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![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…
![Why Your [Broken] Story Matters…](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/D5A9670F-6671-44C7-81C1-1D9AE57875AF.jpeg)
Last month as we chased the Blue Moon, as oft we do, I was experiencing increasingly infuriating health issues which eventually led to the canceling of hubby’s birthday celebrations over the holiday weekend. It was a hard blow—for both of us. And for different reasons. But out of the ashes, a tide of healing burst…
![How to Love Your Enemy… [When Evil Strikes]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/80D7B089-0A6D-4727-A587-1B1EA131E7DA.png)
If God really does exist, then why do bad things happen? Putting aside the age old question, temporarily. Do you believe evil exists? I doubt anyone denies evil exists. I think enough evidence exists to prove otherwise. But surely, if evil exists, then goodness must exist, too. And if the battle of good and evil…
![Surrendering to God… [Word of the Year 2023]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/05A9A94E-B97B-4419-B8CF-6A150667B78F.jpeg)
To be honest, my word of the year scares me–quite literally! It feels way too large, untidy, and full of the unknown. I’m not sure where its going… And maybe that is exactly the point!? I’m not supposed to know. I caught a nasty cold the Sunday after thanksgiving–and it never went away! While still…
![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….
At the end of last year, I felt more joy-depleted than joyful. Life’s circumstances had me feeling battered and bruised. But the testing of my faith produced long-lasting evidence of fruit in my life–of which I’m eternally grateful! Perhaps you’ve been there yourself? Or perhaps, joyless is an accurate depiction of your current circumstances? If…
![How to Find Rest… [and Peace]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/FBBD644C-435C-4AB3-BEF4-76A9BACD8794.jpeg)
When living in Nashville, I often noticed my best work as a voice coach immediately followed a vacation. Time away from the pressures of life brought clarity and refueled my creative self. I would find my self slaying session after session. But after six years of walking in back-to-back life crises’ [which I don’t recommend😂],…
![How to Love [Others] When We Disagree…](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/F618BE7F-2E85-49F8-A7FA-3780E1F687F4-1.png)
No matter where you fall on the recent Supreme Court decision, one thing is certain. All of us share a singular commonality—our humanity. So often as believers, we identify ourselves as “Jesus overturning the tables” in the courtyard of the temple. But rarely do we ever identify ourselves as “Jesus on the Cross” who prayed…
![How to Find Peace… [when peace seems evasive]](https://rachelwrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/27546403-0FF9-41ED-9940-E9338379901F.png)
PEACE in this world is evasive… If we didn’t know it before, we certainly know it now. No matter how advanced our world may grow, lasting peace continues to elude us. The only peace to be found on earth is in the dwelling place of the God most high. “Then my people will dwell in…