Beautiful.Life.

Life is pretty crazy right now, I want to write but am having a really difficult time focusing my thoughts.  The Lord is working on discipline and organization in my life. This is my first time experiencing a maymester course and it is very odd. I am missing not being able to have a summer, but it will all be worth the hard work in December.  Be praying for me friends and family. For now I will leave you with this!

If you have experience this what are your thoughts? Was your transition difficult? What wisdom can you supply me?

Work.In.Progress.

I am just continually overwhelmed and humbled by the fact that even though I will never have it all together my perfect and blameless heavenly father loves me all the same. Recently I have been given the opportunity to observe in other peoples lives what it really means to wait on the Lord and trust that he will in fact be faithful. 

Several of my precious friends are waiting for the Lord to reveal to them "the next step." As I watch them seek and pray and pursue the Lord I am just so thankful for Godly women to learn from and follow. In conversations we have discussed what exactly will determine our ability to be content with wherever God may put us. The reality is this world say success is measure by the money you will recieve annually, but Jesus say's that cannot and will not satisfy! I will be content based on the fact that my position, wherever it may be, is to serve the sole purpose of furthering the kingdom of heaven. That is the final goal, that is the prize. Not the amount of money that comes in at the end of every month. 

This week I was on the phone with my mom and grandparents. We were discussing the future. I was expressing that I am unsure what God is calling me to. I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life. Then my sweet, sweet nana said ," Rebecca, you are going to be a momma and serve in ministry and that's okay." What a relief. That is enough? 

This next season of my life I just desire to learn. Soak in the wisdom from those older than me who have been there. Better understand how I can serve university students, and continue to realize that I don't have it all together and that's okay. 

As time get's closer and graduation nears, I know I will begin to panic, but the Lord is ultimately in control, I have absolutely nothing to fear! For now friends, I am just a work in progress, and you know what I intend to be for the rest of my life!

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "this is the way, walk in it."

Isaiah 30:21

Do you feel yourself content with where the Lord has you today? Or are you not satisfied with waiting on him for the "next step" instead of the entire plan. 

Be.Real.

What I would love to see more than anything would be Christian young women getting real. Real with themselves. 

So many girls spend all of there time trying to compete with their other sister in Christ to make themselves look good enough. When we actually realize that we  have nothing to offer ourselves, then maybe we will start to actually love people. This world is so broken, why are we adding to the bondage rather than providing life.

This summer I am seeking to get real with God. I want to not possess any credit for anything in my life because in all honesty I deserve none. Many people say this verbally just for the sake of making themselves look better and because that is what you are "supposed" to do. When is it going to get old? When are people going to just be real. It has to be exhausting, I know I used to really battle with chasing attention and approval from those around me, and even selfishly fueling my pride . We are no better than anyone around us, we are all broken. We are not here to develop our  "christian resume." 

What is the point in "serving others" if you really are only serving yourself. It is time to get real, it is time to evaluate our intentions. Are we seeking to reveal the glory of the gospel. Or are we serving ourselves. 

If you want to change the world. Be real. It is rare.

Are you able to be honest with yourself? Ask the Lord to challenge you to seek his face in all areas of your life. Ask him to reveal to you what you are chasing that is harming  how genuine your worship really is. 

Lily.Among.Thorns.

"Compared to other women my beloved is like a lily among thorns."

Song of Solomon 2:2

About seven months ago I began learning more about photography. I really have enjoyed learning this trade. and could see myself pursuing this more in my future. 

Right now I have several friends who are sweet enough to constantly be my genie pigs! So thankful for them or else I wouldn't be able to learn through trial and error like I have thus far. It is really difficult being self taught and I would love to have a mentor to go to for help. Her are some pictures I have taken recently that I really enjoy.

Are you into photography, what knowledge can you provide me or feedback do you have more my portraits so far?

Seasons.Greetings.

“Forget the former things; 
    do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing! 
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness 
    and streams in the wasteland."

Isaiah 43: 18-19

"How precious Oh LORD are your thoughts to me!"

As I am soaking up the ending of this season of my life at the dawning of a new,  I just want to take a minute to rejoice in the fact the God of the universe is a strong tower! He is sovereign and worthy of honor and glory!

The end of a school year is always such a time for me to reflect and praise God for the ways in which he has allowed me to see his hand at work. Even though it is not by any means the end of the story, it is inevitable that we might be able to look back and see his story unfolding in such a mighty way in the lives of those we serve around us! 

This past week I remembered just prior to leaving for college going to sit in Jimmy Taylor, my youth ministers office so thrilled that the Lord had revealed to me that Corpus Christi would be my mission field for the next 4 years. I remember talking with him about living missionally and pursing an opportunity to serve others over myself throughout my college experience.

I am so thankful the Lord saw fit for me to get the beautiful opportunity to be a part of students lives on this campus! Are you kidding me God, you think I am capable of serving the people that you have put in my life. Thank you for such an honor. 

