you just gotta laugh. and repent.

Hey friends. Sorry I haven't been around the past couple of weeks. It's been...interesting. 

Last Friday was my last day at work and it went swell. My sweet coworkers got me a nice card and a gift card to Lifeway. They're the one thing I will miss the most about not working there. They make me laugh. They encourage me. They know how to play a joke. 

I joked that, while they're what I'll miss the most, I'm also going to miss working in this fabulous new building.

I know, I'm pathetic. They'll be moving in there before the end of the summer and I'm going to have to go visit. It's just so pretty. {The link above is to a webcam that was set up to capture the progress of the building. If you don't get anything...then...check back during the actual week. I guess?}

Moving on.

So this week I've mostly been cleaning my house, applying for jobs, reading, making visits that I wouldn't get to make otherwise. 

The main reason I wanted to post today was to share a funny story about the second thing on that list above. Applying for jobs. 

If you remember from this post, that was written just over a month ago. I had no idea what I wanted to do. Much less what God wanted me to do. I knew He wanted me working with people. I knew it may or may not involve accounting. Well, I sought God and prayed and read my Bible and slowly it felt like He began to put teaching on my heart. I should probably say back on my heart. In college, I considered changing my major about a million times to education, but never did for whatever reason. Mostly because I never consulted God about it. 

So, I've put my application in different places just knowing that that's what He has for me. Or at least pretty sure that's what He has for me. I still don't know, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is. {Just keep going, I promise there's about to be a point to this post.}

He's told me over and over again through His Word, through the things I would read. Through people that have texted me, called me, whatever. Just. Hold. On. Rebekah. 

Hold. On. 

And, I don't know about you, but waiting isn't something I'm particularly good at. As evidenced here.

Well, last night the mom, sister and I were sitting around watching Bones. {DID YOU SEE IT LAST NIGHT?!?!? Oh goodness.} and Mama mentioned that a Christian organization was looking to fill a position in Dallas. I read the job description online and figured I was overqualified for the job. And I didn't think I'd particularly like it. So, I told her I wasn't going to apply. 

Now I don't know what got in my head between 8:30 and 10, but something did and I decided to apply online. 

I'm going through there filling out the online forms and Leah and Mama were down here chatting about different things and putting there 2 cents in. {That I asked for}. And I finally completed the application about an hour or so after I started it. Well...I hit the 'next' button on the browser and it popped up an error. Basically saying, "You took too long. You have to start over." and I said ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?! and Leah just started laughing. Less than 30 seconds later I was laughing too. 

I knew this isn't the kind of position God had laid on my heart. Yet, I lost trust for an hour and tried to take things into my own hands. Grappling for anything that provided income. Even if it meant that wasn't what I knew God wanted me to do. 

Yikes. I was on my way back to my house and Proverbs 19:21 came to mind.

"Many plans are in a man's mind, but it is the Lord's purpose for him that will stand."

And I just laughed. Like...REALLY laughed. Because...I had just seen that play out in real life. And then I had to pray because...obviously. The not trusting God part.

Who in the world do we think we are?!?

I'm so glad God has a sense of humor.

 

And if you made it this far you deserve a pat on the back. Or some ice cream.

Go You. :)

winners, poetry and job situation update

First things first - 

 

Congratulations to Becca on winning the $20 Dayspring coupon code! Becca, if you're reading this, I'll be emailing you soon! Becca said she'd love to get Ann Voskamp's 365 journal or the cross I received. I think either would be a great choice :)  

Speaking of Ann, I woke up at 3:36 this morning and, not for a lack of trying, could not go back to sleep.  Well eventually I decided to look at the posts in my Reader on my phone and Ann had linked up to this video. If you are a single guy or gal, or if you appreciate poetry, you must. watch. this. A friend and I were talking last week about how stinkin' cool it is that God made everyone different and gave different people various talents and gifts. I believe this woman is definitely using those gifts! I'm pretty sure I'd never be cool enough to go to a poetry slam {is that even what they're called?} and I just think it's the funniest thing how they give snaps for applause. Makes me want to watch Legally Blonde.

Snap Cup? Anybody? 

So, I was most definitely watching that video and giving her mental snaps from the comfort of my bed at about 4:30 this morning. 

Thank you so much for the prayers for the job situation. {I can't figure out what to call it. Suggestions?} I have a couple of leads and there's one job that I think I would just enjoy tremendously and the possibilities just make me all happy dance on the inside wondering what God could do with me in that sort of position, but above all, I want His will. Even if that means Rebekah doesn't see the exact purpose in the beginning. 

