Life.
Posted in Brittany Cooper, Music, Videos with tags Brittany Cooper, can i live, hope, life, love, nick cannon, pro-life, redemption, restoration, tatyana ali, Unmuted on January 26, 2010 by unmutedi am second.
Posted in Brittany Cooper, Organizations, Videos with tags beauty, controlling, eating disorder, expectations, Faith, hope, I am second, love, pageant, redemption, restoration, Unmuted on January 18, 2010 by unmutedRacham Ministries
Posted in Missions, Organizations, Submissions with tags expectation, Faith, Gabi DIckinson, hope, Missions, Racham Ministries, Uganda on January 18, 2010 by unmuted**Editor’s Note: It is with great excitement and a sense of anticipation that I introduce you to a dear friend with a life changing ministry. Gabi and I have known each other for just over a year now and I can truly say she has a warrior’s heart for the people and the children of Uganda. I am more than thrilled to support this ministry and am looking forward to seeing the lives it touches this year. Please join me in prayer for the growth and affect of Racham
Hello & welcome!
I don’t know how you found your eyes on this page. Perhaps you clicked here as a faithful friend, following a link that appeared from my fingers into your inbox. Perhaps you were searching for ministries reaching out to children in Uganda. Perhaps you, yourself, have no idea how you came to be reading these words. Please know that however you came to be here, you are most welcome. I’m really glad to have you around 
I thought I’d begin by introducing myself. I am by no means central to this story, but as the one telling the story, I felt a small introduction would be beneficial to the reader. I’m Gabi and my every heartbeat is for them. They being little treasures with a chocolate pigment running through their skin. They who have not yet felt the arms of their Perfect Father around them, and as a result live under the false title of ”orphan”. Currently living in England. Currently aching to be beside them in red soil.
As this is to be one post of many, I will not share every chapter of my story. Instead I will simply say that He has called me to be a forerunner carrying the fire of His love into a scorched land. In His words, I am to be arms to the ones this world calls”unlovelies”. I have known the song I am to sing for around a decade. The name He crowns me with is” Mama Gabi”. Recently He explained to me that the reason I have this love trickling through my veins, is because He intends for me to spend my love on the lives of His treasures.
I will be pioneering a ministry that will bear the name ”Racham Ministries”. ”Racham”is the Hebrew word for a deep compassion that ebbs and flows from a Mother for their baby while they are still in foetal form. ‘Racham” is defined by Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary as compassion; by extension, it is the womb (as cherishing the foetus); by implication, it is a maiden. Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon defines racham as: to love, to love deeply, to have mercy, to be compassionate, to have tender affection, to have compassion. It is from rechem, which is defined by the New American Standard Dictionary as: the womb.
During 20010, Racham Ministries will be opening its doors in Uganda. Abba has begun to show me the paths that the children may dance through to reach my doors. My eyes have never been this wide before. I would love to have you with me as I make this journey into the life He dreamed up for me. My heart is to carry a love so un-reasonable that it questions everything you have ever known. I would be delighted if you make the decision to draw alongside me in this work I am called to, in any capacity. That may mean supporting the ministry in prayer, financially, or simply reading and commenting on this blog with encouragement from time to time. We are all His friends and nothing is too much to expect of Him.
As I close, I leave you with an open invitation to get in touch and ask me any questions about Racham or the work that we will be doing. Our email is: rachamministries@gmail.com, and I would love to hear from anyone who is interested in any aspect of the ministry.
With much love, and a very expectant heart!
Gabi
Note: The Racham blog is only able to be read by invite only, however if you would like to read it, please send an email to rachamministries@gmail.com with the subject”blog invite” and I’ll send you an invitation
HOT OFF THE PRESS!!
Posted in Events, Identity, Meagan Newell, Organizations, Testimonies, Videos with tags book, Cinderella, eating disorder, get over yourself, girls ministry, hope, inspirational, Jennifer Beckham, life, Meagan Newell, princess, Snow White, struggle, truth, Unmuted, victory on October 29, 2009 by unmuted
My lovely girls,
I am SO excited to bring you some great news about a book that will literally change your LIFE! My dear friend, Jennifer Beckham, has released her new book “Get Over Yourself” today on an exclusive site! Before we jump into the book, let me give you some info on the author.
