{ (Day 5) Redeeming Ruth: God's Hand in Our Risk }

Hello Everyone,

I am sorry I haven't finished writing about the Redeeming Ruth sermon series. I have had a very busy, but very fun weekend. My little sister turned 16!!!! I can't believe she is 16. We went swimming for 4 1/2 hours and then that night we went camping. On Sunday two of my brothers and their families were out for the day. I will post day 6 tomorrow. Today I have been working on getting one of my Mom's new patterns into PDF form so she can sell the downloads on her blog. Then tonight I had two of my nephews softball games.  


I will finish up writing about the series tomorrow. 

I hope anyone who watched with us was blessed!

{God's Hand in Our Shrewdness Ruth 4:1-12}

{1} This part of Ruth mainly focuses on the business side of things. Boaz was an upstanding man and we see that he wanted to do things legally, but at the same time he was going to be very shrewd. The definition of

shrewd | sh roōd|

adjective

1 having or showing sharp powers of judgment; astute

Being shrewd in not bad. We should be shrewd and not sin. We should be shrewd in our business dealings, but we should always be fair. I like how Boaz went and quickly took care of business. He told Ruth that he would take care of it in the morning and he did.

{2} We can sin by doing something, but we can also sin by doing nothing. Boaz chose to do the right thing by putting action behind his prayers. How many times has there been something I know I should do, but don't and by doing nothing I sin? It's something to think about.


{3} Pastor Mark said this, "You become a man to prepare for marriage. Marriage does not make you a man". The same goes for women. All of those who are single out there, we should be using this time to become men and women of God. We shouldn't be waiting for marriage to make us this. Am I living in a way to prepare myself for marriage? In our culture we as young adults are supposed to use this time to have fun, but shouldn't we use this time to grow up?

{4} How we live effects the future. Am I living in a way to leave the future generation a legacy? I realize I'm only 18, and future generation may seem a ways off, but why shouldn't I start living like that now? 


I hope you all had a wonderful day!!!

In Him,
~Tressa

{ (Day 4) Redeeming Ruth: God's Hand in Our Risk, and Pictures at the Lake}

Hello Everyone,

Today Micah, my little sister and I went to the lake to run. I finally remembered to bring a camera to take some pictures. I will share a few and then talk about what we learned in our study of Ruth today.

~Micah, Taylor and I love theses swings.~

~The Beautiful Swan~

~Cottonwood Tree~

~Rain Drops~

~One of the Cool Buildings at the Lake~

~There was a sweet Mama duck and her babies at the lake. I was trying to get some close up pictures of them when I heard a killdeer making tons of noise. Thinking it was just being territorial I didn't think much of it. Then I happened to look down and saw a baby killdeer. I could have stepped on it!!!! I am so glad I didn't!~

Here are two things that stood out to me in todays study of Ruth.

{1} Ruth put her words into action. Throughout the book of Ruth we see that Ruth not only talked the talk, but she walked the walk. Over and over we see her doing the hard thing, such as leaving her home and her family so she could be with Naomi. She went where God wanted her to be. Then once she got there she didn't just sit around, instead she went and gleaned in the fields. Then she took Naomi's advice and did something that I'm sure took great courage to go and do when she went to the threshing floor. Ruth is a great example of what we should be like. 

{2} In one of the earlier sermons I mentioned that sometimes God uses us to answer our own prayers. Today we see that in vs 9 Ruth says this:

"I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer." 

By Ruth saying this she was asking Boaz to answer his own prayer that he had prayed for her 5-6 weeks earlier. 

"The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!" -Ruth 2:12

We should always be willing to do what the Lord wants us to do. At times it is easier to just pray for someone in the comfort of our own home, than go out and do something about what we are praying for. Now I am not saying that prayer isn't the answer, because sometimes that is all we can do, but I am saying that there are times when God will give us the opportunity to be His hands and feet and go out and help meet the needs of others.

Here is the 5th sermon intro entitled "God's Hand in Our Shrewdness".

