Write!

Writing is a powerful thing...
One can express many different feelings, thoughts, and opinions more freely than one who tries to speak them out loud. I think the reason for this is because something like 75% of communication is body language, 15% in tonal, and a measly 5% is actually verbal. When body language and tone is eliminated, I think it becomes easier to express oneself because it is only the raw expression of feelings/opinions/thoughts through one form of communication, so things don't get "lost in translation" so easily. I believe that, for introverts and extroverts alike, writing can be a fantastic way of releasing feelings/thoughts/opinions in a way that they would otherwise be unable to express them. For different people, different forms of writing would work best. For me, creative writing, poems (though not as often), songs, spoken word, and other forms of writing that tend to be figurative are the easiest way for me to express myself. I find that some people will lean way more toward writing poems as a way of expression than creative writing, or song writing. Some people also enjoy journaling; this is an expression that I find extremely unappealing and do very badly at maintaining. In general, journaling seems to be a pastime that extroverts tend to be more efficient at. I believe that writing is a God-given gift that is extremely beneficial to us. I really do encourage anyone who has an urge to write, but feels that they are not good enough at it, to do it anyway. You don't have to show anyone, or you can if you so desire, but if you feel a need to write, WRITE. Even if you do feel like you're good at writing, but something is holding you back, WRITE. WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. It's good for you, now go do it!! :)

Ahhhh, It's Christmas

Ahhhh, it's Christmas... a time for joy, family, love, generosity, sacrifice, and giving. I love this time of year because it brings everyone together; those who are with each other constantly, those who are dear friends, and even those who we only see on such occasions... Christmas has so many cliches and, though we know it's supposed to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus, is it really what we are looking at? I often wonder what it would be like to celebrate Christmas in a different time. A time when there were no cars, no electricity, everyone lived far from each other, and the Christmas presents that were given to one another took time, effort, and love to create. They weren't store bought, there was no comparison between who bought the best gift or not, there was no such thing as last minute, hectic shopping...it was just... family and giving. What do you take Christmas as, really? What goes through your mind during Christmas? Do you spend it with extended family? Or do you spend it with your immediate family? For my family, Christmas is always a huge deal. We go up to Northern California to where all our family lives and spend days visiting family and friends, eating lots of yummy food, and buying presents. Christmas is a time for reflecting on the good things in life, on the happiness we find in loving Jesus, and in being with the ones we love. What if it were like this all year round? What if we went through life, living every day like Christmas was just around the corner? Not exactly the eating lots of food and buying lots of presents part, because then we'd all be fat and poor, but what if we always walked in the spirit of Christmas? Where we tried our best to be happy all the time, to enjoy those who are around us, to pay particular attention to the things they care about, to give a gift to someone we love once a week to show them that we care about them and are thinking about them. If we lived like we do during the holidays all the time, I think we would be much happier people. I challenge you, don't let the ending of Christmas be the end of your happiness and joy as well. Be as happy and carefree for the week after Christmas, as well, and I guarantee you will be much happier because you'll be living in a way that is pleasing to God. :)

#foodforthought

Music

Music
Like drops of dew on silver leaves, a light gray backdrop of wind and light. Like deep, dark caverns with bright green trees devouring each corner, with sky blue pools filled with strange sights, little creatures that dwell in places not explored. Like a pink sunrise, bursting with the colors of fruit; of things tantalizing, yet untouchable. Like the red, orange, and brown of the canyon, spread wide across open spaces, it is intangible, unbelievable, but believable; full of life, wonder, and majesty, yet completely untouchable. Like the hands that crafted these things, large, powerful, loving, and strong. Unlike anything we've ever seen, yet the word is so familiar. Hands. Music. Leaves. Caverns. Pools. Sunrise. Canyon. To relieve an experience without movement or voice. To express feelings without words...
Music

I AM (The Mighty Deliverer: Reprise)

The clouds form overhead
A sense of weariness, sadness pours in

Night has fallen and the darkness is thick

When will the light break through?
When will these dark days end?


