Jesus Take the Wheel!

The reading today is Matthew Chapter 5:3-12  a.k.a. The Beatitudes
 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you

and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward will be great in heaven.

Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 

Did you read the above? Or did you skip over it all?  Just wondering...

 
When I hear this verse I often picture a poor little old lady who is meek. She wears torn and dirty clothes (poor), and she is a widow in morning.  She is nice to all people (merciful) and led a good life (clean of heart). 

Do you picture this type of person when you hear the beatitudes or is it just me?
 
Today as I heard this reading in the car ride into work I thought to myself "Why do I think this little old lady is the only person getting into heaven?" I want to get into heaven....why can't I picture myself with these virtues?  
Then I had my Jesus Take the Wheel! moment:  "Holy Spirit, enter my mind and soul, guide my thoughts and open my eyes to the scripture.  I am not a poor widow, but show me how I can be meek, poor in spirit, mournful and merciful."
 
Sounds kinda miserable right?  Why would we want those 'negative' thoughts and feelings.  Well, I think it is in those experiences that we search for God, when we call on God, when we come closer to God. 
 
Where am I poor in spirit?  Do I have poor spirit when I look at society, child education, natural resources, governments, unmotivated parishes? What can I do about it?
Who or what do I mourn? The lonely, the dying, the imprisoned, the lost, the confused?  What can I do about it?
How can I be meek? In my role as a daughter? A sister? A wife? An employee? A parishioner? A volunteer?  What can I do about it?
Who's righteousness do I hunger and thirst for? My own? or others?  What can I do about it?
Am I merciful? Or am I quick to judge and point the finger?  What can I do about it?
Do I have a clean heart? Have I been to confession lately?  Am I making amends with my past mistakes and changing my ways? Or am I confessing the same thing over and over again?  What can I do about it?
Am I a peacemaker? Or am I a shaker? Do I walk into a situation hoping to bring peace, but instead do I disrupt the natural order of things?  What can I do about it?
Have I been persecuted? Or am I in a 'bubble', unexposed to the trials and tribulations of a true martyr?   What can I do about it?
 
With the question ending each of those What can I do about it? the first response is PRAY. As much as I want to change this and fix that...if it's not in God's plan it's not going to happen. 
 

• "Until you are convinced that Prayer is the best use of your time, you will not find time for Prayer" - Father Hilary Ottesmayer O.S.B.
• "Faith without works is dead"  - James 2:20
• YOU are the answer to someone else's prayer.  Do not be afraid to do God's will.  If your prayers are to be answered, someone else must find the courage to do God's will. 

 
 
Read Pope Francis' Homily today (and everyday!):
Eight Sessions from Ascension Press about the Beatitudes the series was in April...but you can still watch Thomas Smith talk you through a spiritual journey with the beatitudes.  SPOILER: He explains that the 8 beatitudes ARE the life of Jesus.  Jesus was meek, merciful and persecuted.  He says FOLLOW ME not in a single-file line...but in his way of life.  BE the Beatitudes like Jesus is.....
 
 
 

Engagement Story

I can finally share with you our engagement story.  I wrote it the day after the enagement, but we lost the camera with the engagement photos.  And we all know no blog is complete without photos....so we found the camera, got the photos on the computer and I am sharing them with you now!

