Care Net

Tonight I'm volunteering at Care Net Pregnancy Center. I've been volunteering there for about a year and I absolutely love it!

"The mission of Care Net is to facilitate the delivery of valuable, life-affirming, evangelistic ministry to people facing unplanned pregnancies and related sexual issues. We carry out this mission by supporting the largest network of pregnancy centers in North America and by operating the Option Line call center and website that assists women in need 24/7."

My job at CareNet is client intake... I don't know if that's the official title for what I do, but that's pretty much what I do. On Tuesday evenings from 5:00 to 7:30 I usually talk with two or three clients. While their free pregnancy test is being run, I talk with them about their background and sexual history. Then I go check their pregnancy test and we go from there.

If the are pregnant we start discussing options... like whether they are going to keep the baby, place it to be adopted, or whether they are considering an abortion. We are definitely against abortions, but its important for a woman to know all of her options so that she can make the best decision. Abortion clinics don't tell the woman anything... all they say is that its a medical procedure that is painless, easy, and will solve all of their problems. We talk with our clients about abortions and we go step by step through the procedure. We hope that they will choose life for their child, but if not then at least they know what they're getting into.

We also talk a lot about future plans... Having a child is a life altering event and most women who come to Care Net aren't really ready for it and definitely weren't planning on it. We get them set up with Medicaid, WIC, and give them information about different resources here in Waco.

If the woman isn't pregnant then we talk about abstinence, self worth, and relationships. If the woman is interested, we give free STD tests and talk with them about different diseases that come with promiscuous sexual activity.

CareNet also offers all kinds of classes and counseling sessions... everything from money management to breastfeeding. We do a healing after abortions class, as well as one on miscarriages. The women are invited to attend Bible Studies and there are even classes for soon to be dads.

All in all...CareNet is an awesome place. It meets a HUGE need in Waco and in several other communities all over the US. I got involved in it because my mom has been a CareNet counselor in Rockwall for several years. She would always tell me amazing stories about the women she met with and eventually I decided to see if we had a center here in Waco.... and we did. I did some training and now it has become a wonderful part of my life.

I thank God for CareNet and for all of the staff and volunteers who keep the ministry going!

Working for the weekend

Today is a fabulous Friday...No, there's nothing special about it, but I think that ALL Fridays are absolutely fabulous. How could they not be?

Aaron and I don't really have any plans for the weekend...actually all of our plans are a little on the boring side, but I'm actually really excited about them. Wanna hear? Okay, so tonight we are going to go on a motorcycle ride, then I'm going to work out, then I'm going to the store to buy some heavy duty cleaning supplies and something for dinner. Then I'm going to go home and cook dinner and then clean with my heavy duty supplies. Sounds like a blast, eh?

Tomorrow, we will probably do some more cleaning and maybe even paint our gigantic 5 ft tall dog house that Aaron built a while back. Aaron, me, Obie, Potter, and Vader can all fit comfortably inside it. Yeah..its that big. I'm still not really sure why he built it SOO big, but he's very proud of it, so I figure its best not to say anything too negative. Some of ya'll may be wondering who Vader is...well he's our brand new puppy! He was originally a gift for my younger brother Kyle, but that didn't work out so now he's ours. He's half Australian shepherd and half border collie and he looks just like Obie. In fact, Obie seems to think that he's her puppy! I'll put a pic up soon..I promise!
And yes, we do have some of the nerdiest named pets... Obi Wan Kan obi, Harry Potter, and Darth Vader. HA - I love it!

On Saturday night we are making the trek down to the LO - Its their community Harvest Festival and a few of our youth group girls were nominated to walk in the pageant. I'm not really sure what all goes on at the Harvest Festival, but we wouldn't miss it for the world. It was horrible when we told our youth group that Aaron had taken the position at Hilltop. All of the girls started bawling and a few of the guys even teared up. So, we plan to be in Lometa a lot this next week because Aaron starts at Hilltop November 1st. We plan on still going down to Lometa every once in a while for some of the kids major activities...but it just won't be the same and that's going to be hard.

Anyways... I better get back to work.

Blessed Assurance,
Rachael

I Got You Babe

That't the song I'm listening to right now - I love Yahoo Music! If you haven't checked out yahoo music, then you are missing out. Its free and its awesome..I can listen to hundreds of different genres of music at work. Like yesterday I listened to Irish folkdancing, Latin hip hop, and new country - not bad, eh?.

Things in my life are going great -
Aaron accepted the job at Hilltop and is now a PASTOR (yay, I'm so proud!)

I'm headed to Rockwall in a few minutes for a doctor appointment and some good ol family time

And

Its finally FALL outside!

I don't really have much to talk about - just wanted to let everyone know that I'm having a great day and hope you are too!

Peace, Love, and Joy!
Rachael

The Big 26

Today my wonderful husband turned 26 years old! Its so crazy to think that I met him when he was just a cute little 19 year old.

