Following the Light

100 Words On... James 1:1-4

2011-04-02T06:52:00.001-07:00

James 1:1-4 talks about the fact that we should find joy in trials. This may seem like a radical concept, considering a trial is never something fun.

The truth is that without trials and tribulation in our lives we would not be able to grow. We must become broken in order for Him to “fill in the cracks” with Himself.

I recently asked my mother why I needed to be broken, “I was just fine the way I was…” but that is just it…God does not want, “just fine” for us, He wants us to be the very best that we can be. We will never make it to that completed work without His polishing along the way.

Within the Master’s Eyes: A Beauty and the Beast poem

2009-12-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

Within the Master’s Eyes: A Beauty and the Beast poem

The rose was stolen, broken and torn
But it is for my life that they mourn

The Beast in anger did take freedom fair
Life in his castle I shall have to bear

For father’s sake I gave all that I had
I would give it again and still be glad

Life and death are meaningless in this place
A cursed home and wretched soul fallen from grace

Kindness and joy, to my surprise
I find within the master’s eyes

Hope that glimmers through the rain
I see an end to this forsaken pain

A Beast, truly he may be
But friend and companian I also see

The hours do move at a pleasant pace
I sit in a gown made of satin and lace

He bids good-night with words of life
In sadness I must refuse to be his wife

Time passes on, he asks me to stay
No longer a prisoner, with no debt to pay

I promised I would but asked one request
That I should go home, to put my father’s mind at rest

Freedom he gave me but with sadness of voice
He pleaded I not forget him when making my choice

I returned home, my family did give a feast
My mind started to wander and I forgot the poor Beast

Dreams of a garden filled up my mind
A fallen creature in the roses I would find

Finally in worry I ran through the dark
Fearful of what I would find on that mark

There he lay, the Beast, near death
I prayed he not die, that I might hear his breath

I whispered to his lifless form
That he should live through this storm

“Do not leave me,” I whispered to the heavens above
“For it is you that I love”

Magic rained down, like new fallen snow
The face of my Beast, bright in the glow

In moments my Beast was gone without a trace
A handsome young man stood in his place

In fear and sorrow I turned away
“Beauty it is me,” the prince, he did say

With wonder I looked again at his face
And saw the eyes of my friend, full of grace

I kissed him without a fear in the least
Knowing that he was truly my Beast

And so ends my tale with joy and laughter
For we lived happily ever after

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2007-12-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
I pray that this email finds you well! It's time once again for my yearly update. So here goes...

Lets see the year began in Dallas this year ( I seem to start all my years in TX for some reason! LOL!) I went to the CCC Dallas Winter Conference in January. I was there for a week. I stayed in a beautiful hotel. It was one of the hardest weeks of my life. I was stretched to the very brink, I was lonely and I felt beaten. In some ways it was one of the worst weeks of my life but in other ways it was one of the best. I learned and grew and became better and closer to God.

I spent the next few months helping out around the house. I did the shopping, helped with cooking and helped drive my brothers around. I spent those months working on who I will be later in life, a mother. I took drawing and learned a lot. I was going to take interior design in Feb. but the class was canceled. So I just worked harder on getting MRS (LOL).

May, I got a job at a clothing store, Christopher and Banks in Sooner mall, where I still work. You should come by and see me! I love getting visitors! It was also in May that my friend, Dotty and I started a writer's group called Writer's Block. I love it and can not wait for it to get going again after our Christmas break.

June and July, were hard months. I was dealing with the new job and my new co-workers. Then my dear friend's father passed away after a long battle with cancer. I was heartbroken for my friend and I felt helpless to even be there for her because she was living in Road Island at the time.

August.. Is a blank...

September, Classes started again. I took sign language, drawing and writing at Moore-Norman. I enjoyed everything pretty well. It was in September that I found out my other friend's Mother had breast cancer. My "sometimes" mommy, as I like to call her, had to have surgery and she has been going through chemo but thank the Lord, so far all the cancer is gone and she is almost done with the chemo. Then we had a scare with my dad. He had a pain in his side for over a year and when he went to get it checked out they found a spot on his lung. We were trying not to worry until it was tested. Thank the Lord about 3 weeks later we found out it was not cancer, instead it was phenomena.

October, I had strep (EEWW) and we went to Galveston, TX.... It was probably the best trip I have ever had! It was really good for my family to be together after that summer! LOL!

November, I went to a writing conference and probably learned more in those 2 days then I did the whole semester at Moore-Norman. It was really a great time.

