Delight North Carolina Retreat

Hi everyone,
So I went to a retreat through the Delight group for young women pursuing God through the creative arts. Here are a few young ladies photos and photography webpages. So have a look at their work for sure and enjoy the photos.

The above photo is a picture of every single one of us all together who attended the retreat. There were 16 gals in all and we had a blast. Can't you tell!? ;) Definitely check out the Gorgeous Erin's webpage.

                       This photo was taken by the lovely Megan over at Megan Justine Photography.

Friday evening, I arrived in North Carolina at the guest home with two other lovely gals from my area. I was blown away by the non superficial atmosphere of the whole retreat. Each gal there was real, down to earth, pursuing Christ, and proud of it. :) The moment I hopped out of the car, a whole group of gals came running out of the beautiful green house excited we had arrived with open arms. Embracing the three of us, I could tell there was something different about this retreat from any other I have attended. The difference was it was not a judgmental or negative environment. But not only that, each gal had come not knowing if she would "fit in" per say or be accepted by the other gals who were coming.

This photo was taken by the hilarious and gorgeous Meredith Sledge.

And guess what? We all accepted each other because Christ the Lord accepts us with opens arms even when we mess up. He picks us up every time we fall and whispers, " My maid servant, I forgive you and I will carry you the rest of the journey." 

So as I was embraced with open arms, souls communing with other souls, and much laughter that Friday evening I was blown away by Gods Magnificent love for everyone once again. 

After being awake from 6:30 am Friday until 2am Saturday night after much anticipation, laughter, tears, long conversations, and good food my head hit the pillow wondering what God had in store a few hours later.

I woke up at 6:45am, yep you read that right 6:45am. My body naturally wakes up early because I had to retrain it this year to start doing that. Its really been a blessing for me to get up early and be able to start my day earlier. I naturally get more done in the mornings since I am naturally a morning person. But I realized that I needed more rest since I had only gotten 5 or so hours of sleep. So I spent some time with God, got some breakfast, drank some tea, and pondered what God had done. He had brought me to this house full of souls who also love creating for God. I was really astounded as I had told Erin the night before. Right now in this moment, I am still amazed at how God has changed my life because of my time with Him and 15 other creative minds for a weekend. 

So eventually, a few gals got up one by one and around 9:30 I think everyone was awake and we had our waffles, tea, and coffee, and other goodies. But the thing that was better than all the lovely food for me was the amazing fellowship. We all had never met before in person, but we all felt like sisters already. 

As a gal who grew up with only one sister and no other siblings I always admired large families, or even families with 3 kids instead of just 2. So being with lots of people has always been fun for me and I feed off of it and get inspiration and a sort of high from being around others. But doing some time with God for 2 hours after breakfast made me realize if I just had God and me I would be ok. I do not need people to breathe, I do not need people in order to function, all I need is Jesus. I realized that and now I am content even being alone in regards to people, but just being with God. Its so freeing and I feel so joyful now knowing I would be ok without anybody else. But a few months ago I was not there, but now by Gods amazing and I mean amazing grace I can function with just Him and me if I had to. He is my all in all! We sang the song " You are My All In All" one of the evenings there and it was amazing. I could sing those words and mean it! God is my all in all, no one else is. I myself am not my everything, God is now.

We did our 2 hours of God time and then ate lunch together. Then we did a group photo of everyone, which you saw above after everyone had some more time to get ready and chat some more and oh did I say chat some more. ;) 

Check out the Stellar and beautiful Elizabeth's lovely photography too!

I stayed up till 2 am again after we had some time to share with each other all together as once what God was doing in ours lives. We also prayed for any gals who asked for it then and there. We also watched a movie for the gals interested, while some edited photos, some drew, some of us including me sang along with the movie, and some created or talked. It was oh so refreshing to be around other gals who also creative things on a whim and it was not a thing on my list, but I did it anyway. I do so many things on the fly these days, such as writing a song, writing a letter, singing, playing the piano, or drawing. So it was nice to get to know others who also are creative like that too.

photo credit Anna Gray Photography

Sunday morning, when I woke I remember saying to myself, " This is going by too fast!" :) But then I said to myself, " just enjoy each moment and don't think ahead to come Monday you will have to go home. Be joyful in this moment Rebecca that God has brought you here to minister to others and be ministered to by others for Gods glory." 

photo credit Kiley Zubke Photography

We did an impromptu trip to a beach there in North Carolina that was gorgeous! So lots of the photos you will see are at that beach. After Anna Gray took pictures of me I felt like I had let go of any legalistic and terrible lies I had believed for years. I had believed the lie from Satan that I was not beautiful for years, until this year of 2013. I had also believed I should not wear dresses without sleeves or that showed much of my figure. But I wore the dress below knowing it was something God told me through the Holy Spirit gloried Him and it was ok to show my shoulders. :) So I cried when I got home and looked at all the girls photos with me in them when I got home. The reason I cried was because I could truly see that Christ has made me beautiful because He is has made me a new creation. Now I am gorgeous in His sight and I can see that in the photos of myself. Its really amazing that Christ shines through. 

