Late Night Talks {Guest Post by R.B. Denney}

Hey all! Sorry for no posts in so long. It's been a crazy couple of months. Today, however, we have a special treat! R.B. Denney from Writing is Home to Me and Foundations 274 has granted us with a guest posting!

Thank you so much, Rachel Beth, for agreeing to guest post! I know how late I am in getting this out, but the message is still, and always, relevant.
Here it is!

~~~~~~

Yep, summer has definitely given its grand entrance and is now enjoying its dominion over our lives. That sounded rather harsh--but for me, especially when it comes to doing my devotions, I struggle with summer.

I love the bright, warm days with friends, iced Americanos, and sandal tan-lines, but on a personal level, I struggle most with God during the summer.

And ever so much have I been wrestling lately.

During the summer months I take anywhere from one to four weeks off (from my regular life) to work at Cocolalla Lake Bible Camp. This place is my second home, I connect so much with God when I'm there. It's a lot of hard work, but I love it--and I love the people. I am always so refreshed when I'm there, I feel so alive and so in God's will. Those are all good feelings, but then when I'm on my own again at home, I topple.

Okay, so it's not that bad--I still do my devotions pretty regularly and I live for the Lord, but it's so much harder when I'm not constantly surrounded by my much adored Christian friends.

I have entitled this post "Late Night Talks" because at the moment it's a little after midnight and I'm just now getting my quality time in with God. Don't get me wrong, I talk with God throughout my day, but there is something special about purposefully setting aside time to just be with God.

It's important for every Christian to be spending time with just God and themselves, be it in prayer or in reading His Word, we all need to be growing in God on a personal level.

So, how do we fit God into our busy summer schedules?

First off, I would give you one of my favorite quotes.
"You have plenty of time for whatever it is you choose to make time for."

The idea is not to guilt you into spending time with God, but much rather to remind you that you have the power to make what you love most a priority in your life.

I know, reading through books like Deuteronomy, Judges, and so on are not always super "exciting", for lack of a better word. But God does everything with a purpose, so ask yourself this, "What can I see of God's character by reading this?"

To close, remember this: there will always be busy seasons in life, but God is always available. Seek Him. Love Him. Trust Him.

Psalm 33:4 "For the Word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does."

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Hello! I'm Rachel Beth, so I'm typically pretty bad at introductions and/or telling about myself, but here it goes. My heart belongs in the woods, I would be lost without my towering trees and endless mountains. Black coffee is where it's at. I've always adored the art of writing since I was young and about four years ago I seriously took it upon myself to tell the stories that are in my thoughts with the words from my heart.

Am I doing pretty good so far? Hope so. Continuing on--I want to explore, and by exploring I don't mean just being there, I mean meeting the people, getting to know where there is, wherever there may be. I want my life to honor my Savior and it is my prayer that His story would come through all of my stories.

I simply adore my folk music. I have no idea what I would do without music. I play guitar and a bit of piano. I grew up in a family of music and it has always been such a way into people's hearts, it mak
es me smile when someone tells me about a song that pulled at their heart.

Oh yes, and I read. A lot. I enjoy all kinds of genres, but I really enjoy reading things that have been around for a long time. I enjoy trying to figure out why it is that particular books have lasted so long, hearing what they have to say.

Hope to get to know other young writers out there, and to encourage you all.

~Rachel Beth

Proverbs 3:5-6 {Think it Through Thursday I}

Happy Thursday all!

I'm starting this new thing called 'Think it Through Thursday'. Where I'm planning to go with this is on (hopefully) every other Thursday, I'll select a piece of scripture (usually a few verses) and pull it apart. This means definitions, cross-references, thoughts on it, etc. I'm really looking forward to trying this out! May God use it how He wills.

I've recently graduated from high school. Many times graduating entails receiving cards from people.
