I'm wide awake, it's 4:00 am on the dot and I'm laying here wide awake. I surfed the internet a bit, nothing really to see. I'm not in the mood to watch a waistless television show. I can't quiet my mind. I just taught the book of Luke last week, and have been meditating once again on the cross. This heavy piece of wood that my Savior had to drag up a hill after he had been whipped, scourged, beaten, mocked and condemned. "Carry the cross up the hill, to your death…You call yourself a king, where is your kingdom?" … We become so familiar with this as if it's a story in a book up on the shelf that we all read once as kids, knowing this "yeah, Jesus died for my sins" … do we ever stop to think about that?

 I know I get used to singing about it in worship songs, that his blood washed away my sins … it feels good to sing it … It feels good knowing, my sins are washed away... until I stop to think about how disgusting, brutal and dark that day was. A man getting his flesh ripped off his back, a man getting curses yelled in his face, a man getting nails driven through his hands and feet and hung up on the cross to just wait for death to come. A man who was also God, the Creator of the Universe, the Creator of those who persecuted him - hold on, that's us as well, the God whose love came down into the form of a man to die … to die for you and for me. 

This was in his plan ever since Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve decided they could outsmart him. That's how foolish we are as mankind, that we think we can outsmart this God. Challenge this God. Mock this God. Even from the beginning, he loved with the greatest love of all. Giving this promise of Redemption. Continuing to promise this through thousands of years. Prophecy being given about Jesus through the lives of so many in the Old Testament, they were all pointing towards Jesus. In the book of Psalms, David depicts the death of Christ in the most accurate way. How, Why? Is our God's love really this deep, this true, this strong that from the first sin done against him he gives this promise … and continues throughout history...the promise that says, as people we will fail over and over and over again but he will send his Son, his beloved to take our place …. to allow all the darkness of existence mark HIS SON. 

How easily we forget the surrender of Christ, that he did all this with a willing heart. He did the Father's will, not his own. The greatest act of selflessness and humility. He did all this in the face of uttermost hatred, still choosing to love. When we read "For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only Son"  Our minds cannot even comprehend this love. Still we get numb to this, we forget about this unconditional love, that if we choose to turn from our dirty sin, if we choose to walk away from selfishness and pride, that this love then becomes our own. This love then pulls us out of darkness, this love stands in our place and says "you shall not taste death, but you will now have life, because you have chosen to believe and trust in this love." 

This love that was lead like a sheep to the slaughter. This love that became life. This love that conquered death. This love that is alive. This love that is called Jesus. 

There are many that are still dying in this world, lost in darkness. Many that are still enslaved to their sin.  There is hope. 

We are but a vapor on this earth. This world will pass away, and everything in it.  In Luke it says, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

I hope to live as though my treasure is in the palm of his hands, in the hands that are forever marked by the greatest love of all. 

To live surrendered to Jesus. 

I know what you're thinking ... Rachelle is the worst blogger, 3 blogs in like a year ... I would agree with you! Here's the thing, I knew I wouldn't be good any good at this, my journal entries jump from January to April - one page right after the other ... but hey at least I have a "few" memories to look back on! :)
Anyways, I hope you enjoy the update! I have been back in Taiwan since February this year, after spending time at home over Christmas break, which was incredible by the way - to see family & friends, to rest & to have my socks blessed off. Thanks to all of you who played a part in my time at home - I came back to Taiwan feeling like I had people who really believed in me and are a part of what I am doing here.

