I am not. . .

I have to say that there was a time in my life when I thought that I was in complete control. I am by nature a very independent person. Mainly because God created me that way, but also because of events in my life, I learned to take care of myself at a very young age. While other children were busy at being just that, I was tending to tasks that most children do not have to concern themselves with.

I remember the first time that I had to be dependent on someone. I had broken my leg, and had to rely on my husband to do alot of the things that I normally took care of. It was not a fun time for me to sit and wait on someone else to do something that I normally could have just done for myself. As a matter of fact, it was very frustrating for me. And I am sure that if I were to ask my dear husband he'd admit to being very frustrated also (with me). It's not easy caring for an independent person, they can be a royal pain.

Since that time in my life I have learned that I am not in control of many things. There are two events in my life that really drove that lesson home for me. Event #1 was giving birth to my first born Phillip. And the second was giving birth to my baby girl Sara. Becoming a parent has definitely rocked my world. All of a sudden I needed to be in control of not one life, but two. Thankfully, by the time Sara came around, I had consented to the reality that I cannot control everything, and life was alot more relaxed. I was beginning to learn that God's got it all under control, and it was meaningless for me to spin my wheels trying to run the show.

By no means am I trying to say that I have arrived at living this truth out in my life. But I can say that the longer I walk with Jesus the more I realize that the show is not about me, it is all about Him. And I am learning to work AND rest in Him. And sweet rest in Him is what I desire most these days.

With all of that said, I wanted to share with you this book that I have been reading. It talks of this very thing. And it has been a great reminder of who He really is, the one and only I AM.

THE STORY ALREADY HAS A STAR, AND THE STAR IS NOT YOU OR ME. And here's why it matters ~ if we don't get the two stories straight, everything else in our lives will be out of sync. We'll spend our days trying to hijack the Story of God, turning it into the story of us. Inverting reality, we'll live everyday as though life is all about you and me.

GOD IS BIG. REALLY, REALLY BIG. And, I am not. Sitting here I feel so small ~ and small feels surprisingly good. So good I begin to wonder why it's so surprising that feeling small feels good. The truth is, feeling small may not be so bad if in recognizing our smallness we come to realize the wonder of God ~ a God who is beyond our ability to fully describe or imagine, yet someone we are privileged to know, love, and embrace.

I AM NOT BUT GOD KNOWS MY NAME

I AM NOT BUT HE HAS PURSUED ME IN HIS LOVE

I AM NOT BUT I KNOW THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE

I AM NOT BUT I HAVE BEEN INVITED INTO HIS STORY

I AM NOT BUT I KNOW I AM

You might be a KOOK if. . .

I have to tell you this funny story that came up at our Tuesday Night Bible Study at Lynn's house a couple of weeks ago. It's not really my story, but I have not been able to get it off my mind and hopefully Lynn & Teri won't mind me sharing the thoughts that I have had since then.

We were going over our week's study and talking about The Holy Calling of the Priesthood and how God expected His priesthood to obey very specific guidelines. For instance they had to be between 25-50 years old. They could not shave their head and they had to keep it covered. They had to marry a virgin of their own people. They could not drink. Leviticus 22:31-33 tells us that if the priesthood did not live every word that God commanded that it would bring shame to God's holy name. Later in the study we were asked to answer a few questions:

What do you deliberately avoid for the sake of purity?

How do others know you are set apart to God?

If you have children, what habits toward purity are you helping instill in them?

Here is where the funny story comes in. Teri shared with Lynn that as she was working on her study that week she remembered one of the 1st times they ever met. They were at another mutual friends house just sitting around talking and she reminded Lynn of a conversation that they had, then she told Lynn that her 1st impression was, "What a kook this woman is! All she ever talks about is God and stuff." I can't even tell you how funny we all thought this was. I guess for you to understand completely you have to know the history of Lynn & Teri's friendship. They met at this mutual friend's house . . .Teri thought Lynn was a kook. Then. . . Lynn started Tuesday Nights at her house. When they first started it was just the three of them, then they invited me. Teri has admitted that, in the beginning, she really did not want to come. Since then Teri accepted Christ as her Savior. YAY! What a blessing it was that God allowed me to be there that night when Lynn led Teri to the Lord, and to watch Him begin a love relationship with her. I have to say that often times when she shares what she has learned reading her bible I get a little convicted. I think that I had fallen into that rut of forgetting "my first love" with Him. Just being around Teri rekindles that love in me for my Savior. She is excited and growing . . . the old has passed away right before my eyes and she has become a new creation. God is so good. Anyway that is really what made the "kook" thing so funny. Because now. . . Teri is a kook . . . just like the rest of us. If you can't beat 'em . . . join 'em . . . right!

