Medicine of Immortality "It's a cold, and it's a broken, 'Hallelujah!'"

Catching UpPosted by Rachel on February 24th, 2012

2/17 – What is the one thing you would most like to change about the world?
One thing? There are many, but honestly, I think that if our hearts were filled with gratitude, it would result in a domino effect of many other good things—love for others, contentment, generosity, mercy, and joy. A world filled with people that have those characteristics would definitely be a better one. Obviously, I believe that all those good things come from God, and knowing and seeking Him, so that would be an important foundation, but to answer in a more generic way, I’d say that people would be filled with gratitude.

2/18 – Where do you find inspiration?
In many things, but mostly in music. I also often feel inspired by the beauty of the world that God made.

2/19 – Can you describe your life in a six word sentence?
Happy or sad, held in Love.

2/20 – If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
Well, because mistakes are still mistakes. Even if good comes from them, that doesn’t make them good. Also, because learning from mistakes can be painful.

2/21 – What impact do you want to leave on the world?
Um, a good impact? I don’t really think of myself as being someone who would leave much impact…but I would hope to be remembered as a loving, kind, and merciful person who had a strong faith in God.

2/22 – What is the most defining moment of your life thus far?
I don’t think I could pick just one. There are too many that have changed me in such significant ways. Falling in love, getting married, giving birth, raising children, going through hardships…they’ve all been such huge parts of my life that have shaped me that I couldn’t single one moment out as being the most defining.

2/23 – In the haste of your daily life, what are you not seeing?
I am probably not seeing as many of the sweet moments of my kids being kids as I should.

2/24 – If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
Various reasons: fear, laziness, lack of self-control, lack of ability, etc.

GiftsPosted by Rachel on February 16th, 2012

Yesterday was kind of a crazy day. The toilet overflowed, the baby pooped on the carpet after taking off her diaper (and lemme tell ya, I can think of more fun games than “find the poop”) and Kyrie fell off the kitchen counter, resulting in a lot of pain and a pretty bad bruise. I think I’m leaving things out, but you get the picture. Still, there is no day gone so bad that it is irredeemable. The poop came off the carpet, ice & tylenol helped soothe Kyrie, and the towels did the job of cleaning the bathroom floor (and hey, at least it was clean toilet water that overflowed. Thank goodness for little favors).

And then, of course, God sends little gifts just to remind us that He’s there and He hasn’t forgotten.

Don’t you love the rainbows that make their way inside your house? Sunlight was streaming in the window, and a glass of water was sitting on the sill. Result? A perfect little rainbow. A perfect slice of beauty.

Gifts come in so many different forms—including an outpouring of love from a good husband who never forgets Valentine’s Day (or birthdays, or anniversaries).

It comes in the form of children, and the delight they bring. It’s a gift just to watch them as they enjoy the world, and help us to remember to appreciate every little thing.

In the midst of cleaning messes and folding tiny socks, I am so grateful for the life I’ve been given. God is so generous in the gifts that He gives us, every day.

Questions:

2/15 – Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
Both, I guess. Sometimes I am not worried enough about doing things right or doing them the right way.

2/16 – What has life taught you recently?
That it is always full of chaos and beauty.

February 10th-14thPosted by Rachel on February 14th, 2012

2/10 – If you could instill one piece of advice in a newborn baby’s mind, what advice would you give?

Probably to hold onto that trust, joy, and innocence that we so easily let slip away from us as we grow older.

2/11 What is the most desirable trait another person can possess?
Generosity in all good things: gifts, mercy, patience, forgiveness, and love.

2/12 – What are you most grateful for?
God’s love. As far as earthly gifts, my husband and children.

2/13 – Is stealing to feed a starving child wrong?
I think the act of stealing would still be wrong, but I’d find it hard to judge anyone who did so in order to save a life.

2/14 What do you want most?
To know God more.

More QuestionsPosted by Rachel on February 9th, 2012

2/7 – What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
Hmmm. I don’t vaccinate my kids. I home-school. I breastfeed beyond two years. I eat a lot of cookies. Probably more than most.

2/8 – What does ‘The American Dream’ mean to you?
What comes to mind is owning a nice house in the suburbs, having a couple nice cars, a couple kids, a good job. I dunno. I used to think that’s what I wanted, but it isn’t anymore. I would like a nice house someday, but I don’t want a picture perfect life, and I know there’s no such thing as absolute financial security. I feel like I have everything I could ever expect or hope for, really.

2/9 – Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
Oh, a joyful simpleton. How I would love that!

Little MomentsPosted by Rachel on February 6th, 2012

Part of what I love about being a stay-at-home mom is the fact that I have a lot of time with my kids—some good, some bad—but lots and lots of time, every day. While much of this time is squandered, I find myself looking for the sweet moments, the times that make me remember why it’s so wonderful to be a mom and why children truly are gifts, even with all the burden and responsibility they come with. The moments may not be anything extraordinary—in fact, it’s usually quite ordinary—but in the midst of the ordinary, I see beauty in life. Quiet, simple moments are what push me through each day, giving me something to smile about.

I love to see the interaction between Kyrie, the loving big sister, and Epiphany, the curious little sister. They adore each other. Kyrie patiently lets Epiphany squeeze her nose, just learning a little bit more about the world around her that we take for granted.

A silly girl ties her tights onto a chair to function as seat belts, and the glider transforms into their car, taking Kyrie and Epiphany on adventures.

It’s true that there are a lot of dull moments in my vocation, but there are a lot of beautiful moments, too. I just have to remember to look for them.

Questions:

2/3 – Would you rather have less work or more work you actually enjoy doing?
I’d have to say the latter. The other day, I looked at this and thought I’d just like less work. But I don’t think that’s true. I love to do something productive, something useful. I like few things more than good, hard work. Sometimes it wears me down—even the work that I love to do, but I would much rather work harder than work less.

2/4 – What is important enough to go to war over?
That’s a tough question, but I do know that war should be an absolute last resort, and should be in the interest of saving or helping those who are oppressed and need our aid. In other words, it should be sacrificial—not for our own gain or profit. Even then, I’m not sure that war would be necessary. Do we have to wage war to help other countries who need our help? I think many times we probably don’t. In the case of defending our nation against attacks, I guess I would say that we would not have been the ones to go to war, but the attackers were, and we simply would defend ourselves. I’m so glad I don’t have to make decisions like that, but I do know many, many wars have been unjustly started and fought, and it makes me very sad. We should always pursue peace and avoid war as much as possible.

2/5 – Which is worse, failing or never trying?
Never trying: it’s the lazy way to fail.

2/6 – When was the last time you listened to the sound of your own breathing?
I’m an extremely quiet breather. This question made me try to listen to it, but usually there are too many noises around me to really hear myself breathing.

Questions #32 & #33Posted by Rachel on February 2nd, 2012

2/1 – What do we all have in common besides our genes that makes us human?
The fact that we are made in the image of God.

2/2 – If you could choose one book as a mandatory read for all high school students, which book would you choose?
The Bible seems like such an obvious answer, seeing as how I believe that the Christian faith is the single most important thing to embrace to understand life, and the Bible is what opens our eyes to the truth of the world, life, love…everything. So even though that’s terribly predictable, I think it’s also the answer I’ll have to stick with. I’m sure I’d choose C.S. Lewis books right in line behind it.