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Those of you who are following me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (all the social media venues!) may have already heard that I just got back from a three day trip to St. Louis to attend the Christy Awards Dinner and the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS).

My first novel, Interrupted: Life Beyond Words, was nominated for a Christy Award for the Young Adult Category. When I first heard about a month and a half ago, my world was rocked. The Christys are like the Academy Awards of the writing world! I couldn’t believe that a book that I had written when I was fourteen years old, on my bed in the evenings after I finished up my math homework, was up against some of the greatest authors in the Christian writing world. It was just mindblowing.

Zondervan flew me and my dad out to St. Louis this week to attend the award ceremony. I got to wear a pretty dress, force my dad to don a coat and tie, and enjoy a beautiful evening surrounded by so many inspiring authors, agents, editors, and other legends of the Christian publishing world. I hugged Janette Oke, and Kristen Heitzmann, and brushed shoulders with dozens of award winning authors who light up my world. And as I was sitting there at my table, surrounded by friends from Zondervan and other prolific writers and editors, I had this mind-reeling thought: “I am one of them now.��

And it was a notion that completely humbled and inspired me. Because even though my book may not have won big this year (I lost to the incredibly sweet Marilyn Sue Shank’s “Child of the Mountains��, which I cannot wait to read!), I was still there. I was a part of something big and beautiful and significant. Because even though most of these people had been writing and publishing books longer than I’ve been alive, I was able to stand by their side on stage and get my medal alongside them.

I was sitting on the windowsill in our hotel room the morning after the award ceremony, holding the medal in my hand and swimming through the sea of memories from the night before. Had I really hugged Jannette Oke? Had Steve Laube really shook my hand and congragulated me and said how he remembered me sending him my first ever query letter when I was only fourteen years old? Had the manager of the American Christian Fiction Writers guild really sat across from me at supper and encouraged me to join some networks and meet other writers and spend time with them in Indianapolis this fall? Had I really shook hands with and hugged and been complimented by so many brilliant writers and agents and editors that I held so much respect for? It must have all been a dream.

But it wasn’t! It was real! And I thank God for the opportunity to have been able to spend that wonderful evening with other writers who praise His name and who just want to spend their lives writing stories that point others to Christ. Just like me.

It was an amazing, incredible experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I left the Christys feeling inspired and encouraged. Now I just want to write, write, write, and to find a network of writing friends who will continue to encourage me along the way. Let’s all do that for each other!

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-Rachel

(Sorry for the poor-quality pictures! Since my computer is still broken and I can’t edit any photos, I’ve just been using my phone a lot)

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I have a problem. It’s that I simultaneously hate to label myself and need to label myself at the same time. I think it could be called “Being a Teenage Girl��. Because I am the first one to protest if someone dares to put me in some type of stereotyped box.��I don’t like to be “the funny one�� or “the serious one�� or “the mature one�� or “the self-absorbed egotistical one��. I mean, why can’t I be all of those things at once? Or none of them? Or all but one? (Because I would prefer to leave out the self-absorbed part, truthfully. I prefer to keep that a secret)

But at the same time, when I’m feeling lazy or a little bit arrogant, I tend to just stereotype myself so I don’t feel like I have to be accountable to anyone. If someone is ratting me out for being late for something, I’m just “a laid-back kind of person.�� If one of my friends feels uncomfortable that I’m monopolizing a conversation, I claim I’m just “talkative��. And this week when I was making up excuses for why I hate math and science, I dismissively claimed that I don’t deal with those things because I’m more of a “creative�� person.

That’s when my friend shot back with a comment that stopped me in my tracks. “But all things are creative to some point,�� he pointed out. “We were created to create, even if that means using our academic minds more.��

Wow. It was another one of those moments in life where I was completely flabbergasted at the fact that I might have indeed been wrong about something, and that someone else had an amazing idea that I had never considered. Because my friend was right. Mathematicians are creating something. They’re creating solutions, and theories, and structured outlines of the way the universe works. And scientists are creating theories and politicians are creating social structures and musicians are creating melodies. And every single person on the face of this earth is creating something, and doing something, and their whole lives just kind of revolve around what that something is.

Because we serve a God who is a Creator, and because we are made in His image, we reflect that aspect of His character. And He has given us each unique talents and abilities, and it is up to us to use those abilities to create things that will glorify Him. Things that will build up those around us and point others to the amazingly beautiful and awesome God that we serve.

When we are filled with bitterness and anger and pride, we are creating problems. We are creating dissension and conflict and sin.

But when we take our unique gifts, abilities, and interests and begin taking steps to use them to change the world around us�� That’s when we start creating things of value. When God is reflected in our lives.

One of the greatest questions we can ask ourselves then, isn’t whether or not we were blessed with creativity, or academics, or physical strength, or something else entirely. It’s asking ourselves what we are going to create with what we have been blessed with. I only have one shot at this life (I know–YOLO, y’all) and I want my world to revolve around creating something that is going to bring God glory. Because He is the one who holds my world and everything in it.

So that’s my foot-in-my-mouth moment of the week. God took one careless comment I made and turned it in my face to show me a greater truth about Him. What do you know? It’s almost as if He plans stuff like that��

-Rachel

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I graduated high school last week. For over a month beforehand, my life was a flurry of party planning, traveling, test-taking, and organizing so that I could end my high school education with a bang. And celebrate we did–I threw a huge for one hundred of my closest friends and danced the night away while eating pie and trying on silly hats.

But once the venue was cleaned, the food was gone, and the thank-you notes were all mailed, I had a freak-out moment. So this is it.

