Raychel Writes

And then there was Archery

October 23rd, 2023

My First bow season

My first season bow hunting for deer was absolutely magical, but if it had ended the way it started, there wouldn’t have been a season at all. Shaun had been into bow hunting for a while, and I watched the guys shoot but I stuck to my guns! This was way before I became a firearms instructor…seems like that was sort of in my DNA now. I went bowfishing with him but just held the light mostly or occasionally fell asleep in an awkward and embarrassing position in the boat, also I occasionally drool a tiny amount.

Anyway, Shaun wanted to get me a bow for our anniversary which is Sept 16, but he decided to get it early because he wanted me to have at least a month to practice and build those muscles before the season opened in October.

We had heard RAVE reviews about a bow shop in Nacogdoches and I had just transferred over to SFA to finish up my undergrad so I was excited to go. When we walked inside there were a bunch of dudes in there standing around talking, and we made our way up to one of them to help us. They were talking hunting, food plots, and hunting gear and my husband told the tech he was hoping to buy me a bow after finally gaining his attention.

This got the whole group’s attention, while there are plenty of female bow hunters, in 2008 we still weren’t nearly as plentiful as the guys. But I wasn’t a bow hunter yet. To my absolute horror (because I’m insanely nervous/anxious and awkward when doing new things) one of the guys that was in this group and turned was none other than Dr. “Deer” Kroll, who at the time was somewhat of a celebrity in the Forestry Dept which I had just transferred to. I was already nervous and the archery tech started asking me questions that I didn’t know the answers to at that time and I was becoming WAY intimidated.

It was made worse by the fact that the tech, who was trying to measure my draw length by getting me to stand a certain way and hold my arms out but without ever communicating to me why or demonstrating, finally became frustrated and dropped the tape asked, “haven’t you ever held a bow before!” It was rather loud and he was rather exasperated. Every guy in the group laughed except my husband who was trying to explain and demonstrate for me so I could be measured. My shoulders sagged, my chin dropped, and I clenched my teeth to fight back tears and told him I had been around them but mainly just tagged along and I apologized for my lack of understanding. He was gruff and short with me, probably wanting to get back to the celebrity and the conversation, he ended up not having anything in my draw length anyway and we got out of there pretty fast. The hubs knew I wasn’t feeling it, I felt a little humiliated and kind of wanted to punch that guy in his adams apple.
Fast forward a few days to a little archery shop in Palestine, long closed now, my husband called and asked if they had anything in my draw length and the guy said he had both new and used bows that I was welcome to come try. When I arrived, the guy greeted us so warmly, we told him we had called about a bow in my draw length and then I just told him I had sort of had a humiliating experience with another bow shop because there was a miscommunication of me literally not knowing anything. He remeasured me to make sure my draw length was correct and literally baby stepped me through every little thing. The how and why of all the important parts of the bow, the necessary equipment, and found us a used Bowtech Miranda bow that he set up right then and there for me and let me get comfortable shooting it.

I practiced every single day, most days twice a day, until we got my draw weight maxed out and I was accurate.
Shaun and I hunted A LOT during bow season and either didn’t see anything or didn’t see anything legal or in my bow range. The last week of bow season he was working nights and the kids were all at my mom’s which was near the deer lease. I finished my Monday lab early and made it to her house in time to beg her to let me go hunting. The absolute craziest thing happened when I drove up to the gate. I was sitting there in the truck putting on my release and a doe came walking up and jumped the fence right beside the truck. She walked on the other side of some tall bushes and briars and began to browse like the truck wasn’t RIGHT THERE.
I decided to see if I could slip out of it and stalk up close enough to her to get a shot. I eased the door open slightly and slipped out of the driver seat. I hunkered down leaving my fingers in the door as I eased it closed but not shut, I eased the back door open and carefully slipped my bow out and hid behind the back tire with her between the shrub/brush pile, then the truck, and me. I was trying to get control of my breathing, my shaking, and my heart rate! I could hear her moving down the lane at a leisurely pace stopping to nibble random things. I crept out from behind the truck watching her and moved from concealment to concealment thankful for the dense carpet of pine needles to quiet my steps. I managed to advance, always keeping trees or bushes between us so she couldn’t see me as I stalked closer to her, but I was running out of foliage. I eased barely around the last tree just enough to range her because I still wasn’t, and honestly still am not great at guessing distances, and started to shake even harder when I realized she was only 25 yards! I eased back, slowly lowered the range finder down, and drew back as I slowly eased out behind the tree. She walked a couple of steps forward browsing on some foliage and was perfectly broad side.
About the same time I squeezed the release, she spotted me, but at that distance she didn’t respond fast enough as I had already let the arrow fly. She ran off and I watched until I could no longer see her and waited several minutes, not because I was cool and collected and knew I’d made a good shot and needed to give her time. I waited because my legs were shaking, and my heart was racing, I couldn’t breathe and my ears were pounding. I slowly crept to where I shot her, looking around for blood and my arrow and I found both. According to my arrow I had made a great shot. I tried to wait longer and slowly tracked the blood and ended up jumping her because I didn’t wait long enough.

I backed out and went back later and was unable to track her.
I was heartbroken and felt so dumb. I knew better. This was not my first deer. It was just my first with a bow. It was incredibly cool that evening thankfully, and there was a hard frost that night. After telling the hubs and wanting to cry, we got up the next morning and drove out there and I took him to where I shot her, where I tracked her to, and where I jumped her. My husband has blood hound DNA I think, and he managed to find her blood “trail” (maybe a drop here or there) immediately and her in a mere few minutes! It was plenty cold enough to save the meat and after we celebrated, and I cried happy tears, and Shaun swore she had to be deaf and blind, we loaded her up to take her back and process her. I knew she couldn’t have been blind because she A- jumped the fence and B-finally spotted me! I was excited and feeling confident with a cooler full of venison!

After happy tears for finding her in time to save the meat!

Fast forward to Saturday which was actually opening day of gun season. Even though the moon was full we still went out before daylight and got in our stands. I call this the butt-crack of dawn, later when I was introduced to duck hunting I began to experience the pre-butt-crack of dawn. We both decided to stick with our bows and as I started off in the direction of my stand, Shaun told me that since the moon was full, it was more likely for the deer to move later in the morning since they likely moved in the middle of the night. So he wanted me to sit as long as I possibly could. I took that as a challenge to stay longer than he could, and it paid off.

