Inspired to Action by Rebecca M Pratt
Seattle WA 98166 US
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Inspired to Action blog posts by Rebecca Pratt
Blog
Are you ready to leave your battered life behind?
| Posted on January 1, 2013 at 8:37 PM |
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Happy New Year: Are you ready to leave your battered life behind? In this new year ahead, it is my hope and prayer that you will be awakened to what you were made to be and what you were meant to do in this world – to live fully alive. As we have walked through life, each of us have our own stories of hardships and difficulties that have brought us to a level of brokenness we have had to walk through. Some of us have become battered and worn out. Some have become bitter because of what they have had to endure. Others of us have chosen to run to God and allow hardships to bring us to a new level of humility and sensitivity towards others who are going through tough things themselves. If we have chosen to go down the latter road, then the healing process has awakened us to a whole new level of compassion, allowing us to extend a healing hand to those who we may not have been able to reach before we experienced deep pain. This, my friend, becomes the precious touch of God flowing from our lives. May you get a glimpse of what it will take for you to leave the dark cellar of a battered life and experience the life which is destined for you. We only get one shot at life. Let’s not waste our days living for ourselves. Let’s live to the fullest as God intended until we take our last breath. There is a lot of good out there that we can spend our time on, but there is only one Best and highest for our life and those whom God wants us to touch in front of us. This year let’s be focused on what is God’s best and not waste our time on what is just merely a lot of good busy work. In the blogs to follow this year, I will be giving you tools on how to determine what God’s best and highest is, and how to walk that out in your own life. If you haven’t read my book “Inspired to Action”, I would encourage you to get a copy and to read it. It is a great place to start. This book will encourage you to overcome the many fears in life that keep us from living the life God has destined us to live. |
Through the Pain, I choose to trust
| Posted on November 30, 2012 at 3:21 PM |
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There are some days my heart is so heavy with the pain of this world, it is hard to see the hope in it all. In Africa it is seeing and hearing about one tragedy after another that many children have to suffer through. Here in America most recently in our family it is watching our daughter and little grand daughter go through such hardship through a recent divorce full of disappointments and broken promises. Our precious girls have to remain in Texas due to custody issues, and we as a family in Seattle, are forced to either plunge into despair for them, or to trust God with their lives and situation. I just recently came back from a trip to see them and my heart broke when I had to say goodbye to my little grand daughter, who is only two. She began to plea with me to not go, reaching her arms out and crying profusely saying, “No go mimi, No go”, over and over. This whole scene about killed me emotionally. In her shuffling from home to home in her visitations of mom and dad, she does the same thing when carted from one parent to the next. She does not understand all of this pain.
In my old Testament reading this week, I am reminded of some people who experienced way more unimaginable hurt and trauma than I could ever imagine, yet God was always proving His faithfulness even amongst their painful circumstances.
I am reading the story of Moses’s life in Exodus. When Pharaoh ordered his soldiers to kill all the male Hebrew babies, Moses’s mom hid him for three months, then put him in a basket, praying incredibly for his safety. As she lovingly laid him amongst the reeds at the rivers edge, she had to trust God with her little precious bundle. As a mother, I cannot even fathom the pain and fear she was feeling as she said goodbye to her little baby boy, not knowing what would become of him once released from her arms. Would the soldier’s find him and kill him? Would the basket over turn in the river and her beloved baby drown?
To his mother’s great relief, God did answer her prayers, by softening the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter to take him in and raise him as her own child. God even ordained the circumstances so Moses’s mother could nurse him till he was weaned. (In those days, some scholars say a child was weaned around the age of 5).
Because of Moses’s background, God had a huge mission for him, which we all know was to free millions of his own race from slavery.
I am reminded once a again that God is always in the business of redemption, restoration and rescuing if we will pray for His highest will to be done and to trust Him in all things.
 I had my daughter take one last picture of me and my precious little doll baby, before our good byes took place. As I was breathing prayers for this little one in my arms, I would later look at the picture to see God do a beautiful thing for me as a reminder of a visual expression of His faithfulness. A ray of sunshine can be seen shining directly on this precious little one in my arms, as if God were to say “I have got her, she is mine and I am protecting and watching over her. When man fails her, I will not, When evil lurks around her, I am there. Trust me with her and with your daughters life”.
Every day, I am choosing to trust God in all this and with every other circumstance that is completely out of my control.
