My heart feels like it is might burst; expanded to a capacity where I know something deep has taken place.
Why? I did something CRAZY!
I journeyed with a few women away to the mountains this past weekend and turned everything OFF.
Cell phone. Computer. Email. Social Media. OFF
MAGICAL.
Have you done that recently? Taken a day or two and unplugged?
Let go of the tangled web of comparison…
I can’t begin to tell you how clear-headed, clean and energized I feel.
Life comes at us at a million miles an hour.
Work demands our strength.
Family requires our attention.
Friends desire our time.
Daily tasks delay without attention.
But what about your heart, dear daughter? Is it alive?
Do you remember glimpses of YOU before the swirls of life took over with its needs?
Are you living from your heart?
In returning home from this weekend, I am pondering the idea, the notion, the audacious and terrifying longing of living from the WHOLE heart.
Not living from my daily task list, work demands or even family necessities. (They never seem to stop, do they?)
But the heart? I’m not sure I have time for all that…
In Biblical language, your heart is the center of the human spirit, from which spring emotions, thought, motivations, courage and action; thus it is the ‘wellspring of life’ (NIV Study Bible Note on Psalm 4:7)
Our heart houses so many beautiful aspects of our identity. It is the source of our thought life, what we feel and all of our deepest desires. How many of us feel like our heart is barely beating, our dreams have fallen under piles of laundry and the feeling of opening up brings up pain and heartache.
All too often we hear voices scream “Suck it up… You don’t have time to feel… You are too much and no one cares…”
Yet God, in the riches of His goodness, has called us to live wholehearted, alive in love with Him. He has crafted us to represent His glory and beauty, aspects of His nature that only women can display. Our heart is essential to our very being, the core of who we are. Without it open, tender and vulnerable, we fall into deception, confusion, isolation and despair. (Anyone else out there??)
Yet there is a Father who loves, sees and cares.
A Father in heaven who wants to take us on the journey to discovering how we can learn to love US.
To be patient with the process, gentle with the journey, humble in the breaking and loving what He intentionally made.
You, beloved, are not a mistake.
You, dear daughter, are not too much.
You are bright, beautiful, astounding, capable, tender, fierce, courageous, inviting, beautiful and life-giving.
You have much to offer and much to experience.
Find a safe place to sit in silence, even for just a few moments, and ask your Father to take you on a journey of discovery. A journey into the place of loving yourself, accepting your faults and patiently opening your heart to His love.
The adventure is worth it.
You have a huge part to play in the most beautiful of stories.
YOURS.
With Valentines Day less than 2 weeks away, are you ready for the heart gushing day of looooooove!!?
Mmmmmmm. L O V E.
Chocolates, Roses, Dinner out, the works!
(I know, I know, love isn’t defined by this… But I still love the oooey gooey nature of it all.)
But do any of you need some inspiration to help set the mood once you get back home!? The aromatic benefits of using essential oils to enhance the atmosphere are quite LOVELY.
Here are some of my FAVORITE diffuser blends for a romantic and *AHEM* inspired evening <3
Frankincense is an amazing oil that assists in promoting focus and attention while also calms ones emotions as well as balances mood. The rich, earthy smell blends well with Sandalwood, Myrrh and Lavender Ylang Ylang is a complex, calming, floral scent that surprisingly has uplifting properties as well. When used aromatically, this soothing scent promotes a positive outlook and aids in reducing the effects of daily stress. Patchouli is known for its calming and stabilizing properties as well as being known as a base note in many perfumes with its musky, sweet aroma. Emotionally it can help to bring balance and grounding, naturally. Sandalwood is wonderful for promoting relaxation and reducing stress as well as enhancing ones mood. Frequently used in meditation, Sandalwood has been used for its grounding and uplifting properties. Clary Sage is a musky, feminine flower that has incredible balancing properties to it. Not only can it aid in promoting a restful nights sleep but also assists in relaxing the body and mind, stabilizing (women’s) emotions. Orange is one of the most versatile, happy oils to help energize and revitalize your body! Its uplifting aroma is invigorating and renewing, blending perfectly with many of the rich and musky oils. Bergamot is one of the only citrus oils that actually has calming and soothing effects to the emotions. (Most citrus oils invigorate!) Its great in tense, stressful situations as well as a promoting calm and harmony and self-confidence. Lavender is a common favorite of many and the most well-known fragrances of essential oils. It is widely used for its calming and relaxing properties but is also good for easing feelings of tension and melting away stress.
So many options! So much luxury! Have fun and get creative 🙂
Make sure to comment below your FAVORITE blend and don’t forget to pop over to Facebook and join the conversation!
Happy Oiling!
*If you want to know more about my faaaaaavorite essential company click HERE <3
I don’t know about you, but most years I have struggled with my birthday.
The longing to feel celebrated… but the fear of being seen.
