About this blog...

I really do like to try new recipes (as long as someone else does the cooking) and I want to eat healthier and exercise regularly...I want to.  I've even done some diy projects in the house, mostly experimental projects that happened to work out...not the kind of things you can easily reproduce (besides that, I'm not a real detail-oriented person so those step-by-step tutorials just sound burdensome).

And, really, as much as I like (and pin) those cute ideas that are so inspiring, what I really need at the end of the day is something that spurs me on to be the person God has called me to be. Sometimes the very things meant to inspire me end up making me feel like I'm "less than" other moms.  After all, those other moms get all their chores done, enjoy being a mom with the wisdom and grace of a grandma, and on top of that, they even have time to make little pilgrim hat cookies for Thanksgiving and paintchip Easter egg garland in the spring. Sheesh!

Please know, I love being a wife and a mom. I love getting to watch each of our children's different personalities and sharing this journey with the most amazing (and entertaining) husband I could ever imagine. But sometimes the days feel long and they're not always picture-post worthy. Sometimes this role of being a mom is......hard, stinkin' hard (and yes, stinkin' is the right word, especially if your child is yet to be potty-trained...amen?)  Maybe it's because we want so desperately to do this thing well. And that's not easy. It requires supernatural help.      

We need God to give us the energy, the wisdom, the creativity, the strength to do this!

My hope is that "Just Encourage Me" will be a place where you can find encouragement. Sometimes encouragement comes from being understood...the realization that "I'm not alone".  Other times we're encouraged by something that inspires us and it moves us toward a goal, toward something great.  And still there are times when we realize how difficult someone else's circumstances are and it gives us a whole new perspective on our own.  This blog will be a mix of all that and more.

God's Word is full of promises and encouragement for us, whatever our circumstances are. He is the Ultimate Encourager.  He's the only One who knows exactly where we're at, what we need and how to give us what we need. I can't do that, but He can. I am depending on the Holy Spirit to guide me, and my hope and prayer is that somehow this could be a place that God uses to encourage you right where you are.  Whatever He has called you to do and wherever He takes you in this life, may you draw close to Him and allow Him to gently lead you all along the way. 

Thank you so much for coming here.  I hope we get to share much more on this journey together.  May you feel God's loving arms around you today, whatever your circumstances are.

-Rachel :-)

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."  Isaiah 40:11