As it says in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 There is a time for all things. Sometimes we are to do nothing buy pray and to trust God. Sometimes we are to fight, as I do regularly in Africa for justice issues when kids are starving or being trafficked or abused. The key is, knowing what God is saying for this season and to trust that GOD IS GOOD, no matter what the circumstances are around us. Our job is to stay steady and faithful in what He is asking us to do today. Taking one day at a time. He truly is trustworthy!! |
God has not forgotten you
| Posted on November 26, 2012 at 4:06 PM |
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When life takes a turn for the worst, and circumstances seem to go very wrong, do we blame God for our hardship? Do we feel that since we love God, that He should spare us from such pain and difficulties? In reading about Joseph’s life in Genesis 37 through Chapter 50, He had God’s incredible favor in his life, yet he certainly was not spared hardships. At the age of 17, he was sold by his brothers into Slavery to the Egyptians, He would not see his family again for 17 years. He was thrown into prison for two years after being wrongly accused of sleeping with his boss’s wife. Through it all he kept his walk with God strong and his integrity in tack. Through all the hardships he endured, Everyone around him had the highest respect for him and he was quickly elevated to the highest form of leadership wherever he was placed.
After interpreting a dream for Pharaoh when no one else could, Pharaoh saw God’s hand on his life, and put him in the highest position a person could have in all of Egypt, just under himself. Joseph was given authority to rule over the entire country and was given instant wealth,
Through Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, that there would be seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, Joseph was put in charge of storing up the grain during the years of plenty. Through Joseph’s actions the entire human race was spared from starvation during the famine. The whole world came to buy grain from Egypt during the famine, not to mention his entire lineage was saved as well.
 The story of Marielle comes to mind. She is a precious girl in one of our orphanages. She was sold as a child into slavery. Being used as a domestic slave, she escaped at age 13 after she was being forced to marry a muslim man with many wives. She was brought to us from the streets by a social welfare worker. In asking Marielle how she survived such incredible hardships, she said it was because of Jesus. She accepted Jesus in her life as a young girl, and has kept close to Him her whole childhood. She said if it weren't for her relationship with Jesus, she could not have survived. Life was too traumatic. She never blamed God for her hard life. You would never know she has been through such abuse. She is so resilient and loves to learn in school. It is stories like these that renew my hope in the power we carry within us through Christ. No matter what the circumstances. Marielle, was rescued and now has a wonderful future ahead of her. She gives all the credit to God. My problems compared to what she has gone through is so minor in comparison.. I consider myself blessed each day I get to live free, even with the trails that come my way. Through our own difficulties and trauma's of life, God wants us to stand strong in Him and trust Him with our whole life and with the lives of those in front of us. We do not always understand why God allows certain hardships to occur, but we do know that God is good, and His heart is always for redemption, rescuing and restoration. He always has a bigger plan than we can imagine. If we will keep our eyes on Him and not on our circumstances, we will be able to share in the beauty of that plan as He unfolds his glory upon our lives even amidst the pain. |
God Goes Before You
| Posted on November 15, 2012 at 10:26 AM |
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Genesis 24:7 ....He will send His angel before you..... In the story where Abraham was sending his servant to find a wife for his son Issac, we are reminded that God goes before us in all things. Abraham did not want his son to marry a foreigner who did not follow in the ways of God. He wanted his son to marry a woman among his relatives who followed in God’s ways, from the land he had moved from. When tasking his oldest and most trusted servant with this assignment, the servant became apprehensive with such responsibility. He said to Abraham. “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land”. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said “Absolutely not, God has promised this land to all my descendants. You must never take him back there. God will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife from there. With the servant feeling incredible pressure and responsibility he breaths these words to God. (Gen 24:12) “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day and show kindness to my master Abraham”. He then asks God specifically to bring him the one who God had appointed, and asks God to reveal to him she is the one through her kindness at the well.
In Gen 24:15 it says “And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold Rebekah, who was a relative, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. And the rest of is history.
In this story we are reminded that God goes before us in All things that are in alignment with His perfect will. We do not have to fret or worry. God has tasked Angels with assignments to help bring into alignment what God is wanting to do. Our job is to be like that of the servant, to just walk forward and to trust in our God. The key is to walk forward and to act in faith.
Are you allowing God to be God in your life each day? |
Are you living the life God destined you to live?
