Don't Waste Your Life

"You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

1 Corinthians 6:19

     I sit down to review Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper...

     How on earth is one supposed to review a book that is both fathoms deep and extremely practical in a manner that won't make a hash of it all? I have never been much good at reviewing things because I am no good at logic or logical thought processes. But I know that God spoke to me through reading this book and I know it's a book that every single one of you (yes, even you friends who wandered over from the link on Facebook and don't really feel like reading a book review) NEEDS to read. Per my recent fascination with underlining favorite bits in books, each time I sat down with this book, I did so with pen in hand. I am so glad I did--there was scarcely a page I didn't mark up in some fashion.

    This book is just that good.

     He starts out with the quotation from 1 Corinthians above and immediately jumps in:

  "If you are a Christian, you are not your own. Christ has bought you at the prince of his own death. You now belong doubly to God: He made you, and he bought you.  That means your life is not your own. IT is God's. Therefore, the Bible says, 'Glorify God in your body.' God made you for this. He bought you for this. This is the meaning of your life."

     Wham.

     A page later: "It was becoming clearer and clearer that if I wanted to come to the end of my life and not say, 'I've wasted it!' then I would need to press all the way in, and all the way up, to the ultimate purpose of god and join him in it. If my life was to have a single, all-satisfying, unifying passion, it would have to be God's passion. And...God's passion was the display of his own glory and the delight of my heart."

 And this is only the beginning of one of the most revolutionary books I've ever read. Revolutionary not because John Piper is making up a new system of "How to Live a Full Life". Revolutionary because he simply digs into God's word and pulls out the thing that has been lying there forever: God's passion. And when you get a sense of that passion and what it means, your life will never be the same again. My life can never be the same again. I suppose the thrust of the book can be simplified in Piper's words on page 38:

"God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of , but to make much of him in every part of our lives."

    I'm finding it hard to put into words how much the message of this book excites me. I am gripped with a passion to not waste my life. I want to be the person who lives recklessly for Christ. A person who sees the cost, knows the cost, and delights in paying that price so she can bring glory to the One who rescued her soul from death.
       "Won't it hurt?" you might ask. Oh, I know it will sometimes. I might even die for living recklessly in pursuit of His glory. But here again, Piper addresses the fundamental misunderstanding that causes so many people to waste their precious, short lives:

"Death is a threat to the degree that it frustrates your main goals. Death is fearful to the degree that it threatens to rob you of what you treasure most....(when we treasure) Christ most, (our) goal (is) to magnify Christ. And (we see) death not as a frustration of that goal but as an occasion for its fulfillment." 

     When you are living for any other reason than to bring glory to God, death is terrifying. But isn't that quote beautiful? THIS is why Christians can be joyful in the face of any and every terror. THIS is the glorious mystery of Christ! Living is Christ. Dying is gain. In every situation we are more than conquerors through His mercy and grace.
     I wish I could get you to see the amazing thing this ultimate goal is: how the passion for it shines so brilliant a light over history, current events, and the world that all other voices are drowned. I really can't describe it...just read this book. It will change the most mundane task into a service of praise. It will cause you to risk all because you know the loss of each thing for Jesus' sake only serves to show the world how highly we value him. It will give you a passion for telling everyone else of the Glorious Lord, and a raging hunger to be more like him. I can't help but think of the words to "Let Your Kingdom Come":

"Your glorious cause, Oh God,

Engages our hearts

May Jesus Christ be known

wherever we are.

We ask not for ourselves

But for your renown.

The cross has saved us so we pray:

'Your kingdom come.'

Let your kingdom come

Let your will be done

So that everyone might know your name.

Let your song be heard

Everywhere on earth

Till your sovereign work on earth is done

Let your kingdom come!

Give us your strength, O God,

And courage to those who speak

Perform your wondrous deeds

Through those who are weak.

Lord, use us as you want,

Whatever the test.

By grace we'll preach your Gospel

Till our dying breath.

