shekhinah motherhood

{via pinterest}

i have a new adventure.

i have started a mommy blog. i still cannot believe it myself. it's a new corner of the world for me, a place where i can write about my thoughts solely regarding pregnancy and this coming child.

and i want you all to share in this. i will most certainly still be writing here, hopefully more often as my body levels out and my mind clears itself. the Lion and i are drawing closer, and things are settling into peace now.

strivings do cease in His shadow. 

shekhina hmotherhood is my new corner.here i am practicing the presence of God as i walk down this path of pregnancy, motherhood, and eventually, cradling this child in my arms.

this firstborn of mine, this gift from God to be given back to God. these are the ponderings of my heart, this Mary-like attitude that overwhelms me as i discern what to share and what to treasure.

and so i am writing in two places now, and perhaps this may seem insane or too much. but we will see how things go, as weeks shorten and days become brighter. this child is coming soon, and i want to know and understand my mind in days to come when i look back and remember.

find me here, as always. but find me there now, too.

{important giveaway update}

life is complicated.

sometimes things arise that we cannot predict.

but God is good and in control.

but due to a family emergency in the lives of one of my upcoming Esty sponsors, i am currently having to rearrange things for October's giveaway.

actually, i am currently searching for another esty shop to enter this next month's giveaway.

the next giveaway will now be starting on October 5th instead of tomorrow.


i have five days to find another jewelry/photography/art shop willing to enter into this giveaway on intensely short notice.

prayers are so richly appreciated. if you or someone you know would like to take this position, please let me know as soon as possible

UPDATE: Alana has graciously offered up a product from her shop for next month's giveaway. God is so good. Please check out her blog and shop; she is truly wonderful!


however, on a positive note, this means that the current giveaway has been extended.

a difficult situation into a blessing.

be sure to enter September's giveaway here. 

thank you all so much for understanding and for your patience.

-blessings abound,

rachel

hermana

{my sister}

i've blogged about my sister before.

my hermana. my best friend. this beautiful fellow artist with whom i have tangled paintbrushes and inspiration for the past eighteen years.

i wrote about her just this morning. my blonde-turned-violet companion.

she photographed me for my birthday just last week.

and now she joins me here in this world of blogging.

i spent the afternoon teaching her. designing for her. smiling and laughing with her. 

i could not be more delighted. more honoured. more excited for her as she begins this new process.

would you join me in loving her?

you can mingle with her heart here.

she pins here. 

she photographs here. 

she's just starting out. just testing this waters for herself. 

so please

love on Abby with me. 

my best friend. 

my sister. 

fellow blogger. 

hermana.

Frustration (Important Announcement)

I am currently unhappy.

Hurt.

Broken-hearted.

Entirely flabbergasted.

Someone on my Facebook friend's list reported my blog as "abusive spam." This took away my ability to post links to my blog anywhere on my Facebook page or on my blog's Facebook page.

This required for me to change my blog's URL (which has now been changed back again to the original URL, thanks to the help of Facebook, some amazing friends, and an act of God), as well as make a few other small changes in the script and embedding process of my blog.

I need prayer from you all. For this to have happened, it would have had to have been someone on my friend's list who did this to me. Meaning, it had to have been someone that I call a friend. My heart is hurting, and I am wounded to the point of tears.

Please pray that I do not get bitter about this. Please pray that my heart heals. Please pray that my emotions stay in check and I allow God to work through this circumstance to grow me closer to Him.

My most sincere and heartfelt thanks to each one of you for your continued support.

You are a blessing, valued, and loved.

To any of you that changed my info to the updated URL, please put it back now, as that URL is now null and void. DramaticElegance is alive again.

Praise God.

(You can read my most recent blog post here.)

Fleurs et du Thé (Flowers and Tea)

Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into.  ~Henry Ward Beecher


The attributes of summer are endless.


I've probably written ten posts so far just on the glories of summertime, and each little wonder just waiting to be uncovered with each fluttering breeze...


...each one more hypnotizing and more beautiful than the next. 


Fireflies and fresh air...sunsets and dust motes captures in rays of brilliant sunlight...cotton sundresses and bare feet...Jane Austen novels and the tartness of lemonade...all set to the tune of Regina Spektor and Owl City.


Can it get any better than this?


Oh yes, I truly think so.


I honestly believe that any of these beautiful attributes of summer can be amplified with a steaming mug of tea and a wandering stroll through a floral-scented garden.


