I Can't Believe it..... !!!!

Well I'm SOOO excited to let you know that I am only about $20.00 from reaching my $1,000.00 fundraising goal!! It's really amazing to me, I still can't believe it. Some of the people I received money from I have never even met. I just want to thank everyone and let you know how great it is going :) God is good!

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!!!! God bless :)
~ Rachel

Sooo.... I thought I would give you an update on what's been going on with me in the last few weeks :)

Everything is falling into place for the Missions Trip. Our fundraisers are set up, or being set up, money is being raised, and God is really working in my life. I am learning to step outside of my comfort-zone, and do things I'd rather not do, call and talk to people I don't know and that sort of thing. It's amazing what God can do!

Btw, I'm very excited for this missions trip in case you didn't notice ;)

Thanksgiving week was really busy, and it was a wonderful time as well. All of us girls really enjoy spending the week together in the kitchen, cooking and baking :) My family had a wonderful Thanksgiving day! We have a lot to be thankful for.

December is going to be my busy month. Besides planning for the missions trip, there is; Christmas to think about and plan for, a craft fair to prepare for, multiple Christmas parties ( 2 of which are on the same day ), babysitting on weekends, a play at church, and school. Despite the craziness of it all, I am looking forward to this month. Lots to do to keep busy with. I'm hoping to find some time to keep you all updated on things but it might be awhile until you hear from me again. Have a wonderful December!! God bless ~ Rachel

Missions Update

Hey everyone! I thought I'd let y'all know what our group that's going on the missions trip has been up to.
Well first, our group had grown from 8 people to 12, praise the Lord! I'm thrilled at all the people that are willing to go and serve the Lord in South Africa :)
We had our first missions meeting a week ago. Things are still in limbo concerning the prices of tickets and the exact date, but we do know it's going to be in the end of June, or beginning of July, and right now it looks like the tickets are going to be a little bit more expensive than we wanted to pay, around $1,500.00. We're trying to see if we can get them for $1,000.00-$1,200.00. We would appreciate your prayers concerning this :)
We figured out that we need to raise $2,000.00 each, half of it ourselves and the other half as a group. Thanks to donations from family and friends I have gotten very close to my goal. I have received $700.00 in donations and have raise almost $200.00 on my own!! God is good! I have to admit that $2,000.00 sounded like too much to raise but God is teaching me faith, and I am putting everything in His hands. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes!
Have a blessed day :) In His Service,
Rachel

Here I Am By Downhere

This is my life song.

Here I am, Lord send me!!

Missions Trip

I am going to be going on a missions trip ...... FINALLY!!! I have wanted to for years and the Lord is now opening the doors for me to go and I am so excited :) There is so much involved in getting ready, I didn't realize all I would have to do. I have to get my passport, not to mention raise the money needed. The trip is in July of 2011 and although that may seem a ways away it only leaves me 9 months to raise the money I need.
Well I am getting carried away with myself, let me tell you about it. I will be going with a group from my church to Johannesburg, South Africa. I know, pretty far away huh? Right now we have 8 people who will be going. Our primary goal will be evangelizing, we will be going to surrounding villages and doing VBS. The trip is going to cost somewhere around $2,000.00. I am doing many things to try and raise the money. This weekend I am doing a lot of baking and selling baked goods at a softball game. Throughout the next couple months I will be; having many bake sales, making and selling soap, and babysitting, and am trying to come up with many more money-making ideas.

If everyone would please pray for us in the next couple months that would be wonderful. It's going to be a very busy time as I prepare for the trip. Please pray for our whole group's health, help in raising the money needed, a good price on plane tickets, and most importantly our walk with God. Please pray that everything we would do would honor and glorify the Lord. We have a lot to do to get ready and I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store for us.
So like I said prayers are appreciated. Thanks so much!! God bless :)

My Home Business

Hey .... I wanted to get the word out about a home business I am starting. It's so hard to get a business going so I would appreciate help in spreading the word. I do alterations on clothing. Things like hemming, sewing buttons or button holes, or even just fixing something that is torn.

