Monday, November 16, 2009
Random Rachel
Some of the things I COULD write about...
Pregnancy: My suddenly growing belly. Being in between "regular" clothes and maternity clothes. Feeling the baby move. Hearing it's heartbeat this week at my prenatal checkup. Being exhausted. Still feeling nauteous at 17 weeks. Andrew's sweet outlooks on welcoming a new baby brother or sister.
Being Still. It's been a reoccurring theme throughout my week. It seems everything I read brings it to mind again. I believe God is trying to tell me something!! Wondering why it's so hard for us women to just BE STILL before God. Is it because we're afraid of what He might say to us? Even tonight I opened up my Bible and what did I read? "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10
Being obedient...no matter what the cost! I read the story of Daniel again a few weeks ago. I started thinking...would I have done what Daniel did? Daniel knew that if he prayed He would be breaking the law of the king and that he would most certainly face a den full of lions...and an excruciatingly painful death. Yet, He chose to do the right thing, obeying The King rather than ungodly human authority! I can just hear my excuses, "But God I have to think of Alan and Andrew. What would they do without me...and besides I'm carrying a baby. You don't want me to put my baby in danger do you? It's not a big deal really. I'll just pray in my mind and no one will get hurt." Daniel didn't do that. He trusted God and because of His love for Him he chose to pray and worship God openly. No matter what the outcome He was better off because he trusted God and did the right thing...no matter what anyone else thought of it. Either he would be spared and God would be glorified OR he would die and go immediately into the presence of God. Do I believe and trust like that?! There may be a day in my lifetime that we Christians will have to stand up for what we believe. And we may be persecuted for it. Will I stand in faith (trusting) and do the right thing...no matter what?!
Broken Tooth. I had a tooth break off this past Saturday. Not fun! Wondering why I didn't take better care of my teeth. Perhaps if I had maintained them better I wouldn't be having the problems I'm having now. Yet, it seems easy to put these things off and neglect them when things are going well. Then, before you know it you're in a mess. Should have been watching out for the subtle decay. Is there a spiritual application here?! I think so!!
Broken Combine...and long fall season. My husband is a farmer. Today the combine broke down. He didn't get much field work done. This wasn't his plan. In fact, this whole season hasn't gone "as planned." The weather was rainy there for a while. Now, things are taking longer than it seems like they should. The guys were completely done in the field by the end of October last year. Not this year! Yet another reminder that we are not in control! God IS in control! What a great time to put our faith in Him and trust that it will all work out as He sees fit. God is good!!
Oh, I have more...but it's getting late and I need sleep. So, maybe I'll share more random thoughts later. OR maybe I'll try to come up with a post that is a little more "structured." :) Only God knows...and time will tell.
Hugs to my blog friends!
Do not fear anything except the LORD Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else. Isaiah 8:13
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Rise & Shine..to God be the Glory!!

It's hard to believe that back in January there was no such thing as Rise & Shine Women's Retreat. When we met together as a team early this year, Rise & Shine didn't have theme, a logo, a schedule or a plan...Rise & Shine didn't even have a name yet! There was a date booked on the Orchard Hill Church calendar, an idea for a guest speaker and few ideas on what this retreat should look like, but that was it. WOW! What an amazing journey this has been!! God heard our heart-felt prayers and guided us forward...every step of the way!
Friday was a day full of preparation (as much of the previous days had been). There were lots of little details to get in place. I had the honor of working next to Judy most of the day! Then, decorating...WOW, the decorating!! Dianna Geiger is my hero when it comes to decorating! :) The tables in the community center looked absolutely wonderful. I love everything about her taste and style...not to mention her very passionate, fun and Christ-like personality. Her spunk is contagious!!
