Hold On To Every Moment: 2011

Thursday, December 22, 2011

God Moment

When you're in a rut, all out of hope, buried under a pile of dung, sunk lower than your boots, what do you do?

My answer, I pray.

The Bible says God either answers "yes" "no" or "wait"

Today, when the wolf named Ellie ran from my yard, both Joe and I were praying while searching the neighborhood. But when we finally came home, done everything we could have done, turned the car off, we bowed our heads and Joe began to pray. Almost instantly God thought it to be funny to answer "yes"! My neighbor, Blake, was pounding on the window shouting "I found her!" (Thanks God!!)

Way later that night I noticed my hamster to be missing. Thanks to pure stupidity on my part for leaving a hole in the top of her cage when I know she is a climber.

You would think that I learned my lesson from God already. I mean, He showed me earlier that if I take time to relax, and leave it in His hands, He will answer.

However, I treated the situation as "bad luck", it "ruined my good day", and "maybe I should change my major because I keep losing animals". When my mom came into my room to pray I barely listened because I was so frustrated at myself.

For some reason, I stayed awake. I was ready for bed, door closed, alarm set, and I declared the hamster as dead in my mind. But instead of falling asleep, I opened my computer. Half an hour later, the little fur-ball runs across my floor!

God taught me two things today: One, stay cool and really give the situation to Him. He is listening, but He can only respond when you're sincere and waiting. Two, big or small/once or twice, He still cares and He is still there. He isn't "done helping you for the day" or "sick of your requests".

He will always care, because He always loves.

That's a great thought to fall asleep to <3

-2:30 a.m. Rachel signing out.

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Mountain

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Genesis 1:1,31

Via Vimeo

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Quote of the Day

Great things in our lives have to end in order for them to be remembered.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Quote of the Day

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget." - Arundhati Roy

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Slap In The Face

Children always have a more optimistic outlook on life.

As we grow older we should stop and try to think like a child.

Focus on what's actually important instead of being bogged down by the cloud of "stuff" in our way.

Sometimes we just need a slap in the face to remember what the big goal is.

My niece, Abby, did just that.

Her bedtime prayer: "Help Aunt Rachel to pass her test and to do good and be happy and learn how to help the animals."

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Thoughts

At some point in life, it all changes.

Think about all the people that you know. Family members. Friends. People who have cashed you out at Wegmans. People you pass on the street. Etc. Etc.
Or how about... how many friends you have on facebook??
That's a LOT of people.

Significant or not, you have had moments with those people. However, some of those people become your friends. And even more moments are created.
More time is spent with the ones you care about most.
Am I right?

But when change comes, and physical distance is added to that friendship.. something happens.
A universal "forgetfulness"
Of course every memory is still there in your mind, but that kind gesture, or simple "hello" is forgotten because they don't physically pass you everyday.

This is all a part of growing up. This is what happens.
Moments of your life will collide with billions of other's.
And the friends that will always care will fight the distance.
They will fight the universal "forgetfulness" to still be a part of your life forever.

~Rae

Perfector

Perfector by My Epic
I'm still a young man so I think very little of death, but who really does till it's coming for them? And I know with each breath I come one closer, but death is just a hook behind the door where I'll leave my dirty clothes....

They may dump my body in the sea or spread my ashes miles wide, but it won't matter, all my parts will realign. They will rush to find each other when they hear their Lover's cry and death will be abandoned when He comes back for His bride!

Saints are never buried, they are seeds planted who bring about a greater harvest when they burst forth from the earth that needed their fruits, but it could never hope to make enough room for their roots.

Death is swallowed up, it owns nothing in me! Oh, death is swallowed up, it owns nothing in me!

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful ones!
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful ones! Oh, death is swallowed up!

Oh, it was always You! It was always You! Oh, it was always You! It was always You!
Oh, it was always You! It was always You! Oh, it was always You! It was always You!
Oh, it was always You! It was always You!
♡

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Turn To Stone

So You Think You Can Dance
Season 8 Top 20 Melanie & Marko
Choreography by Travis Wall
Song "Turn To Stone" by Ingrid Michaelson

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Kayaking

Sometimes in life we get lost. Or not even "lost" but misdirected or uninformed of the correct, or incorrect path to take. We assume that a path is the best to take because of a guide that someone else made. We randomly trust others who have gone before us. Don't get me wrong, we should trust our forerunners! But sometimes they neglect to inform their predecessors how the path actually is.

This happened to my Aunt Karen and I while Kayaking.

The path we began on was beautiful and open.

We enjoyed our time, with no worries about our current journey or destination.
But about almost two hours into our trip we noticed that the scenery began to change...
The path became narrower and we had to duck under trees.

Eventually, we came to a spot that we could not power-paddle through.

I was determined that I knew where we were on that useless map. I was willing to get out of the kayak and pull it over the log. But Aunt Karen wouldn't let me step into the sinking muddy water. I was disappointed that we turned back. I assumed that the travel home would be boring because I already saw what there was to see.

However, I was proved wrong.

Once we arrived back I informed the man pf the path that we chose to take and he smartly replied, "Oh yeah that path has been blocked for awhile." I quietly thought, "Thanks, could have told us that before we began!"
But then again, it wouldn't have been such an adventure :)

I learned a couple lessons that day: It's alright to ask questions, always keep an eye out for warning signs, listen to the opinions and advice of those around you, and keep an open mind when a path in your life doesn't work out the way you had presumed.

"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:4-5

~Rae

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Sunday, June 5, 2011

NYC

"In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made, there's nothing you can't do. Now you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you. Lets hear it for New York." - Empire state of Mind. Jay-Z

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Monday, May 16, 2011

Prom 2011

Maybe we are the way we are because of the people we’re with, or maybe we just pick the people we need. However it works, when you find each other, you should never let go.