We met because I was going on a hangout date with his friend Brock (you know, one of those weird freshman things where you aren't really sure if its a friends thing or a date) Well anyways, we were going up to Common Grounds to hear a band - I think Graham Colton or something like that. Well Brock decided to invite Aaron to come too. So, that infamous night I came walking out of Memorial (yes, I was a dork and lived in Memorial) in my pajamas. And the rest is history... Aaron thought I was hottie in my pjs and I thought he was the most hiliarous person I'd ever met. An now we are in LOVE!

Today has been just a chill day - We slept in until 8:30. Went and picked out the cutest puppy for my bro Kyle. (more on the puppy later). Took Obie to PetsMart to get some dog food. Watched a lot of college football - Yes, Baylor still sucks! I took a nap... and now I'm blogging. Tonight we're going to go to dinner at Roadhouse and I'm going to give him his gifts. I got him a lot of good stuff this year. But, you'll have to wait until later to find out what it is.....

In the A.M.

Sweet Kisses

EJ's baby shower - Baker, EJ, and me

My Manly Man

The Potmeister


Shelley and Shawnee's Sweet 16

Some of the youth group gals

Bestie friend Kat and sweet Hannah

Yay... Only 4 days old

My favorite restaurant and favorite dress





I just got back from an early morning walk with Obie... I love waking up early and seizing the day! Now its time for some raisin bran and a shower....

Scrub a dub,
Rachael

Delight

Hip Hip.... HOORAY! We finally got our new work computers in! I L-O-V-E my new Dell laptop. It still has a few kinks, but its so much better than my old computer.

Oh and by the way - Aaron is preaching "in view of a call" this Sunday at Hilltop Christian Fellowship. The Question and Answer session went really well. In fact, I loved it. Everyone was so loving and welcoming and they asked great questions! I really hope that this is where God will use us. I already know that God is doing and will continue to do great things at Hilltop. ***If Aaron becomes the pastor out there, then he will be one of "our pastors." I'll get to send him all kinds of WRBN emails and maybe I'll even stick him on a few of our committees!

The Bair Foundation called this morning to talk about a foster placement. Three children ( 2, 3, and 4 years old) need a home. They've been in foster care for a while now and their current foster mother doesn't "want" them anymore. I hated having to say no, but I don't really think that Aaron and I can handle three children right now. Especially ones that aren't school age...We keep praying that the Lord will bring us the right child - please pray with us on that!

Oh and by the way... My little brother Kyle is 17 tomorrow! WOW

Pace,
REJ

Q & A

Now I know why people warned me about the trials of being a pastor's wife....

Tonight Aaron and I are headed back to Hilltop Christian Fellowship for a question and answer time. Now that might seem painless.... but it could get scary. They are going to have Aaron and I sit and answer different questions from people in the congregation. Now some of the questions will be easy - like "where are you from?" others are going to be more difficult such as "please describe your thoughts on salvation." Or they might bust out something like... "How do you feel about homosexuality, abortion, politics (or any other random touchy subject).

AND THEN they get to decide whether they like Aaron and me based on how we answered the questions.

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh the joys of being a pastor's wife : )

Life Lately

Hello Bloggy Friends...

I just thought I should give ya'll a little update on whats been going on in Team Family Love. Hmm..where to start.

I guess we'll start with today. I took a mini vacation from work (half day yesterday and all day today) because we were going to go camping in Arkansas. Its fall break at Truett and Aaron and I LOVE camping, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. But, things didn't really work out, so now we are just spending a relaxing weekend in Waco.

Aaron has been asked to preach at a church in Crawford, TX this Sunday and we are really excited to see what comes from this opportunity. He preached there a couple Sundays ago and the church seemed really interested in us. They've been without a pastor for a while now and they think that Aaron might be a great fit!!!! This would mean lots of things for us - We would stay in Waco after Aaron graduates from Truett, Aaron would be preaching (we both really believe that God has called Aaron to pastor), He would get lots of experience in a relatively "low stress" environment, and he would make 3 times as much $$$$.

But, there are a couple negatives - We would have to leave our kids in Lometa. We love them so much and have formed some great relationships over the past 2 years. Its hard to walk away from kids that you've seen a huge transformation in. But, we know that its God that is doing the transforming (not us) and God is still and will always be in Lometa. Also, I was really looking forward to going somewhere "different and cool" when Aaron graduated. I'd been picturing Colorado, Oregon, or maybe somewhere on the East Coast. Umm Crawford is pretty much Waco and although I like Waco its definitely not "different and cool."

Some of ya'll maybe wondering whats going on with the whole foster care situation... Well the past two weeks have been really stressful for me. See the Bair Foundation found a sweet little 6 year old girl that need a home, but she was having some medical issues. The state kept saying that they were going to release her to us, but they never did. So for two weeks, I kept thinking "today is going to be the day they release her to us." But, sadly it never happened. I found out this morning that they actually placed the little girl back with her family, so hopefully that's a good thing. This morning when I talked to the Bair Foundation, they asked if we could take a 17 year old girl and her baby................................................
Ummm, when they asked I was speechless because I didn't want to say "no" but I knew that it wouldn't really be a good placement. So, eventually I said "no" and I just have to trust that God is going to provide a better home for the girl and her baby.

