Joyful Noise- Now Booking Summer Performances

To schedule Joyful Noise at your church or community event in South/Central Alabama, please email rhondascakes@ymail.com. We are a Southern Gospel family group made up of two sets of siblings: Ronnie Sanders, Connie Westbrook, Dusty Sanders, and Rhonda Taylor. Check out our videos on this page!! All performances must be scheduled well in advance because each group member is actively involved in his/her own local church (three are music directors/song leaders) and must make arrangements for substitutes if necessary.

Psalm 100

¹Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
²Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
³Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
⁴Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
⁵For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Another Year Wiser

With my birthday just around the corner, I've been reflecting on the last decade of my life. Ten years ago, I thought I'd become an adult... I got my driver's license. The world was mine to conquer. I had plans, big plans, and no one could tell me anything. Proverbs 19:20 states, "Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. It took me nearly an entire decade to realize that I couldn't make it in this world on my own knowledge, skills, or willpower. I had to go through a lot of hardships before I'd finally ask for advice and truly seek the Lord's will for my life rather than my own.

Proverbs 19 goes on in verse 21 to say, "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails." I had my plans. Big plans. My life now is so far from what I'd wanted or planned that I can't even begin to list the differences. Yet through all of my mistakes, my wrong turns, my misguided paths over the past decade, the Lord brought me right where He wanted me to be.

I often wonder how I would have gotten here had I followed His path all along. Was this His "Plan B" for me or is this where I was always destined to end up? If I'd stayed true to His course, would I have gotten here sooner or would I have ended up somewhere else? I know the answers to none of these questions, but that's okay. It doesn't matter how I got here; it only matters that I'm here now.

When you turn your life over to Christ, who you were and where you've been no longer matter. You are given a fresh start, so rather than looking back at the past decade, join me in looking forward to this next one! Many are the plans in my heart, but I pray it will be the Lord's purpose that prevails.

Take Time to Smell the Roses

I'm not the kind of person who can easily relax. As much as I'd like to stop to smell the roses or take a walk basking in the spring breeze, it just doesn't work for me. Bubble baths and candles are even a lost cause for me, so much so that we didn't even bother putting a tub in our new bathroom! lol

In fact, sitting around doing nothing - or "relaxing" - is a cause of distress for me. When I stop doing, I start thinking. Thinking about anything and everything. I make to-do lists, wish lists, or grocery lists in my head instead of clearing my mind; therefore, instead of recharging my batteries for the days ahead, I waste all of my mental energy before the action even starts.

To keep my energy useful, I try to fill up any free time as quickly as possible. Take my current work schedule, for example. I was working every morning teaching English to international students, then spending the afternoons around my house doing whatever I needed or wanted to do each day. Well, I felt I could be doing more with my afternoons, so I decided to get an afternoon job. Now, I find myself getting up much earlier to do my housework then working all weekend around the house. I'm also finding I have less time to study my Bible and write my devotions (which is probably why I'm so stressed!). I'm also writing a book, running my own business, and raising 25 little baby chicks that hatched a week ago at our house :-) Laundry is piling up, I'm eating more fast food, and I'm unhappy. 

I was happy two months ago, but felt guilty for having "free time" at home. Why do I feel I have to max out my time?? Why do I feel guilty over a lazy afternoon once in a while? Even God took a day of rest (not that I'm comparing myself to God by any means, but I think you know what I mean).

I've been making an effort lately to not write down my to-dos, but they keep circulating in my head. I'm afraid all the balls I'm juggling will fall to the ground if I take my eyes off them for even a moment.Sometimes I feel that my cares- all the balls I'm juggling around- are too small to bother God about, but they aren't!

1 Peter 5:7 says, ^"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Cast ALL your anxiety on him!! That means your to-do lists, your stress from work, your worries about the future, your financial situation... cast it ALL on him. Why? Because he cares for you. The Lord God Almighty cares for you. Let me say that again. The Lord who created Heaven and Earth cares for YOU. If nothing else can give you rest or contentment, the fact that Jesus Christ died for you because he loves you and that he is by your side in every situation- that fact alone should give you peace of mind.

This all leads me back to my desire for contentment. Proverbs 19:23 says, "The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble." That's exactly what I want: to "rest content, untouched by trouble." I dwell too much on what needs to be done each day, my never-ending to-do list, that I can't really be content. Once again, it all comes back to keeping my focus on God rather than my to-do list.

Lord, help me today to learn to rest content, to take time to appreciate my blessings, to smell the roses, and to simply enjoy my life exactly how it is today without thoughts of the past or future. Help me juggle what you need me to do and help me not feel guilty for letting the rest fall to the ground. Help me to bask in each moment for its own special blessings because each minute, each day, each week that passes is one I can never get back. My life will never be exactly as it is right now, so help me see the beauty of this day. Thank you for this and every day. Amen.

Check out My Uncluttered Prayer - Girlfriends in God

Check out My Uncluttered Prayer - Girlfriends in God

Needs vs. Wants

While reading my devotion today, I kept coming back to this sentence: "If you don't have it - whatever it is - it's because you don't need it."

I have so many wants in my life that change on a daily basis- I want a job that pays on a steady basis, I want to have the same "weekend" as my husband (his off days are Mon/Tues and mine are Sat/Sun), I want a deck to go across the back of my house, I want my husband to have a job that doesn't leave him so stressed out, I want more time to work on my sewing and crafts, I want my hands to get better so I can decorate cakes for special occasions again, I want a wireless printer and a scanner, I want a bed of roses in the front of my house, and certain wants- one in particular- that I'm not ready to admit out loud on my blog :-)

God promises to give us everything that we NEED.
He doesn't promise to give us everything we WANT.

Today, I encourage you to make a list of things you WANT. Then, really look at your list from the perspective of what you NEED. Living without those things is much easier when you admit to yourself that you don't need them!!

When I start to look at my list of things I want, I realize how fortunate I am. I don't need a regularly paying job because my bills are more than paid right now. My husband and I don't need two days a week together because we still see each other every day, which is a tremendous improvement from where we were two years ago thousands of miles apart. We don't need a deck, but we do at least need a new roof and steps for our back door. My husband is strong-minded and is good at his job, so maybe he doesn't need a new one; maybe he just needs more encouragement from me when he's at home. I don't need more time for sewing and crafts; I just need to use the time I have more wisely and maybe move a recliner in my sewing room so my hubby and I can still spend time together; he can watch TV while I sew! I don't need to decorate birthday/anniversary cakes for my family members to know that I love them. I don't need a new printer/scanner; I just need to keep my desk organized so I can easily use the one I have. I don't need a bed of roses to see something beautiful every day; the view from my front porch is pretty darn good just the way it is.

God has provided all my needs, and I know He will provide yours, too. You will not go hungry. You will not go without clothing or a roof over your head. You will not go without His love, support, and encouragement if you walk daily with Him and abide in His Word.

If you don't have what you need to do what you're doing, you're doing something wrong.
If you feel led by the Spirit to do something but you aren't financially able or don't have the time, maybe you're misusing the money and/or time God has given you to use.

God promises to give you what you NEED to accomplish what you NEED to do. It's that simple. I hope that you prayerfully consider what God needs you to do today. Hint: it's probably not to build a deck on the back of your house, not matter how bad you want it ;-)

"If you don't have it - whatever it is - it's because you don't need it."

You're never going to be content as long as what you want from life takes priority over what God needs from you.