The Story:
    For Lent the Man and I have been praying the rosary once a day.  It's AMAZING.  It's better than yoga!  I sleep so well and I have NO worries...so with each decade of the rosary you offer a special intention (a decade is 10 Hail Marys - the 10 beads you see together on a rosary).  The Man and I often pray for those close to us, family, friends, marriages, single people, babies, pregnancies, work, weather, health, etc.  Everything you worry about during the day you can offer as a special intention.  We can kinda tell how our day went based off our special intentions.  So one day the Man prays for marriages and people getting married and engaged.  I'm sure he was praying from the heart and didn't realize his over thinking girlfriend was reading into his prayer.  Gosh, I'm awful!  But we keep praying, finish our rosary and talk about what our plans are for the weekend since he's coming to town.
    He wants to have a date night so we can get dressed up and eat sushi.  I tell him we have an engagement party to go to and my sister's birthday is that Friday so we might be celebrating that with her.  Not too sure if date night will work - more like Sunday date afternoon?  I'm usually the one making plans and he's always along for the ride and I love that.  But he's insisting we go out on a real date.  We're always doing a family thing or a friend thing and if we every spend time alone it's eating pizza in our sweats with a movie.  I agreed-we were due for a date night.
    He comes in LATE Thursday night.  So we wake up Friday, go out to breakfast (I have the morning off) and then I go into work at noon.  I'm gabbing to my receptionist that I think he's going to propose because he was dropping all these hints.  Turns out I left my phone at home so I need to have him bring it to me.  I call and catch him off guard.  I ask him what he's doing and he says he's at the store.  So I'm thinking...Oh really? The diamond store?  The florist?  Are you buying rose petals to lay all over the floor?  Are you buying champagne and doves and a harp player and, and, and!!!  Yes, I'm that girl.
    So 'that girl' comes home from work to an apartment that looks just like it did when I left.  I am so disappointed.  I'm thinking ok, maybe I read into this date night thing too much.  I always hear girls saying that before their husband proposed they were acting really weird and really nervous and the Man was just being his normal self.  So I start getting ready for our date night. 

He was taking pictures of me getting ready.  He's never done that before.
This was kinda weird so maybe I should have caught on

I am starting to hate getting dressed up just because our relationship is so relaxed it's almost awkward to be all fancy in front of him, it's just not us.  But I get dressed up and when he sees me his eyes light up and the look on his face is priceless, so I guess dressing up is totally worth it. 
     For Valentines Day we stood in front of my fireplace, put the timer on the camera and took pictures together.  It was a cute idea and I'm so happy we did it for our first Valentines Day.  We weren't dressed up on Valentines Day, so he wanted to take pictures this time since we were dressed up. 

     So after the pictures the man is like "Oh, I have a present for you" so of course I'm thinking Yay!  Engagement!!  Then he hands me a Victoria Secret bag and my excitement goes from a 10 to a -3.  Seriously Victoria Secret?  boo. This is a present for him, not me!  So I open the bag and it's a pair of jeans I had left in New Mexico with his brother over THANKSGIVING, that I finally got back!  I freakin love these jeans so I'm super happy and now ready for dinner.  If it's not going to happen it's not going to happen, but yay for him remembering I really wanted these jeans back asap. 

   Then he says "No, I got you a real present" and he hands me this crystal swan with a red rose and a red ribbon.  It's incredibly romantic (just like him) and it's very nice. 

 So I say "aww, this is sweet thank you babe" and then I look closer and I see IT.  There IT IS.  Everything goes quiet and I loose all peripheral vision.  I'm focused on one thing and one thing only.  My beautiful and perfect oval diamond ring!!!  When I look up he's on his knee asking for my hand in marriage.  I'm so happy!!!!  I tell him to take that ring off the ribbon and put it on my finger!  I didn't cry, probably because I was so caught off guard (and hungry) but it was the perfect engagement.  He totally knows my personality and knew that I was expecting something so tricking me was very clever of him. 

See how hidden it is??

It's really hard to take a picture of a diamond.  flash vs. no flash

   We're both beaming from ear to ear and I'm looking for my phone so I can text and call everyone.  I want to tell my parents in person so I tell them the next day, but my friends were super happy, much happier than I thought they would be.  I was expecting "about time!" or "duh! we totally knew" but I got calls, texts, tears, screaming, and one even got drunk off excitement? (or loneliness) and called me 10 times since I couldn't answer at dinner.

He's trying to get an 'after' shot, but I'm on the phone!! 

Thanks for reading this story!!  I hope you enjoyed it!  I sure did!!

Now back to wedding planning!!

