Let's See If I Remember How to Blog!

Mmmk. How long has it been since I last posted something? Way too long!

Problem is, do I really have anything worth saying? I could write about Christmas gift wrapping, or a gift I made for my sister, or the way I've been poufing my hair as of late, or even my injured toe. But who really wants to hear about that stuff?!?!?!

Nay, instead, I shall recommend two especially meaningful verses to you! Jude 24&25 are absolutely incredible (as are all the rest of the verses in the Bible). Jude only has one chapter, so 24&25 are verses, not whole chapters. I absolutely love all parts of both verses, but one part is so encouraging: the part about Jesus presenting us FAULTLESS before God!!! Also, the first part about God keeping us from stumbling...it's so awe-inspiring! I mean, we have so much power through the Holy Spirit that we don't even use. He is able to keep us from stumbling!

More and more (here is something completely off-topic), I've been realizing that God places trials in our lives so that we can grow closer to Him, or to get our attention back on Him. If I elaborate, I'll start rambling, so I'm not going to do that.

Friends, I know God is near each and every one of you today. Don't forget that we (I am speaking to myself, too) don't have to be strong on our own - God will do that for us, if we let Him.

Cordially and with love,

Lady Rachel

Today Is a Rather Fine Day for Lady Rachel.

Hello! I am victorious! I went SHOPPING!

Actually. Well. It wasn't REALLY shopping, it was iTunes browsing. And I only bought one song: "My Help Comes From The Lord," by The Museum (I know! It's like songs never use correct grammar - it should be "My Help Comes from the Lord," but songs never do the proper capitalization rules!!!).

Lettuce see.

After drinking a caramel frappuccino with Jenna Cox, Erica Witzig, and Misha Cox, we went to the Family Video store to find Penelope. Sadly, it was checked out. We made a beeline back out to our car when we realized the "evil Family Video guy!" was working. Haha! That's what Jenna calls the slightly very much flirtatious movie-checker-outer. Several insiders were made that night.

We went to Washington church, then spent a couple hours at the Dreste home, where Erica and I learned (or tried to learn!) Settlers of Catan.

The Jones family then had us over for dinner, along with several other families. And, despite the advice of Steve and Susie Jones, I'm going to buy a painting from their son next time we go there. Well...maybe I will. If he acts too greedy, I won't. Haha.

Aaand, that about sums up the weekend. If I decided to go into detail about Saturday and Sunday, the post would never end!

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

P.S. My new favorite names?

Girls: Cassandra. Elizabeth. Juliet. Therese. Jenny. Liese. Persephone. Jillian.
Guys: Johnny. Adonis. Marcus. Chandler. Kyler. Brett. Evian. ALEXANDER!!!

AND that's it! Toodles!

Ha!

Gracious, goodness me! It's been forever since I last blogged!

Let's see here, let's start from the top.

What all have you missed in my life? Well, three noteworthy things happened since I last blogged:

1. I got a yellow tanktop. I wear it over my brown tee.

2. MY SISTER, MARTA, MOVED TO FLORIDA!!! There is a recent picture of Jaivyn right about this text!!!

3. I set up a Starbuck's coffee/Penelope-movie-watching date with Jenna! It's happening this Saturday!!!

Any cool Bible verses? I love 2 Timothy 4:13. But it's not the average verse you'd expect. Go check it out for yourself - I (personally) think it makes the Bible seem so much more real (even though it couldn't possibly get any real-er than it already is).

Any other news? Let's see...I am starting up ballet dancing again. No, I haven't found a good studio with lessons that are worth the money, but my old dance teacher sent me a really good dance DVD. I can follow along. I have majorly been slacking off when it comes to ballet - but I really need the exercise, so what better to do than ballet?

Cordially,

Lady Rachel

DARLING JAIVYN(:

Here is a picture of my darling little nephew, Jaivyn! He is a DOLLFACE.

A Pinch of This and a Dash of That

Well! I've been extremely busy these past two weeks!

After sharing our Israel presentation in Indy on Friday and Saturday, we were going to leave on Sunday, when Teryn (one of my Indy friends) told us...drumroll...she was heading up to Peoria on the next Saturday! So we got to stay in Indy for a whole extra week.

FUN, FUN :)

I have to say, one of the best parts was getting a makeover in Ulta, a really cool cosmetics store. Teryn applied foundation, blush, mascara, regular eyeliner, lipliner, lipstick, and - get this! - GLITTERY EYELINER! At the end, she added bright pink lipstick. I was going to wear it out and about the mall, but Erica said I was an embarrassment. And you know me - I go out of my way to keep from embarrassing Erica...haha. Did you catch the sarcasm? I felt pretty bad, though - we went into Ulta and sampled all their makeup, then walked right out of the store without even buying anything! Oh, well, what's a bit of makeup gonna cost 'em.