Read this book. It's going to change you into something different, I warn you. You'll never be able to view your life the same way. You'll never want to view it the same way. My heart is full and still while at the same time beating like a caged bird to be allowed to dart forth and set the minds of men ablaze to His glory. I can say little but this:
Oh, Jesus, let me live and fight and die in the pursuit of Your glory! This is all I want. This is the service I am giving my life to. Let everything I do be to this end. Because your love is better than life, my lips will praise you. Jesus, please, let me do this: let me live recklessly for Your name. Give me the courage and the tenacity, and use me as your image-bearer in the way your created me to live this precious, heart-beat life.
Piper rightly says "a life devoted to making much of Christ is costly." But it's a beautiful cost, and one I am going to fight for night and day, moment by moment, from now till His kingdom comes. Will you give Him your life--quite literally--so when the end has come you can look back and know it was a life well-spent?

"And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you (O Christ) to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.' " -Revelation 5:9-10

My Crazy-Single-Writer's-Life Includes...

Editing.

Playing with Paper when I'm not Writing On It

Sending Belated Birthday Gifts:

Turning Utter Chaos into Chic Order:

I have a Writer's Lair now!

Making Shrinkage-Worthy Pies:

And filling blue-glass vases with flowers:

What about you?

:)

"Yeah, you gotta go deep//Way on back//Cross a few creeks//And a couple little shacks//You gotta get lost//Way on out//Crickets and frogs//Yeah you're getting close now//then you kick it into 4-wheel drive//till you run outta road//then you go//and you go and you go and you go//till you hear a banjo//

-"Banjo" by Rascal Flatts

If you'd like a little ramble...

Disheveled glam. How do we manage it?

The funny (and wonderful) thing about families is the fact that even when I am gone, they go on. That being said, when I come home from my travelings, I jump back in with both feet and a right good will. Father's Day is this weekend! I've been so busy I hadn't even realized it! That being said, we've got a family fishing trip planned for early tomorrow down at the farm-pond. The fishing trip will, supposedly, include Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Technically I am supposed to be off flour and sugar, but I might make this diversion. I don't know. We shall see. We will then proceed to make an awesome, Southern dinner for Dad.

Excuse me for a moment: DAD. If you are reading this, I'm sorry but you'll have to come back sometime AFTER tomorrow and finish reading it, because there are spoilers coming and I won't have you reading everything beforehand and acting surprised when it comes up later! ;)

I have plans to make three different clean-eating pies for dessert tomorrow night! Since Dad is off of sugar and has been for the last year or so, I wanted to make him something he'd love...I couldn't decide over the three of these so I'm just making them all. Since they are freezer-pies they will certainly keep and I know there isn't a single person in this family who will balk at the idea of left-overs! As soon as I finish this post I will be off to the kitchen to make Samoa Girl Scout Cookie Pie, and No Bake Peanut Butter Pie from Chocolate Covered Katie as well as Avocado Key Lime Pie. Can't wait to see how they turn out! I love a good cooking challenge--always have--so all of these clean-eating recipes are right up my alley. :)

I forget if I mentioned where I've been the past two weeks: I'm sure I have but you never know. Especially when you consider the brain-overload I've been in the grips of recently. At any rate, for the first week I was counseling at Generation Joshua's iGovern East camp, which was so neat. The Gala, the DC trip, the scenario and the chapel times... :)

Sarah's room: Shayna, Bethany, Sarah, and Heather...lovely girls!

God directly answered so many prayers in so many ways, and I was privileged to be able to have ten girls in my wing for whom I was responsible. I also acted as the House Secretary which meant I got to read all the arbitrary and/or thoughtful bills aloud for the congressmen and women to vote upon. Such fun. I was a lobbyist for Disney and had a blast playing up the part:

I kept the guys laughing with my inventive ways to bring Mickey Mouse into the hair-styles... :)

It was so great to be able to spend extensive time with Daniel, who we hardly ever get to see anymore. I loved working alongside him, getting to know his people and places and just hanging out with my big bro. I've missed him. :)

Daniel and his cohorts (Glenn, Fergie, Jeremiah, and Joel) did a boy-band parody for Friday Night Live (they called themselves Hack5) and it totally grew wings and flew.