I was sitting in my “lucky ladder stand” that morning and listening to what sounded like deer chasing each other near my stand. Suddenly, a decent sized buck popped out long enough to get my attention and then right back in the thicket. I was excited and a little bummed because I wondered if I wasn’t watching the stupid squirrel dance up and down to my left would I have seen him sooner. I was also figuring that was probably my one and only chance at a legal buck in my range.
I’m sure it’s not physically possible but it felt like I held my breath for about 20 or 30 more minutes so I could hear better, and a different buck popped out and started quickly walking across my area. I had to use the concealment of the trees to rotate my body around on my ladder stand and into a shooting position so he wouldn’t bust me. I’d rotated all the way around from right to left with my bow up and I was running out of space. He was about to go behind me where I wouldn’t have a shot. I hooked my feet into the sides of the ladder and twisted around as far as I was comfortable with and drew back hoping he would stop, he seemed intent on passing through like he was trailing something, so I did what all of those hunting show dudes do. I gave him a MEEEHHHH.
He stopped with a stomp and jerked his head up looking right at me just like the doe, but again, I was ready, he was slightly quartered but I knew I’d hit him based on the wild way he leapt up. As he was trotting off, I actually saw the arrow come out and fall and could tell it had blood. Instead of having a repeat of Monday, I sat, and I sat and I sat, I was shaking and doing the heart pounding breathless thing anyway. About 30 minutes had gone by and Shaun came walking up and asked me what the heck I was doing because it was well after 11 by this time.

I told him I was waiting on the buck I’d just shot. He looked at me incredulously as I began to recount the story to him. We waited another 30 minutes and the ole bloodhound went to work. We were both trailing and at one point sort of lost blood and decided to circle in opposite directions from last blood. Shaun yelled to me when he found him, still in disbelief, not because he was a monster deer, he wasn’t, but because I had had an incredible week hunting! Bow hunting for me has been both exhilarating and down right frustrating when what I can see is outside my bow range and way in my rifle range, especially when the freezer is empty. I still love the challenge and especially the food! I’m still grateful to the hubs for introducing me to archery hunting too and for buying me that first bow!

My first bowbuck and food for the fam!
My First Deer- A stroll on Memory Ln

October 16th, 2023

When Shaun and I first got married at 18 and 19, we weren’t swimming in money as you can probably imagine, and from early on learned to be very resourceful. One of the ways we could use the money we had for other essential necessities was to adhere to the motto “kill it, catch it, or grow it” in regards to our groceries. We have never been trophy hunters even though we do have some precious and impressive memories on the wall.

My first successful deer season where I had the privilege of filling one of our doe tags and contributing meat to the freezer for our family will live forever sketched on “my favorite moments in hunting trail” on memory lane. It was my second year to hunt not having seen anything legal the entire season the year before. My father-in-law picked me up on his way to the deer lease for an evening hunt while my hubby was working nights. Dad and I hunting together while Shaun was at work would become a regular occurrence for which I am forever grateful! At the time, Shaun and I were sharing his Winchester lever action .243 which I had brought with me, unloaded of course until we actually got to out of the truck to hunt. I don’t remember how or why it happened, but I ended up with Dad’s .243 a Remington Mohawk which was the gun I later shot my first hog with and all 3 of our kids shot their first deer and hogs with as well. Priceless for it’s sentimentality as even a glance evokes a flood of memories of time spent with our family in the woods together.

Dad decided, due to my inexperience in hunting I’m sure, to forego going to his own stand and instead hunted with me. He watched me as I climbed up in my ladder stand, still to the dismay of my husband who prefers a climbing stand, made sure I got up safely and got seated and then made sure I loaded a round into the chamber of his rifle after I got settled. He then went behind and to the left of me to climb in Shaun’s climbing stand much higher than I would ever feel comfortable! We sat there in the cool air, a fortunate thing because hunting season in Texas is often still incredibly hot. I practiced being still and moving my eyes only and ever so slightly my head. I sang songs in my head, I distinctly remember having that song from the movie Hocus Pocus stuck in my head, the one when they are trying to lure the children and I adapted the lyrics to fit my current hunting adventure. I was feeling pretty satisfied with my creativity, and stillness, sitting there in that oak bottom as the sun was slowly going down for the day and the bottom seemed to glow the orange you see in those hallmark movies.

I couldn’t see dad because he was behind me but I was sure he was watching me for movement and everything else so I was on my game making sure I applied every hunting strategy I had been taught or seen as well as being safe. In reality, the man was asleep way above me in that climbing stand probably watching a continuous feed of hunting shows behind his eyelids! I only found this out after I shot one of the does that came busting in. While I sat and silently partied in my head to my song and how good I was doing and how proud dad was going to be of me, 3 does came from the other side of the bottom directly in front of me walking cautiously as does do, but straight in my direction. I later surmised that they caught a whiff of something not quite right even though we had sprayed with scent killer because they turned circling left when they reached the spot right about where we walked in. As they circled out there to the left I began the torturously slow practice of raising my rifle and getting into position as they passed behind trees. When I was in position I waited for my moment and as the largest doe out front paused to inspect the acorns on the ground, I was positive I had a good safe shot, I breathed in and began to slowly release as I took aim, stopped and slowly squeezed the trigger. It was instantly obvious I had made a good shot. It wasn’t far probably 80 yards or so and she ran about 30 after I hit her and I watched her fall.

I’m not really sure if I made any noise other than the sound of my labored breathing because of my RAPIDLY beating heart. I knew I was struggling not to shake as I squeezed the trigger. I sat there for several minutes trying to control my breathing and also being extremely excited, I tried to lean around behind me to see dad, but his back was to me, and he was starting his descent to the ground. When he reached me, he wore a giant smile bordering laughter and gestured for me to make sure I had unloaded the gun before I climbed down. I remember trying to get my legs to work to climb down and they were shaking so badly both dad and I were sure I was going to fall, so he made me turn back around and sit down for a few more minutes. Then this man had the audacity to ask me what I had shot at and scared him half to death! This is when I found out he was taking a nap and that my shot had scared him awake and he never saw the does. I explained and pointed to where the doe was laying, you could just barely see the white of her belly from where we were but when he looked back to me, the pride on his face was unmistakable and his smile could not have gotten any wider. He coaxed me out of the stand slowly and gently, I’m sure he was gentler with me at this particular time because we had just learned that I was pregnant with his first grandchild, I don’t think we even knew the sex yet. When I reached the ground there was hugging and high fiving and since I was still shaking, he insisted on me wearing his jacket in addition to my own!