I have been staffing the School of Biblical Studies, we are nearing the end of our first quarter - I actually get to teach for the first time in the school this coming Monday. I will be teaching the book of Hebrews, and would love to blog about what God is teaching me, although I think I will wait until next week after my teaching is finished. :)

We have 57 amazing students here studying the word of God with all their hearts, It's really awesome to be a part of what God is doing here. I feel so blessed and privileged that I get to be a part of something that is expanding the gospel throughout Asia. I am excited to see where God takes these students after they complete the school this coming December - I know and believe God has incredible things in store for them, places they are called to Go and teach others the knowledge they have been given in this season. Partner in prayer with us that they would make the most of this time, and gain EVERYTHING they can of God in studying, giving out, and in making solid deep relationships with each other and with the Taiwanese. We are almost 3 months into the school, and have 6 more to go, so prayer for endurance in studying is really appreciated. This year along with teaching Hebrews I will also be teaching the book of Joshua and Ecclesiastes. I am excited to learn even more about God's word - that's something I have been blown away by this year - that no matter how much I study, there is so much more to learn... the word of God is so rich!

As far as what God is up to here in Taiwan, we are seeing people come to know him, and it's often a long process but it's a solid one once that change is made in a heart. I love seeing the fruit that comes out of the Taiwanese lives that give their lives over to serve God. As a base we have been challenged with the way that we are living out evangelism - that we wouldn't "sugar-coat" the gospel but really show the reality of what people are giving their lives to, this has challenged and rocked me. I know I have such a HUGE responsibility to make God known here. As I was running this morning and looking out over the city I live in ... as I looked at all the buildings I was so overwhelmed by the thousands of people here that are still in desperate need of the gospel, of life ... I am desperate for God to give me more of an eternal perspective, that as I look at people I would see so much more than the physical but that I would see their need for Christ, the emptiness inside of them without him. That they aren't alive without salvation!
Wow, God please use us!

That's all for now - I would love to hear from all of you to see what God is up to in your lives.
Much Love,
Rachelle

Fall is Here

Hello Friends,

What I am about to share is not comfortable for me, but that is the exact reason I am sharing it...

Some thoughts on what I am learning right now...a lot of this started during my prep with the Samuels,which I recently taught in the SBS, in studying I was able to see how many of the characters in that book have this same struggles as I do and how fear absolutely ruled the life of Saul, but in David we see just the opposite, he shows us how to live out this principle of trusting God…I have been learning what it means to Fear the Lord and to walk away from the Fear of Man, I know there is far more to learn about this in my life but what it has revealed to me is that the fear of man is that it's something which I am so easily ruled by, as I look back on life and even now recognize that I am so often holding back all of who I am or all of what God has placed in me because of it also finding that I often struggle with insecurity as well as many other ways I find I have been entangled by the fear of man which holds me back from living in the only thing that matters, trusting God.

I am often times held back by self-sufficiency this is huge in my life instead of reliance on God for the absolute best for me…I find being in control of my own life is something I often try to do more than letting Go and letting God.

Another thing is the fear of rejection rules me a lot of times, fearing what people think of me…letting others rule me with words instead of listening to God’s at times, when it comes to the fear of man these are just some things I am wrestling through.

I recently read a book called “When people are BIG and God is small”- by: Edward Welch, this book impacted me in a huge way, it’s all based on comparing the fear of man in our lives with the worth of the fear of the Lord; a quote that really impacted me was “The most radical treatment for the fear of man is the fear of the Lord. God must be bigger to you than people are. This antidote takes years to grasp; in fact, it will take all of our lives.”

In all of this I continued to ask the question of myself, “how am I to overcome (not master) the fear of man in my life?” … and that is by gaining a healthy fear of the Lord, and how do I do that? … by trusting him, that’s it, trusting this holy amazing God that loves me more than I will ever understand, that gave his Son for me, that is how, by trusting him and putting him first in EVERY area of my life.

Psalms 34:9 says “Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!” This verse is what I am learning to live by, that by fearing and honoring, loving, trusting, believing his promises, clinging to him, and walking with him every second of every day, in that I lack NOTHING.

This is my challenge to us, that we would allow the fear of man, that so easily holds many of us back from giving God all that he deserves and from giving people in our lives a glimpse of how God truly made us to be, that we would let that die in ourselves, and to allow the fear of the Lord, trusting him, knowing him more, to grow in ways we never expected possible.

