Welcome to Reality

Dear Friends,

I will no longer be using this lj. Please add my new one,

http://radicalrachel7.livejournal.com/


Thanks!
~Rachel

So many of you know where I stand on abortion. I've looked at it from all sides and points and I can say that I am & always will be 100% Pro-Life. Why? Many reasons.

First let me start by saying that I believe Abortion to not be a political issue, but a Spiritual one. Next I would like to state that both points of view do not see abortion as "good" the difference is that one views the fetus as "tissue and mass" and the other as a human being.
Did you know that those cells of tissue put together in your womb have a nucleus and can actually feel the needle going into them?

Everyone asks the question "when does life start?" Some say that it starts when you come out of the womb, and others state that it is before.
Usually people who are Pro-Choice say that it's a woman's decision and should be left up to her...but what about the baby? Doesn't it get a chance to tell you that it wants to live? No because it is silenced.
What does God have to say about Abortion? There are many points of view, but we don't want your point of view, we want God's:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."-Psalm 139:13
This shows us that God created us each individually.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."-Jeremiah 1:5
I like this one because it shows us that God has a plan for our lives even BEFORE we are born! I honestly believe that he had plans for all those children that were aborted. 1/3 of our generation is MISSING!

This is just like the days of old when Pharoah killed all of the Hebrew babies. Why did he do it? Because he knew that they would grow up to be strong and defeat him (purpose) so he killed them before they even had a chance to become great. This is what I see happening today. You might think it's extreme but I'm okay with that.

Any thoughts?

~Rachel

Whose to say that animals cannot feel? That they don't bleed when you cut them? That they don't possess a soul, or that they don't care that you kill them? Of course they don't want you to kill them! I find it so selfish to say that human beings are the only creatures on this earth that should matter.
There's a lot of material on this, but my favorite is "Are we good stewards of God's Creation?" by the Christian Vegetarian Association. You can get one free is you email them: cva@christianveg.com
God gave us the responsibility to take care of the earth, and there are many areas such as Global Warming, cutting down forests, killing animals, pollution, world hunger...all of these things we are slacking on.
Where are the ones who will stand up and say that what is happening is wrong? Who can stop these things from happening? All we do is sit around and talk about how horrible it is.

~Rachel

Last night I watched "End of the Spear" and it was pretty good, but they definitely could have done better. For those who don't know; it's a film about the five missionaries that died trying to spreak the Gospel to a tribe in the Amazon. Of course the movie barely even talked about God or really covered their purpose for going to the tribe, but what do you really expect? The greatest part about that story is what happened after the men died. The women they left behind (and a few children) came to the tribe and ended up getting all of them saved! The ones who killed their family were loved by them, and one of the men who killed this boy's father, his children now call "grandfather" and I cannot even imagine someone killing my dad and then have so much love for them that I make them part of my family. It's amazing. There is some real footage of this whole thing because one of the men had a camera that they found later.

So of course last night I had a dream about missions (lol) I had a dream that I was at The Ramp and we had heard that someone who had been associated with this ministry went to some country in Europe preaching about what God did for him here, and got killed. It was intense.

It's very touching:



It really makes me think about my life and where it's headed.
*Be Blessed*
~Rachel

"Make us watchmen of compassion, yes Lord!
And breathe on those slain so they may live!
We speak life to the desert-land,
We're taking up our weapons so we say:
Awaken our hearts (4x) Cause we declare that:
This is the Lord's Generation, The Lord's Generation,
The Lord's Generation (3x)
...You see dry bones, We see an Army!
You see dry bones, we see an army! (4x.)"

Yeah that's pretty self-explainitory.

*Be Blessed*
~R.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=74066649

God. Friends. Mountains. Sunsets. Singing. Birthday. Classes. Snow. Photographs. Shows. Joy. Sorrow. Mall. Disappointments. Chattanooga. Adventures. Revival. Prayer.
Blessings.

"And so one morning just before dawn you came
Out of the forest towards my window with a smile in your hand
As the moist air up to your knees started swirling like smoke
I saw your lips move
Asking: Did you lose something?
I stood glued to the window

Emotions running through my vein
Now I know a word I can't explain

I think I've known you all along
Just lost your face in the crowd for awhile
I think I have been holding my breath all my life
Can I exhale and go into exile?
So ask me now and I'll run away with you

And so with the dawn you've come
Eye to eye
With nothing in between but this fragile glass
Your lips move again
I try but I can't detect the vibrations in the air
How I’ve longed to inhale your breath
I've still early and I see your words getting caught
In the window slowly turning into frost

I see your hand move and I can't detain
Scraping down a word I can't explain

I think I've known you all along
Just lost your face in the crowd for awhile
I think I have been holding my breath all my life
Can I exhale and go into exile?
So ask me now and I'll run away with you

And so one morning just before dawn you've came
(Did you lose something?)
And so with the dawn you've come
(How I’ve longed to inhale)

I think I've known you all along
Just lost your face in the crowd for awhile
I think I have been holding my breath all my life
Can I exhale and go into exile?
So ask me now and I'll run away with you

I will
Ask me now and I'll run away with you
(Just lost your face in the crowd for awhile)
Ask me now and I'll run away with you
(Can I exhale and go into exile?)
Ask now and I'll run away with you"

Brooke, Lacey & I at Sewanne.