I also sew skirts. I have found that people really love the skirts I make for the girls and I! They are simple, but feminine and pretty :) These are some pics of some of the skirts I have made :) If anybody is interested in either having a skirt made or in alterations or has any questions, my e-mail is firstcor.1013@yahoo.com .

The most wonderful time of the Year

Well I'm doing some work on my blog this morning, I spoke to a really good friend last night who helped me figure out how to put pictures on. Thanks so much Kate :)

Well fall is here. The leaves are already turning their orange, brown, bright red, and even purple colors. Moose hunting season has started, apple picking and cider making is going on here as well. And probably the best thing about fall ..... baking! I love the smell of homemade applesauce, cider, bread, and many more wonderful fall foods being made. This week on my night to make dinner we are going to have squash, applesauce, and bread with apple cider. Yum!!

I really enjoy every season but there is something about fall. I think it's the beauty of it all. God is so wonderful!!! I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful time of year :)

A Book by Edgar Guest

"Now"- said a good book unto me -
"Open my pages and you shall see
Jewels of wisdom and treasures fine,
Gold and silver in every line,
And you may claim them if you but will
Open my pages and take your fill."

"Open my pages and run them o'er,
Take what you choose of my golden store.
Be you greedy, I shall not care-
All that you seize I shall gladly spare;
There is never a lock on my treasure doors,
Come - here are my jewels, make them yours! "

"I am just a book on your mantle shelf,
But I can be part of your living self;
If only you'll travel my pages through,
Then I will travel the world with you.
As two wines blended make better wine,
Blend your mind with these truths of mine."

"I'll make you fitter to talk with men,
I'll touch with silver the lines you pen,
I'll lead you nearer the truth you seek,
I'll strengthen you when your faith grows weak -
This place on your shelf is a prison cell,

Let me come into your mind to dwell!"

Count it all Joy...

One of my favorite books of the Bible is James, and that is where I read this morning in my devotions. What I read really encouraged me and I wanted to share it with you.

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:2-4

Sometimes I wonder why God allows us to be tempted as much as we are, but reading this I found that, when we are tempted and we overcome it, it strengthens us and our faith. It's not easy to resist temptation but when you do it makes you stronger.
Another important point made in chapter 1 is in verses 12-14.

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed."

First God says that the man that endureth temptation is blessed, and then he tells us that temptation is never of Him, but of our own lusts. So God cannot be tempted, nor does he tempt us. In Matthew 4:3 & 1Thessalonians 3:5 the devil is called the tempter, and he certainly does tempt us, but I think that more often than not, it is our own lusts that tempt us (James 1:14-15)
I want to clarify one more thing. I know that for a very long time I believed that temptation was bad, but it's not, it's only bad when we give in to it. Temptation makes us stronger in our faith, and helps us to grow in patience. And God promises us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that he will always make a way for us to escape from temptation, that we will be able to bear it!

So, something I need to remember is... "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations..." :)

Steven Curtis Chapman "Heaven Is The Face"

Josh Wilson - Before The Morning

Just Some Thoughts ;)

Boy do I need to get on a schedule!! School is done, life is going good but still so many things going on. Graduation is coming right up and I am hurriedly preparing my speech and practicing sign language. Haven't much free time on my hands right now but I'll try in the future to update my blog more often. Sometimes when life is busy i just wish time would freeze so I could catch up!! Unfortunately it doesn't so I'm working on managing my time more wisely :)
Also looking forward to sometime in the future getting to meet a wonderful lady who is a missionary in Venezuela. She came to my friends church and I hear she is a really great woman. Hoping that she will be able to come to my friends house to talk to some of us girls and our mothers, that would be a blessing I'm sure!! I'll keep you updated on what happens with that.
Have a blessed week everyone!!
In God's Service ~ Rachel

Homeschool Meeting

My mom and my sisters and I, hosted a homeschool meeting at our house last night. We put it together to thank veteran homeschoolers for their encouragement and help that they have given to families who are still homeschooling. We had 7 veterans who spoke and it was just such a blessing to me. I want to homeschool someday when I have children, and to hear all these ladies speak about homeschooling, and how God helped them, and even all the different ways of teaching was just amazing.

