Abigail Rehmert

Low Battery

Published on April 14, 2021 by Abigail Rehmert2 Comments

I love my phone.

It gives me the chance to access audio books while I do housework. I also track several health things, including my nursing schedule for my baby.

A quick click gives me the weather, the time, the date, and the loops I love to be in (aka group chats).

My handheld device connects me with friends and family in instant, unimaginable ways. It makes me feel like a photographer as I capture moments and share them in real time, unless I want to finesse with filters first.

I write down quotes in the digital notes and screenshot tidbits of info for later. I even do all my grocery shopping from an app and the couch.

Lately my phone’s been busy arranging slideshows of highlights from one, two, and three years ago. So sweet and sentimental to have flashbacks without even asking.

A brief text can coordinate hospitality. A tap and I’m sailing my way through the book of Numbers as I tidy up the living room.

Thanks to my phone, I can video call my brother. Store my recipes. Search Bible commentaries. Cash checks. Soak up curated music. Even talk to people occasionally.

I check emails in moments waiting for my dentist appointment … an appointment I wouldn’t have remembered without my calendar app. Or would have found without my map app. Goodness, I’d still be lost somewhere without maps or the ability to call home for directions (thanks, Dad!).

I do not want to know how many hours I’ve spent listening on my phone to people talk about health and current events or home decor advice. It’s all aesthetic and addicting.

NO WONDER I feel uncomfortable when the battery goes in the red zone.

I mean, I’m waiting for a birth announcement from a friend, surgery updates from a dear sister in Christ, and a chance to hear the next chapter in the novel I’m listening to. My phone makes all of this easy and convenient.

Tonight my phone battery stooped dangerously low. I charged it on the counter while I made dinner…or so I thought. Instead of regaining power, it was dying. Marco Polo and Pinterest were fading out of reach thanks to a finicky charger.

My phone who faithfully serves me needed me to serve it.

I jostled the charger and managed to get a few more percentages. We ate supper. My husband left for Bible study.

With just one hand available thanks to my son, I wanted to read articles and view stories.

Then my charger truly broke. Part of it was still in my phone. Now I was minutes away from losing all my — my data, and this bothered me. I formed a plan to order a charger online…or should I make my day busier tomorrow and go somewhere to get one? Shoot an SOS text to my husband to pick one up? All the panic in the name of restoring communication.

But it was a problem for tomorrow.

So I rocked my baby to sleep without anything shiny in hand.

In the solitude of the dim nursery, I prayed aloud for our family. I prayed for my priorities.

And I thought about the verses I had read this morning:

^“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-11)

All the wonderful, good ways I use my phone and all the wasteful, useless times I spend on there are all loss and rubbish in comparison to the paramount glory of knowing — just simply knowing — Christ Jesus my LORD.

I can do without the purposes of my digital assistant when I examine them in the light of the Savior’s face.

He is all I need. Lord, spare me from idolizing anything — convenience of online groceries, glamour of Instagram house tours, power of knowing things instantly — above You.

Tonight I’m thankful for a battery that plunged the black hole to remind me of Who matters and Who deserves my first-fruit time and attention.

I love my Savior.

Stories of March

Published on March 25, 2021 by Abigail Rehmert4 Comments

Since I procrastinate like the best when it comes to documenting (both privately and publicly) my life milestones, it’s high time for a personal update. Maybe I delay because certain events feel too sacred to lock onto a page . . . like when you snap a picture but you know your smudgy smart phone can’t capture the justice the landscape deserves.

But, lately, I’ve noticed how much I relish reading a blog post, prayer letter or post with pieces of the author’s heart tangled up in it. When it’s their story, it draws me in as I relate, imagine, rejoice, and empathize.

We love stories.

So I don’t want to withhold my stories from this very special month of March.

March 1st marked three years from when my husband first messaged me and a long-distance romance was birthed. Neither of us knew where a simple message would lead, but with so much in common, our conversation exploded and one thing led to another. After four months of writing and skyping, we met in person, and the rest is history.