Laughter is the best

This guy is hilarious.  Last night we had a huge giggle fest.  Let's just say I was taking myself WAY to seriously and he was being a gentleman by keeping his mouth shut.  Then, he bursts out laughing explaining to me that how silly I looked being so serious.  Instead of getting upset I burst out laughing too! Thinking, why be serious when you can be fun!

This story may be a "had to be there moment" but I'll share with you:

I HATE bugs.  This weekend we were at a party that used old potato bags as the table cloths.  Well there were flies ALL OVER the tables because they still smelled like dirt or potatoes, I have no clue.  It was so gross for someone who hates bugs like me.  Well last night there was a fly in the house.  I was trying to ignore it, but I couldn't take it anymore.  So while JM is sitting at the dining room table I yell "FLY! DON'T MOVE!" I grab a hand towel and slowly creep over to the fly.  I start slowly moving my arms, winding up for the big hit.  JM says I was licking my lips looking like a crazy lady.  I ended up killing the fly and being so proud of myself.  Then I look at him and he's cracking up!  He starting mimicking what I was doing and he looked hilarious!  I had to laugh.  I wish I could find a youtube video as an example.  Just visualize one of those old black and white movies with the batter winding up and taking himself way too seriously and when the ball comes he misses and everyone laughs.  That's what happened.  I looked ridiculous and he couldn't help but laugh....and I couldn't help but join in!

He saw the funny in the moment and I'm laughing just remembering that moment!

I'm so blessed to have this goof ball by my side for the rest of our lives. 

What have you laughed about recently?

Living life to the fullest and laughing along the way!

-Rachel

I surrender!!!



I've given up!  Ok, maybe I haven't given up but I am surrendering.  I surrender all wedding planning to my wedding coordinator.  It's hard enough trying to please everyone, but it's even harder trying to please them while I'm 300 miles away.  My amazing fiance keeps reminding me that it doesn't matter what everyone else wants, all that matters is what I want.  But I'm not that person. 
Believe it or not, I'm a giver.  I don't think I've always been a giver, but more recently I've put others before myself.  I'm trying to live a 'saint-like' life so I guess that's why.  But at the end of the day it's like "DID YOU NOT SEE WHAT I JUST DID FOR YOU!  HELLO!! A LITTLE CREDIT HERE"  But I'm not getting that credit and it's not important that I do.  It's more important to be an example of service and faith.  My boss suggested I read this book, Jesus of Nazareth, so hopefully that will provide some insight for me.  How did Jesus handle always being the good guy?  I know he threw that fit in the temple, but on an everyday basis, how did he suck it up and keep on keeping on?




St. Isabella of Portugal
Patron Saint of Brides
Pray for me!

My fiance is also a giver and sometimes we clash.  For example: He had a 5 gallon jug of gasoline and offered to put it in my car (free gas!) and I said "no, no, put it in your truck".  And he was hurt that I didn't take his offering.  But I thought I was sacrificing and putting him first.  It was funny when we talked about it at the end of the day, he told me "if someone offers you something you take it".  He has told me that before so I guess I'm not getting the message.

Got off track there, sorry.  So I'm hiring a wedding coordinator!  That way everyone can get mad at her if they don't get their way. 

As I interviewed her I asked a few questions:

a) What about your job do you love? 
     her answer: "the details, I love each and every detail coming together to create your wedding.  I love your happiness at the end of the day"

GREAT answer.  I'm a detail person and it's the details of this wedding that are driving me crazy.

b) What is the one thing you notice brides always forget or overlook? because I feel like I'm forgetting something
     her answer: "When a bride hires me we are always on track and nothing falls between the cracks, but the one thing they don't do is take my advice.  They hire me as a professional and don't listen to my professional advice so that's one flaw some brides have." 

I thought that was a good honest answer.  I could see myself telling her I know best and then my decision ruining the wedding.  And what's the point of paying her 20% of our wedding budget if I can't let her do her job.  Then I'll look like a fool TWICE! 

