In All Things

Incase you haven't resubscribed...

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:53:00 +0000

http://inallthings1peter411.blogspot.com/

a new post! And some fabulous talent.

A New Address

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:41:00 +0000

Though we don't know what our new mailing address will be just yet... I do have a new BLOG address for you.

I have wanted to change the .com for this blog for a long time. Something about having our first and last names on it made me a little uneasy. So from now on, I will be posting at my new .com....

http://inallthings1peter411.blogspot.com/

everything is the same, just a different location. Please sign up over there to receive my updates! Thanks faithful followers!

(I promise more info soon on the move! So far we have had a showing every day but one since friday!! Crazy!)

Would Jesus listen to Jay-Z?

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:03:00 +0000

My hubby officially has his own blog (mostly because this one was too "frou-frou"). :) So I'm claiming this one and may make some edits accordingly :)

His first post is one that has been brewing for a while. He has great insight to some cultural blind spots in the area of entertainment. Hop on over and take a look. (He's awesome)

www.clintdarst.blogspot.com

Happy New Year! (a tad late)

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:53:00 +0000

We spent this last week in Chattanooga TN with 5,000 Campus Outreach students and staff! Some of the best preachers in the country were there. It. was. amazing. It was time well spent for us, ministering to college students (with no babies!) and enjoying the city. We are really tired(physically), but refreshed (spiritually) as well. And SO VERY glad to be home!

2011 was a year of refining for us. The Lord's commitment was evident. Many life circumstances were difficult and unexpected, but the Lord used them to make us more like Him. And so, it was very very good. 2012 will have its' difficulty for sure, but we are excited for a fresh start. This year will be different than any other. In ways we know and in ways we don't know just yet. The Lord has been up to a lot in and among us.

If you are on Facebook you may have noticed some chatter about some "news" for us. Though I still can't share ALL the details, I can let you in on a major part of it. As of tonight around midnight, our house goes live online, for sale! This is long in the making for us. We have known it was going to happen since last summer, but the reality is setting in. We are excited and anxious and hopeful for all this means!

The full news about whats up will be posted later this week. ;)

May the Lord be made great in 2012. In transition, in moving, in parenting, and in a new normal. Happy New Year!

Oh, December

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:54:00 +0000

December has been a little chaotic for us. With the end of Clint's first seminary semester, crunch time for our ministry schedule, sickness running through the house, and preparing for Christmas, its been a little nuts. We have been trying to usher in the baby Christ by doing daily (ha) devotions and crafts from Truth in the Tinsel (which I highly recommend!). Though it hasn't been as "Christmasy" as I'd hoped, we are still making memories. I feel like Christmas is never as ideal as I hope...I keep hanging on to the hope of next year being less crazy. Hopefully this time, that will be true.

I was encouraged by my friend Carrie's blog recently. She says it so well, and I think our ideals can be unfair because of what others holidays look like. Hello, Pottery Barn December catalog! You know why its unfair to look at those pictures and think "I wish my house could be like that during Christmas"? NO ONE LIVES IN THOSE HOUSES! It's an epiphany I had this week as I attempted to wash dishes, make a Mary popsicle craft, read scripture to a 3 year old and balance a cranky 14 month old on my hip. This is what Christmas looks like here. All day Veggie Tales Little Drummer Boy marathons because the whole family is too sick to do anything else, half done advent devotions because I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old, no lights up anywhere in the house (except the tree) because I can't find a drop cord, and no. Christmas. cards.

But you know what? My baby knows which Little People is Jesus, my 3 year old knows about an angel named Gabriel visiting 2 women with news of babies to come, and believe me, we know the story of the little drummer boy. Baby steps. And though I may not be living up to the mom bloggers I read, I know this. We are being faithful in the chaotic, sick, clingy, imperfect reality that is our life.

So, here are a few pics of the (few documented) December happenings around here.....

We love shatterproof ornaments...

Decorating the tree.

playing together. One of my most favorite things in life right now.

Nias learns to watercolor. What a big boy.

Just Because

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:21:00 +0000

Chelsea {Senior}

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Whats more fun than taking pictures? Taking Senior pictures of your little sister in the town you guys grew up spending holidays and summers in! Chels asked me to do this a long time ago, but we couldn't get our schedules together until Thanksgiving weekend. We were blessed with a perfect (not too cold) wednesday and headed out to find some rustic fun alleys and buildings in the T.O.B.