It is a tension I’ve known all too well.
But this year is different. This year is full of beauty, wonder and freedom from fear.
Freedom from the fear of being truly known. The fear of walking with an open and vulnerable heart, fierce in love.
The fear of rejection and abandonment. The fear of being truly seen for me.
“Show me your face, let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.” -Song of Songs 2:14
This year I am on the journey towards releasing fear and entering into the adventure of living from the heart.
Truly letting my heart believe what God says about me and allowing my heart to feel and believe that truth.
Living from the place of total surrender.
Living free from comparison, performance and striving.
I want to come to learn how to live a beautiful life.
Did you know that your beauty is shouting and beckoning those around you.
Your beauty speaks. Your beauty is inviting.
Your beauty is real, raw and vulnerable. Your beauty nourishes those around you.
Your beauty is comforting and alluring. Your beauty is meant to inspire, encourage and bring life.
Your beauty draws those around you to God.
This year I am choosing to live open and vulnerable, and I want to invite anyone willing to embark on the journey.
Living with the goal to know and be known by those around me.
Taking down the walls of preservation and letting the gift of love soften me.
Sometimes life hardens us, shames us and causes us to hide. Not anymore. I welcome you 34, with a heart tender, open and expectant ❤
Can I just say that I am SO beyond excited that it is officially 2014!?
SERIOUSLY. FINALLY. THANK GOD.
2013 was possibly the most difficult year of my life, yet as I look back, quite honestly the most rewarding. Late January last year I got SO sick. Months passed and we couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Chronic fatigue symptoms, debilitating migraines, social anxiety, sleeplessness. I came down with a devastating virus in June, leaving me on bed rest for nearly 5 weeks. I had a scare with high liver enzymes and more blood work drawn in that period of time than my life combined. I say all that only to say it was one thing after the other, and I felt like I couldn’t catch up. I had just moved to Atlanta with my darling husband to be a part of Ihop Atlanta. I stepped onto staff full time and within weeks had to step down from most my commitments as I was so sick I couldn’t leave my bed or house most days. I was confused, frustrated and quickly realized my expectations were being shattered. I was barren, alone and completely dependent on the Lord and His leadership. I felt lost, hopeless and at times fought bouts of depression. But to be brutally honest, I was angry things weren’t going MY way…
10 months went by, and we finally hit some breakthrough physically. We eliminated gluten from my diet, stopped drinking soda and eating processed food, started juicing and included essential oils into the mix. For any of you that have been following my journey the past few months, you have been tracking with me and the great breakthrough I am walking through, but as most of you know the healing process takes time!
So as I look back at the last year, my heart has such deep gratitude at His perfect leadership. I am grateful that I have seen Jesus in a new light, and His tenderness towards those who suffer. I am grateful that even in the midst of my pain and accusation, He was and always will be GOOD. I am grateful that no matter what happens to my physical body, there will be a day where I stand before Him face to face, in perfect unity, where there will be no more pain, tears, heartache or death. I am grateful that He let me walk through the valley and shook me to my core, exposing areas of accusation I had towards Him. I am grateful that He is big enough to handle my emotions and gave me a husband who loved me, cared for me, protected me and honored me through it all.
So to break in the New Year, I want to look back at 2013 and recognize the GOOD that happened. I want to remember that through the heartache and pain, He was so kind to my heart. So here are my 13 highlights from 2013, and all in all, it was a blessed year 🙂
2013 HIGHLIGHTS!
1. On January 14th we moved into our first home together! We have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath renovated basement apartment that is the most wonderful blessing for us as newlyweds.
2. In February I was honored to preach my first message at both services at Ihop Atlanta. It was such a gift to my heart and a partial promised fulfilled by the Lord!
3. I was flown to Kansas City to speak to over 300 3rd and 4th year students about an opportunity to come and spend a semester at Ihop Atlanta!
4. In early February we adopted our sweet, spunky, precious little Lovie. She is a 6lb nothing of a Yorkie and my most loyal and faithful friend through this year of being sick!
5. We started Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover & got our Emergency fund built within a few months! It was one of the best feelings and was such a help through the year
6. In March I started my own business at rachaeldee.com and launched into a dream that has been tucked deep inside of my heart for years. I am eager to see what 2014 looks like!
7. Justin believed God for the impossible and took a leap of faith asking friends and family to help him get his dream baby grand piano! Its been such a gift to us!
8. We saved up money for MONTHS and celebrated our 1 year anniversary in Florida! We were so grateful for that gift and thanked God for an amazing 1st year of marriage!
9. I was able to drive up to Virginia to take care of my grandmother in the hospital. Such a sweet and wonderful time with my family 🙂
10. I spontaneously got to go to Disney World with my mama for the first time and we had a blast! Space Mountain anyone!? We went 4 times!!!