I really do like this chick, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to hire her.  Her fee is 20% of the wedding budget, but at this point I'm ok with that because this planning process is not fun for me right now.  Knowing she's in charge will help keep things fun and relaxed!



St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Patron Saint of Young Brides
Pray for me

 Living Life to the Fullest with a support team of dedicated women!

-Rachel

Dog-gon week

What a freakin week! This week has gone to the dogs.
First the dog days of summer are definitely here with temperatures in the high 90's.  Then the neighbors pitbull escapes! The rumor has it he was going for my 2 year old nephew but the boy's chihuahua got in the way and it was attacked by the pitbull, instead of the boy.

The farmer got a stomach virus with a headache and he was throwing up for 3 days straight. He was sick as a dog.
And finally my puppies got their summer haircut. I love that they love me unconditionally because that haircut is embarrassing! I can't even post pictures, it's sad.

But we are going to Dallas this weekend for Memorial day/dance recital/graduation parties and no hair cut or sickness us going to stop us!

Fresh Eggs

Gone are the days of looking for the perfect looking eggs in the supermarket. Instead we open our egg carton to find an assortment of eggs from the neighbors chickens.
Farm living at it's finest.
I'm not brave enough to try them yet but the farmer is gobbling them up!

What's your color personality?

I recently took this color personality quiz which was pretty fun.  I was expecting the simple green, blue, black, white colors....but I came out with the color personality of: CORAL

 *elegant*

*down to earth*

*sweetly feminine*

It finally clicked.  I'm elegant yet down to earth and sometimes I'm even sweetly feminine.  So coral is most definitely my color personality.  I love natural blues, greens, whites, etc and a pop of coral would look beautiful in every room in my apartment.  I'm so excited with this!  I've never LOVED orange or LOVED pink, but I'm always drawn to them...and coral is the best of both worlds!

Some Inspiration in shades of Coral:

via
Love the blue walls, carpet, art work and oh ya, there's coral

via
Love that the coral is on the wall and everything else is neutral.
But because of the walls this room has a bright character!

Love EVERYTHING about this collage - patterns, blue, white, coral, texture, gold!

Love the symmetry. Love the blue and white with pop of coral

all three above via
Love the blue and white again, but also the texture in the pieces from nature
Oh, and there's a pop or coral!  It totally makes a room for me!

Don't get me wrong, sometimes coral triggers the thought of an old lady's 1970's condo or a retirement home in Miami.  But I find relaxation in both of those examples. 

An old lady with nothing to do all day...yes I'd love to be her.

In Miami living off my retirement?  Can't wait for that day either! 

And yes, I'm sureyou thought of coral and thought of the photo below (which I LOVE)

No matter how you look at it, I'm smitten by coral.

via

Living an "elegant, down to earth" Life to the Fullest with hints of coral!

-Rachel

UPDATE: 30 before 30

6mths after my first 30 before 30 post....let's see how I've done:

1. Pay off all loans except Sallie Mae (the big one)
2. Marry man of my dreams
3. Become a director in USANA
4. Travel to Europe
5. Vacation with best friends!
6. Run a half marathon (yikes!) but after reading this: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/26/27-marathons/?cp=23 I'm not going to do it publicly.... That will probably help it happen!
7. Grow an herb garden
8. Complete wedding planner certification
9. Make a dress from scratch
10. Lose 35 lbs (if I can do #6 i can probably do this)
11. Begin a blogging habit
12. Have multiple streams of income
13. Get a mammogram (mom got breast cancer at 40) Had this done on March 15th and she found 2 benign 'potatoes' so I'll need a mammogram at age 30 for sure.
14. Get dogs UTD on shots
15. Get a big dog!! (bullmastiff!)
16. umm finish this list (30 things is alot! with only 4 years to do it! ay!)
17. Become a CMP
18. Make multiple pins from pinterest https://pinterest.com/rachelkellar/completed-pins/ 
19. Remember friends' birthdays and send card in mail!
20. Throw really great party for each friend (birthday, baby shower, bridal shower, whatev the reason) <-- I tried this this year, but it didn't work out as well as I would hope.  It's an ongoing goal21. Help mom on her dental practice website: http://www.drpaticiakellardds.com/ SEO, Google Analytics
22. Travel to NYC with sisters
23. Restrict eating habit - mainly vegetables, pasta, rice and fish. Honey=sweets
24. Get my fashion sense back - ay! suits suck
25. Be grateful that I have time and effort to volunteer (I'm giving, not receiving acts of service)
26. Help someone who is unemployed find a job
27. Make spiked eggnog
28. Eat crock pot meals 2 weeks each month (save time and money)
29. Get business name registered
30. Be determined

