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Our Charis Family
Rachel Thompson
Rachel,
Caleb,
Benjamin,
Beth,
Lydia,
Tabitha,
Miriam
and
Derek
Thompson
Grace
and peace to my wonderful Charis family in the name of Christ Jesus
our Lord!
After not much time to muse over how to re-introduce myself to you,
I feel a bit awkward...but, for those of you who have been reading
the Charis newsletter for several years, you may remember my initial
introduction in the autumn of 2007. I live in the outskirts of
Richmond, Virginia and am the wife of Derek and the mother of six
fabulous children—Beth (14 yikes!! how did she grow so fast?), Caleb
(12), Miriam (10), Benjamin (7, almost 8), Lydia (4), and Tabitha
(2). I have been so blessed by each of them and their support as I
have ministered to many, many women during labor and birth over the
last three years. They have chipped in during the long hours of my
absence with a cheerful willingness to pray for the momma, dad, and
baby in labor, to love on each other, to rearrange their schedule at
the last minute, to do extra work so that I come home to a clean
house and a yummy meal. Truly, they have been wind beneath my wings!
I applaud them loudly!!
As my ministry to women and their families during childbearing years
has grown over these few years, I continue to be the one who is
blessed each time. There have births that are long (very long),
births that are quick and intense, births that are “textbook” and
those that seem not to be so, births which challenge me, and births
that have been met with extremely difficult and heart-wrenching
ends. Each one has been beautiful! Each and every one has given me
the opportunity to give the gift of the Lord's peace, gentleness,
support, love, and embrace to those who know Him and to those who do
not (yet). Each birth has grown and stretched me in skill and
knowledge, in faith and trust of the Lord, in becoming a true
servant of God and of others. It is a journey that I would not ever
trade. It has been tremendous!
Along the path of this journey, I have been able to give back to
Charis in a way that has been such a pleasure to me. One of the
strengths of the Charis training is the “mentorship” of a
doula-in-training to a senior doula and I have had the privilege of
filling the role of senior for other Charis doulas in training. Believe me, I am truly the one who benefits. Having an extra set of
hands is WONDERFUL during labor! It has been such a delight to get
to know other young women who have a heart and passion for birth as
I do and to help them feel more confident in serving during such a
monumental time in a family's life.
As I continue along this incredible path of doula and childbirth
educator, within my heart still burns the desire and goal of
becoming a midwife. However, the time has not arrived and the door
has not yet opened for me to continue on in my pursuit of that. The
Lord made it quite clear that now my path leads me to serve as a
doula and childbirth educator, a friend, and support to the women I
serve, but mainly, that I am a momma FIRST. My children are still
young...and I want to be with them right now in a way that I know I
would not be able to if I were spending more time studying.
Sometimes, my heart feels torn because the burn is
intense—especially after a birth or a class. But, I know that I know
that I know, that the plans God has for me are for His glory and
that is my desire above all else. So, as He leads and that door
opens to become a midwife, I will joyfully walk through it. While
the door remains closed, I will joyfully wait!
Blessings of the Lord to you all!!
Rachel Thompson
Our Friends ~ Our Family
We'd love to feature you in newsletters to come!
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Charis Cuisine
Blood-Building
Gazpacho
Submitted by Kristin Schuchmann
I am
always looking for healthy recipes that taste really good. This one
was inspired by the raw borscht recipe in the book “Eating Without
Heating” by Sergei and Valya Boutenko. It looks beautiful in the
bowl and tastes great!
Directions:
Place the following in the blender, blend thoroughly, and set aside
in a large serving bowl. (If you have a small blender, you may need
to divide it into 2 batches.)
1 C water
2 medium beets
1 1/2 -inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
2 large cloves of garlic
2 fresh bay leaves
Place the following in the blender, blend briefly (30 sec.), and
pour into the same large bowl. (If you have a small blender, you may
need to divide it into 2 batches.)
1 C water
1 medium carrot
1 stalk of celery
1/3 C raw walnuts
1 T apple cider vinegar
2 oranges (remove peel and seeds)
1/2 T raw honey
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
In a food processor, chop the following into confetti-sized pieces
and add to the blended mixture and stir.
1 medium carrot
1/4 of a small head of red cabbage
1 small handful of fresh parsley
Serve this delicious gazpacho chilled or at room temperature. Do not
heat.
Have a good recipe? Share it here!
Thanks
for the nice newsletter. I especially liked the story from
"Ebony".
- Midwife from Arkansas
Educational and interesting as usual. Thank you so much!
- Dave Yarnell, Pismo Beach, CA
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