December, what can I say..... It has been crazy! My sister and her family stayed with us for about a week and a half then my sister had a baby boy, on the 18th (Jesse Wade Eastin). My mom left with them to help with the baby. I've been working like crazy ( don't work at the mall around Christmas) and trying to keep up with the house. We had Christmas eve at my grandma's house ( it was great!) and we went straight from there to my other grandma's lake house at Texoma. We spent the night there and had Christmas dinner. We still haven't had our own Christmas, we are waiting for my mom to get home. So our Christmas will be on January 13th.

As for next year... Well I'm not sure.. I know I'll be working at the funeral home that my grandparents own. I'll be working there at night to answer the phone and greet people. I'll be going on a few trips to visit my other grandparents and my aunt and uncle. Then the plan is to stay with my sister for a few months this summer.
I plan on diving into writing and see how I can do on my own (after decidint that the class i was taking isn't for me. And I plan on going to a Christian writing conference in February.

This was some year... Filled with the bad and the good. The truth is it was a perfect year. Everything that happened was in God's hands. If we could only remember that then we could find the peace the bible talks about.
"It is well with my soul".....

Hope you have had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope you are blessed and that you can see the perfection God brings to each day. You are loved! By me and God!

Love,
Rebekah

I'll see ya when I see ya!

2007-10-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hey People,
I am going on the road again! Yay! My family and I are heading for Galveston, TX. And some of you might be thinking "What's in Galveston?" And the answer to that question is very simple THE OCEAN! YAY!!!!! Galveston is an island off of Texas in the gulf. I can not wait to get there! We leave tomorrow bright and early and we plan on getting back Friday.
We went to Galveston once before when I was 12 and that trip is still one of my very favorites. So anyway I should have lots of pictures to show you and many stories to tell when I get back.
Until then,
God Bless and LOTs of luv,
Bekah

Those Crazy Dayz of Summer

2007-07-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

Hey Computer People,

Things here are going pretty great. My job has really been wonderful. I'm working with some really mice ladies, the work isn't very hard and it's not stressful at all. Plus I really do like selling the clothes.

I went to a summer bible study with my church, I really enjoyed it. I'm sad that it's already over!!

The writer's group if in full swing! We have had 3 meetings this summer and I'm loving it! I have been learning so much. It's wonderful to see my characters through other people's eyes. We have 6 members now and will probably be adding another when Lorry Gail moves here.

As for the fall, I am taking drawing, professional writing and sign language. I am really excited about them all!

I'll TTYL!

God Bless,
Rebekah

Writing and Working...Both start with a W!

2007-05-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

My life has been a little crazy lately. Today I have my very first "Writer's Block" meeting. It is a writer's group formed by my friend, Dotty, and I. I am really excited about it... I'm really looking forward to seeing what people think of my stuff.

Now I guess it's time for the best news of all........Drum roll please............ I got a job!!! YAY!!!
I am now working at Christopher and Banks at the Sooner Mall! I've worked there 1 whole week and I am really liking it. My co-workers are really nice, the work is very easy and fun. I'm really thankful that I got this job! I want to thank those of you that were praying for me and I ask that you continue to pray, as I go through these first few weeks of adjustment. God is good and greatly to be praised.

And in the words of Superchick...
"Suddenly I am where I'm supposed to be..."

I luv you guys!

God Bless,
Rebekah

"If I get up, I might fall back down again...."

2007-05-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Hey People Out There,

It's just me again... You might have noticed the tag line of this post... Well it's the words to a SuperChick song, the full chorus is,
"If I get up I might fall back down again, So let's get up come on...
If I get up I might fall back down again, But we get up anyway...
If I get up I might fall back down again, So let's get up come on...
And We'll just jump and see even if it's the fortieth time... We'll just jump and see if we can fly..."

See last year I got a job at IHOP and it didn't turn out so well... I ended up having to quit because I couldn't handle the stress ( or the fact that they didn't let me have lunch) and it was taking a big tole on my health. I felt really horrible about it... Because of the circumstances I wasn't even able to give 2 weeks notice. I felt like I had failed. Like I was being a bad witness, but most of all I felt like the people around me (mostly my family) wouldn't be proud of me. ( I guess you should know that I have a hard time feeling that my grandparents are proud of me... Or that they even like me being around all that much.... But they had been really happy that I was getting a job. They had even lent me their car... Right after I quit they took the car back... It felt like they were trying to show that they were up set with me. )
Well anyway, the point of all this is that I am trying to get a job this year. I am trying to get one at a clothing store, I hope that it will be a better deal. But I am scared. I am scared to jump again... I'm afraid to fall and get hurt again... I'm afraid everyone (most of all I) will say "Look I told you she couldn't make it." But the words of SuperChick really fit here... "Failures are flyer's who've touched down, only they know what it's like to leave the ground." I failed and/or fell last year. But I learned and grew from it... And even though I am afraid, I have to try. If I don't jump I'll never fly. And one day I know I can make it. And in the words of SuperChick, one more time "Cuz if we never make it ever, than it'll be okay with me, let them say we're not big rock stars it's not what we're about.."