March 16th signified our engagement just two years ago. I’ll never forget the roller coaster day that ended with a ring and cheesecake. God is good.

One year ago March makes me think of empty offices, Frozen 2, Greek food, virtual meetings, remote church, and Psalm 34. It reminds me of long springtime strolls, rehearsing the sovereignty and goodness of God.

And now this March is the month where we’re experiencing many sweet firsts with our firstborn son. His name is Judah Charles, and he turned one month today. God answered so many prayers relating to our pregnancy and birth, and we’re smitten with the precious little man! The journey of being a stay-at-home mom has truly been a gift.

It’s stunning how much we love him. While falling in love with a spouse leading up to marriage is gradual (with some uncertainty), love for a child is unconditional and instant. It mirrors how our Heavenly Father loves us even when we are helpless and unreasonable.

Welcome to our family, Judah! We can’t wait to see the story He writes for you.

What are your stories of March?

The Blues of January

Published on January 25, 2021 by Abigail Rehmert1 Comment

“Oh, dear, how hard it does seem to take up our packs and go on,” sighed Meg the morning after the party, for now the holidays were over, the week of merrymaking did not fit her for going on easily with the task she never liked.
“I wish it was Christmas or New Year’s all the time. Wouldn’t it be fun?” answered Jo, yawning dismally.
Little Women, Louisia May Alcott

Here’s to the foggy Mondays after break. In the case of Little Women, Amy searches for her homework, and Meg bemoans her shabby dress but, next, points out the little munchkins she takes care of won’t notice what she wears anyways. Jo must go back to the fearsome Aunt March. Beth has a headache.

Sound familiar?

Longing for luxury, the four sisters wish life could always be parties, bouquets, resting, and reading.

I don’t blame them. I would add coffee and writing, then we’re set.

I remember last January. I carried the plight of my busy schedule, daydreaming about all I would do if only I just had more time at home. It was easy to compare myself with others who had better success with, what I chalked up to be, more flexibility. If I had the same schedule, then surely my creativity could fully unleash. My house would be clean. Scores of books would be ingested, parties could be planned down to details, such as the colors of the straws.

Then, what do you know? I kind of got my wish! For the first time ever, in an event completely unforeseen, I had the chance to set up a home office, with ample time in the spring evenings to do whatsoever I pleased.

It was much like the March sisters’ experiment in chapter eleven. Faced with another vacation, the girls resolved to give into their thirst for a complete break from work of any kind.

Sounds delightful. Wouldn’t not working be the antidote to their January blues described above, plagued by headaches and homework?

As the story goes, Jo read so much she grew fidgety and quarreled with her best friend. Amy found “when her sisters left her to amuse and care for herself, she soon found accomplished and important little self a great burden.” Meg’s sewing projects go awry, and Beth’s bird dies.

They admit their experiment was a failed one, and Marmee replied with her advice, “Have regular hours for work and play, make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well.”

What strikes me about the two scenes (the morning after Christmas vacation and the first few days of complete vacation) is that neither one makes anyone happy. I know the whiplash of this, too. Take my work-from-home experiment for example. While I’m tempted to complain when I have to rush out the door on a Monday morning, I’m just as likely to waste an opportunity for productivity on a free day, longing for the structure I recently loathed.

Contentment is not sourced in our moment’s activity or schedule, is it?

Let’s aim to be like Paul when he penned:

Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:11-12

I’m about to shift lifestyles in a big way, leaving the office for stay-at-home mom life. I hope I can soak in all the good and the discipline of my current office life, but also know that all the answers to my wishlist won’t be found in more time at home. I desire to be like Paul, to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself in. Whether it’s headaches like Beth’s, or shabby dresses like Meg’s, in abundance of a sunny afternoon, or suffering from lack of sleep, packed work sessions or too much leisure time, I hope I will do all things through Him who strengthens me.

