Author: Rachel Willis

Faith Can Move Mountains

~ Rachel Willis ~ Leave a comment
Soft Image of me Wearing a Sirite Tee

Wearing a statement piece is always fun, but when the statement is about how big your faith is, that carries an all new perspective. This shirt by Sirite carries on it a pretty big statement. It says, “Faith can move mountains,” on the front and on the back is the Bible Verse, “Mathew 17:20.” I purchased the tee in the color of Heather Mauve, and not sad that I did, because it is a perfect compliment for my skin tone. The tee is made of 100% cotton, soft cotton to be exact, and that couldn’t be a truer statement, than true to fit.

When I saw the design and read the verse on the shirt, I knew I had to have it. Over the last several years, I have had many, personal, mountains “to move,” let me tell you. The last six or seven years have not been easy. If you do not know my story, I learned of my pregnancy halfway through my senior year of college, in 2014, that spurred a fast forward to marrying my fiancé in under three weeks of traveling seven hours south, during Spring Break, to tell my parents the news and our three week plan.

So, starting off from that life point, I had moved the first mountain of many that life was about to present to me. God has done quite a bit to test my faith, over the years, while providing me with comforts and three precious companion animals, sibling cats, one of which, Jonesy an exact replica of her mom (who I lost the day after Christmas in 2015), I lost to a coyote hunting party right before placing my order for this shirt. Losing her shut me down for almost a month, or so, and through all of that, God was working to help provide for me two new animals who have helped fill the void, so much and help me to get back on track.

No matter how helpless the situation my seem, if you hold your faith in God, you will get through it, because God is a god of love and compassion; He will weather the storm with you, you just have to keep your fait in Him.

You can find my shirt at siritewear.com/collections/womens/products/move-mountains-tee

Follow the Illuiuminated Path

~ Rachel Willis ~ Leave a comment
“9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3: 9-10

Hi guys, it’s been awhile. Let me catch you up. After a two year divorce, I am back with my ex husband, and have been for over a year. We live together in a white, two story homestead, with my three cats (now two cats, sadly), our dog, about a dozen chickens, and two boys (we tried our hand at goats, but after they contracted some disease, we decided that we weren’t goat people).

The past year and a half has not been without its difficulties. My man and I thought we had worked everything out before the big move, but as it turned out, one last item still triggered much anger, from the both of us. the worst part of night was that it was my twenty-eighth birthday, and things turned ugly. Things also turned sour on the fourth of July, just a few weeks later. Many people might say that I’m foolish for staying, but prayer has been an essential part of my journey, the other part is trust. I go the the Lord in times of toil, I mean really go to Him.

What I do is go to websites where people take prayer requests and send them mine; the other thing I do is go to YouTube and turn on a man who prays for people, their homes, their relationships, their families, and every night, for, at least, a week, I turn him on. The results have been astonishing!

First, we have a few bad days, as the evil spirits are getting kicked out. Next, miraculous things begin to happen. One in particular comes to mind. Remember that item I mentioned earlier? That item was recovered, the very same week I had the YouTube prayer on at night. If that isn’t God working, then I don’t know what is!

Everything has been calming down, since over a year ago. For the first time, in a long time, I feel less anxious about my life, and more like the rails are going back on the track. Something the Lord has been working on with me is humbling myself to, basically, start from scratch. In other words, the way He was leading me before, in my professional pursuits, is how He wants me to begin again.

Last year I was hasty with starting an online gluten free grocery business, but the cost outweighed the return, and I decided to shut it down. The next thing I tried, was launching a new magazine, but as I was fired up, had a team, and was making a trip to California (for a story), COVID-19 hit, and then not only did my enthusiasm take a hit, but lifestyle, and habits. Even though I completed the kickstarter, the kickstarter video, and promoted my campaign professionally, it still didn’t make it. Looking back in retrospect, many business moves were done in haste and with very little prayer involved. My man was laid off, at home all the time, and threatening to sell the house. In an earnest attempt to convince him to stay, I opened up three businesses at once, one included the kickstarter, but because I didn’t follow God’s advice and went forward on my own, all three of them crashed and burned, just like the online gluten free grocery store that I tried out in 2019.