| Posted on October 17, 2012 at 2:46 PM |
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Many aspects of your destiny have not been
determined yet. There are some things that have been determined based on the
decisions you have already made in your life, but there are many things that have
not been determined yet and will unfold based on the choices you make. In 1 Samuel 15, I am reminded of King Saul’s life
in the Bible. He was picked by God to be a strong King who was anointed,
blessed and given favor in every area of his life. God let Saul know that as
long as he chose to follow Him, God’s hand would be with him and He would bless
his kingdom. King Saul started off strong following God’s every command, but
through the years he fell into pleasing man instead of God. Because of this,
Saul was not able to walk in all that God had destined him for. He lost the
blessing and favor of God and also lost his kingdom. In the 34
verse it actually says God regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
God did His part, but Saul did not. Another man that God chose was Jeroboam. He was one
that got God’s attention due to his leadership potential, and God anointed him
to be king over the Israelites after King Solomon’s reign. He was given
incredible favor and power. God’s destiny for Jeroboam was for him to lead the
Israelites in the ways of God. He wanted to give him a dynasty equal to what He
gave King David. In 1 Kings 11:38 God said these words to Jeroboam. “If you do whatever I command you and walk
in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands,
as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as
enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. Soon after becoming King, he also began to please
man over God. Leading his people to worship carved idols. These actions caused
him to never walk in what God had destined for his life. Then there are the famous stories we are all
familiar with of men and women who did walk in the destiny God had planned for
them. They did what God asked, and were able to change the course of thousands
of lives. Noah obeyed God and built an ark saving humankind and all animal
species. Moses rescued thousands of Israelites from slavery. Esther saved the
entire Jewish population from annihilation. God loves us enough to give us free will. That is a
beautiful thing. God will never force our hand in anything. It is strictly up
to us how far we want to go in partnership with God.
In 2 Chronicles 16:9 it says:
For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may
strongly support those whose heart is completely His. Is
your heart completely His? Can He trust you to do what He asks of you? Are you
living in a way that allows God to bless you?
He has big
plans for you. His ways are so
much higher than our ways. Ephesians 3:20 says: Now to him
who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to
his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in
Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! You were meant to live an extraordinary life. Everything you
do matters to God and to each person in front of you. God wants a personal
relationship with you. He wants you to feel his heartbeat for those around you
who are in need. He will guide you through living a life beyond yourself to
become someone’s miracle in partnership with Him. Are you ready to walk on this
journey with God to change the world around you? Are you ready to walk in the
destiny God has for you? It all starts with God then flows out to others. There
are so many opportunities to help others. There are opportunities awaiting you
in your neighborhood and towns as well as Internationally. There are no
shortages of ideas of what you can do. It just takes a willing heart to move
forward.
The
rewards are endless and so worth the effort. I promise that you will never be
the same. Your adventure is waiting. Live in such a way that God's love can bless you as you wait for
the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you. -Jude 1:21 (New living translation)
**This blog came from a few pages in my book. "Inspired to Action",If you would like to read more of this kind of writing, Get my book! Check Home page of this website for 3.00 off my book. |
God's beautiful grace
| Posted on September 18, 2012 at 2:14 AM |
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In all of life's trails and trauma's and drama's, we really learn how fragile we are as human beings in this life. We either lean on our Savior, or fall into deep despair. Everyday I am choosing to lean on my Savior. Personally I am faced with so many decisions that will determine the future of hundred's of kids lives in Africa, and stateside, we have family and friend heart aches to walk through. Tim's mom is dying at a young age of 71, and 2 of our children are going through some pretty tough life circumstances that we cannot simply rescue them from. All we can do is pray and do our small part of giving comfort, love and support, With all of this, I still feel peace, I still feel joy, and I still feel an incredible presence of God's spirit in my life and in our families life. How can this be, when life is so hard, I have asked myself? The answer came so sweetly as I read my devotional this morning, which I have copied below. God's beautiful grace working daily in our life. The secret of a Christian's life is that the supernatural become natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in the center of it all. -Oswald Chambers |
Building Stamina
| Posted on September 3, 2012 at 11:55 AM |
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On Wednesday I got to spend some precious time with my dear father who lives on Whidbey Island in Washington where I grew up. One of our favorite things to do is to walk down our beach trail and take our long beach walks. At the end of our walk coming back up the steep trail, I was huffing and puffing and completely winded only half way up. My father briskly walked up the trail, keeping a steady pace ahead of me. I was literally heaving while he seemed to have no problem. I yelled up ahead and said, “hey wait a minute, you are 79 and not even breathing heavy, and I am 43 and practically dying half way up. What is with that? There is something wrong with this picture”. He laughed at me and said, oh kiddie, you are just not used to this beach trail anymore. I walk up and down this thing all the time. If you did this regularly it would become a lot easier for you as well. This trail gets you in shape.
My physical challenge this week is realizing how out of shape I am, and how I need to exercise more to build my endurance and stamina physically.
In that same light, Spiritually this also reminds me of how important it is to build endurance and spiritual stamina as well.
