Swallowed By a Fish!

“I called out of my distress to the Lord,
And He answered me.
I cried for help from the depth of Sheol;
You heard my voice.
3 “For You had cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the current engulfed me.
All Your breakers and billows passed over me.
4 “So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight.
Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
5 “Water encompassed me to the point of death.
The great deep engulfed me,
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 “I descended to the roots of the mountains.
The earth with its bars wasaround me forever,
But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
7 “While I was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
And my prayer came to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who regard vain idols
Forsake their faithfulness,
9 But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving.
That which I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation is from the Lord.”

When I read Jonah's prayer I am reminded of my own hearts cry for help when I am in despair. 

The Lord has truly saved me from the pit or shall I say, from the "stomach of the fish". 

When I read Jonah's story and think upon his actions, I am reminded just how alike we are, Jonah and I. Scripture clearly tells me what is right and good and so often I am apt to flee from it, when truly I should bind it around my neck and never forget it. God clearly spoke to Jonah and Jonah did not want to obey, so he ran from the Lord. 

Jonah learned the hard way that the Lord cannot be lost or left behind. Jesus was with him in the depths of the sea, in the belly of a great fish. Jonah saw his error and cried to the Lord, thinking that he should surely die soon. Our gracious Lord delivered Jonah and sent him on his way to carry out the command given.

Jonah's story is not only spectacular, but pretty much unheard of. Who can live in the belly of a fish for three days? What fish actually vomits? Well, Jonah did it by the Lord's hand! And thank goodness that this fish did vomit!

As I think about these things I am reminded how the Lord has put people like Jonah and his life story in the Bible to help show us who we are and who God really is. He uses people who seem outrageous and fleshly to help us examine our own hearts. We are outrageous and fleshly, are we not? We may not get swallowed by a fish for running from the Lord in our petty ways, but we are just as much to blame for our sinful actions as the man who did get swallowed by a fish!

Brown Recluse Spiders...In My House!

So, more recently I have identified the spiders that we have been seeing in our apartment for the last six months.

Brown recluse.

Yep, that's what I said.

The day I figured this out, I called my dear husband in tears! I was mortified to have poisonous spiders in our cozy little home.

What made me more creeped out was that we had been living with them for SIX MONTHS without knowing what they were! I also stopped to send a thankful prayer up to heaven for the protection that had been afforded us in our ignorance!

In case you are wondering what a brown recluse looks like, I will give you a description. Brown/tan, with a smaller non-hairy body and long (thinner) legs that also have no hair. They have a violin shape that extends from their head to upper back. 

Here I have a picture...

This little guy was found in a cereal bowl next to our bed (I was sick, so I think that is a good enough excuse for having the bowl there overnight ;) ). At the time I didn't know what he was, so I just picked up the bowl and promptly boiled him in hot water and ran him down the drain.

This guy here...he suffered the same fate after being found in our bathtub AFTER the exterminator sprayed. I boiled a pot of water special for him...

My husband was like, "why didn't you just smash it?" And I was like, "Um, no clean up needed with the boiling water. They die really fast and float down the drain." I dont know, maybe that is morbid and gross, but it was the best I could do at the moment!

So, at this time I am keeping an eye on all the sticky traps and counting every new spider that finds himself ever so unlucky as to get glued there. 

I'm not generally a girly-girl when it comes to spiders...but with them being poisonous, I've been fairly freaked out! Just praying for the Lord's protection as we figure out what to do next!

 

Journal Entry - 12-20-14

"Lord, You are teaching me to be holy are You not? Lord, You are sanctifying me through this aren't You? 

Yes, I know with all my heart that you are using these small hardships to make me ready for Your kingdom. 

Through fire You refine the rock and in great heat the silver comes out of the flame. Those whom You love You discipline. Your children You test.

Through this time of refining, may You give me joy unspeakable and love unconditional! Through anything - pain or sorrow - let me praise Your holy name!"

Amen

This was a journal entry from almost two years ago. I do not remember the particular bitter trial that made me pray this prayer to my Lord, but it rings true even today.

So...thought I'd share the news!

Yes!!! It's true :) We are proud to announce that we are expecting! Considering the craziness and the sickness I've been dealing with the past few months, I decided it was time to tell you, my dear readers. 

Part of my seeming inability to write on the poor neglected blog has been because I've been sick and because I've not had internet access at my house (and still do not). I'm splurging on my phone data and thought I would take the risk in doing so in order to inform you of our excitement!

Please pray for the health of baby "H" and keep us in your prayers as many changes are right up ahead.

Love,

Rachel

**Update**

I have decided that I am officially THE WORST blogger EVER. Yeah. I totally cant keep up with the days that are flying by! So much has happened in the last few months. Here, let me tell...

1.) Prince and I have moved out of his parents house and are about 40 minutes away.
2.) We have a PUPPY! (Not exactly a puppy, she is ten months old and bigger than a horse...)
3.) I am teaching art at a learning center in town (Wooohooo!)
4.) My brother is getting married! What? Did I just say that? Yes. Here comes a winter dream wedding!
5.) Prince and I recently celebrated our 2nd anniversary. When did that happen?! Not sure where those two years went...I feel old.

So...I'm sure there are other things that have happened that I am not remembering at the moment. But, yeah....there is the quick update.

As always, I plan to be writing more in the days and weeks to come. I cant afford to promise you anything however. My summer is going to be crazy!

Love you all and pray that you keep your eyes fixed on Christ.