The most precious possesion

Hey Friends...

The most precious possession is held by so many of us, we often don't realize the weight of what it is we own.
Tonight as I watched the movie 'The Book of Eli', I was completely overwhelmed by the absolute gift I am able to hold in my hands each and every day, that I own the word of God. The man in the movie dedicated his life towards making sure God's word was preserved. (please use viewer discretion if watched, it's very violent)
I had tears streaming down my cheeks as I watched, because I so often take for granted what an honor it is to have what I do. What an incredible book, a book filled with the very thoughts of my God, our living God. Words that are alive!
As a Bible teacher I think I am often accustomed to reading the Bible, to mostly understanding what it says, to do my best to live out the conviction of the words on the page, to receive the incredible Love God has for me...and in that I can so easily forget the precious pages that lay open in my hand.
Easily forgetting that there are still those brothers and sisters in the world that don't have this gift available to them, they must eat on the same words daily, those words that they have secretly memorized in their hearts.
I am still processing what God is laying on my heart, but with heavy conviction felt the need to challenge those of us who are believers, to take the knowledge we have been given and learn how to carry out the responsibility we have as His children, understanding what God's word is meant for, that it's not for us to selfishly eat on and gorge ourselves...but it's for us to live out and 'exercise' what is written.
To feed the hungry, to love the widow and the orphan, to bring life to the dead...to give them an understanding that God loves them, that He loves all of us so much that he not only gave us his Son, but he has given us our history in words, he has breathed out his very own breath upon pages as a gift.
A God that violently pursues people, with Love.

Tonight I am challenged with not only the responsibility to read his word, but to do my best to live it out in the way that it commands. Meanwhile not forgetting what's in front of me, a beautiful melody written out in words.
If you pray for me I would ask that as I step into staffing 2nd quarter of SBS, going through the Old Testament and specifically 1 & 2 Samuel, I desire my hunger for God and his word to grow more deeply within me than it's ever been. That I could be someone that walks in the understanding that what I have before me is the most precious possession given.

He is Enough.

I want to challenge all of us to start taking those risks in life, to stop living in a place of dreaming for things that once were or things you long to happen but to step into each day with this quote in mind, that its not about just getting by in our lives, just breathing, but that its about experiencing those moments where it seems hard to understand the grace and love of God because both are so overwhelming. Its about saying yes to things that might seem crazy to us, but taking those risks because they really are the things that we will remember in our lives.
I know recently many of us have experienced such massive changes in our lives, this year will be marked with that moment that took our breath away, the moment I stepped onto the soil in Taiwan and thought to myself wow, I am home, and with that thought my breath was captured by the amazing goodness of our God, to allow me to live a dream that I have long desired... but I don't want that to be the only moment I have like that in this year, I want to have a series of these moments, because that is the incredible God we have, a God that never ceases, a God that loves surprises, a God that LOVES to give. It has looked differently for each of us, but what I challenge with you today is to live in today, to live in the now, EXPECTING for one of those moments, that they would become what is common, and not the opposite.
For those days that you feel alone, or the days where you desire more, or long for that next thing, STOP- breath ask God for one of those moments, because that is what we should be striving for, the future of the Kingdom, for God's kingdom, living in a way that is to glorify him. Living in a way that not only takes our own breath away, but gives life to those that need more of HIM in their lives whether that is encouragement, salvation, love, etc. He is enough, Christ is absolutely enough, He is.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away." -Unknown

The Blurr...

