My Favorite Things
The sound of my husband's voice.
Our annual extended family vacation every summer in Tennessee.
Breakfast with my hubby at our favorite
local diner!
Buckeye football. It’s a “season” in our house.
The voices of a congregation worshipping Jesus.
Movies like Remember The Titans and It’s a Wonderful Life.
A love story! (Real and made up!)
Taking pictures of a sunrise. Or of my cat.
A prayer meeting!
About Rachel
Dreams are tough. Hard to define. Hard to achieve. Costly. Time consuming.
Yet dreams are worth our time and our effort.
I had several dreams growing up. But the one that surfaced the most and stuck around the longest was to write novels.
In ’93, as I approached my first wedding anniversary, the Lord tugged on my heart to quit my day job. My well paying day job, mind you, with benefits. Little did I know the Lord was whispering the same thing to my husband.
I thought I’d quit and work with him in ministry. Maybe have a baby or two. Instead, I stepped up my reading of the exploding Christian Fiction Market and in ’94, I started my first novel, a WW 2 epic set on the Aleutian Islands.
The book was never published in complete form, though aspects of it showed up in my book, Love Starts With Elle.
See, my whole life I’d been telling stories. Playing make believe with my friends. Creating 4,254 diary entries, pouring out my heart, detailing my life.
Thinking and imagining on the long drives from Tallahassee to Ohio State University where I studied Journalism.
I wrote stories in my heart while traveling all over America as well as Australia, Spain, Venezuela, Mexico, Ireland and Canada in my post college job as a software trainer.
Growing up Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Florida and being the second oldest girl of five children, stories formed in my heart. Next came my married life, decades of youth ministry, leading worship and helping other writers as a writing coach... Every aspect of my life is the underlying tapestry of my novels.
You see, everything is… story.
Yet, what really moves my heart is the pure power of story itself. One reader wrote to me and said, “I work at a bridal boutique and after reading The Wedding Dress, I’m going to change the way I do my job. I’m going to see each bride as beautiful and unique.”
This reader incorporated the power of story in her real life!
When the disciples asked Jesus, "Explain what you mean," he answered, "Let me tell you a story."
Since I started writing full time in ’04, I’ve discovered dreams are best realized when running in partnership with a living God. And I’ve never looked back.
So what’s your dream? Whatever it is, partner with the living Lord.
Your Turn
I think people are fascinating. Which means I think you are fascinating. I loved hearing personal stories of romance, tragedy and triumph, hope, and doubt, sorrows and joys. So I’d love to hear from you if you care to write. You can reach me here.