I hope you all had a wonderful day! It was very hot and muggy here. I hate the humidity! 

Tomorrow Micah, Taylor and I  are taking three of my nephews to go swimming and tomorrow night we are going to go camping! We have been wanting to go all summer and since Micah has been gone a lot we haven't gotten a chance till now.

Have a great day tomorrow!!!!

In Him,

     ~Tressa

{ (Day 3) Redeeming Ruth: God's Hand in Our Blessings. }

Hello Everyone,
Todays post is going to be a little short. I am very tired and need to go to bed, but I thought I would put a little something up. I'm sorry my posts have been so late in the day. I was with Micah for most of the day and didn't have time until now. I am going to write about two things that stuck out to me in todays sermon.

{1} Boaz was incredibly generous with Ruth and a total servant to her. In those days Ruth being a Moabite, a Jewish man wouldn't have stooped down to her level and served her. She would have been the one serving him, but yet he still served her. Here is this man of standing and wealth serving her. By inviting her to eat lunch with his workers he was not only providing her with food, he was giving her community. Something she didn't have as an outsider. This is a beautiful example of what Jesus does with us. Jesus came as a servant to save us. Spurgeon calls Jesus our "Glorious Boaz". I still don't understand why he would come and die for a sinner such as I, I am overwhelmed by His grace and mercy He has extended to me. It makes me think of the song by This Beautiful Republic called "For the Life of Me".

Was I worth the pain?

You had nothing left to gain

I know I'm the only one to blame

I'm broken on the floor

Staring at the door

Waiting on a Savior to walk in

For the life of me, why'd You bear my chains?

For the life of me why'd You walk to Calvary?

For the life of me I can't explain

The reason You died and the reason You came was for the life of me

What do You see in me?

I'm a leper not a king

A mess that's undeserving of Your name

I've disappointed You

Like a rose that never blooms

Failing to display my heart to You

Lord, let me be so bright

I escape every shadow using Your light

Are You waiting to see

That I will show

Your life in me?

{2} Because Boaz humbled himself and became a servant to Ruth he started to help change Naomi's heart from bitterness to one of blessing. That really makes you stop and think......'

Here is the intro to tomorrows sermon called "God's Hand in Our Risk".



I pray that whoever watched along with us today was blessed greatly!!!

I hope you all have wonderful days tomorrow!

In Him, 
     ~Tressa

{ (Day 2) God's Hand in Our Luck }

Hello Everyone,
This morning after our run, Micah and I headed back to her house to start our Bible Study. Last night I made some of my Mom's Blueberry muffins. They are seriously the BEST blueberry muffins ever! Sadly I forgot to get a picture of them. While we ate our muffins we started sermon number two called "God's Hand in Our Luck". It was so good! Today we meet Boaz, who was a relative of Elimelech. Verse one tells us that he was a worthy man. Meaning he was a man of standing and most likely a man of wealth. His name meant strong. I think it's cool how throughout the book of Ruth they give you the meaning of the names. Now that Naomi and Ruth were in Bethlehem they had nothing left. No money and no food. Ruth then tells Naomi that she is going to go and glean in the fields. For Ruth to do this as a foreign woman was taking a big step of faith. It wasn't the safest thing for her to do, but she trusted that God would take care of her. Once again Pastor Mark talked about God's hand of Providence, he talked about how even when it didn't look like it, God was still at work. It was Providence that led Ruth to the field of Boaz. Now we move on in the story to when Boaz first meets Ruth. Mind you she isn't looking her best, she has been working in the fields most likely she is covered in dust and sweat. It makes me think about how appearances aren't everything. : )

Three things stood out to me in their first conversation.

{1} Boaz  told Ruth that he had told his men not to touch her, by doing this he was offering her safety. He also told her when she was thirsty she could go and drink of the water that his men had drawn, by doing this he is also taking care of her needs.

{2} Boaz was treating her like a sister. Which according to Paul is how young men are supposed to treat un-married young women. (1st Tim 5:2)

{3} After Boaz tells all of these things to Ruth she asks him a question in verse 10.

