Florida's Calling

I hate the end of winter. Mostly because it drags on for sooooooo long. In case anyone hasn't noticed, it's freezing today! I can't wait 'til we leave for our family vacation in Florida at the end of March. I wish we were going sooner. And I wish we could move NYC a little further south... like to the Caribbean.

But enough complaining. I'm really looking forward to going to Florida to see my mother-in-law and brothers-in-law, and my dad and stepmom who now fly south for the winters (I'd like to be jealous, but they deserve it). It will be great to have the kids get reacquainted with their grandparents (while hubby and I get reacuainted with each other, at least for one night -- tee hee). Thank Yah for vacations!

2008 BYY Update

So in the wake of 3 recent very good pieces of news, I thought this would be the perfect time to give an update on 2008: My Best Year Yet. In the last week Orville and I have been blessed with thousands of dollars of unexpected income (bonus from his job, tax refund), and I found out I get to go to New Orleans for a supercool IT conference for work. I've never been to New Orleans and I love to travel so I'm excited! Yahweh is so good.

That's the financial/professional news... here's an update on the other areas:
Spiritually: O and I are more disciplined than last year, attending Wed. night services in addition to Sundays, reading the Word daily, and O is doing the prayer calls 2-3 times a week.
Physically: I'm doing a decent job of sticking to my exercise routine, which is a huge improvement from last year. I'm still eating healthy and working toward eating even healthier.
Mentally: I read a book! -- Eat, Pray, Love -- for a book club, although I couldn't make it to the book club meeting. I used to read voraciously but haven't had time for the past couple years.
Emotionally: I'm yelling at my kids a little less. :-) Baby steps.
Socially: I'm super-excited about everything my POC girls and I will be doing this year -- the meetings, women's fellowships, starting businesses, setting ourselves up as a nonprofit, etc.
Yay!

What's happening to me?

This past Sunday I went to my friend Yadi's house where she was telling me about her raw diet and showing me a book called Health According to the Scriptures by Paul Nison. I'm always interested in nutrition and I know I'm eventually supposed to "go raw" so I paid attention -- but thinking it will still be a while before I take the plunge.

Ever since then I've been nauseous and had loose bowels (I know, tmi) and have barely been able to eat anything. Today I went the whole day on just water and a raw green smoothie. Meanwhile I've been reading from Nison's website and feeling more and more like I need to do this raw thing sooner rather than later. I've been exhausted for so long I feel like I'm ready to try just about anything to have more energy.

So I'm thinking I might start it next Monday. I wouldn't have been ready if it weren't for this lousy sickness. But maybe it's time. I'm going to take it a week at a time.

Vision

For the past week or so hubby and I have been working on a vision board for our family (an assignment for the Point of Creation team). We're about 85% finished and it's been so much fun. I know I'm going to love looking at it every day. The idea behind it is to think big--examine your heart and identify the dreams/goals God has given you for the near and more distant future--and no matter how impossible it might seem, put it out there. Put it before your eyes and in your mouth, believing, because without faith it is impossible to please Yah. And with Yah, all things are possible, if you believe.

We have pictures of gorgeous homes we own, salary figures and other statements of wealth, orphanages, POC school students, my bestselling screenplay, Orville's influence over billions through his rap career, world travel, our statement of who we are as a couple, which we wrote in 2007, and more... it's beautiful, and humbling, to behold. I truly look forward to the growth that will take place in me as I see this board every day and line up my words with what it shows me.

2008 is my best year yet!

The Ongoing Process of Becoming One, Part 2

So after I wrote my blog on Becoming One yesterday I went to church, as I normally do on Wednesday nights, and what is the topic of the teaching? Oneness and unity! This sort of thing happens to me virtually every time I spend any kind of quality time in the Word. Often the very next time I come to church, not only are the themes the same as what I've been studying, but usually the pastor goes to the exact same scriptures I've just read on my own. It's awesome, because it's an ongoing confirmation that I'm in the right church and also that I am led by the Holy Spirit.

