new blog

Don't worry, this blog is not going away! I started a new blog called "Funny Things from Sparky and Stinker" which blogs about funny things we say to each other. There is a link to the blog from this current blog! Enjoy!

100,000 miles

...on the little black jellybean.

six months of oneness

Yesterday was December 5th. Exactly 6 months ago from that date was June 5th, the day Rollin and I got married.

It was a special day. We had gotten free Pillsbury cinnamon rolls when we bought orange juice at HEB the day before. Rollin went to make cinnamon rolls. I guess there are two different ways to bake them and one way instructs you to bake it twice as long. Rollin didn't realize that and accidentally baked the cinnamon rolls too long so they got burnt. We were sad. But Jesus lifted out spirits!

In the afternoon we went to the park to play frisbee and found a shopping cart there and had a spontaneous photo shoot, I was the model of course.

In the evening Rollin and I went out to eat and then we came home for three activites:

1. First we took play-dough and we each made something that represented the other person and we explain why.

2. We each painted our favorite memory with the other person.

3. We wrote a letter to each other saying how we thought the first six months went and what our vision and goals for our marriage for the next six months is. We both wrote to each other that we want to be praying more. We want prayer to be the life and nourishment of our marriage. We want to be prayer warriors for each other, praying for freedom and healing for each other. It was a blessed day. Thank you Jesus for my husband.

vinny

i have to tell you about my new friend, vinny. vinny is my husband's parent's neighbor's dog. rollin's parents live in a semi-rural area where the neighbors have "outside" dogs. by "outside" dogs i mean that they stay outside all of the time and usually wander around the neighborhood during the day. these pets always go to their owner's home where they have a reliable source of food and water. vinny likes to come by rollin's parent's house a lot during the day where he just sits on their porch (i think because he finds affection there since his neighbors are not home a lot). since the last year that i have been visiting rollin's parents i have seen vinny here and there.

let me tell you about vinny. he is half-black lab and half-pitbull. being half-pitbull, this dog is a BEAST! his neck his thick and muscular. this is one powerful dog that is made to kill. but vinny is the kindest and gentlest dog EVER. i've never heard him growl. he's like a faithful and loyal friend. i definitely bonded with vinny this weekend at rollin's parents house. every morning when we opened the door to go outside, there he was sitting in the sun on the porch. if you go for a walk, vinny ALWAYS comes with. he leads the pack. he walks 50 yards ahead of you...but once you have to turn around and he sees that you are turning around, he runs back to you to lead you in the other direction.

i wish i could take vinny home with me. there's something really cool about a dog that is so strong and powerful, yet so gentle and friendly. vinny's my new friend.

99,000

only 1,000 more until my little black jellybean breaks 100,000 miles.

bluebell ice cream

Rollin and I like to taste different Bluebell flavors. It do not live in Texas, Bluebell is a favorite and absolutely DELICIOUS Texan brand of ice cream. Here are the flavors we have tried so far...

song of the week.....

This song is by Jon Thurlow, an IHOP worship leader. It's such a beautiful song. It's called "Mourning for the Bridegroom."

song of the week.....

this is how you eat a pomegranate...

Two weekends ago HEB had pomegranates for sale. So we decided to buy one and eat it! This is how you prepare it...

song of the week.....

I love this song....

Song of the Week....

"Dance with Me" by Chris Quilala. It's a beautiful song!

I'm sorry it's been a while...

Oh goodness! July 31st was the last time I posted on my blog. I want to keep this blog more updated. Life has been a whirlwind since then so it's been hard finding time to sit down and blog.

The end of July, the Lord miraculously provided a teaching job for me! I was originally planning on teaching on one high school but it didn't work out because the school had to hire a coach and the coach happened to teach math. We had received a job offer from Navasota, but when we prayed about it, we felt like God wanted us to turn it down. Rollin had a job prospect teaching part-time at Blinn, but it didn't come with benefits. For almost a month I went through a hard time of trusting God to provide for us. It was really scary, especially because I like having financial security.

