{a comment revolution}

All right. It is time to start a revolution. 

My dear Bloggers and Bloggeresses: as you all know, the primary function of a blogger to write about things. Anything, really! Their lives, life in general, movies, books, school, dancing....writing, blogging, cooking...the list goes on an on.

It is also a well known fact that we write first for our own enjoyment but also for yours. And here's the thing: it's hard to keep up a vibrant, happy, healthy little blog without what Show Biz calls "Audience Participation."

I am as guilty as the next person of sometimes looking at my update feed, reading the posts, and leaving the page without leaving a comment. Heck--sometimes without even clicking those little reaction buttons. And a favor not bestowed is a favor never returned--why am I surprised when checking the comments on this blog to find very few, if any? We do love all of our followers, but the truth is, it's so much more inspiring to write for your group of followers if they appear to be alive...not just grinning little faces labeled under "Followers." ;)

Lately I have been challenging myself to actually leave comments. To go through the laborious and eye-bending task of filling out those "Captcha" doohickeys and doing the whole shebang. And not just a "great job!" comment--a real comment!
By now you're looking at me with your eyebrow raised. "Rachel you're sounding a bit...well, I hate to notice but...a bit revolutionary!"

What I'd like to propose is a 30-day challenge for each person who reads this blog. A 30 day challenge from this last day of August through the last day of September. A challenge for each of us to comment on 50% of the blog posts you read. I know it doesn't take that long to type up a comment and leave one. Truly.

So let's make a pact? One-half of the posts you read for one month? Deal? Who's with me on this? If you *are* with me, leave a comment (!) and tell me, and then take the meme I made up there and spread it around! Love you all and hope you have a fabulous Friday!
                 -Rachel

close to falling.

It's nearly fall.

And I'm getting excited about all the fallish things I love so much.

For instance:

Fall fashion. In the cooler seasons you get to don your boots, layers, scarves, and all the pretty accessories that are more for looks than warmth. ;)

Comfortable hoodies...

And the next big one being the food! :D I absolutely love all the comfort foods and treats that you only get when the wind is blowing and then leaves are falling. :)

(my personal favorite, apple cider doughnuts!)

And freshly made apple cider is one thing that cannot be beaten. 

CARAMEL!!!!

Windy days

All the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows.

Ah.....I'm getting myself in the mood for all of the above! 

What are some of your favorite things about autumn? :)

It's their 24th!!! :)

Happy 24th Anniversary Dad and Mom! :) 
We all love you guys so much and are blessed to have such wonderful parents who love each other and all of us a bunch! 

Ephesians 5:1-2Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Dear World {In defense of watching sunsets}

Dear, Darling,World,
     Tonight I took time to lay aside my broom in the middle of evening chores and watch the sunset. A simple thing, but one that might tell a lot about a person if you'd only listen.
It is a maxim of mine never to grow too busy to watch a sunset. You see, a person who is too busy to watch a sunset now and then is to busy to live, and if one is too busy to live, then one had much better die. It sounds harsh, yes, but if you'd only bear with me a moment longer you might understand...

What do we rush through life for but to get to the end and look back with a sigh of relief? Then it is the end you are rushing after, so go ahead and rush toward it if you will. I'm afraid I take a rather Peter-Pan-ian view of this life:
Of course I want to be in Heaven with Jesus, but I am not one of those cardboard people who think this world is rotten through and through with nothing to enjoy. Heaven will be marvelous, I know. Far better than anything I've imagined it out to be. If I knew what perfection is I'm sure I'd die here and now from sheer longing to be there. But how can one be quite certain that there will be sunsets? One cannot be certain of anything on that account because there won't need to be a sun with God's glory shining. Now wouldn't it be a shame to get to Heaven only to realize that you'd missed all the sunsets on earth? Heaven will undoubtedly have things far more beautiful than a sunset, but think of the benefits of taking a bit of time to lay aside your broom! What a longer life it might give you, just because you watched a sunset. Think of it in a logical manner:

1. You lay aside your broom, therefore you add a moment of leisure to your life that might never have existed.

2. You step out onto the porch and your skin soaks in the last rays of vitamin D while you heart and soul are fed by this beauty of the Lord's making. Right there, one has ministered to all three parts of one's body.

3. You let your mind wander a little which improves brain capacity and intelligence.

4. You watch this sunset with your senses alive to the beauty of the world--the colors flooding the sky, the sound of the frogs and crickets, the feel of the cool air against your skin. Thus your awareness of your five senses will be heightened and your dinner will taste better

5. You go back inside and you are in a happier mood.

6. You finish sweeping and probably do a much better job because now that it comes to it, you can see all those spots you missed.

7. You live your life this way, stepping outside to watch sunsets. Once you get to Heaven you see there might not be any sunsets, but there is something infinitely better--you are slightly prepared for the glory by absorbing beauty in little doses.