Here are some of my favorites

Blue door...blue eyes...wow

Biggest smile in the world.

Nothing like bubbles to get the facial expressions going!

My elementary school. Heart.

Love this...just love it.

Chels and her love, the basketball court. I love how this turned out!

Lauren + Jesse

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:16:00 +0000

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I am planning a wedding :) But in addition to planning a very fun June wedding, I had the privilege of doing a little engagement photo shoot with the happy couple! This is the 3rd shoot I have had in the last 2 months which is VERY exciting. I feel like the Lord just dropped this in my lap...and I. LOVE. IT. I had so much fun with these two...and honestly, could the pictures have turned out bad with such beauty represented??? Meet my sister in law, Lauren. She's the most photogenic human alive! And here are a few of my favorites!

Happy Birthday E!

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:56:00 +0000

This little beauty just turned 3. THREE...that's like, almost 10! Or...thats what it seems to me some days! Eden has been such a joy for us. She is funny and sweet and my oh my B-R-I-G-H-T! Clint anticipates coming home to the "Eden quote of the day". And she keeps me laughing and shaking my head in amazement daily.

I am renewed in my loved for the Lord consistently when I see how good and perfect His gifts are. (James 1:17) Eden is such a picture of that. Her strong will has made me more patient, her silliness has made me more joyful, her intellect has made me more diligent, her compassion has made me more compassionate. I am sure that she has taught me as much as I have taught her!

Happy birthday Eden...you are such a good and perfect gift from the Father!!!

Pinterest: A Public Display of Affection

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:11:00 +0000

This is a blog long in the making. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Pinterest, but I have noticed in my own "pinning" and in others, that we must be careful with our flesh. If you haven't been introduced to the wonderful world of pinning, let me explain. Pinterest is like a virtual pin board where you put all the magazine clippings, ideas, and articles that you don't want to forget about. It is an amazing way to plan events and get ideas for just about anything. It is a bride-to-be's dream (hence my and my sister in law's current obsession with it)! And get this...its public. Every. Single. Pin.

So whats not to love? The Lord has been gracious to reveal a lot to me about idols. An idol is anything you worship over God himself. I used to think idols were literal "carved images" (think Buddah). But they are much more than that. An idol is anything you love more than you love the Lord. Anything you think of more than Him. Anything you think will give you life outside of Him. It is a (usually unaware) belief that something will make you happy, complete.

What does Pinterest have to do with this? It gives us access to everything we could ever want in one place. Of course, it is all still in wish form, but still yet. We can browse and pin and covet and have it all cataloged in one place neatly sorted into areas that will make our marriage, home, parenting perfect. This has been eating away at me for months. As I sit back and watch single girls with no promise of marriage plan their future wedding, my soul groans. What if the Lord calls them to singleness for life? What if they never have enough money for that perfect kitchen? Or what if infertility doesn't allow them to have that rosy cheeked newborn? Hear me out, none of those things are wrong. They are all precious gifts that I praise God for. But there is no hope or happiness in and of themselves. My fear is that as we pin and wish and assume, we make demands on the Lord. And we believe deep down that those things are promised, and they will be all we ever hoped for. And they will not.

I think there are biblical principles to apply even as we browse Pinterest. Are we guarding our hearts (Proverbs 4:23) against things that will makes us discontent, envious or bitter? Are we believing that something outside of Christ will make us happy, whole or content? Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart".

My love for Pinterest is unwavering. I have gotten hundreds of great ideas for photo shoots, Lauren's wedding, birthdays, decor, and homeschool stuff. But my guard is officially up. I realize more now than ever what I am quick to idolize. And even if it is a precious, white, open kitchen where I can serve my family while my kids play and memorize scripture, it is still an idol.

But there hope. As we become aware of what we are quick to idolize, grace peeks out from behind the dead stone. The desires we have are good ones, God-given even. But when they take control and leave Jesus in the dust of their magical false fairytale, that's when things get ugly. Our God is jealous, and He wants your WHOLE heart. And He will do whatever it takes to get it. "He knows what is best and He will not let there be peace until He alone controls our hearts" (Paul Tripp). So count it all grace as He reveals to you (and sometimes strips from you) the things you love more than Him. He loves you far too much to let you settle for pig slop when He offers you the Kings feast.

My Stud is 1!

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:13:00 +0000

There's been a lot going on in the past month, hence the lack of blogs! But mainly, a very handsome, sweet, cuddly little boy had his first birthday!