Hello Beautiful Family & Friends,
Well I have titled this blog "the blurr" because that was the month of January for me. I did a course called the Titus Project which is trains graduate students from the School of Biblical Studies in teaching and preaching skills. The goal is for those students to then take Bible teaching to places where there is great need. The school consists of a 3 week training period and a 2 month overseas outreach. In the training time several teachings are given on subjects such as Preparing a teaching, Presenting a teaching, the seven intelligences and learning styles, how to teach inductive bible method & bible overview, teaching oral communicators, etc.
I did the 3 week training course but did not attend the outreach portion for various reasons. During this school I felt so equipped for teaching God's word, it was an experience that taught me a variety of things and helped me to improve my teaching skills in so many ways, based on several different evaluations that were given to me from staff and other classmates. We gave several teachings within the training course and I felt incredibly blessed by each time, even the ones that were more of a struggle for me to get through.
I really learned a lot about myself during this school, I learned that I have a new sense of what I am doing for God here in Taiwan, that I am called to several things here but in the aspect of being a bible teacher I have an excitement in my heart that is growing each and every day. During the school there was a call to surrender everything that you are to God, whatever that looks like even if it were death would we be willing to give up our lives for the sake of the Gospel, and I stood that day, believe that I would have that complete faith in God that if that time came I would be willing to give up everything for the sake of making His name known, so my prayer in that is for true strength and courage that when I face those times, I would stand by the commitment I made.
One other pretty incredible thing that God has been teaching me is on the topic of reconciliation, during Titus we taught through the book of Philemon, and we also gave a sermon, mine was done on reconciliation...and nothing really hit me that hard while doing that, but it was after Titus had finished (and I had time to breathe) that I was reading through a book that was based on forgiveness and reconciliation, and I realized I had a huge area in my heart that was holding onto relationships in a way that was incredibly unhealthy and I began to sit down and pray & cry as God was showing me these relationships in my life that I needed to reconcile...needless to say after many hours and days I was able to write some incredibly important letters to these people & have seen God doing some restoration that is true and real. I am so thankful that God is doing this in my life, sometimes its just a matter of being obedient, even when it is PAINFUL.
Although I could talk for a lot longer I don't want to keep you reading my blog for hours on end.
So I will close with a couple prayer requests:
1. That I would continue learning to speak Chinese & become a successful Mandarin Speaker :)
2. The God would continue providing for me financially! Praise God for all he has given me so far!
3. That Relationships in my life here would continue to grow and deepen & my relationships back home would sustain all that they are--that I could really find the balance in both area's.
4. That my relationship with God would continue to be first in my heart & that I would know him in greater ways each day.
5. That God would really be with my family as I am so far away from them, that God would comfort all of us & bridge that separation until we can see each other again.
6. Praying for Money to buy a Moto :) (I know that scares some of you) ha.

PRAISE REPORT:
1. My relationship with someone very important in my life is being restored & I am so thankful for that! :)
2. God has shown himself faithful to me EACH DAY!
3. I get to see my friend Saul in March, he's coming for a visit!

Happy New Year!!!

I love seeing how God is working so deep in each and every one of us. Last night a group of us had a worship and prayer time on my roof top here in DanShui, worshiping God for His incredible faithfulness in our lives. God is so overwhelming, he is so worthy of our lives. Our lives are but a breath, and that we can use those lives to give God our EVERYTHING, He is so worthy. Each one of our hearts were crying our for God to plant his dreams and desires deep within us for this next year, that we would follow after Him without ceasing. That our Spirits would be willing, even when our flesh is weak..why? because he is worthy.
As I look ahead to this new year I see a God that hears our prayers, a God that's love is so deep for his children he is reaching out for us just to take his hand. He is God who is my strength when I feel weak, a God full of mercy and grace when I fail and make mistakes. That I would have a WILLING heart this next year to do what he asks, that obedience would be deep within me, that no matter what I am facing that I would walk forward without hesitation because I see Him who I serve. That I would love AS my Father loves and I would love WHO my Father loves. I am believing God for big things in my life as I step into 2010, that is what I challenge you with as well, to believe that you can dream big and live out those things that He has planted so deep within your heart. His Glory Dwells within YOU! Find ways to practically walk out what he asks of you. I wish you all a Happy New Year, and pray that you would see God at work in your life.