Hey there, I’m Rachel!
Just like you, I’m called by many names. First and foremost, I’m a wife and mom. Professionally, I’m an author, speaker, creator, podcaster, and entrepreneur. I’m also a daughter, sister, and caring friend.
My hope is that you’ll find this site as a safe, beautiful online space where you will want to spend time with my Bible-based resources so that you can fix your eyes on Jesus and move from hurting to healing.
How It All Began
In 2009, I started my first website when the Lord whispered to my heart to publish the community Bible studies I was writing and completing with local groups of women. I had no idea how to run a website, and social media influence was only beginning to emerge.
But I loved writing, and I knew that the difficult faith lessons I was learning were meant to be shared, especially the ones that stemmed from my daughter’s 22-year journey with a neurological disease that ended in heaven in 2019.
My “sharing” has resonated with thousands of readers over the years
By God’s provision, our community has grown from that handful of 15 women sitting in my family room to over 4 million downloads of my Bible reading plans!
After a decade of online ministry, my mission is still very simple: to help you cultivate a personal faith that outlasts life’s storms by providing helpful resources and the uplifting inspiration and motivation to use them.
While I recognize that practical how-to’s and help are necessary when it comes to growing your faith, reading your Bible, or developing your prayer life, I don’t want you to miss the reason for those tools- a deep personal relationship with your Creator.
If this is your first visit, I’d love to connect with you!
If you have a few more minutes, you can continue reading my personal faith testimony below!
My Faith Testimony
Sin erupted in my “perfect life”
I grew up in a wonderful Christian home with fabulous Christian parents. Our family was faithful to church, and I graduated from a Christian school. I attended a Christian college and completed the circle by teaching in a Christian school.
My future husband was a “preacher boy,” and when we married, the plan was that he would take a youth pastor position wherever God led. Only after we married did he have serious doubts about his calling and stop attending church altogether.
After two years of marriage, a precious daughter was born to us via emergency c-section. She experienced oxygen deprivation and required resuscitation, but she lived.
Three years after Taylor’s birth, I discovered that her father had been having an affair essentially four of the five years we were married. Despite that great protective environment I’d always known, and being faithful to God’s house, sin had erupted in my “perfect” life, and my marriage to this man didn’t withstand. Bad choices were made by both parties, and we divorced.
Redeeming love followed by grief & hardship
Despite all the pain and loss of the “perfect” life, God brought a solid Christian man into my life, and He has given us a wonderful story of grace and redemption.
But amid Matt and I falling in love, my dearest mom fell severely ill, diagnosed with a rare type of anemia. Two months later, the diagnosis was changed to leukemia, and she lived just six short months after that. Mom was the strongest, most faithful Christian I’ve ever personally known; she was my best friend.
The discovery process for my daughter Taylor’s developmental delays became more intense during my divorce and my mom’s death. Doctors often blamed the delays on her lack of oxygen at birth. But in my heart, I knew there was more to her issues.
Nine months after my mom’s death, the diagnosis for Taylor came through: MPSIIIB, a rare genetic metabolic disorder that causes gradual neurological degeneration. The average life span is 10-15 years, and there is no cure or even a treatment.
Upon receiving Taylor’s diagnosis, my walk with the Lord became intense. I asked all the “why” and “how” questions. I wanted God to spill out His plan for my entire life in one day.
But through His Word, God has taught me that faith is not only a one-time decision; it’s an everyday decision. Trusting His plan for your everyday life is equally as important as trusting Him for your eternal life.
Loss & blessings
On January 2, 2019, our Taylor graduated to heaven. The heartache and sorrow of our loss, yet heaven’s gain, is difficult to describe in a few words. In November 2018, I began writing letters to Taylor because she could no longer communicate.
You can read how I started to whisper in her ear about heaven and the letter I read at her funeral.
God has richly blessed Matt and me with a beautiful family and more blessings than we can count. Our incredible six children are growing steadily; they challenge me and bless me in every way. I am so very thankful for them.
Each day we live by faith that God would have His will in our lives. Each day we claim God’s promises and choose to run towards His plan, no matter what it includes. We are still learning how to take one more step.
Rachel is the author of One More Step
Rachel has faced experiences that crushed her dreams of the perfect life: a failing marriage, a daughter’s heartbreaking diagnosis, and more. In this book, she transparently shares her pain, empathizes with yours, and then points you to the path of God’s Word, where you’ll find hope to carry you forward.