Luv ya and know that God loves you more. You are meant for great things.
-Rebekah

Home again!

2007-02-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

Hey!

I'm home!!! Yay!!!

I had a great time! We left early because my mom ended up being too sick to come with us. So we decided to come back and spend tomorrow with her. The concert went very well. We played our hearts out and got a great response. We met some great bands from Illinois and Missouri. I'm glad to be home though it was a long 12 hours (round trip). I'll talk to you all later!

Luv ya!

-Bekah

On the road again....

2007-02-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

Hey My Peeps!

Guess what? I'm going to Arkansas tomorrow! Yup I am heading on out again. But this time it's only for a couple of nights. My band New Creature has a gig up there! We are going to be playing in Hot Springs, AR. We are going to be playing at the Attic (yeah I've never heard of it either) it's a Christian venue. Be praying for a safe trip and that we can minister to the youth there. This will be our first concert out of state. So I am very excited!!

I'll see you guys later!

Luv ya's!

God Bless,
Rebekah

Hey I'm back!

2007-01-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

Hey!

I just got back from Dallas Winter Conference! I had a blast! I learned so much about God and myself! Also I made new friends! We (OU) played Texas A&M in a broom-ball game. I wasn't too horrible at it... Plus I never fell down! It was ssssoooo much fun! Oh and we tied with TX. I did have great time, but I'm glad to be home!

I really missed you guys!

Now I've just been trying to get things back to normal. With Christmas and then the conference, things haven't been normal in a long time. I'm not even sure I know what normal is anymore. I guess normal right now is cleaning out my closet and useing the internet way to much!

And if the weather ever clears up, I am looking forward to my interior decorating class and my cake decorating class ( that I am going to take with my mom)! And I'm still taking drawing lessons and other than that who knows? I am really excited about this year! I think it's going to be a good one! Praise God for he is good and greatly to be praised!

I luv ya all!!

God bless,
Rebekah

My Friends...Part 2

2006-11-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

Hey Peoples!
Sorry this has taken ssssoooo long! Please none of you feel bad that I took so long... In truth I thought I had all the time in the world to finish this because I had no idea ANYONE would even read it... LOL Oh well... Here you go! I love you ALL!

Shannon: Intelligent. Anyone who meets, Shannon, will see immediately that she's smart. Real smart. But she never flaunts her brains, she never makes you feel like you're dumb. In other words, she doesn't have a big head. Intelligence is such a gift! If you are smart you will go so far in life and I have no doubt that Shannon will go far. It's a wonderful thing to be a Christian and be scientifically minded. God created this world to be a scientific world and who better to show the beauty of God's science than Shannon.

Sara R: Nonconformist. Sara is probably the greatest nonconformist I know. Nonconformity is great. We are told to be in the world but not of it and Sara has that down. She's a good person to get to know if you need a course in being not of the world. She shines her light to all those around her, plus she's always a good friend to you whether you are a Christian or not.

Sara J: Sweet. Sara is just a big sweetie! She's a lovely girl and a joy to be around.

Kara: Mature. Kara has always been way to old for her years on earth. Even when she was a "little kid" and I was a teen, she fit right in. Maturity is sort of the same a wisdom. Those who have it will be greatly respected.

God Bless! And remember you are "fearfully and wonderfully made"

Love ya,
Rebekah

I'M GOING TO DALLAS!!!!!

2006-11-17T15:50:00.000-08:00

Hey!
Guess what! I am going to Winter conference (Campus Crusade for Christ's winter conference) with my church (Wildwood)! I'll be going to Dallas for 5 days (Jan. 2-7) and I'll be staying at the Hilton Hotel! The best news of all is I get to go for free! I got a scholarship!!! I was sssssooo excited when I found out! I can't believe I got one! When my college pastor sent the email saying there were 6 scholarships available, I figured I wouldn't get one (because I didn't see the email for 2 days after he sent it). I just prayed that everything would work out to God's will (but I also said how much I REALLY wanted to go) I am sssssooooo HAPPY! I am really looking forward to learning more about God and myself. Maybe making a few new friends and taking a trip.
Well ttyl!

