Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!

Well, the weathermen said we would have a "snowstorm" last night, getting 1-2" inches overnight. So I made sure I was up early enough this morning to possibly scrape ice off my truck, and heat it up and have time to go slowly to work.

What did I see this morning? RAIN!! Go figure, we live in Washington and get rain.

Then about 9ish this morning, as I was sitting at my desk, it started to snow. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a complete Bah Humbug; however, I hate to drive in snow...especially with others who don't know how to drive in it. It snowed all day long, actually sticking to the cars, the trees, and even the road. I do have to admit that it was beautiful, but then.....it all melted away.

Enjoy the evening with a nice cup of hot cocoa!

I am Thankful For.....

all the blessings God has bestowed on my life over the year's, the months, and even just the last few days. I am so excited to serve a God that answers prayers. I received a phone call today from my church saying that someone anonymously donated $950 to my mission's trip that I am taking in February. I have always heard stories of how God gives large sums of money to people; however, I never really thought it could happen to me. But I prayed for a certain amount to cover my trip, and I am only $325 away....my faith level went up a few notches today, and I truly believe God blesses those who trust in Him.

I am also thankful for my family. Next to God, family is the most important thing in my life. Unfortunately, I won't be spending the holidays with family this year, but I do think of them constantly and wish that we could all be together; however, I know that we will be together again someday. I am fortunate that I have many friends whom I consider family, and will be spending the day with a great family!

Please spend a few minutes contemplating all that God has given you this last year, and all the things you have to be thankful for. It isn't a hard task; however, so people have to think hard about what they are grateful for, and that is a sad thought. Why do we always wait until Thanksgiving to think about what we are thankful for? Why not think about it tonight? Why not think about every day?!! Be thankful all year long!

As a closing note, I am extremely grateful for humor and the gift of laughter that God has given me. And for those that know me well, you will say that my laugh is loud, obnoxious and hard to forget. So to keep you laughing, copy and paste the following link for a great Turkey Survival Song:

http://www.americangreetings.com/display.pd?bfrom=1&prodnum=3081495&path=25200&va=1

Enjoy...and don't eat too much Turkey.

Blessings to each and everyone of you. And if someone happens on my blog who doesn't believe in God and blessings, then I pray a double portion of blessing on you and your family!

Where is My Italian Man?

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

I got this via Sabrina's blog, and I love it. Of course, I belong in Rome...sounds much more romantic and attractive then Puyallup! And yes, I would go and look for Italian Men anyday......any takers :)

MC Intensive

We took our MC students to Island Lake in Poulsbo, WA this Friday and Saturday for what we call an intensive. We have four throughout the year, and this first one is our Spiritual Intensive. The word intensive is intentional as it is an intense 24 hours. We have sessions all day long on various aspects of Christianity. These sessions include: Devotional Life (The Bible), The Holy Spirit, The Cross, The Old Man, The New Man, Hero of Heroes, Deliverance, Call of God, and more.

Almost all the sessions have a practical application as well. For The Cross, we watched The Passion of the Christ...wow. I forget how much that movie gets to me until I sit down and watch it again. The scene where Mary, Jesus' Mother, flashes back to when she ran to Jesus when he fell as a child and then does run to him when he is carrying his cross...I'm not even a mother yet and it gets me. I think one thing that I saw this time that I didn't see last time was when Jesus died and then you see the view from above and the one raindrop that falls, I think was the one tear that God let fall before His Righteous anger fell on the world and on the enemy. Intense.

The students would probably tell you that the intense thing for them was when they got the opportunity to be baptized. The reason it was intense? It was done at 2am, outside in the cold in a LAKE! Sometimes your theology and logical thinking goes out the window when you are freezing cold in the middle of the morning!

All in all, it was a great weekend, and to be a part of something where I get to watch lives transform right before me is amazing. I thank God continuously that He allows me to be a leader of a program that changes lives, and yet the focus is always on Him and how much He does for us. Broken hearts begun to heal this weekend, Love for others begun in their hearts.

Amazing! I love Masters Commission and all that God is doing in our program.

Goonies....Hey You Guys!

Come on, admit it, you love this movie!! It is one of the greatest 80's cult classics out there (next to Girls Just Want to Have Fun).

The trivia question I was asked tonight was: What is the name of the Pirate Captain in The Goonies?

Rumors

While I'm here, I have been hearing rumors of some of you taking the 80's music test, and some of you are not doing so well! Isn't it amazing how we think we know all those old songs, then when push comes to shove we are hard pressed to remember one.

However, we all know that we can all those one hit wonders once they come on the radio!!! Or we sing in the shower!

Slogans

My friend Stephanie sent this to me, and it was quite funny!

Go to this website, type your name in, and see what slogan they come up with for your name.

http://www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi

My slogan came out: Mama's got the Magic of Rachel

Let me know your slogans!

What Generation Are You From?

Calling all people from all generations...well, mostly those who lived and breathed the 80's.

The following is a great website to test your musical knowledge of all those great 80's one hit wonders....."Oh, Mickey" is one of the first to come to my mind.

http://www.yetanotherdot.com/asp/80s.html

Tell me how you do...if you do really bad, I won't let everyone know...well maybe not everyone!

Have fun going down memory lane.