By the way, there's this really fun slumber party game thing that I strongly recommend. Everyone writes eight or so questions on slips of paper, then throws them in the middle. You take turns drawing and answering the questions. My questions have ranged from thought-provoking ("What is one deep, dark secret you've never told anyone?") to kind of strange ("What is Rachel's best facial feature?") to downright ridiculous ("Did YOU put Peter the purple elephant in my refrigerator?").

Mmm...oh, how I love my Indy girls :)

Life lessons from which I think everyone can benefit:

__never entrust my sister, Erica, with a Wendy's frosty while riding in Maria Steidinger's car. She promptly spilled it all over.

__don't add fake chocolate chips to frappuccinos.

__if you buy thirty $ worth of iTunes gift cards, remember that you can't buy thirty songs - most likely, some of the songs will be $1.29.

__if it looks like wet paint, it probably is wet paint.

I'm going to buy some songs off iTunes :)

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

Just a Little Note from Me.

Did you know that the most common password is simply "password"? I know, right? How amazing!



Here are two funny things about Erica that I'm sure you didn't know!!!



1. She called a little boy "toilet" in Spanish because she thought it was the word for "goof." Hahaha. "HEY, YOU LITTLE INODORO!!!!!!!!" hahahaha



2. She kept calling the cook "pollo" instead of "Coyo." Pollo (poy-oh) is chicken. In Spanish, of course.



Did you know that ANNA can be made into NANA? Haha!



Every teacher deserves a thank-you. That's what a cardboard box by me says. Hahahahaha. I mean, yeah, every teacher deserves a thank-you, but why write that on this blog? Beats me.



In case you haven't noticed, I really have absolutely nothing to say. Nothing!

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGG. I absolutely despise having nothing about which to write!!! So I guess I'll wait until after Indy. I should have plenty to write by then. Oh, and California is coming up soon! I'll have to write all about that, too :)

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

Here and Now.

I'm going to warn you, right here and now, that I am going to often change the format of this blog. Hope you don't mind.

Well, nothing really major has happened since my last post, so I guess it's goodbye for now. I'll try to have something to write next week!

Byebye!

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

P.S. Oh, yeah, Keelin Isch was very disappointed in me for not mentioning her in any of my blog posts as yet. So haha. I just mentioned her. Haha!

Whoa.

So, basically I just got back from Mexico, on a work team...
...and I left parts of my heart with each kid there. I got closest to Michel, Daniel, and (idk how to spell her name in Spanish???) Kayla...Oh, how I love those kidlets...

Hmm, what all did I do on this work trip? Hahahahaha, well, would you like me to arrange my jobs in alphabetical order or in order of importance??? I have to say that the best job I did was sand down the new house walls. Seriously, that was so fun - and I don't even know why!!! I'd do it again in a flash. Also, baking 38 1/2 dozen cookies - 462, to be exact - was absolutely fantabulous!!! Despite getting kicked out of the kitchen for not keeping one of the bakers under control, I had an amazing time...oh, wow, that kicking-out-of-the-kitchen thing was epic. And not in a good way. But it's all behind me now. Trust me, it was not incidental!

So now I think I have a son. His name is Daniel, and he's ten years old. Yeah, he's five years younger than me, but ha! he's so adorable. And so dear to my heart.

Michel was awesome, too. I had an amazing time tossing around the football with him. And he taught me the Spanish word for jumprope - I'm pretty sure it's spelled brinka or something. Brinca? Idk.

So I basically have this whole lineup of people waiting for the computer. I have to go; people are telling me to hurry up...(but come on, what's more important than this blog!!!)...

So I seriously HAVE to go.

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

Oh, Dear Me.

I've learned while over in Israel...

1. "I guess gas pumps observe the Sabbath, too" - Dad
2. Camels' feet squish when they take steps.
3. Supposedly, Poles are supposed to be the nicest people around...if you consider pushing and shoving nice, then yes, they are about the nicest people I've ever met!
4. Middle Eastern men flirt like crazy. (not sarcasm)
5. Israeli people are very friendly! (that wasn't sarcasm, either)
6. Hibiscus tea is just oh...so....lovely. (that WAS sarcasm)

I had a superduper time. Several times, though, I almost lost my life, such as riding a camel, riding in a van through Cairo (that is the most dysfunctional driving I've ever seen), and riding a crocodile. Just kidding. I didn't ride a crocodile. Fooled you.

