REDEEMED {Thoughtful Thursday} early

April 9, 2013 by Jules Leave a Comment

I know this is early AND this isn't the best picture but I wanted to share how I made this sign in case you wanted to do it...these DaySpring letters are on sale & it ends TODAY!!!! I shared last week about why I chose the word REDEEMED, for the entry way in the valley. {better pics to come}

Redeemed leftover materials:
- Wood knocked down from original walls in the building
- Leftover paint from the green walls
- Leftover paint from the bathroom cabinets {that were 'revived'}
My buddy John cut the 2x4x1 boards for me
- ~8 foot long {top & bottom pieces}
- 2 foot tall {side pieces}
Paint frame pieces with the black {flat CHEAP paint}
- one coat is fine
- let dry and then scruff up edges as well as the entire length of the board with sandpaper or a sand sponge {you can use a hand sander if you're intense like that}
Measure and paint the green rectangle {matte inside the frame}
Hang Frame
- Start with the top piece
  - Center and hang with screws in at least one stud
- Hang side pieces loosely
- Hang bottom piece
  - Then match up sides before screwing in tightly
Measure and hang lettering
- We used push pins to mark & double check our measurements {spacing is totally up to the individual}
- We ended up putting a screw {or 2 for the M}
- The holes on the back are large enough to hang with a small nail or even a push pin
- I think this could look cute just sitting on the bottom ledge of the frame and or staggering letters

There it is. Just wanted to you know how easy this project was and ALL for less than $20 {including shipping of the letters}!!! That's less than $2.5o a letter and I don't think you could buy simple wooden letters for that and I'm pretty sure I couldn't have painted them as cute and even. Get you're HERE. Last day to use this coupon code! Great Deal!!! {and surprisingly super fast shipment arrival!}

COUPON CODE: WATF30 = $14

{expire Tuesday, April 9^that midnight CST}

#winning Thanks WeareTHATfamily #weareredeemed

Filed Under: Deals, Decorating, Homemaker, Testimony, The ones about the Rothacher Home, The Ones about The Valley Church

THIS is The Church in the valley

April 1, 2013 by Jules 4 Comments

Vilonia, formerly Vilsonia, is the city of two valleys.

1 Kings 20:28 (NIV)

²⁸The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Having already canvassed the neighborhoods, telling of the good news that another move of God was about to sweep through their town, the church in the valley opened the doors of their building to the community on Easter 2013.

The church in the valley has poured sweat, blood, and tears over the redemption of the old dollar general building they’ve chosen to use for a gathering space. In two short months, a family has formed; ties have been knotted; The Church has gathered. With much anticipation of life change, this group of believers is now has a space ready to invite friends, families and other captives to join them on Sundays to celebrate the living God.

As they met early Easter morning, giddiness spilled over the entire place. Bright-eyed after only a few hours of sleep, these people gazed at the parking lot as it filled with cars. Cars full of those in need of Christ and His church. They began to pour in and suddenly men had to wheel in more chairs to accommodate those attending the first official gathering of this new extension of The Church. Prayers went up before the worship service began. Not of fear but of thanksgiving. God had already answered so many God-sized dreams. The fickle prayers had been blown out of the water. These people now sit with their arms open wide. Waiting. Waiting to see how God will show up next. Beyond expectation.

People. Not a space. Are God's Church.

THIS is The Church in the valley:

Filed Under: Cool Ministries, Testimony, The DeChurched, The Ones about Jules Life {Randomness}, The Ones about The Valley Church

To Redeem

March 29, 2013 by Jules 2 Comments

One of my new favorite concepts to {almost} grasp about God...to redeem something.

Redeem:

To recover ownership of by paying a specified sum.
To pay off.
To turn in and receive something in exchange.
To fulfill.
To convert into cash.
To set free; rescue or ransom.
To save from a state of sinfulness and its consequences.
To make up for.
To restore the honor, worth, or reputation of.

One of my favorite ways to SEE this is currently in our "old dollar general" building we have been allowed to "redeem". This well-worn, grungy, passed down, forgotten, abandoned, in-need-of-much-love building is now being redeemed, not just because it is becoming a space for the church to meet but because it is being recovered, converted, restored into a useable, worth-while, place of value.

