Recently, my church had its end of the year award ceremony for the Awana ministry. For an end-of-the-year gift, Traci and I decorated big cereal boxes with colorful scrapbooking paper and put each girl’s name on the box. When we were done, I put little gifts inside the box for them. They were toys they could play with over the summer.

The art form we used is known as decoupage. Decoupage actually comes from the French word “decouper,” which means to cut out or cut from something else. Traci had seen the idea on Pinterest, and she also heard about it from a friend. She thought it would be more fun than just buying a bag and giving the girls gifts. I like doing crafts, so that’s what I did with help from Traci. It was fun, but a very time-consuming process. To do this, we used Traci’s manual die-cut machine. The die was placed onto the paper and then the whole ensemble was pressed between two plates. The entire ‘sandwich’ was then passed through the die-cutting machine, sequentially cutting out the design.

It reminded me of something similar to an old jack-in-the-box toy because it had an easy-to-turn lever. For the most part, I was able to do it once Traci lined up the paper. However, there were a few times when the paper got stuck, Traci had to get a new piece of paper, and I tried again. The key was to make sure that my hand was directly on the lever, moving it up and over, and then the paper could pass through the machine’s rollers with the right amount of pressure applied to cut the die into the different shapes of the letters to spell each girl’s name.

The problem occurred when my hand was on the handle, but my fingers that were helping me were turned to the side while I was rotating the lever. That’s when the paper got stuck and was stopped from coming through. I got a lot of resistance. Eventually, I got the hang of it, and we were done with the letters in no time and moved on to the next step.

This minor struggle reminded me of how, even as Christians, we run into trouble when we try to do things on our own strength instead of turning to God and saying, “What is your will in all of this?” When we haven’t been gathering with other Christians, reading our Bibles, and praying to God regularly, we can be like the paper that doesn’t pass through the rollers; our hands, or in this case our hearts, aren’t in the right position. However, when our hearts are in the right position, we can be like the paper that passes right through the rollers without any trouble at all.

I think people often misunderstand Philippians 4:13 which says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In many conversations I’ve had with people over the years, they seem to believe that if you just have enough faith, you should be able to do whatever you put your mind to. For instance, when people look at me in my wheelchair, they seem to believe that if I just had enough faith, I could rise out of my wheelchair. All I have to do is believe that God will make that happen, and He will. Not necessarily.

People often don’t think about what the Lord told the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” That means that we can ask God for something, but if it’s not God’s will for our lives, it won’t happen because it’s not supposed to. God wants to use our struggle to reach people in a way that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to. A hardship that sticks with you is not a mistake.

How about you? Is your heart like my hand on the die-cut machine that was in the wrong position? Are you stopping God from coming through with the answers to help you, or is your heart in the right position and you’re depending on God for strength? Are you ready to be shaped into the perfect form God has in mind for you?

Dear Lord,
Help me to have my heart in the right position, and be like the scrapbooking paper that passes through the rollers whose die is shaped into the perfect form you want it to be. I can’t wait to see what other great surprises you have in store for my life. I know that no matter what happens, you’re always good.
Amen

Here’s an example of what Decoupage looks like.. Traci is right behind me She’s the one who told me about it. I had fun making the boxes with Traci. To learn more about decoupage, click the link below.
Works Cited
Amy, Author. “What Is Decoupage? Learn from an Expert!” Mod Podge Rocks, 10 Jan. 2021, https://modpodgerocksblog.com/decoupage-learn-from-an-expert/

Author’s Note: Philippians 4:13 is in the New King James Version, and 2 Corinthians 12:9 is in the New International Version.

As Mother’s Day approaches, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about my grandma, Eleanor Giese. She passed away in December 2020. She left quite a biblical legacy for the family. We buried her in January. I was thinking about something she would often say when other people in the family, including myself, were concerned about some of the small things in life.

We laid Grandma to rest at New Hope Community Church in Sunland, California. This was her second home. She was part of every ministry. She served there for over 20 years until she had to move to an assisted living facility in Alhambra, California because she needed help taking care of my grandpa. She lived to be 100 years old. March 21, 2021 would have been her 101st birthday. What I remember most about my grandma is her smile, and the way she was always so happy, and able to laugh.

This came to mind when something happened during the burial service when we were laying Grandma to rest. After the minister said his remarks, a few verses were read that reminded us of Grandma’s character. Then my mom, my cousin Linda, and I each took a turn sprinkling her ashes under a tree in a planter that had a lion and a lamb statue. Obviously, this is not something you do every day. When it was my turn, my mom helped me.