You say that mourning lasts for the night
but joy comes at the dawn of a new day
When will this be a reality?
For it seems that this night is lasting a lifetime
Like the darkness is everlasting, impenetrable


The storm has been raging for a while now
Is an everlasting storm possible?
I think You say, "No." but my heart denies this
When will the light break through?
When will these dark days end?


You need My reassurance
You desire My loving kindness
I will speak My words of comfort to You, My daughter, My son
For your soul is weary and your heart, it aches
You long for Me to be near to you


When these troubles come
When this storm rages and wages war against you
I will comfort you, I will teach you to lean on Me
For I AM Your strong tower
I AM your deliverer


I AM the deliverer of those
Who are righteous before Me
I will teach you, My daughter,My son, how to be righteous in My sight
I will not let the darkness overtake you
I will fill you with My light, I will teach you to be strong


I will give you My wisdom
I will teach you My ways
I will show you My plan for your life
You need My words of truth to penetrate your spirit
Your inner man longs for My counsel

And I will give it to you, because I AM

You Creator, Your Lover, Your Redeemer

Your Savior, Your Strength, Your Day

Your Night, Your Light, Your Sun, Your Moon

Your Fire, Your Wind, Your Wine, Your Oil

Your Sustainer, Your Provider, Your Father

Your Brother, Your Protector, Your Healer

I AM YOUR EVERYTHING

The Mighty Deliverer

The clouds form overhead

A sense of weariness, sadness pours in

Night has fallen and the darkness is thick

When will the light break through?

When will these dark days end?

You say that mourning lasts for the night

but joy comes at the dawn of a new day

When will this be a reality?

For it seems that this night is lasting a lifetime

Like the darkness is everlasting, impenetrable

The storm has been raging for a while now

Is an everlasting storm possible?

I think You say, "No." but my heart denies this

When will the light break through?

When will these dark days end?

I need Your reassurance

I desire Your loving kindness

Speak your words of comfort to me, oh Lord

For my soul is weary and my heart, it aches

I long for You to be near to me

When these troubles come

When this storm rages and wages war against me

Comfort me, teach me to lean on You

For you are my strong tower

You are my deliverer

You are the deliverer of those

Who are righteous before you

Teach me, oh Lord, how to be righteous in your sight

Let the darkness not overtake me

Fill me with Your light, teach me to be strong

Give me Your wisdom

Teach me Your ways

Show me Your plan for my life

I need Your words of truth to penetrate my spirit

My inner man longs for Your counsel

Second (Out of Country) Adventure of the Year 2012: LONDON!!!

"Don't you guys call jackets jumpers?" I asked.
"Yeah." He replied.
"And don't you call tennis-shoes, trainers?" I asked again.
"Yep." He replied.
Ask him about ME.
The voice was clear, and very strong, and I knew it was God. I, and three of my friends, had been talking to Guy, who was from England, for about an hour now, but not really about the stuff we should be talking to him about. We'd been talking about cultural differences, why the heck he was in Ukraine, and just about stuff. Now it came down to who would ask/tell him about God, and that's when He spoke to me, "Ask him about Me."
"Soooo.... what do you think about Jesus?" I asked.
"Well.... I'm part of the Church of England?" He replied, his answer ended like a question. he didn't really know how to respond to a question like that.
"Well... do you like him... do you not?" I asked jokingly, but seriously.
One of my friends piped in, "Yeah, do you love Him?"
Guy looked at both of us quizzically and said, "Uh, I guess."



