He's HERE!!!//Emmett Ross Sweatt

At 1:15 am on Monday, September 16th I knew my life was about to change...and soon! I had my first contraction and within 3 hours was checked in at the hospital and already halfway done with labor. 4 hours later I held my heart in hands when at 8:01 a.m. my husband and I met our son for the first time. He was perfect--beautiful and healthy, and already more than I ever imagined. As I finally held in my hands what we watched grow inside my belly and prayed for without ceasing...I bawled like a baby and embraced every moment. Only God can give the kind of joy I have experienced since I heard that first beautiful cry. I have learned more and loved more than I ever thought possible in such a short amount of time. I'm going to wrap this up because I am probably about to cry as it is...(apparently I'm a bit more emotional these days! ;) So for the first time ever, meet Emmett Ross Sweatt!  Thank you for praying with us through this whole journey, every prayer and blessing was heard, received, and gratefully appreciated!

SSMT + Verses 16, 17

Here I am, playing catch up again! I know that surprises everyone. ; ) But seriously, I am SO EXCITED to share these two verses with you all. The first is the verse that I have been praying over Emmett, who has yet to arrive. ;) This is my whole heart's desire for him from the first time I read it a few weeks ago. We joke about him being a super stud athlete like a college baseball player (like his dad) or a super talented musician (also like his dad) or I joke about him being completely uncoordinated and non athletic but a super genius (like his mom! ;) all the time. But in all seriousness the one and ONLY thing my heart truly desires for our little boy is to love Jesus and passionately pursue an intimate relationship with him. Through this my hope for him is that he also passionately pursues the lost and the wandering and leads them Christ through with his life and his example. This is my hearts desire, and this when I read this verse I knew it was what I was supposed to be specifically praying for him.

"I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the weak, but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice." --Ezekiel 34:16, ESV

So GOOD. This is the kind of man I want him to grow up to be.
Ok. Before my mama hormones make me cry...

Here's the verse I'm currently working on.

"Who is to condemn? Christ is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us." --Romans 8:34, ESV

This verse comes from, well Romans, but it was one of the Scriptures our pastor used in this last weeks sermon--which was AWESOME and you can listen to it here (translate= go listen as fast as you possibly can:). This verse was HUGE for me. I mean I had heard it before, read over it a bazillion times, but the Spirit can bring such a fresh word at just the right time. This is a huge reminder of the massive, incomparable price that Christ paid for us. But not only that, but also the reminder that the only person, the only GOD, the creator that breathed life into existence, not only raised himself from the grave to defeat sin and death so that WE, a people completely flawed and sinful could be with him forever, and live a life abundant. And it doesn't even stop there--this God, this Jesus didn't stop with the resurrection, but in fact CONTINUES to proclaim his vast love for us by interceding FOR us, to the very Father that created us. It blows my mind that there are so many people in our world that worship false gods and idols that even in their mythological state are separate and non-involved. Unless perfection is in fact achieved, in most cases. But that our GOD, the only true our Father, is just as involved in our lives and our Spirits as he was breathing life into the first man. So intimate, from the very beginning, despite our failure. This Father, and this Jesus, is FOR US. He is praying FOR US and goes to the Father on our behalf. Because of His sacrifice he sees not a failure, not sin, not wicked hearts but a beloved child who he will relentlessly plead for and pursue. LOVE.

What scriptures are fresh to you in this season of life?! I'd love to hear what God is doing through his word in your life! Be blessed,
--R.

P.S. here is a shot from my maternity session! I'm hoping to share more soon and talk about my experiences on the other side of the camera ;)

Photo Cred: my lovely and talented friend/fellow photographer Katy Pair

Old Photos + Happy Memories

Obviously I have a love for photography. But I have an even greater love for good memories! There is just something about pictures that bring back the fuzzy feelings and warm thoughts of the past that makes my job SO important. And I love that. I love looking back through old pictures and remembering a special season in our lives and how blessed this journey has been. It makes me sad when people tell me, "We have never had our picture taken together," or "We just don't keep photos around." There is so much JOY to be had in documenting every season of life, and even more to be had cherishing it as a sweet memory.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on photos and cherishing all seasons of life! Do you make photos of your life (professional or non) a priority? 

*Here's a photo that just makes me smile from our engagement pictures in 2011. CRAZY that we have already been married for two years, and even crazier that I am so much more in love now -- which I didn't think was possible then. :) 

Photo Cred: Lissa Anglin

LPM Siesta Scripture Memory Team + Verse 15

So not surprisingly I am a few days late for this, but it's all good. Here's the verse I'm writing on my heart these next two weeks, I hope you'll join me!