Lesson learned

God is in charge of your finances, period. If you aren’t following His plan for your life, and taking the steps he has laid out for you, then, as a declared Christian, expect to crash and burn, because God wants you to be a shining example of Him on earth. It is our jobs, as Christians, to shine God’s light from within us by following His ways.

Sometimes, all it takes, is a step back and beginning again, right from the start, with God’s guidance.

Wealth gained vastly will dwindle, but whoever caters little by little will increase it.”

Proverbs 13:11

Word for word of what I was doing wrong. God will always redirect your steps, in the way you should go.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for allowing me to fail, because I know you will pick me back up again. Thank you for helping me to see that I need to follow your guidance, with every part of my life. Please keep me humble, as to continue to remember to put you first, in all things. Please bless our families and loved ones.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Another Millennial lost in a Helpless Generation

~ Rachel Willis ~ 1 Comment

“Before I have formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

As you all are well aware, there was a new law passed in the state of New York that allows abortion up to the point of birth. Up to the point of birth. Are you kidding me? Now, we can actually see the human form, feel the human flesh, and hear the baby’s cries. This has turned into outright murder. Just because a human may not value the life of that child, that does not mean that God does not. Just because a human may think it best to just go ahead and kill that child, God brought that child life.

This morning I woke up with a vicious attitude and just wanted nothing to do with going to church, because I did not want to see anybody, be rude to them, and then proceed to hurt them in any way that would damage any friendship built up between us. But I went, and guess what, I heard about babies getting killed and my generation ever tightening the notion of ours being the absolute worst. We are not doing ourselves any favors by voting to kill innocent children, especially when there is another option that was put in place for women who want to carry their child to term, but not keep the child, and that is called adoption.

It is no wonder that I, personally, have been conflicted and confused about what actions to take in regards about what to do about living in a way that pleases the Lord, and in a way that I see is not perfect, but not so bad that it is considered evil either; something most twenty-something year-olds Christians have to make decisions about. There are situations that, us as women, tend to fall into and it is girl after girl who falls. Men come along, sweep up our heart, blindsiding us, we try out birth control, take the morning after pill, while completely unaware that our “man” is looking at porn and the only reason us girls feels so compelled to preform more and more in bed is because, for some reason, we feel like we are not enough. This goes on until someone ends the relationship, or the girl winds up pregnant. Decisions, decisions. Other times it is because of the evil act of rape that the girl winds up pregnant. Oh, decisions to make here too. It does not help that literature, music, and television practically glamorize the act of killing babies.

For every young woman who has used the morning after pill, this is for you. Our God is a God of forgiveness, but only if you decide that you are out of the business of killing babies. Maybe pray every time, because I understand that this is not any easy topic to think about or discuss. A person is a person at the time of conception. A person is a person when God has decided they are, even before the time of conception, even before you ever thought once about being a parent. You may have a sex that was not the one you hoped for, but every child that is placed in every parent’s life, was the exact child that God had intended to be in their life.

Also, there is hope for our men too. All we have to do is pray, be Godly, and let God take care of the rest. Don’t try to change your man, you can and will do more harm than good.

Millennials, please, let’s step it up. Go read your Bible and stop making things up about The Word that is untrue. Every person is special to God. Every person has a place in God’s plan. We are simply in his world, we can by no means “fit” him into ours. He is too big and marvelous for that. Let’s start repenting and looking to God for His guidance.

Dear Lord,

I thank you for this surge of disscontempt. I thank you for turning it around and making it into something useful and good. I pray for my generation of millennials, understanding that I am no where near perfect, that we, as a collective, can stop feeding our flesh and caring more about the heart and taking care of our souls. Remind us all that we are no better than anyone else, and that our weight is equal. That we have all sinned, whether a lot or just a little bit. Help us all to reach out and care for each other, reaching out with a hand of understanding, instead of a hand of judgement. For if we feel judged in our own heart, that we always remember who loves us, most, just the way we are made.