We rode on a Polish airline. The only bad thing about Polish airlines is that the people are Polish, which, in itself, is not a bad thing. Are you following me? What I mean is this: Polish people are great, I wasn't saying they aren't. It's just that I don't speak Polish, which made the flight rather inconvenient.

Are you pickin' up what I'm layin' down?

No? That's grand. Let's continue.

So we were going shopping at this Egyptian open air market type thing, and there was this adorable little boy - couldn't have been older than seven, prolly less - and he was selling bracelets. It was impossible to refuse him - we didn't even haggle (which, by the way, is an art form. I can't haggle at all, but some people are so good!). He just stood there, lookin' all cute. He was even better than the bracelets!!! We bought four. Bracelets, I mean.

But the best part of Israel? We were standing on this mountain, where Saul chased David. And it seriously looked like it hadn't changed since those days. I felt like I was reliving the Old Testament.

While in the plane ride, I got extremely bored. So I got to thinkin'...

...and all of a sudden, I was like WHOAAAAAA!!!!!!!! i'm engaged to Jesus! And we're really getting married! I'm gonna be His bride!!! I mean, I've known that for a while, but it became really real to me all of a sudden. I don't know why it did at that particular moment. It just did.

Enough for now.

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

The New Coffee Beans and Faded Jeans!

Like the look? It's still the exact same thing, only a different format! Enjoy!

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

Donovan!

I have something to say.

This is a really random thought, but I'm really into the Old Testament stories lately. And I was thinking...

...King Xerxes called for all the unmarried girls in the kingdom. And just thinking...

...Esther was a Jew. And most Jews, during that time, got married around the age of twelve. She must not have been older than fourteen!!! I'm fifteen, and I don't even know if I would have had as much courage as she had. And, seriously! What if she was, like, eleven or something??????

It's insane how bold Esther was for God! She hesitated, but nothing kept her from approaching the king - even when he hadn't called for her, which was punishable by death. Would I have had that courage? I don't know.

So, yeah, that's that.

Right now, I desperately need to brush my teeth. Like, DESPERATELY.

I want to call attention to the fact that Kaylie and Kristi Stahl are absolutely superb. I had a prayer meeting with Kristi and Erica (my sis, of course) just yesterday. We shared our struggles and how God had worked in our lives the past week. She has a blog - krististahl.blogspot.com with some pretty legit blogposts. That isn't even scratching the surface of how awesome Kristi is, and Kaylie is just as awesome. Seriously, who else is going to marry an African-American ex-gangster who dances, plays guitar and piano, is a photographer and a painter, is half-Irish and is named Donovan??? And she's a girl with a mission - God is using her in an incredible way. She writes songs and stuff. She is so cool (Guys, they're both available! Hahaha, just kidding)!!! So yeah, just thought I'd share that.

Haha! After rambling on and on about Esther and my two dear friends, it's time to brush my teeth. Oh, and check out Psalm 68:8!

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

Beautiful Ending

I was reading a devotional book - Daniel by Beth Moore, I strongly recommend it - and the thought struck me (it had nothing to do with the devo, so I have no idea from whence this idea came hahahehe), what would Saul have been able to do if he had devoted his life to God?

And I kept on thinking...Saul started out as a really cool guy! He had a ton going for him, and, in the beginning, he really loved God (or so I gather from the stories).

And then, it's like WHOA!

What happened?

What changed? Why did Saul start chasing after the world? He could've been such an amazing king if he'd kept his focus on the right place!

All over the Bible, there are stories like Saul's - Uzziah, Solomon, Asa, Joash, etc. (ironically, these are all kings!) - where the kings started out as SUCH GODLY MEN, but forgot God in the end. What was it? Pride? I think so.

There are also a ton of stories about people like Ahab and Delilah and Judas, people who were bad to begin with and bad through the end. We don't like to recant those stories very much - they're depressing and ugly.

Seriously!!! What could these people have done if they'd stuck to the straight and narrow?

People remember Biblical heroes like Hezekiah, David, Ruth, Esther, Mordecai, and Joseph (as in coat of many colors guy) for sticking to God all their lives. It's their stories we like to tell, it's their stories about which we like to think. They stayed true to God, through thick and thin (I'm not saying they didn't make mistakes - we all make our fair share of 'em).

But then...oh, and then! We read about people like Rahab, Mary Magdalene, Judah (as in no coat of many colors guy), Manasseh, Paul - people who really had nasty beginnings but turned to God. We like to remember those people because their stories demonstrate how God can pick up the lowliest and use them in an astoundingly life-changing way!

