The Liar

I haven't updated this blog in a couple weeks, and honestly it's because I've had a mad case of writers block.  It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's just that I haven't been able to find the words for exactly what God is doing in my life.

These past few weeks I have really been learning about my identity in Christ and how I can use that in my personal ministry.  It's interesting because many can think about their identity in Christ and have all the head knowledge about who the Bible says we are.  That is really all great, but are we actually connecting our head with our hearts?  The trouble with life is that we can just go through the motions without ever really stopping to connect.  For many of us, we have heard the "Identity in Christ" talks, so normally we can just shrug it off...and I am definitely one of those people.  But this last time, I really needed it because Satan has been telling me some big lies.

I've had an interesting couple of months, to say the least.  A few know the details, but let's just say I've had a big emotional hurt.  This hurting stems from a core lie that Satan has been telling me, that I will never be good enough.  People that know me really well, know that I am a performance driven person.  I am a music major, I perform, so I have to be good enough.  This has been a part of me since probably my toddler years.  I have striven to be perfect in my performance.  Any hurt that I experience pretty much stems from not being good enough for someone else... whether in appearance, action, or attitude.  For these past couple of months, Satan had a good grip on me, pretty much telling me I was never going to be good enough for anyone, friends, family, future spouses, not even for God.  Because I believed this lie, I searched for fulfillment in other things, like dramatic TV shows, friends, men, anything you could pretty much name.  Because I was ashamed of this lie that I believed, I would try to hide from God.

What a ridiculous thing to think that you can hide from God.  Even in Genesis, Adam and Eve tried to hide from God because they were ashamed, yet He knew their every footstep.  In fact, Adam and Eve walked so closely with the Lord prior to The Fall, they even knew what His footsteps sounded like. (Genesis 3:8)

I've been struggling to update these past couple weeks just for the reason that I haven't figured out how to put my struggle into words.  I am trying to "de-lie" myself and figure out just who God says I am.  He tells me I am good enough.  He tells me I am "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).

His word also tells me who Satan is and what he does. In fact, these verses really took me by surprise and got me to think.

John 8: 42-44
 ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 


Satan is a BIG FAT LIAR!  Not only is he a liar but he is the father of lies.  Any lie spoken comes from Satan and it gives him a foothold.   I think what struck me the most is that Satan's native language is lying. So in believing the lie, I am giving Satan a possibility to weaken me.  


That is the absolute last thing that anyone could want.  Through God's word, I know that He loved me so much, that He had His only son slaughtered for my sin.  How beautiful is that?!?  God's love for His children is so evident through the verse of John 3:16 (sidenote, read the book of John, so moving and really shows the heart of Christ).


The big thing that I have taken away from these past few weeks is that I am a precious daughter of God.  He cares for me and loves me in so many ways.  He's my comforter, my nurturer, my protector.  He is also my friend. Instead of having the identity of  "the girl who is never good enough", I am now learning to embrace the identity of "the girl who is a precious and beautiful daughter of God."  Some days can be difficult, but I know that my identity in Christ is what will get me through my trials and tribulations. Praise be to God!

In other events, Culver's is still amazing!  If you are in the Dells, stop by and I would love to serve you.  It has been a complete blessing to work there and under an amazing management.  Our managers have been great and we have even developed friendship with them, where we are hanging out outside of work.  Although it can be tricky at times,  God is still present within those of us that are working at Culver's and we are using His  power through us to make His glory shine.

My team is still a lot of fun! I can honestly say that I love each and everyone of the girls on my team and our bond is like superglue.  We are in daily quiet time and interaction with each other and that is cause for some great discussion.

Prayer requests:

• So many of us at STP are still not fully funded, please pray that God will provide the necessary funds for each and every person.  If you are interested in partnering with me on this journey or even someone else, please contact me by email (rmnelson8492@jacks.sdstate.edu) and I will give you the information needed!
• As we are entering the half-way point of this journey tensions can arise within teams.  Please pray over Hebrews 10: 23-25, so that we may encourage one another consistently.

It has been a blessing to share my journey with many of you, some who I know and some who I do not know.  (I'm especially shocked at the 400+ views!)  It is great to share my walk with Christ with all of you.  I can honestly say that whether I know you or not, I do love you and am praying for you daily.

Through the love of our precious Lord, Jesus Christ,

Rachel Marinka :)

checklist

I have a few things that I want to do this summer:

Wizard Quest

Take a ride on the Wisconsin Ducks

Learn Ukranian

Memorize a pack of the TMS

Live life to the fullest

Spend another day at Devils Lake

I am really drawing a blank on what to write about.. which means I need to compose my thoughts a  little bit more.. but these are a few adventures I want to take.  I am so in love with this place.. it's ridiculous.

I love you all and thank you for your support!

