Top 10 Reasons Why I'm Thankful

The holiday season can either bring out the best or the worst in us. If we are stressed by the hustle and bustle of the busyness or miss a loved one who has passed on, it may not be our favorite time of the year. Then there are those of us who seem to have a spring in our step just knowing the holidays are here. Whether you’re looking forward to the coming weeks or not, I hope my “Top Ten Reasons Why I’m Thankful” list will spark an attitude of gratitude in you:

10. A tough day at work means I still have a job.
9. I live in a country where I can go to church and “worship” without fear.
8. I have a testimony which means that I have PASSED some tests!
7. Endless household chores means I have a family who I love and loves me.
6. Though I have experienced loss, I have also experienced God’s comfort and strength.
5. Each “holiday” means I have a “holy day” to celebrate a holy God.
4. The existence of trials in my life is an opportunity for me to trust God.
3. Friends who choose to be my family.
2. Family who choose to be my friends.
1. No matter what I have or don’t have, I have Jesus and in Him is all I need.

Proverbs 90:12 (NIV) says, “Lord teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Wisdom comes from knowing each day is a gift. So choose to be wise by being thankful. You will add not only joy to your day, but days to your life!

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!

Wisdom from the Wilderness - Part 2

So we know that Jesus was "led" into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested by the enemy. I don't think any of us like to be tested. However, it is a part of the growth process and God is always growing us up. Let's take a closer look at Jesus in the wilderness and see what wisdom we can gain from Matthew 4:2-4 (NIV):

"After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry."

Notice that Jesus fasted. He was not just praying, but intensely seeking God to the point He denied His own flesh for 40 days! A question to ask ourselves is, if we realize we are in the wilderness, how serious are we willing to seek God?

"The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

The enemy tests Jesus' identity and submission to the Father. The enemy knew He was the Son of God (and Jesus did too), but he was trying to get Jesus to act out of His flesh and not by God's leading and timing. How often are we tempted to do just that when we're in the wilderness? We need to check our motives and heart to make sure that we are not doing things our way, but rather submitting to God's ways.

"Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

The definition in the Greek for "word" above is "rhema" which means "that which is said or spoken, an utterance." This is not just the written Word on a page, but the Word that comes to life in our spirit. It was that Word that was alive in Christ that gave Him the victory over the enemy as He said over and over, "It is written..." Jesus was basically saying that His food was to be in communication with the Father. The most important thing in our relationship with God is the ability to hear Him speak.

Pray this with me: Lord, give me a holy hunger that I will seek you more than ever before. Holy Spirit, may I hear You speak, obey Your leading and trust Your timing. Even if the process is painful, it is purposeful. Therefore, my mouth will sing Your praise!!

Wisdom from the Wilderness - Part 1

Have you ever made a decision or a move that you knew God wanted you to make, but after a while wondered "What am I doing here Lord?" I have and sometimes wondered if I had really heard from God to begin with. Those are the seasons that I call "Wilderness Wonderings". We feel like we're wondering with no clear direction or instruction on what's going on but yet we know God has us there.

Be encouraged, even Jesus was "led" into the wilderness:

Luke 4:1-2 says, "Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry."

Jesus was FULL of the Holy Spirit and followed His leading. He would then be tested and found true. May you gain some wisdom and strength in knowing that your wilderness experience (like Christ) is for a reason and for a season. You are being tested to trust God no matter what. If the Spirit led you in, He will lead you out when you are ready.

So do not despise the testing, but rather submit to it and learn what the Father by His Spirit is showing you. God is getting ready to do bigger things in your life and is making sure that you are tested and found true so that you can be used in greater measure to bring Him glory.

Ce-le-bration Time C'mon!

It's a special time for James and I. After months of praying, writing, preparing and working with our producer and publisher, JRB's new CD and my book are out! We invite YOU, our friends and family to join us THIS Friday to celebrate. Help us bless "Church Without Walls" by bringing new socks and blankets. **A special thanks to ALL of you who support and partner with us in many ways that keep us encouraged in our ministry. We hope you come. It's going to be a blast!