I met Jen around 3 years ago at one of the True Daughters camps. She was brought in to speak and I can honestly say I was changed the minute I heard her story. All her life, Jen dreamed of being a princess. When it was time to pick a career, her dream lead her to Disneyworld where she performed as multiple characters including Snow White and the coveted Cinderella. Day after day she would live her life as a princess but inside she was dangerously insecure. Her obsession with weight and beauty led her to a life of eating disorders and self destruction. Her struggle became her greatest victory, however, and she now has gone on to do amazing things for the Lord. I’ve seen her in action and her gift for presenting the Word is like none other. She always speaks with such a grace and conviction.
The book “Get Over Yourself” is such an amazing read. I had the honor of previewing it over the past few months and I can tell you it has touched my heart in so many ways. “Get Over Yourself” provides you with step by step “Princess Principles” to help you discover your true worth in God’s eyes. I encourage you all to order your copy and copies for your friends today! Also, Jen has been so gracious in providing select discount codes for the site, so type in the code “FRIENDS” and you’ll receive 20% off today! Go on! Pick it up at www.getoveryourselfnow.com! And begin getting over YOURSELF today!
love,
Megs
He Loves Us
Posted in Britney Rowland, Identity with tags Britney Rowland, comfort, deliverance, hope, love, love never fails, mistakes, pain, peace, praise, purified, Refiner's Fire, struggles, Unmuted, Vision on October 23, 2009 by unmuted
{Photo courtesy of Flickr}
I feel as though I am being purified by the flames lately. There is a scripture, when after I had read it one time, was plastered to my heart and mind. It says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of all of them!” Hallelujah! Seriously… Hallelujah! Sometimes I have this idea of what the Lord’s deliverance should look like, but when I throw down the box that I attempt to fit God into, I am able to just praise Him for this promises! I am able to rest in this amazing Truth despite my circumstances. Despite my pain, despite the possibility of surgery tomorrow, despite my fear, I am overwhelmed by the fact that God loves me! I’m overwhelmed that He would be concerned for me, that He would intervene in my life and my circumstances, and that He would deliver me out of all these afflictions! My God is good. I may not understand what or why I am going through this. I may not understand why I don’t seem to get healed every time I pray yet. I may not understand the timing of things or why I have to endure pain. But above all that… above all those things that try to torment and confuse me, I know that my God loves me. He loves me so much that He paid the greatest price to be able to share this love with me. He wanted me to know His love so bad that He sent Jesus to die for me. That just blows me away.
I find myself just sitting here on the couch listening to prophetic worship, longing to know more about my God who loves me so much. And my circumstances seem so small when I am in the Lord’s presence. Sometimes it is so hard to get to this place. Our emotions don’t want to do anything. They don’t want to praise God, they don’t want to sit in the presence of God, they don’t want to press into God, they don’t want to cry out for them. Sometimes our emotions are so grieved that they convince us that God couldn’t be in this situation or anywhere near us for that matter. But that is such a lie. God is here. God is here now. He is here in your circumstance. He is here in your pain. He sees the depth of your pain. He sees the secrets, the masks, and the turmoil inside of you. He isn’t intimidated by your struggles or your pain. Don’t you know that our God is greater than those things. His love is greater than those things. His love and blood covers all of it. We cannot out-do God by our mistakes. His love will always out-do us by delivering us and redeeming us. But will we give Him the chance to? Will be allow Him into those places of darkness and shame. Will be sit in His presence long enough to hear that we were wrong… that this God of love is not going to say how disappointed He is in us or cast us away… but wrap His arms around us and celebrate our return. Oh His love for us is so big. It is so great! Wont you just run to His arms? Wont you allow Him to love you and bring peace and comfort today?