Rachel Marinka

Bites, Burgers, and Buffet Lines

So I know it's been a week, but life has been so crazy here in the Dells!  Every day is a brand new adventure all in it's own and God is touching so many lives.

When I heard about this opportunity, I knew I had to take it.  At this point, it didn't matter who was attending or who wasn't attending. I just knew that my summer was going to spent in the Dells. Funny thing is, I never prayed about my decision whatsoever, and who knows why that was.  Right around March, my motivation changed quite a bit. I ended up having the Dells be the reason I could completely keep myself busy so I wouldn't have to think about something or someone else.  I then had an amazing talk with Sherry, one of our campus directors, who told me, "We all have selfish motivations for going, but no matter what, God will work in you and you will grow so much in your faith."  My motivation changed soon after and I was super stoked to be going to the Dells to grow in my walk with Christ. Now that I'm here, my motivation has once again steered itself in another direction.  Not only do I want to grow in my walk and in my faith, I want to help others start or deepen their walk with Christ.  My motivation is seeing the daily growth of the people I am interacting with, especially my brother team and the girls on my team.  God is working through us and it is absolutely beautiful.

You may be wondering about the interesting title... let me tell you, that is exactly what my week has been about!!!

Bites- this Tuesday we spent the entire day at Devils Lake which is about half an hour away from the Wisconsin Dells.  My team started out the day hiking.  While a few went rock climbing, a couple of us just hiked our way up.  (Let me tell you, this hike was way more strenuous than Harney Peak!)  The three of us hiking had completely different views on what we were doing.  One girl really enjoyed the hike and loved doing it.  I was the one who wanted to do it, did not like a lot of it, but wanted to complete it just for the satisfaction of completion.  The last girl is not a nature fan at all and for some reason she was a magnet for every single bug in those woods.  This hike taught us a lot about ourselves and who we are.  It also facilitated some amazing discussion about our personalities and how we can serve one another like Christ would serve. After the hike, we went to the park and played for the rest of the day.  I swam in the lake, played Frisbee, played two-man or WOman touch football, and also played volleyball.  It was great to develop closer bonds with the others here at STP.  It also helped that my volleyball team was the "champion" of the day.  We were unstoppable. :)  Throughout the day, I must have accumulated many bug bites.. because today I am itchy beyond belief... and of course the thing I forget to buy is anti-itch cream! Silly Rachel...

Burgers- as you all know by know.. I am working at Culver's for the summer.  I absolutely LOVE my job.  In fact, I have never found more joy in one place.  The owner is amazing as are all my coworkers.  Everyone has such positive attitudes and we get along so well.  The Lord has blessed me beyond belief by providing me with a job where I can be humble and work hard.  My prayer daily is that I am a humble servant of Christ's.  I only hope to glorify him through all that I do at Culver's.

Buffet Lines- Although this seems like an odd subject.. let me tell you, it does make sense!  On Monday evening, a bunch of us attended a chapel service.  The message was basically about the authority of Scripture.  It conveniently correlated with what we are discussing in our Quiet Times with our team.  I loved the analogy that the pastor used.  He said that some people use the Bible as if it is buffet, they pick and chose what they want to eat/take to heart, and leave what they don't want/or what they think doesn't apply to them.  Its so interesting to me because how many people do we know that do that?  There is no verse in the Bible that says ,"Only believe part of God's word and just read it, don't absorb it."  In fact, the Bible is very clear about that not being the case.  In Psalm 119:160  it says, "All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal."  The Bible is God's word to us.  And it is clearly telling us that every inch of it is true.  The pastor also said that many thing the Bible becomes outdated because it was written 2000-some years ago and the world is so very different from how it was then.  The verse above clearly states that it is eternal.  If that verse doesn't suffice, Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is alive and active." The whole talk from the pastor was so good because it showed me how I was really acting towards God's word.  I knew that I needed to read it  and memorize it, because that is the Navigator way.  But I have really learned that in order to grow in my walk with Christ, I need to do it for myself.  And I have been and I feel really great about where my walk is heading.  I also learned from that talk that when faced with something I may disagree with in the Bible, I need to stop and pray about it and ask myself, "Why do I disagree with this?" "What is causing me to think this way?"  In the end, I've come to the conclusion that we all should crave, grasp, and consume every single item on the buffet line.

Some prayer requests:  I and so many others are so close to reaching our fundraising goal of $2400.  Please pray that God provides the funds needed to support ourselves through the rest of this trip.  The daunting number can be discouraging to many, so please pray that they rely on Christ and His strength.  Also, keep praying for the students we encounter.  As many of us learned the other night, it is not only the international students we should be reaching out to, it is people from our country as well who do not know the Lord.  May God use us as a means to show all of these students a love they have never experienced before.

"I can do all this through Him who gives me strength"  Philippians 4:13


In Christ's love,

Rachel Marinka