I found this idea on Pinterest and LOVED it! I hope to make one for every birthday my kids have! What a fun way to remember what they liked!

Happy Birthday sweet baby boy! You have been a constant reminder that the Lord is indeed full of grace!!

Let the Planning Begin!

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:24:00 +0000

This past weekend Clint's sister Lauren got engaged!! I have been told since I planned our wedding 5 years ago, that I would be resident wedding planner when Lauren got married. And thus it begins! We are so so so excited for her and her hubby-to-be Jesse (I am also excited that this means my kids will have an uncle Jesse! HA!). I have until June to plan a frugal, beautiful, natural, simple, elegant wedding. And I am SO excited! So be expecting posts in the next few months on how where to save, spend, DIY and forget in the whole wedding planning process! Congrats Lauren and Jesse! May this wedding be a picture of the two becoming one!!!

Musical Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:11:00 +0000

This is a song we listen to literally every day! Sometimes multiple times a day! Our prayer is that our little ones, as they dance and sing "and if our God is for us, then what can stand against?" develop a theology of the Lord being on our side!

Musical Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:03:00 +0000

I hope that Musical Monday would be more consistent than it has. But when life happens, often blogging doesn't. Here are two guys we LOVE. Shane and Shane have led us into worship via their cd's and concerts for years. Theirs is the first Christian CD Clint ever gave me. They sing the scriptures and that is why we love them. Here is a song from their new album The One You Need. GO GET IT. And if you have a daughter, you might want to grab some tissues as well...

a Little R&R

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:16:00 +0000

This past weekend hubby and I took a little retreat. Upon the request and funded by some great (generous) friends of ours, we were ordered to go to a Bed and Breakfast to sleep and recover from our ~~insane~~ interesting summer. I did quite a bit of research and decided this was exactly what we needed. So, we dropped the babies off with some very happy grandparents and went on our way the farm! We spent the weekend eating VERY well thanks to Terry the chef, resting in the beautiful rooms, studying God's word, reading and watching college football. It was exactly what we needed. We feel rested. We feel renewed. We feel ready to jump into a crazy semester of ministry, school, parenting and life. Here are few pictures to show you just how restful this place was!

Miniature cows...

not so miniature bunny

Donkey... I. Love. Donkeys.

MomLife

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:25:00 +0000

We have been car searching since the sweet Passat got totaled. We loved that car and what it stood for, overwhelming generosity from friends and from the Lord. But, alas, there is a new season unfolding.

We have been working with an amazing man from our church to get a car from his lot. Clint was very vague about what we wanted. Good gas mileage, good car, great deal. The next day he called Clint to tell him he had an amazing deal on this...

Oh yeah...that's right. As of this weekend we will be chillin in this sweet ride. We are officially minivan parents. Oh how I never thought this day would come....

Healing

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:18:00 +0000

We are healing well from the accident, emotionally as well as physically. My black eye is quickly fading, which makes Clint really happy (hes been getting lots of hateful looks when we are together...). I've had to explain a few times "He didn't hit me...we were in a car accident". Prayers have been felt, and we are in the process of getting a new car...more on that another day ;)

A few days after the accident, we were in Walmart buying new car seats. Clint looked up and froze. "I think that's the guy that hit us." There are over 250,000 people in Greensboro, and lo and behold...it was him. We walked up to him. He hugged me and told me he was sorry. It was surreal. Clint had lunch with him yesterday. Surreal.

The Lord has been so gracious through all of this. We have felt loved on and cared for like family from our homegroup at church. Meals came every other day. They took care of our kids the day of the accident. They came to the hospital to pick us up. The Church has rallied around us. They have been such a picture of the Lord's provision and compassion. Our families have (as always) been amazing. We've received cards, calls, texts and tweets. Friends came to visit that night.

The Lord works in very powerful ways through His people, and especially through a body of believers. I have never been more convinced of the power and influence of the Church. We really are intended to work together as parts of the body. Some fingers, some toes, some eyes, some a tongue. And when you get to see it working together it is as marvelous as the human body. Breathtaking if you will allow yourself to see it for what it is.

What happened

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:16:00 +0000

This has been one of the strangest weeks of my life. Any tragic event is unexpected and scary, and all the more so if it happens to you and you don't remember it. My sweet hubby shared what happened last Sunday from his point of view. Mine is a little different....

