birthday weekend

what a relaxing weekend in mcallen :) there was a lot of this going on...

we dropped of the chaise to be reupholstered in that yummy faux bois fabric :)

mops (mother in law's mother in law name) created a super cool, pink aluminum birthday tree with candles tied to branches with ribbon, and cupcake, gift, and colorful bauble ornaments hanging. i didn't have my camera to capture it, but someone did! i want to post it as soon as i get a hold of those pictures.

all of the birthday food was delicious and it will be super hard to get back into Zone cooking! however, i did recently pick up a Zone cookbook, so at least i'll have more recipes to choose from than before.

when we got back to austin, i start displaying my left over cupcakes in the kitchen...

when i heard, "COME 'ERE!" evan had been in the bathroom for a while, so i thought, "hmm...i wonder if he was doing something romantic like writing something sweet on the mirror or lighting candles..."

oh, but it was even better. "do you see my face???"

"TWO FACE!! AHHH!!!!"

he's so funny...i had to get the camera.

a heart at peace

i have followers? yippee! 

i've never really been a good writer. it's the organization part that

gets me. probably because i don't like to do rough drafts...one time

and one time only will you get me to sit and write about a certain topic

(minus like my last paper in college, which was going to be submitted for

publication! then i was ON IT). 

so, while i could use this writing experience to try to work on that,

i've decided just to warn you that my posts may be unorganized. 

snippets of information, perhaps. no flow.

first non-flowing piece: verse of the day that i got in the email: 

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the
bones.

Proverbs 14:30

love it. it's true; it's like you can feel what it's describing when you're

in it. being able to be at peace in my heart has taken practice. i feel like

i've learned it just like i'd learn the pythagorean theorem or something. 

after practice, you don't have to have the formula at hand anymore. i was

telling meredith the other day that i constantly have in the back of my mind

that we are not of this world, nor are we supposed to act like we are of

this world. remembering that has REALLY helped me when my 23-year-old, a&m

grad, newly married female body WANTS things....stupid little things that mean

nothing and cost money. of course, when i'm actually IN the store i'm blinded

by this WANT and i don't think it's stupid or worldly, but as soon as i remember

that we are to be set apart, it's easy to come back to reality. and because of

the BLINDING power of these THINGS, i take very seriously the fact that i do not

go to a store unless i need something specific. nor do i browse. same for 

online shopping. 

in the same way, a convicted sex offender who does not want to be tempted to 

offend again will remove himself from places like parks, schools, etc. if you

don't see it, you can't want it (ish). that last sentence applies more to me

than the sex offender i suppose.

anyway, when you realize you don't have to mess with (and God doesn't want you to

mess with) worldly things like having the latest fashions and OMG the latest

electronics, it's FREEING. let all that crap go by you, watch people's

obsessions, watch them not being fulfilled by it, remember you are called to be

the opposite of what's popular. you can be fulfilled by the Holy Spirit who

lives in you.

i think Jesus has helped me chill. in a world where anxiety runs high (which i 

partake in in large crowds) and material things define who you are, it's really

hard to be content with what you have and who you are. i'm thankful to God that 

He now lives in me, so i don't have to worry about 'who i am' - it's taken care of. 

chill, okay?

[punkin after a hard came of tennis]

free at last

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  -Phil 4:6

i can't tell you how cool it is to have this verse semi-memorized and be able to speak truth into the lies that seep into my head regarding my joblessness. the last sermon evs and i heard at the stone (austinstone.org) came at the perfect time. it was about temptation, and being able to speak truth into situations where your flesh wants to make worldly decisions. so having this "truth" on hand is important. that way you can whip it out any time! we are to do this because Jesus did as an example for us. when He was faced with temptation by satan, He started with, "it is written..."


every time i started to feel badly about not being chosen for a job, or thinking about the ways i went wrong in interviews, or just thinking that the people thought i wasn't good enough to work with them, Phil 4:6 came to the rescue. before i could complete a thought... "do not be anxious in anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God"


apparently, God doesn't want us to be anxious about anything...which is a relief! because there are so many things to be anxious about if you let the enemy convince you to be. fight back with the TRUTH. the only thing that can conquer a lie is the TRUTH. good thing most of us have a couple copies of such truth in our houses. pick it up, go to the back, find something you struggle with, read some powerful verses about it, write it on a post-it (3M plug!), stick it on your bathroom mirror, and speak it whenever you start to believe a lie.


oh yes, and i titled this as 'free at last', because for the first time in probably....15 years....i am not stressed about the coming of the month of august. either as a student or a teacher, every year at the end of the summer, i'd have this nervous/anxious/not feeling prepared feeling about the coming semester (haha, i learned philippians 4:6 a little too late!), and this summer is STRESS FREEEEEE!!! it's so great. what helps make it great is that my sweet husby isn't pressuring me to find a job asap, and he is able provide for us until i do find a job. ahhhhhhh. 'tis lovely. praise be to God. below is a photo of said sweet husby.

delicious maine coon

i want a maine coon SO bad when i grow up. i don't think i'll ever not want one. i don't know why no one had one when i was growing up. well, it was probably because their coat and paws are made for snow and it didn't snow in mcallen until i was in college. can you imagine how wonderful these tiny kittens are??? this lady is pretty famous in the maine coon google image world.

introduction

after teaching, i can't let myself start something without having an introduction. however, i'm totally fine with no-caps writing...probably because i never put my keyboarding classes into practice, and it's a pain to capitalize words the rachel way of typing. it's a hard life, i know. here is my introduction.

i normally don't think about things and say to myself, "other people would love to hear to what i have to offer." so that's why i've never started a blog. also because i usually have nothing to say (unless it involves the few things i'm passionate about), and i really hate reading. and if you write blogs doesn't that mean you have to read them, too? i hope not.

anyway, i have become passionate about a few things (modesty, anti-worldiness, marriage)...and i'm also trying to convince myself to become passionate about other things (crossfit, paleo), so i may use this as conversation zone for those things. for conversations to take place others need to be involved, so i invite you to involve yourself.

check out this fabric i need to find a non-designer version of...