In life we are thrown a lot of curve balls through some tough stuff. Whether it be mistakes we have personally made, or through mistakes of our children, spouse, friends or co-workers. In all the disappointments of life, if we do not press into the things of God and practice spiritual disciplines, these hardships will crush us. We will not have endurance or stamina to stand. I have realized if I do not get my alone time on a daily basis with God, even if just for a short time, I am not a very pleasant person to be around. My insecurities, lack of faith, and selfishness comes to the surface and my attitude about my life and the life of others is despairing. I begin to lose hope for today and for the future. Reading and pondering scriptures, releasing my anxieties and problems to God, is my source of refuge with my God. I have also learned that surrounding myself with those who are equally passionate about God, spurs me on in my faith as well. We all need those around us who are full of faith and God’s love. These ones help usher in a sweep of God’s presence into our lives.
In 2 Timothy 2, the apostle Paul was encouraging Timothy to endure/persevere like a soldier, athlete, or farmer would so that he would reap his reward with Christ. He was letting Timothy know, this life was not going to be easy but incredibly rewarding.
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Liberia and New Identities:
| Posted on August 22, 2012 at 3:06 PM |
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With each trip, it is wonderful to see the progress of the children we are helping. They each have incredible hope for the future now that they have been rescued from so much abuse, neglect and over all apathy for their care. Seeing the little ones growing up and becoming preteen kids, it is hard to believe we have been involved with some of these children for more than 5 years now. Having a summer celebration with some of them, it was fun to see the girls who once were close to starvation, now looking and acting like any other preteen girl, wanting pretty hair, colored nails and cute clothes. Their appearance is not the only thing that has changed. They have also learned about a God who loves them incredibly and who desires a personal relationship with them.  Through our child development program they are thriving and learning they are loved, valued, and a one of a kind. No one on this whole earth is the same as them. They are learning that God has an incredible plan for their life. They have come alive as they have begun to understand who they are through Christ’s eyes. It is such a beautiful thing to be apart of. I am so proud of our field staff and all that they are doing to make this work successful on the Liberia end. |
Living a life without regret
| Posted on July 11, 2012 at 9:58 AM |
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Talking to a 94 year old woman this week, provoked some deep thoughts in me. Through our conversation she said “Rebecca I so wish I had met you in my younger years. I would have lived my life very differently if I had met you earlier.” She went on to say, she was a very active woman in her past, and now she is pretty much confined to her chair, and wonders what more she could have done to make a real difference in this world. As she was talking with tears dripping down her face. I thought of how we only get one chance at this life. We can either live it beautifully in partnership with God, or we can live a life for ourselves, which will end with many regrets. Using our gifts, talents and energy to help people be rescued, redeemed and restored is an amazing way to live. As we deal with our junk daily and keep short accounts with others, we will be able to hear what God is asking us to do next. As we walk in unison with God with no selfish motives, we will live an incredibly rewarding and adventurous life with no regrets. May we not waste our days on things that really do not matter. Let’s be purposeful in all we do and say to those in our path. In sitting down with this woman, the realization came to me how incredibly blessed I am that I can walk, talk, drive, fly and am able to live an active life . May I be a good steward today with this body God has entrusted me with. |
Child Trafficking
| Posted on June 20, 2012 at 12:21 AM |
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“Rebecca, will you please start another safe home in our area?” pleaded the influential judge I was meeting with while in Benin, West Africa. “This last month I arrested a man at the Nigerian border who was trafficking 16 very little children into Nigeria.”
“Tell me about this case,” I replied. The judge began to explain that parents in a certain village gave their little children to this man who said he would take them so they would not have an extra mouth to feed. In an area where survival is difficult, they willingly gave their children away without so much as a second thought. This man then took them to the Nigerian border to sell into slavery, only thinking of the profit he would be making. The judge then said, “Rebecca, these villagers are not bad people; this is just a consequence of poverty. I just could not believe how little the children were.” I then asked the tough question. “Tell me, Judge; where did you take those children when you rescued them?” He put his head down, and then answered me. “That’s the worst part of this whole thing, Rebecca. We had nowhere to put the children, so we took them back to the village. My fear is that they will soon be trafficked out again. The parents do not want their children.” During our meeting, the judge thanked me for what Orphan Relief and Rescue is already doing with the current safe home/orphanage we are having such huge success with, which is currently full with 60 children. He then asked me to not forget the many others who daily come into the system with no place to go. As I left his office, I said a prayer for these precious little children. Then I breathed another prayer to God to please bring more safe homes into existence and give us a game plan on how we can help on a larger scale and to affect villages for long-term change in this area. In the meantime we continue to be extremely thankful for the kids we have been able to rescue through your partnership. Without you none of this work would be possible. If you are not partnering with us, please consider helping us.  This is a girl from a village at high risk of being trafficked. These are girls who are thriving in our safe home/orphanage. |