As I leaned my body forward to sprinkle my part of Grandma’s ashes, my mom tried to help angle my hand so it would go in the right direction. Cousin Paul asked my mom, “Do you want me to push her forward?” My mom shook her head no. She should have let cousin Paul push me forward, but she thought I was close enough. It turned out she was wrong. As I said, this is not something you do every day. Anyway, as we lifted the bag, and began to pour Grandma’s ashes into the planter, because my wheelchair wasn’t close enough, some of Grandma’s ashes ended up inside the planter, and some of them ended up on the outside spilled over onto the wall. When we were all done, we washed the ashes into the planter.

At first, I was upset. I kept trying to scrape the ashes off the wall, and throw them in the planter. I wanted it to go perfectly. Then my mom reminded me of something. She said, “Grandma Giese would find it comical. She would laugh and say, “’It don’t matter.’” I thought about it for a minute and then I calmed down when I realized that my mom was right. It reminded me of how my grandma would say that about many things. She learned how to brush off little things like that and just focus on strengthening her relationship with the Lord.

Grandma grew up during the time of the great depression when people didn’t have a lot of money. So they shared many things. For instance, a whole family shared one pair of roller skates.; yet yet no one complained. They were just happy to have the things they had, as well as each other. Grandma surrendered to every situation life handed her, including when she had to go into full care. Because of that, she was very pleasant to be around. The nurses often talked about how they enjoyed having her around because she was so easy to take care of. She was a true servant of the Lord who always had a smile on her face. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that she is wearing the beautiful crown of life that the  Bible talks about in James 1:12 where it says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

Lord, teach me to have that same smile like my grandma and to say, “It don’t matter,” and focus my eyes heavenward on the things that matter to you. Amen. See you soon, Grandma. Enjoy heaven.

*Author’s Note: Here’s a link to the church my grandma attended and served at for over 20 years. At the time, it was called Sunland First Baptist Church. Now the church has been renamed, but they still carry on many of the same traditions. When my mom and I went there to check out the facility before we buried my grandma, we saw a whole bunch of children getting out of school, and families playing on the playground. It was a grade school, and the kids were in uniforms. Grandma loved children. She would be thrilled to know that her home church is still thriving in the middle of the pandemic.
https://www.newhopesunland.com/

Here’s my part of sprinkling Grandma Giese’s ashes. Can you see some of her ashes that spilled over onto the outside of the wall?

Sitting next to me is my mom, Rosemary, and my cousin Linda is standing next to me. I’m holding Lady on my lap. She’s a Chihuahua. She was Grandma’s dog. My mom and I take care of her now. She loves to snuggle, and get real close to people! My mom gets up before I do. When she wakes up, she brings Lady into my room every morning, and we snuggle together in bed before it’s time to start the day. She loves to bury herself under my covers. It’s another way for me to remember my grandma. She was such a warm, family-oriented person.

Colossians 3:16

 ^“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.^”

During this time of the coronavirus, my mom and I haven’t had my attendants come to our house so that we make sure we are abiding by the social distancing guidelines. That means writing things are done a little out of routine. I don’t mind though, I’m enjoying it. I’m getting more writing done than ever before. It’s great! However, you know how I’ve often said that with cerebral palsy, repetition is the key so that I don’t forget how to do certain movements? Well, just before this whole thing with the coronavirus, Jessica and I were going to start a new YouTube series. Originally, what you see with pictures was supposed to be on my YouTube channel. Unfortunately, just before our nation went on lockdown, Jessica got the common cold and wasn’t able to come over to my house to help me. When I found out our nation was ge.oing to be on lockdown, that’s when I decided to make them into articles so people could have something to read, and also to keep my brain active.

Anyway, the point is, the steps to make the heart weren’t fresh in my mind. One day, when I was home with my mom, I tried making the heart the way Jessica showed me, and I found that my brain got stuck. After I flattened the ball, I tried to pull my fingers about two centimeters, and then I just couldn’t get the hang of how to form the bottom of the heart. As much as I tried to do it over and over, I just couldn’t do it the way Jessica showed me. That’s how long it had been. Even though Jessica had written out the steps, they didn’t make sense to me anymore. It showed me how much Jessica had been giving me cues throughout the process, and instructing me.

Finally, my mom showed me a new method. After I formed the ball, I smashed it down with my palm. Then, I pulled it at the top like Jessica showed me. Here’s what I did differently: I turned the heart over to make the edges smoother. After many times of practice, I finally got it.