My freshman year I spent the entire first semester praying through where the Lord would have me to serve. I am so grateful he made it so clear to me that the BSM is where I was to be in order to learn and teach as well. I have spent the past three years of college learning and growing to understand that season's are my favorite part of life. Not only in my own life but in others as well. There is no better joy that to get to serve along side another brother or sister in Christ or a not yet Christian through a season of pain, struggle, or growth. How beautiful it is when the Lord delivers and comes through on his promise of new life!

The BSM banquet was this past week. Testimony after testimony reveals the works of the Lord. Relationships observed uncover the endless love and compassion that Jesus has already bestowed upon us all. As I stood around observing that the Lord indeed is good, I couldn't help but to be reminded... 

"Becca, this is why I call you to be intentional and submissive to my spirit, so that I might lead you into specific divine appointments in order to continue to further my kingdom."

As I listened to one student share testimony of a simple gesture directing him to Jesus, I was brought to tears, as we surrounded students who are submitting to the call of missions, I was brought to tears, as my heart prepared to say farewell to an intern who has faithful served the Lord and is still blindly being obedient, I was brought to tears.

Divine Appointments.

I refuse to be absent from the lives of those who so desperately need to hear that they too can experience freedom! I refuse to continue to listen to my own selfish desires rather than those of the holy spirit who is so present and available within me. 

"See, I am doing a new thing! 

Now it springs up, do you not perceive it?"

We serve a God who is the business of bringing what was once dead to life! Just as a new season comes, and the tree's and flowers which have struggled in the past season, too are brought into new life, so are the children of God.

Are you going to miss it? Or are you going to seek first the kingdom of heaven. Are you going to serve yourself? Or will you consider yourself less. 

New opportunities ignite a passion in me for the start of another season? What do you love about the end of one season and the beginning of another?

Simplify.Relinquish.Remain.

I was reading at one of my favorite blogs called thoughtbynatalie this morning and came across this passage that she had used from her daily devotional and I decided to share it with you. What does a successful day in unity with our savior look like? I am not sharing this to create yet another checklist for us to accomplish and pile on to our hectic and self-controlled lives but rather to point out our lack of surrender. 

This passage was convicting to me. Becca, I don't need you, but I choose to use you! If you pursue me and me alone all else will fall into place. Why haven't you figured it out. You know the head knowledge, but it is time to make it heart knowledge.

"I am calling you to a life of constant communion with Me. Basic training means learning to live above your circumstances. Even while interacting on that cluttered plane of life, you yearn for a simplified lifestyle, so that your communication with Me can be uninterrupted. But I challenge you to relinquish the fantasy of an uncluttered world. Accept each day just as it comes. And find Me in the midst of it all. Talk with Me about every aspect of your day, including your feelings. Remember your ultimate goal is not to control or fix everything around you. It is to keep communing with Me. A successful day is one in which you have stayed in touch with Me. Even if many things remain undone at the end of the day. Do not let your to-do list (written or mental) become an idol directing your life. Instead ask My Spirit to guide you moment by moment. He will keep you close to Me."

Back In The Swing of Things

It has been a while since I have posted, I allowed myself to get too busy! However, recently the Lord is reminding me that I once again have missed the mark. 

This semester the reoccurring verse that is being presented to me through friends, discipleship, and my daily walk is one that most have heard, but I feel we never truly grasp!

Matthew 6:33 "But seek FIRST his KINGDOM and his RIGHTEOUSNESS and all else will be added to you.

Simple right. We know the drill. I have got this..

WRONG.

Do we really seek the kingdom of the Lord first in every single decision that is being made? I know that I don't. I am selfish and tend to pursue what I want and not necessarily being concerned with how the Lord really desires for my routine to go.

So why is this on my mind. Well it is simple, it all comes back to this verse. When my life seems chaotic, when I think that my current battle is all consuming, when I give into my flesh, when I pursue the world and get burned; the cause obvious. Who's kingdom are we really seeking.

Recently the Lord has been reminding me that spiritual warfare is so real.. we need to be ready. When temptation and trials come. When things happen that are not what we had planned. Tragedy. How are we going to respond. I once heard it said, "When you get squeezed, what will you ooze.."

As real as it gets,

Becks

Love letters.

 

Dear Child,
You may not know me, but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is… Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God


The above was found on the WM blog, I am printing it out and putting it on my fridge! What if we were to have on your minds and hearts the verses that correlate to his promises to us. Where would our security be found? What difference would it make in your daily priorities and commitments!

Be Blessed,

Becks

True Surrender Leads to True Relationship!

This week has been a blessing, an opportunity for renewal of friendships as well as spiritual growth. This semester I took a different approach to my schooling. School first, ministry second. It has been such a struggle... Seeing as I am not good at school or anything involving school this does seem to make sense; however it has been more so than my previous semesters....

