Quick Update

Well, lately things have just been...up and down. There have been a lot of fears and a lot of doubts. But for every fear and doubt, there has been a joy and a triumph. I've gotten back to journaling, which I love. It is a way for me to take what I'm feeling and put it down on paper, something tangible that I can look back at. And it's organized, which is not exactly a trait that my mind can brag about. There's actually a lot that's been going on since the last time I blogged and I'm going to try and get it down for you the best I can.

God:

As far as spiritual things go, I would say that I'm learning a lot. I've come back to the place where I am content to sit at God's feet and have Him teach me. For the longest time, I was playing Martha, so busy bustling around and trying to make sure things got done, that I lost sight of why I was working and who I was working for. God is teaching me now what it's like to come to Him in times of need, to lean on Him for my comfort, and to just trust in Him no matter what. It's a beautiful experience. <3

School:

To be quite honest, nothing much has been happening with school because 1) we are out of school for Christmas break and 2) even if school was supposed to be in session, we'd be considered snowed out. But before I left for Christmas, there were a couple awesome things going on. First off, my US History class is getting easier. I have a quiz the day I come back, though, which I'm not looking forward to. My speech class got our bucket-fillers (nice stuff that we all wrote about each other and were then gather, sorted and delivered anonymously , and they were absolutely amazing. Some of the stuff that I read on those feel-goods made me cry :'). The FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) was planning to do an assembly, which got cancelled due to snow, but it's still awesome that we got it approved. Who says God isn't allowed in schools? And lastly, interims had just come out and I was very excited about the grades on mine :)

Driving:

I only have 6 hours of driving left until I have my full 45 hours that I need to get my license!! This is, of course, good news. The bad news is that it doesn't look like my dad will be willing to take me any time soon. We'll see how things go.

Friends:

Right now, one sentence will sum up how I feel about most of my friends. I miss them. Some are farther away than others, some I'm closer to than others, and some I've seen more recently than others, but between missing church, school being out, and being snowed in, the majority of my friends I have not seen in a while. I miss them, and I hope to see them all again soon.

Writing:

My novel that I was previously working on, Ella's Will, is on hold at the moment. I can't say right now if I will ever get back to it. It's not that I didn't like what was happening or that I didn't know what to write next, I just am not in a place where I feel capable of finishing it. Maybe I'll come back to it, maybe not. Everything else, though, is going on just as normal. I have written some new peoms and lots of short stories. If anyone wants to read them, just comment on this post with your e-mail and I can get them to you :)

If I haven't mentioned something here, it's probably going along just as normal. I hope to be posting more often now, but I make no promises. In any case, I wish everyone the best for the new year!

~Rachel <3

Busy, Busy, Busy...

So, wow...the past couple of weeks have just flown by. School started and so my life has felt kinda rushed ever since. Anyway, in the weeks that have gone by, a lot of important things have happened, not all of them good. First of all, I am doing much better with homework this year than I have in previous years. Second, I'm not doing so well with tests and quizzes. It's kind of a trade-off and I'm not sure if it's better yet...guess I just have to stick with it.

A lot of stuff has been going on at home as well that's not exactly happy. A lot of stuff has been coming at me lately. Difficulties at school, with friends, at home, and just in general. However, I've learned something from these trials. God uses all of these things to bring me closer to Him. I'm afraid that for the most part, I have failed these tests. But never once has God drawn back. He has stayed with me, offering the choice to follow Him or to walk on my own. I am claiming the power of God, that I will be able to overcome these temptations that the devil has given me.

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

~Psalms 23

God bless,

~Rachel <3

Truth vs. Fact

In this day and age, people often use the words truth and fact to mean the same thing. However, there is a distinct difference between them. All truth can not be dimmed down into powerless facts, and fact can be overcome by truth. That is to say, the Truth can change the facts. For example, the facts can say that someone is sick, but the truth says that by His stripes we are healed. (But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:5) Fact is, I'm a sinner; Truth is, I am made clean, I am made worthy, by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Anything that is real in this world is fact, but fact is temporary and will one day fall before the ultimate Truth, which is our Lord, the one and only God. (For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." ~Romans 14:11)

Fact is how things appear now; Truth is what has been, what is, and what always will be for the rest of eternity. (And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. ~1 John 2:17) Let us not dwell on that which is passing away, but dwell in that which is eternal. When you are presented with "the facts" and find yourself anxious or depressed, look at the Truth. This is the only way to see how things really are, is to look at them through the lense of truth. (And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ~John 8:32)

Camping Fun!!