I applied to some school districts around College Station as my last thread of hope. One thursday morning I received a phone call from the Math Department head at Bryan HS for a job interview. Long story made short...by Friday evening I was offered the job and now I am an Algebra 1 teacher at Bryan HS.

How has teaching been? HARD! I wish I could quit. I know that sounds extreme. I love teaching, it is just really challenging, especially when many of my students are very very very challenging. But God wants me here. He made that clear by the way my whole job situation worked out in the first place. Please pray for my students. Please pray for strength for me.

Rollin and I moved into our apartment at the beginning of August. We love our little place. It feels very restful. All of the windows face the back which is all trees and leaves. Being married has been good and challenging too. I'm so thankful for Rollin. I'm so glad he's the man I get to spend the rest of my life with.

Love,

Rachel

i saw the face of jesus

During our engagement I always dreamed of seeing angels on June 5th 2010 as I walked down the aisle toward my future husband. I thought that would be so cool and so special. I think Jesus gave me something better. The day of the wedding I was soooo nervous and anxious! I will never forget that special moment of anticipation waiting for the doors to open, seeing Rollin's face for the first time, and then walking towards him. Once I saw Rollin's face I totally forgot about angels!! But walking towards him I will never forget his face. He was sobbing with such tears. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. After the wedding my dad told me when we got to the front of the church that day everyone in the wedding party had tears in their eyes. During our reception one of our friends told us that seeing Rollin's face as I walked down the aisle was so amazing even healing to her to see visibly how much Rollin loves me. People made comments that everyone that cried in that moment was because of seeing Rollin's face. And lastly, another good friend said to us that seeing Rollin's face was like seeing the face of Jesus.

It was maybe a month later I was talking about this moment with one of my bridesmaids when we were hanging out. I was telling her how I had been praying to see angels when I walked down the aisle. And then in that moment I remembered what everyone had said and it hit me. I didn't see angels when I walked down the aisle. I saw the face of Jesus in my husband as I walked towards him. I saw Jesus. I will never forget this. What an amazing moment Jesus gave me.

I was excited to see the video footage of this moment, to see Rollin's face as I walked down the aisle. I watched the footage that focused on Rollin's face. As the music built up I remembered the point where the doors were opened and I saw a second where Rollin's face started to change as he saw me. And then the footage cut to me. I was so disappointed!! None of the video cameras caught Rollin's face as I walked down the aisle. Noooooo!!!! We were so sad about that. But when I had this realization a week or two later that I saw the face of Jesus I understood why it wasn't captured on video. I think Jesus did not want that special moment--His face as I walked down the aisle--caught on video.

I'm happy with that.

put it down!

You all were right! The first issue Rollin and I are working through is Rollin putting the toilet seat down...he's getting better.

marriage building

we have been married...22 days! since the day we have been married we have been building our marriage by working through certain issues. a picture below describes the first issue we are working on. any guesses as to what it means? please comment!

my name is mrs. mayes

I'm married and my name is Rachel Mayes. Weird! It's so crazy how crazy but natural it has been transitioning into married life. Rollin and I are sooo thankful for how amazing and how special our wedding was to us. After the wedding we went to Jamaica for our honeymoon and had a very restful and relaxing week. Now we are at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, CO working for the rest of the summer. We live in a dorm room that is furnished for a couple. It is a little weird living in a dorm room, but it works. It's our first home! I will post pictures of it soon.

Rollin and I have been praying that the rest of the this summer would be very relaxing and

refreshing. We really want this summer to be a unifying and refreshing start to our marriage and for it to be a time for us to seek and find intimacy with Jesus. Please pray for us!

Rollin and I on our wedding day (in the limo between the ceremony and reception)

Rollin and I on our honeymoon in Jamaica

Rollin and I on top of Trail Ridge Road in Colorado

one more day

oh me oh my!