Fashion Fiasco

One of the most embarrassing things I have ever done happened last Wednesday. I was in church that night after getting my "praise" on when I sat down and noticed that the shoes I was wearing were NOT the same! I almost fell off my chair when I realized that I had been wearing them ALL day long. I had gone to work, met my hubby for lunch and even met a friend for dinner before heading to church. I was SO embarrassed that I took off my shoes and went barefoot for the rest of the evening until it was time to go home. At that point, I took a picture of my feet and showed my husband what I did. He laughed his head off! Here's why:



Did you ever have an embarrasing moment like that? Much to my surprise, I received quite a few comments from my friends when I posted my pic on Facebook. I'm sure I served for a good laugh and I laughed as they shared their similar stories as well. So what did I learn from my fashion fiasco? Yes, I need to pay attention to what I look like more before I leave my house in the morning! But more importantly, I was reminded that I'm human who is bound to make a fool of myself from time to time. Yes, at times we can be foolish, but never too foolish for God not to love us or not to use us.

I Corinthians 1:25-31 says, Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, so that no one can boast in his presence. He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Thank the Lord that He doesn't call the equipped, but equips the called and among those I stand. Yes, even in all my foolishness (and I'm not talking about only my shoes!), I am chosen. May you be encouraged today as I was...to not let the silly things or sometimes, even the hard things, get you down because it is in Christ (not ourselves) that we boast!

Living It Up!

It's here!! I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning when my book arrived last week. Due to some delays in getting my book to this point, the anticipation had building for weeks. It was one thing to have seen the text in PDF form and the digital cover, but to see and feel it "live and in paperback" was really exciting.

Here's a little info on my book:

Living it Up!” is for anyone wanting to take their life to the next level no matter where they are. Whether you want change or simply want more in your life, this book will help you experience the life Jesus came to give you in greater measure. A better life is waiting for you through four key lifestyles: new life living, intentional living, sacrificial living, and supernatural living. You will find spiritual truths and practical insight to help stretch you in all areas of your life. Learn how “living it up” God’s way can change you from the inside out. This is your life. Don’t settle for anything less than God’s best for you!

Living it Up! can be read by an individual or even done in a bible study group setting. There is a worksheet at the end of each chapter to help the readers personally apply what they are reading. My prayer is that all who read "Living It Up!" will be encouraged, challenged and equipped to follow Christ more closely and experience more of the life Jesus came to give. If you're interested in ordering your own copy, you can at www.rochelleroots.com.

To Him be ALL the glory!!

Living it up with you,

Rochelle

Free AND Independent

Today is the second day of school for my two boys and Uriah (my 6 year old) got up bright and early. It's not so much that he's excited about going to school as much as he's excited to ride his bike to school! You see he recently learned to do this about a month ago. Even though our older son Jalen (who's 7) knew how to ride his bike last year, Uriah didn't, so they both walked to and from school. However, it's a new day! Uriah's always been free to ride his bike, but he did not have the ability to exercise that right. However, now that Uriah can actually ride his bike, he's ready to exercise his new independence.

I live in the great USA and we have many freedoms and rights that people around the world do not. For example, the right to worship is one of them. However, even though many Americans are "free" to worship, they don't exercise that right. To take this even further, Jesus died on the cross to give us freedom from the land of sin, but yet some choose NOT to receive Him and be independent from that dictatorship. Therefore, without Jesus, you may have the right to freedom but not the ability to leave the land of sin.

One thing God showed through my son this morning is that as a Christian, I need to be excited about exercising my freedom of independence from sin. It's mine and I don't want to take it for granted. What about you? Are you a believer exercising your right of independence? If so, be excited about it! Read these following verses out loud as a reminder to yourself that you not only have the right to freedom, but you're blessed to exercise your independence!

Romans 6:1-3 (The Message) “So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—anew life in a new land!”

6:12-14 (The Message) “That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember,you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.”

Blessed in the land of the free in the US and in Jesus!!