I have taking a lot of these ideas and thoughts from everybody and have been thinking of how I want to teach someday and what I want my children to know. I think everyone agreed on one thing, God is the most important. It doesn't matter if your child is the smartest kid in the world, if they don't know Jesus as their personal Saviour, than it doesn't matter. All these ladies were proud to say that their children love God.

I tend to feel stressed about school, and where I am in math, how much English I did this year, and academics are important, but most importantly God wants me to know His word. I learned a lot last night, I am so glad that all these ladies agreed to to give their testimonies, and that they have been such a great example to others,who,because of them have decided to homeschool :)

Praise God for the freedom that we have to homeschool!! A lot of that freedom was made possible by a few of the ladies that were at our home last night, and because of their perseverance,and stubbornness.Even though a lot of people thought they were nuts, and would not support them in homeschooling they just kept trying, and now 30 years later it is so much easier to homeschool.

I'm so glad my mom got the idea to put this together, it was wonderful! So glad for all the different ideas and thoughts on homeschooling. This has really been a blessing :)

Our Neighbor's Bible

This poem is one of my favorites. It reminds me that the way I act is important, sometimes we are the only "Bible" our neighbors will ever read.

I Am My Neighbor's Bible

I am my neighbor's Bible;
He reads me when we meet;
Today he reads me in my home-
Tomorrow, in the street.
He may be a relitive or friend,
Or slight acquaintance be;
He may not even know my name,
Yet he is reading me.

And pray, who is this neighbor,
Who reads me day by day,
To learn if I am living right,
And walking as I pray?
Oh, he is with me always,
To criticize or blame;
So wordly wise in his own eyes,
And "Sinner" is his name.

Dear Christian friends and brothers,
If we could only know
How faithfully the world records
Just what we say and do;
Oh, we would write our record plain,
And come in time to see
Our worldly neighbor won to Christ
While reading you and me.

GOD KNOWS BEST!!!

My family has,for many years, been praying that my dad would get the job he has been appling for on an oil rig (a ship that drills for oil in the ocean). He has a friend who workes out there and was trying to help him get hired. But everytime it looked like he might get the job soon, something happened and he didn't. The company then sold out to another one and he tried again but they weren't hiring.

The other day while watching the news we saw that the oil rig my dad has been trying to get on blew up in the ocean, some people (I think 11) died and many were hurt.
It's very easy sometimes, when we don't get what we want or what we think is best,to question God or complain. I know I have, I thought it was best for my dad to get the job, but God knew better. If my dad had been on there when it blew up he could have possibly been killed. God sometimes protects people by saying "no" or "wait".

I wanted to share this story with you, but more as a reminder to myself. When I pray I need to ask God's will and not tell Him my own. HE KNOWS BEST :)

Wow life is so busy!!! As I was trying to get to sleep the other night I got to thinking of what we have coming up in the next couple weeks and I started feeling stressed. I remember when I used to wish we had more going on in our life and now I would gladly take a break from it all!! School is a big priority and it seems like it is never done, there is always more I can do. Even during the summer I try and do as much as I can. Also our graduation is coming up and all the planning, the speech writing, and the practicing takes up a lot of time. I'm working on signing a new song for our graduation that I don't know very many words to and I am so excited for that challenge :) But you know, sometimes I wish everything wasn't all rushed and that things would slow down and I start to feel stressed, like the other night, but it's important no matter how busy I am to be in God's word. When I get busy and I am thinking about 100 things at once I sometimes forget my time with God, but that's when it's most important. God should be number 1 in our lives, and by putting Him first and remembering our time with Him, that's shows Him that He is. I also find that when I make time for Him first, He somehow has a way of making sure I have time for all I need to do!
Have a good day everyone!

Don't be Afraid to Stand Out!

In the song I just posted by Britt Nicole she says "don't be afraid to stand out" and as Christians we shouldn't be. I know it's sometimes hard to be different, I feel it too. The only girl in the room wearing a dress, the only one not involved in a conversation that you know you shouldn't be. It can be hard but it's also rewarding. People may make fun of us, but they see when we are different and want to know why and then we have a great opportunity to witness. I sometimes feel out of place, but I also have this really cool feeling when people notice that I'm different, because then I know I'm doing something right.
And it shouldn't only be noticeable when we are wearing dresses but just by the way we act and our attitude.
I just think that this is very important, I try very hard to be a good testimony so that I will have opportunities to witness, and be a witness by my actions.

