New Life New Creation

Spring is my favorite time of the year. Spring is full of new life in bloom. The flowers, the buds on the trees, the grass is turning green, and my husband has already mowed the lawn. I love the beauty that God creates in the Spring time. It seems that with each new day I see new life growing. A new creation in nature.

But nature and Spring are not the only areas where new life and new creations happen! In fact, God makes each of us A New Creation when we accept Jesus into our hearts, and proclaim our faith to Him! 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; 

the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17

This is Easter weekend, and this is the one Easter that I will NEVER forget! My son, Michael, has made the choice to accept Jesus into his heart, and to be baptized! My son is a New Creation! He was baptized on Saturday, March 26, 2016, and I can tell you that it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. My heart was overflowing with gratefulness and thankfulness to God, it still is! I don't think I have stopped smiling yet! God is so good! The other awesome thing, is that my son's church moved into a new building, and Saturday night was the very first service, so he was the very first person baptized in their new church. 

This is my son before the service (the old) with his daughter, my beautiful granddaughter, Allie!

This is my son preparing to become New!

This is my son as a NEW CREATION! 

My husband and I have 5 grown children between us, and we have prayed together for several years to see the day that each one of them would make the choice to become new. My daughter made the choice last year, which was another beautiful day, and she has such a dedicated heart for God! 

I am sure that you feel my joy, my excitement, my gratefulness, and my thankfulness to God, if you are a mother that has seen her children make this beautiful choice! Now, we will continue to pray for the remaining 3 with fervent prayers. We have full faith and trust, that they too, will become New Creations one day soon!

Linking up with Karen at Tuesday at Ten The word of the week is NEW!

Wait

Wait!
So many times that is not the word I want to hear, but so many times I know that is what I must do. I have no choice when it is something out of my control. I have to wait in the lobby at a Dr's. appointment, I have to wait to be seated and served in a restaurant, I have to wait in line at Wal-Mart, (this seems like a never ending line, and the wait is forever!) I have to wait until June to meet granddaughter number 7, and I have to wait on God to answer some of my prayers.

I waited for 12 years on one specific prayer. When it all began I wasn't a christian, but still, I prayed! I didn't know God, but I knew He existed, and I knew enough to know that He was my only hope! I prayed faithfully day after day. About 2 years went by with my prayer being un-answered, and I wasn't even sure if I was praying right, or if God really heard me.

Once I gave my life to Jesus, my prayers became so much more. I prayed with all my heart and soul, I prayed fervently. I prayed, and I received peace. I knew that God heard me, He was telling me to wait. I was at peace with waiting, I knew without a doubt in my mind that God would answer one day, and He did! He not only answered, He answered me and blessed me beyond my wildest dreams! God took those broken pieces of my life and patched them into something beautiful!

Today, I pray for our children, grandchildren, family members and friends who do not know the Lord. My heart is burdened with sadness for these people. How long will they wait?  I have full trust, faith, and hope in God, and I know that one day we will see them all come to accept Jesus into their hearts. But until then, I must continue to pray daily, show them the love of Jesus, and wait quietly! 

Linking up with Karen at Tuesday at Ten The word this week is WAIT! 

Surprise

The other day as I prayed, I told God that I was sorry for being surprised because He answered a prayer.

I was thinking that morning about my son, and how proud he makes me. I was thinking about how far he has come in the past year. He started going to church on a regular basis a few months ago, and little by little, I have seen amazing changes in him. I was thinking about how surprised I was when he texted me the day before, and told me that he is being baptized next week! Oh the joy my heart felt when I read that text! But then I started feeling guilty for being surprised. I should not have been surprised because I have been praying for each one of our children to come to know the Lord for several years now, and I know that God is capable of doing all things. He works in people's lives and in their hearts every day! He has answered so many of my prayers, so why should I be surprised?

He never ceases to amaze me, but, I should NEVER be surprised by God's goodness and answered prayers! Answered prayers from God should not come as a surprise. God's blessings and His answered prayers should be embraced, and looked at as just what they are, God's blessings and answered prayers. I have experienced so many awesome things that I know are directly from God, and I don't always take the time to acknowledge them right away, or even realize that He has just answered a prayer! No matter how big or small it might be, there should never be a reaction of surprise.