In Jesus name,

Amen

 

Soaking Up the Good

~ Rachel Willis ~ Leave a comment

Philippians 1-6

Soaking Up the Good

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:2

This past year has been one for change. Every day I have been growing and learning. God has a way of stretching you out. He has a way of wringing you dry and squeezing you out until all of the drops have stopped dripping off. This year was all about change, growth, and healing. Going from a married woman, to a single mom, not yet having completed my degree, not yet having achieved the goals I had set out to achieve, years ago, and when I finally realized, that time does not stand still, I understood where I stood, but did not want to admit just how much I had to bow my head and humble myself. In areas that I needed help, I had to stand there and accept it, my pride wasn’t helping anyone, especially my kids, and not me either.

Do your Best for your Kids.

A humbled attitude is what God needed for me obtain, so that I could ready myself to move forward and work harder, without worrying about certain things. God took my worries and provided me a way to focus on healing, my goals, and achieving dreams that will only set me up for success. He allowed me to be in a place, that not only was full of grace and love, but challenged me to grow, in new ways, and to learn new things. Over the past year I have been able to be razor focused, and just figure out how I want to approach life, and how to combine things, that I am already good at, with other things that I will be good at. God wants us to be constantly growing, seeking, and learning. We are such multifaceted beings, that if we do not take the time to explore all the different avenues of the gifts he freely gave to us, then he will direct us, by pointing our thoughts and desires that build up into our prayers. Then, our prayers will manifest, all of the things that we need to be learning, practicing, and incorporating into whatever area of life he has revealed for us to work on. This could be something that spreads into other areas of our life and bring out the good in it.

“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22 -23

A Wonderful Homeschooling Life begins here.

            One area that God loves to work on is in our relationships. Relationships are so important, but they need a good foundation to survive. When God sees that we are lacking in an area, particularly one in the realm of the fruits of the spirit, he will take us aside and begin his work in us. Kindness, is one that is popping into my mind. I was so upset with the way my life turned and the timing of that turn. I was less than a year out of graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I was signing up for international studies to study in Spain, and I had just informed my fiancé that I was pregnant. Since we were already engaged, we decided to go ahead and get married, and then move into his house, hours away from campus. In that agreement I was to continue to work toward my degree. Well, that only worked until the baby came, and then we ran into problems in our home, that kept me from moving forward with my next class. I became angry and mean to people I disagreed with or that I just could not jive with. I felt like I gave everything up, and I was not getting anything out of it. So, releasing my anger and showing other’s kindness by allowing myself to feel, is something that God has been squeezing out of me, more and more every day. This blog was started in response to all I was feeling, and just typing out my faith and sharing it to the world, has been a life changer, so much that my depression went away. God knows what he is doing, just let him squeeze out all the bad, so that you have room to soak up the good.

 

A Prayer for Our Students

~ Rachel Willis ~ Leave a comment

A Prayer for our Students for Instagram

Dear Lord,

Bless your Name on high.

I thank you for the students of every school in out nation.

I thank you for their parents and for their teachers.

I thank you for their education and the discipline they endure to go to school and learn everyday. I thank you for their respect towards others and those in charge. I thank you for your opportunity to pray over out student, parents, and teachers.

Lord, if there is any area that the child, parents, and teachers lack, please fill this void. I pray that you are once again able to take your rightful place in the classroom. Walls get broken down. That they see you as God, and they see themselves as human. Rock these children to their very core, and see them through. May they see you in all who call themselves Christian, and be able to spot the fake, and follow in the path of the authentic. Change their values, to line up with yours. Fill their minds with thoughts from you. Take the vail from their eyes and reveal to them who the true enemy is.

