In Which This Blog is Born

(My youngest sister, Grace [age 4] :)

I am taking a deep breath right now, saying a quick prayer, and typing these words.

"Lord, let this blog glorify You!"

I already have a blog for my writing, and a general blog I share with my dear sister, Sarah. But it is the start of Autumn--my favorite season--and with that realization comes the idea that sets me trembling with excitement and anticipation: It is the start of my first year as a stay-at-home daughter who has graduated home-school. I feel that the Lord has called me to stay at home, pouring my time and talents into the family coffers and letting Jesus lead my life. I pray that one day He brings me a man o' my own to love, honor, and serve, but until then I am practicing on my family, learning to love Christ as my one true Love, gaining skills and cultivating a heart to serve.

I am so excited about what God has in store for me this year...I predict a whirlwind season of working full-time on our family farm as Head Baker, working in our landscaping business as Office Manager, and scribbling my novels in the moments between. 

I am blessed with an older brother, five younger sisters and two younger brothers who I love dearly. I can't imagine simply leaving home to make it on my own, knowing that these precious young ones are growing up without my being able to watch them. My new career as a stay-at-home daughter is one I am joyfully pursuing. And yet I know that the road is not always easy.

There are many pitfalls.

I will be criticized for my choice to not pursue college with most of the other girls my age.

It will sometimes be hard to wait on the Lord for His plans.

My family (and myself) are naturally sinful people. When I take my eyes off of Jesus, their flaws will irk my own and I will fall into pettiness now and then.

Yet I would not wish to trade in this season as a single daughter. So my next thought, after all that was, "Why not begin a blog to chronicle my own journey, and provide a haven of encouragement and edification for other girls who are trying this stay-at-home thing out?"

And you, dear readers, are seeing the birth of that thought. This is a wee little newborn blog you are reading, but I hope and pray it may grown and strengthen, and be a star shining in the darkness of the World. A beacon shedding rays of light on the dangerously rocky coast, and pointing other young maidens' boats toward the loving Pilot who yearns to guide us safely Home. 

With that ambition, and that ambition alone, I begin the life of A Butcher, A Baker, A Candlestick Maker. Let us wish it a merry life, and a long one.

                     ~Rachel