...leading to a better understanding or rather application of what I already knew all along...

When we take into our own hands the battle of prioritizing, most often the result is a feeling of being emotionally and mentally bankrupt. Then, the added burden of stress piles on and prevents us from truly living freely as was the aim of Jesus all along. What are we doing to ourselves. Living just as the rest of America, always going at such a fast pace and never slowing down. Living in bondage to the need to constantly be doing. College students jam pack their lives in order to stay thriving on a constant high of business. That is when our lives begin to serve ourselves. It becomes about the me and I. Who gets the glory in that situation.  

I just keep remembering something a pastor once said at church, "You aren't a (insert career )  who just so happens to be a Christian...... You are a Christian who just so happens to be a ( insert career )  ."

We are servants to the Lord and we are to be about his business. If we began to really focus on the being and not the doing, he would be able to control our lives. All he is looking for is the available.

Today I chose to be available.

Be Blessed,

Becs

Spiritual Intimacy

It has been a while since I have blogged and God has really been rearing my soul towards transformation in my prayer life with him. It has been even more a blessing to have been experiencing an abundance of knowledge and familiarity of this topic from different individuals and studies I am currently involved with.  

On Wednesday evenings I go, when able, to a discussion group at my home church here in Corpus. I love this time every week, it is a time in which we get together to talk about the areas of discipleship that most Christians don't want to dig through. I feel as though I am going to seminary in each attendance... AND ITS FREE!

Now let's get down to business!

The depth of our relationships with our savior has a direct correlation with the health of our prayer lives. I don't know about you, but my prayer life is in desperation of renewal!  The area of prayer that has been so forthcoming to me is who I am praying to. The effectiveness and intimacy of conversation with my king is reflected in my ability to direct my petitions towards the specific divine individual of the trinity it belongs.  So what are the characteristics of each and how to whom am I to approach per specific instance?

Let's break down the character in each divine entity. 

Father:

John 14: 13-14

"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If  you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."

James 1:17

" Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. "

Acts 17:24-25

" The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself give to all people life and breath and all things."

Ezekiel 34:16

" I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, blind up the broken and strengthen the sick." 

My father is the the highest of high! He is in ultimate control over the Heavens and the Earth. All things work in submission and reverence to his plan and purpose. He is sustained by himself and requires no one else, and yet he still desires to know me. He is in ultimate control.

This to me means in my prayer life when I am praying for his will on my life or the what's next moments I will approach the father. When I am praying for healing I will approach the father. When I am praying for salvation in the lives of the lost, I will approach the father.

Spirit:

John 14:16

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever, that is the Spirit of truth."

John 14:26

"The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."

John 16: 13

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.

1 Corinthians 2:10

"For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God."

The spirit is our help, provider of virtue, and spiritual discipline. He is our teacher and constant accountability partner. We call to him in times of comfort and growth. This divine entity is delivered to us through the resurrection of the Son.

This means to me that when I am yearning for wisdom, and understanding I will seek the spirit for comfort. When I am in need of patience and spiritual discipline, I will approach the spirit within me. He will guide and teach me, remind me of the areas in which I am not representing the Father and point me towards the son to understand that I am to submit to his example.

Son:

John 14:6

" ... I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

John 8:28

"When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me."

John 8:12

" ... I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but  will have the Light of life."

Luke 19:10

" For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Lastly, the son is the way to the father. Being human, he is our connection to a Godly life on this earth. A divine individual who endured sinless suffering and rendered grace to his father through acting in obedience. 

I will pray to the son when I need someone who understands where I am and can meet me there. I will seek the son to better know how to serve the lost and make myself less. I will seek the son to understand what true submission and reverence to the father is.

I am still learning, but so far, I am understanding that the quickie "Dear God" is effective, however doesn't develop the intimate relationship I am longing for with my Savior. I challenge you to dig deeper, pursue scripture to understand more of what the trinity truly is. All of this is par my interpretation and I wish for you that you too can take ownership of your understanding as well!

It is getting very late, this post took much longer than anticipated, but the holy spirit was encouraging me to continue and not skimp in my writing. All glory to the Father for he provided me the son who asked the father for the spirit to live within me to be a direct reflection of the Fathers love!

Be Blessed Friends,

Becks

Best Friends

These two sweet girls are such a blessing to my life! They are new to the University this year and have quickly found friendship in each other!

I am was so excited to get to spend time with them and practice some more. This go round I wasn't paying as much attention to areas I need to really be practicing so there are a few here that turned out decent!

Thanks for taking a look!

I will attempt to post my first week of the thirty day challenge on Friday evening!

 I know there are a lot of pictures here, I told the girls I would put as many as possible on here. Sorry if there are any repeats let me know what you think and any pointers or advice would be awesome!

Be Blessed,

Becks