New Site, New Book

So I started this journey in a fluke 2 years ago but in following my bliss, taking some wrong turns, I have found that my joy is writing. I am far from perfect. I am no Ernest Hemingway or Joseph Campbell but I believe I have something unique to say. In an effort to move past the parts that I have used to define and embrace myself and my journey as a whole, here is my new site of you are interested in following I would appreciate it.

Rachel Writes Her Heart on Her Sleeve

Thanks

Enough with the articles! (0r) 5 Reasons why all millennials aren’t coming back to the institutional church, as told by a reluctant millennial.

*disclaimer, I am not speaking here for my entire generation, just a lot of us.  I am also not telling you that your spirituality has to look like mine.

1.  Historically, the institutional church has been on the side of evil over good. (inquisition, perpetuation of slavery and segregation).
   • We yearly see history repeating itself world wide….
2. The doctrine of “grace”is happy to apply to “all”, even those predators that are running rampant throughout the pulpits.
   • We are not ok with another generation being sexually abused, exploited, indoctrinated, and shamed.
3. The way the Bible is being interpreted and used as a bully pulpit is often in direct contradiction to what was actually being said in the original language and time.
   • Guys….we have the internet, we can study it on our own…..we don’t need some suited up dude trying to remember what some professor taught in their college doctrine courses….
   • Remember Martin Luther?
4. Again, the internet……
   • We see all the elements of the institutional church that was “borrowed” wholesale from other religions…..be real y’all!!!  You don’t have to pretend this is all “God ordained…..” because when you preach that stuff right next to “thou shalt not lie….”   ya lost us……
5. Why would anyone ever go to an organization, seeking spiritual honesty and vulnerability, when that organization has written and shared more “crap” about that group of people?
   • You see, we are starting our groups of spirituality.  There are small groups, book groups, home groups, etc.

The thing is, we are thriving spiritually, just not in the way that makes sense to you!

 

Pain

To thrive

while one so loved, so vibrant

struggles for life.

I have known pain

I  have known disease

I have known heartbreak

I have known trauma

At the end of my cloud,

was a rainbow,

a pot of gold.

I have now both seen pain.

I have now seen trauma, heartbreak, and disease.

To see is worse than to feel.

To see is helpless.

To thrive

while one so loved, so vibrant

struggles for life…..

#lemonade

Life is wonderfully challenging. 

Real Housewives of West Virginia (RHoWV)

“life’s a bitch, but you don’t have to be!”

Dear Andy Cohen, 

 I have carefully been considering what my tagline would be if you ever wanted to do a REAL Real Housewives show. (Like really real!)

Like really real when a 60 foot gyser erupts in your front yard, your refrigerator and hot water tank die in the same week.

Like really real when you put your creditors name in the phone so you can say “hey Bob! Sorry, it is really tight this month…you are gonna have to keep calling.” Sorry man.

Like really real when you have to decide between taking a day off because you can’t get out of bed or forgoing a day’s pay. 

Like really real when you realize you left your coffee cup on the roof of your car and it made it all the way down the road, only to fall through your sun roof (cough rust roof cough cough) and douse you in sticky Carmel / hazelnut sweat to coat your day and your spirits.

Life is seriously the biggest bitch I have ever met, so be kind. Help a sister out. Let’s do a Dave Chapelle version of the Real Housewives and get really real!  

“life’s a bitch, but you don’t have to be!”

Honesty

Today I am teaching Family Studies and students were asked to write an essay on a time  they experienced the consequences of honesty….I was reminded of that time …. we all have that time….

We all know that person that is just “too honest” but I am not talking about the “that dress makes you look fat” kind of honesty. I am talking about the kind that is good intentioned and somehow, unintentionally, bites you in the arse.

It was 8th grade and three months in, I was still known as “virgin ears.”  After spending the last eight years home-schooled, sheltered, and naive I had become the “goody-two-shoes” of the private christian school I had just begun attending.  I entered Mrs. Thompson’s history class and we had a sub.  As I entered I saw Leigh Blair go through the ceiling tile, jump across a desk, and elbow drop Jim Ashely.  I had to get help!

Running to the office, asking for a teacher, I felt so proud of my honesty and desire to do the right thing.  That night, as I recounted the event to my mom, the horror on her face was lost on me.  Weeks later, as I was getting relentlessly teased, the effects of my honesty was still lost on me.  Today, as I witness “that kid,” I cringe, finally aware of honesty’s effects.

Better late than never.

When desperate times call for desperate measures….

I must do the dishes today….

Ten ways to say I care: An open letter to those who love someone with an invisible illness.