Brooke and I.


My heart, that I actually left at Saras house.


Beautiful graveyard.


Yes that tombstone was that tall.


Cross.


Massive cross on the top of Sewanne mountain.


Sara!


Peace sign we drove by in the farm-land.


Lacey!
There are more pics on my facebook if you'd like to see them
~Rachel

Greetings,
The past week has been pretty exhausting and crazy, but (as always) God changes everything around. Yesterday I was in a state of panic/stress and He took it all away.
Ramp Service last night was amazing. I broke through so many things that I've been going through, and am so at peace right now.
After Ramp; Sara, Brooke and I went to the park and turned on some worship music and just soaked in His presence. We opened the doors of the car and turned the music up and just stood/walked by the car, and one man (he was probably in his 50's) walked by us a few times, and after passing us 3x he came up to us and asked who the band was. We told him it was Rick Pino, and he asked us where he could get his cd. It was awesome. We did this for about an hour, and then it was curfew so we had to stop and go into our dorms. But, that moment was just so great because we just sat in the park praying/soaking in God.

Today was wonderful. I spent the entire day with some close friends of mine, and we had so much fun thriftshop hopping, driving around, going out to eat, going to a masquerade, walmart, etc.
I love God sooo much. He takes away all pain and confusion. I also love that He's given me such awesome friends. Ones that accept me just as I am. Kind of like Him...

*Be Blessed & Not Stressed*
-Rachel

You might be a goth hick if.......... ...
. Your casket is on cinder blocks in the driveway.
. You name your child after your dog, and they're both named "Enigma".
. You think Dolly Parton should be the lead singer of Switchblade Symphony.
. Your coffin is lined with a velvet Confederate flag.
. You smoke cloves in a corncob pipe.
. You dye yoursheep black.
. Your bull's nose is pierced six times.
. Even your teeth are black.
. Your rooster crows at moonrise.
. You have spent your life perfecting black corn.
. Your coffin has a side-mounted spitoon.
. Your granny crochets your fishnets.
. Your favorite comic is Johnny the Homicidal Tractor.
. You have an Elvira pinup in your out-house.
. You get up at 4 a.m. every morning to collect eggs from the raven coop.
. You and your pit bull share the spiked collar.

STEP 1: Follow these instructions for a tepee that is 8 feet tall and approximately 9 feet in diameter, with a circumference of just under 30 feet.

STEP 2: Use 12 bamboo poles for your tepee. The poles should each be 12 to 13 feet long and approximately 3 inches in diameter. The poles should be as uniform in diameter as possible.

STEP 3: Choose approximately 18 yards of 60-inch-wide awning or tent canvas for your tepee.

STEP 4: Lay the poles out on the ground, and use rope to tie three of the poles together to form a tripod. The cone shaped by the tripod should be 8 feet tall. Raise the tripod so that the bottom of the three poles forms a diameter of just under 30 feet.

STEP 5: Tie the remaining poles, one by one, to the tripod until all the poles have been attached. Measure the circumference of the top of the tepee, at the point where all of the poles are tied together. Divide this number by 6, then add 2 inches. Write this final number down.

STEP 6: Cut six pieces of canvas, each triangular in shape. The bottom of each piece should be 60 inches wide and taper to a width that is equal to the number calculated in Step 5.

STEP 7: Sew the pieces together to form the tepee cover. Begin by sewing one triangular section to the first. Then add the third, fourth, fifth and six pieces. Do not sew the canvas into the shape of a cone. Leave it as one long piece of fabric.

STEP 8: Attach five grommets along each 8-foot edge of the tepee cover. Place a grommet as close as possible to each end, then place the rest of the grommets so that all are spaced approximately 2 feet apart. Make sure that the grommets on each edge line up evenly with each other.

STEP 9: Make five canvas ties that are each approximately 20 inches long and 1 inch wide.

STEP 10: Place the tepee cover over the assembled poles. Keep the cover in place by inserting a canvas tie through each set of grommets and tying securely.

"Start a band or throw a brick
You lazy hipsters make me sick
Don't clap your hands; don't start to dance
Don't let them know that you're a fan

You may be living in Manhattan
But where are you really from? (Have you forgotten?)
Kid, you may be playing your music loud
But it's drowned out by your mouth"

I don't know why but I have wanted to randomly dance lately. Dance while going up the stairs, and spontaniously doing things, and being crazy. I suppose its a good thing.

