Our Duck Family

I took this picture last May on a visit to Stone Mountain Park. We were riding around checking out their campsites. I just loved the family of ducks on the bank by the water. They looked so cute together. Then, today, I was reading my verse of the day, Jeremiah 17:7-8 But blessed is Allan & Kelly who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. Allan & Kelly will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Now when I look at this picture, I can see Allan & myself as the parent ducks and the four baby ducks represent the children the Lord has entrusted us with. I am thankful for the confidence & peace the Lord has given us as He trusts us with another baby duck. Our family is like the tree that is planted by the water...rooted in the Living Water. With that Living Water in our daily diet, we'll not give way to fear when the heat comes and will not worry in a year of drought. We are quite confident that whatever the Lord brings us to, He'll bring us through. Thank you Jesus for being our Living Water that quenches our spiritual thirst & sustains us!

With Obedience Comes Blessing

A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by the assistant teaching director of my weekly Bible study. She wanted me to share something with the 100 ladies on March 2nd. My first thought was "I have nothing to share with these ladies who are much wiser & more spiritually mature than myself." But as I thought & prayed about what to share, obedience kept coming to mind. I find it pretty ironic since I think of myself as anything but obedient most times. But, in reflecting, I found several times where I was obedient & how the Lord blessed that obedience... so there it was: My Topic! So, I'm going to post what I shared with these ladies. I was scared out of my mind. As much as I love to talk, don't ask me to stand in front of 100 ladies and give me a microphone. Surely, I'll faint & make a fool of myself. But, the Lord showed up & I made it through without fainting! I hope it encourages you if you are struggling with something the Lord is calling you to do to just respond obediently.... you will be blessed for doing so!!

When L*** approached me with the idea of me sharing with you ladies, I thought she must be confused. Surely, she has mistaken me for a much wiser, more spiritually mature person. Immediately, the devil starts in on me attacking my insecurities with: fears of criticism, judgment, embarrassment, and failure. This happens to me each time the Lord has called me to do something which requires obedience. It happened when I was called into CBS leadership, when I was called to my 1st mission trip last summer to the Dominican Republic, when He led me to host & lead a Bible Study in my house, when He showed me He wanted me to teach a group of 9th grade girls at church and now when He wants me to share what He’s been teaching me with you all.

I am humbled that He calls me into these roles. I’ve learned that all He requires of me is to be an obedient and willing vessel. He will do the rest! And He’s proven that over and over because I know that alone I can’t accomplish the missions He’s called me to, but with Him every and anything can be accomplished!
So, obedience is what He’s been teaching me about. One of the largest tests in obedience was His calling me to serve Him on the Dominican Republic trip last summer. Even though I had prayed for Him to present the opportunity for missions and He was faithful to answer that prayer, I still wrestled with obedience. I am a stay at home wife & mother. Could I really leave my husband and 3 young boys (then aged 6, 5 & 3) ?? Could they really survive without me?? Surely, not!  Luke 14:26 became a reality & finally made sense to me. He had instructed me to go to the Dominican and I had to choose obedience and serve Him, not put my husband and children before Him. I really wish my natural inclination is obedience, it’s not. I’m learning obedience is a choice; a daily choice for me. While in the Dominican we were having devotion time on the beach one night. It was a beautiful night with a full moon reflecting on the ocean. While sitting there, I began reflecting on everything I had experienced while on the trip and thought WOW, what a blessing to have experienced all of this & what a privilege it was to be the hands & feet of Jesus to the men, women & children while on that trip. I would have missed out on so much if I had chosen not to follow His lead and gave way to my insecurities. I was in awe at how far He had brought me in my life to get me to the point of being on mission for Him. If you had asked me 7 years ago if I would be on a mission trip in the Dominican Republic, I would have laughed and thought absolutely not and went right back to my self-centered world I was living in. Everything the Lord has done in my life in the past 7 years is a direct result of faith and obedience. It took faith and obedience for me to surrender my life to Him, it took obedience for me to step out in faith for the leadership roles He’s called me to and the mission trip definitely took obedience. I want to obey Him because I love Him and am so thankful for what He’s done in my life! I owe Him nothing less than all of myself!
We just saw when studying Saul how the Lord had huge blessings for Saul, but because of his disobedience in choosing to do things his way, the blessing was passed on to David. That makes me wonder how many blessings the Lord originally intended for me but because of my lack of obedience has now been passed on to perhaps one of ya’ll. It challenges me to always be listening for when God is calling me to do something and I pray my response is always cheerful obedience.
True joy, fulfillment and happiness do not come from knowledge, but by what we do with that knowledge.


John 13:17 - Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them


James 1:22-25 - Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do


Luke 11:28 – Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it”


1 Samuel 15:22 - But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams
A little quote I came across while preparing for my trip to the Dominican Republic that I loved was this: The Lord doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called!
So, what I want to leave you with today is if the Lord is calling you into a leadership role, or to go on a mission trip or lead a group of kids, or anything that takes you outside of your comfort zone, respond obediently! Don’t allow Satan’s lies to discourage you from the work the Lord has intended for you! With obedience comes blessing.

Rainey, Party of Six, Your Table Is Ready

Yes, you read that right! Our family will expand by two feet come October 2011. We are beyond excited! We are thrilled and are eagerly anticipating this arrival. We have known for quite a while that we wanted another baby. We were just unsure of how the additon would come... either by adoption or by getting pregnant. Adoption still has a soft spot in our hearts and we had decided we'd pursue that route if we couldn't have one on our own. Praise the Lord it only took 2 months of trying and we were pregnant. We have known for 4 weeks and just shared with family & friends after our 1st doctor's appointment on Friday. The boys are very excited. I think the pregnancy with this baby is going to definitely be memorable. The boys are older and will be able to remember watching mommy's belly grow, feeling the baby move and seeing it roll around in my belly. Even though they are boys, I know they will be great helpers! Hard to believe Seth will be 5 when this one arrives and just one month after that Nate will be 8! Wow! Last time we brought a baby home we had 3 in diapers! They are all excited and curious to know how fast it will grow and when will my belly start getting "fat" haha and when it will be born. Nate & Alex want a baby sister. Seth wants a baby brother. Of course everyone's first comment was 'maybe this one will be a girl.' Our hearts aren't set on either/or. Naturally, we want a healthy baby. If we have a boy, that's fantastic. Clearly, we know boys best & are equipped. If it's a girl, that will be fantastic, too. She will have 3 older brothers to protect her! Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
We know life in the Rainey family will be busy, but we trust in the Lord's plan for our family. We sought him diligently while making this decision and He was faithful to hear our prayers and answer. We know that if He brings us to something, He'll be there to walk us through it! 1 Timothy 1:2 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.
Stay tuned for more updates & pictures. This definitely gives me more to blog about! :)