They had asked me to be the crazy Fan Girl up front (with Josie and a couple other gals) so in the Epic Video (clink link to watch) that crazy woman you see? That's me. And halfway through I lost my balance and toppled over, landing with my head in the lap of one of the camper guys. It was totally embarrassing and totally hilarious. I laughed my stinkin' head off, and so did the Hack5 guys.

We are seriously trying to make them go viral just to tease key members like Joel Grewe and Jeremiah Lorrig who find themselves with (to quote Nick) "sudden cases of dignity". And actually, it has spread through the entire HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association) office till Mike Smith, The Higher Up Man has given permission to print Hack5 t-shirts because right now it's looking like the kids at camps will totally buy them. :D I am still laughing over the irony of it! What started as a joke is now an actual project that might soon be making money. Anyway, you can like their Official Page or the Fan Page on Facebook and encourage the whole ridiculous thing! During the week I made the first fan-art since I was, after all, the first Fan Girl. The silhouette actually turned out pretty well!

The second week, Abigail Taylor and I were staying with Tatum and Brittany (sweet gals!) in the room Tatum rents from a couple. We spent the days working in the GenJ office when needed, as well as rummaging about Purcellville. Tropical Smoothie figured largely in the offing.

*Squint*

Poor Brittany. I made her squint into the sun. She's such a peach.

I found the darned cutest little bookstore (or, rather, sought it out after Daniel told me of it) and bought Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse as well as a No-Fear Shakespeare "As You Like It" (so neat because it has original and simplified text) and The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. It makes me feel literary! I felt like I was on vacation, getting to just hang out with the awesome people of Generation Joshua & Co. I swear, there are probably very few offices in America wherein you can find such wonderful people in so tiny a space! While up in NoVa we saw Star Trek 2 (Benedict Cumberbatch makes a SCARY villain. And no, Jeremiah and Josie, I am NOT a fangirl!), and we had a gourmet, healthy-amazing meal made by Lucas Mason. and we sang "Wagon-Wheel" in beautiful harmony with a mandolin and guitar completely spontaneously at midnight. And it sounded so cool.

Annnnyway. I need to get to my pie-making and leave you to your other more important-things-in-life-than-reading-Rachel's-blog. I hope you have a lovely evening, and please please pray for the families effected by the wild-fires in Colorado. Brittany and Nick's family's home was almost burned, and Jeremiah Lorrig's parents/family AND grandparents lost their homes for certain. Colorado-strong, people.

I hope God blesses all of you tonight. I'm feeling so blessed because I got the chance to sit in a rocking chair in the dusk and the night smelled like good things growing and honeysuckle and roses blooming and there was a whippoorwill and a sliver of a moon and one solitary star. *sigh* It's so good to be home.

I Know This is Crazy But....

At the wonderful, amazing insert-exuberant-adjective-here Transfer conference, we had lots of prayer time. Specific prayer for specific groups of people. Most times I found myself mainly outside the specified group of prayer-receivers, but then Ian McConnell took it into his head to say that he was led to pray for a group of people in the room who were longing to be in a relationship with someone. Those who were single and finding it a little difficult to content themselves with Jesus and Jesus only (quick note: how on EARTH can we not be content with that? Argh.), or those who were in a relationship they knew wasn't what God had for them, and were needing to make a decision. He asked us to identify ourselves by raising our hands so that the people near us could maybe even put their hands on us as we prayed.

There I was, running through my head all the new relationships forming in my groupies (including one of my stable-single-friends. :D) all the things God has been teaching me over the last year, and all the new inspiration He's been fueling me with. "Even so, I totally fit that former category." I didn't want to raise my hand and admit to all the world (i.e. the roomful of 400 Christians) that I struggled often with waiting on the Lord and satisfying myself with His love for me. I didn't want to admit that I could actually stand before Jesus, my Lover, and say that some days I found it hard to be content with only Him. But I knew I needed the prayer, and even if I was the single solitary person who raised her hand, I would do it or perish in the attempt.

I closed my eyes and raised my hand.

I opened my eyes, and a grin cracked across my face.