Referring to myself in the third person? I think that's "I've been up since 3:36 this morning" talking.

Your prayers are coveted. Most assuredly. I officially have less than two weeks left. My last day is next Friday {May 6th}. Keep 'em going y'all. Keep. 'Em. Going. 

Lastly, y'all please be in prayer for the Stamper family. April Stamper, 17, passed away after a car accident last Friday night. It was prom night at two of the local high schools and they were on their way home after going to town to get ice cream. She, the other passenger, and the driver of the vehicle they were in were being completely responsible teenagers when a woman driving the wrong way down the highway ran into them head-on. I read a Facebook status update about a wreck on the highway about 10:30 and then I heard a helicopter not 5 minutes later. Helicopters around these parts are never good things and I knew someone was being care-flighted to Tupelo. I cannot even begin to imagine the heartache and loss her family and friends are going through. Please please please lift these up in prayer. Many of the students I work with at church on Wednesday nights went to school with April and were her good friends. I know they and the families of the others involved in the accident would appreciate all the prayer they can get. You can read more about the accident here. 

Thanks for praying y'all. It accomplishes so much. I think it's one of the greatest gifts God has given Believers. Use it for His glory. 

JRU Cross Review {and a GIVEAWAY}!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago I arrived home to find a big brown box from DaySpring on my front porch and suddenly I remembered, EEEEEE, it must be my product to review for (in)courage's April Inspired Deals!!

Well you better believe that I didn't even take my purse off my shoulder before I ripped into that box to see what pretty pretty I had received to review! And lucky for me it was the Everyday Faith Handmade Cross from Studio JRU!!

Me. Likey. 

The beautiful dark wooden cross is just heavy enough to let you know it's made of good stuff but not too heavy that you'd be able to grab it off the wall and defend yourself in some kind of hand-to-hand combat. 

Because, really, why would you grab it anyway? 

Another reason I love it {apart from the sheer beauty, because...duh.} is the blue-ish with some brown-ish color on the background of the cross matches about every single piece of furniture I own perfectly. 

And the words?  

Love the words.

I don't remember these words often enough. 

The only problem I ran into was trying to decide where to put it. And let's face it, that's not a problem with the cross, that's a problem with the dummy typing this. 

My first thought? My cross wall.

And just in case you're wondering, those crosses aren't crooked. I promise. {Promise.} This is just evidently a really weird angle to take this picture from. And you might also be thinking, your cross wall is kinda...ummm...bare isn't it? 

You'd be correct. I bought those two crosses for less than $10 {combined} and I have to really like a cross to spend money on it. I'm young. Give me time. 

So I grabbed my hammer and a nail and went to work. But not before taking a picture. {Nerd.} And this was LATE Monday evening and I'm quite proud of my hair. Looking good for it to be 10:30 p.m.

Well, I think I've lived in this house long enough to forget that those two nails where the crosses are already hanging came courtesy of whoever lived there before. I did not hammer those nails in. And I did not hammer this nail  in because goodness gracious it was super hard. I tried for approximately 10 minutes before giving up and deciding the cross had to go somewhere else. {sad}. 

My next choice was my mantle. And as you can see, the mantle needs some livening up. 

Once I took this picture I realized how 'off' my mantle really was. It's all Tally McTallerson on the left side and Shorty McShorterson on the right. So...

Voila. I like the pretty cross better than the old tin container that I bought for $2.00 at a yard sale that's full of movie ticket and concert stubs and the like. After looking at this picture, I'm thinking I may even switch the cross and the green bird. Move the tallness over a ltitle bit more. 

So there you have it. My home was beautified by this attractive piece of hand-crafted art.

And now you're like, "Oh Rebekah, I want one." aren't you? 

You're in LUCK! 

Dayspring has given me a $20 coupon code for one of YOU to win!! Aren't they the best?  

To enter, visit the DaySpring online store. Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite DaySpring item 

{or two, or three, or five. Good luck narrowing it down} :) 

You can get additional entries by:

{1} Visit the Studio JRU store and tell me which gorgie-poo item you'd buy by commenting on this post. (one entry)

{2} Subscribe to The Most Random of Random by clicking right over there --> (one entry)

{3} Tweet or share this giveaway post on Facebook. (one entry) 

4 ways to win! Leave a separate comment for each way you enter. 

Comments will close at 11:59 p.m. (CST) Saturday, April 23rd. 

I'll choose a winner using Random.org and announce it Monday, April 25th. 

If you win, shipping charges will apply to whatever cute loot you decide to buy with your coupon. 