Watching the simple lease being signed gave me hope. Hope that there will be one less vacant building in a community we are praying flourishes. Seeing a group of people see this space as something other than its past with excitement about its potential is intoxicating. Being a part of this group who now feels this place is worth investing in, working on, and helping transform, shows me a glimpse of what Christ has done for me.

I was {and still am} a worn, grungy, passed down, forgotten, abandoned, in-need-of-love person. I have been redeemed, not just for a ticket into heaven one day but for now, because I am recovered from the grime; converted and restored into someone usable, worth-while and given value; not because of my decision to become a bond-servant of Jesus but because He chose to redeem me.

Know Jesus came because He loves us in our brokenness, not because we are "worth dying for" but because we are a creation of THE Creator to whom we owe all praise. We can now be intoxicated by His desire to give God the glory through giving us new potential. Covered by His robe of righteousness, I am now being invested in, worked on, and transformed!

Do you know the life change that can only be found in being redeemed by the only One who can redeem, pay in full, recover God's ownership of us by paying a specified sum- DEATH of a sinless person who has power OVER Death. That is Easter. THAT is the ultimate Redemption.

UPDATE: Totally just bought these giant letter from DaySpring that spell out REDEEMED for the valley's entry.

COUPON CODE: WATF30 = $14 {expire Tuesday, April 9^th at midnight CST}

#winning Thanks WeareTHATfamily #weareredeemed

 contains affiliate links

Filed Under: Holidays, Testimony, The Ones about Jules Life {Randomness}, The ones about the Rothacher Home, The Ones about The Valley Church

What I want you to know about: Church Planting {and waiting….}

March 19, 2013 by Jules Leave a Comment

My family has been "called" to become church planters in another town.

There are so many things I'd like you to know. What is a church planter? Why do we need more churches? What all does that involve? How do you know your "called"? But first I need you to know what it's like to wait..........

We finished our youth pastor position in May of 2012 with a sign in our yard that had been there since, awaiting the swift sale of our gorgeous Victorian, 3000 sq ft, 4 bed, 4 full baths, living & family rooms, dinning & eat -in kitchen home plotted in the middle of 3 lots in an adorable neighborhood with 2 parks and tennis courts. It's January. 2013! We're still here. In our 2 story beaut'. The walls are moving further and further in on us as our 'close friends' dwindle along with our anticipation of the giant move of God in the next town we plan to plant our lives and new church.

That may sound extreme but it's where we're at. I think we are right where Satan wants us. Sad. Huge lack of enthusiasm and energy. Becoming scared. Withdrawn. Depressed. Anxious.

With so many with very little knowledge about the who's, what's, whens, wheres, and hows of Church Planting; we sit lonely. People scared to talk to us. We're "Those weird people. A little less odd than the foreign missionaries type but getting close." With lack of knowledge comes hatred; or at least lack of love. Now that I've depressed all the readers here at Rage Against the Minivan, let me show you our true personality and shed some light on me, my family, and the world of Church Planting.

My husband, Matt & I have been in full time ministry together literally since we first met in 2003. We have been married since 2004 & actively serving the Lord throughout the state of Arkansas. We've added to the Rothacher clan with 3 beautiful blessings; Magdalene (6/08), Isabella (1/10), and Benjamin (1/11) also known as Maggie, Izzie, and Jamin. We have a deep desire to see God move in and through our generation. Matt loves the Word of God and is passionate about preaching it and helping people apply it to their lives. He is particularly concerned with being someone that takes the Gospel to the ends of the earth and to be a part of the epic story that God is writing throughout the history of the world.

We are going to be instruments for a new move of God through the realm of church planting. Meaning that we are not about starting a church so much as being a catalyst for an outpouring of the Spirit of God, resulting in a new expression of the church. We are going to accomplish that by being about:
“Authentic Biblical community, Strong Biblical teaching, creating Gospel centered lifestyles, and mobilizing to reach the world."

I'm not gonna lie to ya, I don't know if I could explain church planting as concise and as well as Tim Keller so I just want to quote him:

We want to be true to THE BIBLICAL MANDATE

Jesus' essential call was to plant churches.