Last year, I went on a missions trip with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) Orlando to Ukraine and it was absolutely amazing. It's not exactly a country that I would want to go back to, but I am so happy I went because God spoke to me so much while I was on this trip. One of the things that He spoke to me about was where I was going to be doing full-time missions at. I had been praying fervently for the couple of months prior to the trip, really asking God to reveal to me where He wanted me to go. I knew Ireland for sure, but I felt like there was something more. This scenario happened while I was in Ukraine, and it was the most interesting conversation I had during that whole trip. It was our last night of ministry, and the only people we had talked to so far had only been from Ukraine. Then, we met Guy and we ended up talking to him for about an hour and a half which was the longest conversation, yet. After the above conversation, I proceeded to tell him about my heart for The UK and Ireland. I told him about how I felt like God was telling me that He wanted to see His bride unified there. I told Guy that I felt like God was saying that the people in the UK and Ireland didn't really know what it was like to look at God as a provider, a faithful God that will give them what they need, and not just what they need, but also what they desire. I felt like He was telling me that they needed a revelation of how God is there to talk to, and that He is loving and wants us to know Him as a God of love and compassion, and not just a God of judgement and wrath. After I told Guy all of this, he was just looking at me completely dumbfounded and kind of in awe. "How do you know all that? How do you know that GOD is telling you all of that? How do you know that He's speaking to you?" He asked in a way that showed that he wanted to know more. I told him that I knew because God showed me in different ways. Just through life, and in a very strong certainty of things in my heart.

That conversation was probably one of the most interesting and God-inspired conversations I had ever had and really solidified in my heart the fact that I knew God was calling me not only to Ireland, but also to the UK. It was a very profound moment for me. Then, later that night, I found out that this summer, YWAM Orlando is going on a missions trip to London, England. I was SO excited I could not believe it. So, here I am, getting ready to start raising support to go to London, and going to 2 of the countries I feel called to in one year! I can not wait to see what God does! I will be sending out support letters to those who have supported me in the last 2 years, and I will be sending out updates regularly. Please let me know if you would like a support letter, I would be happy to send you one. We are going to London on July 16-August 8, which just happens to be DURING the Olympics! It is such an amazing opportunity, and a couple of my friends are going with me, as well. Please pray for us as we raise finances for this missions trip! If you are interested in supporting me, you can contact me on Facebook or email me.

Facebook: Rachelle Hope Butow
E-mail: illuminatetheworld@hotmail.com

First (Out of Country) Adventure of the Year 2012: IRELAND

     One of my dreams for the past 5 years has been to go to Ireland. I am so in love with this country I don't even know what to do with myself when I hear an Irish accent or watch an Irish movie or learn something new about Ireland or anything, literally, ANYTHING that has to do with the GORGEOUS Emerald Isle. I don't really remember when Ireland initially got put in my heart, I think it's always been there, but God really started showing me the significance of it in my life a couple years ago. I have always been fascinated by Irish culture and the Celts, but never before has it, or any country for that matter, been on my heart so heavily that whenever I start even praying on that subject I start bawling my eyes out. I can only say that God has put this incredible love in my heart for this country and the people in it. God has also just implanted it in my heart. Anything that has to do with Ireland pertaining to me, I KNOW if God is telling me yes or no about that certain subject. Normally, this is something that is kind of hard for me to discern, or not so much that it is hard, but I normally need a lot of signs to show me that God is saying yes. It really is amazing.

     God has put it on my heart to do my DTS (Discipleship Training School) in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland, for sure. I know that I know that I know that this is what God wants me to do. I know that I am supposed to do it right when I get out of high school. It is going to Cambodia and India for it's outreach phase (as well as doing ministry in Ireland, itself) mainly because it is a Compassion and Justice DTS or C-DTS. This type of DTS focuses on ministering to those who are living in injustice such as Human Trafficking or Poverty. Here's the page with their info on it: http://www.ywamireland.org The fact that our outreach is going to be in Cambodia is just absolutely amazing to me because it is THE country that has been on my radar for Human Trafficking, especially after I saw a crazy documentary called Nefarious: Merchant of Souls this year that is about Human Trafficking. Here's the website for the documentary: http://nefariousdocumentary.com/ The C-DTS is going to be about $10,000 for 6 months of schooling in ministry. This number includes Airfare, spending money, and the cost of the C-DTS itself. If you would like to donate to this please let me know. You can e-mail me at Illuminatetheworld@hotmail.com. I will officially start raising support for this next year! :)