30 or 40% of the other people in that room had their hands raised, each of us with head bent, not wanting to be The One in the room who was admitting to trials with contentment. So many! The guy who looked like he could have any girl at the conference if he just smiled at her. The slender, tan, gorgeous girl with the flowing blonde hair. Me. The guy in front of me. A guy behind me.

And I felt in that moment such a surge of confidence in the newest Adventura God is leading me into. I haven't mentioned it here because I didn't want to announce something I wasn't sure of. But all the lessons I've received over the last months and year, all the conversations with multiple people in my season of life, even the topics touched upon at the Transfer Conference--all these things point with a strong finger to this:

I'm writing a Singles' Book.

Yeah, yeah come on, Rachel, you might be thinking. But here's the thing: This isn't going to be just any singles' book. It's not a 100 Easy Ways to Catch A Man. It's not a Push Through This Season, It's Gonna Be Okay.  The vision God has given me for this book is so much larger and different than that. It's not another Before You Meet Prince Charming, or a So Much More, or a Joyfully at Home, or a Preparing to be a Helpmeet. Those books all have their place, and have taught me quite a lot.

My book will be specifically for those of us who have graduated high school and/or college and find ourselves on the outside of the Wedded-Bliss crowd. It's for those of us who are apparently at least temporarily unable to catch the Love Bug and are not interested in sitting on our rockers waiting for love to come by. It's for those of us who want to live to the very hilt every single moment--not only of "this season" but every season in life. It's for those of us who are dead-tired of going places and meeting people and spending ridiculous amounts of time wondering if there will be anyone there who might fit The Bill.

It's going to be hilarious. It's going to recognize the difficulty of being "entirely unmarried" while we watch our childhood playmates standing at the altar and exchanging vows. It's going to be wild and whimsical (after all, I'm writing it with the input and help of my "crazy single friend" Katie), but most of all it's going to be a clarion call to a purposeful life. It's going to be written by a girl who is in the very throes of what it is to be a single girl with a sole purpose that is entirely contrary to everything the world is throwing at her. I don't have all the answers, but God does, and He's teaching them to me little by little, and this is not so much a How To Do It as it is a plea from one single girl to another to not waste our precious time. We were each placed here with a specific purpose to fulfill, and I'm only interested in discussing how we can fulfill our purpose every moment of every day, husband or not, Amen.

I'm telling you this, not to get praise for myself (goodness knows it's not going to be a New York Times Bestseller!), but to ask for prayer. I need so much prayer. Prayer that I would write what God wants me to write. Prayer that my heart would be gentle and suppliant, and that He will just pour the worship of His glory through my pen onto the paper. Prayer for stamina because I'm sure where there's been a dozen lessons already, God will teach me a dozen more. *smile* I've been planning and digging at the topics, and reading and listening and just living life. And that's what this book about except a great bit fat letter from me to You?

I am hoping to dig tooth and claw into the writing of this book in August, shortly after celebrating my 21st birthday on the 20th of July. :) When it is finished, I am planning to self-publish, though God might have other plans. I just feel like this is a book I am meant to write, to write quickly, and to get out into the world ASAP. We'll see. Hahaha. :)

I hope the rest of you see the irony of me writing a book about my Pet Struggle. But I do feel God is calling me to it, and He does delight to work through our very weakness. Please pray for me, and pray for Katie, and please comment with any particular questions/concerns/issues you'd like to see addressed in The Book! :)

Much, much love,
             Rachel

Various, Sundries, and Oh LOOK! I'm going to Florida!

Yes, yes I know. I've spent the whole of this spring traveling from one place to another. I can't say I'm sorry! I love to travel--I love the adventure of it, and the excitement of it, and the squished airplane seats with the stewardesses that smell like disinfectant when they walk by, and the popping in my ears when we rise off the ground, and then the landing when you are pushed out with a tide of passengers into the belly of a complex airport. And I especially love the time spent in new crazy places. All the new sights and sounds and experiences.

