Friday, March 11, 2011

Life, Love, and Kombucha

Ello' Friends,

My name is Rachel Jackson, and I am in the continual process of surrendering my life to my maker Jesus Christ. That to say, the last month of my life has been insanely busy, wonderful, and inspiring. It is crazy what a few solid decisions can do. I'm learning to decide things instead of ponder them into the grave, and I am learning the Lord's will is a lot less narrow than I thought. The Lord's will is anything I do that will bring Glory to His name, He desires me to live in passion, love, and peace, and I can honestly say I am in the pursuit of doing such. What a marvelous place to be: Health. Normalcy. Peace that surpasses understanding. Choosing to live my life free and redeemed is an absolute treasure. For the first time, I feel like I'm finally grasping the phrase, Lord, I belong to You. I'm also learning Jesus sincerely wants me to have fun. He likes to laugh, He likes to dance, and He loves exactly who I am--good, bad, vegan, and cupcake frenzied. Truly He is such a wonderful creator, and my best friend.

The Lord always has my best interest in mind. He has known from the beginning exactly where He wants me, and with everything I've experienced and learned, how much more Glory can I bring Him as a child who now stands unashamed, free, and redeemed? I was leading worship last night at The Shore, and we sang one of my favorite songs, "How He Loves." Previously, my favorite lines had been, "He loves like a hurricane, I am a tree bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy." Yesterday, I found my new favorite line--because it is where I have chosen to live...
I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves me.

How amazing is the love of God that continually covers all--He doesn't remember the things we regret, so why should we? I would much rather exist in marvelous love Christ offers than to dwell in the person I no longer am.

For you visual learners, here's my past wonderful moth in picturesque form


The nicest human being on the entire planet =)

My unbelievable job (where I surrounded by people I absolutely adore.)

And on that note, my only vegan/health plug for the day is Kombucha. It's amazing, and full of probiotics and living organisms. You should try some.


Go Raw.

~Rachel~

Monday, March 7, 2011

Life from the Podium

You stand on a platform
So much larger than you
And still you search for the words to say
As stuttering becomes you

Life from the podium
Makes your words grow
Tight
In your throat as you search
Search for the time to say
What you mean
And say it hot

But everyone is always watching
As you stand on what's beneath you

It is hard to have a million gazes transfixed on your being
But say it like you mean it
And perhaps the masses will believe the words that fall like
Water
From the chords that trap the voice

Don't worry--
They watch, though they do not understand
They say what they do not know
They speak what they have not heard
They assume what their mind
Speaks.

They pretend to know the answer
From the life on the floor

But the limelight burns the eyes
And the podium weakens the knees
The timing is held by clocks
And tick tick tick

You're up next.


~Rachel~

Friday, March 4, 2011

The Art of Coconut Milk and Learning

Why Hello Faithful Blogger Friends; It's been a while.

I've had one of those life-moments where I realize the only time I sit down is when I'm driving. Luckily, I drive a fair amount. I don't know why, but I always forget how insane life gets mid-semester. Life is about to go back to normal again, and I have successfully kept my head above water. (To me, not drowning=success) I even made sure to turn in homework for WEDNESDAY on MONDAY. Beautiful, right? I was quite pleased with myself.

On to Better things:

I have one more month left of being a vegan, and I have to be honest, I'm just now starting to get into the pattern of it. I'm learning what I like, and what makes me puke (Chick'nless strips? Nasty.), and I'm learning what food has made me feel like I'm on top of the world. As I'm reaching the end of this bucket-list journey I've discovered a few things:
1. I think I'm sensitive to dairy
2. I don't do well with large amounts of soy
3. I feel so much better when I'm healthy all the time.
4. I think I'm basically just going to stay a vegan... but become less inclusive (I.e. If I go over to someone's house for dinner, I'm not going to refuse the muffin's because they have an egg in them. I think hospitality is grand.)However, when I'm doing my own shopping, I'm relatively certain I'm going to keep my vegan habits relatively the same. It is certainly my preferred lifestyle, It's kind to the environment, I'm not consuming processed and chemically enhanced foods, and it is a constant reminder to check up on my health habits.


Checking off something on the bucket list, as crazy and non-nonsensical as it was, has been a huge growth experience for me. I've already written about some of the social challenges, so I won't bore you again =). Just know I've learned quite a bit about myself through this process.

On to Better and Bigger Things:
I am in the midst of learning a huge Spiritual lesson. I am learning to stop asking God "why," and start asking God, "How can I be used in this situation to bring You the most glory possible?" God's plan is bigger and better than mine (Shocker.) God's thoughts aren't my thoughts, and His ways aren't my ways.

And that's a snapshot of my life =).


~Rachel~