And time is coming to an end...

One more week...
One more time doing all these different things...

But why does life bring situations like these? 
Don't get me wrong, I am excited about this coming year..but there are so many goodbyes and so much work..and not to mention all of the processing this mind has been doing...
It just doesn't make a lot of sense!

But then these words come to my mind...

"Let me hold you through
And let me carry you
I know it feels your at the end
But here your story's just beginning
I know your tomorrow
I know where you are
Though you can't see past the moment
I see beauty in the broken"

There's so much for me to do for Him this year...I have no idea what all that is, but I do know that He sees the bigger picture and all I can do is surrender my life into His hands and know that He has everything under control.

If you think of us, please pray!!!
This biggest thing for me is...
"I don't know what it will be like to come back...crazy as it may sound and you are probably wondering why I am worrying about that now when we haven't even left, but...so much can happen to an individual in a year's time...the people I am leaving behind can and most likely will change..and I can and most likely will change..."

Pray that we can make adjustments well..
That we can continue to trust Him in this adventure...
That we will process this part of life well...

Thank you oh so much!
RaVonne Rhodes

Bound in Satan's Chains

     It was one of those many mornings where she was running late for school.  As she left her house, she whispered a prayer for safety on the roads, especially since she had two younger siblings with her.  As she came to an intersection and took the corner, she noticed that the traffic was slowing way down and her heart sank.  It had to be an accident. 
     "God, please help it not to be bad.  God, please help it not to be someone I know."
     A few more yards down the road was an older man laying on the road and his motorcycle was up the street a few feet.  Not being able to keep her eyes off the road very long, the teenage girl made a quick glance at the scene, a little unsure of what she might find and fearing that she might see a lot of blood which would make her faint.  She turned her eyes back to the road and focused on the traffic around her.  But the picture wouldn't go away.  The man hadn't moved at all, but it didn't look too bad.
     "God, please free the man from the bondage he is in.  He is bound in Satan's chains, God.  He was wearing strings around his wrists [this is done to protect people from the spirits], God.  Please send someone to share You and Your love with him.  Save him, Father!" 
     Unable to do anything, she continued on...but the rest of that day was completely different.  Not just because a life was at risk, but the thought that so many people are bound in Satan's chains. 
     Innocently, many people wear strings and bracelets around their wrists because it's cool.  In other cultures, this is a sign that is supposed to keep you safe from the spirits, not to make you look cool, but people are making it a part of their fashion.
     "Father God, show me the balance in knowing where I need to be different from the world.  I don't want to be bound in Satan's chains.  I don't want to be wrapped up in something that is giving Satan leverage in my life." 

When His plans over.ride my plans...

Usually every individual longs to finish his school work and be free.
But often they go into college and hit the books for several more years...
Well, my story is kinda like this and kinda not...
So grab a cup of coffee and hang on for the ride...
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Several years ago: The Rhodes family planned a year of "facing a new set of problems."
Destination: Reading, PA
Plan A: Mr. Rhodes [the first] [wait, not really, but you get it, right?] would find a job, RaVonne would find a job and begin life in the big world, the boys would go to school, and Mrs. Rhodes [no need to insert the first here..esp since that wouldn't be correct either] would be at home with the little bro.

When night, still several years ago, my parents were discussing some school things for that year and I was listening in...[don't worry, it wasn't a private meeting]..the main topic was what the boys would get to experience..basketball with a REAL team, a bigger school, attending convention, ect...
My first response was that's great for them, but what about me? [take note of the selfish attitude here]..It just didn't seem fair that they could experience all of this and I was going to work! What type of life is that? [insert sarcasm] ... I have dreamed of playing on a volleyball team [even though it isn't my top fav. sport], being in a big school, singing in a choir, and all that jazz..well, I remember telling God that night, right before I went to bed, that I would love to do that..."If it would be at ALL possible, would there be some way that You could work that out?" Then I drifted off to sleep and forgot all about that, until....

The beginning of this year the whole thing of going to school was discussed..[it had been discussed earlier, but I was SURE that it wouldn't happen]...It was possible that I could wait to graduate till the following year and do some schooling at Fairview...well, who in the world waits to graduate when they could be done.."nobody does that, dad!  Why would I go to school for a FIFTH year of highschool? People usually don't graduate late unless they aren't very smart or stuff like that..I don't want to do that!"
But it didn't end there...My dad talked with me about it several times and I started really thinking...was it THAT weird? 
If you ask my family, they would probably say I was slightly, no, really, overwhelmed with the whole thing...the decision was up to me..not my parents...
I prayed and prayed and prayed..talked to different people about it...my dad emailed the school principal about it to see if it would really work..[mean while i was hoping he would just say no so that i would know for sure what i was supposed to do]...his response was this [or something to this degree..not the exact words :) ] "You only get to experience highschool once in a life time..." :) :) :)
You can imagine how I felt!

Then, one afternoon, I was getting ready to go somewhere, and this story came back to me...[the one a few paragraphs up] .... It was one of those conversations with God...