May they realize this is a matter of the heart. It is not a matter of the weapon. I pray that theses children, parents, and teachers, align themselves up with you and that your compassion comes out, overflowing. Soften their hearts. Guide them in discipline. Teach them your ways, and may they heed it. Refresh their sole, dear Lord.

 

I pray these things,

In JESUS NAME.

 

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A Prayer for our Students for Pintrest
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Let God take the Lead

~ Rachel Willis ~ Leave a comment

Let God take the Lead

“LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23)

This has not been an easy season for me. I came into it broken, paranoid, and worried. People closest to me had a difficult time with many of the choices I chose and the way in which I conducted myself. When this season first started, I felt like God had been preparing me for all that has happened. Preparing me to take my kids and me out of the situation we were enduring. Now, with a world of forgiveness, and taking steps to mend the brokenness, forgetting what actually went on would be irresponsible. God has created his people to be smart, loving, kind, and most of all, forgiving. Forgiving was not the difficult part, but laying down boundaries, on all fronts, has been. Love is a solid word, and more than that, an action. When love goes deep, it is easy to believe that it will fix everything, but the heart is only one part of healing; logic and reasoning, residing in the soul, is the other, and that one is the one that is taking longer to heal.

When I arrived in this season, I hid. Most people had no idea where I was. Most people still may not. My personality was the most unstable that I had ever experienced, even more unstable than pregnancy hormones. Everything that I had known, for the last seven years, I believed I lost. I snapped at the smallest things, other people had to step in and take care a good amount of my duties, because I was in no state to handle them, and I am very grateful they did. A broken heart is a very ugly thing, but a betrayed soul, is worse. Everything was just so shaken up inside me, like Champaign ready to pop; I popped several times a day. During that time, I decided to join a women’s bible study at church. The study was about aligning myself with God, so that I could hear him speak, and I did hear him speak. It was around this time when the mending began. Real healing was beginning to take place, but outside voices, steered it off course. On and off course we went. Rocking and level went our moods. Strengthening and weakening went our trust, not only in our web, but in the web of others, those outside voices. 

Even I realize that everyone will keep their opinion of how I should be orchestrating my life and the little things I need to be doing, but while they are right, in their own regard, they are not me, and they will never live my life. Advice is great, until it is unwelcome. The vast amount of wisdom I have gathered, has given me the capability to be aware of what I am choosing and how I am choosing to go about getting it. God has not let me go down this path without him, and I will trust God, because without God, I am lost. I will hit walls, and face roadblocks, and it will be because I am pursuing something that was not meant for me. Whereas, following, and facing those challenges, I know that God has something better in store for me. The best way to know if it is of God, is to align yourself up with his promises. He will repeat things to you, that you know you are supposed to be doing, or that you need to get away from. He may be building you up for your dream life, but if you do not allow him to take the reigns, you will never live that life. Put on your cap of courage, because God has some good things in store.

“I hear Jesus’ voice and He calls me by name and leads me out. Jesus goes before me and I follow him, for I know his voice. I will by no means follow a stranger.” (John 10:3-5)

God is not the God of tricks, though he is good at them, God is not in the business of tricking you. He is your guide, your shepherd, he will not lead you astray.

Deuteronomy 31 6

Dear Lord,

I thank you for your guidance, your courage, and your promises. You will not allow me to stay walking on a path that is not for me. No matter how much I push you away, and try to figure this maze out on my own, I know that you are alway there to cradle my fears, and to calm my mind. Though, it does take a bit of work and effort, on my side, I trust that you are leading me. Lord, I understand that some things may not be for me, so please, help me to cope. For anyone who needs your guidance, I thank you for them, for their ability to hear you call them by name, I pray that follow the path that you have laid out for them, if they stray, that they hear your voice and come back, for your promises are more valuable than gold. I thank you for your council and guidance. I lift my praises to you.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Carrie Mueller: God loves her, but so do we.