We tagged her, my first time ever getting to fill out a tag at 20 years old, loaded her up and headed for the truck. When we got home, Dad was adamant we take a picture before skinning and quartering her into the cooler. We didn’t have cell phone cameras quite yet. I still have that picture and I think of all of these words and more every time I see it, it is true, a picture really is worth a thousand words. I felt such a sense of accomplishment knowing that I had been able to provide food for our family and safely participate in a time-honored way of life that my husband’s family had been handing down for generations.

Actual pic dad snapped with a real film camera! Still wearing his jacket!
The Genesis of my Love for Hunting

October 9th, 2023

Chapter 1: The Beginning

I was asked to write a bimonthly article for a local magazine to represent women in hunting. The following is most of what was produced for the first article, although the magazine’s funding fell through, and it was never produced. After re-reading it several years later, I decided it would serve well as an a different muse for blogging.

DISCLAIMER: It was produced AFTER duck and deer season closed….right now we are all happily hunting all the things but since it is the genesis of my love for hunting I decided to go ahead and leave it in tact and post as is!

As duck season and deer season have officially come to a close and we are missing the excitement and adventure of being in the woods, not wanting to patiently wait for turkey or alligator season to come, we have to think of things to pass the time! Texas is full of options! The weather in East Texas tends to alternate seasons during days in a single week and sometimes even on a single day you can experience both spring/summer and fall(and what we call winter! This can work to a hunter or fisherman’s advantage because the change in barometric pressure and temps helps spur activity!

Predator hunting with the use of a mouth or electronic call is always an option! It’s always fulfilling when you are able to call something in and harvest it, even more so when you are able to do it with a mouth call, mimicking the sounds and creating the right conditions yourself! Since it’s not miserably cold and we are experiencing the labor pains of spring, fishing for big blue catfish can be a great way to pass the time and fill the freezer! In fact we have been more successful in March and April jug fishing for big blues and ops in a lake or line fishing in the river than any other time except possibly the transition from summer to fall while we are waiting on archery season! If you’re a night owl you might be thinking this weather is the perfect time for coon hunting!

Another option to continue hunting right through to turkey season is hog hunting! Since hogs aren’t particularly easy to pattern because of their inconsistency, stand hunting for them can sometimes be uneventful and seemingly not as rewarding. Hunting with dogs on the other hand, can be absolutely exhilarating, fulfilling and can also help to fill the freezer as well! There is nothing better for breakfast than fresh homemade sausage, biscuits and gravy and fresh yard eggs! This makes me reminiscent of my very first hog hunt which was also my first opportunity to hunt anything larger than a squirrel or rabbit! It was the awakening of the hunter I was born to be, like adding gasoline to smoldering fire!

As a shooter enthusiast who had only ever been squirrel and rabbit hunting before, 2000 held some new adventures! After meeting my husband, Shaun, in April of 2000 and listening to him and his dad tell and retell hog hunting stories I was sure I had to experience it for myself! We fished and bow fished during the hottest part of the summer and he would go out with his dad and brother at night to hunt hogs. Not ever having participated in a hog hunt I wasn’t sure the pitch black of night was the way I wanted to start out. I convinced them to go early in the morning and let me see what it was all about!

We collared, vested, and loaded bay dogs and vested and loaded catch dogs, gathered our gear and set out. When we stepped out of the truck and unloaded the bay dogs they began running around and using the bathroom clearly excited and ready for work. I was handed several mule tape tie strings, an extra dog lead, and one end of a lead that had a vested catch dog named, Spot, on the other end of it. Spot was small for a catch dog and had the greatest disposition, he was incredibly friendly and just yesterday I had seen him laying on his back in the yard playing with several Airedale pups who had wandered into his area. I couldn’t imagine that he was going to willingly catch a hog let alone be large enough to hold it.

As we walked down into the bottom we saw fresh hog rooting which the dogs had already been across and had disappeared into the woods ahead. Some of the young pups trotting not too far in front of us threw their noses to the ground and seemed to be energized and trailed very quickly into the woods in the same direction the older more experienced dogs had already gone.

Just as Shaun’s dad was pulling out the tracking system to track the collars of the bay dogs we had placed on them that morning the largest commotion I had ever heard met my ears! Dogs barking (baying) a whole rally of hogs! How did I know it was a rally? Well at the time I didn’t, Shaun’s dad later explained the vocabulary to me because at that time THERE WAS NO TIME! All of a sudden Shaun and his brother, took off sprinting in the direction of the bay after having already grabbed…snatched…Spot’s lead out of my hands! Thankfully his dad stayed with me at that moment to give me directives!

As we ran in the direction of the bay and the group of hogs it became louder and louder!!! Running up to a large group of hogs rallying and cackling as they are being bayed by dogs is something that will get your blood pumping(even faster if you have just been running) and shoot adrenaline through your veins quicker than anything I had ever experienced before! We weren’t yet close enough to see any of the dogs or the hogs but we were so close it was nearly deafening! All at once the dogs stopped baying because the hogs began to break and run. Shaun’s dad and I were just about to catch up to Shaun and and his brother when we saw hogs running through the woods in all directions.