I'd say I've done 4.5 of the 30 things. 
With 4 years until age 30 I'll need to do 7.5 a year.
I'm more than halfway there!!!

How's your life goal list going?

Living Life to the Fullest and completing goals along the way!

-Rachel

Be Happy

There is WAY too much going on in my life right now.  It's ALL great, but it's ALOT.

Wrapping up Easter and one of my best friend's birthdays I wanted to share something with you all that has worked WONDERS for me and my outlook on life lately.

I hope the following is helpful to you...if it's not, take a deep breath, open your mind and your heart (mainly your heart) and read it again.  It's a note from our creator:


I have made this day for you. Be careful not to complain about anything in it ~ not your English test, not your frizzy hair, not even the weather ~ because I am the Creator of this day. Instead, decide to be happy today. Open your eyes, and choose to look for all the blessings I have hidden in this day.
Then live today ~ just today. Don’t think about mistakes you’ve made in the past. Don’t worry about what will happen tomorrow. You will  only end up wasting today. I want you to enjoy abundant Life in My Presence ~ today!

This amazing note is from a children's book: Jesus Calling which I found on Traci's blog: http://www.beneathmyheart.net/

So please enjoy today!  Live today! & Be Happy Today!




Living Life to the Fullest and deciding to be happy today.
-Rachel

You can't be fearful

This week has been weird!  Mainly Tuesday and Wednesday, I've been in a funk.

I think it's because I had a job interview on Monday and it wasn't as great as I thought it would be.  It went well, but he needs to fill another position before he can even think about hiring for the position I interviewed for.  So that kinda shot me down and I've been down ever since.

I'm also SO ready to start wedding planning but I can't do anything until I pick a wedding date.  I can't do that until we meet with the priest which can't happen until after Easter, so we're at a stand still.

I've also started packing up my apartment. It's really sad to come home to bare walls and boxes.   But I know it's better to get started sooner rather than later.

Today I took my vitamins (haven't done that in 5 days) and saw this quote:

source

So True.

I can't be scared I didn't get the job and grateful I was even considered for an interview.

I can't be fearful our wedding date will be unavailable and grateful I have an amazing man to marry!

I can't be scared to leave my apartment and thankful I have a safe home waiting for me on the other side. 

It's one or the other.  If I'm scared, I'm not thankful.  How can you be thankful for something you are scared of?  I know you can- I'm doing it right now, but I shouldn't.  That's the point.

It's all about perspective. 

Another night of solid sleep and I should be good to go!  Just in time for the weekend.

Living Life the the fullest with gratitude not fear.

The Red Roof House

Since I posted about my Blue Roof House yesterday, I wanted to share with you another piece of real estate in the West Texas area I'm in love with.  This is my Red Roof House.  Technically it's not MINE, but it's my dream home.  It's been for sale for quite a while and I've been praying for a miracle, but God has other plans! 

I just saw online that it's *contract pending* and The Man has assured me he's not the one in contract.  So sad... 

All the information below is from the realtor's website: http://www.scottlandcompany.com/properties/rwdhideaway/index.shtml All Rights Reserved, etc.
So if you want to be a really great friend, feel free to put in a bid on it!  I'll let you stay in the master bedroom every time you visit!!

