Hi everyone, and welcome to The ABC’S of Contentment. Today is week 20 and we’re on the letter T, and T stands for Timing. The verse that goes with the word Timing is Ecclesiastes 3:11 where it says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what the Lord has done from beginning to end.” I’ve seen this to be true in my life time and time again; over and over. One of the first places I’ve ever seen it to be true is when I had that surgery that doctors thought was supposed to give me the full ability to walk without a walker. Trust me, there’s times I could look back and I wish it did. Even though I did the exercises the therapists said, the message that communicates with that part of the brain just wasn’t there. For some reason, the Lord said no. He had another plan. But I have to be thankful that I am walking. With that, other things can happen. Like I’ve said, I volunteer at the hospital. I’ve been doing that for 12 years. I volunteer at church with the Awana program. I’ve been doing that for 19 years. This year I’m on a new adventure. Usually I’m an assistant at Awana. This year, I’m a full-time table leader. I’m really being stretched as I’m learning how to teach my 5th and 6th grade girls on their level and getting them to memorize scripture, while at the same time making it fun for them. The Lord is teaching me a lot this year; and in God’s Timing. I’ve learned that when it’s fun, and the kids are motivated, they’ll memorize scripture. I’ve also seen the principle of Timing to be true with my mom when I was born. When I was first born, even though she was a Christ-follower, my mom was angry. She harbored angry feelings toward God because of the way I was born. She says when she talked to people, that was often her wake-up call that she had a lot of spiritual growing to do in the Lord. It’s not until someone (like my mother) goes through a situation like that, that they realize that they have a lot of spiritual growing to do even though they’ve walked with the Lord for years. The person that says, “That Jesus stuff is not for me,” it’s not until they go through something like waiting to hear whether their loved one is going to live or die in the hospital that they’re crying out to God and praying to Him for the first time. Because the Lord softened my mother’s heart, I came close to the Lord at an early age. Thank you, Lord and thank you, mom. She’s a good example of how in God’s Timing, everything is made beautiful. Though I can’t walk like I’d like to without my walker, I’ve realized everything has a purpose. I’ve also seen that as I search the scriptures and through other people that I’ve met. If I had the full ability to walk like I’d like to, who knows the kind of places I would go? Who knows the kind of choices I would make? Would I even care about spiritual things in the same way? Would I be doing this series? I don’t think so. Would I be helping with Awana? I don’t think so. I look at our society today and I often think that we’re too independent for our own good. I think that’s why we want to take God out of so many things. One of the first things that comes to mind when I think of the word Timing is an old song I heard with a fictional character named Psalty the Singing Songbook. The song is called “In His Time.” I’ll leave a link to the lyrics in the description when I upload the video. Through my many hardships and the challenges I still face today, the Lord has shown me that everything is beautiful in His Timing. I could go on and on. This could be a long video. I’ve seen how everything is made beautiful. My dad died of a massive heart attack in 1995 and I grew even closer to my church family. All the verses I memorized in Awana have really helped me through the years. Because of so many things that I’ve seen, I’ve seen so much light that there’s no way I could doubt the Lord. There’s so much I’ve seen that I could say everything really is made beautiful in His Timing. The question is, are we willing to wait to see what that beautiful thing is going to be? There’s always a lesson. Are we willing to learn that lesson and be moldable? Lord thank you that through my trials and tribulations you show me that everything is made beautiful in your Timing. Please give me patience as I continue to go through many trials and continue to show me that everything is made beautiful in your Timing. I can’t wait to see the other beautiful plans you have for my life. Amen. Well, that’s it for the letter T and I’ll see you next time when we talk about the letter U. U will be for Understanding. Bye everyone, and God Bless.