photo credit Anna Gray Photography

So Sunday was amazing as well, with worship of the Lord God as many moments as I could in my head or with a pen, or with my voice, or with my words. I have realized more and more that each moment can be worship and communion with God if we let it just be. 

photo credit Anna Gray Photography

I wanted to let you all know that my outfit is a vintage 1960s cocktail dress. Its the same dress I wore in this post. Also I made the flower crown using some of my own ideas and this video. I was inspired by this pin from Pinterest too. The fake flowers I bought at Michaels Craft store, and of course for a special event you could use real flowers. I hot glued the fake flowers onto a plastic headband I already had lying around my room. :)

photo credit Anna Gray Photography

My pearl necklace was a gift from my mother when I was probably 10 years old. So its a favorite. She bought it for me when she visited Canada and brought it home to me. I wear it with pride ever since. If you wanted a similar look I know Target and Walmart and Goodwill, Sears, Kohls, J.C. Penny and thrift stores are great places to find fake or even real pearls.

photo credit Anna Gray Photography

The beaded belt was a steal from Goodwill a few years ago. I believe I only pay at the most $5.00 for it. I know hate me now. lol And the glass earrings were a gift from a choir friend. Thank you!

photo credit Anna Gray Photography

This photo above, which was also taken by the animated, down to earth Anna Gray is my favorite. The reason its my favorite is because it symbolizes me right now. I am looking forward in the picture, just like spiritually I am looking forward with my eyes on the prize/the goal. My goal in life, to commune with my God each day through creativity and in a fresh way. Jesus I love you more than words can say! 

So Saturday was a blast modeling and taking photos on the beach and then going back to the guest home and making personal pizzas and hanging out. Then Monday morning came all too soon and all the bags were packed and the house of cleaned. It was a long trip home, but it was lovely getting to jam to great music, talk, and ponder what had happened. I was so glad to have met each and every gal who was there! Each of you ladies will forever be dear real friends. I love you all! 

God bless and if you read this whole thing. Woah! ;)

Rebecca

Glorifying God Through Song

Hi everyone!

photo copyright Lindsey Weberg Photography 2012

I am honored to have been asked to write about my journey as a musician and follower of Christ and how the two of those things mesh together. Go have a look at my guest post over at the Delight blog.

God bless!
Rebecca

New to Me Vintage Hat

Hi Everyone!

 Today I wore a favorite dress of mine I made a little while ago from Jennie Chancey's Swing dress pattern. Click here to see Jennie's pattern company and click here to see my posts about the process of sewing the dress.

 I hope your Lord's Day was refreshing spiritually as well as physically. For me it was so exciting to see Gods people studying God's Word and talking about the great God we serve together. It was also nice to just sit at home and read a few good books, write a blog post for a guest post on another blog, dream, pray, and spend time with my family.

 A big thank you to Mrs. Van Tuyl who gave me this lovely little black hat. The hat was originally Mrs. Vvan Tuyl's mothers hat. I imagine her wearing this litle velvet beauty to church or to a funeral or a dinner party or another special occasion of sorts. For me church is definitely a special occasion so I decided to sport this little beauty today.

 I am not sure what era it is from, but it is vintage. Mrs. Van Tuyl guessed it was from the 1930s, 40s, or 50s. I would guess from the shape and style of the hat that it is from the 1950s. Let me know if any of you have a guess too! Or do any of you know how to date hats well?

 I love to wear my pearls my mother gave me when she came back from a trip to Canada. They are real pearls, but they are the type that are naturally shaped. So they are not perfect little round balls, but in their natural textured form. My dress is made out of fabric I bought on the red tag sale table from Joann Fabrics years ago when I made the dress of course. I thought it definitely had the 1940s vibe. I believe its a rayon/polyester blend.

 And if any of you are wondering about my hair all I did was one pony tail on each side, sort of rolled backward and then each pony tail on either side of my head in twisted into a bun of sorts. Let me know if any of you would like to see a tutorial in the future. I could definitely do a video. I just played around with my hair a lot this year of 2013 and figured out a style that looks good and stays well for my curly hair type. Are there any other naturally curly gals out there? Let me know in the comments if any of you curly headed or not have tried to replicate vintage hair styles? I am definitely curious.

Love In Christ,
Rebecca

Still, My Soul, Be Still

 Hi ladies!

 I wanted to record myself for all my readers and friends near and far. Glory to God! I pray the song blesses you.

In Christ with love,
Rebecca

God Is Good All The Time

Hey ladies and gents,

The Lord just inspired me and told me I need to say what He has been doing in my life. Even when I can't see Him working God is still good. 

My 2010 graduation with other friends graduating the same time.

Back in 2010 when I graduated from High School I never thought I would be where I am at. I was worried about the future and anxious all the time. 

