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We've had lots of great discussions about the beauty and challenges of marriage around here. The comments from single women and married women alike have made me think deeply about how enormous an accomplishment it is to find a great love and maintain it over the years. Which is why, I watched in astonishment and great pride as my parents celebrated their 40th anniversary in front of family and friends a few days ago. 

I looked closely at their secrets whispers, side glances and intimate grins that spoke volumes of the beautiful history they have built together and it made me want to continue building my own. 

So here's to our marriages, yours and mine, and the great years that are to come.

Priscilla

My kids are so much more techno-savvy than I can ever hope to be.  They know how to find "Easter Eggs" on CD's and DVD's: hidden songs or extra features that aren't obvious to people who don't know what to look for. They have fun poking around, looking for the treasures that have been cleverly placed there for their enjoyment.

Priscilla has a couple of features on this website that are kind of like those Easter Eggs. See, you might have this blog page bookmarked, and you stop in and read whenever you can. That's great! But don't forget to poke around the rest of the website as well...there are still more treasures to be found.

Besides the monthly Jewelry Box articles (which you can easily subscribe to so they come to your email box) there is also a weekly devotional you can find by clicking on one of the scrolling boxes on the bottom of the home page. You can miss those if you just come directly to the blog each time. And that's a shame, because they are always, ALWAYS good!

This week's devotional is EXACTLY along the lines of yesterday's blog post. Coincidence??? Or God driving a point home with us? It sure is funny how he works, huh?

Take a moment and check out those two features, and don't forget that you can get information about upcoming events right here. In fact, the toolbar on the top of the homepage is full of great stuff!

Happy egg-hunting! Rachel

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photo-jojo/3264321447/

I've eaten too much.

I'm serious.

The fourth of July ushered in an array of fabulously sloppy, greasy, enormous and delightful dishes that made my mouth water - and I ate IT ALL. Every single delicious bite of every single meal (or snack) that I could find. And it seems that the more I ate, the more I wanted; not because I was hungry mind you, but just because I felt a license to indulge. Know how that happens? A ripple effect of over-eating? I don't think I've actually felt one hunger pain in over four days.

Why? Because I'm full.

Shameful, isn't it?

I'm feeling the effects of all that ice cream and cake, barbecue and bread, cheese and choice steak. It's taking its toll, and my digestion system is just barely making it moment by moment. And one of the downsides of eating so much is that I can't really enjoy any food right now. No matter how appetizing or delicious it may be. Any meal that is before me isn't quite as appealing - simply because my body hasn't processed what it's already been given.

Hmmm. . .

I guess that's kind of gross if you think about it too long (so don't) but it's really got me thinking. . . ..

Not just about my body - but about Christ's.

You see, we are so full. There are more churches on more corners and more conferences on more calendars than ever before. We've got more books and DVDs and CDs and Bible studies then we can digest. And we are taking it all in at record speed. But could any lack of passion we are feeling be, at least in part, attributed to the fact that the body isn't doing anything with what it's already been given? Maybe we are packed too full of information that needs to be put into motion before we can enjoy another banquet feast that He may place before us. Then maybe church won't be a duty anymore, and the conference won't just be "something to get me out of the house" this weekend. Those things will become delectable delights that our hungry souls desire more than anything else.

I want to enjoy what's on my plate. So I want to get busy. . . putting this body in motion.

What are you learning right now in your Bible study, and what are you doing with what God is teaching you?

Priscilla

It was a whirlwind weekend. I've thought of you a bunch between our wild adventures. As always, the holiday weekend was anything but a holiday. I've told you before that my idea of a holiday includes rest, peace, quiet and engaging adult activity - like SHOPPING for instance. But there was none of that around here for the past few days. It's been solid kid activity that was the kind of exhausting fun that compels you to let your kids skip their bath altogether and just get in the bed with the same clothes on that they've worn all day long. 