So you might be a KOOK if . . . you talk about God all the time . . . if you go to church all the time . . if you read your bible all the time . . . if you pray . . . if you tithe . . . if you ask forgiveness when you realize you've done something wrong . . . if you are submissive to your husband . . . if you pray for your enemies . . . if your co-workers don't tell dirty jokes, or cuss around you . . . if no one gossips with you . . . if you won't let your children watch everything that comes on the TV . . . if you have rules and you expect your children to obey. . . if you . . . well, you finish the list.

• A kook is someone regarded as eccentric or crazy and standing out from a group. And in case you're like me (not very smart) and you needed to look it up . . .

• An eccentric is a person with an unusual or odd personality.

Do people think you are crazy? Do you often feel like you don't fit in? Compared to others are you unusual or odd? Are you in the world but not of the world? If so, take heart. God calls you to be a light in this world. And although we must walk inside this world, we must not let the world walk inside us. We can't hide our light under a bushel. So if others think you're a kook, then I'm sure God is well pleased with you.

Thanks to Nancy Douglas at

Olive Leaf Ministries

I have won another

Bible Study Give Away.

Can you believe it?

Nancy, Thank you so much for your generosity. I have truly been blessed by reading your blog and I cannot wait to read this bible study. I pray that God will bless you and all that you do for His great purpose in your life.

Love In Christ, Regina

Random Thoughts of God's Goodness

Sorry I've been out of touch since we went to Disney. The first week we were back I was exhausted!! Since then, I have been just enjoying some quiet time with my hubby after work while the children have been at VBS. To be honest, I've had writers block the past few weeks and I can't seem to get over it. So I have decided to just share some random things that I have learned in our Tuesday Night, Beth Moore study on the The Tabernacle. So here goes. . .

Jesus is My High Priest that meets my every need.

Hebrews 10:11-12 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, . . .

I just can't even begin to tell you how that one scripture has ministered to me. Beth asked, why was it significant that our Great High Priest "sat down"? And all of a sudden I got so excited I could hardly stand it. Do you get it? HE SAT DOWN. . . it was finished. . . there was nothing left to do. . . his work was done. After I read that, it seemed that I could not and cannot stop thinking about it. To live in that truth makes striving, worry, and fret fade away. And rest come so much easier.

He is able. . .(duh), and He lives to intercede for Me :-)

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

I don't know about you but I've got some "uttermost" that needs some healing. It's "that thing" that I just can't seem to shake on my own. I'm just unable to beat it. But He isn't. . . He is more than able! That's good to know. And there I have another reason I can just rest in Him. Can you picture it? He "sat down" at our Father's right hand and He is conversing with our Father about me (or you).

The 1o Commandments = The Ministry of Death BUT was glorious. How much then should the Ministry of Life be even more glorious!
Corinthians 3:7-18 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 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.

All I could think here, is how much more my life should reflect His glory because I am not under the Law but have been ministered to with the Life of Christ. Moses' radiant glory faded from his face the longer he was out of God's presence. Unlike Moses, who had to come down from the mountain where God's presence was, I have the very Spirit of God living in me. How much more then should my life reflect His glory? That's a tough question to answer. . .but one that deserves my attention.

Well, there you have it, the random thoughts that have been rolling around in my head and most definitely been doing a work on my heart lately. I want so much for Him to continue to teach me and make all of those truths that I knew in my HEAD be real in my HEART. Because until they find their way to my heart I'm afraid their not worth much. He is so good, and I really believe that He is doing great things in our little Tuesday night group. I am so thankful that He lead me to it and is allowing me to be a part of it. He has blessed me so much through it! If you feel led to, please pray for us as we finish this study on the Tabernacle. God is really at work in all of our lives.