Ok so this is my first hog hunt remember, we have no guns what so ever and I don’t even have a dog anymore! I had heard stories about hogs charging people and truthfully was seriously starting to rethink this adventure because Shaun’s brother, who had been hog hunting many times started running around looking for a larger tree to climb screaming, “they’re coming this way!” I’m not sure how much of that was actual fear and how much of it was to freak me out! Boys! There was no time to find a tree to climb though and really the hogs were more interested in getting as far from where we were as quickly as possible. The dogs bayed a hog down in the creek not 45 yards from us! The catch dogs were going CRAZY! Calm little Spot was transformed and it was clear he was more than willing to catch! The boys unleashed both dogs who ran straight to the bay and then as if we couldn’t make any more commotion in the woods the loudest sound I’d ever heard (which later in my hunting career has become music to my ears) began emanating from the creek…..the fabulous most musical squeal of a CAUGHT HOG! Later I learned from experience that larger hogs don’t always squeal they sort of make a grunting cackle sound(this sound later took the place of that adrenaline upper I mentioned from earlier because catching a 330lb boar hog by hand is a RUSH!) Of course the boys rushed down the bank and into the creek first and I ran in to see my husband holding both back legs of a totally live squealing hog with 2 catch dogs attached to each of it’s two ears! Shaun and his brother flipped the hog and climbed on top of it while I was instructed to pull the catch dogs off. They were both very reluctant to let go and then I had to tie them to two separate trees not close to each other or the hog and us as they were still very interested in catching again!

As Shaun was tying up the hog he was sitting on, I heard the bay dogs baying again which sped up the tying process and we were off again!

This hunt was amazing to watch, it was so interesting to see the dogs work and to observe the relationship between Shaun’s family and the dogs. To see them work as a team each relying on the other to do their part for all of the pieces to fall into place and everything to work like a well oiled machine. I wanted to be a part of that and to build those relationships too, not only with the dogs but with the guys too. I wanted to prove myself and be one of them, not just an observer that could lead a dog or pull one off but someone you were going to have to run faster than if you wanted to be the first to get your hands on the hog at the bay! (I’m happy to report I achieved that and more, successfully immersing myself in various different types of hunting and loving every minute of it!)

Holy Moly! HOW FUN! Needless to say I was hooked! We caught 3 hogs that morning and gathered them and the dogs up and were back at the house by 10:30 unloading the hogs in the pen and putting up the dogs. I can say now that that was by far an incredibly easy absolutely perfect hunt because they aren’t always like that! Sometimes you don’t catch anything, sometimes you walk/run more miles than you thought you were capable of! Sometimes the dogs get cut by hogs and need doctoring. Sometimes you get cut..by branches, briars and such….sometimes you push yourself to the point that you get to see what you’re made of. You come back wet and nasty, hungry and thirsty but full of stories and memories that can never be stripped away because you actually got up and experienced it for yourself rather than watching it on a screen and thinking you know how it feels! I’m still so grateful to my husband and his father for awakening this love for the outdoors and hunting in me!

Reliving that story in my mind has me longing to get out from behind this computer and hit the woods! Whatever you choose to do to satisfy your hunger for the outdoors for a bit, until it’s time to call in thunder chickens, take a friend! Maybe you haven’t experienced hunting before and are feeling inspired to go….CARPE DIEM!!!…..seize the day!!!!….bug your spouse, mom, dad, friend, cousin, or neighbor and get out and enjoy the beauty of what God has created!

As with all hunting and fishing activities, proper state licenses are required and all state and federal game laws should be observed. Please visit your state’s website to familiarize yourself with laws and regulations! Just because you don’t have a hunting lease don’t count yourself out! Most states have a lot of great public hunting land for you to enjoy with the purchase of an Annual Public Hunting Permit! For Texas Visit http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
MAWAGE

July 23rd, 2023

Please tell me you pronounced that title like it was said on “The Princess Bride”!? In all actuality I was wanting to stay in my horse world with horse thoughts, but I’m doing a zoom Bible study with a group of women about combatting lies we have believed with the truth found in the Word of God. This week was about???? You guessed it MAWAGE, or in case you haven’t seen “The Princess Bride”, (shame on you! LOL) marriage.

Coming from a broken home in a society where divorce is the norm I really never understood the symbolism of marriage. I understood that it was an important commitment to be taken seriously and except in cases of extreme exceptions, marriage is lifelong. I didn’t start to truly grasp the Biblical imagery of marriage until well over a decade into my marriage. Additionally, I carried and still catch myself carrying some unhealthy or incorrect thoughts, fears, and ideas about marriage. It is always when I come to the Word of God that I am able to see those imperfections and allow His Word to correct them and then act on them.

We understand the concepts of monogamy, and faithfulness that are true of a marriage, in Genesis 2:24 “husband and wife are joined together and become one flesh.” We even see the Old Testament prophets (specifically Hosea)compare God’s people to a wife cheating on her husband, God.

Often, we incorrectly think marriage means one or the other spouse loses their individuality. This was especially true in my case when well-intentioned people taught me what is required of me to be a Godly wife and explained the expectation of submissiveness citing Ephesians 5:22. Under their tutelage my life would now revolve around my husband and I would care for his every need, clean the house, wash the clothes, raise the children, make myself available to him and serve him. Under instruction like that, I was basically walking rebellion looking for a place to happen. If you look at that entire passage and unpack the rest of it and back up to Ephesians 4:15-16 as well, you understand that “as husbands are to be the head of the wife as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything,” we are really talking about leadership and so much more. Unpack that whole passage from Eph 5:22 down to verse 33 and sprinkle in Eph 4!

Ephesians 5:22-33New American Standard Bible 1995

Marriage Like Christ and the Church

²²Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. ²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, ²⁶so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷that He might present to Himself the church ^[a]in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. ²⁸So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; ²⁹for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, ³⁰because we are members of His body. ³¹For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. ³²This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. ³³Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she ^[b]respects her husband.

Understanding God’s attributes also helps us to better understand the relationship between husband and wife as we submit to the authority of God. We know that God is needless, and is not served by human hands according to Acts 17:25. We also know that according to Psalm 145:8-9 that He is gracious, merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and good to all. In the passage in Ephesians 5 above, we see evidence of the husband’s responsibility to exhibit characteristics of these attributes, and trust me, a man like that is easy to follow! The body of Christ has Christ as the head, the leader. So a wife should be inclined to follow the husband’s leadership. John Piper uses “the inclination to yield or a disposition to follow because no subjection to another human is absolute. The husband does not replace Christ as the woman’s supreme authority.” Humans, including our husbands, are sinful and we should never follow them into sin. This is certainly building the picture of a relationship between husband and wife that because I love and trust him, I want to follow him while understanding we are both in subjection to God as we together follow Him.

