Reading Rachel

Hello friends! Welcome to my new blog! I am thankful to have you here.

Just a disclaimer: this is not my first website. I used my allowance in the 6th grade to purchase my first domain, which I took way too seriously. We had dial-up internet at our house so I did most of my updating between the hours of midnight and 3am (to keep the phone lines open). I created a social network for my friends by posting pictures of our “hang-outs,” writing movie reviews, updating my friends on my personal soccer statistics, and announcing the celebrity “Hottie of the Week.” The website was thriving with multiple views from my friends Kate and Luci and all three of my sisters. Unfortunately Mark Zuckerberg stole my idea and my central Minnesota social network lost its “original” flare.

So here I am over a decade later creating a new website – but this time it’s about things that matter in a more eternal kind of way. I have been blogging in the meantime, but this new venture will be more a mixture of tough questions and lighthearted observations.

Just a few notes about who I am, in case you’re new to “reading Rachel.”

I am a child of the 80’s. That’s barely true, but I like to say it because it makes me feel way cooler than my friends who were born a few months after me in 1990.  I grew up in the 90s and I’m still basking in the glory that was the Chicago Bulls threepeat from 1996-1998. I own the movie Space Jam and sometimes I watch it by myself. (That picture of Michael Jordan hung on the ceiling above my bed for 9 years – it was unfortunately lost in a move).

I love to read books. Most of the books that draw me in fall into the theology, political history, personal memoirs/biographies, or teenage fiction categories. I ugly-wept at the end of the last Harry Potter book – on a train, by myself.

I have a degree in Youth Ministry/Biblical Studies from Bethel U in St. Paul. Most people I share that with quickly assume I want to be a Youth Pastor or a daycare provider. I don’t necessarily see myself falling into either of those career paths (the word “liability” comes to mind), but I will tell you I am passionate about freedom. My mission field is deep in the trenches of chains and brokenness, walking alongside those who are desperate to be free. There is no greater joy than seeing the freedom that can only come from Christ.

When I graduated from college I was ready to go rogue – Africa, Hawaii, Australia – I wanted to preach the gospel abroad at full steam. But God had something different in mind. I currently live in Williston, North Dakota – the once small train station turned oil boomtown. I moved out here to pay off my student loans (wait, private school isn’t free?) and by God’s grace that number will be zero by my 25th birthday this summer. But I’m quickly learning this season is about far more than money. Things are brewing in this town and the Kingdom is gaining real estate. More to come on that…

I have worked in the restaurant business the entirety of my time in Williston and just took a job at my fourth restaurant. I started washing dishes, then serving tables, and now I’m bartending and managing a private club in the heart of the city. Sometimes I wonder how I got to where I am, but I have no doubt I’m right in the center of God’s calling for me today. I also substitute teach at the Junior/Senior high. I’m not sure which brand of customers is more interesting to observe.

My life is on mission – whether I’m writing, preaching, or crafting cocktails. I thought by now I’d be a pastor of some sort – and maybe I am. Either way, I find myself in conversations with people looking for hope and purpose every day and there’s not much time to waste.

I have 3 older sisters, 2 brothers-in-law, 2 nieces, and a nephew. What a blessing they are – they never seem to run out of grace for their “whats-she-gonna-do-next”  baby sister. I’m also blessed by parents whose timely and rational wisdom keep me alive and out of jail.

Lastly, Jesus. You guys, I can’t stress enough what this guy means and how radical He really is. Before I knew Him intimately I had no direction, purpose, or hope. For a girl who spent most of her life dragging herself out of bed, the light of Christ has undoubtedly awakened my life. With Jesus as King, there is always more.

I’m sure as you journey with me on this blog you will find what makes me who I am. I hope it encourages you to find who you are. You are a world-changer, and I believe your veins pulse with purpose and gifting. We need a Kingdom full of people who know who they are – then we won’t waste so much time questioning what we’re to do.