He's kinda powerful

Hello my friends!!! Wow....it has been quite a while now hasn't it...I apologize for recent avoidance of the blogging world. It was not intentional, I promise. :-) Hmm...I guess I've just been busy? No, that's not it...perhaps just not thinking as much...that sounds more accurate. I've been doing a lot of reading recently and have come across many things in those books that I wanted to share, it just doesn't seem that I have gotten around to it...I just finished reading Traveling Mercies by Anne Lammott. WOW! What a great book!!! She is very real and very interesting, AND she has inspired me to get dredlocks...haha...no worries mom, I'm not getting them. They don't exactly "fly" in the professional world. Someday though perhaps....Anyways, I will tell you more of what I thought about that book later when I actually have it in front of me and I can possibly point some stuff out to you.........And that brings us to my current book. The Everlasting Man by GK Chesterton. I have only read the first couple of pages but man, I LOVE IT!!! It is kinda wordy and has been a lot to process so more on that later. However, I'm still recommending it, even though I'm not even finished!! Yes, I like it so far...I love his humor, not to mention his brilliance. Hmm...I feel another Spurge situation coming on...uh oh (Mi chilena, lo sabes). Anyways, if you like "heavy" books by very witty/brilliant pastors from the early 1900's, have a look. I trust that you won't regret it.

Let's see...what to talk about now as not to bore those who are always more than willing to venture into my blog...I guess I could talk about what God has been teaching me. Hmm...not even sure if I know that much. There has been a lot of talk recently around my little circle of friends (yes, yes...small circle it may be, but IT DOES EXIST) about knowing God's will..surprising I know, considering that God's will isn't exaclty the MOST talked about subject in the Christian community. ;-) I sometimes think that I stress too much...whoa..understatement of the century...I often find myself drowning, not in a pool or even a creek, but an OCEAN of stress! Does God want me here? Does God want me there?? Tell me God! TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME!!!! And I definitely am not saying that those are bad prayers at all...the not so good part comes with my emotions, my lack of trust that causes my stress. In every decision it is good to pray and seek God's counsel....recognizing that we can do nothing apart from Him. I also need to go another step further trusting that since I did pray about it that God's will is actually going to happen. I think sometimes I forget that He's kinda powerful ;-) and that if He wants something to happen, it most likely will. I doubt that my decision can really stop His will. Yes, I believe we have freedom to choose what steps we want to take (I definitely DO NOT want to open a can of worms with that comment) to a degree anyways, but my prayer is always that He would take authority over my steps. So, after praying that prayer I should trust that He will do just that. So why the stress? Exactly. Chill out RACH!!!! This is my prayer:

"Lord even though I do not trust myself, may I trust you. May I trust that my prayers will be answered and that you can/will obviously rise above my insecurities. May I be so intimately realated to you that I you are my air, that I will walk so naturally in the direction of your glory and not always be treading water in my silly ocean of mistrust and insecurity. Take all authority my Jesus. I offer all to you my God."

Ok, I've gone on enough. You will be in my prayers. I have big decisions on my plate and still no direction on how to clean it. Perhaps I'm not supposed to. I ask that you will join me in my prayer. Please pray that I will trust Him to direct my life and that I will not complicate things with my rationale (hmm...something else I tend to do). Please pray that I will be able to take those steps of faith, trusting Him, and not just sitting around rationalizing how His glory could come from those steps that I probably will never take. Oh, and I also ask that you will pray for me that I will exist in the moment to serve him. That I will focus on how to serve/love Him in the present moment, and also that I will be grateful for what He has given me and the situation He has for me RIGHT NOW. For heaven's sake Rach, stop talking!!!!! Thank you so much for your prayers...I need you. Ok ok. Ciao!!! Te quiero tan mucho mi familia! Muchos oraciones para ti y envio muchos besos tambien!!!!!!!

Luke 1:45

Encantamos Bailar Mucho!!!!!

I was feeling a little bored and decided to dedicate a dancing montage to my favorite Chilena. Te quiero mi carina! NOS VEMOS!!!!!!

Muchos Fotos!!!

