By Faith, Abraham. . .

Romans 4 talks about how Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. It says that “ . . . he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” The passage also encourages us to walk in the footsteps of faith that Abraham displayed. Let’s take a minute to look at those footsteps.

1. God told Abraham to leave his homeland and go to the land God had for him. And he did – just like that. The Bible doesn’t say that he wasted any time getting prepared or putting his affairs in order. He just went. Remember when in Genesis this took place? It’s the first thing we really hear about after the great Flood and the tower of Babel incident. As a human, what must Abraham’s impression of God have been? I would have been terrified, and definitely not inclined to obey immediately. But 75-year-old Abraham just packed up his family and took off.

2. Fast forward 24 years (during which time Abraham has been wandering all over the place, living in Canaan, visiting Egypt, having a son with his wife’s servant girl, etc.). God comes to Abraham again, with two words for him. First, the good news – a son! Old Abraham, and his old wife are going to have a child. Naturally, Abraham laughs. You would too if you were 99 and promised a son! But then, the other news – circumcision. Take a minute and consider what this meant for Abraham . . . to circumcise himself and all of his grown, adult manservants. Do you think he wanted to do this, or found any logic in this command of God? But he did it – he “did not waver.”

3. The last example I want to bring before you is the testing of Abraham. His promised son has been born, as God promised – what a wonderful blessing that must have been to him and Sarah! To see the promise of the Lord finally fulfilled! And then, God asks him to do the impossible. He asks Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar. Theology and the nature of God would have provided Abraham with so many excuses to not obey. “But I know you’re a loving God,” “Surely you don’t delight in human sacrifices,” . . . the list goes on. And yet, through FAITH, Abraham displays a practical obedience and does what God has asked.

How can we do this? Are there times in our lives when God calls us to obey, but we resist because of the excuses our idea of Christianity gives us? I think that faith requires relationship – it requires knowing the one you trust. We have to be fully persuaded of the faithfulness of God in order to trust Him. That’s hard to do. It’s hard when you’re going through dark days. It sure doesn’t seem like God is fulfilling His promises when you’re in the heat of spiritual warfare, physical exhaustion, or emotional break-down. It’s in those times that it is most important for us to follow the footsteps of Abraham, and practically obey God’s command to trust in Him.

More Love

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend another wedding. David Hickle and Emily Rader tied the knot, out at the Airforce Academy in Colorado Springs! It was a very exciting weekend, since we drove out, had the wedding and reception, and drove back all between 6:30 am on Friday and 2:30 pm on Sunday. The wedding went so well - everything was beautiful. I love watching the faces of the bride and groom - despite any stress in the planning that went into the wedding, their faces are nothing but pure joy when he first sees her coming down the aisle. I heard a rumor that the kiss at their wedding was the first kiss that they shared . . .David sure got his money's worth out of it. :) It was very special though - I was so honored to be there when these two people who are so important to me joined their lives. I can't wait to get to know them even better in the coming years as they build their lives together!

Thoughts of the Morning After

Mmmm. Sitting here with my warm cup of coffee, and the scent of my flowers from last night gently wafting over from the counter. It's so chilly outside this morning, which makes me more happy than I can express - I'm curled up in my yoga pants and my sister's flannel button-up, just keeping warm and savoring life.

Last night was so wonderful. My "kindred spirit", Ashley Lou, was married to the love of her life, Mr. Joel Eldredge. Weddings don't really mean that much unless you are close to the ones joining their lives. And as I think over last night, this morning after, I have so much I could say. The one thing that stands out however, is the focus of the wedding.

In all the preparation for the wedding - the weeks previous, the scrambling around the day of - the focus is on two people, the bride and the groom. Everything centers around what they want their special day to look like, as well it should. The girls' "getting ready" room is a flutter with hairspray, double-sided tape (miraculous stuff!), needles and thread, breath mints, pantyhose (or not, as the case may be), bouquets, and dainty snacks. The guys are in the basement, putting on their suits and. . . . well, I'm not sure what all else goes on down there. :) Everyone is so focused on getting these two very special people ready to join their lives!

And then the wedding. It flies by, as you stand up there watching it happen right in front of you. Then, it's final - they are one.

And then, just like that, it all changes. The reception is filled with couple activities. The family, the guests, and the wedding party all now talk about "them", and no longer "her" and "him". It's a slight change, but one that the maid of honor notices quit acutely. My job shifted drastically - from seeing to the bride's every need and making sure things were just how she wanted it, to stepping back and watching Joel do such a better job of that then I ever could. It was really a wonderful picture . . . and, I have no doubt that he will make a wonderful husband for my Ashley Lou. :)

So, Ashley and Joel - congratulations, once again.

" . . they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Mark 10:8-9

I'm Back

Back to blogging. . . maybe. No guarantees that this is a permanent return. I think I know myself (and my schedule!) better than to promise that. However, I will try to give a brief run-down of what's been keeping me away from this blog.

1. Summer was pretty great. I worked at Camp David of the Ozarks again, as the Office Manager this year. It was another awesome experience, to get to be a part of changed lives. My friends Mark, Alida, Nathan, Ashley, Ian, Carl, Katie (and other I can't think of right now) also worked there, which made it even more fun! Grace, the camp director's wife, had a baby boy the first week of camp, named Jabari. He is precious and I just loved getting to spend time around a baby, and also getting to spend more time around Grace.