Interesting, now we’re getting somewhere I’m on board with going. This is painting a picture of God’s relationship with His people, the church, believers in Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord. Just as God allowed the use of the different individual writing styles of the men who penned the 66 books of the Bible as the Holy Spirit led, being in submission to God or our husband’s doesn’t mean we lose our individuality nor are we becoming their nanny as if they aren’t capable of doing anything for themselves. We are all members of one body, but all do not have the same function, yet all are needed for the body to be complete and effective. Just as members of the body are gifted with certain spiritual giftings to be used to serve and make the body of Christ stronger and more effective, I also have individual and specific traits that when paired with my husband make our partnership better, capable of more than we could each achieve separately. The hand may bring food to the mouth, and the mouth may chew, but the nutrients never get used in the body without the digestive system. All of these parts are needed to work in their individual ways collectively to accomplish a main goal. While I have had the great privilege of being able to stay home with our kids and start my own business while my hubby works outside the home, I do end up doing most of the housework, childcare, and a lot of the cooking, but make no mistake, my hubby is capable of doing all of those things too and does as do our kids. He doesn’t do them to “help me out,” he does them because he lives here too, and we together had children and we all collectively make the messes so we all collectively clean them up.

For years I compared myself to women I held on a pedestal of being the perfect submissive wives with their clean houses and washed folded, and put away laundry, their organizing gadgets, and their calm, gentle and quiet ways with everyone. I tend to be a little louder, and sometimes too opinionated, I don’t think mating socks should ever have been a thing, and I like tidy, but I also prefer our home look like we live there, and you can feel comfortable relaxing there too. I have always been what others previously called a tomboy, I prefer the outside to the inside and when I am inside, I like to bring the outside in with me, so it doesn’t feel quite so inside. I love so many of the things the boys love, hunting, fishing, muscle cars and tough trucks, baseball, shooting, and don’t mind competing with them to prove it, since birth ya’ll. All of these things together made me feel like I’d never be the perfect organized, decorative, clean freak, soft-spoken, timid, servant and prayer warrior of wife that I thought I had to be. All I can say now is, THANK GOD I’M NOT what I thought I was supposed to be. Those women are absolutely what THEIR husbands need, and they are slaying what God called them to do inside THEIR giftings for THEIR families.

My husband needed all of the things I thought were wrong about me as well as being a servant of Christ and prayer warrior! He’s needed an actual warrior at times to stand beside him and wield a sword and he’s needed me to stand in front and shield him when he’s needed to catch a breath. My kids, all believers, have been made Holy through the blood of Christ, but they are also a little hood! So sometimes I have to break out my hood side and set things straight! We’re a little hood and holy! I honestly think if I was less Jael and more Esther or Naomi like, that I wouldn’t have been capable of being up to the task of being Shaun’s help mate! The way God made me wasn’t a mistake and I’m not some rebellious jezebel, which I have actually been called, bless her heart, I know she meant well. I’m definitely a sinner who needed a Savior and I’m in definite need of staying in the Word of God and asking forgiveness when I realize I have behaved in a way that is contrary to God’s will, but I was uniquely made by Him for MY race and MY family so I have different strengths and talents than other women who need what God gifted THEM with for THEIR families and THEIR RACE.

You may be feeling some of these same things too. I’ve talked with many a woman who doesn’t understand why she was made a certain way instead of like some other lady whom she clearly admires. I can assure you; I’ve been there, and comparison is a joy thief and, in this case, a great way the enemy attacks and whoops up on us or lets us whoop up on ourselves! I can also assure you that God does not make mistakes, He is perfect the Bible says so in Matthew 5:48. As long as you are following Him and yielding to His leadership your fierceness, timidity, or insert any adjective that obviously does not contradict the word of God, meaning it is not sinful. Those qualities about you are exactly the way you are supposed to be for YOUR race as you pursue Christ and use your uniqueness to help both the body of Christ be more effective as well as your marriage while you use them in your role as wife and bondservant of Christ!

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Horse Girls

July 11th, 2023

My bestie just sent me a super fun insta reel of someone describing what it means to give off “horse girl” vibes. There were several girls attempting to jump several jumps as a horse would in an arena and the conversation is layered over the video. At the end, the one thing that truly defines a horse girl is being unapologetically themselves. I instantly replied that I definitely aspire to be a horse girl when I grow up!

Toddler me and the beginning of a life long love!

The truth is I’ve been around horses all of my life and I’ve been around girls who love horses equally as much as I do and girls who love them even more than I do. I think we all unapologetically admit to our love of horses even when it seems crazy or financially irresponsible, but one thing I know about all of us from the most experienced and successful to the hobby horse lover, is that we are all susceptible to the lies Satan is so good at tempting us to believe, especially about ourselves. Even the most unapologetically themselves horse girl has doubts, fears, and sometimes anxiety that her horse can sometimes be the cause of and sometimes temporarily relieve!

Smokey gets so excited to see me he sits right down for a visit sometimes! These are the best conversations!

This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. I’ve declared on more than one occasion that horses are the most stressful stress relievers on the planet, any horse related endeavor can often be a logistical nightmare! My relationship with my equine has taught me so much and caused me to reflect on myself and situations with new eyes. ( I say equine because if I left my mule, Smokey, out of my musings he’d be offended and surely retaliate in an inconvenient but not dangerous way, he can be petty sometimes!)

Mountain views scream the magnificence of God our Creator

When I go out to feed, check on, ride, or just smell my equine they could care less what I look like, or how I’m dressed. They spell love T-I-M-E and also maybe F-E-E-D (insert laughy face) but seriously, they don’t care what I look like, or smell like as long as I show up. It should go without saying that my relationship with God is the same way, He doesn’t care what I look like, how I smell, make up or no make up, messy bun or ball cap.

Lena poses for selfies and always goes with the flow!

When I climb through that fence and I spend time with my arms around one of my equine, listening to their snorting as they eat grass, their tails swishing and breathing in their smell, or I simply just sit in the pasture and be near them, watching them and observing their behavior I find myself relaxing, breathing more deeply, and experiencing a moment of peace. This is the same way I feel every time I am intentional to seek God, to spend time in His Word and allow His Word to correct with it’s truths the lies I’ve been deceived into believing, but unlike the pasture, long after I’ve gone on with the rest of my day, His word is hidden in my heart and His presence dwelling within me continues to guide and direct me.

