Hi everyone, today happens to be a really fun day. As you know I’ve been doing a series called “The ABC’s of Contentment.” I’m almost done, and so I decided to put together a behind the scenes video/blooper video of what goes on when I’m filming these videos. It’s fun but let me tell you, it’s not easy! Sometimes some pretty funny things can happen. You know, I say things I shouldn’t say accidentally, or I’m pointing to something and something falls apart, Etc. etc. etc. I think you know I’m talking about. You’ve seen it when you’ve watched movies or T.V. That’s like the funinest part, right? So first here’s the behind the scenes people who help me put together these videos. This here is Jessica. (Jessica) Hi. (Rachael) She’s my makeup artist, my producer, she’s one that takes care of the lighting on the computer makes sure my face looks good. And this is Traci. (Traci) Hi (Rachael) She’s the one who I work with her during the week she’s the one who helps me memorizes my scripts to make sure I know what I’m going to say every Saturday and like I said, this is a fun day. And as you can tell we have fun doing these. And this is my dog Lady. She’s the one that you’ve sometimes heard in the background bark. She barks when she hears a noise or my mom comes home and I’m talking right in the middle of a video. So that’s everybody and then as you can tell from the hats, as you can tell from the hats we have fun here. Merry Christmas, Happy 4th of July, let your imagination fly high. Bye bye bye everyone I hope you have fun watching as much as we have fun putting this together. Bye.
B is for Blessing. Hi everyone. Thanks for joining me for my second video. (Traci) Rachael are you practicing? (Rachael) Yeah Traci, I volunteer at my local hospital. Many times I’ve heard people (Traci) Are you sitting up straight and looking into the camera? I’m going to come poke you. (Rachael) Yeah yeah yeah. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test time
Hi everyone welcome to week three of (Traci) Rachael Rachael this is how you do it you hold it up here. (Rachael) I know what I’m doing Traci give me back the paper I’m
(Jessica and Rachael) and mercy mild God and sinners reconcile. Joyful all ye nations rise. Join the triumph
Hi haha everyone and welcome to hahaha
hahaha
That is why for Christ’s sake I delight in (Traci) weaknesses (Rachael) weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties for when I am str streaking then I am strong. (Traci) Did you just say streaking (Rachael) Oops I meant to say weak.
(Rachael) Just kidding (Jessica) You realize the first thing that they’re going hear in this video is just kidding (Rachael) hahaha oops
(Jessica) Okay so you’re working and Rachael will be talking and talking and then she’s goning to read blah blah blah blah blah come on so forth and so on and so on and so on and now the mouse isn’t working wait now maybe I have to go over here
Please stop (Jessica) Wait wait I gotta make you laugh.
(Jessica)Oh oh fine I’ll let you talk. About how we’re trash (Rachael) hahaha were not
Hi everyone and hahaha sorry haha welcome to week haha week 14 you know putting these videos together produces a lot of laughter. Me and Jessica have a lot of fun haha together. Sorry about that anyway we are on week hahaha
One body, one Lord, one father overall, One spirit in our hearts, one body many parts.
Hi everyone welcome to week uhhhh 16 of haha
(Rachael) hahaha (Jessica) On wings like eagles (Rachael) haha (Jessica) They will run and not grow weary (Rachael) Haha Jessica turn it off (Jessica) Nope come on sing it (Rachael and Jessica) hahah (Jessica) those who hope in the lord will renew their strength. Come on I don”t hear you singing (Rachael and Jessica) Those who hope in the lord will renew their strength. They will sore on wings like eagles. they will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint
(Rachael) Like a pirate hat. (Jessica) You’re on. (Rachael) haha
Hi everyone and welcome to the ABC’s of Contentment. Today’s letter is R. R stands for Rachael, or uh Rachael, Roberto, Renew and R can also stand for ARRGH! hahahah (Jessica) hahaha (Rachael) So anyway I’m hahaha Okay we’re getting serious now hahahah (Jessica) hahaha
Hi everyone and welcome to week 18 of the ABCs of contentment today’s letter is R. And R can stand for Roberto, renew and as you can see from what I’m wearing, R also stand for Arrgh. Ahoy matey, Ahoy shipmates
Xmas hence all my Christmas attire the shirt, the hat, my earrings
Jeremiah 45:8 (Traci) No Rachael it is Isaiah. (Rachael) I knew that, I know the verse. Get over and get on my lap, I will show you crazy.