The Lost Get Found- Britt Nicole

This is an awesome song, I really love it!! Check it out!

Mission: K.A.H.!!!

My goal as a young lady is to learn as much about being a wife and mother right now as I can. When I am older and I get married I don't want to have a career, I'm going to be a Keeper at Home!! Titus 2:5 "To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." I want to learn as much as I can right now so I am prepared for when God blesses me with the right person, so I, my sisters, and some of our girlfriends, get together about 2 times a month and have a meeting. We all take turns planning Bible studies and activities. At our last meeting we made soap. We are learning to make creative, but simple foods and desserts. We sew, knit, do card making, and candle making. We want to know how to do useful and productive things that will benefit our household and make money. It's great when a woman, or young lady, has a home business and doesn't have to go out and work. When I'm married and have children I want to be able to stay home and take care of them, and raise them, not trust them to someone else so that I can go to work.

Well I'm out of time for today, I have to go help prepare dinner!! Talk to you all later. Hope that this will bless someone in some way :)

True Friends

To be a true friend you must be:

F orgiving
R eady to help
I n prayer for each other
E arnest and trusting
N iether a backstabber or a gossip
D oing for others (not selfish)

That spells out a TRUE FRIEND!

Siblings = Friends :)

Proverbs 17:17a A friend loveth at all times...

Friends are such a blessing!! Praise God for wonderful friends to talk to, share things with, and get together with! I'm so glad that God has given me so many friends to enjoy and fellowship with, but more importantly I'm glad for all my "family" friends. I'm talking about my siblings (I call them built-in friends!!). I am blessed with 3 sisters and 1 brother to always have for friends. Friends grow up, move away, and are sometimes forgotten but siblings aren't. Even when they grow up and maybe even move away they will always be remembered. As sisters and brothers we sometimes take for granted that we will always have each other and we don't always treat each other like friends the way we should. I know this from personal experience, I DO NOT always treat my siblings like best friends. :( This is something I really need to work on. I don't want to grow up and be enemies with my siblings, I want to be friends, for life. Thank God for; Megan, Sarah, Hannah, and Daniel!!!

I need to remember to:

Treat my family like friends,

and my friends like family!

Things I'll Think About Long Before I Say "I Do" !!

I've recently read a GREAT book called "The Person I Marry" by Gary Bower. It's a book written as a poem for young children (I personally love it though!) about setting standards for your future spouse. While doing Bible studies and reading books I've learned how important it is to set standards. It's good to know what qualities you want in your future spouse before you are ready to court or date, and it's good to have it written down, that way you can look at it and remind yourself. In the book "and the Bride Wore White" by Dannah Gresh, Dannah mentions how important a list of qualifications was to her, it helped her, when going out with somebody, to compare her qualifications with the guy. No matter how nice he was she was careful to not compromise, that way she knew she was getting somebody she could love, respect, and live with. Making a list of qualifications can also make many great memories. Dannah wrote it with her mom, but I suggest writing it with your dad as well. I had a great time writing mine with my dad and as young ladies we are under our dad's authority and he is the one who will "pick" or "ok" my future husband and he, as a Christian man, and husband, knows what to look for better than I would, or maybe even my mom.
It's great to have good Christian books to read and be encouraged by, and it's even better to have great Christian parents!!

Sanctuary

A wonderful song that I often sing as a prayer!

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary,

pure and holy, tried and true;

with thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for You

I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord!!

Music is one of my favorite things. I listen to music when I'm sad, and when I'm happy. It's nice to listen to when I'm going to sleep, it can be very relaxing. The Bible talks a lot about coming to the Lord with singing, and singing a new song to Him. Ps. 95:1-2 "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms." A lot of great songs come from the Bible as well. Psalm 95:6-7 is a great song that we sing often. I just LOVE music!!
A lot of times I find myself singing a familiar song, but not really paying attention to what it is saying. Songs have great messages in them. One group I really like it Casting Crowns, as soon as I can figure out how to get songs on here I'll try and put some of their songs on!
God bless ~ Rachel