"...and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

There are so many things that I love about this beautiful passage of Scripture. First, simply the prayer that our love for one another would abound and increase is something so simple yet so incredibly revolutionary. To have a love that abounds as Christ does for our brothers and sisters in Christ requires a serious heart check, which is why this is SO important for the body of Christ. This means we pray for, encourage, and stand with EVERYONE belonging to Christ. Have someone in your life that also follows Christ but seems to just get under your skin? That one person whose spirit is not always so encouraging and helpful but maybe more critical? LOVE them. Leave all the bitterness, envy, pride, and selfishness of our sinful nature buried with Christ. If our love for one another does not abound then unity is threatened and so is the health of the body. We are on the SAME team with the SAME goal of furthering the Kingdom.

The second piece of this passage that God laid on my heart was the section about having our love abound for one another SO THAT (and here it is...) we may be blameless before our Father. Us?! Blameless?! Ha, I don't know about you but I know that my sinful heart is the farthest thing from blameless. All those things I mentioned and more about leaving them buried with Christ are what hinders us from being blameless. The beautiful thing here is that by passionately loving one another we leave no room for being to blame when it comes to loving our brothers and sisters. There is no way that after a few weeks or maybe even months or YEARS of passionately praying for people we don't always see eye to eye with that there will be no love for them. We must first love one another so we can blamelessly love those OUTSIDE of the body, which is what Christ always intended.

Lastly, I find the piece of this Scripture about the coming of the Lord Jesus with all HIS SAINTS particularly beautiful. In this life long battle of fighting the enemy and dying to ourselves for the sake of the Gospel, we are not alone. The countless before us that loved God and his people and gave their lives for the furthering of the kingdom are still fighting with us. We have the saints that surround Christ praying over us, interceding at the hand of the father. Those mentioned in Scripture like Moses, David, and Paul...along with so many others, AND those whose names are written in the book of life from the last 2000+ years that have had an authentic relationship with Christ, from all over the world. With these, also are those who have DIED merely for saying the powerful name of Jesus. Those who faced persecution without denouncing the love they had for their Lord. These are the people we will stand WITH, as one body, as one bride, at the return of Christ. What a beautiful picture of abounding love and victory!

I'd love to hear your thoughts about this passage, or any other that God may be writing on your heart! Praying that you lead with love this week and are richly blessed by the love of the Father!

--R.

TODAY

Is rainy, and cloudy. And I LOVE it.

I'm working on a lot of different things today, but days like this I especially enjoy taking time to go outside on the porch and soak up the fresh air with my Bible and just reflect on the goodness of God and seek just a word or a glimpse from Him. We've been doing a Proverbs series at Hillside over discovering the will of God by asking the wisdom of God. It's been such a good message series and I definitely recommend it everyone, regardless of your stage of life. (You can find listen/watch the whole series so far here.)IT'S SO GOOD! Anyways, today I hope you find peace somewhere in your day. And remember that just like the rain freshens the air, so the love and grace of Christ refreshes our souls, empowering us to live a Spirit-filled and purposeful life. Be blessed!
--R.

Fun Mini Trip

After church on Sunday we got to run away to Dallas with some of our family to watch a Rangers game. I LOVE watching the Rangers play live and can't wait until Emmett is old enough to take him. :) There are so many things I'm excited about and am looking forward too when he's here, from watching my husband hold him and love him like no one else will to watching him play baseball or whatever it is he will like to! Right now, however, I am most excited about just holding him for hours, in my arms rather than my belly. Which I have absolutely loved but am so ready for September as each day ends. :)

What are some things you're looking forward to?! Ha, I feel like the last three years I've lived in a constant state of excitement for what's ahead, and I love it!

Here's a few pictures from our trip! Unfortunately in our rush to leave I forgot my camera so these are just from my nifty iphone and instagram--@rachelsweatt. Happy Wednesday!

*My handsome husband, my baby bump and I! 32 weeks! #8weeksuntilEmmett

**Photos edited with the ABeautifulMess App that I am in love with, then uploaded into instagram and filtered. 

LPM Siesta Scripture Memory

One of the most important things I have learned thus far in my walk with Christ is that it is CRITICAL to memorize scripture. Memorization is how we apply the Word to our lives, transforming the world around us with the Truth. How can we expect to change with world with the Truth if we do no know it ourselves? I've also had SEVERAL instances where I have been blessed with the opportunity to share my faith and why I believe what I believe and had the scripture and the apologetics to back it up. And trust me, never on the face of this earth could I do that on my own. That victory came straight from knowing the Word and being filled with the Spirit. In Ephesians 6 Paul writes about an armor of God, and one of the pieces is the sword of Truth. He is referring to the Bible and the wisdom and power God gives us through His word. The Sword (Scripture) is the ONLY offensive weapon we have. Why on earth do we think we can defeat the enemy is we walk out every day to do battle completely unarmed? I have no idea, but I also know that I am guilty of the ignorance of doing that, way too often. Which is why when my mom told me about the LPM Siesta conference I jumped in! We log a verse that we are to memorize every 2 weeks for the whole year, beginning January 1st, and in return (in ADDITION to writing the Word on our hearts and being transformed by the Truth) we get to attend a conference led by Beth Moore! I meant to be sharing verses on the blog since day 1, but, well...that didn't happen. So now I want to catch up and share the verses God laid on my heart to commit to memory. I hope they encourage you as much as they have me! Hopefully I'll be able to share the verses I learn every two weeks as was my original intent, and maybe we can learn them together?!  It's amazing how God gives up specific scriptures for specific seasons in our lives to give us victory. Feel free to share encouraging verses that you've committed to memory or used to fight the enemy! We have already won the war brothers and sisters, but we still have to fight our battles every day. Here's to knowing the wisdom of God through his Word and standing firm in the faith!