Stats:

316 acres more or less
House Built in 2006 (most homes in this area are MUCH older than this)

3,346 sq.ft. main area -  400 sq.ft. basement - 926 sq.ft. garage
Brick/Austin Stone exterior

I do wish it had SOME landscaping

The great room has a vaulted ceiling with cedar beams/panels and a double-sided fireplace which also opens to the study/formal living room.

The great room is also open to the kitchen which has granite counter-tops, natural wood cabinets with rustic appeal hardware and lighting, the island/bar with a granite top and a great pantry.

The high-end, stainless, appliances include a double oven, modern gas cook-top, dishwasher and built-in refrigerator.

There is also a formal dining room as well as a breakfast nook.

 The master suite has large windows with a great view.

The master bath has a separate shower and tub, granite counter-tops and a large walk-in closet.

The additional two bedrooms are also suites with great closet space.

There is a finished basement, separate utility room with a sink, lots of storage and an attached three car garage.

Basements are SUPER cool to this city girl!

Doors from the master suite and great room lead to the back patio which also includes an outdoor fireplace.

The home features gorgeous wood, brick tiled and carpet flooring, modern light fixtures, ceiling fans in most rooms, two geo-thermal heating/cooling systems, a new domestic well and septic system.

Utility/Laundry Room, so many Pinteresting ideas in my head for this space!

GREAT Foyer...Love love love!

Realtor says "It is very hard to find a property that has the aesthetic appeal of this one west of I-27."

SO true!

The home is situated so that most of the year there is no direct sun coming into the windows. Every room with a view of the striking landscape. The remainder of the property is expired CRP and native grass along the draw.

a Quonset barn with lean-to, cattle working pens and hydraulic chute.

I would totally turn this into a party barn

This property is surrounded by sprinkler irrigated farmland and has Base acres in Corn, Cotton and Wheat.

That's West Texas for ya

I would consider this a 'hill' in West Texas

The home with 21 acres may be purchased apart from the remainder of the property or the property may be purchased in whole.  $500,000 for 21 acres or $750,000 for all 316 acres.

I am in LOVE with this house....I hope I meet the new residents and become their best friends.  This is easily one of the best properties in this part of the state.

http://www.scottlandcompany.com/properties/rwdhideaway/index.shtml

<>This house is not mine to make memories in, YET.  But I'll keep praying!<>

source

Living Life to the fullest, with faith in God's timing.

Sharing is Caring

Have you heard about Kony 2012? 

My 15 year old sister sent me a Facebook request about Kony today.  And then my friends at Dateless Until I Do wrote a blog post about it as well.  They included a 29 minute video that I started to watch, but the tears were flowing so be warned!

The author of this video begins by pointing out that due to the internet, social media and facebook we can share everything today.  And when you look at Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ you realize people are very willing to share.  It's almost addicting.  But then, when it comes to war, murder, injustice and the loss of human rights - who is willing to share their view on that?  Especially when it isn't our war and our personal human rights....

I've realized if I want my blog to be a platform of my life and what I find important than I must be true to myself and share this with you.   I'd share it with my family, the Man and my friends so I'm sharing it with you.  Watch this video

I also want to share with you an amazing book I recently read. 

It was given to me by the Man's sister.  His sister is an incredibly loving stay at home mom who volunteers her time with the Church.  I was shocked this small town mom would find a book about a person and event halfway around the world!  This book ,"Left to Tell", is about the 1994 Rwanda genocide.  Not exactly the bedtime reading that I am familiar with.  But don't worry this book will not give you nightmares.  Instead the author, Immaculee, passes along her courage, faith and passion for Living Life to the Fullest!  If you need a copy of this book feel free to borrow mine!  But purchasing this book online ensures the funds go towards the recovery of the people of Rwanda. 

In the mean time, learn about Kony 2012!  Hopefully someone has already shared this with you and you can share it with someone!

I've finally silenced my mind and listened to my heart....

wish me luck!!

Living Life to the Fullest by silencing my mind....try it!

-Rachel