Letter to my younger self....

Dear Rachel,

Congratulations! You have become a wife and a mother in the short space of 18 months.

Firstly I want to tell you to enjoy these precious few moments as a brand new family, you are in a great place emotionally, physically and spiritually following the move to your new church and you are starting to discover who you are and why God put you here on this earth.

Your role as a mother will not define who you are. You are more than a cook and bottle washer, more than a cleaner and laundry attendant. You are an independent woman who is strong, confident, accomplished and gifted, no matter how you may doubt and question yourself. Can I really do this? Can I ever be good enough? Am I qualified? The answer to all these questions in God is yes. If He has called you to it He will bring you through it.

Your girlfriends are your world right now, and that is OK. Fellow moms who are going through the same stages as you, attend the same church as you, attend the same toddler group, women that you have so much in common with. 

Don't take things to heart, you have a tendency to wear your heart on your sleeve a little too much so why not protect it and keep some things just between you and God. He knows your heart, He knows your desire to be loved, accepted and to belong which is why He sought you out to become a daughter of the King, part of the Kingdom of Heaven. This is also the reason He gave you a great marriage, a husband who knows you intimately and loves every part of you. A strong man who will uphold you and strengthen you in every area, a man who has got your back.

In the years to come you will face trials an tribulations but you will never be alone. God is with you, He is for you and He has gone ahead of you. You will overcome redundancies, health scares and depression. You will rise above doubts and dilemmas, bad decisions and bad behaviour. You will learn the difference between being a friend and being faithful and your personal faith will reach levels you never dreamed of.

Take courage and stand tall, the future is bright, you just need to believe it and grab it with both hands.

R

Love the little things....

Here is my first blog for Love The Little Things and I am super excited to share my week with you!

Read

I have such a huge stack of books on my shelves waiting to be read, but the current title on my bedside table is Dr John Andrews' book 2:52 about growing in leadership. I have also dipped in and out of Hello magazine this week to pour over the pages of the marriage of the worlds most eligible batchelor, Mr George Clooney and his bride Amal!

Watched

Friday night is date night in the Edwards household and we decided to watch reruns of Twilight Saga as Dave has yet to see the final instalment and we needed a refresh before watching Breaking Dawn Part 2!

Wore

Unlike the rest of the UK I am actually looking forward to autumn, and so I have been excitedly sporting my scarves again this week. As a complete self confessed scarf addict, I love nothing more than pulling on skinny jeans and boots or leggings and a knitted dress accompanied with some neck warming loveliness in the winter months. This is my newest addition, the swallows scarf from Ella Bella Scarves.

Heard

I love the distinctive voice of Rory James, his melodies are haunting yet uplifting, I highly recommend checking him out on YouTube!

Made

There has been a distinct lack of crafting and cooking this week, but I have made lots of mess with my 4 year old who has rediscovered his love of playdough!