And some of those cards I received had "Proverbs 3:5-6" written in them. So, obviously my curiosity was piqued. I read Proverbs 3:5-6 and thought about what each part means. As far as I can see there's five distinct parts of the two verses.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

1. 'Trust in the Lord'
Basically we need to trust Him. This goes hand in hand with Loving Him and Fearing Him. It's a respect, it's knowing He has our best interests in mind and that His will is perfect. |Isaiah 30:15|

2. 'With all your heart'
We need to give Him everything. Don't hold back. It's so easy to hold a part of yourself back and not even realize it or know what you're holding back. We need to surrender and let Him move through us and in us. Let Him have your heart and mold it and fill it with His love. |Ezekiel 36:26-27|

3. 'Lean not on your own understanding'
We don't know everything. I don't know everything. You don't know everything. We think we know all the sides of something, what we should do, what God wants, but sometimes we just have no clue. Our understanding is different from God's He is omniscient. He knows all. He is the Creator. Frankly, my understanding is so little, I'd much rather have God's understanding. |Romans 12:2 ; Isaiah 55:8-9|

4. 'In all your ways acknowledge Him'
We didn't get to this point in our walk with God all by ourselves. We aren't better than anybody else in this world. He has given us the free but oh so costly gift of salvation. Give glory to God for everything He does and as done. Give thanks! Give Him praise. Talk to Him throughout the day, see where He wants to take you. Continually seek Him. |Hosea 10:12|

5. 'He will make your paths straight'
Or 'He will direct your paths'. God rewards. He's our Father and He loves us dearly. If we hold on to Him, give Him our heart, trust Him, ask for His guidance, He will definitely direct us. It's so hard to figure out what to do sometimes, making decisions is not my strong suit. But if we lean on God and truly seek Him, He will show us the way. His way. |Isaiah 30:21|


God Bless the rest of your week!

So You Think You're Alone? {On Trials II}

In the beginning, God made man...and man was just man surrounded by animals and plants. God was there, yes, but man needed more. So God made woman.

It's obvious since the beginning of time that humans are in need of other human companionship. We need to fellowship and have others around. It's a fact of life.

I know some of you introverts are shaking your heads, but the truth is, as Christians, we need people. Like I said earlier, we need to fellowship with other believers in order to grow. {Proverbs 27:17}

And then there's this very human thing called loneliness. I'm sure at some point in your life you've felt this loneliness. It's not a fun feeling. In fact, it can very scary thinking you are alone.

One of the dictionary definitions of loneliness is: isolated
When I think isolated, I think of somebody who is wrapped in chains, by themselves, with nobody to hear them cry out for help. They are stuck in a deep, dark dungeon.

So...do you think you're alone?

I have news for you, dear. You're not!
Believe me, I know how incredibly easy it is to feel lonely in a world so crazy and big as this, but this loneliness that often tries to knock me down? It's a lie.

Let's start here:

1. The enemy of our souls wants to destroy us by whatever means necessary, aye? {John 10:10} He doesn't want us to flourish in our walk with God, he doesn't want us to be Lights and speak Truth. He wants to decimate us.
And one of his greatest weapons against humankind is the mirage of loneliness.
Make the Christian (son or daughter of the MOST HIGH GOD) think they're lonely (isolated)...BOOM! Easier victory for him.
But this isolation is a lie. It's a mirage.

Do you know why?

1. God told us that He would never leave or forsake us. Not only that, but He told us to be strong & have courage! Woah! He commands us of these things...so that must mean that through Him we can do it. {Joshua 1:5}

If that's not enough, here's more proof that we're never alone:
2. God gives us the Holy Spirit as a counselor, a friend, a helper...we have a part of God living in us. How crazy awesome is that? The Holy Spirit is our own connection to Abba God as his royal sons and daughters. And the Holy Spirit directs us, helping us along the path if we let Him. {John 14:15-20;26-27}

3. Not only does He never leave us, and does He give us the Holy Spirit, but God "places the lonely in families". {Psalm 68:6}
Now this doesn't mean you have to be an orphan who doesn't have a mom or dad. This means you might just be lonely, you might not have family around, you might not have friends around. Maybe you just moved off to college and you don't know what in the world you're doing. This verse is talking about anybody who is lonely.
God surrounds these people, us, with community--a church family to support, welcome, and encourage. Friends who do the same. God looks after us. We're His kids, y'all. And He loves us eternally. He knows we need human interaction to help us along the way and He provides.