We were on our way to church that morning. I was particularly nervous because I was supposed to share my testimony to the near 200 people that attend Christ Church Greensboro. I remember my Clint praying for me. I remember Eden requesting Lecrae's "High". I remember the babies dancing to it, laughing at each other. They were in sync... it was so cute. And then...I remember a man standing at my window asking if I was ok. He was yelling, he cursed. I was sure I was dreaming, but the dream wouldn't stop. I felt like I couldn't breathe. Someone handed me a gray shirt to put on my head. I spat glass out of my mouth. I looked down and saw Clint's journal, it had blood on it. I wanted to ask Clint if it was real, but I never got it out. All I could say was "we were just talking...". A fireman asked if I could move. I told him I could get out. I couldn't. I started to cry, realizing it was all real. I looked out the window to see two friends of ours whose faces told me all I needed to know. It looked really bad. Clint told me the babies were ok. He told me he loved me. I shook my head, "I love you too". A homeless man got Nias out of his car seat. Another rubbed Eden's face to calm her. The firefighters cut me out of the car and paramedics put me in a neck brace and then onto a stretcher. Everything was still very cloudy. I looked up to see a sign that said Friendly Ave.

I knew I was bleeding, but I was unaware of how bad it was. I stayed in a dream-like state until I was in the ambulance. I started to weep, thanking the Lord for protecting my husband and babies. Thoughts ran through my mind at warp speed. "We just moved Nias, we never ride in the Passat, what happened?" The paramedic began the questions. Name, age, date, where we were headed. I told the paramedic I was supposed to share my testimony at church, he responded that I was going to have a little more to tell now. Amen.

I had CT scans on almost my entire body. All were negative. Grace. A specialist came to stitch my eye up. He was a believer. Grace. I look in the mirror to see that the cut missed my eye by 1/4 of an inch. Grace.

I got to go home that night and hold my babies. I walked out of the ER that afternoon with minor injuries. The Lord is full of grace. We believe that, more now than ever. I believe the Lord led dear friends of ours 50 weeks before the accident to give us that Passat so that it might save my life. I believe He made Nias fussy in the car so that we would move him to the middle one week before. I believe He led us to drive the Passat that morning so that when that Explorer hit us, my head and neck would be cushioned by the airbags. And I believe He was in control of the whole thing. He spared us much in the accident. As we laid in bed that night we thanked God for His grace to us. I don't know how this will work to our good (Romans 8:28). Maybe it already has. :)

Our Wreck, God's Will

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:29:00 +0000

Her eyes were open unusually wide. Blood quickly filled her entire right eye and flowed down her face, glass was everywhere. “Rachel, are you okay, what hurts baby?” She couldn’t respond but just stared at me and moved in slow motion with this look of terror and confusion. Eden was screaming and Nias was crying. I placed my hand on her bleeding face, “Rachel are you okay, baby are you okay?” The door was crushed in just over her lap so she couldn’t move. I took off my shirt and told her to put it on the side of her face, she nodded in response. My hand was shaking violently and my phone was covered in her blood. I looked up at a young man outside of Rachel’s door who began, “I’m so sorry, I just looked at my gps, I’m so sorry are you okay?” I yelled, “its okay just call 911!” I kissed my wife told her I loved her and that I needed to check on the kids. To my relief they were both still strapped in their car seats. I got Eden out as she had a mouth full of blood but thank God it was just from biting her tongue. A man off the street was rubbing E’s face as I held her and another asked me if he could get Nias out of his seat. Nias didn’t have a scratch. “Rachel baby are you okay?” “We were just talking...we were just talking...” she replied --Finally she was talking and beginning to cry, she was going to be okay. “Baby its okay, you are going to be okay, you can cry its okay, the kids are fine, its okay baby.” Grayson’s car turns left to avoid the intersection and I see him touch his breaks as I imagine he realizes it is us. I turn to see some friends, Tayler, Phil, and Bolick on the sidewalk. “Eden go to Tay Tay baby.” I race back over to the car with Nias as the medics are cutting my wife out. “Are you okay baby?” They told me I had to back up but they think she is okay. I fill out some paper work answer some questions and then me and the kids load up in a separate ambulance. At this point I feel hopeful because she wasn’t in much pain and her body wasn’t mangled up, seemed like just a cut. I called our parents and finally got to the hospital.
    The kids checked out fine and Rachel suffered only a gash between and just below her temple and right eye. All 4 CT Scans came back negative. No broken bones, no internal injuries, only a bad cut that an expert face-doctor stitched up. I loaded up the kids with a friend from our home group at church and Eden said, “That man hurt us. He threw rocks at us.” She always keeps things fun. I explained to her that we had a wreck and that those rocks were glass from the windows. We are now home and recovering.