God Bless,
Rebekah

On a really weird note, I just met a guy from Dallas... He goes to OU and he is pretty cute. ;D

My Friends... Part 1

2006-10-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hey People!
Some of you may know that I am taking a Christian Counseling/Encouragement class, at my church. Well as a sort of homework I am posting this list. I am wanting to do something that I have never done before... I have taken one thing from each of my friends that I admire about them. So look down the list find your name and I hope that you will feel encouraged.
(Note: If you don't find your name, don't worry! I am not finished with the list yet. Just check back later on and look for "My Friends Part 2")

Dotty (Dorathea) : Caring. Dotty is an extremely caring person. She is always looking out for others. For instance with my health, I can't even pop a mint with out her asking if my blood sugar is ok. She truly cares if others are well or safe or comfortable in a situation. Her motherly nature helps her take care of all those around her. God uses caring people to show that he loves and cares for us.

Caleb: Wise. Caleb has a lot of wisdom. Although most of the time I spend with him, we are just goofing around, I have heard him pray and he led a discussion group at church last week. Through these things I have seen great wisdom and understanding in him. Solomon said wisdom is worth more than gold or silver. God uses the wise to show His way.

Michelle: Friendship. Michelle is one of those people who has a million friends. Unlike most popular people, she really cares about each one of us. I really think that God can use her ability to make friends to spread his message and help others feel loved.

Thomas: Laughter. I don't know if I have ever met anyone who can make me laugh as much as Thomas can. Laughter is so good for the soul. Thomas makes others feel happy, but he also knows when to be serious. His gift is sort of in 2 parts, laughter and thoughtful words. Both are great tools to teach others.

Micheal: Respect. Micheal is one of the most respectful guys I know. Now being respectful might sound kind of dull but don't miss understand my meaning. I don't just mean that he respects his elders. I mean he has respect for people, their thoughts and ideas. Mike makes people feel important. And he does it in a way that he still voices his own opinions. God can really use this gift, because everyone can use a little respect now and then. Respecting others is sometimes very closely related to encouragement.

Faith: Honesty. Faith is a very honest and trust worthy person. I know for certain if I ever told her a secret that she would never reveal it. At the same time she is very honest with you when she thinks she has something you really need to hear. God can really speak through people like Faith, because she knows when it is the right time and the wrong time to speak.

Matthew: Passionate. Matt is a very passionate person. If he likes something or doesn't like something, he'll tell you (sometimes very dramatically). The cool thing about being passionate is he goes all into what ever it is he's passionate about. He keeps things loud and exciting and fun. Having passion is also a great thing in Matt's case because he is a Christian. His passion for Christ and even basic morels are apparent in almost every conversation you can have with him.

Natalie: Enthusiastic: Natalie is one of the most enthusiastic people I know. Having enthusiasm is a wonderful thing. If you are around someone who never acts like any of your idea's are exciting... You will most likely lose interest in them, but if you are around someone like Natalie everything becomes exciting. Most of the time great ideas are either made or broken by how others react to them. Nat's enthusiasm always builds those around her up.

Ok so... 2 things. 1 if I said anything about you that you don't think is true... Think about this... Maybe what I saw in each of you isn't your most prominent gift, but it's still there as a part of you.
Take what you have and use it, always for the glory of God. #2 just know that all of you has each of these things in you. Some more, some less. But having these things is what makes you all great people to have as friends.

God Bless and luv ya!
Rebekah

My Feature Story (for writing class)

2006-09-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what certain landmarks and buildings around Norman are? You drive past them day after day. You ask your friends what they think it is, but you never take the time to really find out. Well I did take the time. I was most interested in two things, one a building and one a landmark.

The building is the one on McGee just off of Lindsey, here in Norman. You may have noticed it because it has two signs, one for a Hollywood theater and one for the Pioneer Library System.

The landmark is in Andrews Park, next to the Blake Baldwin skate park. It’s a large, underground, cement structure; with two hatches, two doors and two windows. None of which are accessible.

Now as far as the building goes, my guess was it was some kind of sub-library. To find out exactly what it was I went to the source. The building itself. It is owned by the library, and no, it’s not a theater for the librarians personal use. It is, in fact, a large warehouse where the new books bought by the library are sent and cataloged. They also use it for storage, (such as, right now while the Noble branch is being remodeled). The building itself is pretty interesting looking, inside and out. When you go in you find a very large mural of Harry Potter. It’s a huge rectangular shaped room, filled to the brink with shelves upon shelves of books, newspapers and archives. I felt like a kid in a candy store, being the avid reader that I am. The building has been in use by the Library for about 3 years now. Before the Pioneer System bought it, it belonged to the OU law library. “I remember when it was still a theater,” the librarian I spoke to recalled, “I saw Jaws and Superman there.” While I was visiting, a man came in to ask what the building was used for, so as you can see, the unusual appearance does spark interest. While this may be some what of a nuisance to the librarians that work there, I for one am happy to see the appearance was mostly unaltered from it’s former cinema days.

