Rachel's topics can be shared in a keynote format or expanded to fill a multiple-session conference or retreat. She is also happy to customize talks to work with your theme.
CHRISTMAS
I Know Who I Am! Knowing who we are is vital in the Christian journey. We must dwell on the truth about what God says about us for a secure sense of identity. Is your identity in crisis or in Christ? It can be easy to see ourselves the way others view us...teachers, parents, siblings, husband, children or friends or we easily listen to the voices in our head, but beware, that could be the voice of the accuser. God loves you! His voice is the most important voice of all. He knows everything about you and loves you. So whose view do you have of yourself? Whose voice are you listening to?
How great is the love the father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1
God's love is extravagant and profusely endowed upon us. The apostle Paul says try to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. As we allow God to pour his love on us we then can love others. Are you under God's spout of love? Do you experientially know Jesus love? Are you able to love others with the love you've been given? We love because He first loved us. God the father loves you. He's hosting a banquet, so come take your seat at the table. His banner over you is love.
Written for Rachel, this monologue as an older Mary reflecting on her life from the announcement of the angel to the birth of her son and Savior.
My True Love Gave to Me
The greater the gift the greater our response. Christmas - What a wonderful time to reflect on the greatest gift ever given and the gift most desperately needed in a dark and broken world. God sent Jesus, not to condemn the world but to save the world through him...What's your response to that?
The Light of The World
EVANGELISTIC
Are You a Princess?
The Power of a Moment
GENERAL
The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Proverbs 14:1 Building one's house includes communication. When it comes to communication, are you building up or tearing down? The hope is that we would be women who bless and not curse, who communicate not alienate, who build up not tear down. Godly communication uses gentle answers rather than harsh words. Do we blow it at times? Absolutely! Is God still working on each of us? You bet! Come to learn, reflect, confess and even pray. Search me, O God and know my heart…because out of the heart the mouth speaks.
Fear is such a prominent part of many women's lives. But perfect love casts out all fear. Jesus has commanded us do not be afraid. No matter what you are facing right now, know that God is bigger. Be encouraged as Rachel shares replacing fear with hope. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:3
With today's technology, there are more ways to connect than ever! Yet people are more disconnected. Friendship is the antidote to loneliness. Romans 12:5 So in Christ, we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others. Do you belong? Do others consider themselves belonging to you? Are you able to celebrate your friends or do you constantly compare yourself with them? Learn from the example of Jesus and consider some warnings about friendship. An Italian proverb states" He who finds himself without a friend is like a body without a soul." This explores the topic of friendship: we need it, we are MADE for it and Proverbs 17:17 reminds us.... A friend loves at all times.
We are all aware of and inundated with information about healthy life patterns in the physical realm, but what about patterns that are spiritual? These require Intentionality and commitment.
How are you with the patterns in your life? Are you growing? Is there something that you would like to implement in your spiritual life?
This is a message that might make you laugh, cry or think...but it is meant to challenge, inspire and encourage you to establish patterns that impact your life and the kingdom of God too.
Colossians 1:10 NLT "Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better."
This message is a "get to know me" type talk that works well for the beginning session of a retreat.
You whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth, even to your old age and grey hairs. I am he, I am he who made you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:3b NIV
Are you rushing through life without capturing or savoring all that God has planned for you? Is your wall of life filled with precious snapshots of His will for you, or is it filled with uncaptured, blank frames? Psalm 90:12 says "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Learn to use wisdom and discernment in how you choose to spend your days, being ever thankful as we look back and always faithful as we focus forward.
Life, being a woman and motherhood brings about such joy and delight, it can also reveal sides to us that we didn't know were there. Our patience can be tested, anger may erupt or worry can abound, straining us and our relationships. Where did these emotions come from? Were they hidden deep within our heart all along?
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart...renew a right spirit within me.
Join Rachel as we look within ourselves and up to God as we'll explore our relationships and emotions looking to clean out what is harmful or impure, challenging us to become what we already are in Christ.
Roadblocks and Remedies to Intimacy with God
The Christian life, it's more of a marathon than a sprint. This talk is titled The Solitary Journey - Together because our journey's lived alone before God, but it is lived out alongside others. The journey requires: a clear view of who we are following, confidence of who we are in Christ, a conditioning process for the long haul, a cleansing before him and careful attention as we journey on because the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Be challenged and encouraged that God is working for us in our journey. 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24.
We spend money on lipstick, toothpaste, and breath freshener. Ever consider the importance of what comes out of the mouth? Some words need to be silenced, some spread around, and the WORD of God we must soak up!
MARRIAGE
In 1 Cor 7:2-5, Paul calls us to "....not deprive each other, so as to avoid being tempted." But c'mon, is that realistic or even possible? Sex is good and is intended for pleasure. It is God's design for our marriage. Did you ever stop and realize that denying your husband takes energy too? This talk explores practical, biblical and sometimes humorous ways to use our love for our husbands to keep the fire burning.
Anything worth having often takes work. It is worth the effort and pays back in full. You too can have the BEST marriage. Learn and implement ways to keep the twinkle in your good marriage and rekindle love in a challenging one.
PARENTING
Unless the Lord builds the house the builders labor in vain. As moms, we co-labor with God as we raise our children. There are many mini launchings to celebrate and love them along the way.
Sharing humorous stories of parenting, Rachel brings God sightings in the everyday life of motherhood.
Parenting with perfect peace and joy is very different than being a perfect parent. Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." This talk is both humorous and impactful with practical tools you can implement in your own home.
Sometimes motherhood can feel as though you've landed on a completely different planet . That is why mothers can benefit from being together. But being together doesn't mean you have to have it all together.
WORSHIP
Worship - a whole life response to God's greatness and glory. A.W. Tozer says, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."
We all Worship! Perhaps the greater question is, who or what is the object of our worship? It's quite easy to stand in awe of other humans. We do it all the time. Our worship is given to: Hollywood movie stars, athletes, musical geniuses, singers, filmmakers, dancers, ice skaters, race car drivers, sports teams, billionaires, scientists, CEOs in the business world our children, our husbands, even our bodies, beauty, fitness, material possessions, status and the list goes on and on. BUT do we stand in awe of the one who is worthy of all glory and honor and praise? He says,"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth. Psalm 46:10
William Temple said, "To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God. " Let's explore and be challenged and worship together as we find the awe in our awesome God.