It's been fun. We've been in East Texas with the rest of my family - all four of my siblings, their spouses and ALL NINE of our children - each of them under 7 years old. It was complete chaos - in the most endearing and wonderful way.

And throughout the course of our family time, I found myself offering small prayers under my breath for the most small and simple things. It wasn't purposeful, just an automatic response to some stuff that presented itself throughout the weekend. And each time I said it, I had a moment of deja vu; remembering my mother saying the same thing, at what I thought were the most odd and uneventful times.

So my kids must have thought I was equally weird when I said it:

~In the car on the 1 1/2 hour ride down, just 'cause we were all together.

~When the last of the ominous storm clouds dissipated and there was nothing but sunny skies above.

~When the car hop at Sonic brought out my grilled cheese sandwich and it was a perfect buttery golden brown, with cheese oozing out everywhere.

~As we pulled into the driveway 'cause we'd made it safely.

~When the children ran off to play immediately, leaving me with 10 free minutes to unload the car without them under my feet.

~When the air mattress pump I'd bought actually worked and blew up mattresses in seconds.

~When I pulled on my new swimsuit from Target and the little "cover up" skirt that I purchased actually covered that part of my upper thighs that I think could use a little work. 

~At the lake, when the boys' uncle did water sports with them so I didn't have to get my hair wet.

~When everyone, kids and adults, had a safe day on the lake.

~When the kids were so exhausted from the day that they fell asleep in minutes, leaving the adults to play a round of Uno and Taboo.

~For eating a breakfast this morning that I didn't have to cook! (Thanked my mom for this one too!)

~For a beautiful sunrise that glistened on the murkey waters of Lake Palestine the last morning.

~For the 3 hour nap that my little one took this afteroon.

~For the DVD player in the SUV that kept everyone quiet on the drive back home.

~Again, for the Oreo blast (with extra whipped cream of course) from Sonic that made my drive home really sweet (I should take out stock in that place)

~When we rounded the last corner to our house and I could see that all had been well while we were away.

~When I emptied the suitcases and put all the dirty clothes into a washing machine, pushed a button and let modern technology do all the hard work.

~As I climbed into my bed, took a deep breath and pulled out my laptop to write you.

Yes . . . I'm grateful, and I guess to some it might seem that I'm grateful for some silly things but to me. . . . they are all enormous blessings. Some folks didn't get to enjoy some of these simple things this weekend.

Yes, I'm blessed. You too? What's your whisper of thanks to God about?

Priscilla

Dear Anonymous Note Dropper Off-er:

Thank you for your second unsigned note in my mailbox:

From the deep scratching of the pen into the paper, I deduce that you are becoming bitter at my lack of response to your first note. Obviously, you do not realize that if you'd remembered to leave a phone number or address, I could have easily informed you that I have neither a fence that needs fixing, OR goats that keep trespassing, thus saving you the trouble of angrily scrawling the follow-up note.  I do have one extremely old dog who is far too uninterested in leaving my property, and who could not possibly be mistaken for a goat - I tell you this only in the interest of making certain that there are no misunderstandings.

Let me make this clear. I do not have goats. I cannot imagine why you think I have goats. I do not live next to anyone who has goats. I assure you: if I did have goats, I would most certainly have an adequate fence to keep them from making enemies of perfectly nice neighbors, which I'm sure you are.

Since I can think of no other way to contact you, in order to ask you to please direct your notes elsewhere, I hereby send my response into the world wide web - in the hopes that you will see it here.

Thank you,

Rachel Anne

You know how if you ever go out into public looking like a train wreck, you'll be sure and bump into someone you know? It never fails that, on the occasions that I risk being seen without a lick of makeup on, I'll see someone in the produce department of the grocery store and I'll have to try and duck behind the broccoli to avoid embarrasment. Sheesh!