After the Friday evening practice, production, sound and light check, having dinner with the team and Renee Swope (the guest speaker) and her assistant, Leah; this pregnant girl (who was also fighting off a cold) was soooo tired and my body ached like you wouldn't believe. Yet, the adrenaline continued to flow and my mind would not turn off. I only slept from 1am to 4am that night (well, I guess that's technically morning). :)
I prayed when I was lying there awake at 4 something. I told the LORD that it would only be by his divine intervention if I wasn't exhausted the next day. I asked him to spare me from the pregnancy nausea I'd been experiencing, the chronic neck/back pain I've been fighting for over a year and the over-tiredness I knew was inevitable without His intervention.
Saturday...oh what a day!! It started out with a meeting with all the volunteers in the fabulous Orchard Hill Church coffee house. I had no idea even myself that these coffee house volunteers were going so far above and beyond to serve at Rise & Shine. Wow! The coffee...all sorts of flavors and steeping hot. Not to mention all the homemade muffins and coffee cake to go along with it. Fabulous!
The volunteers (greeters, registration table, book table, breakout reflection facilitators and prayer room partners) blew me away. They were so eager to serve and totally competent to quickly jump into place to serve. Thank you girls!
Women flooded the lobby and community center...some faces were familiar, but many were not. Yet, I knew these were the women our team (and many others) had been praying for this entire year! We had prayed that God would send the women there that He wanted there and that He would prepare their hearts to hear from Him. I may not have known all of these ladies, but God did! I knew they were right where they were suppose to be that day. My heart overflowed with love for them! And with praise to the One who sent them there!
I wasn't sure how much time our team would spend sitting down that day, but everything went so smoothly (thanks to a lot of people!) that we were able to sit through both sessions. As the worship team and band started that morning, I personally felt the Holy Spirit raining down in that place! Although I had previously been a bit nervous about getting up in front of all those people to say welcome from our team, as the worship music continued I felt such peace...and wasn't really nervous at all. That's a pretty big thing for a girl who's not only from a small, rural church where there's about 80 people at an average service, but who also doesn't necessarily like getting up in front of people to talk. Thank you, Lord!
The skit team did an awesome job...making us laugh with a message attached. These girls have a story all their own. They are a group of young women from the same rural church Jill and I attend (also all related to us). These girls stepped out in faith to rise & shine at Rise & Shine!
The worship team and special music was soooo good! They blew me away...with their talent and spirit!
We were blessed to hear guest speaker Renee Swope speak twice at the retreat. Her morning talk was titled, "Becoming the Woman God Created Me to Be." She shared about the woman at the well and finding satisfaction in Christ. I heard loud and clearly that He is the only one who can satisfy. We must position ourselves to receive from Him so we can give to others from the overflow He's given to us. Very relevant for us women!
From there we broke out into "Breakout Reflections." We divided the women up into 8 smaller groups, each with a facilitator to go over some discussion questions from Renee's talk. Our team was very busy during this time so we did not get to participate in any of these breakout reflections. However, from the feedback we've received although each of the groups were different, this was very impactful for many of the women in attendance. It was an opportunity to connect with women (women they didn't even know beforehand) on a deeper level and dig more into the heart of Renee's talk.
Lunch...again, oh wow! What can I say?! Natalie Brown and her helpers from "Scratch" catering outdid themselves! Seriously, the food was phenomenal!! I can't say enough! During lunch women were able to share (and I noticed that they did a lot of this!), visit the book tables, prayer room and Life 101.9s table where the lovely Julia Taylor (their morning show co-host) had positioned herself.
It was now time for the afternoon session. At this point, I couldn't believe it was already 1pm! I thought about all the preparation that went into this day...and there were only 2 more hours left! More spirit filled praise and worship was followed by "The Story Behind Rise & Shine" where Leanne and Jill shared their story...and the original vision of a conference. Good!
