My name is Rhoda and I am a wife and full time homeschooling mother to three sweet children. I am English, married to an American missionary and Calvary Chapel pastor, and we live and minister in Wales in the UK.
I became a Christian at a very early age and was very blessed to be brought up in a loving Christian family that attended solid Biblical churches. I went to university to be a doctor, secretly hoping that God would call me to be a missionary at some point, or that I could use the medical profession for that purpose!
But during the second year I became more and more convinced that God was calling me to leave, and at the end of the year I posted my letter of resignation, not knowing where I was going. The very next day the youth pastor from my home church who had come to help plant it from the USA, called me and asked me if I wanted to come and help with the youth work that Summer. So I started helping him with admin, outreach, discipleship, counseling and teaching and we also ended up getting married!
I have been doing a long distance in depth Biblical Counselling Course taught by Jay Adams and his associates for quite a few years now, and I am very close to finishing. Now that I am so busy with the children I have a lot less time for ministry, but I do still lead the women’s ministry of the church, and am involved in leading worship.
My Church Background
I was christened in a Methodist church, saved in a Baptist church and baptised in an independent evangelical church! I then journeyed on to a Reformed Baptist church still with my family, and then branched off independently to a church plant affiliated to Calvary Chapel, where I met the man who is now my husband. At university I struggled to find everything I wanted and needed spiritually to grow, so I went to a variety of churches.
My main church was the Free Church of Scotland where the teaching and people were great (Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s church!). I also attended the local charismatic church’s later service because I missed worship, as the Free Church of Scotland at that point only sang unaccompanied psalms. Then I found great fellowship with people who were on fire for God at the Elim Pentecostal in the evenings! So I love believers from all backgrounds. Our current church is affiliated to Calvary Chapel where I am very happy because I think there is a good balance of Biblical teaching and a real vibrant relationship with God (we also have great worship, but that’s like the cherry on top for me!).
My Journey Towards Blogging
I have to confess that I used to be very dubious about the value of blogs! Then I noticed that some pastors who I highly respected had blogs, and also realised they can be used as a source of spiritual encouragement and practical help.
What started me blogging in earnest was when God opened my eyes to two different verses as I was reading the Bible: ‘The lips of the wise disperse knowledge’ Prov 15:7 and ‘What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.’ Mat 10:27. I realised that we shouldn’t keep what God is speaking to us to ourselves, but spread it to others.
After prayer I decided to blog about what I have learned and am learning as a Christian, in obedience to these verses and in the hope that it might help others. It is also a great creative hobby that I can do at home with the little remaining energy I have!
What This Blog Is About
For a long time now my greatest goal in life has been to please God so that is what I have titled this blog. After wandering around various topics that I’m interested in I have finally settled on writing about things that God has been teaching me about my faith and practical Christian living. I hope and pray that God will use this blog to encourage and help others in their Christian lives.
To Subscribe To This Blog
You can subscribe to this blog by typing in your e-mail address on the right, or clicking on the ‘Subscribe in a reader’ button on the right to get a feed to a web-based reader which will be updated every time there is a new post. You can also follow me on Twitter, and you are also welcome to e-mail me if you have any questions. I love receiving comments too, as it is an encouragement for me to continue, and even comments that disagree can be good as they help me study more!