Mo and Cricket are not nearly as impressed with Wesley’s antics

It is very often as I stand draped across or around one of the horses or riding at sunrise on a cool mountain morning that my soul sings in gratitude of the goodness of God. I specifically remember one morning ride in the mountains in Colorado while the sun began to rise and pierce through the last yellow leaves of the aspens to bathe the forest floor. As we quietly rode through the unbelievable beauty of God’s creation, tears streamed down my face and my soul seemed to hum a song in awe of God’s magnificence. Talking to the Lord while breathing in the aroma of horse (why is this not a candle) is a common occurrence for me. There’s something about the view from the saddle, or even the pasture that always shifts my gaze and my thoughts to the Lord.

Colorado morning mountain rides

Horse girls may have some defining characteristics, like hay in their hair, poop on their boots, being able to tack out by themselves and maybe seeming a little obsessed with our equine sometimes, but for me, God has used my love of horses(and mules) to show me things about His love for me and how much more peaceful and rooted I stand when I’m intentional about seeking Him, observing Him, and spending time in His Word and His presence.

Pedernales Falls, TX with Lena, Cricket and Skeeter and the kiddos
Being Mom

May 17th, 2023

This Mother’s Day felt different than those that have come before. For the second year in a row I did not have all 3 kids together with me but while I missed my oldest terribly, it didn’t hurt as bad as it did the year before. As I reflected on my life and all of the things that have changed drastically over the last two years, one of the things that hasn’t changed is being mom.

I heard a lady once say that she understood the highest calling on her life was being a mother to the children the Lord blessed her with to raise and that she would not stoop to be the Queen of England if it got in the way of her fulfilling that calling. At that time, it was a soothing balm to my soul. I had heard another very successful, brilliant business woman call stay at home moms, especially ones with a degree, parasitic leaches on their husbands. I was just about to graduate from college with my undergraduate but had no plans on immediately entering the workforce as my husband and I had decided I would home school our kids. I took that lady’s comment hard. That was in 2010 and I can still hear her like it was yesterday, so the other woman’s God centered encouragement was a seed of truth planted in the soil of my faith at exactly the right time.

This is not to say that I have not struggled with needing or wanting to do other things that I was capable of doing while schooling and loving my kiddos. I started a business, volunteered on our Chamber Board and helped to serve our community, and had the blessing and honor of serving first as a volunteer and later on staff at our church directing youth. I went to graduate school and collected certificates for many other trainings. So many things, so many hats. Each of those seasons has changed as God has moved in our lives and challenged us to walk more deeply into new places and seasons with Him. I struggled heavily at first as many of the posts on this blog will affirm, I felt I had become untethered from so many of the things in my life that seemed to make me who I was rather than just things I did.

If you’re reading this and you’re a mom, chances are you are shaking your head because this is something you already knew, but sometimes I can be really slow on the uptake. While reflecting this Mother’s Day I realized that so many things about my life change and will continue to change as I follow the Lord, but one thing that will never change, because it is not a season, is being mom! It’s ok that “being mom” is part of my identity, I love being a mother! I have found an incredible blessing in this season of not having a ton of other hats to wear and getting to just be mom. I’ve discovered new things about my “kids” 20, 18 and 16 (not technically kids but ya know), I’ve discovered new recipes we love as we’ve had time to experiment in the kitchen together. We’ve learned to dance together, traveled more together, laughed more, cried more, and loved more together! We’ve learned to be more intentional with one another. Those nightly phone calls around dinner time that usually start with, “Hey Mama Bear, how do I cook (random favorite food), or what’s the recipe for…..” are music to my ears and make my heart swell with joy. I cherish our calls and time together better, especially that very intentional Mother’s Day one for just me! Even though we don’t live together anymore, I’m still mom, (or Mama Bear as the oldest calls me) and as the other two get older and eventually “fly the coop,” I’m going to be an absolute mess, but I’m still going to be mom! I still get to love them and speak words of encouragement and truth to them. I will always get to be Mom. aka Mama Bear, Ma, MUH- THER, Maaaahhhhhhhhm, MMMMAAAAHH, Mama Ray and random other variations from our bonus kids I’m privileged to get to love on beside their parents too!
Finding Frankie

May 1st, 2023

At this point the world knows I have a 60 pound escape artist of a tortoise! He’s escaped at our home in Texas and he’s escaped at our home in Virginia. The first time he escaped it was completely my fault, I left the gates open! Future escapes have been because he’s strong, or major rain events have caused deterioration to his pen, or something on his pen broke or wore out like this last time. Sometimes it takes us a bit to figure out what we need to fix. As a result he’s now outfitted with a tracker!

There’s always tears and heartache when I lose Franklin. This time was no different. He was gone for 6 days and I cried every one of them. I searched every single day even in the rain knowing the weather was too cool in the evenings for him to go too far or move too much. He was ultimately found less than a half mile from the house by the sweetest girls who were just as elated at having found him an reunited him with us as we were that they found him and he was safe and sound.

I realized while taking steps to ensure we don’t have to go through this heartache again that there was something far more beautiful that has happened each time Frankie has been found.

In our community in Texas and in our community here in Virginia when the trumpet blast was sounded via social media, word of mouth, and text or phone calls, the community sprung into action to help us. When people you don’t know, have never met, and maybe never will, take the time to not only share your post, but to physically go out and walk the neighborhood, to message or comment words of encouragement and let you know they’re praying it ads dimension to the relief of finding Frankie. This is the beauty of community! God created us in His image which includes living in relationship and community together with Him but also with each other.

Finding Frankie in Texas and Virginia has come with its beauty and relief but seeing communities come together to support us in both of those places has been so much more beautiful. Honestly, we were longing for the same type of connection to our new community here in Virginia that we have in Texas. Finding Frankie helped us to see the beauty of this precious community and see with new eyes the joy of connecting to others in it.