The other night, I accompanied my husband, Tom, to Target for an item he needed for a project.  I'd been working outside in the heat all day, had my greasy hair yanked back in a pontytail, and had no makeup on. I looked like one scary woman. But my man was so tired and discouraged from a hard day that I couldn't bear to see him venture out alone, so I hopped in the truck with him in the hopes of cheering him up.

I wandered all over the store, avoiding the mirrors and remembering my purpose: cheer him up, cheer him up. It worked. By the time I was in line, he offered to go get the truck and pull it around for me.

A minute later, my phone rang.  It was Tom and he sounded strange.

"Are you almost done? Where are you" he asked. His voice was urgent.

"Still in line, it will take another couple of minutes," I answered. I rolled my eyes. Oh, brother!

I made my purchase, then walked through the exit and into the waiting vehicle.

"Did you see our old friend, Ron Smith, walk in? I was going to warn you! I knew you wouldn't want to run into anyone tonight...." he trailed off awkwardly and gave me a puppy dog look. He didn't want to say, ".....when you look this bad." He didn't need to.

I WAS SO TOUCHED! I had to smile, picturing him fumbling for his phone in the dark so he could alert his haggard wife to an imminent collision with a guy she hadn't seen in 20 years. I'd have been mortified.

He knows me so well. He knows my insecurities and still loves me.

Reminds me of how well my Heavenly Father knows me.

Psalm 139 1-18 says it perfectly.

 ¹ O LORD, you have searched me
       and you know me.

 ² You know when I sit and when I rise;
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.

 ³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
       you are familiar with all my ways.

 ⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
       you know it completely, O LORD.

 ⁵ You hem me in—behind and before;
       you have laid your hand upon me.

 ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
       too lofty for me to attain.

 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
       Where can I flee from your presence?

 ⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
       if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

 ⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
       if I settle on the far side of the sea,

 ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
       your right hand will hold me fast.

 ¹¹ If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
       and the light become night around me,"

 ¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
       the night will shine like the day,
       for darkness is as light to you.

 ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.

 ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.

 ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

 ¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.

 ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
       How vast is the sum of them!

 ¹⁸ Were I to count them,
       they would outnumber the grains of sand.
       When I awake,
       I am still with you.

Isn't it great to know that He knows all about your insecurities and weaknesses...and yet still loves you? He created you, and His tender thoughts of you are more than the grains of the sand. He is with you wherever you go, helping you, protecting you, guiding you.

Now, THAT makes me smile.

Have a wonderful weekend, Rachel

Hey there friend,

So glad you're here today. It's been a full week for me. I've not been home for 7 days. They've been filled with wonderful ministry opportunities and exhausting summer fun with my boys. The highlight of this time has been participating in ministry with my brother, Anthony Evans Jr. He led worship and I taught a packed auditorium. It was delightful.

More than anything I love allowing my children to be a part of our ministry. I was so excited to take them with me, hoping they'd enjoy experiencing worship led by their uncle, and watching "mama" speak to those gathered.

On the way to the church, Anthony asked them how they felt about this opportunity (that we thought was so grand). Lest you wonder how the Lord ensures that we stay humble, please watch this video and you'll soon see.

Priscilla is in Nashville, having spoken at the Kairos ministry of Brentwood Baptist Church last night.  I haven't talked with her yet, but I know it was an exciting evening. In the meantime, we thought we'd share a clip of her recent conversation with Kirk Franklin. Priscilla asked Kirk which worship/gospel artists he listens to....and as usual, Kirk never disappoints with his response. Enjoy!

This morning, several of us "Going Beyond People" are fasting breakfast. If you haven't already poured your bowl of cheerios, I invite you to join us! We are taking a step of obedience to do something that God has been prompting us to do, but for whatever reason, we've put it off until now. I would guess that each of us has a unique reason for wanting to participate today....from drawing near to God, to interceding for someone, to repenting, to simply turning our focus from ourselves to the One who is beckoning.