After Jackie Beran and Barbie Tupy shared special music with us (and did a terrific job!), Renee Swope took the stage again. This time she shared a talk entitled, "Blessed is She Who Believes." This talk was especially impactful! She spoke about Mary (the mother of Jesus), living beyond the shadow of our doubts by focusing on the light of His truth. I wish I could do this talk justice by what I write here, but there was so many relevant thoughts expressed that I don't think I can sum it up quickly. I think I need another whole blog post for this one! :) Some things that really stood out to me in this talk was, "God does not call the equipped, He equips the called." And it's not that we're able, but that we're available. And that we need to women who don't just believe in God, but who believe God! (AMEN!)
Now, we're to what was probably my favorite part of the day... Renee asked us women to write our doubts, fears, insecurities on an index card and bring them to the cross. We had 2 big crosses set up on the stage, one on each end. I had the privilege of being on one side holding a basket full of promises from Scripture. When the ladies brought their doubts and laid them at the foot of the cross, they picked up a promise from the basket...and Renee had prayed that each woman would pull out the promise (out of 15!) that was specifically for her. As I stood there holding this basket of promises, watching the women line up to bring their doubts to the cross...knowing that this was in response to all that had taken place there that day, I became extremely overwhelmed with praise to the Father! He had shown up there allllll day in a very big way! He had once again shown His faithfulness and provision! The Holy Spirit was strong and some women were weeping. I began to tear up (and I am not a crier!).
Since I was the first woman up there, knowing I need to hold the basket of promises and having women right behind me to pick theirs up, I didn't pull out a promise right away. No, some time along the way, a promise flipped up. I couldn't see what it said, but I felt prompted to pick it up. This was my verse! When I flipped it over, I started to cry. Oh, Lord, you know all things and spoke directly to me, even in this room full of women!!! This verse was meant just for me!!!
After Ann Knapp sang, "Lead Me to the Cross" (so beautifully!), Renee wrapped up her talk. I was crying the whole time! God did this...all of it. I was bursting with gratitude to the people who allowed God to work through them to make Rise & Shine a success. I thanked God for how all the details, big and small, came into place! I thanked Him that He chose me to be a part of something so grand and beyond me! To HIM be the GLORY! I've been rejoicing ever since!!
I've enjoyed hearing the stories from friends and new friends since the retreat. Things that I will continue to rejoice over for a long time to come! Stories from the prayer room, to personal connections and life impacting decisions made. God is good!
My last little praise from the day because I know this is looooong: God answered my prayers. I had NO nausea (despite having very little to eat until after noon), NO neck/back pain (although I've been dealing with that for over a year!), and wasn't even that tired (despite getting very little sleep, previously having a cold...and being someone who normally requires a lot of sleep!). GOD IS GOOD! That may not mean a lot to someone else, but to me God revealed Himself, His love and provision in a very big way!
Will we do it again next year?! Stay tuned for details. For now, we are rejoicing and basking in the after-glow of the day! Praying to see where God leads next.
Want to know how I got involved with Rise & Shine? Click here.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Stay tuned...
I am still searching for adequate words to express the events of the day. For now, I just want to say what an AMAZINGLY FAITHFUL, GREAT BIG, WONDERFUL GOD we serve!!! I am overwhelmed by all that took place!!! More to come very soon...
Will share my thoughts and some pictures in the coming days.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Big News Announcement!!!
Okay, okay...I hear ya, "Enough with the "big news" already, just tell us!!" :) Right?!
We are expecting a baby!!! I am almost 14 weeks along (entering the 2nd trimester). Our baby is due April 24th!
Went for my first OB checkup on October 12th. My doctor couldn't pick up the heartbeat with the handheld monitor. Because she knows that I experienced a miscarriage last time and didn't want me to be nerveous about not hearing the heartbeat, we did an ultrasound there in her office. I got to see my little baby's heart beating and it moving around on the ultrasound. It was so reassuring to see and brought tears to my eyes. I left her office praising the Lord!!! AND I was ready to tell our family!! Alan and I are both very, very excited!!