Because I'm all for full disclosure - I received the products mentioned in this post for free from DaySpring solely for the purpose of reviewing and hosting a giveaway. All opinions expressed above are mine and mine alone.  

Best of luck to all of you!! 

on fear.

Thanks for all your sweet words of encouragement and prayer in response to Monday's post. I appreciate them more than I could ever put into words.

I think any time you put out there something like that, the Devil sees a PRIMO opportunity to attack. I think he says something like, "Oh yeah? You have faith God's gonna provide? Well...watch this." and WHAM. He hits you with fear.

This morning, I was inconspicuously reading an article that Lifeway tweeted on one married couple's journey through job loss and the fear just SWOOSHED DOWN ON ME.

What if that's me? What if God doesn't provide a job in 30 days. Am I going to believe He'll provide in some other way? Just the fear that it wouldn't possibly go down the way I want it to go down had me almost in tears.

I know, ridiculous.

I cried out in prayer. Lord save me from this unbelief. I then proceeded to read through some Facebook status updates and read this:

"There is NO WORD for "coincidence" in the Hebrew! Lord You are in control today, You were in control yesterday, and You'll be in control tomorrow! I pray for my family, and any of my FB friends today that are struggling to believe in the midst of pressure & confusion! Be encouraged today! "Without FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God!" (Rom. 8:28; James 1:1-8;16-18;Mark 6:47-52; Prov. 3:5-6)"

Without faith it is impossible to please God? That's part of Hebrews 11:6. And if I only memorized one scripture when doing Beth Moore's 'Believing God' Bible study last year...that. was. it. It's the verse that showed up every day for a week in the most random places. Not even kidding. 

And then right before I went to lunch, I read this in another friend's status update:
 

"God is weaving a story of His power in our lives. He won't fail us. The Lord is batting a thousand in the category of faithfulness. Contrary to others' opinions or our fears, we aren't about to be His first "oops." As Chuck Swindoll encourages, "God has never missed a runway through all the centuries of fearful fog." - From the book "Finding God's Will" ~ Gregg Matte"

Everywhere I looked I was seeing God saying, "Rebekah - Stop. Being. Full. Of. Fear. Stop it." 

So I went to lunch and decided to look up the word "fear" in my concordance and read some Scripture that had to do with fear. I passed through the "do not fear's" in Deuteronomy and I saw something in Psalm 27. Now, I have to tell you, I think Psalm 27 may be my favorite Psalm. I mentioned verses 13 and 14 back in this post. And...it's just some goodness. 


You know how some Bible's have a little heading over chapters in the text? Well, mine does. For Psalm 27? 

"An Exuberant Declaration of Faith"

Yessirree. David was saying, I will have faith. I will not fear. Because God is faithful. 

Psalm 27 

 ¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation;
         Whom shall I fear?
         The LORD is the strength of my life;
         Of whom shall I be afraid?
 ² When the wicked came against me
         To eat up my flesh,
         My enemies and foes,
         They stumbled and fell.
 ³ Though an army may encamp against me,
         My heart shall not fear;
         Though war may rise against me,
         In this I will be confident.
        
 ⁴ One thing I have desired of the LORD,
         That will I seek:
         That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
         All the days of my life,
         To behold the beauty of the LORD,
         And to inquire in His temple.
 ⁵ For in the time of trouble
         He shall hide me in His pavilion;
         In the secret place of His tabernacle
         He shall hide me;
         He shall set me high upon a rock.
        
 ⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
         Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
         I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
        
 ⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
         Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
 ⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,”
         My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
 ⁹ Do not hide Your face from me;
         Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
         You have been my help;
         Do not leave me nor forsake me,
         O God of my salvation.
 ¹⁰ When my father and my mother forsake me,
         Then the LORD will take care of me.
        
 ¹¹ Teach me Your way, O LORD,
         And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
 ¹² Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
         For false witnesses have risen against me,
         And such as breathe out violence.
 ¹³ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
         That I would see the goodness of the LORD
         In the land of the living.
          

¹⁴ Wait on the LORD;
         Be of good courage,
         And He shall strengthen your heart;
         Wait, I say, on the LORD!

I just think God is so cool how He hears our hearts cry to Him and He wants to answer us. He put the thoughts in those people's heads this morning to post that on their Facebook. He knew that I would be overcome with fear for a little while. He knew that I check Facebook way too often and would see their status updates. He knew all. these. things. And if He knows all these things, why do I doubt that He knows what will happen on May 9th. My needs then?  

I am a silly frail girl and He is a not silly strong God. 

I just wanted to remind you of that today.