In my mother’s womb stop right there (phone ringing)
(Jessica) Are you ready? (Jessica and Rachael) In Hebrews 12:22-24. You have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly. To the church of the firstborn
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Hi everyone, and welcome to week 26 of the ABC’s of Contentment. We made it to the finish line. Today we’re on the letter Z. Z stands for Zion. Zion is a mountain. It’s thought of as the mountain of life. We have two verses today and the first verse that goes with this is Hebrews 12:22-24. It says, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” I did it! Yay! If you didn’t already know, it’s not often talked about in the church, so let’s just say it’s been kind of a challenge to memorize that verse this week. But as you can see, I just did it! So yay, that’s an accomplishment! Ta-dah! Then we’re going to talk about two mountains. First there’s Mount Zion, which is thought of as a mountain of heaven, hence that verse; and then there’s Mount Sinai, which is thought of as the mountain death. The first place that Mount Sinai is mentioned is at the beginning of Exodus chapter 19 when the Israelites are coming out of Egypt. The Lord is talking to Moses and in chapter 19 verses 12 and 13, He says, “Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.” I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a pretty strong warning from God. I know my middle name is “Danger,” but if I lived back in biblical times, even I wouldn’t want to approach that mountain. But you know what? Let’s face it: I find myself on Mount Sinai more than I would like to be. Any time I let sin sink into my life; like when I have a bad thought. You know, even though I have enjoyed doing my video series, it’s not always easy. Sometimes verses can be difficult to memorize. I’m the type that my mom has trained me to be concerned about time. So I want to get things done, I want to finish this or that on time, and my friend Jessica is always telling me, “Breathe.” Sometimes to memorize verses, she and I make up songs. And sometimes I get a little frustrated, but I have to admit it works. And then there’s times when we’re getting ready for the video, and it’s funny that we’re talking about The ABC’s of Contentment, because you would look at me behind the scenes and you would think that I’m not very content right? That happens. But somehow, I’m always able to pull it together, and with the strength of Jesus, I can do all things; including memorize these verses so I can share them with you. You know, I write a script so I can memorize throughout the week what I’m going to say, and then what I write half the time is almost never what I say; but that’s okay. A lot of what you hear comes from my heart. And that’s the important thing, right? God knows the heart and He knows that I’m climbing my way up to Mount Zion. No one is perfect; except God, that is. The question with the Christ follower is, are you on the path? Are you on the path to Mount Zion? Joni put it this way when she did a broadcast about Mount Zion and Mount Sinai. She said, “Did you know that biblical scholars believe that Mount Calvary and Mount Zion are in the same mountain ridge – it’s all one large mountain?” Isn’t that amazing? But then again, so is our God. That’s how badly He wants to have a relationship with us. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross. Jesus carried our cross, carried our weight of sin and climbed all the way up to Calvary, so that we could one day be in heaven with Him. Are you ready to trust Jesus and climb all the way up to Calvary and make your way up to Zion? Jesus has everything we need. The question is, will we let Him be our guide? I know for me personally, if I didn’t have Jesus in my life, I could not climb up Mount Zion by myself; I’d fall off a cliff. The weight of this world is too much to handle alone. There’s even a song called, “We’re marching to Zion” by Isaac Watts. I’ll leave a link so you can listen to it in the description when I post my video. Well that’s it everyone. It’s been fun. Thanks for joining me for my series. But you know what? Even though we’re at the end of the of the alphabet, you can still come back next week because I’m going to have a special video. Bye, God Bless, and march on to Zion!

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Hi everyone, and welcome to week 25 of The ABC’s Of Contentment. Today we’re on the letter Y and Y stands for the word Yield. The verse that goes with the word Yield is Isaiah 45:9 where it says, “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’?” Kind of an interesting verse, isn’t it? Giving a humorous illustration? It asks some good questions. I know this sounds a little silly, but think about it; here in America, we live in such an image conscience society. The girls are told through TV ads that, to look perfect like models, they should do things such as buy this or that hairspray, have curly hair, straight hair, wavy hair; the list goes on and on. Guys are expected to have buff muscles and be strong and tough. I have no problem with beauty products. I have no problem with being thin and being strong. There’s nothing wrong with being healthy. I’ve even worn makeup a couple of times on occasions. What I have a problem with is when there’s those people that, on a daily basis, spend 5 or 6 hours in the bathroom just getting ready for school, work, etc. The reason your favorite stars look the way they do is because of technology in the studios. Everything you see in magazine faces is being touched up. Nobody looks like that in real life. Think about it; if you made something, how would you feel if that thing you made (like a vase-what we’ve been talking about the last couple of weeks) talked back to you and said, “I don’t like the way I’m made.” Now relate that back to God. How do you think God feels when we do the same to Him by buying every beauty product the world offers on T.V? Have you ever considered the fact that Psalm 139 says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made? When we buy every single beauty product the world has to offer, we’re telling our Creator God that He made a mistake. The one who made us; the one who made the universe in the first place. The one who said, “Let there be light and there was light.” I don’t know about you, but I sure can’t speak and something is automatically created. I wish! Unfortunately, for me to be able to create something, I have to give it time and effort. My hands have to learn certain movements because I have cerebral palsy. Think about God from His perspective. When He made each one of us, you and me, He spent all that time on each one of us. We weren’t just thrown together. Then