8. You are twice the winner--you tasted heaven on earth, and you'll recognize earth in Heaven.

So you see, watching the sunsets will extend your life, make you healthy, wealthy, and wise, and all around improve you in every manner. How the philosophers would laugh at my reasoning, but I say Let Them. I guarantee that I'll be the happier by the end of this life while they argued that I was the one in error. :)

Love Everly,

                  Rachel

Button Swap

I have the pleasure today of taking part of a very fun blog event organized by Miss Bree . My name was paired up with the (then) unfamiliar name of Blythe. It's been very fun to get to know her and to start a new bloggy friendship! So without further ado, here's my interview of her!

Hey there,

  My name is Blythe which means cheerful and I try to live up to that,I'm a 17 year old German and Irish country girl who enjoys many things,to name a few; ministry,photography,music,

hair,running barefoot,bug free evenings,walks in the backyard,atv riding,blogging and I shall not bore you any longer about myself cause,but one thing you must know about me is that I love Jesus with all my heart and one day I hope to find a godly man who does also and wants to be involved in a ministry.

 - How long have you been blogging at Raindrops? a little over 2 years.

-What are you favorite topics to blog about? Photoshoots, pinterest photography inspiration.

-What would a perfect day for you look like? Uh...hmmmm... I meet a guy fall in love and start courting...lol,jk even though that would be nice someday,but let me see the perfect day would be waking up to a sunny morning eating a gf donut with orange juice then going out with friends (roll down the windows and listen to some music.) to a 4-wheeler race tracks and racing around,then going off shopping with a $500 shopping spree buy a whole new wardrobe, go eat lunch at chipotle then go to the mall had out gospel tracks, then fly to Ireland for the evening and night and just sit on the coast with my friends and have a photoshoot. Hey,I can dream can I. :)

-Are you more of an extrovert or an introvert? An Extrovert most definitely!

-Do you play an instrument? yes, I do,the violin.

-Dark or milk chocolate? Oooo,milk. Yuck to dark it reminds me of a chocolate flavored medicine I had to take as a kid.

-How long have you been interested in photography, and why do you do it? For about 3 years I only really got into last year,this year I bought my first dslr. I do as an inspiration and a thrill of it I guess.

-What is one of your big dreams for your life?  To meet a godly young man and get hitched. :)

-Tell us 3 random things about yourself. I love adventures,I never paint my nails,I rambling (and not the amusing rambling,but the annoying kind.)

-What is your rank in your family? (age wise) I'm 5th,right in the middle. (4 older and 4 younger.)

-List one of each: your favorite singer/musician, your favorite book, and your favorite movie?

Singer: My favorite singer?? Uh,don't have one sorry.

Book: The Bible.

Movie: I don't have one of those either, I hate choosing cause I have different favorites depends on my mood and who I'm watching it with (I hate watching a movie with a group and I'm the only one who finds it amusing....awkward...)

Well there you have it! :) Thanks so much Blythe, for doing this interview with me! Everyone else make sure you pop over to Raindrops and check out more about my new friend! :) 
(and here's her interview of me: )

-Sarah

LONDON 2012

Much to our family's chagrin, the London 2012 Olympics ended on Sunday. We always enjoy watching the various sports after dinner most days during the endurance of these games, and definitely miss them once they're over! :D Here are some of our favorite athletes from London: 

Carrie Walsh 

Gabby Douglas on the balance beam

it's a gold for gabby!

(this one ^ we're especially proud of, seeing as she grew up in our hometown! :)

Megan Hodge womens' volleyball

I was really impressed by Megan Hodge's spikes! She was crazy talented and was a great asset for Team USA. 

Lochte and Phelps 

It was very interesting to watch the rivalry/team dynamics during these games between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. Which one were you all rooting for? ;)

Teammates, and rivals at the same time

Allyson Felix track and field

We had a fun time watching the track and field relays this year! :) 

Missy Franklin

Also, Missy Franklin, a 17 year old gold medalist, did a fabulous job in her first Olympics. :)

Phelps becomes the most decorated Olympian ever!

And props to Phelps for breaking the record of the most decorated athlete in the Olympics on the record!

Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers

I know they didn't do too well this time around, but we've always loved the duo of Dalhausser and Rogers. ;P

Johnston and Bryant synchronized divers

Synchronized diving just about blows my mind! It was so cool to watch these two girls compete and we all cheered when they got second! :) 

BMX!!! ;) 

One evening Mens' and Womens' BMX was on, so we had a good time watching that since it doesn't get much coverage during these events.

Harry and Kate during the closing ceremony

Rach and I loved seeing the Royal family up in the stands in the various games, and got to see Kate and William get into it. ;)
The only part of this year's games I didn't care for was the opening and closing ceremonies. I actually missed the first part both times, which was a bummer, but from what everyone said, they seemed to be kind of strange and confusing......what did you all think? Oh, and the very random appearance of Willy Wonka guy was odd. :P

Vlogging, anyone? :)

So it is up to you. We are going to be making a Vlog soon, and want to know what you'd like it to be about! :)
 A general vlog about random things
 A musical vlog
 A tour-vlog
 Or Other. (In which case leave a comment. :)

A SMASH*ing success!