P.S. If you want to join me in the LPM Scripture memory challenge and attend the conference you can STILL get in on the action! Click here for more info, and go back and log verses through Jan. 1. 2013! :)

Be blessed!
--R.

January.1.2013
Good sense makes one slow to anger and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
--Proverbs 19:11

January.15.2013
You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. Yet these things you hid in your heart; I know that this is your purpose.
--Job 10:12-13

February.1.2013
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
--Romans 8:5

February.15.2013
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." And the Lord said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle."
--1 Samuel 3:10, 11

March.1.2013
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
--2 Corinthians 10:5

March.15.2013
For am I now seeking the approval of man? If I were still trying to please man I would not be a servant of Christ.
--Galatians 1:10

April.1.2013
Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin."
--John 8:34

April.15.2013
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
--Ephesians 3:8

May.1.2013
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
--Phillipians 3:8

May.15.2013
Seek the Lord and his strength;
Seek his presence continually!
--1 Chronicles 16:11

June.1.2013
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth the strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
--2 Chronicles 16:9

June.15.2013
Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance.
--Proverbs 20:18

July.1.2013
Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and which God has called him.
--1 Corinthians 7:17

July.15.2013
Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
--James 5:11

So much guidance and truth in the Word. Happy Monday!

2nd Year Lovin'

We just got back from one of my FAVORITE trips of all time. On June 10th, we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary! It is unbelievable that we have been married two years already! It absolutely flew by, and I love my handsome husband more now than I did the day I said "I DO" *Which by the way, I would have said was not even possible on the day of our perfect wedding!  It's amazing to me how God orchestrates our lives so beautifully that while we are glorifying him through our lives, everything just gets BETTER. We start dating, we can't wait to get married. We get married, we can't wait to just get to wake up every morning together. We get to find out we're having our first BABY (!), we can't wait to hold him. Our God consistently not only provides for our every need, but longs for us to live abundantly, and my my my--we sure have these last two years! God has been SO incredibly good to us. We have learned so much about each other and ourselves, but most importantly about God's love for us. Through the victories and struggles in marriage the love and character of Christ is to be reflected, and this is what it is to be truly blessed. Here's to another year of life with my best friend, as we come to a close on the best season of my life so far--as we begin to get ready for a completely new and just as wonderful season with our little man. You're everything I want him to grow up to be, and I love you every day--even more than this preggo lady loves mexican food currently. Which is a lot. :)  Thanks for loving me and our son as Christ loves his church, and celebrating each God given day with me.  :)

To KNOW a name...

This picture was taken right before we left to let three simple words change our lives forever. Last week, we found out who was growing to be in our family in only 4 months! I have never been more excited, nervous, and overwhelmed with a love that can only come from Christ. When we found out we were having our first baby, our hearts were filled with a new kind of love, one that we had been waiting for the right time to experience. And that time is finally here and we could not be more excited and in love!

So, an hour after extreme butterflies we found out...

IT'S A BOY!!! And he is exactly what our hearts needed. The last time we saw him at a sonogram appointment he was only 3 cm long, and at this one he was about 6 inches and already 9 oz! The change was unbelievable. Seeing him move and kick and wave his perfect little hands made all the waiting (and the sickness) SO unbelievably worth it. He looks like Trae from what I could tell so far (which I wanted more than anything), and I've never seen anything so perfect! I am overwhelmed with hopes, dreams, and love for the little life that is our SON! My heart has been SO incredibly blessed by the amount of love being poured out by our family, friends, and church family for our little man already. He is already so dearly loved, and nothing could make my Spirit happier than knowing he will grow up in the presence and love of all the saints.

 Everything had already changed so much for the better...and even more so now that we know his NAME. And what is even more amazing is that God has known his name all along, since the beginning of time. And not only his name, but who he will grow up to be and what amazing things he will do!

Please pray with us for his health but also that for these last 4 months he is being filled with the Spirit of Christ, so that he may encounter a deep, personal relationship with our Creator and further the kingdom of God passionately his whole life.

Oh, and if you choose to pray by NAME...

his name is EMMETT ROSS SWEATT.
:)

Be blessed and THANK YOU for your love and your prayers,
--Rachel, Trae, and for the first time...Emmett Sweatt!

Perspective

Found this notebook in an awesome, random shop a while back and just saw the picture! Needless to say, I laughed hysterically and I had to share. Hope it helped you with some perspective today--maybe, things aren't so bad after all. ;)
Happy Wednesday!
--R.