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![The Advent of a Savior [Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/D062F4C2-CBA0-4C02-B42A-374DBE58E9F4-scaled.jpeg)
The advent of a Savior was the ultimate gift on that very first Christmas morning. “The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul. Those who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.”* Hope in the Advent “Hope has a name….
![The Believer’s Hope… [the TRUTH about Biblical Hope]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Pink-Minimalism-Quote-Instagram-Post.jpeg)
Truth #1: The Believer’s Hope is found in Jesus. Undoubtedly, the world disappoints us. Christ followers too will falter leaving us disillusioned at times. But our hope as maturing believers doesn’t rest on what is seen in this world, but rather on an unseen reality. No matter the circumstances in this fallen, not-so-perfect world, Jesus…
Bridging the Old & the New The message I heard over and over in 2024 was “Do not fear. Be strong and courageous.” You are LOVED! So do not be discouraged by these things happening to you. Keep trusting me… As I reflect on one of the hardest years of my life and look to…
![Living A Life of Love… [the Believer’s Calling]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/6D2928BE-8440-4758-B829-B24B1683970D.png)
A Fallen, Wounding World God didn’t call us to a life of wounding, friends. He called us to live a life of LOVE. But because of our human-ness, we’re born into a world inherently wounding. And sadly, as creatures of a fallen, imperfect world, we inflict our own wounding behaviors on those around us. “With…
![The Best Kind of Friend… [and God’s Purpose in Suffering.]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/A4A34026-4B78-4E7D-BD8C-9D74E63CC826.png)
The best kind of friend is a praying friend. It’s no secret 2024 has been a hard year for the Rains’ household. Little by little, I’ve pulled back the curtains in this season of life and let friends in… I might’ve overshared a time or two. But the reality is when we share our “stuff,”…
![10 Years Ago…. [Looking Back and Pressing Onward]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/01D74DE5-F8AB-433A-B8A4-C030317343A1.jpeg)
10 years ago this summer, two incredible things happened… A New Calling… “See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” – Isaiah 43:19 10 years ago this summer, at the height of the Ice Bucket…
![Why Should I Choose a Word of the Year… [in 2024]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/47107FF7-42B3-4A6E-9818-FDBB276C8A28.png)
“The seeds of death are at work in us, but LOVE is stronger than death. Your death and mine are our final passage, our exodus to the full realization of our identity as God’s beloved children and to full communion with the God of Love. Jesus walked the path ahead of us to choose the…
![How to Have Joy [and Be Joyful] in a Not-So-Perfect World.](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/05A5D243-B06B-4D77-A18E-69ECE0C54FC3.jpeg)
Joyful people see with open eyes the hard reality of human existence and at the same time are not imprisoned by it.” – Henri Nouwen Radiating hope ✨ and Shining God’s love in a weary, not-so-perfect world is what the manger message is all about, friends. God’s love for us does not change like the…
![The PERFECT Christmas… [and the meaning of advent]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/E6357934-CD53-4B38-96B9-3BE6321696E1.png)
Christmas is a busy time for everyone. But it also can be a stressor for many. Even if you absolutely LOVE the holiday—travel, finances, time constraints, challenging people, and difficult circumstances can overwhelm the merriest Christmas diehard. Wherever you fall on the Christmas holiday scale, the best gift you can give yourself and others this…