Don’t let waiting discourage you! Don’t let the things that you see around you or even the things you don’t see but have been begging God for, discourage you. He hears the desperate cries of our hearts. His thoughts and understanding and scope of our lives is so much bigger than ours. He knows… He knows… His Word says, “For I KNOW the plans I have for you…” We may not know all of those plans or we may have invested into plans that weren’t ours, but do not be discouraged! Do not give up! Stand up! Rise up on the inside! For God knows the plans He has for you and there is no plan B for your life. The Lord and His plans and His purposes are worth waiting for. The Word says, “Though the vision may terry, it will come to pass…” Though the vision, the plans, though our deepest longings and desires may terry, though they may take longer than we want or think we can handle, do not be discouraged for at their appointed time, they will happen. As children of God we must stand on our Fathers goodness and love. He knows us! He sees us! He hears us! His love for us is so great! He has come so that we might know and experience this love in abundance! But will we not see it? Will we miss it because it isn’t how we expected it to look or feel like? We cannot miss this love that is so great. We must let it consume us from the inside out. Surely it will never fail us…. Surely it will never fail us.
Smart Little Girl
Posted in Britney Rowland, Identity, Videos with tags body image, Britney Rowland, eating disorders, Identity, self image, truth, Unmuted on October 22, 2009 by unmuted
Healing Decree
Posted in Britney Rowland with tags blessings, Britney Rowland, healing, hope, hurting, illness, life, restoration, sickness, Unmuted on October 21, 2009 by unmuted
{Photo courtesy of Flickr}
Dear fellow Unmuted family, I have been getting reports of sickness and mysterious illnesses from people, and know how discouraging this stuff can be. So I wanted everyone to know that we are fighting as well. If you have a request, feel free to leave it as a comment. Here is a decree, straight from God’s Word, specifically for healing. Blessings!
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, therefore as a child of God, I decree that I am the healed of the Lord! The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in me, giving life to my mortal body! I decree that the life of Jesus Christ manifest in my body today! God I praise your name and ask that your will would be done here on earth as it is in heaven, and I know that my inheritance as your child is healing, forgiveness, and righteousness. So I praise you in advance for the healing that is taking place in my body. Because I believe, hope, and wait on the Lord my strength shall be restored, I will walk and not faint, and I will run and not grow weary. Though the afflictions of the righteous are many, the Lord promises to deliver me out of all of them! Thank you that your word says that you will restore my health and heal all of my wounds. I choose to meditate, decree, believe, and receive your words for myself (my family, children, friends). I stand in agreement with my Heavenly Father, and know that I will see this healing manifest. God, thank you for your overwhelming love for me, that You would send Your Son to pay the price for my healing, and so that I could live in perfect relationship with you, and receive the abundant life that you have for me. I bless your name and will not forget any of your benefits! You have forgiven all of my iniquities, and You heal all of my diseases. I pray and speak Truth in faith and I know I will see the Lord answer my prayers and heal my body. I decree that no weapon formed against me shall prosper, so I raise my shield of faith the quench these fiery arrows of sickness and pain! God, thank you for your hand of protection over my life and for your faithfulness. I love you!
Our Inheritance
Posted in Identity, Submissions with tags abortion, Ali Davis, blessings, condemnation, cutting, forgiveness, future, Graham Cooke, hope, hurt, inheritance, prostitution, self harm, unconditional love on October 20, 2009 by unmutedI went on a Ladies Retreat with about 30 women from my church last month, and we were shown a Youtube video that touched my heart in a way that I’ve never been touched before. I often get in a “funk” where I believe I’ve done too much for God to love me unconditionally; I’ve committed too many sins, my sins are too bad, I’m beyond God’s love, I don’t deserve that kind of love, etc. This video, done by Graham Cooke, made me cry. And I still sob when I watch it, almost a month later. It makes me realize that NOTHING in my past (not the prostitution, not the abortion, not the cutting or the eating disorder or the sleeping around with hundreds of men) is beyond God’s grace and forgiveness. Once I handed all of that over to God and repented, He cast it into the Sea of Forgetfulness, and He remembers it no longer. The only one who remembers it and brings it up is ME and THE ENEMY OF MY SOUL, and satan is out to destroy me. I want to live. So why would I want to put myself in the same company as the one who wants to desperately destroy me? In order for me to live, and obtain the inheritance that God has for me, I MUST stop bringing up the things in my past that are covered under the Blood of Jesus. I MUST stop condemning myself. God no longer condemns me, and He expects the same from me.