There is proof all throughout God's Word that He never leaves us. We don't have to fear...because our Savior and Author of all creation and life is by our side, holding our hand.

If you are often overcome by loneliness, I'd encourage you to read the verses that I referenced in this post. I'd also encourage you to conduct your own study of God's living, powerful Word and see for yourself that He never leaves.

Know that loneliness is a lie. Whenever we feel it creeping in, turn to Jesus and talk to Him. Tell Him what you're feeling. Read His Word. Listen to worship music.

Ignoring it or occupying yourself elsewhere is not going to fix the problem.

But facing it head on and declaring victory over it in Jesus' name is a sure way to defeat that tactic of the enemy.

For Christus Victor! Christ is Victorious! He has defeated everything. So, why then, do we let ourselves live in the defeated?

Let us live in Freedom as God's Light and Truth shines upon our minds and hearts.
Amen!

God Bless!
Rachel

Work-in-Progress Wednesday {Rough Edges}

We all have our tendencies. We all have our habits.  We all have our struggles.
We all have our rough edges.

And here's a cool thing about God: He sands down our rough edges until they're smooth and pure and beautiful.

Does this mean that He nurtures our vices until they grow and fester and becoming worse and worse?
Uh, NO.

This means that He corrects us, gently as we are His children, but he shows us the Way. As we spend time with Him through prayer, worship, and study...He shows us what needs some work. Sometimes it can be a whole renovation project, but sometimes it can be just molding us a little bit in that yucky area.

"'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lost heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.'" Hebrews 12:5-6

I mean, He's the Great Potter, right? He can form us, if we allow Him to.

"Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the Potter; we are all the work of Your hand." Isaiah 64:8

We can be going along, doing good and growing in God...when all of a sudden that disgusting rough edge rears its head. For some this means snapping at somebody, or being impatient, or maybe being defensive.
And then we go through the rest of the day wondering what in the world is wrong with us--we feel guilty and beat down because we'd broken.

But we forget some key things:

1. Christ died for the broken! "'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" Mark 2:17

2. We live in a broken world. "There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God..." 2 Timothy 3:1-4

3. We are not perfect! "'Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?'" Matthew 7:3

Now, these aren't excuses to go on sinning and letting our rough edges become rougher. This is incentive. That list is reasons why we should yearn to get better and grow closer to God!

Christ died for our broken souls...and because of that...He makes us whole through Him.
We live in a broken world...but we aren't of this world.
We are not perfect...but Jesus is perfect and He will help you if you let Him.

We always have two choices in front of us, guys.
1. We can choose to follow Jesus--shedding ourselves of the sin that entangles.
or
2. We can choose to follow the world--allowing our sin to take control. 

"Therefore...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross...Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3

Don't know about you, but I'd much rather let the Author of Life be in control...
When we make mistakes and break, letting our rough edges scratch, we can choose to let it get worse and worse...or we can choose to turn it over to Jesus and let Him change our hearts yet again (this is a daily and sometimes more than one time a day thing).

And you'll be amazed at how much He can do when you relinquish control and let Him soften your hard, rough edges into gentleness, patience, love, joy, and so much more.

God Bless the rest of your week as you seek after Him!

#MCM {Timothy}

Hey all! So I meant to write a few other blog posts last week, but it turned out to be a far busier week than I expected. So here I am on Monday for a second installation of #MCM! This week we'll be taking a look at Timothy, but basically

Can I just say... 1 and 2 Timothy are two of my absolute favorite books in the Bible. These few chapters are jam packed with amazingness. So, Timothy has two letters written to him by Paul. And in other letters of Paul, it's noted that Timothy is with him at the time or going to be with him.

I mean, shoot! He traveled with Paul--that's already pretty cool.

Timothy: Greek name meaning 'Honoring God'. From the Greek roots 'timao' which means 'to honor' and 'theos' which means God.

This dude definitely lived out his name.

1. Like Jeremiah, Timothy was called from a young age. 
The letters are chock-full of references regarding Timothy being called as a youngster. He sought after Jesus from infancy--he was open to God.
"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:14-15
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
Can I get an 'Amen' up in here?

