plans.

i love my church.  

for several reasons. but one being that my pastor gives great sermons.

this past weekend was mothers day.

so his sermon was entitled: "what a wife wishes a husband knew about women." 

he linked passages in the Bible and referenced  the "5 Love Languages"

wow.   

being a single person right now, this was very powerful.  he talked about  how we have to show "I Love you" through the 5 love languages:

1. through words of affirmation.

2. through quality time.

3. through giving gifts.

4. through physical display.

5. through acts of service.

after he was done going through the 5 languages, he told the women to find out which love language theirs was & to tell their mate.  {or if you are single, figure it out to tell your future husband}

there are so many times that i feel like i am being attacked by satan that i am not good enough. not pretty enough. i'm not going to get married. etc. etc.  sometimes it is easier said than done to "put those thoughts out of your head."  i know God has a perfect plan for my life, but sometimes it is hard to see that.  i am not a very patient person, so waiting to see what God has in store for me is a struggle sometimes. 
i was reminded of this verse by someone who is going through a very hard time.  
For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 
jeremiah 29:11

my God will give me peace. love. direction. strength. encouragement. hope. support. answered prayer. and so many other things.
i am thankful for this. and need to remember all this. but there are days i have my "debbie downer" moments.  [not that today is one of those days. in fact after yesterday's sermon i feel pretty good.]

love & blessings.
rachel.

LIY/june 1989 giveaway.

erin at living in yellow, is featuring a giveaway over on her blog. 

 june 1989  has beautiful bracelets.  i would love several different colors. like, for reals. they are beautiful. 

i'm dog-sitting my adorable neph-paw tonight.  he is one spoiled pooch. but adorable.

happy saturday.

a change.

hi. my name is Rachel.  this is my journey about how i became a Christian.  it is a personal story, and a tad long.  but it has shaped me into the person i have become.  

i accepted Christ into my life later in life.  i always believed in God growing up. going to church with my grandparents, but not on a regular basis with my parents and sister.  

during college, i worked for a school district where i opened up a school building when someone rented it.  my boss asked me if i wanted to open up the building every saturday for a church.  i was a broke college student, so i agreed.  i opened the building for about 4 years on saturday nights and when the woman who opened the building on sundays had a massive heart attack and was unable to open on sundays.  so i was now there on saturday nights when they set up and sunday mornings.  

so i was there. a lot. when church was going on i would sit in a classroom doing homework/studying.  people would ask me to come into church, but i never did. one day a new family starting coming to set up on saturday nights. the room that i sat in happened to be the room where they had to come in and get the water for the coffee pots.  so when this new family starting coming to set up the coffee, they would come in and talk to me.  they were so nice [now we are close friends] and would ask me to come into church but not be pushy about it.  they asked for about a year. 

then the pastor's {my pastor now} mother passed away and i went to the funeral service.  i had been opening up the building for a long time and got to know him.  so i went with several people i knew [ the family who always talked to me being one of them] to the funeral.  at the end of the service he gave an invitation to ask Jesus into your life.  i said that prayer inside but never looked up at the pastor.  i was scared.  on the way home i said that prayer again, and again.  

about a month or so later, the church had their very first saturday night service.  and that happened to be the first service i attended.  everyone was shocked. i sat in the front row with several people i knew.  it is amazing the overwhelming feeling of love i felt from everyone when they saw me in the service.  i had been around the church for years now and they finally got me into the church. [ha]

it was one of the best decisions i have made.  my life is different. i have changed.  do i still make mistakes? absolutely. am i perfect? no way. but do i love my God who gave everything to his children? 100 percent.  

i have learned so much about myself over the last few years.  i have changed. my story has changed. some people around me question that change and don't understand the whole church/God thing. but i am trying to help their story change too.  

i am linking up with leigh on her post:  i am second