 A friend introduced me to the trendy "Smash book" idea in May or June. I was a bit confused when she tried to explain it, but then totally jumped on the wagon when I watched this video by K&Company.
It made so much sense and looked just like my style, so right away it went down on my wish list! :) I mean, come on! I'm a self-proclaimed pack rat and keep so many odds and ends in various drawers, boxes, etc. that this looked like a perfect place to store them in a creative way!

 Mom had remembered how badly I wanted one, and bought me the "retro-style" book complete with some accessories!

Some pockets, fill-in-the-blank pages, and cute tape!

At my next free time I went and collected all my junky treasures from hither and yon ^. ;) That way I can have it all there when I want to start smashing. 

a pie contest ribbon, a ricola wrapper, a concert ticket, and some cool coins.

 Yesterday evening I spread out my supplies and began to smash! At first I was a little bewildered and tried to figure out if I wanted to theme this book, or just let it be a beautiful mess. As you can see, I decided on the latter. ;)

These pages may or may not be finished....we'll just have to wait and see.

Here's another---it definitely is needing more occupants, but I can add anything later on. :)

Anyways, I'm thrilled with how it's turning out so far, and am really looking forward to filling up this book! (and hopefully will get it busting at the seams and overflowing by the time I'm through with it. :)
Have any of you heard of this new fad? Have you become a Smasher yet?
-Sarah

NCF Girls Retreat Recap!

 The week of the 15th I had the pleasure of driving 2 hours to a Girls' Retreat held at a friend's church. The Lord worked all the details out so that I could attend it this year, after being invited by several friends. Mom, Anna, Leah, Levi and I headed out Sunday morning and stopped at a mall on the way just for fun. :) We arrived at the church in high excitement and I was ready to have an awesome experience.

First things first, I got all checked in, greeted all my peeps, and set up my bag and cup for the week. 

I was a designated member of Team China, and found my table and the rest of my team. :)

Wasn't our table amazing? :)

GO TEAM CHINA!!! :)

Some of the other girls were in teams Ireland, Israel, Thailand, Mexico, and a few others.

One of the many uplifting and encouraging sessions during those 3 long days. :)

Amber sharing her thoughts on Courage.

Our worship team was terrific. Meredith, Bethany, Amber, Josie, Amy, Michelle, and others-- you all were such a huge blessing and added a neat level to my experience.

Praising Jesus! :) 

Some of the favorite songs of the week:

Meredith helped us to understand more about the persecuted church in a very powerful way. Check out this video. And after the session we had the opportunity to write a note of encouragement to Christians in prison in several different countries. :) It was really neat to be able to do that.

Along with all this wonderful stuff, there were so many fun games to be had! Here's just a sneak peek into all the craziness there was. ;)

Give six blind-folded girls makeup, and this is what you get. 

\\WARNING\\  **This is a very disturbing image** ;P 

Told ya. ;)

On Tuesday Josie had done a wonderful job of setting all us girls up with a jewelry making session. :)

And there was........

NINJA!!!! 

I actually did a pretty decent job and came in 2nd of all the girls. :)

One of the climaxes of the week was the notorious shaving cream war! This was the most insane, mayhem of a game, but it was well worth the mess. :) I was armed with two cans of Barbasol and went out there to be turned white. :D 

The ante-bellum picture. ;)

After you were thoroughly slathered up, you got to go jump into the farm pond! 

And then there was the waterslide......

Bethany, Amber, Amy and I went out on the paddle boat......until we realized that it was "kaput". We had to be pushed back to the edge due to having no steering and only one paddle. :P

Monday and Tuesday zoomed by and we all were looking forward to the special evening prepared by the leaders. :)

All those ladies had totally done a make over to the church and transformed it to a banquet hall. :) 

I felt so overwhelmed by all the love and effort put into this night, and will remember it always.

Each team's leader prayed for their group and presented each girl with a pretty scarf. :)

There was a really great time of worship and prayer and then some icecream cake concocted by the awesome Tina! :) 

The rest of the night (til 2 o clock) was a blur of dancing, music, laughing, smiles, and altogether a very happy time! 

This retreat was a HUGE blessing and I really enjoyed how all the young women and ladies led us girls to our Lord and the AMAZING love He has for us. :) It definitely was a refresher and rejuvenated my spirit. I think it's terribly impossible to throw a bunch of fun-loving godly young women together and expect them to not have an awesome time. ;) 

It was so good to meet all those sweet girls and I look forward to all the friendships that will blossom from this week. (and it was also fun to finally put faces to all these names I'd heard around. :D

 

Thank you Jesus, for the blessing of this retreat and how you've used it to draw all of us closer to your heart. 

And to this ^ crazy-wonderful-awesome-group of girls:

I miss you all a lot and hope to see you again next year! :)

"I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer....For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." -Isaiah 56:7

{{{{All photos Copyright Krissy Hinton 2012}}}}}