2. He had a calling from God and he did what he could to fulfill it.
Paul is always making reference to the special calling that Timothy received and encouraging him to live it out. Looking at what the letters contain, I can only think that some place of leadership in the church is where Timothy was destined to be. A missionary even...as he traveled often with Paul.
"Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience." 1 Timothy 1:18
"Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you."
Guys, this is legit! Timothy had God-given gifts that he used for the purpose and Glory of God and that's just so cool to me. I want to be like that! I want to use up the talents God has given me so there's nothing left at the end!

3. The dude knew how to pray.
Uh, what's cooler than a passionate prayer warrior?
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lies in all godliness and holiness."
Paul wanted him to pray! I mean, that's got to mean he knew how to pray big time...

4. He was strong in his faith.
Not only was he following Jesus from a young age, but it continued and continued.
"If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and the god teaching that you have followed." 1 Timothy 4:6
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12
"I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:5-7
Throughout the letters, Paul is constantly encouraging and directing Timothy to be strong in the faith and to improve always and more and more.

5. Like all the good heroes of the faith, he was human.
He had his struggles and his time of just pure humanness. I mean, he cried for goodness' sake (ref 2 Timothy 1:4). That means he had a gentle and sensitive spirit, though, I think.
Paul was always encouraging him to 'flee the evil desires of youth'. He was always telling him how a servant of God ought to be--often directing him to steer clear of gossip, to be patient, to be slow to anger, and always keep his head. And I think that's absolutely interesting. It means he had major areas to grow in, just like we do. He wasn't perfect. And that's so relate-able. We can read through the letters to Timothy and find out just how much we need to improve on and how we should be as God's servants.

2 Timothy 4 is one of my all-time favorite chapters of the letters. It talks all about being a servant of God and just how we should be. I mean, all of the chapters do...but you know.


Hope this made some sense! Ths was supposed to go out last week, but Mondays are so busy for me and it passed me right by. So here I am two hours from Tuesday and finally posting!

#MCM {Jeremiah the Prophet}

Okay, so this crazy, absurd idea for weekly blog posts just kinda came and hit me in the mind earlier today. I was like: "WOAH." Any guesses? Social media posts. I promise it isn't what it sounds like.

In social media there's this thing called "Man Crush Monday". And I thought to myself. What could I take from that? How can I turn this around a little bit? 

Man Crush Monday on No Longer Stone is going to be a quick overview of totally incredible heroes of the Bible! This is gon be fun, y'all. 

Lately during my quiet time with God, I've been reading in the book of Jeremiah. And can I just say: Wow. This prophet is definitely a favorite of mine. 

Why? You might ask. I shall be glad to enlighten you!

1. Jeremiah was called by God at a young age. 

Okay, all y'all teenagers and young adults who be thinking you can't do anything/nobody will take you seriously: The Bible is chock-full of young people being used by God. It seems to me that He loves using us as a vessel of His Truth. 

Even Jeremiah had his doubts about being tremendously used for God's Kingdom: "The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.' 'Ah, Sovereign Lord,' I said, 'I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.'  But the Sovereign Lord said to me, 'Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah 1:4-8

He was set apart by God! He was chosen and called as a young man! How incredibly cool is that? So I don't know about you, but I can relate with that so much! The fact that God can use us youngsters to reach people and do amazing things for His Kingdom...it just astounds me. 

God will call us if only we are available to Him. Jeremiah realized that. He'd been seeking God since he was little, I'm sure, and God recognized Jeremiah's willingness and open heart. 

2. Jeremiah was definitely human--he had his doubts even after being so surely called by God.

Refer back to those verses I quoted. Here's my paraphrase: "Like, what?? God, I'm just a kid!!!" 

He thought he was too young! Throughout the book of Jeremiah there's these times of him just talking to God. Whether he's spouting his feelings and anger or his doubts and complaints...it's in there. 

But here's the thing...God silenced Jeremiah's doubts by showing him continual kindness and reminding him of who He is. He put a passion in Jeremiah's heart and He began to use him in amazing ways.

DUDE, yes please--I want this in my life too!

Refer to chapter 12 and 20:7- to read some of Jeremiah's complaints and doubts.

So, this prophet is already sounding pretty hardcore, aye? Hold on to your seats because things are about to escalate big time!

