Pray

Wow, one day in San Diego and things go crazy!

• I had a great phone interview with a school in Europe...I should know by Friday if I have a job or not. Pray for wisdom!
• Both my parents fell on Monday and injured themselves. Please pray for complete healing and no complications.
• My brother just survived the LA earthquake. Thankfully, nothing was damaged at his job site or apartment.
• My aunt has been having medical problems and there is a possibility it is Parkinson's. Please pray for my aunt, Jane and her husband, Mel as well as my mom who is devastated about this possibility.

Philippians 4:4-7 (Remember this is Paul speaking, Paul as in almost stoned to death, run out of town Paul)

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

My goodbye party

My home team gals are wonderful! (See post below) They threw me a surprise going away party. We swam, ate hot dogs and hamburgers which Deb and Jenna bravely risked their lives flipping, ate fabulous Sam’s Club cake and just had a fun time together. The best part of the night was the prayer time we shared together. I have loved praying with these girls for the past year and we have seen God work in weird and miraculous ways. Here are some things I will miss:

• Target clearance updates
• Movie nights
• “Umm…rrrriiiight”
• Book of answered prayers
• What else but monkeys!
• "I saw a big round of cheese and thought of you, Rachel"
• Our deep meaningful conversations over coffee/ice cream/food in general
• “HAhaHA…”
• “Momma like…"
• Oreo ba…um…treats
• “Deb’s flipping in her Bible, she’s got something good!”
• A million and one dance moves of coolness
• “I KNOW!”
• “I’m high on Jesus!”
• Caffeine driven Bible study epiphanies and illustrations
• And then Satan says, "SH**! She's awake!"
• Booth dancing
• “I’m the cream in your Oreo”
• Contagious laughter
• Red plastic cups
• Shower General
• Poor Napoleon...
• "Heather's been baking yummy things again...:-)"
• AMAZING answered prayers...aka, jobs, family, reconciliation, etc.

The Real Deal

Peek-a-boo!

And why are you not in a Home Team?

One 14’ Uhaul truck: $200 File boxes: $30 Tape: $15
One tray of sandwiches: $28
Friend with buff boyfriend: free
Five home team girls who load your moving truck in less than an hour: priceless!

Everyone should have a friend like Katie.

I still remember the day Katie Whipple asked me if I would like to go to Duluth and go backpacking with her. I was excited! No one ever asked me to go anywhere fun and I was an out-of-state sophomore with nowhere to go for Fall Break. Granted I had never been camping, hiking or backpacking before, but gee, how hard could it be?

I forgot Katie was the essential "Wilderness Woman", knew how to canoe, speak Ojibwa and wore mukluks. Our backpacking trip was hilarious. We hiked through one of the most difficult trails in Minnesota, I almost passed out with my 50 lb pack, and Katie, the bubbly superwoman she was, carried both of our packs the rest of the way. We cooked cornbread on a rock, used a single candle because we forgot a flashlight, got caught in a rainstorm on the hike out and pulled over by the police because of "speeding". We got off because it was a small town and we were soaked with a wet dog in the backseat. Katie's remark was, "Rachel, if the Queen of England went camping, I think she'd be a lot like you."

Well, anyway, I haven't seen Katie in a while, but we still keep in touch through Facebook. She went to Poland for a year to be a missionary and now she's working as a historical impersonator at a history center and going to seminary. Katie stretched me in so many ways and just makes me want to be more adventurous person in general. I think everyone should have a friend like Katie, one that inspires you to do more, be more, dance more, and dream more. Here's Katie at her best, having fun doing what she loves.

You say HaBAkkuk, I say HAbakkuk

The last few weeks, I keep circling back to Habakkuk which if you think of it is weird. Most people forget it's a book in the Bible, much less know what it says. It all started with this:



So, it got me curious and sure enough, Habakkuk continues to blow my socks off. After complaining to God, getting an answer, complaining again, getting another answer, here's Habakkuk's final response in Habakkuk 3.

17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.

Wow. After everything, Habakkuk comes back to the heart of the issue: Can you worship God for who He truly is? Can you trust Him enough to know that He will be your strength no matter what the circumstance?

What my life and a plot off of Verrado Way have in common.

It's hard to sum up what's been going through my head the last few weeks. As my plans for moving back home are finalized, it's hard for me to look to the calendar and see nothing after a certain date.
As a teacher for the past three years, my life has been a continuous stream of planning for "what's next". The next lesson, the next unit, the next skill, getting ideas, researching topics, creating projects and PowerPoints and handouts. Even the summer has always been looking forward to a new building and a new staff (I've moved school buildings 4 times in 3 years and changed staff twice). Suddenly, there's nothing. I went to Joann's today and realized there is no one to buy $1 sticker books for, no use for pre-cut quilting squares or no need to buy clearance bead sets. It's a feeling of not having anything concrete to look forward to.
I'm coming to grips with the fact that my life was wrapped quite tightly around my profession. It drove my schedule, my creativity, my thoughts, and for several years my finances as well. And as with most things you cling to and value above everything else, God rips them from your arms and you come to terms with where you really stand. Surrender is incredibly painful. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Surrender is also vital, I'm discovering. I can't claim God as my Everything if I hold back 90% of my life.
What I've found however as part of this process is that it's a war for my heart. I have days where my confidence level with God is sky-high. I feel like I will do anything and go anywhere for Him, that waiting and uncertainty are fun and exciting adventures. But then comes the days like today when a single email can send me reeling and Satan starts his subtle whispering of "God's not going to come through this time," and it takes everything within me to not just give in and agree. This is the point where so many people get taken out, their hearts shackled, their dreams killed and they settle for a distant God and a predictablely mundane future. I know I have to be extremely careful or end up with a trail of destructive, emotionally-driven decisions behind me.
So, that's where I'm at today. Ask me tomorrow, it will probably be different. I'm getting used to the "Work in Progress" me. As I told Lisa yesterday, I feel like our church building. God's laying down the utilities and the sewer pipes. Things are changing radically, but you can't see it yet. He's preparing to build, but He can't do that until the groundwork is laid and the foundation is firm.