There is magic found in the bottom of a mug of tea. 


There is whispers of fairy dust and early morning mystery found in dew drops clinging to daisy petals. 


Whether it's curled up in a soft leather chair in a local coffee shop, Harry Potter between my fingertips and a flower tucked behind my ear...


...or standing in the middle of a wide open field, soft grass between my toes and a straw hat hanging down my back, my hair long and loose in the wind and a blanket spread and waiting beneath a maple tree...


...it's that fragrance of tea and rose petals that lingers...


...and that turns even the most commonplace of locations into a summertime fairyland. 

tea leaves

                                                                                                  tea loves

loves tea

lives tea

leaves tea?

never.

~Uniek Swain

Sans

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.  ~Kahlil Gibran


To the right is a picture of me. A picture of which I am honestly not all that fond.

I am not wearing even the tiniest bit of makeup...my hair is wind-tossed and blown out of proportion by humid summer winds.


It's not my best look. Not even a little bit.


Normally, I would never even consider posting a picture such as this one for all the world to see. 


However, there is a reason behind this strange behavior.

PAICFBWAA. 


The above jumble of letters stands for People Are Imperfect Campaign For Bloggers Who Are Awesome -- a truly brilliant idea started by Olivia and her simply spectacular blog, Of Horsefeathers. 


The concept? To embrace ourselves as truly beautiful and imperfect women.

The challenge? To post a photograph of ourselves with all the external "beautifiers" stripped away. 


To be entirely real.

I will be entirely transparent and say that I am a very insecure individual. There are so many things I dislike about myself...so many things that, if given the chance, I would take away or add in a heartbeat. 

I struggle to love myself....and as such, I struggle to let myself be loved by others, even those who look me deep in my eyes and whisper "you're beautiful" every single day. 


In my own eyes, my own beauty is non-existent. 


And so, I war with myself.


But this is a step for me.


Perhaps a small step...maybe even more of a two-inch wiggle. 


But it's movement forward. 


Sans makeup...sans styling.


One tiny step at a time.


I'm learning to love me.


I'm learning to be imperfect. 


I don't like standard beauty - there is no beauty without strangeness.  ~Karl Lagerfeld

Real

I have OWD. Obsessive-writer disorder. It's a fact.

I will spend hours staring at the same blank page, racking my brain for something to write. And it can't be just any old nonsensical idea. It has to be perfect. Flowing. Grammatically correct. Poetic, while still being real. Tonight alone, I have started and erased about ten different blog posts.

Why?

...so many reasons.

I have people that read my blog that don't even know me. All they have are these words, sporadically typed up and published by a nineteen year old wanna-be writer who's nuts about Jesus Christ, cares too much, loves until she's got nothing left, and might just be a little be insane.

And honestly, I was at the point tonight when I didn't even know if I was gonna even write anything worth publishing. Again.

But then, I got to thinking.

There's about five people in my life who know me on an extremely intimate and personal level. They've seen the beauty, the ugliness, the tears, the heartbreak: my husband, my parents, my sister, and my two best friends. And every single one of them has told me at one point or another that I mean the world to them...just they way I am.

Last night, my husband kissed me in the grocery store parking lot for no reason whatsoever. He just grabbed me, put his arms around me, and kissed me. We've been kissing one another for almost two years; the kiss itself wasn't uncommon. But there was something about that innocent kiss that made my eyes well up. Jon has endured a lot in the 2 1/2 years that we've been together, and even more since in our 9 months of marriage. And even after the fights, the pink socks, the late dinners, and the lack of blankets, he still loves me enough to sweep me off my feet and remind me of just how much he loves me.

So now, I've decided. No more over-scrutinizing. No more self-degradation.

I'm done.

I'm going to be real. I'm going to shoot straight. I'm not going to worry about being the world's best blogger, or the most perfect writer. I'm not going to hide any more.

I'm tossing my mask on the rubbish heap.

I'm going to be me.

Girl, 19. In love with and sold out for Jesus Christ.

Madly in love with the man who stole my heart and made me his bride.

Artistic, emotional.

Loving hard, caring deeply, heart on my sleeve.

Blessed with two of the most amazing parents and sweet-hearted sister in this world.

Has two incredible best friends, and a whole host of remarkable friends who make my world shine.

Slightly insane, but that's okay.

Because that's me.