Thirty Before Thirty List Update!

I get to cross off two things on my thirty before thirty list! See the whole list here.


#18 is Laugh so hard I cry (I needed at least one easy one). It was easier that I thought. At the young adult small group that I attend, my super-talented friends wrote a song called "Christmas Beans," and I recorded it on my camera. Well, I tried to record it. They were so funny with their cutesy little mannerisms that I couldn't keep a straight face and kept cracking up. It wouldn't have been a problem since I was behind the camera, but every time Karl saw me laughing he would start too! We had about 10 takes of this before I finally gave up the camera and let someone else film it. We finally got a great take, but by then I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face! Here's the final product, which I've already posted once but deserves another watch: 





The second item I get to check off my list is #4: Meet someone famous. This one might be an iffy one, since the person I met isn't really that famous in the grand scheme of things, but he's famous to me and I'm a big fan! I think the excitement factor alone is enough to validate crossing this off the list. He is Jon Acuff, and he writes a blog called Stuff Christians Like. It is a hilarious blog about Christian life; you should check it out! I was at the National Youth Workers Convention this weekend working at the Urban Ministry booth, when I saw on Twitter that Jon Acuff was going to be signing his book at the Dave Ramsey booth. I got really excited and dragged my friend Meagan with me because I was too shy to go by myself. We found him, and he was so super nice! We chatted about Birmingham and Camp Sumatanga, and he signed my book. I was really glad to meet him and tell him how much I enjoyed his writing. That was the closest I've come to meeting a "celebrity," so I'm going to cross it off my list!

Me and Jon Acuff!

So now I only have 28 things left on my list (well, 27 if you don't count #30, which I forgot to put on the list in the first place)! Maybe I'll be able to cross another one off soon!

Thankful Bloggy Blog #3!

November 15: I'm so thankful for the rain that makes things grow, even though it also makes me sleepy!


November 16: I'm thankful that I have so many things to be thankful for that I can't even pick one!


Later on November 16... Wait never mind. Today I'm thankful for peppermint mochas! Mmmm!

November 17: I am thankful for my wonderful Alpha group that I get to see tonight, especially Matt Collette and Ramsey Thomson, the best cooks in town!!!!!

See what I mean?

November 18: I'm thankful for the opportunity to travel to fun places and spend time with awesome friends. Headed to Nashville for the Youth Workers Convention this weekend.

November 19-21: A three-in-one thankful status for the weekend: I'm thankful for organizations like Urban Ministry, Inc, Camp Sumatanga and UMCOR - United Methodist Committee On Relief that do so much good for the world in the name of Jesus Christ. If you're looking for a way to serve in this Christmas season, look no further!

The Urban Ministry booth and Deb at the convention. Check out her new pants!

Thankful Bloggy Blog #2!

Things I was thankful for this week, with pictures!

November 8: Today I'm thankful for my "Huntsville family," including Karen Banka Thomas, Shelby Stricklin-Snead, Bridget Aaron and the rest of the gang. I don't know if it was the eggnog pumpkin pie, gummyfrog tea, Beatles RockBand or just the company, but I am feeling so much better after tonight!

November 9: Today I'm thankful for my oldest and dearest friend,Leslie Erin Black Betancourt and her precious "big boy" Jacob. I am so blessed to have a friend that has been around forever and still loves me!

November 10: I am so thankful for these girls, who were the best roommates and friends a girl could have! I put them together on my list not because they're half as important, but because it has always been the three of us, and it always will be! To my partners in crime, Katie McGlawn and Kate Daniels, I love you girls so much, and I thank God for putting you in my life! 

November 11: Rachel K. Sparkman is always thankful for our veterans and those currently serving in the military. I don't have anything eloquent to say, just thank you. Thank you.

November 12: Oh no! I forgot to say what I was thankful for on Friday! I guess I'm thankful that I have friends, family and a God that loves me even when I make stupid mistakes and do silly forgetful things.

November 13: I love the beautiful autumn weather that brings me refreshment and rejuvenation after a hot, hot summer. It feels like God is bringing me a glass of lemonade to cool off after a day in the sun. Thanks, Lord! Delicious!

November 14: Today I'm thankful to live in this beautiful piece of God's creation! I love the Fall so much!