There are people of each of these four categories in our lives - people who started off as awesome ol' folks but then turned away from God, people who were bad from the start, people who have been devoted to God from diaper days, and people who have checkered pasts but are such influential Christians now. And I can't help but think...

...on Judgement Day, all our stories are going to be told. What kind of people are we? Will we be proud of our life history? Will we be praising Jesus for His amazing redemption? Or will we be on our knees, mourning and wishing, with all our hearts, that we'd listened to God while we still had the chance?

There's a song by BarlowGirl called "Beautiful Ending" that perfectly fits this post. I strongly recommend that you listen to it.

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

Call Me Odd, But...

Call me odd, but I happen to adore the boy's names Marcus, Lucius, Adonis, Cassander, Chandler, and Rhett (no, I did NOT get that name from Gone with the Wind!!!).

Call me odd, but I like the girl's names Aishe (pronounced Ay-sh), Aure (pronounced Aww-ray), Juliet, Kashley, Persephone (pronouned per-seff-uh-nee), and Britt.

Call me odd, but right now, I have a craving for french fries and a Frosty.

Call me odd, but...I happen to know the capital, official language, and poverty level percentage in Romania.

Call me odd, but this post is going to have to be cut short. I have to go vaccuum.

Call me odd, but I really don't feel like it.

I hope this post inspired you to reach for the stars! to do great things with your life! to become a better person! to show the world how wonderful you can be!

Haha.

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

A Frannyville Weekend

Not to mention the fact that it was my birthday, last Saturday was a wonderful youth group activity in Indiana. Let me explain.

The way I explain our church is this: our church is like a Wal-Mart, only it's a church - there are a whole bunch all over the globe, and we all believe the same doctrine and hold to the same traditions. Our church is called Apostolic Christian Church (not Penecostal, though). I'll be referring to our church as the AC Church and things belonging to it as AC _____ (ex. AC youth group, AC friends).

So our AC youth group went to this big invite thing that another AC youth group hosted. A whole bunch of other AC youth groups were invited. We all got together and played games, listened to a speaker, did skits, had a praise singing (IN A GRAIN BIN!!!!!!), and went to church the next day.

You're probably wondering where I'm going with all this. Truth is, I haven't a clue. I haven't a clue where I'm going with all this!!!

One thing of which I'd like you to take note: when attending an AC youth group thingy, DON'T tell anyone it's your birthday (if it is)!!! I made the mistake of telling some of my friends...and the entire crowd of teens SANG TO ME! And if that wasn't enough, they sang three different verses! By this time, I'm thinking, Gracious me, whatEVER possessed me to tell my friends it was my birthday??? And then I think, Oh, yeah, I told them because I'm Rachel, and I do stupid things like that on occasion...

I would like to draw attention to the fact that one of my bestest friends, Maria Steidinger, gave me a huge pad of paper, a picture frame, 8 markers, and 150 crayons!!! for my birthday. I'm kind of protective of my presents; the paper is mine, and mine alone. Haha.

Well, I'm running out of things to say...Come to think of it, I never really had anything to say in the first place.

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

Little Things, Namely Quotes

So I'm making this notebook for my friend's birthday. (Maria Steidinger, if you're reading this, don't go any further!!! I'm about to reveal your present).

I wrote a whole bunch of superawesome quotes on the inside. I thought I'd share a few :)

(Chinese Proverb) "It is better to light one candle thatn to curse the darkness"

(C.S. Lewis) "Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in lettes too large for some of us to see"

(Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step"

(Harry Emerson Fosdick) "Christians are not to merely endure change, nor even to profit by it, but to cause it"

(St. Augustine) "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe"

(C.S. Lewis) "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisty, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world"

So, yes.

Just thought I'd share that with y'all :)

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

On Mountains and Mennonite History

I have something hysterical to tell you. Mom, Dad, Erica, and I were riding (as in, riding in a car) on our way back from Indy Outreach. We were discussing our favorite movies, and Dad hadn't said anything yet. After awhile, he said, "I don't know...I really like my Illinois Midwest History Documentary series [I forget the exact title]."

We were all like, HAHAHAHA DAD THAT IS SO FUNNY! Then Mom said, "Girls...I think he's serious."

My dad loves history :) Here's another example:

Mom: Would any of you like to play a game tonight?

*Silence*

Mom: Oh, yeah, that's right. Fred, you'd probably enjoy reading your Mennonite history book instead [in all complete seriousness].