"RaVonne, remember when you told Me that you wanted to experience a big school and all of that?  You said that you wanted to do it if there would by any possible way!
RaVonne, your heart for teenagers isn't something to ignore...what if you wouldn't be able to reach teens through your job, if you would get one?  Here is an open door, from Me, your Father.  You are going to be with teenagers five days a week.  Couldn't that be a ministry?"

My eyes filled with tears of joy... this was all too wonderful...

"But God, I don't want to graduate late..what about that?"

"RaVonne, just not long ago, AT ALL, you wrote on your blog about surrender...what do you think I was preparing you for then?  Would you really consider your wants and status instead of My will?  As much as you love teenagers, would you really give them up and not show them who I am and graduate on time?"

By this time I was completely overwhelmed...I couldn't really believe that God was doing this through someone like me...How stupid could I be to consider my will inplace of His?

So, I planned to finish my highschool work in four years...I would then take the fifth year to do some other electives that I would love to do and also to improve some of my gifts...
There have been many moments of freaking out...but I think back to that one afternoon when He told me what He wanted....There is no greater joy, then to be at the center of His will!

I would appreciate your prayers as I go through this next year...It won't all be fun and games..but I can't wait to see what all He has in store for me...and for the school in Reading, PA!

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Thank you so much for joining me in my story...so many of you have been such an encouragement to me in all of this! The whole story is completely of God...I can't take credit for ANY of it!

My prayer is that all of you will be encouraged to follow His calling on your life...Give Him everything..you won't have anything to lose!

So long, for now...and tune back in to hear more about this coming year..

The Importance of Teenage Decisions

There's something that pulls at my heart every time I interact with teenagers.
It's the feeling you get when you can sense that something bad is going to happen.
The feeling of regret after you've passed up an incredible opportunity.
It's that knot in your stomach feeling. [Ever have that?]

I honestly believe that it's the longing for my generation to whole-heartedly seek after God that gives me this feeling.
If you could put it this way, I would say it's 'my people group' to reach for Him.

That is the inspiration for this blog post along with the need to prepare for my speech tomorrow!
If you are a teenager, I hope you will continue to read this and hopefully, by God's grace, be encouraged to use all of your energy for Him, and Him alone!



     Everyone has, is, or will go through a time in life in which they are called a teenager.  These are foundational years that prepare you for your future.  These years begin the mold of who you are and who you will become.  As a teenager, you are going to be faced with decisions that may not seem very important, but to tell you the truth, they are.  Every decision, whether great or small, can effect who you will become.  These years won't and CANNOT be replaced, so you need to make sure that you are carefully making decisions and following the path that God has for you!

     There is an expectation for teenagers in this world, and it is completely different than God's idea of who we should be.  There is a norm for teenagers, but it doesn't need to be the expectation.  The world expects us to be lazy, disrespectful, undisciplined, do-what-we-want, monsters.  It sounds crazy, I know, but when you look at what people think we will accomplish during these years, it isn't much.  They expect us to party, hate school, do what we want when we want, and have fun all the time.  Really what that is, is wasting time.  God didn't give us these years to waste.  We are to use these years to prepare us for the future.  Don't give in to the expectation.  Give it up!

     One of the big choices that effects people is the choice of friends.  We all have friends and we love to be with them.  But, in case you didn't know, these people that we spend a lot of time with, can impact our lives more than we realize.  Sometimes it's for the better, and sometimes it's for the worse.  You don't want to have friends that are going to lead you on a path to a destination you don't want to reach.  Your close friends should be chosen wisely.  Make sure the people you are with the most are influencing you in all the right areas of life and that they are wanting what is best for you!
     You also need to be a friend!  You can't take, take, take in a relationship and not expect to give.  That also means that you need to be a friend who is leading others in the right direction.  You want to be encouraging your friends in their faith and helping them through the tuff things in life.  Make sure you are benefiting, not hurting their lives!

     Another important decision that we as teenagers need to make is how we are going to spend our time.  We have quite a bit of free time to do whatever we want.  It is important that we spend it wisely.  Time can fly by and before we know it, we have wasted an hour or two.  The important thing isn't how much free time you have vs. your buddies amount of spare time, it's how you spend it.  You can surf the Internet, play computer games, watch movies, read books, and hang out with your friends and those things aren't wrong, but how much do they really benefit us?  Are they helping us build our relationship with God?  A lot of those things are usually just for fun, and that isn't wrong either, but having fun shouldn't be the basis of our decision on how we are going to spend the next hour or two.  These moments of free time here and there could be spent in the Word, praying, journaling, or building friendships that need to be pursued.  Nobody can judge how you spend your time, that's between you and God, but I want to encourage you to make sure it is really helping you, and that you aren't just having fun.

     There are many more decisions that we as teenagers face, but I won't share all of them now.  I want to encourage you to make sure that each and every decision, whether great or small, is made carefully.  There is a four word question that has taken new meaning for me recently. 
    "What would Jesus Do?"
      Now your probably like, "Really, RaVonne?  That's an old quote!"
     Ya, really!  If it seems like such an old and easy quote, than use it to make your decisions.  I have found out that if I base my decisions on that question, the answers are very clear. 

So I want to encourage you to try it!  Use those four words to make your decisions!  It won't be easy to always do the right thing, but the reward is so much greater!