PC: Kevin Fitzgerald, Bogus Basin, Boise, Idaho

One Weary Accord

Published on December 16, 2020 by Abigail Rehmert8 Comments

A certain carol lyric sang in my heart one day as I drove to work underneath a magical pink sunrise. Still several weeks before Thanksgiving, I wasn’t trying to meditate on Christmas, but I felt I had stumbled on something deeply meaningful for the coming season. Something to be shared.

“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.”

It turns out I wasn’t unique to claim this theme.

I bumped into these words in a number of Christmas missionary letters I’ve edited this year. The same phrase is fastened on my boss’s cubicle wall. Perhaps you’ve seen them too, in a friend’s Instagram post or felt new meaning when hearing this song on the radio.

There’s a reason we’re lingering on the theme of rejoicing a little extra this year.

With every Christmas card we write, every strand of lights we string, every gift we buy — hope is stirring for those who know Christ. We crave hope and light as we wrap up this historic year, and we’re thrilled to focus on the source.

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining, then He appeared and the soul felt its worth.“

Just this past weekend we visited KC and were reminded of both error and worth. We rejoiced in my husband’s graduation with his Master of Divinity. We smiled to learn friends were dating each other. We sat shocked over breakfast menus to hear of a fellow seminary grad friend who had gone back home but split paths with God. We listened to loads of (welcome!) advice about diaper brands and sleep schedules for our new baby. But also heard of health struggles of other infants. My husband shared the gospel with someone on the plane next to us on the way home. Due to all the ups and downs of our trip, we fell into bed exhausted but grateful because of all the hope we have in Christ’s appearance in the flesh.

Passages buried in the Old Testament remind us we–in our weariness–have ever so much to rejoice in. And I’m happy to sing what might be cliché in Christmas 2020. Like Israel on that holy night, we can celebrate Immanuel!

Many feel that the New Year ball will drop (or in my Idaho’s case, a potato?!) and hope will land with it. That’s a familiar lie we’ve all faced before. “Things will get better if we can just get through this week, clock out for the weekend, go on vacation, free up my schedule, get over this head cold . . .” We wait and pine for the next thing, perhaps with a thrill of false hope.

The fact is our futures could be as terrifying as Charles Dicken’s ghost of Christmas yet to come. I’m an extremely optimistic person, but I have to admit no guarantees exist for 2021. But even if they did, our spirits can not be lifted simply by a change in circumstances or the passing of a crumby year.

What we need is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. A ruler who reigns in understanding of our weakness. A song of rejoicing in the midst of any oppression.

Behold the One who meets this need:

“The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.”

Apart from Him we won’t find worth — He is the One our souls greatly anticipate. Our earthly voices may be weary indeed. But they are grateful. Let us join the chorus with one accord and fall on our knees to worship our KING of kings, who will return in a second advent (coming). His power and glory evermore!

Merry Christmas and thank you so much for following my blog this year!

*Song “O Holy Night” Adolphe Adam, Placide Cappeau

Thankful for Books!

Published on November 24, 2020November 28, 2020 by Abigail Rehmert1 Comment

I’m so thankful for books and literacy. I recently read in a missionary prayer letter about how we’ve had approximately 130 million books published in English since the beginning of the printing press. On our shelves alone, we have a plethora of cookbooks, novels, commentaries, study Bibles and textbooks. But there’s an isolated tribe in Papua called the Turu who don’t even have a written language yet. So not a single book! Praise God, He is on the move to provide a written language for the Turu so they can know the hope of the Gospel. How often have I taken for granted the accessibility and appetite that I have for the Word of God?

I’d love to share a few of the titles (and articles) that have made me thankful for books and literacy this past season.

God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew — This encourages me to treasure Scripture. Brother Andrew has a fascinating testimony of how he was converted simply by reading the Bible. Then, with what he would call a “thimbleful of willingness,” he smuggled countless copies of the Bible behind the Iron Curtain. Only God could have made “seeing eyes blind” so these precious copies could slip behind Soviet borders. An adventure story that would make a great family read-aloud.

