The life of Rachel in the last week

Hey everybody I know I haven't been up to date with my blogging lately so I am about to catch up for the last six months I haven't made a post.

Track is finally over for me, after three months of practice and about six or seven meets ( a lot were canceled because of weather). We had JV IRC's which are kind of like sections except you can't go any farther unless you are competing on the varsity then you can make it to State. But Any way at our sections IRC's I got fifth overall in the 100 meter dash, first in the 4 by 100 relay, and the big highlight of the meet was when I tied for first place in the high Jump with a jump of four feet three inches!

The other main highlight of the past few weeks is today I got Confirmed! Me, two of my friends plus one other boy were there to recite our life verses, and a paragraph that we had written about why we had chosen that verse , and read three answers to questions given to us a couple of weeks ago. I had to answer, What is Gods relationship to he world? What is the sacrament of the Lord's Supper? and What is the Christian hope? Here are my answers if you wish to read them.

What is God’s relationship to the world?

Remember your creator in the days of your youth, Ecclesiastes 12:1a. God created the world and he loves the world because it is his creation. God pronounced that the world was good at the creation but mankind through sin has corrupted it and we have turned our eyes away from Him. Our relationship to the creator isn’t all that great at the moment. I say at the moment because the way God shines through people on earth comes in waves. Sometimes it seems like every thing is great. Then of course we hit the bad times and the world seems to be going down hill. Lately I think we have been stuck down at the bottom of one of these waves and we need to work on getting out.

But how do we do that? We need to get back to the basics: God created the world in the first place and he has ultimate rule. But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding, Jeremiah 10:12. We are the ones messing up. God is always there for us to get reacquainted with him, we just have to make the time. God Wants to be in a relationship with us but even thought we are listening we really don’t know what to listen to and we keep getting distracted by the rest of the world. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; renew my life according to your word, Psalm 119:37. God loves the people that he created so much that he was willing to sacrifice his son so we could maintain a relationship with Him. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that who ever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life, John 3:16.

What is the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper?

A sacrament is a devotional, rite, or symbol. The Lord’s Supper is the ritual we use to remember Christ’s death. The Bread was his Body that was being basically destroyed for us, and the wine which represented his blood that was being spilt to clean us. While they were eating Jesus took bread and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying “take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying “Drink from it, all of you this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for the many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26: 26-28. We need to keep our eyes on the immense sacrifice he made for us. We can do that by taking the bread and the wine like he told us to.

We are not only remembering but we are giving thanks and participating in the blood and body of Christ who saved us from sin. Is not the cup of thanksgiving that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 10:16. We are thankful for the price he paid to give us eternal life with Him. And we are participating in the Blood and body of Christ because we are part of Him when we accept Him as part of us and take the Bread and the Wine for the First time.

What is the Christian Hope?

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Hebrews 6:19. The Christian hope is that Jesus will return and carry us all up to heaven! We all wait in Careful expectation for that wonderful day when he will come and take us all out of this world and up to spend eternity with him. Look , he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him so shall it be! Amen. Revelation 1:7.

We are his chosen people we are in his book and we want all the people around us to be up there with us in heaven. But sadly most of the people on earth haven’t accepted Christ yet. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Matthew 28:19. Even if we don’t succeed in one person doesn’t mean that we don’t plant a seed in that person, and one day they will accept Christ. All Christians should share the same hope of all of us going to heaven with the entire world with us! So let us all celebrate because we are going someday. But while we are still on earth it is our duty and privilege to bring other people in to His light, and let them see the wonders of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So my fellow believers let us celebrate in his second coming, let us reach out and let us grow in him with every life that is saved and we shall be praised by Him, the alpha, omega, beginning and end.

oh and one last thing to those coming out to our place for Stephen's Graduation. I have entered a movie contest about three hours south of here. And my Movie was chosen to be shown so my father and I will be driving down there for the showing! all that want to come are welcome, if you think it is worth it to drive three hours and if you will fit in the car. Love to all

-Rachel

Update from a snowy spring

A beautiful Saturday in International Falls, so I felt like updating this blog in the first time in, oh, forever. There’s a lot of news from the Adams corner of Minnesota. Perhaps some of you are aware that winter is hanging on a bit longer than normal this year. This last week, parts of the Northland (that is roughly Minnesota north of Duluth) got over a foot of snow, and this in the second week of April! We had about six inches as most, and that has largely disappeared now with a sunny day and 40+ degrees to help it along. We’re in the middle of ‘Ugly Spring’ the season after snowmelt but before the grass and trees start to green out.

I’m working hard preparing for our first ever ‘Kids Show’ at the Icebox Radio Theater, that is, a show specifically for performers under the age of 20. Rehearsals have been a lot of fun, and I feel energized whenever I’m working with the kids. Plus, this will be the first show we’ll broadcast on our very own internet radio station. That’s right, the show is going out live over the world wide web. Find a link at http://www.iceboxradio.org. Thus endeth the commercial.