{Submitted by Ali Davis}
Romans 7:15
Posted in Identity, Submissions on October 19, 2009 by unmuted
{Photo courtesy of Flickr}
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, I do.”
Romans 7:15
If you admit to doing the exact thing as Paul is explaining please stand up… I think I beat you all, I stood up the fastest because this scripture describes me perfectly right now. Sometimes I wish it was never written in the Bible so that I didn’t have to admit to it. HA! And the more I read it, the more I come up with two really convincing conclusions:
#1 – Paul was prophesying this over me
-or-
#2 – Paul also was a human being, who also struggled with the hardest fight of all, the fight within himself.
I would like to believe the second!
I have very recently walked into a brand new adventure with God. This adventure is dangerous, and God was so generous to warn me, but I truly had no idea! “God I will do whatever you say! I just want to be closer to you, I want to be more like you! Tear me apart God, PLEASE!”
I had no idea that what has happened with me both internally and externally was going to happen. Two days in and I have lost friends and have entered one of the toughest mental battles I have ever had…just to days! The torment is overwhelming, the pain is unbearable, the emotional buildup and suppression is suffocating and I find myself right in the middle of Paul’s deepest cry.
Why do I act this way? Why do I take so long to choose, especially when I know what I need to do? Why does my heart scream for my identity spoken by God, but my mind does not even want to walk through the black cave that is placed before me to get there? Why even when I know Jesus has my hand, do I still want to turn and run back to where I came thinking that somehow it has got to be better than this? My heart goes forward with my Father, but my mind thinks He has lost His mind! The fight to keep my heart and my mind on the same page is exhausting, and I often find myself doing what I hate even though I want to only do what I want, which is God’s desires for my life. But so often, I act out of emotion, and I back out or I stop, but how do I know?
Something I have learned and something I have cried out to God for the past two years is, “No matter how much I cry or pitch a fit, hear my heart God and please go with that. Take me with you Father, no matter what!” God knows the desire of my heart, and thank Him that’s what He listens to.
Paul is an inspiration! He was bold enough to tell everyone who reads the bible that he is a screw up and that he often does what he hates. But look at Paul, look at who he was. He was one of the most radical Jesus freaks on the face of the planet! He changed the world as it was known at that time. He has influenced generations and has sent the fire of the Holy Spirit into hearts even hundreds of years later.
But Paul?…are you kidding? Look at what he said! He cannot even do what his heart wants but instead does what he hates! How could he be chosen? Because God looks at the position of our hearts, not our mind’s temper tantrums. And thank God, for it is because of that reason that I too am chosen, that you are chosen, that all of God’s children are chosen! So although this verse describes how I am feeling and what many of us feel all the time, it is not who I am, or who you are.
My heart is pure! I thank God that He will take me through this season and not only refuse to stop at the desires of my mind, but that He loves me enough to comfort my mind and my emotions to eventually bring them into line with my heart and His Word. I can rest in the fact that God will not leave my emotions to torment me for the rest of my life, but that He will deliver me from them and that I do not find shame in the writing of Paul and the flaw that he and I share.
So now I say, bring it on black cave because you will not defeat me! If Jesus is going in there, then so am I! My father has my hand and fear can not overcome me. Shame will not dwell in me, because God knows the desires of my heart and He is the one who has formed it and makes it golden. He will protect me and He knows what He is doing. I trust in my Father and I trust in where He is leading me.