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Hi everyone, and welcome to week 18 of the ABC’s of Contentment. I hope you’re enjoying the series. I am. Today’s letter is R and R can stand for a couple of things. It can stand for Rachael, or it can also stand for Renew. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today; Renew. Usually, I end with the song, but today we’re going to do things a little bit differently. Today’s song goes with the verse, so we’re going to start with the song. I found a song by a lady named Jennifer Shaw. It’s called “Those Who Hope in the Lord.” So here we go.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength
They will soar on wings like eagles
They will run and not grow weary
They will walk and not be faint
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength
They will soar on wings like eagles
They will run and not grow weary
They will walk and not be faint
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength
Isaiah 40:31”

If you didn’t already guess from listening to the song, the verse is Isaiah 40:31 and it says exactly that. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” This is something I have to do daily; Renew. Let’s face it. For the most part I have a positive outlook about life and about my disability. But sometimes, I’m not going to lie to you sometimes having cerebral palsy, it can be difficult. I have other special needs friends who have CP (which stands for cerebral palsy) and they have a lesser degree of it. Sometimes I look at them and I think, “Why can’t I be one of them?” For instance, why can’t I be the person who after that surgery I had, has the full ability to walk without a walker? Why can’t I be the person who is able to comb their own hair and dress themselves? Why can’t I be the person who’s able to drive their own car and get themselves around town, and just get themselves out the door independently? If I’m not careful, the list can go on and on. I could have a real bitter heart. Sometimes my mom has to stop me and remind me of her famous saying, “Rachael, remember to focus on what you can do not what you can’t.” It’s at times like that that I have to remember the impact that my disability has had on different people in the community; such as people at the hospital. So how does my strength get Renewed? Well, it gets Renewed by reading God’s Word, remembering verses like the one we’re talking about today, and also remembering scriptures that we’ve already talked about; like the one we talked about in week four when we talked about D is for Displayed. In John chapter 9, the disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned? Was it this man or his parents that he was born blind?” and remember Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” When I remember scriptures like that, and then I remember people like my friend Joni Eareckson Tada who every morning when she gets up says, “O Lord may I please borrow your smile?” When I remember things like that, my strength is Renewed and then I can shine and be a light for Jesus. Again, it’s only through Jesus that my strength is Renewed. Without Him, I am nothing. It’s not something I can do by myself. Lord help me to remember that on a daily basis. Thank you that when I turn to your Word, my strength is Renewed. Thank you that I can run and not grow weary, walk and not faint, help me to soar and be like an eagle. Amen. How about you? Are you tired today and need some extra strength? Are you ready to give up? Instead of turning to Extra Strength Tylenol, or some other kind of medication which has terrible side effects, how about turning to Jesus? He will make you soar like an eagle. He will give you more strength than you could ever imagine. I promise. Well, that’s it for the letter R and I’ll see you next week when we talk about three words for the letter S: Sanctify, Organize, and Surrender. It’s what’s called the S.O.S. principles. Bye. God Bless.
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I know the letters are out of order. I will not be able to have the letter R up until the end of the month due to technical difficulties. I just wanted to put up something so that people would keep coming to my blog and my channel. Enjoy and thanks for watching. I’d love to hear from you!

Hi everyone, and welcome to week 19 of the ABC’S of Contentment. Today we’re on the letter S and it’s an unusual week. Usually we just focus on one word but today we’re going to focus on three words: we’re going to talk about something called the S.O.S. Principles. If you’ve been around water a lot, or you go to the ocean, you know that S.O.S. usually means “Save Our Ship.” But today, we’re going to talk about something different that can apply to the Bible. I got the idea for this from Renee Bondi. She’s a recording artist who’s in a wheelchair because she was paralyzed from an accident. It’s complicated to explain how she got injured, so I’m not going to. I’m just going to leave a link to her website in the description and then you can look at it from there. I’m also going to leave a link to one of my favorite songs, a music video, and you can you can look at that if you want to. So, the first S is for Sanctify. Sanctify means to make holy or be set apart. When Renee was first paralyzed, she had quite a time adjusting to being in a wheelchair. It wasn’t until she got a pressure sore and had to be out of her wheelchair for seven months and in bed in different positions that she finally learned to appreciate her wheelchair. Afterwards, while she was in bed, Renee called Joni Eareckson Tada and Joni gave her some scriptures to meditate on. One of those scriptures was Philippians 4:8 where it says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on such things.” Great scripture, huh? And so, after those seven months of having to be in bed, when Renee could finally get back in her wheelchair, she looked at it as something to accompany her and something to help her get going on and live life. She says, “I looked at that chair while I was in bed and said, ‘Hello old friend. Sure wish I could hang out with you for a while, go places, etc.’ She said, “Guess what Jesus did? He turned it from my foe to my ally, from my enemy to my friend.” So Sanctify is the first S. What’s an area in your life that you need God to make you holy? The next letter is O and O is for Organized. The verse that goes with that is 1 Corinthians 10:31. It says, “So whether you eat, drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.” Organize. Are your priorities organized? For instance, when you talk about making a decision, is God first in your thinking? Are you thinking about what you can do that would please God, or is He last? Where is God on your priority list? The next and last S is for Surrender. The verse that goes with that is Philippians 4:7 where it says, “And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Is there an area in your life that you need to surrender to God? Renee says that the reason that she’s able to talk to crowds, the reason she’s able to encourage people and give the wonderful messages that she gives, is because she finally chose to surrender her accident and her life to God. Doctors said she would never sing again and as you’ll hear if you go to my video link, (that song I love so much), what do doctors know! But as Renee says, she could still sing, she just had to learn to do things a little differently. But because she changed her attitude, she was still able to be used by God. Have you surrendered your life to God so that He can use you and you can be a blessing to others? Is He the captain of the ship of your life? Lord, thank you that if we send out an S.O.S., you answer. Help us to make you the captain of our lives. I can’t wait to see the adventures you’ll take me on. Amen. Well that’s it for the letter S everyone. We’ll see you next time when we talk about the letter T and T will be for Timing. Bye and God Bless.
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