Unshaken

Three days will mark a new milestone in my journey. Two months without a job. For many that would be quite a scary prospect. For me, before this all happened, it seemed like a death sentence. However, as I look back, I am in awe that I can confidently say this is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I don't say that lightly, and mark my words, there were days when I was positive I was at the end of my strength. And guess what...I was! Until I realized that without God I was nothing, this trial consumed me.
Today, I still struggle, there are still times when I feel lost and confused. God's peace surpasses this though, and I look at tomorrow with a different hope now.
Nicole Nordeman's song "Sunrise" captures this perfectly:

"There’s a moment when faith caves in, There’s a time when every soul is certain God is gone. But every shadow is evidence of sun, And every tomorrow holds out hope for us. You are sunrise, you are blue skies, How would I know the morning, If I knew not midnight?"

Our trials may seem dark, but without them, how could we ever truly know the glory of His light? God is the very embodiment of hope. He is strength and purity. As Psalm 30 says:

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken."

I believe myself to be on the edge of dawn, the tears and trials not quite behind me, but the light of a new day, a new chance, just below the horizon. Sometimes, this is the hardest place to be, for even as close as one is to touching victory, there are still final steps to be taken. Those steps are heavily laden with patience.
The week is half over, or maybe I should say, there is still half of this week left to live. I strive towards staying secure in my Saviour. Under His care we can never be moved!

I remain completely unshaken,

Rachel

Quieting our Crowded Lives

Even after losing my job, it seems that other things rush in to fill the vacuum created in it's place. One would think I have a good deal of time on my hands to pour into this business, but it seems I am busier than ever, with less to show for it. (Ok, maybe less disciplined is a better description, but we will let that remain unsaid.)
A friend recently reminded me that "busyness is the enemy of progress". If that's true, I concluded based on the Word, that "quietness must be the foundation for strength and success".
This past weekend we went to a park not far from our house. It contains a nearly empty lake, biking trails, and endless stretches of quietness. Though I have only been twice, every time I am in such a place, I am rejuvenated, because God reminds me I don't need all the trappings of the world to satisfy me.
Though He exists everywhere, even amongst the bustle of our normal busy lives, He is most noticeable to me when I am still and away from all things man-made. Despite the fact I am not really the outdoorsy-type, I find that when I am surrounded by His handiwork, I feel closer to Him and understand His heart more.
I have a good deal of decision-making to do this week...as I know many of you out there do...Let us rejoice in Him no matter what happens.

Watching and Waiting (patiently),
Rachel

PS
Below is today's card...this one is made completely of leftover supplies!










Here is a close-up of the wording...

Coming to the Wooded Places

This is my current favorite piece of jewelry...It has already been sold!!! I love the greens and the browns as they remind me of a secret forest that no one else but I have discovered. Although, even if I found such a place, the thrill would be short lived as I would want to share it with everyone I know.
Ironically, the hardest thing about being unemployed is the fact that I have realized just what and whom I was leaning on for support. I am reading a book called "Radical Reliance" and everyday am struck by how much I was using the other blessings He had put in my life to hold me up.
There is a quote in the book that I read the other morning:

Only God is capable of providing the companionship that chases our aloneness into the shadows. Only He can satisfy, sustain, and secure us.

This honestly makes perfect sense once I took the time to understand it. No one but the Creator of Companionship could fully comprehend how to fulfill it in our everyday lives. This week my prayer is that I come to the "Wooded Places" of my life, and find solace in just spending time with Jesus there.
Nothing else matters, because no one else cares as much.

Pray with me, friends as we journey these paths together!

Rachel