Hola!!! So I finally have some pics to show from the trip to Chile and Argentina. I posted them online and I have a link to them. I've never tried this before, so let me know if it works or not. Just click here to view the album. Oh, and these are not all the pictures because it would only let me display so much. So, I might try and change some out in about a week. Like I said, LET ME KNOW IF THIS DOES NOT WORK POR FAVOR! Te queiro my friends!!!!! Ciao!

Painting Pictures of Egypt

I was listening to a song today by Sara Groves. I swear she had me (and every other woman in my family) on her mind when she wrote this song. We Rathburn/Lord/Tarp women tend to have this past dwelling tendency. It's unhealthy and definitely not a source of joy. I heard Sara's words and found comfort. Comfort because I could relate...and comfort that this tendency well lessen. Our Lord is so sweet, and He will continue to be so in the future. I dedicate this song to the beautiful women in my family....may the Lord bless you with the joy of leaving the past where it is (in the past) and focusing on the what He has for you now, and the promises that await you. "....We shake the dirt from our sandals as we run." Te quiero!

I don't want to leave here
I don't want to stay
it feels like pinching to me either way
and the places I long for the most
are the places where I've been
they are calling out to me
like a long lost friend

it's not about losing faith
it's not about trust
it's all about comfortable
when you've moved so much
and the place I was wasn't perfect
but I had found a way to live
and it wasn't milk or honey
but neither is this

I've been painting pictures of Egypt
and leaving out what it lacks
the future feels so hard and I wanna go back
but the places that used to fit me
cannot hold the things I've learned
those roads were closed off to me
while my back was turned

the past is so tangible
I know it by heart
familiar things are never easy to discard
and I was dying for some freedom
but now I hesitate to go
I am caught between the promise
and the things I know

if it comes to quick
I may not appreciate it
is that the reason behind all this time is sand
and if it comes to quick
I may not recognize it
is that the reason behind all this time is sand

" blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" Luke 1:45

Volvi!!!

So, I'm writing this posting as I sit in the United States. Yep, I have returned to life as usual. :-) We got back yesterday after a loooong plane ride, and then we had a little birthday celebration for Erin in Monterey on our way back from the bay area (where our plane landed). I'm feeling a little exhausted from the journey, and am excited to get in some rest later today. Then begins the task of unpacking.....*sigh* ;-) I'm glad to be back safely, but I must admit that I'm a bit sad. I had so much fun visiting Becka, and being in another culture. The culture in Chile is so great...much more laid back than what I'm used to. I loved how they don't go to bed into like 1am because they place a lot of importance on spending time with family and friends....there was so much more...I just loved the culture in general. The trip was exhausting, but it was fun, and such an eye opener. I love seeing new places, and meeting new people. I hope to return someday to Chile, and especially Argentina. I loved Argentina and would loved to spend some more time exploring it. Ok, well, I'm SUPER tired right now, and my brain doesn't seem to want to work, so I'm going to end this posting. I just wanted to let you all know that we arrived safely. I will post some pictures of our trip very soon. Te quiero todo!

Miercoles y Viernes

Hola!!! Just thought we´d check in again and fill you in on our Wednesday. We woke up after a nice sleep in a bed at the hostel in La Serena. We rushed to return the rental car, went to the post office, and had a nice brunch at a cute little restraunt. We then just roamed around the city for a couple of hours. La Serena is such a great city...it´s very charming. After our brief romp through La Serena we went back to the hostel. Becka showed us around, and took us up onto the roof of the hostel where they have family barbeques. We decided that we want to have those on our roof too..hmm...no problema, ya? We then headed to the bus that would take us to Santiago. After seven hours, and three movies with muted english and spanish subtitles we arrived in Santiago. We then had to catch anther eight hour bus to Mendoza, Argentina. When we got on the bus, we noticed two of our fellow passengers. They were an old couple, the man was 107 years old and the woman was 103. They proceeded to scream at becka about how she is a horrible person because they wanted her to give up her seat for their friend. We were slightly annoyed until we found out that they were on their way to Argentina to die, and that they wanted their caretaker to sit in Becka´s seat...yeah....we felt like dying at that point. They calmed down though and their caretake still hung out with us. This bus ride was overnight, so we were supposed to sleep...this was hard for several reasons:

a. the bus was a refrigerator
b. two old people having a conversation with one another (imagine their hearing impairment....yes, we heard everything they were saying-screaming)
c. oh, and then there was the hour long customs process, which meant standing in line for an hour, in the Andes, at 3 in the morning....lets just say that the Andes are VERY cold...MUCHA FRIA!!!!!!!