11. I was honored to host my in laws for the first time this Thanksgiving and cooked the entire meal with my husband! It was such a memory that I will always remember!
12. I got to see my nephew turn 1 and see my sister and family for Christmas. The beauty of seeing her growing into her identity and maturity as a new mom was staggering to me.
13. We were blessed to go get our first Christmas Tree together! What a joy it was to decorate it together and celebrate the beauty of Jesus this holiday season!
Take hold of 2014! Believe God for a breakthrough and believe that no matter how hard life gets, how the trials and blessings of life come, He is NEAR! Talk to Him today and let Him know that you need Him this year! Lets walk this journey together!
Don’t forget to comment below and let me know how I can be praying and agreeing with you this year! As always, pop over to www.facebook.com/youareallfair and join the conversation daily! You are NOT alone!
This is going to be a year of breakthrough for YOU!
I am SO excited about entering into 2014 and focusing on goal setting! As we are only 1 day away from entering into the New Year, I have been doing a little soul-searching.
I don’t want to skim through this upcoming year but BELIEVE that I can change for the better and live a thriving life! I don’t want to try and do this alone, but involve my friends and family along the journey. It’s statistically proven that when we are accountable to each other, there is a higher percentage to permanently stay on track to your goals. It’s so much easier and exciting to walk into freedom and breakthrough with FRIENDS!!
So what do you do!? It is So easy, super fun & here you have it!
My challenge for you in the month of January is to actually get your goals broken up into small, manageable pieces. On a piece of paper, white down 4 LIFE categories: Physical, financial, spiritual and personal. Take some time to think through each category and jot down areas that you want to focus on and grow in. After you have a good amount of thoughts and ideas written down, grab your planner, iPad, or desk calendar (whatever you will actually USE to stay organized) and take those goals one month at a time.
For example, my goals for January are as follows: Physical-continue juicing 2x a day & schedule morning workouts 5 days a week. Financial-Begin Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University” and start a cash system & zero budget. Spiritual– Read through the book of John & meditate on verses that stick out to me. Personal- Schedule 2 “hang out” times with friends.
It’s that easy! Yet it is so important to actually schedule it, write it down, & PLAN your life! Once you have those 4 aspects locked down, they you can try adding in more details. Start that by simply taking one week at a time, & start to plug-in those goals in ways that are DOABLE! Don’t reach for things that are too lofty or unobtainable, but reasonable and measurable goals. Start small and build!
Write them down! Track you progress and tell me some of the areas that you are going to focus on in the month of January! Pop on over to www.facebook.com/youareallfair and let me know if you have any questions 🙂 I know you can do this friends!
This Christmas season my husband and I have been discussing various things to implement into our daily schedule that will produce a focused and healthy lifestyle for the months and years to come. We know that the gift of health is so important, and we want to steward that reality to each other!
We started using essential oils about a month ago (I looooooove them) as well as using our super awesome, easy peasy Nutribullet to be juicing 1-2 meals per day. If you have been following along (HERE & HERE), you know that I have seen significant breakthrough in my health (migraines nearly gone, no more Tylenol, sleeping better, increased energy, decreased joint pain, down a pants size, skin clearing up etc…) I am shocked!! Its been almost a year of constant, chronic fatigue and by ridding my body of toxins I am finally on the upswing!
So as we were talking about what to do for Christmas presents this year we brought up the idea of pooling our money together and getting Beach Body’s Focus T-25 program! It’s a high intensity, super crazy 25 minute non stop BLAST to your system and we have been wanting to purchase it for a few months now. (On Lord I might DIE I am so out of shape!)
I kept thinking to myself that there was nothing I needed for Christmas. I have a beautiful home, plenty of clothes and shoes, a room full of handmade jewelry and a puppy that is our constant entertainment. I didn’t know how to answer him as to what I wanted. I just wanted to keep on track to feeling better. He said to me one night “the greatest gift I could give to you is our health”. I was in agreement, and after discussing it for a while, we decided to combine our Christmas money together and “gift” each other with T-25!
I am SO excited (and to be honest NERVOUS) to start and to see us both walk in better health, increased energy and overall physical strength. I am excited to give the gift of health to myself and to my husband. We are looking forward to this program because ANYONE has 25 minutes 5x a week. (I am still worried I might DIE though… HA HA HA!)
My hearts desire is to really focus on having a schedule in 2014 and I know that by adding an exercise program, I will be more focused! No one LIKES beginning a workout program, but I know that we will be SO grateful that we did!
I can’t wait to share the blood, sweat and tears with you all over the next 10 weeks 🙂
I would love to hear from you about your goals and new areas of focus in 2014.
Here’s to 2014 as a STRONG, focused and healthy year!
Write them down! Track you progress and tell me some of the areas that you are going to focus on in the month of January! Pop on over to www.facebook.com/youareallfair and let me know if you have any questions 🙂 I know you can do this friends!