for us to spend hundreds of dollars on beauty products that the world says work (and then you find out that they don’t, and then there’s all these side effects); don’t you think something’s wrong with that? I do. But that’s just me. That’s just that’s just my opinion. I don’t know. Maybe my opinion is different because I need help with things like dressing and combing my own hair. So even though sometimes I’d like to look a little better on a daily basis, maybe I don’t focus so much on it because I have cerebral palsy. I need help, I don’t have time, and there’s other things I should focus on. The way my birth happened, I guess I’m just glad to be living; thankful for each day that I’m alive, thankful that God keeps my heart beating, thankful that I can share these messages and start this series that we’re almost finished with. I don’t know, I want to yield and give my heart and my life to the Lord, and I want to make sure that people know that. There’s a hymn called “Have Thine Own Way” that I’ve heard Joni talk about which I think goes perfectly with the word Yield. There’s about four stanzas in the hymn and the stanza that goes perfect with that is, “Have Thine own way You are the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after thy will while I am waiting yielded and still.” Amen. You know what? Let’s pray. Dear Lord, we live in a society where there’s a lot of distractions. T.V. ads are calling for our attention. Forgive us when we spend hundreds of dollars on beauty products at the mall that the world promises will make us look and feel better, but Lord, those promises are false. Thank you that your word is true. That you are the divine; the creator. You’ve done such a beautiful job with this universe. Thank you for all you’ve created. Thank you for creating me and allowing me to live. Please help us remember that you never make mistakes. Another part of Psalm 139 says we were created in our mother’s womb. That’s special; to be created in your mother’s womb. Thank you for the time that you spent on all of us and help us, instead of focusing so much on what the world says, focus on the abilities and talents you gave us all. Help us to find ways that we can use them to honor you and share the gospel. Amen. That’s it everyone and I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for joining me. I’ll see you next week when we talk about the letter Z and Z will be for Zion. Bye. God Bless.
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We wish you a merry Xmas, we wish you a merry Xmas, we wish you merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. Hi everyone. Welcome to week 24 of the ABC’s of Contentment. Today we’re on the letter X and X will be about the history of Xmas. I just love Christmas. Hence, why I’m wearing all this Christmas attire. Notice my blouse, my red turtleneck, my bracelet, my earrings and my Santa hat? I’m ready for Christmas from head to toe. Now the only thing missing is at the very bottom; I need some red and green shoes. If Christmas were the only holiday on the calendar, that would be fine with me. If I had the proper hand dexterity, I would open my own Christmas shop and make a whole bunch of ornaments and other decorations. But anyway, getting to the video. Like I said, we’re going to have a history lesson. Why write Xmas? You know, many Christians get upset when they see the abbreviation of Xmas because they think that our culture is using another way to take Christ out of His own holiday and I can’t blame them. For a while, I thought the same thing. Until I read a book by a guy named Ace Collins called “Stories Behind Christmas Traditions.” In it, he talks about three main reasons why they used Xmas and where it began. I thought they were cool and so I thought I’d share them. So here we go. The first reason was that many of the first Christ followers were Greek. The Greek name for Christ is Xhristos. Spelled the Greek way it’s X- R- I- s- t- o- s. Many of the first Christ followers only had a very basic education, and so even though they could read, it was hard for them to recognize their own name on a document; X was the best thing. That was what they recognized. Also, clergymen at that time taught that X was a symbol for the Christian faith. Just like today we have the Christian fish, the X was their symbol at that time. X marked places where people could go to worship, it also marked places where people died and were remembered. The second reason was resources. Paper and ink were not as easy to come by as they are today. They didn’t have modern conveniences, so Xmas was used as an abbreviation. It wasn’t until the sixteenth century that Christianity began to spread to Europe and Xmas first began to appear in Catholic writings. The third reason was that Xmas was a symbol of faith and for people who died. X marked the spot where they died. Many of the early Christians were hung for their faith. They were burned. X was used as a symbol to remember them and a time of celebration. X was also a symbol of the cross. It wasn’t until the 1800s that Christmas became a national holiday and retailers tried to use it as an abbreviation on their signs and packages. They also tried to honor the early Christians and use a symbol that people could understand. Unfortunately, today a lot of people don’t know the Greek language, and these reasons are not often taught in many churches, so a lot of people don’t know about them. But this is one of the very first Christmas traditions started, and the people that died for this would be proud to see it being carried on into modern Christmas. Again, I don’t blame people for getting upset about the term Xmas. I did too because I didn’t know the reasons until I read the book. We have a lot to learn from the early Christians. They laid down their lives for Christ. If it came down to that, if somebody asked you about your faith, would you be willing to do that? What gift can you give Christ our Savior this Christmas season? Think about it. I’m going to leave a link to a song in the description called “I’ll Give Him My Heart.” I hope that it will make you think and provoke some good emotion as you think about what gift you can give our Savior this season because He’s given so much. Let’s close in a word of prayer. Lord, thank you for sending Your son Jesus to Earth as a baby. Help us to be content like the early Christians, to learn a lot about contentment, sacrifice, and devotion, and give Him our whole heart; because He deserves it. He deserves our all. Amen. Well, that’s it everyone, and I’ll see you next time when we talk about the letter Y. Y will be for Yield. That’s it and thanks for watching. Bye, God Bless.

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