Romans 12:1 says this: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

Let your life be be worshipful, and prayerful today - despite the work and commitments that will inevitably fill it.  There is an underlying purpose to your morning quiet time that will carry on throughout the day.  The fact that you are setting aside your desire for toast and cheerios this morning, and replacing it with earnest prayer and focus is a statement that you mean some business. This is not just lip service, this is the real thing. I know God will honor that and will begin to work in your situation.

Priscilla, Linnae and I will be lifting you up in prayer as you step out in obedience today. Some of you may see an immediate answer to prayer or a release in the spirit...while others will simply know that they have completed an act of discipline as unto Him. Hey, that's huge! It's a tangible form of worship that we are participating in - we are honoring the Living God by sacrificing something our flesh craves. It may seem small, but I believe it is mighty.

We'd love to hear testimonies from this morning. If you'd like to share your experience, what God is speaking to you, a scripture, a victory, or even your struggle, I hope you'll feel free to do that in the comments. We have a wonderful circle of friends, here, and we can bear one anothers' burdens and celebrate the victories together.

In Him, Rachel

Tomorrow, many of you, our sweet online friends and readers, will be taking a step of faith together. We are going to be doing something outside our comfort zone - fasting breakfast.

Maybe you, like me, have found every reason to avoid fasting, but are at a point at which you are getting tired of giving God the run-around. If you have felt Him nudging you to do a fast, this is a perfect opportunity to act in obedience, because you won't be alone.

Now, let me first say that if God is NOT tugging on your heart to participate, please don't feel guilty or coerced.  This is not going to be for everyone - and it SHOULDN'T be. Remember, it is simply an opportunity - if you'd like - to join with others as we bring our hearts before Him in prayer.

Let's go through a few steps as we think about tomorrow morning.

Know your objective: What is your purpose in this fast? Maybe it's repentence, an act of obedience, an urgent prayer request, preparation for a spiritual task, direction, or just spiritual discipline - all are reasons to fast. Is something weighing heavily on your heart? This is a chance to lay it all out there. Since we will be only fasting one meal, I am going to focus on just one thing. Remember, we are going to keep this simple. Yeah, I probably have enough issues to fill a 40-day fast, but I'm just not able to do that yet. Baby steps.

Prepare spiritually. Bill Bright, of Campus Crusade for Christ, offers some excellent guidelines:

"The very foundation of fasting and prayer is repentance. Unconfessed sin will hinder your prayers. Here are several things you can do to prepare your heart:

• Ask God to help you make a comprehensive list of your sins.
• Confess every sin that the Holy Spirit calls to your remembrance and accept God's forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
• Seek forgiveness from all whom you have offended, and forgive all who have hurt you (Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4; 17:3,4).
• Make restitution as the Holy Spirit leads you.
• Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit according to His command in Ephesians 5:18 and His promise in 1 John 5:14,15.
• Surrender your life fully to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master; refuse to obey your worldly nature (Romans 12:1,2).
• Meditate on the attributes of God, His love, sovereignty, power, wisdom, faithfulness, grace, compassion, and others (Psalm 48:9,10; 103:1-8, 11-13).
• Begin your time of fasting and prayer with an expectant heart (Hebrews 11:6).
• Do not underestimate spiritual opposition. Satan sometimes intensifies the natural battle between body and spirit (Galatians 5:16,17)."

Prepare your physical body: Eating a huge meal at night pretty much guarantees that I'll wake up starving - why is that?? So tonight, I suggest eating a smaller meal and limiting sugary foods. If you have health issues, please consider those before you skip a meal: i.e. certain medications need to be taken with food, diabetics have dietary needs etc. Consult a doctor if you have concerns.

Self-discipline is not something that comes easily to me. But I'm drawing a small line in the sand tomorrow, and I'm determined to do a difficult, but achievable, act of discipline and obedience.  I'm excited that so many of you are going to be right alongside me! Knowing that we are in this together gives me courage and backbone. Do you feel it, too?

Prayerfully expectant, Rachel