Rachel's Radical Rantings

Ok, now you might be asking right now why I sound like a boy scout leader! Well, I'm not a boy scout and I never will be. I do want to be prepared though. All around me lately, there are preparations being made. Some are preparing for: deployment, re-deployment, jobs, parenthood, leadership, marriage, to go home after being in therapy, and some are preparing to meet Jesus. Life just seems to be a gamut of preparations. Why am I asking about this? Well, recently I had the privilege of spending time with a very loving, caring, godly man who I like to call "Pa." A few months ago, pa fell and broke his hip. He has had surgery to repair it and he has been in physical therapy for about two months now. I am amazed every time I go to see him. He always makes sure that people are focused on the Lord and if they are "prepared" to meet him at any time. A few days after I was to arrive home, he was going to be having a meeting with the administrators in the esta...

My whole life, yes even to this very day 30 years later; my mom has always said, "patience is a virtue, virtue is a grace; both of these together make a very lovely face!" Now, as a young child I didn't quite get it. As a teen, my thought was, "yeah ok mom..sure, whatever." I was a teenager...what did you expect? As an adult, I am starting to understand that more. No, I don't know everything! Something I did learn as a teenager! So, what's with the "patience talk?" Well, today I finally took the plunge and decided to put my Christmas things away..hey I'm trying to keep the spirit alive all year! I had all of the decorations including the tree and all the trimmings, taken down, packed, and put back into storage within about 2 hours. Then, it was time to "re-set" the house to pre-Christmas. Growing up, my mom liked to move furniture around all the time..and she still does! That is something that I learned from her and I ...

Well, I've always heard that God has a sense of humor and I know that to be true. I also know that when we bring things into light and God lays things on our heart..haha surprise, he's going to test it! For instance, when posting something about unconditional faith, guess what?? He decided to test mine! Yes, I have my moments of question..but I pose this question again; am I going to slouch and be defeated, or stand strong in his promises? After all, has he ever steered me wrong? He has protected me my entire life from myself and the things in this world that attempt to distract me from his goodness and grace. My husband told me this morning that he is having numbness in his body when he turns his head one way or another. It seems to be an endless cycle sometimes when it comes to physical ailments. Now, I hae my moments of weakness and break down. I start doing that "woman thing" and questioning things and thinking way too far into the future. Instead of li...

My heart truly cries out and mourns with those who have been affected by the trauma in Haiti. Recently, I learned that a friend of mine has a young missionary friend down there and this 18 year old has not been found. My heart is praying and pleading God to allow her to be okay and be reunited with her family. Now, here is the question: in times of trouble, do you run for cover; or do you stand and face the giants leering down at you? Lately, I have been wondering about "true faith." True faith says: "when the world walks out on you, it doesn't matter," guess what? It was never about "the world." Yes, we are supposed to love others and we should be loving others. The problem comes in putting others thoughts above God's. God is the only one that matters and pleasing him should be at the top of our list of priorities. True faith, at least to me, is knowing God can and will...in HIS timing. It's not just trusting him when things seem p...

Okay, so last night I was looking at my blog and had someone tell me to check out a site to change the template. Well, while scrolling through the MANY pages of templates, we came across this one. I really loved the look of it to begin with, great eye appeal...and very me as my precious friend pointed out! Then, I took a look at the title of it. The title of this particular template is called, "Shhh...listen!" Wow! God really spoke to me in that moment. I never thought I would be a "blogger," but that is changing. I was reminded that even if nobody else reads this, I do and it's a therapeutic way of dealing with every day life. I used to write poetry all the time and got away from it for some reason that now seems trivial. When I looked at the title of the template, I started to think about how often do I just sit quietly and listen to what God has to tell me? Lately I have been slacking in my quiet time. I won't pretend that I do what I am sup...

Today has got me thinking about what I need to tell people. Truth be told, I have been thinking about it alot lately. Last night I saw a post on facebook that had people typing one word to describe you. The responses that came on my own personal profile were incredibly moving. As I sat reading what people thought about me, I was again struck with, "why do people wait until it's too late to tell others how they feel about them? and "have I told the people in my life just how much I love them and what they mean to me?" When I started thinking more about it, I discovered that I don't always tell people what I love about them. So, my challenge is this, each week, tell three or more people how you feel about them. It doesn't have to be long, it can be simply one word. Don't let the precious time we have here be winked away. For we know not what tomorrow holds. The only one who knows when we will take our last breath is God. Treasure the moments that...