I am getting married in one day!!!! I have been running around my parents house this morning screaming. Screaming for nervousness and excitement! It's finally here!

I'm ready.

song of the week

this might actually be my second song of the week. but i discovered this artist from a friend's facebook status. it's a string quartet that plays cover music. i realllllllly like this one!

tribute to my nephew

I love taking pictures of allllll my little nieces and nephew. Now that Joshua is getting older, he knows how to "pose" for pictures when I take them. Therefore I get amazing and artsy shots. I particularly love this first picture of him. So here are some of my favorite shots that I took in April a few weeks ago...

hunted by mosquitos

i am telling yall there must be something in my blood that attracts mosquitos. it seems like every time i go outside i get all bitten up!!! what's the deal?! i even got a mosquito bite on my toe...check out the picture...

song of the week

I love this song. Rollin loves this song. He told me this song is God singing to us. Enjoy it.

one more painting

I almost forgot about this one! When I had been painting the previous two paintings, I had left over paint so I mixed them together and just painted on a little canvas. Then I wrote over it. I think this little canvas will be a nice little welcome sign in our apartment next year!

new paintings

Well...the first picture you see I already posted before. But I did not like how the words looked so I painted over and wrote it again :) The second painting was started in February...I think. Rollin and I painted the blues. We knew we wanted to paint the verse Isaiah 60:1 on it, it just took a while to get to it. So here they are!!!

song of the week

This week's song of the week is called "Heaven Song" by Phil Wickham. It's a song about heaven. And it's also, to me, a song of redemption, restoration, and newness. I think sometime's when I am sad or get tired, I love listening to this song and remembering what's coming :)

i am a tree

I want to be like a tree. Planted by streams of water. Streams of living water. And let me bear fruit, Jesus. Let me overflow with love for you. I want love and devotion for You.

Jeremiah 17:8

He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 24:6

...I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

Isaiah 58:11

...You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Psalm 52:8

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever.

Psalm 1:3

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

I want a heart to know you, Jesus.

wedding website

Hey everybody,

I started a wedding website for Rollin & I. It's not finished but it's a start. Check it out:

http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/pwp2/view/MemberPage.aspx?coupleId=7397993565492426

and the song of the week is.....

Last night our homegroup had an Easter dinner get-together. I was so tired from being up so early that day that I only stayed the first half hour and then I left to get ready for bed and stuff. While I was getting ready for bed I heard everybody outside...apparently easter eggs were hidden in the backyard and they were looking for them. I suddenly felt left out and almost wished I had stayed and hung out. But I knew I just wanted to spend some time with Jesus and then go to sleep. So I started to spend time with Jesus and I pulled out my journal and bible and started listening to my ipod. The first song that played was "You Have Redeemed My Soul" by Enter the Worship Circle. Something in that song just pulled my heart to Jesus and I listened to that song over and over and over again , while just praying things to Jesus and asking Him for things and to do things. By the time I went to bed, I didn't regret not hanging out with the homegroup, because Jesus had something special for me :) Here's the song...it's played to a video a guy made, not sure what the video is so you can just listen to the song...

being taken care of

I woke up at 6 this morning to get ready for work and I felt AWFUL! My stomach felt weird, almost like I could throw up, and I just felt so tired, even dizzy, that I felt I could pass out. I canceled my job and quickly went to sleep and fell a sleep for a few hours. It was so weird! And of course I felt so guilty, thinking that I should be working today--that I NEED to be working today. But I just felt awful. I feel like it was part of Jesus plan, he wanted me to rest today for some reason. A little after 9 I woke up when Rollin came in with a card for me!!

I think the card is soooo cute!!

AND THEN, Rollin told me he hid 10 eggs around the house for me to find. There were 8 regular eggs and two special eggs. The regular eggs had jelly beans in them, and the 2 special eggs had chocolate in them! So Rollin sat and watched me try to find them all! Here they are....