     I have also made some friends in Ireland that I absolutely love.  2 years ago, I decided to check out this pen-pal website called http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/. I was so excited that I asked probably around 40 people from a bunch of different countries if I could be their pen-pal and out of ALLLLL those people, only one got back to me and is still my friend now. He's Irish, and he is now a really good friend. I've had some very interesting conversations with him and have learned a lot about Ireland and it's culture just by talking to him. I also ended up becoming friends with one of his friends on Facebook as well, so now I have TWO Irish friends who are awesome! God has been so faithful with this, though. He's so good. 

     So, on that note, I have been WAITING for 5 years for God to give me the Okay to go to Ireland. I've had little opportunities over the years, but I've always felt like God was just like, "Nope, not yet." Then this year, my mom randomly becomes friend with this Christian Irish lady on Facebook names Angie (she's amazing), and I just HAD to message her. So I messaged her on Facebook and was like, "Hey, I'm in love with your country, and I plan on doing a DTS in Rostrevor, and becoming a full-time missionary there." She replied back kinda like "Cool" which is totally understandable. Some crazy American girl spouting off about how much she loves a country she's never been to, yeah, I get it. :P Then, a couple of months ago, I messaged her again and asked her if she knew of a Christian family or couple that I could stay with in Ireland if I wanted to come, and she was like "You could stay with me..." Uhm... I pretty much freaked out. Then I was like... okay, God. I really need You to help me find work so I can work for the plane ticket, which was about $800. So, I went around asking a whole bunch of people if they had any work for me, and no one responded. So I was like, "Okay, God I really need you to provide work or show me that I'm not supposed to go, but I feel like I'm supposed to go... so... help me get the money I need and fast, because the ticket prices are going to go UP!" Exactly two days later, a friend of ours' that used to live in California, who now lives in Texas, messaged me on Facebook and said that her husband was going on a business trip, so she needed help with watching her kids (twin boys two years old, a four year old girl, and an eight year old girl.). Then she said something that made my heart pound, she said she would pay for my flight to Texas and that she needed me for eight days and that she would pay me $100 a day. EXACTLY what I needed  for my plane ticket. I FREAKED, I mean FREAKED out, in the middle of my kitchen screaming "I'M GOING TO IRELAND!!! FINALLY! I'M GOING TO IRELAND!!!!" It was a profound moment for me... so I went there, worked, and it was amazing. The lady ended up giving me $100 more than I needed for my ticket, and I had a blast with her kids. It was such a God- ordained thing. One thing that happened while I was there was that the lady I was working for is very prophetic, and she gave me a word about how the Native Americans and the Irish are connected (long, long story), she said, "When the roots of Ireland are healed, the fruit will be with the Native Americans." I have no idea what this means, but I know that it DEFINITELY means something.
     So, my mom would not let me travel alone, so we decided that it would be awesome if my mom's mom (Grammy) could come to.This would be Grammy's first time out of the country, and she had always longed to go to Ireland, like me. Also, my Grammy is very much into genealogy (which I find quite fascinating, as well.), and we have a HUGE amount of Irish in us, on both my dad's side, and my mom's. We have a missing link though, the link that actually shows who in our family was actually FROM Ireland, we haven't been able to track it back to Ireland, yet. Grammy and I are hoping that we will be able to find something that we can research while we're in Ireland. Here's the awesome thing, so we were able to find a flight that does not conflict with my school schedule whatsoever, I get to meet my Irish friends when we go there, the lady we're staying with lives in the countryside, and I'm going during Spring Break (March 28th-April 8th). I cannot WAIT to see what God does! I just hope that I don't break down crying when I get into the Dublin Airport because that is a very real possibility. If I can barely contain myself when I just pray for them..... oh boy. I am so excited for this adventure! I will try to blog while I am there to keep everyone updated! :)

Some prayer points:

• Please pray against spiritual warfare, we've already experienced some with the tickets, but everything is good now. 
• Please pray that the money will come in for me to get my passport renewed, because I still need to do that and it is $110.
• Please pray that this trip would go safely and that God would just pour out His love and purpose for these people on me and on my Grammy. 
• Please pray that we would just have amazing encounters with the people there and that we would have opportunities to evangelize and to just build good relationships. 