Orlando might not be Romania, but it should satisfy my wander-lust for a week or so. ;) Abigail Taylor and her sister Rebekah blessed Sarah and I beyond belief by paying our way to Sovereign Grace's Transfer Conference, and we are headed down this weekend. *eep!* I've never been to Florida, funny enough. I'm more of a European/mountain chick than a beach-bum, so I've never had a burning desire to go. But where a conference calls, I shall answer! Even unto 100% humidity! Mama says when she went to visit Florida where my Uncle Lon was going to college, it was so humid her hair never dried all day after her shower. O.o

"I'm melllllllttttiiiiinnnnnggggg!"

But more than travel, I'm excited about this conference. Excited to spend a weekend with thousands of other young men and women who love Jesus. Can't wait to see what God will teach me/show me while there! :)

 We just got back from a family camping trip with you can hear all about here! It was our first family vacation in 6 years so very well-deserved. ;) We camped at Chippokes State Park on the lovely James River. I love places with history, and being able to dash down the road a couple miles and take the very across to Jamestown and Williamsburg is thrilling!

Let's see. I am currently loving Laura Osnes' voice in Broadway music! It's so clear and sweet and there always seems to be a smile lurking somewhere. If I had a better voice and was on Broadway, I bet it'd sound like hers. :P

I discovered yoga pants a couple weeks ago! :D I had never owned a pair, but being stuck away from home and having forgot my overnight bag, I headed to Walmart to buy some pajamas and lo and behold, a love affair began with that impossibly soft garment! You need to get some if you haven't already. I'm serious!

After watching Nicholas Nickleby for the first time, I can't stop quoting Fanny Squeeers: "Deah Mistah Knuckle-boy..."

We are indoctrinating Levi with Broadway songs. He already requests "Stars" quite often and can hold his own in the "bum-bumming" parts of "Master of the House", "At The End of the Day", "Seize the Day" and "Carrying the Banner". :D

I updated my "About The Lass" page so go check out Take Two!

And last but not least, I'm going to be gone on and off through the middle of July so if this blog is a little spacey during that period of time, don't think I've abandoned blog-dom. I'll simply be jawin' with all the muckity-muck and blowin' my dough and goin' deluxe. ;) Actually, I'll be counseling/working at Generation Joshua's iGovern camps! There are three: one each at Patrick Henry College, in LA, and in Colorado Springs. Travel Travel Travel! :D Yes, I'm a busy, crazy, delighted girl over here, and I ought to sign up for frequent flier miles because for HEAVEN's sake, if I had

Altar-Gleam

Let go.

Let go.

Trust Me.

It's what He's been saying, and what I've been trying to swallow, and great Scot, at least something's come out of it all:

"Altar-Gleam"

Oh, Lord, it rends my soul to give

this wish--desire--full away,

Not clinging to a piece of hope;

A piece that says, 'Perhaps someday...'

For now the thing--so frightening clear--

Is to release it dark and full

and keep no sliver-thought of me,

though giving leaves a gaping hole.

Desire--oh, how sharp the spears

of joy that haunt this favorite dream.

But am I Your's enough to push

this treasure toward Your altar's gleam?

The thund'ring toss of straining mind.

The clashing knowledge: this is right.

The heart's own cry: 'Oh, please, not yet!'

The beckon of Your fire bright.

No looking back, no holding on,

I watch my treasure dance in flame.

And then I feel inside my soul

the power of Your tender Name.

I've given what was dearest mine

but just before the wound bleeds free

You staunch the flow and catch my heart

and with Your Lover's arms hold me.

What looks as ash is only just

the dust from which Your plans arise

And though I feel the burning here

I see the mercy in Your eyes.

The Shrinkage Diaries: Strawberry Fudge Brownies! Serios!

Don't be scared...it's just Amy and I imitating the Bears. :D

Shrinkage is still going well, though somewhat delayed since coming home. I haven't been exercising much, which I am going to make a goal of this week. It's funny how getting out of practice of a thing makes you rather reluctant to do it! I love experimenting with healthy recipes of every sort, but some of my favorite things to work on are Clean-Eating desserts.