First, we told our little Andrew (2 1/2). We sat him down and explained things to him. He's been very excited ever since. He got to announce it to the grandparents and some other family members too. He told them, "There's a baby in my mommy's belly." lol Love it! Since then, he has been telling random people...like the cashier at the grocery store. :) Plus he's been asking a lot of questions. He's told people, "It's not here yet" and "Mommy's belly has to get bigger and bigger and then the baby will come out" and "I'm going to teach it to play with blocks." It's going to be a fun journey with our smart little man!!
Children truly are a blessing from the Lord! We are feeling overly blessed and grateful!
I would appreciate your prayers for Baby Beran and it's mama (me). Trusting the Lord for a healthy baby in April!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Step Out

Back in December when Jill first told me her idea about starting a women's conference, I wasn't shocked. I knew that I was suppose to be part of it, yet didn't say a word about this to Jill. I just told her that I would pray about it...which I did. I was thrilled a few weeks later when she asked me to be part of the Rise & Shine Team . Isn't this just the way that the Lord works? He opens doors where there doesn't even seem to be a door!!!
Now, I could tell you one story after another about how God has revealed His provision and faithfulness to me personally throughout this planning process...and I'm sure that I will have more to tell you in the next couple of weeks.
I'm thankful that Jill and Leanne stepped out in faith...and that Judy and I have had the opportunity to do the same.
However, I'm mostly thankful that I know that all of this is pleasing and glorifying to the Lord! It's a lot of work, but it's a pleasure to do the work of the Lord.
Let me ask you, where is God asking you to step out in faith in your life?! Is there something He's specifically calling you to do? Have you prayed about this lately? What's holding you back? Maybe it's not the right time yet, but maybe it is. What are you doing to prepare while you wait? Remember two things: God WILL use those who are willing and obedience begins in the seemingly small things!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Too Bad, How Sad
Friday, October 2, 2009
Weariness Turned into Praise!
Excuse me for taking so long to post again. After my last post titled Weary, I know I left some of you wondering how I was doing. Thank you so much for your prayers! I'm so incredibly thankful to post that my weariness has turned into PRAISE!The words of David in Psalm 30 echo the praise in my heart. I'll share a bit of it with you here:
2 to 5 Oh LORD my God, I cried out to you for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O LORD, You kept me from falling into the pit of death. Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name...Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes in the morning.
11 & 12 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!
It has been an incredible journey. A year of pain...in my back, neck, right shoulder, arm and hand due to a herniated disk in my neck. There have been many ups and downs. Many doctor's visits. Some short-lived bouts of relief and then relapses. Never really feeling well. A lot of frustration, tiredness and weariness...and even more prayer!
Then, there was a breakthrough last week. I visited a chiropractor who does some alternative treatments. I had known of him for quite a long time. Someone had actually referred me to him several months ago. His office is 1 1/2 hours from my home. I had gone through so many ups and downs...and had visited a few different doctors so I wasn't sure going there would be worth the trip. Then, desperation really hit me. My husband, Alan and I, were praying so tearfully. Honestly, crying out to the LORD for help. It felt like this doctor was where God was leading us next.
To make a long story shot, I walked out of this chiropractor's office feeling better than I had in a very, very long time. There were tears in my eyes as I left his office...and my heart sang the LORD's praises all the way home! To be honest, I have had so many set-backs throughout the last year that I was almost afraid to move, in fear the pain was going to come back on full force. I hated to even mouth the words that I actually felt better. I didn't allow the fear to consume me. I chose faith instead. I couldn't be silent! I praised the LORD...and have continued to praise! I will continue to give Him the glory!
I should make it clear that I am NOT completely pain free. However, I feel such incredible relief. I go back to see my new chiropractor friend next week. I praise the LORD for leading me to him. Health is something I took for granted before...no more!
Thank you, LORD, for hearing our prayers! Thank you for restoring my health! I know it's only going to get better. My weeping went on all night, but joy came in the morning!!! I will continually sing Your praises!!! I will give You thanks forever!