Thanks! You guys are awesome! :) :) :)

Sera-Whatta Whatta?

Okay, so to explain the name... I am writing a book, and I wanted a pen name because my real name is ridiculously hard for people to  decipher for some reason. At first I thought maybe Rachel Hope, orrrr  Rebekah Sterling, orrrr a bunch of other things, but much to my dismay... none of these names really felt right or had a ring to it like I wanted it to. Then, I started thinking. All the Characters in my book have names that describe them, so why shouldn't my pen name mean something significant as well?? So I picked Seraphina Christa, because it has an awesome ring and it defines me. :)

Seraphina: Fiery One

Christa: Follower of Christ

In my Mind: Fiery (both in personality and spirit. lol!) Follower of Christ

I am hoping to get my book done within the next year, but my life has been like a whirlwind, so we'll see how that goes. I've been working on it for a long time, this is another one of my dreams that I definitely want to see come true! To write a book, have it be published, and to make money off of it. :D

Old Dreams, New Places, New Seams, Old Spaces

First of all, Hello... I've wanted to start making a blog for a while now, but have not had the time to or the knowledge of how to go about such a thing. Many have suggested this, blogging, that is, and I am now conforming to your will, albeit voluntarily. Thank you, Dear Friends, for suggesting this. :) Now... TO BLOG!

You may view me as aloof. You may view me as tough. You may view me as intimidating. You may view me as quiet. You may view me as exclusive. You may view me as funny. You may view me as smart. You may view me as cute. You may view me as talented. You may view me as different. You may view me as... well... a lot of things, but let me tell you who I am... I am a lover of Jesus Christ and there is no other true substance to my life except Him. I am a lover, a fighter, a believer. I am a sinner, a bond servant; I am human. These are not excuses to lead someone to believe I am mostly good or mostly bad, but that I am what I am, and the Bible tells me so. :) Jesus is the ultimate lover, the most just fighter, the most devout believer. He is completely pure, a loving master, and completely other than. This is why we were made for each other. Him and I, we're buds. Always have been, always will be.

The title of this pretty much my life summed up until this very moment. To explain it in depth would take a whole book, or volumes of books.  One thing is for sure, Old Dreams die hard, because they were never meant to die. No matter how extreme or "unrealistic"(what does that word mean anyways?) they may seem, they are ALWAYS possible. You know why? Get ready for a cliche, "all things are possible with Christ". This is not a joke. These past 4 years of my life have been evidence of this. These past 4 years of my life have been tumultuous to say the least, but magnificently Jesus-filled to say the... well... "most" doesn't really describe it. God has been breaking down walls and building up dreams. Breaking my stubborn, stubborn will, and making it new in a way that Glorifies HIM and not me. Teaching me to trust when it looks bleak, teaching me to have faith when it seems like there is no way in heck that that thing could possibly happen in real life, teaching me to love when it seems hard or when I'm in a bad mood, teaching me to do what He tells me to do no matter how much I don't want to do it. God has been allowing me to go to New Places in the physical  and New Places in the spiritual. I am going to Ireland in the end of March for 2 weeks, which has been one of my dreams for the past 5 years, that I was starting to believe would never actually happen. I love to travel, but I am dirt poor, but somehow, by the end of this year, I will have managed to have been  to 7 countries in 4 years.  He's given me New Seams, I am a brand new person. Once filled with bitterness and anger and pride, I am making my way to being trusting, happy, and humble, even in the toughest circumstances. He filling the Old Spaces where those things used to be with new fruits of the Spirit and promises that He has made that He always keeps.  I am a new person, and I can't wait to write about and share all the new things that He is doing in me and the adventures that He holds for me. :)