This experience reminded me of how easy it is to forget God’s promises that He has kept to us when we don’t acknowledge Him on a daily basis. Sometimes, I find myself wishing that I had a lesser degree of cerebral palsy; then I could drive and walk without my walker. If I had better fine motor skills, I could draw my own illustrations for my books, make my own jewelry; the list goes on and on. However, I feel better when I remind myself of the scriptures and the many more adventures I’ve had that I might not have had if I didn’t have cerebral palsy. I also feel better when I realize how good God has been to me through the years, and how good He continues to be in my life. Then I’m able to praise God again, and proclaim His goodness. Moments like what happened with the play-doh are reminders of how important it is to practice certain movements on a daily basis. In the same way, it’s important for me to depend on the Lord for strength on a daily basis. Without Him, I am nothing.

Dear Lord,

Help me to remember to turn to you for strength on a daily basis. Forgive me when I get too distracted and don’t spend time with you, and when I forget your promises and grow bitter about my disability. I know that without you I’m nothing. Help your word to dwell in me richly. Amen.

Here are the steps Jessica wrote out for me.

 Here’s the new heart I made with my mom.

^“ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27

This is the last step in making a completed heart. This could symbolize what a new heart being transformed by God looks like. Perfect! I’m not going to go through the steps, because they are pretty much the same as last week. Please read “God sees things from a different angle; Mirroring Obedience.” You can also look at my previous posts before this one in the series.  However, I will say this: It took me a while to really see that yes, I really did form a heart and apply the right amount of pressure on the sides to form the bottom. It was another one of those steps where I don’t know how many times it took until I got it right, but I got it eventually, and that’s what matters.

Anyway, when we finally get to that point where we say, “Oh God I can’t take it anymore!” That’s when He says to those that come to Him with true repentance, “Let me show you the benefits of having a new heart modeled after mine.” When you have a lasting physical challenge as I do, eventually you have a heart that stops desiring for physical healing and longs for our world to have a deeper, spiritual healing. A heart that has its eyes fixed on heaven and starts praying and weeping for our nation. Someone with a new heart begins to see that those who don’t follow Christ actually have, as one of my camp speakers put it, “A human disability.” Amen! Many times, I’ve looked at our culture and thought that most people are too independent for their own good. Like I’ve said many times, a transformed heart is one that is not so self-focused on the world’s idea of physical healing. A transformed heart takes the attitude of the blind man found in John chapter 9 and says, “Okay Lord, show me how you want me to display your good works in my life and proclaim your goodness to the world. Take my life and completely transform it as only you can do.”

Amen

“Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 3:16-18

The next step of forming the heart was one of the hardest parts. After I formed the top of the heart, the next step was to pick it up, turn it around, and make it so that the top of the heart was close to me and the bottom part was away from me. Then I had to keep pushing the sides in a little bit harder and harder. This was the step that kept making me think, “Oh yay! I’m getting what definitely looks like a heart.” I looked closer and realized I was forming all kinds of shapes; but not a heart. I formed so many shapes that I don’t even remember how many times it took before I formed the heart; even as I was trying to mirror Jessica who was right beside me. All I know is that after much practice, I finally did it! In the meantime, Jessica kept saying “breathe.” At one point, Jessica began making her own shapes with play-doh, just to see how much I could do on my own without her instructing me. It was difficult, but finally, my hands and brain communicated the right messages to each other and I did it! Usually, learning to do something like this takes a couple of weeks. Somehow, after many times, I did it that day. It was amazing because that day it was only my second time doing it along with making the other pieces. Here it is:

It reminded me of how easy it is for people, especially in today’s society, to “mirror” Christianity and talk the lingo but not mean it. One time, a pastor by the name of Gordon Kirk (he was filling in for a while after our old pastor retired and our church was in the process of finding a new pastor) referred to it as, “Bumper Sticker Theology.” If you’re one of those people who has a Christian bumper sticker on your car, does your life reflect what it says on that bumper sticker?

It also reminded me of how, when we have a problem, we might ask God, “God what are you doing?” In the case where I was trying to learn to make the heart with play-doh, I could easily cry out the words in Romans chapter 9 and say, “Lord why did you make me like this?” (I can’t tell you how many times I let out a big sigh as I was learning to make a heart with my limited hand dexterity.) The Lord says to me, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5). Over time, as I’ve grown in the Lord, I’ve begun to understand what that means and how God’s plan is perfect, even during the times that I really don’t like my physical challenges. NOTHING in my life is a mistake! Often, God sees our problems from a different angle. In my case, I often say if I didn’t have my cerebral palsy and the challenges that go with it, would I care about spiritual things as much? Could I write these stories and share these messages? I don’t think so. Would I have a deep understanding of Jeremiah 1:5, and be able to talk to my Awana girls about inner beauty the same way I did in 2017? I don’t think so. Without my challenges that God allowed to stay, where would I be spiritually? Only God knows that. By the way, here’s a photo of the Christmas present my Awana girls gave me after I did my lesson titled, “How becoming a Christian is like becoming a vase.” If you’re interested in seeing the devotionals I wrote while I was learning to make a vase in preparation for my Awana lesson, click on the link labeled “Play-Doh,” and scroll through it. It’s the first one on the left under “Rachael Benson Blog.” You can’t miss it. Why am I able to talk to kids and other people about that stuff? Because I need help with things most people take for granted; like getting dressed, combing my hair, and taking a shower. I could go on and this would be a long post, but I won’t.

Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing bad about Christian phrases on bumper stickers, but it shouldn’t be the only way we know Jesus. It should serve as a trigger to make us think about Him and want to get to know Him. I pray that many of us are using this unusual time to get to know the Lord more. If this virus was going to happen, thank goodness for today’s technology! There are so many ways to stay connected through the Internet. Even if you can’t physically go to church right now, many churches are having their services online. Set up a zoom meeting and do a Bible study that way. Where there’s a will there’s a way. It’s all a question of how badly do we really want to see a change in our lives? How badly do we want to have true peace? God gave us free will. While He desires for us to obey Him, He’s not going to force anything on us. God doesn’t want us to be robots, but instead, He wants our love for Him to be genuine and sincere.

If there is anyone out there reading this who doesn’t know the Lord as their Savior or has questions about anything I wrote, please feel free to post them on my blog. Just make sure you click on “I am not a robot,” or your comment won’t go through. I moderate comments to make sure everything said on my blog is clean. It’s just one more way to make sure I honor God with my writing. I love hearing from my readers!

Dear Lord,

Help me to have a desire to get to know you more so that I can mirror a reflection of your son Jesus, and make people want what I have. Help me to use this time in our nation to be transformed by you day by day, until you bring me home to heaven.

Amen

Author’s Note: Here’s a link to my church’s website. They have a kids’ church service at 9:30 am on Sundays, and the main service is at 10 am. The kids’ service has a funny puppet named Stew, and the songs are energetic and lively. They’re perfect for the whole family to dance to. It reminds me of Vacation Bible School. Click on the link  below:

Grace Baptist Church Services

Also,  if you want to go beyond watching the church service, different pastors of the church are putting together devotionals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It’s neat to hear everyone’s perspective during this time. I especially enjoyed the devotional done on Friday, April 24, by Pastor Peter. I felt like he wasn’t really preaching a sermon, but instead, he was telling a story. It was perfect for a writer. Scroll through the Together page to listen here.

Here’s the other church my mom and I have tuned in to lately. This is my brother-in-law’s church in Atlanta Georgia. Their pastor is big on reaching out to the community. He shares many stories from his own life experiences to illustrate the points he makes in his sermons. He’s quite easy to listen to.

Peachtree Church

 

 

 

 

Colossians 1:9-12 “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.”

After I formed the ball, the next step was to flatten the ball and begin forming the hardest part of the shape of the heart. Flattening the ball was the easy part. I just pushed down on the play-doh with the palm of my hand and it became a lump. The next step was to pull my finger down to the center and stop about two centimeters. I was beginning to form the top of the heart. Many times I kept going past two centimeters and having to redo the heart. Eventually, after watching Jessica, practicing several times, and Jessica finally saying, “Stop right here,” my brain started to get it. As I’ve said many times before, repetition is the key. I got the hang of it and I finally figured out where to stop.

It reminded me of how even when we come to Jesus, the transformation in our lives doesn’t just happen right away. Depending on what our lives were like before we came to Christ, many times God has some “spring cleaning” to do in our lives before we can be used by Him to minister to others. It takes time before we  are able to  put away our old practices such as foul language and self-centeredness, and really, truly begin to walk in His ways. But again, as I’ve said before, God is always working on us until we get home to heaven. After we’ve spent time getting to know Him, through things like reading the Bible and talking with other Christ-followers, He gives us a longing to do good deeds that would honor Him. We begin to see that everything we do in our day can be used as a ministry to help others. In my case, I volunteer at my local hospital and at the Awana program at my church. At the hospital, when people see my wheelchair, they often have questions and want to know what it’s like because they themselves might have to use a wheelchair. Even if I volunteered and wasn’t in a wheelchair, I don’t think it would have the same kind of impact on people as it does with the wheelchair. Even though it’s hard at times, the wheelchair helps me relate to people. Some Christians have told me that they can see God’s light shining in me. What they mean is that a lot of people wouldn’t expect someone like me to have such a positive outlook on life. I appreciate the compliment, but it didn’t happen overnight. I had a lot of love and support from my family, as well as a God-given, strong desire to get to know Him and share these messages with you. Thank you, Lord, for the desires you’ve put in my heart to get to know you. I can’t wait to see what other lessons you are going to teach me about you so that I can grow in my faith and understand more about who you are.