I can only imagine what life was like in the early church in Acts chapter 2 as they daily met together and broke bread in their homes and shared their meals and “God added daily to their numbers those who were being saved!” Acts 2:47

Community, connection, unity is important, Paul writes about having the same mind in Philippians 2 loving one another and being united in spirit intent on one purpose. Specifically, he even noted to consider others interests as important as your own.

Our community considered my interests in Finding Frankie. They demonstrated love to us and we are so grateful to be a part of them, but also to see God’s word more clearly as we think about living in community and being united in one spirit intent on furthering the gospel.

This may mean sacrificing my time, my wants, my preferences so that someone else will come to know Jesus as Savior and King. As I reflect on how our community responded in love to help us find Frankie, I also reflect on God’s word and purpose for our lives and the tenacity with which he leaves the 99 to find the one lost (Matt 18 and Luke 15) and hope that we demonstrate that same zeal for sharing the gospel with the lost!
Sight Unseen

April 29th, 2023

Have you ever walked around in the dark behind someone who had a flashlight but you didn’t? I remember this one time, in Texas of course, we were hog hunting. I can’t remember if Shaun and I were dating or had just gotten married but we were hog hunting with dogs with Shaun’s dad. I was new to hog hunting and had not run in and caught my first hog at that point. At that time I was the one who ran in after the dogs had caught and the guys had reached the hog and needed someone to pull the catch dogs off and secure them. Anyway, the bay dogs bayed in a pine thicket and we were fairly close, Shaun and his dad took off running with the catch dogs pausing to let them go as soon as they were close enough. You could hear the rally of hogs when they ran in. You could also hear the moment the catch dogs caught. I was not as brave, courageous, crazy at that time and didn’t run in as fast as the guys but I was headed that way. I was jogging in the pitch black of night without a flash light or a head light on my cap while hogs of various sizes were running out right past me and away! I remember being terrified but knowing I had to show up and do my part on our team. Depending on the size of the hog or if they had two separate hogs rather than one, they could use my help. I literally started saying out loud over and over, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” from Philippians 4 verse 13. Granted, I was taking it wildly out of context because I didn’t know any better at that time but in retrospect even then, in my belief I realized where strength and power came from. I realized that to go on in difficult or terrifying situations I would have to rely on God.

Fast forward 22 years, more hog hunts than I can count although now we don’t have any dogs to enjoy chasing around the woods and we do our night hunting with thermals, a whole other level of disorienting and not being able to decipher what you’re seeing with your naked eyes when switching back and forth for a while walking around. I was meeting the hubs for dinner, but needed to get diesel because I’m one of those people who likes to let it get dangerously low. In my defense the light had not even come on this time! Now that I’m in my forties I find it difficult to read things without my glasses, this is a fun little thing that is apparently gifted to you pretty much on your 40th birthday. Anyhow, I couldn’t really read the sign to tell how much diesel was from that distance but the closer I got the more clearly I could see it. I was reflecting on the fact that I can actually see long distances well and it is usually only reading and computer work I struggle with. Then I reminisced about hog hunting experiences when I didn’t have a light or a thermal and just trusted following along behind Shaun or Daddy (Shaun’s Dad).

I thought about how much that describes my faith, realizing that when Paul wrote that we “walk by faith and not by sight” in 2nd Corinthians 5:7 he was talking about believing in the gospel and works of God when we have not seen it as Jesus mentioned in John 20:29. The Old Testament Jews witnessed the power of God in mighty ways and many of the New Testament Jews and Gentiles, witnessed Jesus Himself. For me it’s always easier to trust something I’ve seen with my own eyes, but that’s not faith, you have indisputable proof and answers, you don’t have to have faith. To me, I do have indisputable proof of the truths of the Bible, both historical and experiential, but I don’t have all of the answers or understand everything, that’s why walking by faith is necessary.

Not having needed the therapy session of writing in a while I was able to dwell on what the Lord has brought me through and assured me of in this new season. If he had allowed me to see the big picture in fine detail like I can when I put my reading glasses on, I wouldn’t have learned as much, grown as much, tasted humble pie that I didn’t want to eat but definitely needed a piece of, and I wouldn’t be as grateful for the goodness and faithfulness of God as I am right now. As I drove towards those gas stations last night continuing to move forward but not knowing which one I was going to pull into until I could clearly see the prices, I thought that’s exactly what this last season looked like. We knew the direction we were supposed to walk obediently in but we couldn’t see the picture clearly. My focus is so much clearer now and God and an amazing group of Bible study ladies, have helped me to untether from needing to walk by sight and tether myself to walking by faith even when I can’t see clearly.

We joke sometimes in Bible study, especially when studying Revelation, when we struggle with something we are reading that we always just go back to the attributes of God and think about what we KNOW about his character revealed to us plainly in His word, and then think about how what we are struggling with aligns with His attributes and the metanarrative of the Bible. If it isn’t for our good and His glory and to win people to the Lord or help them walk in obedience then it’s stinking thinking. Walking in faith means I don’t always understand, but just like my relationship with my husband…and our dogs…I trust him, even when it’s scary, or I’m hurting, I walk forward in obedience, sometimes having to drag my feelings along behind me, and just as they are now, eventually the picture becomes clearer and more of God’s amazing character is revealed and my feelings align with my obedience. I see God continuing to work on me just as He promised! If I had seen it clearly in the beginning it wouldn’t have caused me to grow or stand more in awe and worship giving God the glory and trusting Him even more. I’m so grateful He’s not finished with me yet, even if moving forward isn’t always easy!
Anchoring to Your Leader

March 23rd, 2023

You Lead, I’ll Follow
(If you know that Jamie Grace song, you’re welcome for it now being stuck on repeat in your head!)

With all of the end of the year banquets, and graduation announcements flooding the mail and social media it’s hard not to think about the high school graduates right now. This is true for us especially as our own daughter has just graduated and started her official first year as a full-time college sophomore, but also because we were the Directors of Students at Frist Baptist Grapeland and were with our oldest son’s group since they were freshman, actually 8th graders! OH the memories! Thirteen of them graduated and saw one season of their lives change into a new exciting, and for some, possibly a scary or intimidating season, just as Grace embarks on now. Shaun and I have an anchor verse that we generally write on personalized messages to them, Proverbs 3:5-6, it will be our text for today and it’s not only applicable to graduates in this new season, but to us as well and especially to me as I have shared about entering a new season of my life.