So this weekend was the 29eleven campout, and it was so much fun. We left the church at around 2:30 or 3 and headed down to Pocahontas Park in Chesterfeild. After getting there and getting everything settled into our cabins, we came back outside for games and devotionals. Dinner followed shortly and then there was lessons and singing around the campfire. Saturday, we went to the waterpark and had a blast. There was devotionals and then we finished the afternoon with rolling in chocolate, chimp races, water balloons, and of course showers (Praise God for hot water!!) Sunday morning, we went hiking down a trail to a waterfall and had a sermon on God's grace. I think this was probably my favorite part of the campout, because I really felt God's presence right then and there. From the waterfall, we went straight back to the pool for some fun in the sun before heading home. It was a great way to spend the weekend and a great opportunity to get to know some of the people that are in the youth group, and even some that weren't.

I have to give a big thanks to Mrs. McCray, our wonderful youth leader; Mrs. Patti, our magnificent chaperone and camp mother; Mr. Taise, our excellent cook for the weekend (even if he did make us all fat :P); and Tony, who was willing to come out and spend the weekend with a bunch of crazy kids and make us even crazier ;) Love you guys!!

~Rachel <3

This is what it means to be held...

Two months is too little.

They let him go.
They had no sudden healing.
To think that providence would
Take a child from his mother while she prays
Is appalling.

Who told us we'd be rescued?
What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?
We're asking why this happens
To us who have died to live?
It's unfair.

This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.

This hand is bitterness.
We want to taste it, let the hatred numb our sorrow.
The wise hand opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow.

This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.

If hope is born of suffering.
If this is only the beginning.
Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?

This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.

	Various - Held - Natalie Grant .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Pictures!!! :D

So, yesterday Claire, Christa, and I braved the sweltering heat and occasional sprinkling to take photos. Having never done anything like this before, I was a little nervous. But the pictures look great!! So, I've decided that instead of keeping them all to myself, I should upload some of my faves :)

All the credit for the photos goes to Claire Born, she did a wonderful job and was a very nice director :)

~Rachel <3

Take Every Thought...

"For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete."

(2 Corinthians 10:4-6 ESV)

Lately, I've been focusing a lot on spiritual warfare and our place in it. For years, I've heard the phrase "take every thought captive to obey Christ" but didn't know the context of the verse. I looked it up last night, and this is what I found. Though I was initially excited by the fact that it specifically talked of spiritual warfare, I realized when I looked closer that several things can be learned from just these few verses.

1) First, it talks about our weapons. As Christians, we don't carry around guns or knives or anything like that to fight off Satan's attacks. What we do have is a divine power, granted to us by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. This power gives us the ability to break free of Satan's hold on us.

2) Second, it talks about how we are to come against the lies that people will surely bring up. It doesn't say that we are to come against them with our own intelligence, our own insight, or our own opinion, but we fight them by taking all of our thoughts and bringing them to God for Him to discern.

3) Lastly, verse 6 talks about us being "ready to punish every disobedience", but by no means stops there. It goes on to say this, "when your obedience is complete". To me, this points clearly to the fact that of our own strength, following our own ways, we have no power to do anything. However, when we lean fully on God, and we completely obey Him, we gain the "divine power to destroy strongholds" that makes us "ready to punish every disobedience".

So anyway, I guess that the main point I got out of this is that God has all the power, and the power that we have comes from Him. Quite frankly, I'm glad that this is the case, because I would hate to imagine what would become of this earth if we, as sinful humans, had divine power. Just something God showed me that I wanted to share.

~Rachel <3