Okay, last thing - Tomorrow, Aaron and I are going to GREEK FEST! How cool, right? I've never been to a Greek Festival, but I already know that its going to be great. Its happening at the Greek Orthodox Church in Waco and there's going to be lots of food and dancing!!!

Alright...its time for brunch (otherwise known as scrambled eggs and biscuits and jelly)
RJ

About Us

1. Who is your man? Aaron Matthew Johnson
2. How long have you been together? We've been married 1 year and 3 months
3. How long dated? A little over 2 years
4. How old is your man? 25 (about to be 26 in a couple days!)
5. Who eats more? Aaron, but I can hold my own
6. Who said "I love you" first? Ummm...me but only cause I knew he was IN LOVE with me
7. Who is taller? Me - I used to think it was a little strange, but now I think its totally normal
8. Who sings better? We're are both pretty decent singers, but the most fun thing is when we sing duets and both try to sing worse than eachother...its hilarious!
9. Who is smarter? A$ - The guy knows Greek (yep..he's a greek geek!)
10. Whose temper is worse? Unfortunately mine
11. Who does the laundry? We both do - But Aaron is way more picky about it than I am
12. Who takes out the garbage? Usually Aaron, but I help out if it doesn't smell too bad
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do because its Aaron's job to protect me if anyone breaks in!
14. Who pays the bills? We both do
15. Who is better with the computer? Ummm both of us are sort of terrible at computers
16. Who mows the lawn? Aaron... I on the other hand unsuccessfully try gardening
17. Who cooks dinner? Usually me, but Aaron is a great helper
.18. Who drives when you are together? Usually Aaron, but he hates driving the Cougar because its SOOO girly!
19. Who pays when you go out? Aaron
20. Who is most stubborn? Hmmm probably me
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? AJ
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine, because they are so much closer. We love going to Amarillo though!
23. Who kissed who first? Hmmm I think it was definitely him.... Our first kiss was my freshman year - SOOO long ago!
24. Who asked who out? Well, I told him that I would be his girlfriend if he wanted me to.
(and he did!)
25. Who proposed? Aaron and it was amazing!
26. Who is more sensitive? Both of us can be pretty sensitive, but in general I think I'm a little more "girly" about it
27. Who has more friends? We both have lots of friends
28. Who has more siblings? Me... 1 sister and 2 brothers!
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Aaron... but sometimes I try to stage a takeover and thats when things start going downhill

Baskets of Hope

Ohhhh, I'm smiling already - just thinking about the story I'm about to type has caused me to break out in a huge grin.....

Tonight was the first Waco "charity event" that Aaron and I have been invited to as a married couple (we are have finally made it to the elite circle in Waco - lol) Actually, we were the guests of my boss and his wife - we got to sit at their table for the Christian Women's Job Corp yearly fundraiser called "Baskets of Hope." The CWJC is an organization that provides Christian job and life skill training for about twenty five women a year - it is an amazing ministry and REALLY helps a lot of women in McClennan county. To raise money people in the community donate baskets filled with all sorts of goodies, then everyone who comes to the dinner has the opportunity to participate in a silent auction and bid on the baskets. This year there were over 100 baskets donated and almost 500 people in attendance.

Now, I've never been part of a silent auction but tonight I learned how addictive they are. Ummm...as we were walking around checking out all of the baskets, I noticed the most wonderful one of all. It was a golf bag with a putter, golf balls, golf picture frame, tees, and all other sorts of little golf items. I grabbed Aaron to show him the basket and he thought it was really cool. Well, the tag on the item said that it was worth $400 and the highest bid they'd had so far was only $120. So I knew there was no way that I could pass up a steal like that... and so I put my name down for $121 (I didn't know that they had encouraged everyone to bid in $5 increments). Anyways...I went and ate dinner with our group, but the whole time I was a little worried that somebody was going to outbid me. So about halfway through dessert, I got up to check on my basket. AND...Two guys were out standing beside the basket and both of them had outbid me. Well, I wasn't going to stand for that - I put my name down again and upped my bid. To make a long story short - I had a sweet old lady that took a liking to me and everytime someone would mark the basket up, she would come get me so I could up my bid. I eventually pleaded with all of the other bidders to stop bidding on my basket (Yes, I actually pleaded!). And in the end...I WON THE GOLF BAG!

But, the funniest part of the story is what Aaron said as we were walking to the car. See, I was so excited that I won the bag...you know, talking on and on about what a "great deal" I'd gotten since I paid less than half what the ticket said the bag was worth. Finally Aaron just looked at me and reminded me that because of my pleading and discouraging everyone from upping my bid - I had just taken away at least $200 from the charity that we were supposed to be raising money for.. HA HA HA.. here I was looking at it like discount shopping. So pretty much..I'm a cheapskate for charity!

Oh well...Aaron loves his golf bag birthday present and I definitely plan on going back next year, so I can do some more discount shopping!