Then^(G) she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should^(H) take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"

It makes me wonder if she had ever had someone treat her like this. 

Boaz answered by saying this:

¹¹But Boaz answered her,^(I) "All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.

I love his response. It really makes you think of how important it is to be a woman of character. What we do does count. I want to be a woman of character like Ruth. Her character spoke to him before she ever even spoke a word to him.

Another thing that stood out to me was when Pastor Mark talked about how there are two things that can happen with prayer. Sometimes prayer moves the hand of God, and other times it changes the heart of who is praying. I love this! Also sometimes God uses us to answer the prayer we are praying, we just have to be open to be used by Him.

That's all I am going to write tonight, I am very tired and in need of sleep. Tomorrow morning is going to come quickly.


Here is the intro for tomorrows sermon.

I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow!

In Him,
       ~Tressa

{ (Day 1) Redeeming Ruth: God's Hand in Our Suffering }

Hello Everyone,
Today was the first day for Micah and my Bible Study and our facebook fast. We went on an early morning run with my little sister and then went back to Micah's house and watched the first sermon in the series "Redeeming Ruth" by Mark Driscoll. Todays sermon was entitled "God's Hand in Our Suffering" it was very good. I have listened to it before, but I was able to get some new things out of it. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get a post up sooner, but I had a very busy day. : )

Today we were given a glimpse into the life of Naomi and Ruth. Naomi was a woman who knew much pain. Her husband moved them away from they're home to a place where there was no one who worshiped the one True God, she was moved from all she knew. Then her husband died. That alone is some major pain, but then her two sons died as well. I can't imagine the pain that she went through.    

Now we are introduced to her two daughter in-laws, Ruth and Orpah. Ruth shows incredible loyalty to her Mother In-Law. Somehow we as a culture have lost that. There is this wrong mentality of the relationship between Mother In-Law's and Daughter In-Laws, for some reason, most people view it as they shouldn't get along, and that is all wrong. Ruth and Naomi show us what it's supposed to be like. Someday when God brings me a husband I pray that my relationship with my future Mother in-law will look like Naomi and Ruth's.

Naomi was also a woman of great honesty. She wasn't afraid to tell people she wasn't okay. She wasn't afraid to tell people how life really was going.

One of the things that I like about the book of Ruth is the realness of it. It's not all happy times. It's real life stuff. Pastor Mark talked about in the sermon how he loves that Scripture is brutally honest, and that it talks about the same degree of pain that we go through.

We will see in the coming sermons how God was able to take something that looked incredibly bleak for Naomi and Ruth, and turn it into something beautiful.

Here is the intro for tomorrows sermon called "God's Hand in Our Luck".



In Him,
     ~Tressa

{ A Week of Fasting from Facebook }

Hello Everyone,
my best friend Micah from Unfading Beauty and I have decided to fast from facebook this coming week, and instead we are going to do a Bible Study. We are going to be going through a series of sermons from Mark Driscoll called "Redeeming Ruth" that goes through book of Ruth. There are 6 different sermons. I have gone through it before, but it's always good to go through something a second time. I always find that I get more out of it by doing it twice. Micah and I would love it if you all went through it with us. We will be blogging throughout the week with different things we are learning. We are praying that this will be a time of growing closer to the Lord. So many times we get caught up, and don't give the Lord the time he deserves from us. I can't wait to see what he has in store for us. I was very blessed the first time I listened to the sermons. I know you would be too!

Please let Micah or I know if you are going to go through it with us.

The video below is the intro to the first sermon.



Side Note: I just found out that there is a free curriculum pdf download that goes with each sermon! Just go to the above link, and under the video there is a place that says documents, click on it and then there will be a place where you can click on curriculum. Your pdf should start to download. There is also a button that says download notes and that is Pastor Marks notes from his sermon.