We all know that hypochondriac. That is not who this letter is about.   It is not easy to watch a loved one suffer, even more difficult when you just don’t understand. To often our fear and lack of understanding can build. As a woman, fortunate enough to have lived on both of sides of this, I feel I have unique perspective and advice to offer.

1. Only ask how a person is, when you truly feel like hearing how they are doing. It is exhausting to truly listen and understand about someone’s life with chronic illness. We can only begin to imagine how exhausting it is to actually live it. When you are not up to it, It is ok NOT to ask how someone is doing! Truly understanding what a life, prognosis, treatment, etc is like will often leave the listener feeling sad, confused, and wholly having no clue what to say. It is ok if you aren’t emotionally up to talking about it. Quite often the person living it is not up to talking about it either. But when you can, when you have the heart, time, and stomach to ask and listen, that asking and true listening will mean more than words can express. 

2. Instead of telling them how good they look, tell them how glad you are to see them. Invisible illness is just that. Invisible. You rarely see the scars physical, mental, or emotional. This makes it difficult for people living with these diseases. They are daily fighting for their futures, their lives and some manner of normalcy. If a person with an invisible illness is out and with you, then something else in their life has been placed in the back burner. You are a priority to them. The fact that they are with you in that moment is huge. Dinner wasn’t cooked, laundry wasn’t done, and they may pay for it for days. A simple “thank you for being here” means that you appreciate how much their effort took and what it says about their love for you! 

3. These are proud people. They don’t want you to see their scars. The saddest part of invisible illness is it seems to strike those who are passionate in their lives and careers. They are marathon runners, doctors, nurses, therapists, business developers, mountain climbers, and more. If you are seeing them, it is because they really want you to. It is a GOOD day. Which is horrifyingly strange phenomenon when a good day used to constitute kicking butt and taking names like no ones business. Everyday is like learning to live again, as the rectify the life they now have to the dreams for the one they used to live. 

4. Answers aren’t easy and cures rarely exist. Like many diseases, invisible illness ones can be convoluted, political, and are ALWAYS desperately under-researched. Without proper understanding, funding, research, and medical information a cure will never be possible. Instead of suggesting treatments, telling anecdotal stories, etc, read the research available about the illness your loved one is facing. 

5. These illnesses can be fatal. While not everyone who experiences invisible illness will die, some do. We have all know that one person who dropped dead one day looking so healthy and vibrant the day before. Silent, invisible killers like Heart, Chrone’s or Lyme disease, endometriosis, depression, PTSD and others are real and demand our attention before they take more loved ones.

Living with invisible illness leaves the sufferer as well as their support system depleted, confused, scared, and on edge. We are often left wondering what can we do? 

1. Ask how someone is, but only when you can listen. 
2. Offering someone with invisible illness a meal is like the biggest hug in the world and winning the lottery. It gives you time, energy, healing nutrients, and the feeling that someone gets it! Healthy food makes all the difference. Not only is this a great way to support them but also their caregivers. 
3. Understand when they can’t follow through on plans. Invisible illness may follow a pattern but is rarely predictable.
4. Check on their care givers! Remind them they are human to. They spend their lives steeped in medical terminology, crushing diagnosis’s, and emotional upheaval. They need a break! They need to know someone is caring for their loved one so that they CAN take a break. 
5. Be private with the information they share with you. Do NOT share their medical issues. They are not yours to share. Most of those who suffer from this disease are proud, and while they are desperate for someone to understand what they are facing, they do not need the world to know their embarrassing, exhausting medical issues. Show your support through sending positivity and prayers, listening, providing a meal, or a laugh.
6. If you work in a place that allows sick leave donation, and you are able to do this, this not only provides a paycheck, access to insurance, and peace of mind. I was so blessed to have weeks!!! WEEKS 😍donated to me by my fellow teachers. This was the difference between paying bills and not paying bills. Treatments for these illnesses are very expensive and rarely are covered appropriately by insurance. 
7. Take an activity to them, if they are up to it!  Tea time conversations or a movie can be great ways to provide distraction. Just remember not to overstay your welcome.  Visiting takes healing energy as well as giving it. 

Why are most body fluids sticky?

Snot, poop, blood, cum…how did pee luck out? Way to go urine…you are so much easier to clean.

Food poisoning + sick baby + 2 sleepless days = Slap happy observations with Rachel! 😂😂😂

Middle School Compliments

Who knew middle schoolers could boost your confidence.

I really don’t have this working mom thing down at all….but apparently I am sexier than I remember.

Thank god for the little things.

I may have burnt every thing I have tried to cook for the last two weeks, my daughter and I may have a nasty cough that provided us a day home today, but dang it…I am bringing sexy back!!!