What happened?

We were on our way to church. Rachel was sharing her testimony, so it was a big day. We took Market St into downtown and turned left on Edgeworth. The kids were jamming out to Lecrae and we glanced back to see them both bobbing their heads (it was hilarious). Then a second or two later we passed through the intersection of Edgeworth and Friendly which are both One-way streets. There is a large house on the corner so there was no ability to see any traffic coming down Friendly, nor could they see us. A young man from out of town, Temitope, was looking at his GPS as he didn’t know where he was going, and never saw that he had a red light. He said he was going 45-50 mph and I don’t think he ever hit the breaks. He ‘T-Boned’ us perfectly pushing us through the intersection.

Where was God?

My wife is a soldier. Last night as we lay in bed crying and praying she concluded her prayers with, “God we are just so thankful for the great blessings of this day.” The number one emotion we felt last night was sober, authentic, thankful worship. And that is my main reason for writing this blog. I want you to know of the Providential Protection of our King in 3 very specific tangible and now miraculous ways.

A Week Ago
Nias hasn’t liked riding in the car recently and we have driven non-stop over the last month. So last week we decided that instead of having Nias’ behind the passenger, we would try to squeeze him beside Eden’s car-seat which was behind the driver, so that she could entertain him. So for 9 months and 3 weeks of his life, Nias was directly behind the passenger seat where the Ford Explorer T-Boned us. For a little over the last week he has been in the middle of the car instead. Our son is named after Ananias in Acts Chapter 9 whose name means: ‘The Lord is Full of Grace’. On the day Nias turned 10 months old, God displayed that He indeed is full of grace and specifically full of grace towards our little man. God orchestrated and ordained our lil man to not like the car over the last month, so that we would move him to the middle of the car, possibly sparing his little life.

Two Days Before the Wreck
    I love music. I am almost 30 years old but I have an amp and sub that was given to me years ago. It has sat in my office for a while unused. Friday I had to go do some yard work at the house that we lease to our staff in Wingate (that we bought, in part, with a $10,000 gift that was given to us from a couple whom we had never met. Specific answer to prayer.) So I decided I’d hook up the speaker     in the CRV for my 4 hours on the road. Therefore, I moved the kids car-seats to the Passat (that was given to us as an answer to prayer almost exactly 1 year ago.) Why is this significant? Both the CRV and the Passat have high side-impact crash ratings but only the Passat has side airbags. I really believe that God providentially moved me to move the car-seats on Friday to protect Rachel from worse injury.

For the Last 6 Months
    I don’t know if it has been exactly six months but somewhere near that long, I have had this intense caution that I was going to be in a wreck in an intersection. I have never been in a wreck before yesterday, but this suspicion was so intense that I told Rachel about it a month ago. On the way back from Myrtle Beach I was at an intersection and my light turned green. One car passed through just after it did and I waited for another 2 or 3 seconds and a second car sped through the same light. I called Rachel and told her that about the feeling I had and that I though maybe it was God keeping me from getting in that wreck on Highway 52 (the car was probably going 65 mph and would have hit my side). Well, maybe God did give me that suspicion for that moment, but He surely did for yesterday. Yesterday as I saw the Ford Explorer out of my periphery it was exactly what I had envisioned. Now while I had pictured this in my head, I was always alone. Thats where God’s providence comes in. Through the Grace He gave via adrenaline and through what felt like 6 months of preparation, I was able to keep my head, think clearly and help my family in this moment of need. I am deeply thankful that He gave power in my weakness. Today I let it out and really cried on the way too and from Chick-fil-A. God gave such grace for me to keep it together until then.