 3. Jeremiah suffered greatly throughout his years, but he still trusted in God.

- He was beaten multiple times for speaking Truth. (Chapter 20:1-6)

- By the way, he was threatened with death. (Chapter 26) Uh, not fun!

- He was jailed and held captive many times! (Chapters 37 and 40) 

- He was thrown into a cistern. What. Even. (Chapter 38) I don't even know. Man that's rough!!

- He constantly had to deal with stupid-heads. I'm not even joking. (Chapters 37, 42, and 43) These people drive me crazy. When I first read through Jeremiah maybe sometime last year, I actually wrote beside these passages: "Stupid people". Because it's so true. 

4. Jeremiah had a sense of humor. 

Okay, this one's pretty short, but I absolutely love it. He was a funny dude! Kind of sarcastic, I think. At least there's one passage that makes me think so. He was dealing with a false prophet named Hananiah. 

This dude was prophesying peace for Jerusalem when obviously God was saying destruction and captivity would come to the people: "...the prophet Hananiah said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: 'I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord's house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the Lord, 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

That's what Hananiah had to say. Good sounding things, right? 

"Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. He said, 'Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.'" Jeremiah 28:1-9

I don't know why, but I just find this whole conversation hilarious. Obviously Jeremiah sincerely wants to have the peace and the articles of the Lord's house come back, but I believe he also knows what God has really said about everything. Later, God tells Jeremiah that Hananiah is false and that Hananiah will die soon. And that comes true. 

5. Jeremiah remained open to God. 

Through the disgusting and horrible times, he kept chugging on after God. He went through so many rough waters, but he understood God cared about him and would always listen and be right there (that's why he felt he was able to freely complain to God...he had such a deep relationship with His Father, and also a great fear).

He persevered amid all the stuff happening around and to him. He kept on keeping on and continually allowed God to use and mold him. He never gave up.

And that, my friends, is why this dude, *ahem* prophet, is incredibly cool and my first #mcm post.

Reflections {What Are We Fighting For?} [Easter Sunday]

He is Risen!

Christus Victor--Christ is Victorious! Thank God.

So, during this past weekend I've had some different points of reflection.

And, when it comes down to it, there's a question we have to ask ourselves:
What are we fighting for?

You know, each day it's so easy to skip spending time with Jesus through the study of His Word or through worship or prayer. We tell ourselves we'll do it later, and, before we know it, we're in bed and we then tell ourselves that it's too late.
So the cycle goes.

But what really strikes me is this:
Even through our times of being unfaithful to God, He is always right next to us, loving us, calling us, interceding for us...
"...if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."

His Love for us never, ever gives up.
He chose to go to the cross and die for you, for me. For all of us crazy sinners. He pictured us in his eyes, mind, and he still chose. He saw everything that would happen to us and everything we would ever do. And he still chose to die for us.
He knew we'd forsake Him, betray Him, ignore Him, disappoint Him, but He still chose us.
And He knew how painful dying for us would be.

Take a moment to just imagine Him hanging there on the cross with scars and nails and thorns and blood, struggling to breathe...but picturing you...and knowing one day you would chose Him. 

So if He's who we're fighting for, then that's the bottom line, right?
If He's who we're fighting for, then we have this thing called Hope.
Even amid our suffering, trials, hurts, fears, everything, we have Hope in the One who we're fighting for.
We have Hope in His Resurrection.
That's why we believe what we do--why we believe in Him.
If He hadn't chosen that cross, to die, for us, then there would be no point.
But because He chose a painful death on the cross, taking our sin on Him...He ROSE.
And that's why our Hope is in Him. He ROSE. Everything we believe lies in His Resurrection.
That's where our reasons are.
Because of His Resurrection, we have His Holy Spirit, we have Hope, we have Life, we have Love, we have Strength, we have Purpose, we have Passion, we have HIM.
And because of His Resurrection, we can go forth FEARLESS in His Name.
And that's just about the most Amazing thing EVER. 

Amen. Thank you, Jesus.
Christus Victor! He Reigns above all!

"If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; if we are faithless, He will remain Faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."
2 Timothy 2:11-13