Random Trivia...Random Rachel

This subject is totally dedicated to one of my favorite people: Greg Reich. Greg serves on our MC council and is one of module teachers, as well as being a great awesome Man of God.

Greg and I have this game that we play everytime we see each other, even if it for five minutes on a Sunday morning. We play random facts of trivia...Random Rachel...that's me! For some reason, God has given me a brain that stores multitudes and multitudes of useless and totally random trivia. Most of it is media in nature, like movies, music, etc. Not really good with sports trivia, but I suppose I can learn.

We spent almost four hours in a car, with a bunch of people that thought we were crazy, just bouncing trivia off of one another.

So my challenge to you is....give me your trivia! Ask me trivia questions, I will see if I can answer. I'm good, but not perfect, just keep that in mind.

Life

Work all day...make MC calls at lunch time...catch a fifteen minute nap after work...and then head to the church to gather up my paperwork and head into a Masters Commission Council Meeting. Somedays I'm grateful that I am not married and don't have children as I am totally available to dedicate myself to the ministry I love. Although it amazes me once I get home at 9pm on a continuous basis and wonder, where did the day go.

I am such an anally administrative person, that I love the meetings, the figuring out of schedules, budgets, and emergencies. I love the comings and goings...but every once in awhile I stop and think, "Man it has been three weeks since I've had a night at home." On top of my regular job and MC, I also work part time for KMPS radio station, which is a great perk job (since I have to work the Rascal Flatts concert this Friday night!). Then there is that part of me that is trying to get out of debt, at the same time I am taking 2 1/2 weeks off of work (non-paid) to go on a mission's trip...so I think let's get a second..um third or fourth job during the Christmas Holidays. Am I crazy???? At times I think I might be.

Let me leave you with a bit of random trivia that I learned tonight. Who plays Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith show and what did he always carry in his pocket? Want the answers....check back next time.

Support Letter

Rachel A. McAskill
601 9th Ave SE
Puyallup WA 98372
206-276-9332

Family and Friends—

Greetings and Salutations! I pray that you are all well, and that you are enjoying the change from summer to fall. Over in this area, we are finally seeing the rain that we usually expect this time of year. I don’t mind the rain so much, but it has gotten cold very quickly!

I want to share with all of you that I am once again heading back to SE Asia in February. The Masters Commission (an internship program) that I help with at my church is going to Singapore, Malaysia, and Bali Indonesia. We have 26 team members that will be leaving on Wednesday, February 8, 2006, and returning Friday, February 24, 2006. Last year we were able to spend time in various churches in Malaysia and Indonesia, and we will be getting the opportunity to revisit at least one of those churches on our return trip.

Through the generosity of many people, we were able to feed 100 families in two different villages; provide fresh water for one village; buy new instruments for a Bible College; and bring 18 suitcases full of clothes and toiletries, many of which traveled up into the areas affected by last year’s Tsunami. Thank you to all of you who donated, the smiles and hugs that we received were wonderful! I snapped tons of pictures, and the joy that we saw even in the midst of nothing was spectacular. We serve a great God.

This year we will be going to Bali, Indonesia as well, which is the orphan capitol of the world. We will be going into the orphanages there and simply loving on children, telling them of God’s love, and hopefully leaving money to see to the basic necessities of life. While in Bali, we will also be participating in a beach ministry that is already in place. We will be passing out tracts in three different languages and inviting people to a nightly coffee house, which is an established Christian outreach. It is a great opportunity to work with a program already in place, as we know that there will be follow-up with individuals once we come back to the states.

I am asking that you prayerfully considering sponsoring my trip to SE Asia. I have to raise approximately $1300 more of the $3000 needed. All donations are tax deductible, if the check is written to Puyallup Foursquare Church. Please mail all donations to:

Rachel McAskill
Puyallup Foursquare Church
601 9th Ave SE
Puyallup WA 98373

I understand that not all of you are able to help monetarily; however, all your prayers are coveted and much appreciated. Once again, thank you for your support. May God’s blessing be on each and every one of you as we share God’s love in places around the world!

Love and Blessings
Rachel

Mission's Trip

I am so excited! Last year our MC students went to Singapore, Malayasia and Indonesia for two weeks on our annual missions trip. I had the opportunity to go with the group as a leader and the keeper of records (passports, itineries, etc), and it was the best experience that I have had in a long time.

We are going back to Singapore, Malayasia and Bali, Indonesia, this coming February. I have been worried that I wouldn't be able to go this year, since I have a new job, and the trip is for two and a half weeks (which is a lot of unpaid time off work); however, I put into God's hands and decided if he wanted me to go then I would be there. This last Friday, my boss said that I probably wouldn't be able to go since he would be out of the office for most of February (along with our receptionist who is going to Jamaica on a mission's trip the last week of February).

HOWEVER! My boss and I were meeting this morning going over our office schedule for the next few months, and come to find out he gets back in town the day I would leave and doesn't leave again until the day I would get back. So, I asked him if he thought I could go....he said YES!! I am so excited. Now, I am believing that God will supply me with approximately $1000 to finish paying for my trip. If anyone would like to donate, I'd be happy to accept!

But I really wanted to just let people know that when you trust in God, He will see you through. And He will put you where you are needed...meaning that there is some reason for me to be in Asia in February. So no focusing on the money I'm losing by not working, and the money put into the trip...God has it covered!!!!