Paul's whole strategy was to plant urban churches.

We want to be true to THE GREAT COMMISSION.

New churches best reach a) new generations, b) new residents, and c) new people groups.

New churches best reach the unchurched.

We want to continually RENEW THE WHOLE BODY OF CHRIST.

First, the new churches bring new ideas to the whole Body.

Second, new churches are one of the best ways to surface creative, strong leaders for the whole Body.

Third, the new churches challenge other churches to self-examination.

Fourth, the new church may be an 'evangelistic feeder' for a whole community.

As an exercise in KINGDOM-MINDEDNESS

New church planting is the only way that we can be sure we are going to increase the number of believers in a city and one of the best ways to renew the whole Body of Christ. The evidence for this statement is strong--Biblically, sociologically, and historically. In the end, a lack of kingdom-mindedness may simply blind us to all this evidence. We must beware of that.

Find the entire resource at Why Plant Churches.

Thanks for reading. I pray that now that you know about church planting you can better support those starting a church, educate those ragging new plants, or possibly be inspired to be a part of a new church plant! We're all one body with the same goal in mind: Share Christ!

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You can download and listen to my interview on our plant HERE or just head on over to The Valley site. Of course The Valley is on Twitter and Facebook as well!

Filed Under: The DeChurched, The ones about the Rothacher Home, The Ones about The Valley Church

Backseat Conversion

February 27, 2013 by Jules Leave a Comment

12 years old and sitting in the backseat of my mamma’s fashionable station wagon, we pulled away from the church building that Sunday morning. I don’t remember what the details of the conversation where but somehow I ended up making the statement, “Well…I’m a Christian…” Without skipping a beat my mom responded, “Says who? You haven’t ever told anyone that.” I’m pretty sure there may or may not have been a reference to the whole, “deny me I’ll deny you” passage but I can’t be certain. And thus began my journey in knowing God.

You see, since the beginning of time…or at least the beginning of me, my family has always attended church. I heard all the great stories of the bible {G rated of course}, could sing the songs, and knew tons about God. I totally knew there was a God. I was too smart to think this all came about because a big mass of nothing exploded. My theory was, “I’ll just act like everyone else so they’ll see you don’t have to change anything to become a Christian.” How right and wrong that theory was all at the same time.

Yes, there is nothing you can change about your life, do better, or stop doing to earn the gift Jesus has given us but at the same time, when His spirit moves in...you are never the same again.
{that's another post for another time 😉 }

I chewed on my mom's truthful blunt statement for a while. Thinking. Seeking. Struggling. Yep...there needs to be a change in my life.

It's funny how God knows His intentions amidst your life, even before you fully commit to Him. He's just that good. I can just picture...

God's like a first time daddy holding his baby girl. She has no way of knowing the depth of love he already has for her. He enjoys rocking her. Protecting her. Guiding her heart. He dreams of what he'll teach her. The silly conversations they'll have. Watching her grow up and fall in love only to meet a guy that would love her as much as he does.

God's like a boyfriend holding an engagement ring the moment he met his love and waiting to give it to her until she finally realized they're meant to be. He dreaming about all the fun we're going to have. Deep, hard, emotional conversations that are to come. How we'll grow to be one.

God loves me so much that He wants to allow me to be a part of and used in HIS story. {swoon} Christ is my only hope and because of that, I wanted to serve Him the rest of my life.

The next year, I sat on an outside stair case reading my bible. I was falling more and more with my new daddy & the love of my life. Nothing would ever be the same. That day, I clearly felt God tell me I was gonna be a pastor's wife. I was totally cool with that. I had no idea what that meant but I was cool with that. And for some odd reason I prayed that we would be poor. LOL Maybe I thought that would keep me from being materialistic or maybe I just thought "poor" just came with being a "pastor's" wife. I digress...

Again, He knows me so well! All our relationship He seems to have given me hints of what was to come. Being the control freak that I am, I think He tries to ease my stress by letting me in on things slowly.

That backseat conversion was just the beginning of the crazy cool adventure God was planning on taking me on!