 I remember worrying anytime I would go out the door of my own home. I would always think of all the things that could go wrong or just might by chance happened. I was an anxious, worried person and very vocal about that with my words. I also was very negative and pessimistic about everything.

2009, My sister Bethany and I at the art museum.

 God by His amazing, seriously His amazing, amazing grace has shown me in this new year of 2013 I don't have to worry. God has got my back as a friend has always told me. 

2012 with friends a local garden.

  So I want to impress and implore you ladies to not worry about the future! Do not worry! I was enslaved to worry and anxiety and pessimism. It ran my life and therefore I was a very negative and un-joyful person. So please repent of your negativity and be joyful, because Christ for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross! WOW! Did you catch that, for the JOY that was set before He ENDURED the cross. It hit me this year that Jesus joyfully submitted to the Father God by dying on our behalf! So God has been teaching me to kill the god of negativity, the god of anxiety, and the god of worry that was definitely competing with Christs Lordship in my life. 

 In 2012, I was much happier, but still worried about every little thing. Now I have experienced freedom in Christ knowing I do not have to be enslaved to fear anymore. I am a servant of Jesus, not a slave to sin. I always was a servant of Christ ever since He saved me at age 7, but I was struggling with the sin of worry so much. I still do struggle with worry each day, but now I am just so much more joyful because I know God holds my life and each circumstance, each thing I come across to do in His hands. Worry does not have to be my life, Jesus is.

 I am not perfect everyone! I have not figured it all out. I cannot do anything, not even blinking my eyes or walking around without God helping me. So daily I am trying to live with Jesus, beside Jesus, for Jesus.Its tough so many times, so many moments are wasted, so many moments are painful emotionally, spiritually, or mentally. But I know God is God and as it says in Exodus 14:14, " The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still!" 

  God will continually fight for us ladies! He is never gonna lose! Jesus Christ has the victory over sin and death. You cannot conquer those sins areas that are tough for you to overcome alone. Jesus Christ has already conquered them, you just gotta let Him conquer them each second, each moment, and each day of your life.

  I decided to take a swing dancing class and go dancing more often this year of 2013. Its something I had always wanted to do, but I was so much of a worrier I had never tried it on my own before. Now I have taken two lindy hop classes and love it. But my confidence is not in my body, my mind, or my image. My confidence is in Jesus Christ the Lord of the universe. In Him alone I give the glory.

 Seriously ladies, Jesus has changed my life and he continues to do so! My prayer is that He would do the same daily in each of your lives as well. God is real, even when you can't hear Him speak through His WORD clearly to you about something you struggle with or you doubt His goodness or sovereign plan for your life. He is still God, He is the same yesterday, today, and for the rest of our lives. Isn't that amazing? He is never gonna change, even when our emotions do. He is always going to be steadfast in Love, Justice, being faithful, and being the Truth.

Besides reading the Bible, two books that have changed my way of thinking about life are A Woman's Wisdom:How the Book of Proverbs Speaks To Everything by Lydia Brownback and Overcoming, Fear, and Anxiety by Elyse Fitzpatrick.

 Do any of you struggle with worry, fear of man or the future, or anxiety? Its ok if you do because I think everyone does to some extent. God just happened to show me that I don't need to worry anymore because He has got my back always and He has your back too ladies.

In Christ with love,
Rebecca

Unstoppable The Movie and Delight Blog

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to tell you all about a new movie that is hitting theaters September 24th and that is pretty soon, so get your tickets if there is a theater in your state within a reasonable distance. You will not be sorry! My family and I have all been encouraged by Kirk Cameron's other film called Monumental. Unstoppable is the answer/sequel to Monumental. But from what I hear it can also stand on its own, so don't let the fact you have not seen Monumental stop you. 

I also have some blog post ideas that are Lord willing going to be taking shape this month and hopefully be posted by the end of the month or early October. So be on the look out for those. In the mean time do hop over to this blog that I will be doing a guest post series about music for. 

Blessings! Rebecca Ann

Leaving a Legacy

 

Click on the button to go to Angie's blog Leaving a Legacy.

Click on the button to go to Angie's blog about childbirth and see her book called Redeeming Childbirth. Its on my to read list. :)

 

 Hi Ladies, 

No matter what season of life you are in, single, married, young or old you need to listen to this interview with Angie. It was definitely an eye opener, helping me to realize each moment counts. What kind of legacy am I leaving? Is it a legacy that will point others to my Savior Jesus Christ? Does the clothing I wear, the things I talk about, the plans I make glorify my Father in heaven? These are all you might say tough questions, but they are important ones we must think about as believers in Christ.


Angie blogs over at Redeeming Childbirth and Leaving A Legacy and I am so glad my sister Bethany and my friend Jennifer introduced this lady to me.  So definitely check out both of her blogs and if you don't have time for that at least listen to her interview while you make breakfast or fold the laundry. :) Thats what I did today. 

God bless,
Rebecca Ann