Gluten Free Tips

I cut gluten out of my diet 8 1/2 months ago. At first it was pretty hard. But as the days went on, I realized I just felt a lot better. No more bloating or stomach cramps. Less headaches. And my thyroid was no longer hyperactive. Amazing, right? I thought so.

Anyway, over the last 8 months I’ve learned a thing or too. I thought I would share some of the knowledge I gained, in hopes of helping someone else.

• Gluten free pizza at Costco: I love pizza. I’ve tried a lot of different ones. But I always come back to Costco. They have a great gluten free pizza in the frozen section.
• Soy sauce: regular soy sauce contains gluten. And I love Asian food. Especially sushi. If I an find a sushi without soy sauce soaked seaweed, then I eat it dipped in kikkoman brand soy sauce. Yum!
• Flour: There are a lot of different gluten free flours to chose from in grocery stores. Thanks to my good friend Meriam, she told me about Pamela’s flour blends. And it has become my favorite. I use it to make pancakes, waffles, thicken soups, etc.
• Glutino makes tons of delicious gluten free options. My favorites are pretzel sticks, oreo cookies, and buttery crackers.
• Stores: Kroger and Publix both carry a lot of gluten free options. And surprisingly, Aldi has a lot of gluten free options.

Do you have any tips for being gluten free? If so, please share with me!

Be Near To Me, Lord

No matter where you are today. Allow these words in this song to wash over you:

Do you want to transform your time with God?

About a month ago, I downloaded this new app from Proverbs 31 Ministry. And I absolutely love it! I just wanted to share with my readers. This app has allowed me to refresh my quiet times in the morning. I spend a little longer than 5 minutes 🙂 But the great thing is you can make it your own.

Here is a little bit about the app:

“We must exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world.” Lysa TerKeurst

Throw Back Thursday

Hello world! This is a throw back Thursday post to the time when I used to blog! HA!

Remember when I used to blog all the time? Yeah, it’s been a while. Over the last two years, I need to give myself some margin. So I had to give up a few things. Blogging was one of the things I stopped. But it’s been almost a year and I have missed writing so much. So i’m back!

Now the question is…what do I write about?

I think I will write about the ways God teaches me. It’s through dreams, sermons, books, people, nature, His word, and so much more. So starting next week, I will begin to share. Hopefully you will want to come along on my journey. And share with me how He teaches you!

Love, Rachael

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

Photo source

To That Mom.

To That Mom,

The one who is missing their mom.

The one who is missing their kids who are now in college.

Or the mom who just misses a child who was lost or a child that never came.

Maybe you are the mom who is over-worked from out of the home job.

Or are a single mom raising kids without any help.

The one who feel like a failure at the end of the day.

The one who collapses once the kids get into bed.

The mom who was up all night with a sick toddler.

Or the mom who was up off and on with a newborn.

Maybe you are pregnant for the first time or second or third and you are just exhausted.

You could be the mom who cares for little children all day long and craves for bedtime.

Or…maybe, just maybe…

You could be the mom who works a little harder,

finds joy,

sees improvements,

finds success even in failure…

But most of all you could be the mother who depends completely on Jesus.

Whoever you are mom, know that being the mom who completely leans on Jesus is the best you can always be.

This world will always suck you dry, but Jesus always fills up. And your children are a blessing from God…Don’t ever forget that!

Moms, I need to hear this myself most days. Being mommy to little kiddos is hard work! But we must persevere. Perspecitive changes everything!

Happy Mother’s Day!

I am Yours, You are Mine!

Yesterday at church we learned a new song. It was so powerful I was literally in tears during the service. So I just wanted to share the song with my readers. This particular video has the words. I pray they wash over you as they washed over me.

This has become my prayer:

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Ideas for Christmas Fun!

This week I thought it would be fun to share my list of Christmas ideas with you. Since my oldest, Finn, was really into Christmas for the first time last year I’m really ramping up the activities. Here is my list of things to do through the holiday season:

Christmas movie night
We all pick out an ornament that represents us
We go to Kinsey Farms to cut down our Christmas tree
Christmas cookie decorating
Tree decorating (cones)
Gingerbread train decoration
Candlelight bubble bath
Snowman pizza night
Christmas singing parade
Christmas craft night
Birthday cake for Jesus
Sleepover around the tree and read christmas stories
The minivan express (Polar Express)
Start a jar of funny sayings for 2013
Take Christmas treats to an elderly home
Make Christmas cards for a soldier
CiCi’s for dinner then ride around looking at lights
Take kids to dollar store to pick out gifts for each other
Take picture with Santa
Christmas breakfast as a family
Watch Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Christmas night before bed

The Refining Fire – The Church

Through this whole process there has been one factor that has blown me away. And that is the church. And I don’t mean the building, the place, or anything like that. When I say the church – I mean the body of Christ. God has done some miraculous things through His people for us.

We are in a fully furnished rental house not because of anything we did. Friends are letting us borrow (and in some cases have) furniture to fill the house. The clothes I have on today were all given through a clothing drive. I’m able to take a few months off from working to focus on my family and logistics of dealing with the insurance company because people have given us money. These are just a few of the hundreds of examples of how God has provided for us.

I started a blessings journal because I didn’t want to forgot all the ways God has provided for us through the church. I know it will be a great resource to look back on and always remember how my faith was fully restored in people and in my God.

If you have been part of the church for us – thank you. Whether you’ve given money, meals, clothes, toiletries, baby supplies, furniture, etc – we are so grateful. Words can’t say enough. But thank you for being the hands and feet of our Savior. You have taken care of us. And we will forever be grateful to you and God!

This verse is always true – But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NIV

No matter what you are going through, you can be confident in knowing that God will meet your needs. He knows what you need even when you aren’t sure. I have seen this with my own eyes.

The Refining Fire – Changed

Since October 12, 2013 I am forever changed. My heart will always be marked.

When I hear the word fire I get chills.

When I smell smoke or see fire my stomach drops.

When I hear people complain about their stuff I fight off contentment.

When I hear people mention the church I smile because I know what being cared for by the church really means.

When I read God’s words I know he’s close and leading us.

My life will never be the same. I’m grieving but I’m grateful. And I can still say God is always good.

The Refining Fire – Part 1

Good morning world!

It is therapy to me to be able to write. So that’s what I’m doing now. You will see a series of posts on the refining fire. That is what I’m referring to the fire on October 12th.

Last week I got caught up on my study for Community Bible Study. The lesson was on suffering in the end times. During my study I came upon this verse. It touched my soul in a deep way…

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:6, 7 NIV)”

I am going through a suffering trial. However God is using it to refine me. And at the end of the day I want to live this out giving Him all the praise, glory, and honor.

Through every trial and storm I’ve seen and held on to the promise that He is ALWAYS good. There is purpose in that!

Thanks for listening…

RW