One of my very favorite things about Scripture is that Scripture Interprets Scripture. Scripture is internally consistent, other verses can help interpret other verses, we’ve even talked some about the “big ideas” or metanarratives, and themes throughout Scripture with loads of Scriptures that tie together to bring a full understanding of the theme or metanarrative. In both of these situations, the author is God, so there’s no room for human error of interpretation. Why am I saying all of this? The previous piece on “Hinds Feet” can help us to better understand today’s “direction of our path”!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.”
Proverbs 3:5-6

Whatever we go through in life, we are to trust in the Lord and not lean on our understanding and let God direct our path. What do we know about our understanding? It’s a tough pill to swallow, but

Proverbs 21:2 tells us “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.”

So what about our hearts?

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

BUT GOD! I’m SO thankful for his love and mercy, for loving us while we were still sinners(Rom 5:8) and sending his Son to reconcile us to himself through his atoning sacrifice and defeat of death (2 Corinth 5:18, 1John 2:2)! When we trust God with all of our heart and we acknowledge Him in all of our ways, HE directs our paths, He’s the captain of our ship, the trail guide, the pilot, the driver! Does that change the terrain? Does that mean there won’t be potholes, storms, turbulence, or sheer rocky cliffs? We learned previously that those are some of the exact places God has already equipped us with “hinds feet” to trod, that when we trust God and are in pursuit of Him and understand that He gives us “hinds feet” to handle the terrain HE sets us on, regardless of our circumstance, we don’t have to be fearful, and we aren’t alone because He is with us wherever we go! HOW COMFORTING IS THAT!? Isn’t it awesome how all of these Scriptures connect together to help us deepen our understanding of the love of God and how He in His divine wisdom which is incomparable (Psalm 40:5, Isa 46:5) to anything, has spared no details!
As we traverse these next few days, weeks, years, and for some, a new season of life, let’s be sure that we are being intentional about untethering ourselves from our way, and trusting God and acknowledging Him to direct our paths!
Justification

March 9th, 2023

Long time no type. Well, it hasn’t really been that long but much longer than normal. Why? I’ve been in a funk, not a writing funk, a “what do I do with myself funk”. It’s crazy how this happens and the things that seem to pull me out of them. Almost every time, it’s digging into God’s word, and connection. This time is no different. Gracie is finishing up 2 classes before she gets a spring break and starts two more. She’s taking a theology class and one of her assignments was to write an essay on a term associated with the doctrine of salvation. She was struggling a little to understand why defining terms such as adoption, conversion, regeneration, redemption, reconciliation, justification, election, sanctification, or glorification were important if you understood the big picture. We broke it down and began to talk it out anyway.

One of the things we practiced when the kids were younger before they started dual credit classes was what we called “fast writing story starts.” Sometimes we would take a random prompt and be given 30 minutes to write a story or part of a story that started with that prompt. Other times we did a 30 minute who, what, where, when, why on a particular person or event. I usually participated in these too and we read them out loud to each other afterwards. She chose the word justification, and we worked together to dig it out of Scripture and see at what point someone is justified in Christ.

As Grace rightly pointed out, justification isn’t a new concept, people have been justifying their actions for centuries, usually it’s when they have done something they weren’t supposed to do and they want to rationalize it to make the actions appear, right or justified, in right alignment with something……and cue fast writing story start on justification!

It is difficult to single out one aspect of the doctrine of salvation and analyze it’s relationship to sin and to a believer’s personal life. Perhaps one of the most interesting and visually appealing aspects of salvation is that of justification. A quick google search of the word justification reveals the definition to be “the action of showing something to be right or reasonable,” “good reason that something exists or has been done”, theologically speaking, “the action of declaring or making righteous in the sight of God,” or when typing a document, “the action of justifying a line of type or piece of text.” The last one paints the best picture although it’s difficult to understand since the word being defined is used in the definition. Simply put, justification is to put into right or correct alignment. Sin in the lives of humanity takes humans out of correct alignment with God the Father. Similar to beginning a paper with the heading in the center of the paper and then continuing to type the body of the paper while still aligned in the center. The body of a paper belongs on the left side of the paper and is out of alignment. When the left alignment or justification tab is selected the body of the paper is put into proper alignment.

Concerning salvation, the cause of our improper alignment is sin.

Romans 3:21-26, “21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; 26 for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Romans 3:21-26 NASB

Jesus is the “control “a” (select all) control “L” (left align or justify) buttons of our life! The only thing that will align us rightly is repentance, which includes expressing sorrow over sin, turning from sin, and turning to God and faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Both of the words Savior and Lord need unpacking as well however, we will stick with justification. A wage is given as payment for sin, according to Romans 6:23, this wage is spiritual death. When repentance and faith in Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for that sin occurs, Jesus pays with His death as the only worthy, sinless sacrifice and we are then justified (aligned rightly) with God the Father because of Jesus. He pays your tab!

Galatians 2:16 states, “16 nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”
Galatians 2:16 NASB

Humanity cannot align itself rightly with God the Father. Humans cannot work for their salvation. The only way to be justified is by faith in Jesus. Ephesians 2:8-9 reiterates this same theological concept that we are saved by faith through grace not of our own works.

As a believer, while I am now aligned rightly with the Father through Jesus and sealed with the deposit of the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14), I still am in need of sanctification, a process in which I become more and more like Christ throughout my life as a result of making decisions that reflect correct alignment with God. This means there are things I do and don’t participate in, things I do say and things I do not say regardless of where I am work, home, school, grocery store etc. as a result of my desire to follow Jesus’ teachings and become more Christ like. Sanctification is a process that will continue until my physical death or Jesus comes back as Philippians 1:6 indicates.

Justification is immediate when I repent and believe and occurs at the moment of Salvation “for if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10) It is at that moment a person becomes a believer and is put into correct alignment, justified, and righteous.

ANNNND TIME! I love how connection to and with others, especially studying the word of God together always aligns my thoughts rightly and untethers me from whatever funk I’m in! It’s almost as if we were created to live in relationship/community with one another (she typed sarcastically), because we were absolutely created this way!