Rooted with Rachel

Do you ever feel like your growth has been stunted? You are working hard towards a goal and you just feel like you are not getting anywhere. You don’t see growth, in fact, at times, it seems like you are going backwards instead of forwards. If you are stuck and you don’t see any fruit for your efforts, if all of this resonates with you, I want to encourage you today with something that I keep coming back to often for encouragement when I feel stunted in my growth.

If you need someone to help you navigate this one-on-one, as a Christian life coach, I would love to help. Connect with me via email ([email protected]) for more info or visit https://wellnesswithrachel.wixsite.com/holistichealth

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rootedwithrachel.substack.com

Have you ever been in the middle of a trial and you wish Jesus could be there with you in the flesh? You so desperately need “Jesus with skin on”. You envy those who in ages past had the privilege of sitting at Jesus’ feet, embracing his physical body and experiencing his loving gaze. You think, “If I could behold that, it would assure me that he is with me in this trial.” But seeing is not always believing and this is the beauty of our faith.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rootedwithrachel.substack.com

Sometimes people are hard to love aren’t they? We say things like “Loving them is a bit of a stretch.” Oftentimes, our love wanes for one another when we walk through difficult times. But these are the moments when we need each other the most. These are the times we need to stretch out our love to one another. Why is it, that when we go through tough times, we tend to turn on those we love? Perhaps we take their love for granted or feel safe to lash out to those on the inside when we feel the heat turn up in our lives on the outside. These are the times when loving is a stretch.

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Do you struggle with anxiety or an imagination that runs wild and can’t be controlled? Today, I hope to encourage you with a truth that has been such a comfort to me. I came across a sentence the other day that I have not been able to get out of my head…

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When someone asks what you do, how do you introduce yourself? Maybe you are a teacher, so when someone asks you what you do, you identify as a teacher. Or maybe you’re a lawyer, or a homemaker, or a homeschool mom. It could be that the season of life you find yourself in right now, you would say that you are single or a widow. These labels tend to define us sometimes in ways we don’t want to be defined. But what if you lost your job as a teacher or your children graduate and leave the house, if you have wrapped yourself completely in those labels, what becomes of your identity then? You might find yourself lost in a sea of unknown. You don’t know who you are and can’t figure out how to find yourself again.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rootedwithrachel.substack.com

Isn’t it interesting how we ring in the new year with hopes and plans and dreams only to find that heartache and troubles are right around the corner? We say things like, “2025 is going to be better than 2024!” only to find a terrorist attack on New Year’s Day, a plane crash, and deadly fires in California already staining a fresh turn of the calendar. It’s simply another reminder that we will have trouble in this world. We can’t escape it. So if troubles are inevitable, how do we cope with all that we will face in a new year?

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What is it about a new year and the urge to purge? I was thinking about this recently as I put away Christmas decorations and felt that deep desire to go through and clean out every closet, drawer and box. I think there is something built into us by our Creator to long for a fresh start. As I decluttered my rooms and cleaned out, I realized how similar our urge to purge is to what God provides for us in our redemption.

Deep down, we all know what a mess we are. We know how cluttered and crammed our lives are with all sorts of unhealthy things. At our core, we long for a clean slate. I think that might be why the turn of a new year is so inviting and exciting. Think about what God does when he rescues us and how this mirrors our desire and urge to purge.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rootedwithrachel.substack.com

There is something about beginning a new year, turning the page, saying “sayonara” to a year that has been hard and painful. We make goals, have aspirations, hopes, dreams, plans, but then reality hits.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is right and good to plan your year, but maybe instead of having a hard and fast plan with multiple layers that inevitably gets debunked every year, we need to focus on just one thing.

I have found simply choosing one word for the year sets the stage and gives me a framework for my year. Today’s episode is all about discovering your own word of the year.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rootedwithrachel.substack.com

We are now in the final week of Advent, the week marked by love. It’s interesting that love is the word for the last week in Advent, because isn’t that what we long for most, to be fully loved? We know ourselves better than anyone else, we know our inward thoughts however ugly they may be and we wonder, how in the world would anyone love us?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rootedwithrachel.substack.com

I don’t know about you, but it sure does seem like every year December flies by faster and faster doesn’t it? I mean, I can’t believe we are already in the third week of Advent and that Christmas is just right around the corner! This week is marked by joy. And you know, there really can be so much joy that can fill this season, but alongside that joy, we can also experience and witness so much pain and grief this time of year.

Perhaps it’s missing someone that is not here this Christmas or a long grief that continues to haunt your holidays. Maybe you feel the weight of a thousand things falling on your shoulders and it just seems too much to bear. How can we hold joy in our hearts in this season when these cold winter months can bring a mix of icy blasts of grief softened by tender flakes of happiness? Today, if you find yourself in this wintry mix of emotions, I want to bring you some fresh joy for your journey.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rootedwithrachel.substack.com