~ Rachel Willis ~ Leave a comment

Carrie Mueller
Carrie Mueller

When someone so close and influential in your life passes on, it just doesn’t seem fair. A life so beautiful of someone so loved. A life of a person who has been a blessing for so many, ended. It never seems fair. For those still left on the earth, there is now a hole in which that one life once filled. A hole that one will feel when they remember them, think about them, and wish they were here with us to do those activities they had always done with us. To refine the lessons they were in the midst of teaching us, until the point it is like second nature. Nonetheless, through their loss, we go into the midst of learning a whole new lesson. Things we once had help with, we now have to on our own. We have our part to write, and our story does not end when our friend passes, but it continues with them as a chapter or few in our life book. The things they were able to teach us have impressed on our souls so deeply, that we should never forget.

Carrie Mueller, a lady who shared her love and wisdom with those who were all around her, but with teenagers and young adults the most. Her influencing mentoring and blessed abundant love, not only greatly stained my life with joy and blessings, but the lives of my friends those young people I didn’t even know. She shared her earthly wisdom, that we all needed to know, like education, because she was a talented and beloved educator and mentor. When it came to craftiness and design, she could tell who she would love to spread her wings over and teach her tricks and give her tips to, so that whatever the project was, it looked its absolute best.

I was one of those who she spread her wings over. Carrie let me into her home, into her life, and into her heart. She made me feel like a daughter of her own. She scolded me if and when I needed it, in a loving, motherly way. However, what she taught me, I always treasure. She could see me. See my God given gifts and everything we ever did together centered on them. Her design talents and my artistic talents were combined into something beautiful: a focal wall for the high school room at church. We honored God there. She and I designed it together, and she guided me in the ways of which it would look best painted. So, with my natural artistic ability that cross we drew upon that wall looked like real wood, and those squares and rectangles looked like wallpaper; after many short lessons from Carrie on how to paint them. The wall is still in tact today, but the room is not longer the high school classroom, but and adult Bible study classroom instead.

A beautiful lady, inside and out. Her eyes lit up with smiles, all the way to her final days. Her helpful heart, joyful spirit, and abundant love cascaded over the hearts, minds, and souls of so many teenager, young adults, and everyone she met. A treasure to me, and I person, I and so many others will miss so deeply. My life was changed for the better after meeting Carrie, and I know so many other lives were changed for the better as well. A woman who spread her wings over me on earth, is now spreading them up in heaven. I love you Carrie Mueller, now and forever.

Reformation 500: A Short Tidbit

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Reformation 500:

A Short Tidbit

portrait-of-martin-luther-1543

Today is the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, or the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Catholic Church. It was a time of great change. Many were beginning to come out of the dark and middle ages, as books became more readily available, to the higher classes, as the printing press had been invented by Johann Gutenberg sometime before 1450, and it was improved over the years, so the copies could more readily come out. Martin Luther was one man who took advantage of the idea of books getting printed for the masses. He pianistically translated the Holy Bible from Hebrew / Latin to German, so that those in Europe could finally read it for themselves, instead of relying on Catholic priest, dictated by the pope, for what the Holy Bible said and how it should be interpreted. He used all the ways in which people could understand the Holy Bible, such as simple illustrations (like movie posters today) for the masses that were illiterate, small pamphlets, which were so popular, that they made for easy transferal of new thoughts and ideas, just printing off The New Testament, that could be bought with one week’s pay, and the whole Holy Bible, that would take an entire month’s earnings to purchase. Luther wanted to get out the good news, but why?