My other big news on a personal note is that I am going to become a college instructor this fall. The theater’s involvement at Rainy River Community College inspired RRCC Provost (and IBRT board member) Wayne Merrell to ask if I wouldn’t like to teach a class or two. I wrote up a proposal for ‘Introduction to Audio Art and Internet Technologies’ and the Academic Affairs committee was very excited about it. The idea is that artists in remote areas such as I-Falls are often detached from the usual artistic support systems, and don’t always get to share their work or . This should not be in the internet age, so I’d like to teach people how to blog, podcast, and generally write and produce their own audio art (read: Poetry, drama, prose, etc) and share it with the world. Highfalutin ideas, to be sure, but when opportunity knocks, and one has a kid headed to college, one must listen.

I’ll keep this post short for now but I’ll also encourage Diane to add a post very soon. There’s a lot of news (but then again, there’s a lot of water under the bridge from our last post) but keep reading, and we’ll update soon. Maybe we’ll even get our high school senior to make an entry.

Talk to you soon.

Jeff

Stephen at Section Swimming

Thought we'd try something technically more difficult and post a short movie on the blog. This is Stephen's swim at the section meet this year. Enjoy!

End of February 2008

My goodness, how time does fly. It doesn't seem possible that the last time I posted was a month ago. I will work on getting Jeff to post Stephen's swim at sections from last week. He has been busy this week getting his entry in the Mark Time audio awards entered and getting the IBRT grant finalized and mailed off.

Both kids are on the speech team again this year and spending most Saturdays getting up very early to head to school to drive to speech meets. Most Saturdays they have to be at school between 4-4:30 am. It makes for a long day.

Stephen is also on the Knowledge Bowl team this year and spending two mornings a week practicing with the team and heading to school at 7:30. The team is doing very well.

Rachel has convinced Jeff to start an indoor pickup soccer game on Tuesday evenings so they are spending time at the church gym running around and getting her in shape for track season which starts in about 2 weeks and then for soccer which doesn't start until the end of April or early May.

I am beginning to dream about gardens and working the dirt even though the ground is still covered with cold white stuff.

Happy Friday!

I hope this finds you anticipating the weekend. It has been a busy week here as we have all four been dealing with colds, coughs and various and sundry creeping bugs that suck the energy out of you.

We have had a very cold week but are looking to warm up to the 20s for the weekend and that will be nice. Maybe we'll even have the energy to go out and ski. I would love to get outside and move, but have had so little energy to do more than the bare essentials.

Enjoy wherever you are and know that we are thinking about you and you are in our prayers.

Diane

Happy New Year!

It has been a while since I posted and after Jeff talked about posting last night I decided I should as well. We had a wonderful holiday season which provided many memories to last us for years.

As I reflect on 2007 and anticipate 2008 the thought that has occurred to me several times is that we are in a year of firsts and lasts. Stephen will be leaving for college in the fall and I find myself aware that we are doing things "the way they've always been done" in our family for the last time and we are also having a lot of firsts. First time applying for college, first time filling out financial aid forms, last year of boys' swimming, last year we will all be involved in Christmas preparations. Possibly last birthday for Stephen at home. As I encounter each first and last I seek to praise God for the opportunities and the blessings they bring.

May your 2008 be filled with joy and peace through each and every day regardless of what it brings.

Diane

It’s 27 degrees under a sky filled with glitter-snow, and I felt like updating the Icebox Blog. A beautiful winter night is just the thing to get the wordsmith in my going.

Happy belated holidays to everyone. I hope your Christmas and New Years were fun. Mine was spent on a west coast tour of family abodes that began and ended on an Amtrak train speeding across the Midwest. We had a wonderful time as a family, though I strongly recommend making the trip in sleeper cars. We tried it both ways (sleepers on the way out, coach seats on the way back) and can positively report that the sleepers are the only way to go when your trip lasts as long as ours did (thirty hours each way). Still and all, we saw some great scenery, enjoyed truly exceptional cuisine in the dining car (everyone’s favorite part of the trip) and had a great time once we got where we were going. We spent Christmas with my folks, as well as my sister’s family in McMinnville, Oregon, then spent the week tween the holidays (Kwanza, I guess) with Diane’s family in Sedro Wooley, Washington. Many presents, much eating, and many miles on the rental car were our lives for those two weeks.

Back in the Falls now, I’m getting very focused and very excited about the IBRT’s 2008. We have a new board president in Harley Droba who is bringing an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm to every project he’s involved with. He’s a gifted fundraiser, and led us to our best payday ever the first week in December when we did ‘Calls to Santa’ on local radio station KSDM. Kids called the station and got to talk to Santa Claus live, on the radio, and the whole town got behind it. After the show one night, Harley took his wife to dinner and said he overheard four different couples talking about the show. It will definitely be an item on our plate next year.

Blog posts should be brief, so I’ll cut off right now. Keep checking this space for more on the Adams Family, and the IBRT. Cheers!