“‘Why are we worried!’ Rolf said suddenly. ‘This is God’s work! He’ll make a way for us.’ And as if to prove his conviction, he started to sing.”
Brother Andrew, God’s Smuggler

Gentle and Lowly by Dane C. Ortlund — In need of some simple, clear encouragement for sinners? This book helped me to more understand the heart of our Savior. He is gentle and lowly, and this is where His actions and works spur from. Definitely recommend! The book is rich with language describing God’s pure love.

“You don’t need to unburden or collect yourself and then come to Jesus. Your very burden is what qualifies you to come. No payment is required; he says, ‘I will give you rest.’ His rest is gift, not transaction. Whether you are actively working hard to crowbar your life into smoothness (‘labor’) or passively finding yourself weighed down by something outside your control (‘heavy laden’), Jesus Christ’s desire that you find rest, that you come in out of the storm, outstrips even your own.”
Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery — A cute story (with hardish, sad parts) about a young writer. I think I could tell from a mile away who wrote this book as there are so many Anne-of-Green-Gables feels.

Welcome Home by Myquillyn Smith — This author has shaped the way I decorate and view hospitality. I really appreciate her theme of being a creator rather than a consumer when it comes to holiday decorating. I haven’t finished reading this yet since I’m reading the chapter that corresponds with the season (i. e. I just read the winter section). I love her honesty and humor when it comes to decking those halls.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen — Every time I read this charming story, I’m impressed with Austen’s irony and wit. The layers to the characters and plot are what make this one of my all-time favorites.

Dear Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster — This is an endearing rags-to-riches series of letters where a young girl writes to her anonymous benefactor. It’s beautiful to see her life and vocabulary transform as she works hard through her studies and social endeavors. One of my favorites!

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis — “But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” (C. S. Lewis) That’s how I felt when I was caught up in the wonderment of Narnia again! This book is powerful, heart-warming and just magically delightful. I hope you’ve had a chance to jump into the Wardrobe recently.

Blogging for God’s Glory in A Clickbait World by Vrbicek and Beeson — As a writer, I have been swamped with information both on the tech side and the writing side. I enjoyed the book Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World because it was like having a candid conversation with the authors about both strategy and purpose in blogging.I always prefer to ask questions to a friend rather than resort to a google search, and this book was that opportunity. What a blessing to have a like-minded approach to blogging from the counter-cultural perspective of writing first and foremost for the Lord. I benefited from the authors’ transparency of their ins and outs of their own blogging experiences. I finished reading, not with a vision to get-rich-quick, but inspired to pick up the pen to help saturate the world with God’s glory!

Note: I’m doing a GIVEAWAY for this book on my Facebook page (A Time 2 Write)! Head over there to enter. I’ll announce the winner Sunday 11/29th.

After you’ve entered, come back and enjoy a few of my favorite articles from this season that I’ve collected below. Happy Thanksgiving!

LITERATURE

Love, According to E. B. White by Brianna Lambert — I enjoyed this peek into the value contained in fiction like E B. White’s work.

You Don’t Really Want Mr. Knightley by Madelyn Canada — Madelyn summed up my own reasons for appreciating Austen’s portrayal of Mr. Knightley, and in her blog post, she draws attention to the fact we all need a Mr. Knightley, and we need to be one.

THANKSGIVING

A Fractured Thanksgiving by Lainee Oliver — “Do you have to feel thankful to give thanks?”

We Will Gather Together by Madelyn Canada — Love this zoom-in on the old song and its backstory, as well as the reminder of our future fellowship.

FAITHFULNESS

Two Days, One Word by Glenna Marshall — Ever wonder how one day you can have an amazing time with God, and the next it feels lifeless? God loves us on both those days.

The Good, The Hard, and the In-Between by Shelli Rehmert — My mother-in-law pulls out the reality of just life and what we can know no matter what.