Next, I went to find out about the landmark in Andrews Park. My guess, and the guess of a few others I talked to, was that it’s some kind of bomb shelter or storm shelter, maybe a large storage cellar. To find out what it really was, I went to Norman’s department of Parks and Recreation. Upon entering the department, I found the secretary and an official sitting in the waiting area. The walls were decorated with posters from Jazz ’n June and Medieval Fairs of years past. On the side table next to the official sat a life-sized severed gipsy head floating in a crystal ball. Suffice it to say, it was very distracting while I was trying to take notes. However, I did find out that the structure is 69 ft. wide, 146 ft. long and 14 ft. deep. People’s interest in it is obvious by the footprints found in the dust of the door as if someone were trying to kick it in. Probably local kids trying to get in. The strangest thing about this story is the ending. The structure did not turn out to be a bomb shelter or a storage cellar, long since used for nothing more than to store old Christmas lights. No it’s nothing so practical as that. It is in fact an abandoned water storage unit. Basically, an underground water tower. Why the city would go to so much expense is a mystery, even the officials at the department couldn’t explain. They did however tell me what is down there, now that it is no longer in use. Water, about 3 ft. of it. “They did have an architect look at it a few years back,” the secretary told me. “To see if it could be converted for storage, but the damage was too extensive. It would have cost more then it was worth.” So there it sits, year after year. Sparking the curiosity of the park goers and skater dudes. When, in fact, anything they can imagine is much more fantastic than what it truly is, a big waste of space.

What did I learn from my “search for the truth”? Sometimes fiction is stranger than truth, and even plastic severed heads are pretty creepy.

Oh so tired!

2006-09-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

Hey all you peoples in blogging land! What's up?
Things here are great, but I am tired. I slept in late this morning and I almost didn't make it to church.

We just got back from the dollar movie (you gotta love dollar movies!) Nathanael and I watched Monster House. It was pretty good. The story is very crazy, but it's fun and imaginative. I love the colors! Very fall.

I don't have too much going on, just life. I have decided I need to watch a football game. I have never watched a whole game (no, I'm not kidding). I firmly believe that as Christians we must enjoy all good and wholesome things in life (at least once) and what's more wholesome than football? LOL! So at some point I need to sit down and watch a game (hopefully before the season is out!)

Well I need to go to sleep... I'll TTYL!

God Bless,
Rebekah
John 3:16

Amazon Review

2006-09-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to my Amazon Review (that I wrote for my writing class). Go check it out and click, yes, when it asks if it was helpful! Just scroll down to the review titled “Identity Crisis”

G.B.
Rebekah

http://www.amazon.com/Avalon-High-Meg-Cabot/

Crazy Days

2006-09-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, here you go! All you good folks who have bugged me into a blog, can now sleep easy at night! As for me? My personal thoughts are available for the whole world to see (so I guess I'll be the one with insomnia from now on).

This week has been CRAZY! It started with our 2nd writing class. We had a very interesting time. The discussion differed from Ghost to huge dog houses to the identity of a class mate (she wasn't there at the time). Our assignment for this week was a feature story for a newspaper. For me the hardest thing was deciding what to write about! I finally got it figured out, and while it's not the most fascinating story in the world, at the very least I can say I got my homework done!

Then on Tues. I went to a Derek Webb concert with one of my best friends (Dotty). We had a great time.

Weds. was art class and research at the library and then RUF (Reformed University Fellowship). We meet on the OU campus.
We have moved from our old meeting spot, so it was really hard to find. I ended up in the wrong building, with really creepy half lit rooms. I just knew I was going to end up getting mugged. But I didn't and I found the meeting just fine.

Thurs. I went to the Park and Recreations department to research for my paper. Then I went to the Great State Fair, with my younger brothers (Benjamin and Nathanael) and my friend Dotty.

Fri. I went to a concert at the Jesus Place http://www.myspace.com/thejesusplace

And Now I am trying to get all my homework done and put up this blog and I'm wondering if my friends ended up going to the movies without me (long story).

Have a good day!

God Bless,
Rebekah
Psalm 3