1517
October 31, 2017

In a time of poverty, death, exploration, enslavement, manipulation, and revolt, the Popes of the time wanted to control the people, even to the point to them believing where they would go after death, so that a new church could be funded and built for them. “In 1517, Pope Leo X declares indulgence for rebuilding St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, a rebuilding that began in 1506 under Pope Julius II. John Tetzel raises much money for the new basilica by telling people they must buy indulgences, or they and their loved ones will suffer in purgatory,” (LutheranReformation.org). Luther, a Catholic Priest, had been influenced by the Bible and the writings of the early church philosopher Augustine, and retained the simple and true belief that one cannot get to heaven on good works alone, but on the blood and salvation of Jesus Christ. Jesus in the only way into heaven because he is, “the way, the truth, and the life,” ( ). Therefore, because of all the abuse the Popes of the days were exploiting on the masses, for newly remodeled church, Martin Luther decided to end it and he nailed his 95 Theses or, “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg 500 years ago today, October 31, 1517.

lutheran rose
Luther Rose

Bibliography

Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, The. “Reformation.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Feb. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/Reformation.

History.com Staff. “Martin Luther and the 95 Theses.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/martin-luther-and-the-95-theses.

Missouri Synod, The Lutheran Church -. “Reformation 500th Anniversary | News, Resources, History.” Lutheran Reformation, Lutheran Church Extension Fund, The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Thrivent Financial Foundation, 31 Oct. 2017, lutheranreformation.org/.

Waugh, Barry. “The Importance of the Printing Press for the Protestant Reformation, Part One.” reformation21.Org, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Oct. 2013, reformation21.org/articles/the-importance-of-the-printing.php.

portrait-of-martin-luther-1543

 

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God Changed my Mood, And it was Simple

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Web

 

Over the past week, I have been trying to concentrate on my blog and getting about a thousand-other thing ready for Halloween and other Fall festivities, with normal things thrown on top of that. I was concentrating so much on other people, all things I had to do, and my blog, Romantic Remedies and Fairy Tale Treasures (yes, I have two), that I just had not spent the time with God that I needed. I did pray consistently, but there was something in his word that I was missing, and I did not figure it out until I did my Bible study this morning. I was talking to God, telling him all my woes and my reasons for doing what I want to do, blah, blah, blah, but I didnot take the hint and look inside my Bible. Well, after going through the Bible study today, I felt a surge of energy, inspiration, and the will to do the things I have been telling myself to do for the past few weeks. God changed my mood from blah, to “Let’s go!”, and He can change yours too.

All it took was listening to him, and aligning myself with hisword, so naturally I wanted to obey. Naturally, I wanted to seek His face, and not my own desires. Do not get me wrong. God still cares about my desires and my little woes, but without trusting our Saviour, I was falling short on the whole inspiration thing. Any blogger knows how much time it takes to build a blog, acquire a following, post all sorts of things to social media (and if you are not consistent, people get mad and quit following you, even if you just miss a single day), there is all sorts of pressure, however, the silver lining in all of that is when you follow more experienced bloggers’ advice and learn to schedule your stuff, but it still takes long hours of hard work and meticulous planning, every month or whenever. I feel like the only way I am going to get-it-together is if God is involved in every step of it. When I wake up, I do so with Him. When I start a new blog post or photoshoot, I need to do so with Him. We are told to, “. . . pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people,” Ephesians 6:18.

We are told to pray on ALL occasions, this means that we can pray as we work. Should we pray for our work, YES! God wants us to bring everything to him, because he knows what we are struggling with, and he will realign us with His word every time we need realignment. He tells us, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you,” Psalm 32.8. Guys, God has given us a destiny! How awesome is that? We have choice though, we get to choose our careers and what we do with our lives, God will shape us from the inside out, so that we choose His desires for us, because He loves us. We must let him, and it is easier if we love him back, so that he is able to shape us, and we choose what aligns with his desires for our lives. We will be reshaped by the renewing of our minds. How do we renew our minds? We do that by reading and studying His word. The word of truth.

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Dear Lord,

 

I thank you for realigning me with your Holy Spirit. You have given me such wonderful talents, and I am so grateful for them. We ask you today to realign our hearts, our mind, and our souls with you and your will for our live. Please protect our loved ones, and guide us through any tragedy, big or small. Help us to live day-to-day in your presence.

 

In Jesus Name,

Amen

 

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