So from now on, when those God things happen, I will just smile, look up, and say, "I know that was You, God, You never cease to amaze me, and this is no surprise! Thank You Father, for Your answered prayers!"

Linking up with Kate Motaung at Five Minute Friday, where you write for 5 minutes on the prompt of the week. This weeks prompt is SURPRISE. 

Choice

We make so many choices every day. From the moment we open our eyes to the moment we go to sleep, almost everything we do requires a choice. I choose to get out of bed each morning, I choose to go to the coffee pot, I choose to sit at my kitchen nook to read my Bible, daily devotions, and pray. I choose to get ready and go to work each day, and I make thousands of choices while I am there in an 8 hour period.

My pastor done a series on choices back in January of this year. He stated in our sermon notes that: There is great power in one choice. Every choice we make has a consequence, good or bad. One choice leads to another choice, and choices have a cumulative effect. He is so right!

The best choice I have ever made was to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior! You see, I was not raised in a christian home, nor did I lead a christian life until about 11 years ago. The choices I made before becoming a christian were usually not the best, and I continually had this feeling that something was missing from my life.

When I was 37 years old, I made a choice to divorce my husband. My kids were all grown, and I thought the single life would have all the answers. Once becoming single, I made one bad choice after another. My life was spiraling out of control very, very fast! I made a choice to move in with a man who ended up being extremely abusive, and it led me to a shelter for abused women. What I didn't know during this time, was that God was working in my life. He was orchestrating  a plan for my future with Him. When I got out of the shelter, I moved in with my brother. I was searching for something, but I didn't know what it was. My brother had a friend at work that he asked me to "talk" to. He said his friend was a christian, and it might do me good to "talk" to this man. I made the choice to talk to the man who eventually became my husband! Once we met, it was like we had known each other all of our lives. We connected in a way that was almost unheard of. I had no desire to date, nor did he, as he was newly divorced as well. But, God had different plans for us. We talked on the phone every day for about 2 weeks, and finally he asked me out for a date. I made the choice to say yes. I started going to church with him immediately, and was overwhelmed by the love that I felt from the people in this church. People that I had never met before. This was all so new to me. I was a little bit hesitant to their kindness at first, but quickly grew to love them back. I was experiencing the love of Jesus, and I could feel myself changing on the inside. I was happy! I felt like God had placed his holy hands on my weary shoulders, and gave me comfort and peace that only He can provide.  I can't really tell you the exact day that I was saved like some people can, but I knew with each passing day, that Jesus was working in my heart, and the He was the choice that I needed to make! 

I am so grateful, and I want the whole world to know, that I made the right choice! I choose Jesus!


Linking up with Karen at Tuesday at Ten

I AM

I am Rachelle Craig! I am married to an amazing man who loves God with all of his heart! I am a daughter to my earthly parents, (my beautiful momma is still walking this earth, but my daddy went to be with God when I was just 15.) But even more than that, I am a daughter to my Father in Heaven! I am a mom! I am a NaNa! I am a sister to 4 siblings, 3 of whom are still walking this earth, and 1 who is rejoicing in the arms of Jesus! I am also a sister in Christ to my church family, and to many beautiful women who God has blessed me with in online communities! I am a friend! I am a property manager by profession, and I am an employee to my boss! I am friendly, outgoing, energetic, organized, a tad bit OCD, (well maybe mediocre OCD), and I am able to love with my whole heart!

I am all of the things I mentioned above, but more than all of those things, I am so grateful that I am a daughter of God! Without Him, I would be none of the above, because without Him, I AM NOTHING! I have lived life on both sides of the fence, and I am so beyond thankful that He waited for me, and He pursued me, and He carried me, even when I didn't know He was with me! He is the Great I AM! 

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 

'I AM has sent me to you.'" - Exodus 3:14 (NIV)

You see, when we say something about ourselves beginning with I am, we must follow up with what we are. "I am a mom, I am a sister, I am a daughter of God, etc...." But God? God alone can say "I AM" without saying anything more, because God IS. 

The bottom line here is, I am so thankful that God gave me grace, He opened His arms and invited me into a beautiful relationship with Him. He loves me! No! Matter! What! And I am His daughter! He is the Great I AM! 

Linking up with Karen at Tuesday at Ten