I need this latter kind of confirmation especially, because I feel like I'm often surrounded by Christians who have these hypersensitive spirits and are always being led to do interesting things, prophesy over people, go to other countries, have/interpret significant dreams, etc. and I'm sitting around like "What about me, God? Do I have any spiritual gifts, or am I just the one who's supposed to keep all these anointed aliens grounded and organized?... That's boring!"

But it turns out I do hear from Yahweh in my own way. It's never audible or mystical for me, although I might want that at times -- it's usually one of those things where you just know what you know. I think I've heard it called an "inward witness" a few times, but it's often imperceptible at the time you have it and you only realize it in hindsight.

Anyway, I loved the message last night because it reminded me that not only are husbands and wives constantly working toward becoming one, but all of us in the Body of Christ are. (And you don't always know who's in the Body, so for that matter we should treat everyone we meet as if we will eventually become one.) I am so thankful for this teaching. I can't tell you how many times I've been annoyed or outright p.o.'d at someone and wanted to cut them off forever, but didn't because of what the Word says. These same people often later turn out to be some of the most precious gifts in my life.

Becoming one is never easy. There is so much junk in our own lives and others' lives that interferes with the process. But if we persevere and continue to choose love no matter what others do to upset us, the rewards are truly magnificent.

The Ongoing Process of Becoming One

I have the sweetest husband. He is so perfect for me in every way (and he insists that I am for him as well), yet we still have so many misunderstandings in our day-to-day lives as we endeavor to become one. Just for clarification, when I say "becoming one", I don't mean losing our individual personalities and preferences, I mean being united and fused together in purpose and destiny.

Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that we had a totally unnecessary 3-day long fight/chilling period that left us both exhausted and defeated. Once we finally talked it out, it boiled down to this: I was doubting his love/appreciation for me and he was incredulous because in his mind, he's doing everything in his power to show me how much he loves and appreciates me. LOL. Talk about Mars and Venus. It turned out to be a simple communication problem. Well, simple to identify anyway -- surely more difficult to rectify overnight, but now that we know the intentions behind our actions, we will have a lot more patience with each other.

It's funny, the fighting was so painful but then the resolution was so sweet that I couldn't help but be grateful for the whole process. I hope that I've learned a lesson about always assuming the best about my husband's intentions and having the patience to talk things through right at the time of the conflict, rather than waiting to "cool off".... brrrr! I never want to be that cold again!

Hallmark Don't Know Jack About Love

This blog is going to be a bit all over the place, but for some reason this holiday is stirring up a lot of thoughts and feelings in me this year.


First of all, I'd just like to celebrate the fact that it's already been 21 days since I've had coffee. Woo hoo! I'm proud of myself, this is definitely significant.

But now for the real issues... I've never liked Valentine's Day, even at the most naive and in-love point of my life. It's not that I'm not romantic. Romance definitely has a place in the lives of married and engaged couples. I just hate the fact that this enormous, gaudy, pink flowery shrine has been built to romance, and it's repeatedly forced upon (which is very unromantic, I must say) everyone in the country (and maybe other countries, I don't really know) as if it's the only true indicator of love.

The reality is that at least two-thirds of the planet's population doesn't even have the slightest clue what love is, and Valentine's Day just magnifies this fact. People go into major, months-long depressions over this "holiday", and even make horrible, life-altering decisions over it, believing that just because no one's sending them flowers or chocolates on this particular day they are major losers doomed to lives of solitude and shame unless they do something--fast!

Come on, people.

Love is a beautiful, powerful thing. It means "I will give, I will serve." Here's an even more revolutionary idea: God Himself IS Love. He is the author, the inventor of it, and no one understands it better than He. He's the real thing--far more exciting and energizing than most people give Him credit for. Valentine's day, for the most part, is a pathetic mockery of pure, amazing love. Here are just a few examples of the differences:

Love includes everyone and is eternal.
Romance is exclusive and fleeting.
Love is based on character.
Romance is based on moods.
Love is patient.
Romance is highly impatient.
Love is selfless.
Romance is selfish.

It may sound to some like I just need a good cup of coffee after all (along with an orgasm), but that's not it. (For the record, hubby and I just had a great date and are more in love than ever.) I just want people to see things as they truly are. I want my friends and co-workers and people I've never even met to have amazing marriages and lives, as I do. I want them to experience real love every day, not just for a weekend. I want them to stop chasing lies and stop comparing themselves to faulty ideals. I want world peace - lol!