I mean, really. Who can resist a dessert? Not me. And I knew that giving up refined sugars and wheat-flours didn't have to mean the end of everything amazing.  I like to know my food blogs, and for a long while Smitten Kitchen was the place I went (and still go) when I wanted a weird recipe like homemade Wheat Thins or Goldfish or Graham Crackers. Brown Eyed Baker was a close second with any and every recipe . And when I was feeling really French and adventures, I went with David Lebovitz for something like his divine Lemon Curd. But obviously a paradigm shift in diet means I can no longer frequent sites like Smitten Kitchen or Brown Eyed Baker. They have become the rarest of treats.

But I'm still not panicking. Because, well, this is where Clean-Foodie blogs like Chocolate Covered Katie  come in. Do you realize, people, that CCK is a blog devoted almost entirely to clean dessert recipes? AH! I have tried several and have loved each one. Other great Clean-Foodie blogs are An Edible Mosaic and Gracious Pantry, which I have likewise scoured for recipes to satisfy my family's collective sweet-tooth. There are so many I have yet to try that look amazing, like CCK's No-Bake Coconut Crack bars. I mean, really people. How can anything that tastes as good as these recipes be healthy for you?

I'm developing an understanding that healthy actually tastes a whole lot better.

That being said, the other day I had an urge to making something delicious for when Abigail Taylor arrived. I hopped on to CCK and chose Chocolate Chip Everything Bars. Now we all laugh, knowing that I am an untraditionalist when it comes to following a recipe, and I'm always altering even the most simple things to fit my preferences. The first problem came when I didn't have chocolate chips. Or enough coconut. Or nuts. Or freeze-dried berries. or xylitol, and I really didn't want to use sugar. Oh yeah. I didn't have stevia either.
Before you dismiss me as being crazy for settling on a recipe I didn't even have the ingredients for, you have to do two things:

1.) Look at this picture:

2.) Remember I'm very good at this sort of thing.

You can't resist the one and you can't deny the other, so hush for a second while we move onward. I started substituting this for that and her for him and them for y'all and you know, eventually these weren't Chocolate Chip Everything Bars. They were Strawberry-Fudge Brownies. Now you may laugh, and then enjoy the recipe, which I'm posting below.

Srawberry Fudge Brownies:

• 1/2 c. oats (rolled or quick)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
• 1/4 c. shredded coconut (you may use up to 1/2 cup)
• 2 (15 oz.) cans white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 c. dates soaked
• 6 Tbs. coconut oil
• 4 Tbs. applesauce
• 4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. fresh strawberries, diced
• A sprinkling of chocolate chips would be nice if you had 'em.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. and grease a 9 x 13 pan.
2. Combine all ingredients except strawberries and chocolate chips in a blender or food processor, and blend till completely smooth, scraping down the sides when necessary.
3. Stir in strawberries and chips by hand, then smooth into pan.
4. Bake for 30 minutes and cool completely.

Makes about fifteen brownies...if they make it out of the pan

These are absolutely to die for. The batter was a little disappointing flavor-wise...you could taste the beans a little bit. It was like chocolate-hummus! :D But something magical happened in the oven, and the caterpillar was transformed into an elegant chocolate butterfly. Abigail was astonished. Dad was more astonished. He's not been eating sugar for at least 9 months, so he walked in and was like, "So, is there anything good to eat around here?"
I gestured to the plate of decadent, fudge-y brownies sitting on the countertop. "Those."
"Yeah, but they have sugar."
"No they don't," I laughed.
"Yes they do."
"Dad, really, they don't."
"What?" and then he took one and tried it and I think I'll be his favorite daughter from now on. ;)

Kidding. But honestly, you really need to try these brownies. You can leave out the strawberries if strawberries and chocolate together aren't your thing, and you'd still be left with a killer brownie: moist, fudge-y, deep, and impossibly, deliciously dark. You'll never taste a better clean-eating brownie (or a better regular brownie!) unless, of  course, it was my Single-Lady One-Serving Brownies. But those will have to feature in another post!

Would you like me to continue the Clean-Eating Recipe posts? I'm having such a great time trying out these things and sharing them with you. Do you have any favorite healthy-food blogs? I'm always on the lookout for more!