Amen

Jeremiah 18:3-4

“So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.”

(ESV)

The first step to creating a heart was forming the shape of a ball. For the most part that was pretty simple. I was able to take the play-doh of the container and roll it around using the palms, but it took a few times. As I held the play-doh in my hands I had a hard time not squishing the play-doh and just giving it a light touch. I started forming the ball and then my friend Jessica helped me smooth out the edges and form the shape even more until it was perfect.  One of the challenges with my cerebral palsy because of the spasticity in my body (that’s a fancy word for muscle tightness) is to get the part of my body I want to use (in this case my hands) to relax and touch things lightly so they can do the right motion. My friend Jessica and I had set aside a whole day to work on all the steps that go into making a heart and give the pieces time to harden up before we started the series. We didn’t start the series when we thought we were going to because Jessica had gotten sick. By that time, I had forgotten that a few weeks ago my mom had moved the pieces to another spot. I remembered when I saw some pieces Some papers had to be moved off of a chair looking for something and the ball rolled off the placemat and onto the ground and broke into pieces.  I was not happy! It’s just a little thing, and fortunately of all the steps the ball is the easiest if I had to redo something, but with cerebral palsy simple movements and forming simple shapes take time. I was upset with myself for forgetting to remind my mom to move the steps to a safer spot.  Since I can’t physically move things myself asking someone, “Could you put this here or there?” is my way of stay organized and this time it was really important! Ugh! Here’s the broken ball.

So recently I redid the ball. It was very hard to keep pieces together. The play-doh kept falling apart. My mom finally took the container of play-doh and put some water in it to make it moister so the pieces would stick together, and it worked. While I did most of the ball myself, forming the shape, etc. My mom did help me smooth it out. Here’s the finished ball.

It reminded me of how we often come to God even if we’ve known His son Jesus as our Savior for quite a while. Just like the verse says we’re like spoiled pieces of clay that need to be reworked. How many times have you found yourself thinking, “I can do this.” As you struggle and struggle until you’re so frustrated you want to throw your hands up and scream, “I can’t take it anymore!” When we cry out to God and say, “Lord I need you!” I believe that’s when God says, the master heart surgeon” I’ve been waiting to hear you say that.” He picks up and begins to form that ball our hearts into a vessel that can be used by Him. You know your heart is being transformed when through that hardship, you say, “Lord what are you trying to teach me? What shape do you think is best for me to be used by You?”

Dear Lord.

I admit I can’t live my life without you. I’m a mess. The weight off this world is too much responsibility alone. I need you to come into my life and be my master heart surgeon. Rework my heart and my life into the shape that seems best to You. I can’t wait to see what shape that is.

Amen

In my new series, “Transformed for special purposes,” we’re going to talk about how I learned how to make a heart with play-doh as I faced challenges with my hands that come with having cerebral palsy, as well as the biblical lessons I learned while I was doing it. Each week, I will share verses about the heart and how God transforms our hearts when we let Him.

For instance, in my case, for me, transformation means acceptance. Acceptance of the challenges that come with my disability, focusing on how I can bring glory to God by helping others, and how I can share the gospel. A verse that has become a favorite of mine over the years which gave me the idea for this series is Romans 9:20-21 where it says, “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” I believe God created us all for a purpose to be used by Him and share His love with others in some way.  As we discover how God transforms our hearts, my hope is to get people thinking about how they can use their gifts and talents to honor Him.

We’ll talk about the gospel in a nutshell. We’ll talk about how God who is the master heart surgeon, comes into our messy lives and performs heart surgery through our longing to do good deeds, obey Him, and follow His ways. We’ll talk about how lasting challenges change our attitudes about certain things, which allows God to purify our hearts even more as He prepares for us a place in heaven where we can one day be with Him if we have a relationship with Him now. Ultimately, God’s idea is for our hearts to be modeled after His heart. As we allow God to transform our hearts, people will begin to take notice, and we begin to discover more about God’s goodness that we wouldn’t discover otherwise. As Jesus tells His disciples when they ask about the man born blind, “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:3b. Please join me on the journey as we see God transform our hearts and let’s grow in faith together.

 

 

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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