Rollin does a wonderful job taking care of me. Thank you Jesus for this man!!!

time for change

Sometimes I need a little change, and so I rearrange my room! I didn't do anything drastic. I just moved my desk/table a little bit. It used to be just one long table against the wall, and now it's more of an L-shape. But it gives me enough change and newness!

They just replaced the windows in my room. I LOVE the view outside my room, it's beautiful!

And here's the view if I am sitting from my desk!

song of the week

I was talking with my friends about how every week I have a different song which I rave about saying "oh my gosh! This is my favorite song ever!!!" So it was suggested to me to post a "Song of the Week" on my blog. So this week's "Song of the Week" is called "Shout Unto God" by Hillsong. I just love how the song repeats its lyrics about how the enemy has been defeated and how we gotta lift our voices and praise Jesus! Woot!

painting

I discovered that I love to paint. I love crafts. I love creating things. Especially painting on canvases which someday I can hang in my future home with Rollin. Here is my new painting...

Last week I bought three different shades of red: burgundy, true burgundy, and apple spice. As you can see in the painting I used the different shades to create the pattern and texture with the different shades of red. I started from the middle and the brush strokes burst out from there. It's really fun to look at. Then I painted this verse over it. Rollin told me how he wants us to have a lot of scripture hanging in our house...I like that too. My plan is to hang this in the kitchen when Rollin and I get married. The colors of the kitchen stuff we registered for is either red, black, stainless steel, or bamboo-ish. That's why I did the different shades of red with black writing over it. So since this painting is for the kitchen, I wanted to use a special verse that talk about Jesus filling the hungry with good things. I was not really happy with how the writing came out this evening...but I felt like Jesus kept telling me He loved it and was so pleased with me. So even if it's not perfect like how I wanted it, Jesus loves it! I love how if you don't focus on the words you can see the red brush strokes bursting out from the center. It has a cool effect! You can either look at the words or the actually painting.

Chick-Fil-A

Yes, you see that right. I am a part-time employee of Chick-Fil-A. Substitute teaching in College Station is very competitive, so sometime's it's difficult to find work everyday! So I applied to work part-time at Chick-Fil-A this spring. My work is limited to marketing. I advertise Chick-Fil-A at A&M sporting events, etc.

Jesus is really making me trust Him in a new way...with finances. It's easy to trust Jesus when things are going great. But how about trusting Jesus when money is tight and it's hard to find work everyday.? Yikes!!! I'm a normal freak out person in this area. But this is where Jesus has me. And I need to trust Him. He will take care of me. This is where faith comes in.

my eyes are speaking

Yesterday Rollin came over in the afternoon. He walked into my room and all he did, without saying anything, was open up his arms inviting me to hug him while looking at me so lovingly. Of course, I believe I asked him a question and he said nothing but patiently waited with his arms open. And of course, I fought this saying "speak!" or "say something!" while refusing to hug him. Then he took my pencil and wrote something on my pink post-it note. This is what he wrote....

Maybe that's how Jesus is with us? We complain and scream at Him for not saying anything, when maybe His eyes are saying it all and He just wants to hold us :)

Thanks Rollin, I love you.

being crafty

crafts are awesome! check out my crafts! what is it? melted crayons! I took crayons, unwrapped them, broken them into fourths, and then took one piece at a time and covered it with wax paper and took an iron and melted it. And then I paper over the crayons for two of the canvases. They were presents for Rollin for our 9 months! I thought it could be something to hang in our house once we get married. The green and blue canvas is just another one I did....I used our bedroom colors!

hello!

It's been a while since I have really been blogging. I can't write in "Rachel's College Life" blog anymore and I know I created "Journey Down South" recently...but for some reason I wanted to make a new blog. I will probably only use this blog until June when I get married. I'm sure I'll want to create a new fun blog for being married!