few little adjustments...

Hello!

I just wanted to let you all know that I've been working on editing the blog layout, so it may show up kind of weird at times :) I was wanting a new layout, but wanted to keep the old background, so I'm trying to make a few adjustments. Please let me know if you have any ideas!

I'm really sorry that I haven't posted much lately, and that I haven't done well on being very consistent. With summer here, we've been busy with the garden, horses, and just life in general, but I'll try to post again soon!

Thanks!
Rebekah

Daughters of the King

We won't be here on earth forever. This is not our home.

It's almost overwhelming every time I think about it. Earth isn't our home! Earth can be a tough place to live at times, especially if you are a Christian. But if you think about it, our time on earth is so brief compared to eternity. The trials that we face here are nothing compared to the glory we will experience in heaven. If we are truly a daughter of the King, we will spend eternity with God our Heavenly Father.

So what are we to do while on earth? I think our purpose is to first and foremost bring glory to God...to make our life count for something that really matters. He is the one who gave us life, it should be all His! People are watching. If we profess to be a Christian, yet live like the world, people will wonder what the use of being a Christian is. Yet, even if someone doesn't know where we stand yet they see us living differently than the world, set apart for God, they will start to wonder what makes us different! The way we live our life does matter! In the end it won't matter whether you were popular, had a lot of money, or were a professional at something. The only thing that will matter is how you lived your life.

Our God's love is so amazing! That He would send His only Son, His perfect Son, to die for my sins...it's the best example of love there is. If we accept this gift and surrender our lives fully unto Him, we become a daughter of the King and can be sure that we will live with Him for eternity. The sad thing is, so many people think they can do it on their own. They say that they don't need a Savior, and that they can get to heaven just by being good and trying hard enough. So many miss out on the gift God has extended to us!

When you are gone, what will people say about you? Will they have seen Jesus through you? As daughters of the King, we have the opportunity to make a difference for Christ. We have the chance to be a light in this dark world. We need to remember to live, not for this life, but for the life that is to come.When we die, that's all that will matter. 

Just remember that this is not our home. You only have one life on this earth...make it count!

Mali, West Africa

Wow, it seems like so long ago, yet at the same time it seems like yesterday. A year ago from today I left for Mali, West Africa for a month and stayed with some missionary friends of ours who live there (they'll be home mid July...yeah!). They have a daughter who is my age, and she is one of my close friends. I'm so glad that God gave me this once in a lifetime opportunity as it was really neat to see what life was like in a different country. I enjoyed getting the chance to see how the Lord is working in other countries. It was also really neat to get just a little glimpse of what missionary life is like. One question that I get asked is if I traveled alone, and no, I didn't. I traveled with my friend's grandma, who is an experienced traveler.

Some of the things that I did while I was there were taking pictures (1,357 to be exact), helping sort medical supplies at the mission hospital warehouse, swim (our friends had a huge, in-ground pool in their backyard...it felt great when the temperature was high, as it usually was), took a tour of the mission hospital, go to a Malian market, walk around the town, and many, many, many other things! It was a wonderful experience, and I enjoyed it so much. I'll be honest, I miss it. I'm not even sure what I miss about it. I just miss...everything.

One thing that really stood out to me while I was there was the fact that even though the Malian people had so little, they were happy. The children made do with what they had. The children loved having their picture taken, and then enjoyed seeing themselves on the display screen of the camera. One of the memories still vivid in my mind it little children crowding around me to see a picture I had taken of them. They would giggle as they pointed to themselves in the picture or get this huge grin on their face. They were so precious. How often are we not content with what we have, when we have so much compared with those children? They would just play with almost anything they could find. It was really convicting to me, as I am not always content with what I have. In America, we "have it all". If we need food, we simply go to the store. If we want something bigger, something better because what we have isn't good enough, we go buy it. And still, we aren't always content!

As I said earlier, I took a ton of pictures so I can't post all of them, but here are some of my favorites...

A river at sunset

A mother working with her child on her back

Some girls were building sand castles in the street

A child on her mother's back

Pots at the market

A Malian market

Children crowding around me to see a picture I took of them

(this photo was taken by another missionary lady)