Despite the delay in my choices, I will go! Despite the child who just got told “no”, screaming and rolling on the floor in the middle of the candy store that so often appears in my mind, I will go! Despite the impossible obstacle course that I can see ahead, I will go!
Thank you Jesus for the endurance that is deep within us all. Thank you for the grace to run this race and for the pace that you have set for us to run it. Thank you for You, the Trinity, in which God walks behind me so that I will not run back, for the Holy Spirit who goes just ahead to lead the way, and for Jesus who is holding my hand to love me and walk me through the whole journey, all the way to the end!
{Submitted by Lauren Edwards}
I’ll Play If I Want!
Posted in Britney Rowland, Identity with tags appearance, Britney Rowland, God's plan, Guatemala, hierarchy, importance, judged, life, love, ministry, obligations, soccer, Unmuted, values on October 13, 2009 by unmuted
{Photo courtesy of Flickr}
Do you ever feel judged? Because I have to admit, that is how I am currently feeling. I am in the weirdest season of my life thus far. Since graduating from Mercy, I have developed almost this hierarchy of values. I think it is pretty typical for Christians to do. We place value on the things that feel the most “rewarding.” Things like serving at church, being a greeter, a youth leader, buying a random person a meal, or anything regarding “doing for God” makes it at the top of our hierarchy of value. (Pardon my frustration) So… those things are great, and important, but there is no “hierarchy of value.” This summer, while I was in Guatemala, my life took a radical radical radical turn. I had some deep intimate time with the Lord and realized that I can stop working at all those hierarchies; I can stop striving at the appearance of ministry, and can stop listening to all those religious critics around me. The greatest thing about me is that I am a child of God. My greatest “ministry” is that of being! And value envelopes everything I have the privilege of being a part of. Being a youth leader is no more important that honoring God in my classes at school. Because God never changes and who I am never changes.
So this season, is so very different than any that I’ve had. Usually I am in every leadership meeting, at church five times a week, and discipling youth every free moment I have. I placed everything behind ministry when I lived by this hierarchy. Then I go to Guatemala and it messes me up hard core. And God tells me to go back to school, play soccer, and to invest in my family. So I come home, and this girl that everyone knew, is gone. Do I love youth ministry and being a youth leader, absolutely! The difference now, is that I see that the things that I am involved in are equally as important as those things I used to do. The hierarchy is gone and value is seeping into every moment of my life. The hardest part about these new eyes, is that they come with judgment and letting other people down.
For the last two years people have treated my attempts to play soccer as blatantly selfish, explaining to me that it would be a waste of time, and God’s plans for me are so much bigger. And so over and over again, I’d wrestle with it, not wanting to waste one moment of my life on something selfish or that was a waste of time. But as I step out onto the field with my teammates daily, many of whom live very destructive lifestyles, I am filled with the overwhelming love of Christ for them. Seriously, why wouldn’t God send a radical believer to love them, inspire them, and as a testimony of His love and faithfulness??? And really, this isn’t about soccer… but about being confident in whatever season the Lord has you in. If He has you plugged heavily into church and leadership in this season, then you value that. But if where God has you is your job and your family, know that it is no less valuable in God’s eyes, than if you were preaching from some stage. God desires that none would perish… and not everyone is going to know and meet God’s love through a church service. Most will experience the love of God through a child of His just being themselves in their everyday lives.
In this season so far, I have seemed to let many religious people down. I am unable to attend all the meetings, the events, and all the leadership trainings. People question my “priorities” like my hierarchy is messed up. But truth is, I don’t live by one anymore. I don’t have a list of priorities because Christ is the center of everything I do, and He lives in me, and He defines who I am, making every piece of my life ministry, and every ounce of my life full of value. And if you saw my teammates eyes light up when they see their lockers decorated, filled with loving and encouraging statements, you’d see what I mean. And if you saw my family all reading their bibles, my dad praying over my car, and my mom talking about what she learned at her bible study, you’d again see what I mean. Don’t limit God’s love. Don’t limit His value. He is above our hierarchy and any religious rules we try and create.