One more thing--my heart goes out to those who may be having a difficult time on this day. One friend of mine is still awaiting the release of her husband from prison; another is hoping to salvage her marriage which has apparently disintegrated after only 6 months. For them and others like them, I wish I could put a screeching halt to this insensitive and seedy celebration. They don't need another thing to brood about. (And those who are in love don't need to be told what day to celebrate.) But since I can't stop the fabrication, and even if I could, instead I'll do my best to be an example of real love for all the world to see. The truth speaks for itself. I will give, I will serve. Love never fails.

My Little Potty Poet

Sniff! Isaac came up with his first metaphor today. He was sitting on the potty doing #2, and he said, "Look Mommy, a poo-poo snake!" It was soooooooooooooooo cute (the incident, that is, not the poo-poo snake). Then he was telling me how it was sorry because it fell into the water. LOL. I just love watching their little wheels turn as they make up sentences and stories. Who knew excretion could be so exciting???

A Piece of His Mind

I asked God what He wanted me to know today, and what He would have me tell the world, and this is what He said:

I'm in you. I inhabit you. I live in you. You are my dwelling place. You are holy, set-apart, blameless. Do you still not know this? Why do you hide Me? What are you afraid of? Do you trust Me or not? Do you want Me to run the show, or do you really think you can do a better job? Let me govern you at all times. I, and only I, know what's best for you. I know how to make you great. I know how to make you prosperous. You, your life, is My territory, My domain. Will you let Me rule in peace, or will you challenge My authority and attempt to overthrow Me at every turn? I know how to rule. It's what I do. Let Me teach you. You say you are ready, now let your heart be steady and trust Me. You have NO IDEA what I am capable of accomplishing in you. Stop trying to guess and analyze before I can get any momentum going. You're slowing Me down.

Your spirit is amazing. Your spirit is strong. You are your spirit. You are not your body, your appetite, your exhaustion, your fears, your insecurities, your failures. You are triumphant. You are glorious. You are My workmanship, after all. Let Me show you off as I see fit.

I don't speak to everyone the same way, nor do I speak to one person the same way every time. I give you what you'll let Me. Let Me give you what's best for you, not what's best for anyone else. Open your heart and your mind to Me. Take the limits off. Be flexible. Be open to surprises. I've got a lot up My sleeve.

I know, you're ready to stop now. It was nice talking to you. Let's do this more often. Please.

By the way, I don't need you to apologize for Me, ever. What I'm doing in you is My business. I don't care what you or anyone else thinks about it, especially when I haven't even warmed up yet. I'll reach others in My own way, in My own time. You don't have to be a shining example of the perfect specimen for all the world to see. Just trust Me, and My glory will shine through you when you least expect it, and for those you least expect to notice.

Babies Don't Keep

Taking a page from my friend Yadi... I just had to share this very wise poem I received today:

Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Hello, I'm Rachael, Lamb of Yah

Today I know who I am. Sometimes I forget. I go through periods of self-imposed confusion, doubt, laziness, insecurity... it sucks. I much prefer knowing who I am. I feel so much more confident and content. I used to have a running joke with my high school friends, whenever someone would say I couldn't have something, or would treat me like less than royalty, I'd puff up (laughing at myself at the same time) and say something like, "Hello? Do they know who I am??? I am Rachael Woodruff!" (that was my maiden name). I would not be denied.

If only I'd carry that attitude throughout each day and moment of my life...

Anyway, today I have it. I know I'm a child of Yahweh. He loves me with all of His being. I'm a masterpiece! He knew me and formed my character and my spirit before I was in my mother's womb. He whispered my name, Rachael, to my mother. It means lamb. I am gentle and kind, innocent and pure, self-sacrificing and selfless, and I contain in me the power to save the world. I am a savior. You need me, no matter who you are or whether you like me or not. I have a piece to your puzzle.

I have a lot more to say, here and elsewhere. I'm a writer, a scribe for Yahweh, among other things. Soon the world will know my name, and in turn I will tell it His Name. This is my generation and my time. I own it and master it. Nice to meet you!