Unfortunately, I did not inherit my dad's love for poring over history textbooks. The only history book I love is one about America, and that's because it's about Puritans - you know, how they affected America's roots, and how they influenced documents like the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution...Oookay, so maybe I do like history more than the average person...

...but that's the thing. Just like my friend, Kristi Stahl (who has a blog - it's krististahl.blogspot.com ), says, "Only dead fish go with the flow." It's okay to be different, whether your difference is in that you like poring over history textbooks or that you wear a different style of clothes than the rest of your school. Different is COOL. Different is so LEGIT

(the legit part is kinda an insider).

At first, this may seem completely irrelevant, but you'll see where I'm heading with this. Why is it in style to wear a humungous (sp?) mountain on the back of your head? Don't get me wrong, I think it looks really cool, but seriously. Who started this trend in the first place? I'll bet whoever it was that started the hairstyle was scorned, laughed at, misunderstood! But, hey! All the girls whose hair resembles the Appalachian mountain range have that one person to thank...the person who took a stand to wear her (or maybe even his!!!) hair in a new way...you know, the fish that went AGAINST the flow!!!!!!

On a different note, here is something amazing that my friend, Emily J. E., wrote on Facebook:

"The way I feel when I remember that I am GOD'S is INDESCRIBABLE. Sometimes I will get a little down because I don't look like a super model. But then God sends a sign, mostly through music, that reminds me WHOS I am. I am HIS and nothing can take that away from me. He loves me so very much. And I remember HE knows my NAME. HE knows my every THOUGHT. HE sees each TEAR that FALLS. And HE hears me when I CALL. I would so rather KNOW that I am his and live the life he has for me, instead of playing the worlds stupid game of who can be the thinnest and prettiest. Because that's all that is, is a game! And quite frankly I DO NOT want to play that game! I want to LIVE THE LIFE that GOD has planned for me. I'm SOOOOOO glad that God sends those signs! Love, ~Emily~"

(Emily has a blog, too - thesheteen.blogspot.com )

I think that is absolutely beautiful.

Cordially,
Lady Rachel

Cream and Sugar

I'm Rachel. I'm the type of girl who drinks coffee only on daring days, and even then, it's half cream, one fourth sugar, and one fourth actual coffee. What's a daring day, you ask? A daring day is like a Sunday when we play frisbee football after church and I play, too, or when I decide to wear five-inch-tall heels.



So many people have been asking me, "How are you adjusting to Monmouth life?" How am I supposed to answer that? Should I start with the good things - like the aqua, black, and white themed room Erica and I share - or the bad things - like the biggest event of the year is the Prime Beef Festival...?



My response is this: do you really care how Monmouth life is like? Seriously, is that just a conversation-starter, or is it an honest question? If it's an honest question, then I will answer you honestly: I'm getting used to it. But if it's a conversation starter, I have a better question for you: Why are we talking in the first place? Will you really remember my name five minutes from now? If you will, then awesome! you're the type of person with whom I like to talk.

Yesterday, I played frisbee football, but I didn't drink coffee that day - I didn't have time. There were six games in all - I sat out with Susanna Thames for the first two. Then I sat out alone for the next three. If it hadn't been for the constant pressure I received from Ashley Bollier, Teryn Leuthold, Susanna Thames, Daniel Bollier, and especially Caleb Jones, I never would have played for the sixth and final game. I did play, but I never once touched the frisbee. Wanna know how I accomplished this?

Simple: stick behind somebody on your team the whole time. You have to change who you stick by after every point, though, or else they'll figure out your strategy. But, hey, I ran around and acted like I knew every bit what I was doing, when, in truth, I didn't know who all was on my team. Haha.

On Saturday, we did Indy Outreach, a Youth Group event that involves things like service projects, bonfire singing, s'mores, hamburgers, hotdogs, guitars, superduper praise singings, and testimonies. Let me tell you, Indy Outreach - located in Indy, haha - is the best thing to come down the pike in quite some time. Not even kidding.

Over the weekend, I discovered three things:

1. My love for proper grammer. Haha, just kidding!!! It's grammar!!! Did you catch the spelling error???

2. Americans use the word "like" as though it's worthy of use every five to fifteen seconds - "Alan [a foreign exchange student], was it hard to understand Americans when you first came to the States, since we have such awful grammar and slang?" "Kind of, and I didn't really understand why you use 'like' all the time"!!!

3. Sitting on the Bollier's roof is rather fun.

So, please, stick around!!! I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing what my interesting life experiences are like!

Cordially,
Lady Rachel