So what is the answer to the question, “Where was God?” He was near and active with us 6 months ago when the visions started. He was near and active with us a week ago when we moved Nias to the middle. He was near and active with us Friday when I moved the car-seats. And He was near and with us as we left our house, turned left on Edgeworth, and entered the intersection. He was near and active lining up the Explorer to perfectly T-Bone our car going 45mph. He was near and active protecting Rachel in the impact, and keeping me calm. He was near and active in keeping me and the kids from having so much as a scratch. He was near and active as our church looked for Rachel to come up on stage to give her testimony and couldn’t find her, causing a man to calmly say, “I saw a wreck, maybe we should pray.” He was near and active as one stranger gently stroked my daughters cheek and another got my son out of the car. He was near and active as firemen cut my wife out of the car and at the hospital where she was treated. He was near and active as our Home Group from Church took our children home, cleaned the house, got us some chocolate cake and organized meals for us this week. He was near and active through our parents presence at our home. He was near and active as we cried and prayed together last night. He was near and active through text messages, emails and phone calls. He was near and active as I rocked my lil man to sleep this morning and as Rachel read a book to Eden. He was near and active as He ministered to me as I let it go in the car to and from Chick-fil-A. He is near and active as your read these words because this is the kind of God we serve, Immanuel, God with us. He is Sovereign and He is good. I find much comfort in knowing it was His will for us to have the wreck and I have hope that any other “wrecks” me and my family will go through in this life, He will be near and active.

Please pray for Temitope. I text him yesterday assuring him that we were okay and not angry at him. He thanked me and apologized over and over. I assured Him that God had forgiven us in Christ for more sins against Him, that Temitope could ever commit against us. I asked Him if we could get together for lunch so that I could share more about this God with him. He said he would love to. Pray it happens and that Jesus would spare his eternal life the way he has spared our eternal and temporal life.

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” James 4:14-15.

Today I am reminded why I exist. Life is but a precious vapor. Don’t waste it. By God’s grace live for the Glory of Christ and others joy in Him. Protect and foster your relationships, first with God then with your family, your church and the lost and dying world. His Grace is sufficient. I Corinthians 12:9-10.

Generations

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:07:00 +0000

The Lord has been gracious to constantly remind me lately of a song I loved in college. As I walk through long and exhausting days of mommyhood, I have needed a reminder that my labor is not in vain and that every decision that I make has consequences, good or bad. How I respond may affect not only my own children and home, but their children (and their children's children) years from now. Some mornings I have woken up to this song in my head, even though I haven't heard it in years. Praise God for His faithfulness to remind us of the Truth using music. "Remind me of this with every decision, generations will reap what I sow."

Saturday Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:53:00 +0000

Just for pure entertainment....

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:36:00 +0000

Same outfit.... How cute is this?

Introducing...

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 12:58:00 +0000

Notice anything different? :) A few days ago, hubby informed me that I need a new blog title. Something a little more interesting and focused. See, this blog started out as a way to update our ministry supporters and share pictures of the kids with family and friends. "Darst on the Daily" fit. Somehow between then and now "our" blog has turned into my blog and has, well, evolved. It has become a place for me to (still) share pictures of the kids and update supporters. But it has also become a place for me to process, to share my heart and to tell anyone who will read about what God has done in me.

In college a good friend and I started making cards and were looking for a name to call our little "business". Though it never really went anywhere (other than some great gifts for friends), we decided on "In All Things". As I thought and prayed over it, this seemed like the perfect title for this blog. Its not catchy or cute, but that is my vision for what I write here. That whether in pictures of my kids, DIY crafts, recipes, or posts about what God is doing in my heart, that HE would be glorified...In All Things.

So, welcome! I pray as you read these posts that Christ would become more real, more loved and more glorified in your heart and life!!

"If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:11

More Travels...

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:06:00 +0000

This week has been a really fun one for us. We have been in dire need of a few restful days for a while now, and this week fit the bill! First, we spent 3 days close to Charleston, SC with the CO Charlotte directors and families. For the guys this meant working 9-5 and enjoying dinner and evenings together with the families. For the rest of us, it meant we got to enjoy a super cozy house and hang out with some great friends all day! Here's a few highlights....

Nothing more restful than looking out over this

Shadows on the deck

My Favorite boys

A fish like her momma...my girl loves the pool!

Bike ride that all the babies LOVED!

On Saturday we headed north from Johns Island to Topsail Island NC to spend a few days with my family. A quiet beach and lots of help with the kids made for a restful time!

Sweet baby D..the newest member of the family!

Kisses for D!

playing on the beach

I love this picture! D is "scaring" Nias...

the boys catching some fish

family time

SBP in pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Clint and Rachel) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:52:00 +0000

Sibling Love

First trip to the beach

Loved the pool!

Family date to the Aquarium

Buried in the sand!

My favorite...what a precious moment!!