Zephan and Katie, who were married in June
and now live in Columbia with Alpacas.

Jabari (Grace holding him)

2. Summer wasn't all work and no play - I got to take a camping/hiking weekend to Johnson's Shut-Ins and Elephant Rocks early in the summer, with Mark, Zephan, Katie, and Trent. Over 4th of July weekend, we had a nice family reunion at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Illinois. Early in August, my friend Alida and I took Isaac up to the other Grandparent's house, in St. Paul. After that, we spent the week hanging out in St. Paul and Minneapolis, which was great (except for the flat tire I got. . . 3rd one in less than a year). And then, the last trip of the summer was a week-long vacation in Colorado. Andy, Mark and I drove out there - our old friend Hannah, who lives in Denver, hosted us for the week, and our friend Julianna flew in from California. It was such a great time - Mark and I even had a day that we spent hiking together, and it was fantastic.

Group of friends in Denver

3. I'm back at school. Second year, new dorm, new roommate and suitemates, new classes. . . so far it's been pretty good. Nothing too amazing has happened, just plugging away like always! I've been really busy. SAB has been a lot more time consuming this year, but that's good - I like feeling more involved in it. CCF has been really good so far this year too - I feel very at home there, which is a nice thing to feel when you're away from your physical family . . . to feel apart of the family of My dear friend Ashley is getting married this Saturday, and she totally honored me by asking me to be her maid of honor! I was so excited and it's been great to spend time with her helping with wedding stuff. I can't wait to start calling her the Newest Mrs. Eldredge!

Ashley and Joel


That's all. :) You should e-mail me to catch me up on YOUR life now!

Much love,
Becky aka Rebekah

Update

I'm HOME! My first year of college is done, and it feels good to be back in Rolla with my family for the summer. The last couple weeks of my semester went well - busy, which is why blogging took back seat. :) Mum came to move me out on Tuesday of finals week, but I started feeling sad around Sunday evening about leaving my Truman friends. I had to clean my room (I vacuumed my room for the very first time all year!), and Liz and I enjoyed joking around about our different approaches to cleanliness, since we're going to be roommates next year.


Everyone came out and saw me off, and then Abby, Mum, and I took a tour of campus and used up my extra meals.

After getting home, I've been spending a lot of time just hanging around here at home. This summer, I'm working out at Camp David in the office again. My best friend Alida is also working there, so we drive out and back together everyday - what a fun and unexpected blessing for me! I'm not sure yet how long I'll be working there, but at least until June 18th. I'm hoping to continue my work throughout the rest of the summer too, but we will see.

Other than that, I'm working on finding ways to spend my time. If you have any suggestions, I'd be more than willing to hear them! I really want this summer to be one full of serving others, and becoming more well-rounded, so I can expand my ability to serve God. I would appreciate your prayers as I readjust to living here at home, and try to figure out my place in God's community of believers here in Rolla!

Monday Mullings

Is mullings a word? Whatever - these are the things I am "mulling" over this Monday. :)

Titus = awesome book of the Bible. This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a retreat at Lake of the Ozarks that was dedicated to going through the book of Titus. Wow - what refreshment, to spend a whole weekend just soaking up God's Word and the wisdom of other Christians!

We covered a lot of different topics this weekend, and I don't think I'm going to take the time to relate all of them to you here. :) However, I did want to share the points from one of the sermons that really was a wonderful reminder. The text was Titus 2:11-14:

¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

The speaker talked about how grace has three roles in our lives:
1. Grace brings salvation. I felt like this was a pretty basic thing for us Christians - we are saved by grace, totally a work of God, not us. We're never going to be good enough - even after our salvation though, this is a good thing to remember. . . to be reminded of how we came to where we are now, and our standing with the Holy God that we serve.
2. Grace schools us - it teaches us to say no to ungodliness, and live our new lives. Now this is something I hadn't thought about before - the work of grace after salvation. But isn't the Holy Spirit the one who enables us to live that holy life? And the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a major extension of the grace that we have received.
3. Grace "soothes" us. It reminds us of the hope that we have for eternal life. This hope isn't just one we can hold onto as a promise for the future, but something that affects the way we live our lives today!

And our response to this grace is seen in that last phrase - "eager to do what is good." Our gratefulness for His grace prompts our love for Him - and this love creates in us a desire to please God, and makes us eager to do good for Him. The message puts it as being "energetic in goodness."

The lake is beautiful. That's all.

Today I Love. . .

1. Warm weather
2. Tulips
3. Enjoying life and goofing off with my friends
4. Teasing Liz about being stressed
5. Sunshine
6. Answered prayers
7. Days off school (tomorrow!)
8. Only 3 weeks of school + finals week left this semester
9. Urinals and awkward dinner conversations
10. Micah 7 (NIV) and I Corinthians 12 (Message)
11. Smoothie fetching adventures

12. Getting checks in the mail
13. Giving over to God the staggering price of Nursing books next fall
14. Mark McKenzie's calming soundtracks (The Last Sin Eater)
15. Being woken up from a nap by my favorite voice in the world

16. The Breakfast Club - and that Amanda actually made it today
17. Getting out early from a class
18. Day-dreaming about summer
19. Being ridiculous and laughing hard with my best friend
20. The Father's great Love for me

The End.