Give Thanks in November: Week 1

This month I am taking part in "Give Thanks in November" on Facebook and Twitter. Every day I post something that I am thankful for. They have been pretty random so far. I am going to post them on my blog at the end of each week so that I can save them for posterity. Because you know when a status goes beyond the "older posts" horizon, it's lost forever in the depths of the Facebook sea.

November 2: Rachel K. Sparkman is starting "Give Thanks in November" today! Today I'm thankful that God's got my back!


November 3: Thanks, God, for the gift of music, that always meets me exactly where I am. No matter my mood, I can always find a song that will speak to my heart. So thankful.


November 4: Oh, it's soooo early... BUT I'm thankful that I get to watch the sun rise on some beautiful smiling baby faces today!


November 5: Today I'm extra thankful for the miracle of modern medicine, from vaccines and treatments that save millions of lives, to more mundane remedies like Dayquil, which is the only thing getting me through the day. Amazing!


November 6: I am so thankful that today I got to go to Sumatanga, my favorite place in the world, and discover the Holy Spirit with some great people!


And today, November 7: Today (and every day), I'm thankful for my church family that has welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home. Thank you, Lord, for these wonderful children of yours. And bless them.


I am certainly not going to run out of things to be thankful for this month! I could keep going all year!

Christmas Beans

This seriously made my week! My friends wrote this song and we recorded it. I laughed so hard when we were recording it that I had to give the camera to someone else so everyone wouldn't get tickled! So here it is, my new favorite Christmas song, sung by Leah Kathryn Mills and Karl Bowdle! Blooper reel coming soon!

It's My Birthday!

Today is my 25th birthday, and although I love birthdays, I'm freaking out a little bit! I'm halfway through my twenties; I've lived through a fourth of a century! I think I'm having a quarter-life crisis. I've seen and done some pretty awesome things in my 25 years, but I feel like there are a million more things I want to do before I get too old! So for my birthday this year, I am going to make a "30 before 30" list. Not that 30 is old, of course (oh em gee, 30 is so old); I just don't think I can come up with enough ideas to make a "40 before 40" list (and I don't want to think about ever turning 40). So here goes: thirty things I want to accomplish before I turn thirty - in no particular order.

Rachel's 30 Before 30 List!

Significance and Integrity

Last weekend I had the joy of working a young adult Chrysalis journey at Camp Sumatanga. I had an even greater joy of sponsoring three of my very good friends to come on the journey. It was an amazing weekend filled with so much agape love that it was hard to take it all in. I love serving on a Chrysalis because I get to use all of my gifts to love people. I came home on Sunday on such a "Jesus high," and I never wanted it to go away.

Unfortunately, the world intruded much sooner than I expected when my mom told me that her uncle had passed away over the weekend. Even though he was 89 years old and has been pretty sick for a long time, the passing of a loved one is never easy to take. And Uncle Bob was certainly loved, by my family and many others. If you want to read his obituary, go here. Chances are you won't read it all the way because it's so darn long! You see, my Uncle Bob was an amazing person. At his funeral there were many people that spoke of his military service, his long career in the US Social Security System (he was the Deputy Commissioner, the highest non-elected office in Social Security), and the numerous awards he received for all kinds of things. A colleague of his said that he was a "true American." He was an extreme volunteer; there is even an award that bears his name (from the UAB Center for Aging). But to me, the highest praise was when his stepson, Tim, got up and talked about Bob's love for his stepchildren and grandchildren, people who weren't related to him by blood but that he loved with his whole heart. He was known to stand up in the middle of a meeting or church service and loudly proclaim that he had the best grandchildren in the world! He loved God, and he showered that love on every person he met. Tim put into words what the rest of us couldn't; Uncle Bob was "successful" in every sense of the word, but that wasn't the whole story. Bob Bynum wasn't just successful, he was significant. He touched every life he came into contact with in a positive, lasting way.

As I reflected on Uncle Bob's story over the course of this week, I wondered how I could change my focus from living a "successful" life to living a "significant" life. In the small group that I attend every Thursday night, we learned that God calls every person to His mission, to share the love of Jesus Christ. In order to do that, I will need the integrity of a follower of Christ. To have integrity I have to know who I am, what I stand for, and what I have to do to fulfill my mission. That is how I can live a significant life. That is one thing that can change a story of ambition, prestige, and greed into a story of love, friendship and grace like my Uncle Bob's.

Isn't it amazing when God answers your questions even when you don't ask them out loud?