5 days until Cornerstone Festival! Maybe thats why I am so hyper/excited :-D

I was really bored today.

Your Five Variable Love Profile

Propensity for Monogamy: Your propensity for monogamy is high. You find it easy to be devoted and loyal to one person. And in return, you expect the same from who you love. Any sign of straying, and you'll end things. Experience Level: Your experience level is high. You've loved, lost, and loved again. You have had a wide range of love experiences. And when the real thing comes along, you know it! Dominance: Your dominance is low. This doesn't mean you're a doormat, just balanced. You know a relationship is not about getting your way. And you love to give your sweetie a lot of freedom. Cynicism: Your cynicism is medium. You'd like to believe in true and everlasting love... But you've definitely been burned enough to know better. You're still an optimist, but you also are a realist. Independence: Your independence is high. You don't need to be in love, and sometimes you don't even want love. Having your own life is very important for you... Even more important than having a relationship.

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 45% Conservative, 55% Liberal

Social Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

You Should Be a Painter

You have the vision, patience, and skill to bring your unique visions to canvas. And you're even tempered enough not to cut your ear off in the process!

You Will Die at Age 73

You're pretty average when it comes to how you live... And how you'll die as well.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Your Linguistic Profile::

60% General American English

25% Yankee

10% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

You need to take this one and find out what accent you really have!

You Are 63% Vain

You're a little vain, but you also work hard for your good looks. Just remember, everyone knows you are a total hottie. You don't have to remind them.

haha

Your Brain is 73% Female, 27% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

You Are Cyclops

Dedicated and responsible, you will always remain loyal to your cause. You are a commanding leader - after all, you can kill someone just by looking at them. Power: force beams from your eyes

Hmm maybe I really do have death looks!

What Your Face Says

At first glance, people see you as warm and well-balanced. Overall, your true self is passive and thoughtful. With friends, you seem thoughtful and interested in ideas. In love, you seem mysterious and interesting. In stressful situation, you seem like you're oblivious to the stress.

Meh thats enough test taking, I'm a bit tierd of these.
-Rachel

I would like to encourage everyone out there reading this to do whats on their heart. If apologizing to someone, or letting them know you care, or even praying for them is whats on your heart to do, then you need to do it. No matter how unplesant or ackward the situation is, just do it. If God tells you to do something, then it is bad when you don't do it. He doesn't hurt us or forget about us but he does DISCIPLINE his children, and if you have the holy spirit then you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, then there is no way for me to explain it to you.
I really feel that if your experiencing any type of guilt or stress in your life, and you have let it go, but it keeps coming back to haunt you, that you need to take the extra step. You need to make that past situtation right, and I can't express that enough.
Everyone is different, and everyone reacts to situations diffrently, but this I know will help anyone in the longrun. Follow your hearts, not your minds. Do what is right, not just for you but the rest of the world.
-Rachel

Well school today was worse than I could imagine..but after that was really awesome. I got to be with the friends who I love, and things really went better than I had hoped.
I loved just being able to talk with everyone, maybe I don't get that enough.
First we went out to eat at this italian place (it was okay) then went to my house for awesome-ly-awesome cake that Adrianne & Gabrielle brought me.
We showed Chris the scene sucks (gotta make a new one)
And i've got to start packing, so I will get off now

Out with the old, and in with the new eh?
Alteast this new years I wasn't sitting in front of a computer, wasting my life. I actually was out.
New Year's Resolution: Don't be on the computer everyday. Go outside. Play some music. Do something other than be on here! haha
Kick laziness aside. Quit slacking in school, or in the things I want to major in, for college. Study, study, study study.
Become more social, start with a clean slate and make new friends.
And the most important:
Forgive every person & right everything in my past that was once wrong. By the end of this year I will find some way of paying back people that I have turned my back on, or have forgiven.
hehe gotta grow more room in my heart for people.

I hate missing people that you haven't talked to for years..
Or when you get reminded everyday of that one thing that you regret loosing.
Its like..even though time is suppose to heal everything, and you've gotten over the fact that you'll never be with someone again..it still taunts you.
I've been feeling a lot of guilt about "not showing forgiveness" towards someone years ago. I forgive them, but I want to let them know somehow, but I know they will never talk to me again + I've made such a fool of myself in the past, I just can't swallow my pride enough to repent to them. Its those little things, and jokes that you always miss with them, and if you dwell on them, you'll probably eventually go insane.
I think everyone out there has someone that they miss terribly. Some never-ending drama. Its a very common thing you know.
I just wish things could have turned out better. And I wish I had an opportunity to speak to them again and release all of this guilt that has built up within the years..
I'm such an idiot. I handled my situation all wrong because I was in a panic. Now I guess I will have to pay for such actions.
-Rachel