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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,”…
To Correct or Not to Correct? Have you ever made a snap judgement about someone or something? Sadly, I often make snap judgements. But recently, I found myself the recipient of someone else’s snap judgement. And it took all the Jesus-lovin’ strength I could muster, friends, not to email this person and set them straight….
How do you love your enemy? Jesus loved in all sorts of challenging circumstances, but none more difficult than Mount Calvary. As he hung on the cross, Jesus’ prayed for his enemies [Luke 23:34]. When praying for our enemies, it becomes easier to love them. Praying for our enemy opens our hearts and allows us…
![How to Show Kindness [in an Unkind World]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/55A8C129-B776-482B-99D3-044E0F5EA0FC.png)
The most random act of kindness we can commit is to answer unkind words and deeds with extraordinary grace. True kindness is Spirit produced and matters most when it is the least expected or warranted. The key to Spirit-filled kindness begins with the idea all of us are undeserving in light of the cross. Jesus…
![Telling the Story of His Wondrous Love… [a Christmas memory]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/90647690-C713-4A56-B7C5-2540A3E49D4D.jpeg)
My [almost] oldest childhood friend gifted me this photo of us for my high school graduation. I believe it was taken shortly after moving to Hometown, OK from Dallas, TX. Late in the fall of ‘73 my little brother and I stayed with my grandparents while our new home was being readied for our arrival….
![Black History Month… [Celebrating People of Color]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/9607F7A0-E9BA-4CE5-987A-B5330CD246BF.png)
When celebrating Black History month, I couldn’t help but think “some of history’s BEST examples of accepting the challenge to love a broken, unlovable world are People of Color.” Hands down, the life story and mission of John M. Perkins is the best, fully-human example of loving the unlovable I’ve ever encountered. Rather than hating…
![Godly Mamas and Good Water… [one year later]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CAE93EFB-3332-4651-9FD9-F2F5993AFF1E-1024x1024-1.jpeg)
It was the Clifford women who gathered early that second morning to sing as we waited the arrival of others. Her favorite hymn was Rock of Ages. Mama knew (and sang) every word of each stanza. She likely played it on the piano thousands of times over her lifetime. “While I draw this fleeting breath,…