Well, after we got back on the bus, we had a few more hours of sleep, then arrived in Argentina. We found a woman at the bus station who had a room available to rent for our stay. She lead us to her house, through the pouring rain, where we were greeted by a wonderful, enthusiastic old man, and a poodle named Bruno (yep, rach and erin were kinda excited). We all fell asleep until about 11 am. We then got up and decided to make our way to the shops. This proved to be a little more difficult than expected due to the thunderstorm, and the fact that rushing rivers now took the place of roads. We felt like we were on the show Survivor, and had to complete special missions just to figure out how to cross the street. Well, after braving the storm for a while (nothing stops our shopping), and a good lunch, the rain decided to give us a break. The sun came out and we continued with our shopping. We went to a Ferria and found several cute little souveneirs (no perros, de promiso). Then we went to dinner and finished with some helado, and that brings us to where we are now....sitting in an internet cafe in Mendoza, Argentina. Tomorrow we catch another 8 hour bus ride to Santiago, but we´re excited because we will be passing through the Andes during the day.....it is supposed to be very beautiful...we´ll take pictures. :) We love you so much and we can´t wait to see you!!! We´d like to dedicate the rest of this blog to a very special birthday girl........

Feliz Cumpleaños a tu
Feliz Cumpleaños a tu
Feliz Cumpleaños Juanita
Feliz Cumpleaños a tuuuuuuuuuu!

We all wishg we could be there to celebrate with you but we figured by going out tomorrow night anbd thinking about you the whole time we can send all are happy feelings North to you!

Love
Rachie, Erin, Carleigh, y Becka

P.S. mama Jaunita i would love to hangout with you on my B-day, rachie and i will call you when we get in and have all our stuff . . . we are thinking yummy mexican food that we miss mucho!!!!

Day 3

Hola!!!! Sorry we skipped a day, but yesterday we just couldn´t make it to a computer. So here we are!!! No worries. Yesterday was a great day!!!! After taking our overnight bus ride we arrived in La Serena after about four hours of sleep....so we took some naps. Then we went on a coffee hunt, because we hadn´t had any coffee for 48 hours!!!! I know, I know.....I bet you´re feeling really sorry for my fellow travellers having to put up with me on no coffee. It was great because finally that pounding headache that I had come to know so well was on it´s way. We then rented a car and headed to a ferria where we bought tons of wonderful fruit and avovados. It was great!!! It was the cutest little market. We then headed out into the country in the rental car, pulling over on the side of the road to take pictures of goats and other random things. We went to this little town and ate our lunch on the steps of an adorable church. We then headed back to La Serena and went to the beach. It was nice to hang out at the beach and watch the sunset. Becka hasn´t driven in like six months, so she wanted to drive up the coast whil we still had the rental car. We ended up in some little fishing town called Tongoy, and went on a hunt for restraunts....one that doesn´t just serve fish. :) We found a little pizzeria, and had wonderful pizza with corn on it (I recommend it if you haven´t tried it before). The server was really excited to wait on gringas because he got to practice his english. Funny story: Erin had to use the restroom, so she asked them where it was and they sent her on her way. Well, she came back and told us that the bathroom was in someone´s room. She said that there was even a toothbrush on the sink. After dinner, the rest of us had to use the restrooms too, so we walked over to them, and they were not in someone´s room. It turns out that Erin went through a different door, and actually into someone´s house! We were cracking up......We then got back on the road (with one stop to look at the stars and dance in the street). We then headed back to the hostel, and hung out with her host family for a while (they helped us practice our spanish). We then all went to sleep. Ok, well that is our day yesterday, today we are taking a bus to Santiago, and then on to Argentina....hopefully I´ll get a chance to post another soon. Oh, and one interesting thing: they have tons of stray dogs that just roam the streets here...TONS....they are really really cute, possible souveneir cute...hehe. No no...but I bet you can imagine who has been the subject of many of my pictures. ;) Alright, off I go....God bless you!!!!