Blessings,
R

Knowing Him More In Loss

Wow. You never really know what you have until the Lord has decided to take it away. It is hard, but it is so good of Him to take the things that we idolize away from us.

 It is hard.

 It's is painful. 

It is raw.

It is a blessing in disguise.

May we ever praise Him for what He gives and for what He takes away.

Beloved, do not lose heart. Take courage, for the Lord is with you wherever you go. He is with you in the depth of sorrow. He stands in the midst of the storm holding you. He knows your pain. He knows your Loss. He sees your tears. Don't turn from Him, for He cares dearly for you.

In the loss of possession, health, or loved one, He knows it all. He has walked through the fire before you and you have nothing to fear.

So often I ask to know God's heart, but I am less than ready to bear the weight of this request. I have asked to know Him. I have pleaded that I might gain a glimps into the heart of my God and He has been gracious enough to grant this request. I can sympathize with the love of the Father as He bore the loss of His son. 

I feel it every day. I can feel the piece in my heart that has been ripped away with loss, but over that is a tender merciful patch of Christ's healing love. Though the wound is painful, the sting seems to point me ever more to the One who writes my story. It speaks to my weakness and my flesh. It whispers in the darkness telling me that the Lord is the one who holds me. It shows me that I need to hold tightly the One Thing that will never change and not to the things that shift like the sands of the sea. Even in the bitterness  of pain, I can see the blessings of the Lord disguised in sorrow.

Look for the blessings in your loss. If you choose to only see loss, what have you gained for your soul? Have you suffered well? 

Lord I pray that as your people we would suffer well and recognize that in loss we have even greater gain...the promise and hope of salvation.

With love,

Rachel

Snowing!

The snow is coming down out there! The center where I work is closed for the day because of the wintery weather. I feel so fortunate to have been able to stay snuggled in bed past the time I usually have to be at work. 

I'm sure that all the kids in the area are watching in wonder and just hoping that it never stops piling up! It is always fun to hear children talk about snow in Tennessee. They say things like, "when I was a baby there was this huge blizzard that brought like...like I don't know six inches of snow!" And everyone else in the room gasps, except for me.

I'm from upstate New York. I HAVE SEEN SNOW. I've seen enough to last me a few more snowless years here in Tennessee...yet I am glad for the occasional snow day! 

I am curious to know how much we will end up with seeing as it is 9am and it hasn't stopped.

Getting snow anywhere else y'all? 

Moved Home With Goats

You wouldn't believe it, but we are back in the middle of the state! We moved in mid August. I am really missing Memphis, but it is really good to be home where our families are. We are taking up house with Prince's parent's for now. We aren't sure when or if we will move out in the near future.

 We actually tied ourselves down...(Oops!) by buying a few goats (as mentioned in the post before)! It's been fun so far. We got them on Labor day and have been having fun ever since.

My in-laws are excited to have goats out on the land again, as they missed having livestock out there.

Here are our five lovely Nubian/Boer cross goats.

This is Lady Jane:

Hesther and Elmira:

Winter and Clementine: 

I had been looking into getting full blood Boer, but decided better of it. People say that they find reasons to die. I believe it. They have terrible parasite load ability. They get overrun easily. So I decided to go with crosses instead.

Belated Holiday Greetings!!! (and update)

Well...I am ashamed. I let Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years pass without sending a cheerful greeting to my readers -- if I still have any, that is.

Nevertheless, I shall say, "Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and...well, I hope you had a lovely New Year!!!" Again, forgive the belated greeting.

So...my Christmas was lovely and crazy! Now that we (Prince [not my husband's real name] and I) have moved back to middle TN from Memphis, we are able to spend a lot of time with family...especially his family -- we are living with them for the time being while Prince is getting his masters degree. Anyways, now that I've thoroughly confused you, I might as well tell you why Christmas was so lovely and crazy.

We traveled to east TN to visit Prince's extended family for three days. It was a lot of fun, but I was ready to get home. You see, I'm used to a small at-home family Christmases where only close family gathers round to celebrate the birth of the King. We have never traveled for Christmas and I had never spent extended time with Prince's grandparents or aunts and uncles, so it was a good experience to go. I am looking forward to possible plans for next year, and now I know what to expect [wink].

Since we have been back -- yes 5 months already! -- a lot has changed. Did I tell you we have six goats and two dogs?! Yes, we are attempting to farm while we have the generous use of Prince's parents pasture. Our five lady goats; Winter, Hesther, Clementine, Elmira, and Lady Jane should hopefully all be ready to have babies this spring. Might you ask the name of the handsome sire of these little ones to come? Yes, of course. We can't forget the big red goat named Roan. What of their guardians, the dogs who keep them safe from coyotes and other predators? Yes, these are the brave dogs imported from Turkey many years ago. They are called Anatolian Shepherds. They are large (female-100lbs male-150lbs) and have long fur. Our shepherds consist of two excitable, fluffy, loving, loyal pups named Beamer and Nala. Nala is my darling. She is sweet and watchful and gets her attention and then does her job. She is five months old. Beamer...he is a sweetheart (pet him and he'll melt all over your shoes and ask you to rub his belly for hours), loving, VERY friendly and always ready to sound the alarm if any predator (or chicken) comes within sight or bounds of the pasture. He is six months old. I am super fond of the dogs and am very happy to have them out here on the property. It would be hard not having them because I miss Phoebe so much.

Anyways, I think I've given you a fairly thorough update, and I will try to write soon! I'm sorry it has been so long!

Blessings!
Rachel