In Him,
           ~Tressa

{ A Special Day to Myself }

Hello All,
I hope your week has been going well. Several days ago my brother and his wife invited me over to their house to spend the night. I was going to watch their kids the next day, but my sister in-law wanted me to have some alone time. It was perfect. I was able to watch some sermons by Mark Driscoll I had been wanting to watch, do some work on my computer, and then I was able to take some pictures. I had a blast. I wanted to show some of them to all of you.

{You can click on the pictures to enlarge them}

~This is their cat Kitter~

~A pretty Black Eyed Susan and a little Ant~

~Do you see the little crab spider?~

~I took this one at our friend Alicia's house who lives next door~

~My brother put this swing up underneath their big tree for his wife~

~It's hard to believe that this is a weed~

I hope you all had a great 4th! It was very rainy here and they had to postpone the fireworks until this Friday. I will have to post some pictures and video of the concert we went to with the whole family on the 3rd. It rained for the first part of the concert, but we stuck it out and had lots of fun. Wait..... did I mention that it was outside? 

Well, that's all for now. I am watching some of my nieces and nephews and I need to go and get lunch started.

In Him,

           ~Tressa

{ Suffering }

Yesterday was a very sad day on our farm. Our beautiful Horse Alaska died. About three days ago she started to act funny and we thought it was because she ate her alfalfa pellets wrong. Two days ago she was just standing around in the corral, but we just thought is was from the day before and so my Dad gave her some medication. Yesterday morning we thought she was doing a bit better. Then yesterday afternoon she got worse. We called our vet and he gave us some high powered meds. Awhile after we did, she was able to walk around a bit and drink some water from a hose. Then this evening she took a turn for the worse. It was incredibly sad. I wasn’t there when she died, but my Dad, Mom and sister were. I couldn’t bear to see her in that much pain. Thankfully she didn’t have to suffer long. We still aren’t sure what she had. 

Alaska was a beautiful black Tennessee Walker. She was a very loving horse. She was 16 hands high. We called her our Black Beauty.

It was terrible to watch her yesterday. I’m just glad she isn’t in pain anymore. I’m so thankful I have a God who is close to the brokenhearted. So, where ever you are, whatever you are going through right now, know that Jesus is right there ready to comfort you. A lot of times we are surprised when we go through something hard but, in 1 Peter 4 it talks about how we shouldn’t be surprised when we go through trials, but rather we should rejoice in them when HIS glory is revealed. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes have a hard time rejoicing in my suffering and pain. Rather the opposite is true. I often have asked God aren’t you done yet? Haven’t you shown me enough? When I should be rejoicing. For me that isn’t an easy concept. Now I am not saying we can’t mourn and be sad. After all Jesus wept when he found out that His friend died and in Ecclesiastes it says there is a time to mourn. What I am trying to say is that we shouldn’t be angry at God for taking us through the valley, but we should be looking at it as an opportunity for God to be glorified and for us to grow closer to Him. I know I don’t always have this attitude. When I look at people like Clayton McDonald an 18 year old who had cancer (who I wrote about in this post) and knew he was going to die. I am amazed. When asked if he ever asks God the question why? He replied with this answer.  “Yes. Yes, I do, but not why me? Oh poor me. Why do I have to be sick? Why do you have to put this one me. Why can’t I just live my life? No, not like that. I ask God why me as in why do you bless me something like this? Why do you give me something that in the long run has changed so many lives? That’s the why I ask.”

That is probably one of the best answers I have heard to that question. 

We live in a world that is imperfect and full of sin. It will be this way until the Lord comes back. Pain and suffering are something that we will have to walk through until that day. I pray that I will learn to have an attitude like Clayton. Life does hurt, I’m just glad I have the Lord by my side every moment of every day walking with me.

I took this picture of my sister Taylor and Alaska.

That’s all for now. The 4th is a big holiday for my family and the town we live in.  There is a big Old Fashioned 4th celebration. This morning we had turtle races. Tomorrow is the parade and the fireworks, we have one of the best firework displays in our area. Hopefully we won’t get rained out. Since there isn’t anything going on here tonight my whole family is going to a concert with Sanctus Real, This Beautiful Republic and Article One. I can’t wait.

In Him, 

      ~Tressa