My life will never be the same from here on out.

It’s crazy when you start kindergarten and you’re five years old with half a dozen missing teeth and a slightly crooked haircut. And you’re just excited because you already know your colors and half your numbers and you can’t wait to learn how to read American Girl books for yourself. And then flash forward five years and you’re on the cusp of middle school, trying to convince your mom to let you go to the movie theater by yourself and waiting all day to do your schoolwork because Saxon 7/6 is just SO HARD. Before you know it, middle school is over and�� you’re a HIGH SCHOOLER with the whole world at your feet��. And no free time because you have to memorize thirty vocabulary words for every dang science test. And then it’s a flurry of graduation parties, final tests, and setting up plans for the fall.

And then it’s over. And all your friends are packing up and moving away to college and you find yourself standing in an awkward valley of in-between-ness. Are you an adult now? Or just a child who memorized enough facts to graduate high school?

For me, the high school years were probably some of the craziest, adventurous, and tumultuous years of my life. To think that when I started on this journey four years ago I was just a bright-eyed fourteen-year-old girl with the makings of a story on her computer and a bunch of ideas stored up in her head. Now, by the grace of God, I have managed not only to survive ninth through twelfth grade, but I have been blessed with opportunities to travel, speak, write, and meet so many people.

And yet, sometimes it’s easy for me to look at all the wonderful things God has placed before me and wonder, “What if this is the best my life is going to get?�� If I peak when I’m young, will it all go downhill from here? Will I be that thirty-year-old woman who shakes her head and says despairingly, “If only I was sixteen again. Back when my life was actually interesting and full of promise.��

It’s a scary thought–wondering what the future holds. Because if there’s one thing the past four years has taught me, it’s that God always seems to have some trick up His sleeve. Just when I feel like I know where my life is going, something happens to completely turn it all around! But what if those plans aren’t want I want for myself? What if I end up going on some big adventure that I can’t handle, or, even worse, don’t get to embark on any kind of journey at all?

I guess one thing I can’t help but pray is that God will do something big in my life in these in-between years. I’m not a child anymore, but I’m still growing into the woman He wants me to be. I just want to be able to say that these years were not a waste. I’m constantly growing, changing, developing relationships, and figuring out what I want to do with my life.

I’m not sure how long this next phase of life will last. I’ll probably either end up getting married at eighteen and completely shocking EVERYONE, or waiting a long time and writing lots of books and��traveling to all kinds of places. (Although, the first one seems a bit unlikely, I’m sad to say. I think I’d need a boyfriend for that one to actually come true. Sorry, all you romantics��)

One thing’s for sure: I want all of you along for the ride with me! I can’t wait for all the blog entries, photos, and videos that I’ll get to share over the next few years highlighting everything that’s going on in my life. Because even though I think I’m pretty boring ninety percent of the time (let’s not lie–the other ten percent of me is pretty darn amazing ), God does seem to be at work making exciting things happen! So let’s see what’s in store!

-Rachel

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I’m back. For good, I swear. Ah, that break was nice and EXACTLY what I needed, but I missed you guys and I needed to get back to my snarky, extremely wise self. So I returned. You’re welcome.

Anyway, I found something the other day I thought you might appreciate. My stack of old journals! Yes, siree, I was a journalin�� child. I wrote in a journal almost every day for six years, I think. And I have seven full journals to show for��it.

I cringe reading through my old entries. Because even though the��majority of them��contain the good old corny “Guess what I scrapbooked today!�� and “Guess what museum we went to��today!�� entries, there are also waaaay too many entries talking about books, more books, and also my extremely unfortunate life.��Because I complained. A LOT.

Seriously, you must read some of these entries and shake your head at what a dramatic child I was. And thank the Lord I didn’t blog back then.

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November 26, 2007

Our house smells like a stink bomb. You see, I accidentally caught the stove on fire when I was baking an apple pie the other night, and today when Mom put the oven on self-cleaner it made the house STINK!!! I’m afraid the smell will be in my hair tonight at the dance recital. Oh, that would be sooo embarrassing! Hannah says, “Our house smells like stink bugs took over the world and invaded our house first and sprayed all their stink on us.�� She’s doing school in my room since the rest of the house is unbearable.

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April 17, 2008

Ooooh! I’m cutting wisdom teeth in the two sides of my mouth plus I just got my braces tightened yesterday, so the pain is tremendous. Now I can see why babies wail their heads off when they’re teething, poor little things. I would cry too, if it weren’t for: 1) the disgrace and 2) the unnecessary pain that opening my jaws would bring.

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October 8, 2008

Lately I’ve been trying to throw myself into another story, but I haven’t been successful. I was just getting into this script I was working on when the computer crashed and deleted it. All twelve pages! (Which is a lot, when all you’re writing is dialog) Mom says God let the computer crash for a reason. She thinks maybe my movie would have been a huge success, and all the money and fame would have ruined me. Maybe she’s right, but I still liked that script.

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February 28, 2009

Today was one of the worst days I’ve had in a long time. It was cold and miserable and wet and Hannah’s recovering from the stomach bug and Mom wouldn’t let us go out and I had no photos to scrapbook nor books to read and, to make matters worse, Daddy was power washing the house so there was an awful humming sound all day! And did I mention the dishwasher melted a cutting board and produced the awful stench of burning plastic throughout the living room? I thought I was going to die!

But wait. I saved the best for last. Behold, the “Jalapeno Hands�� incident, as cleverly recorded by my thirteen-year-old pen.

December 31, 2008

I was making chili for dinner tonight at about 10:00 this morning. This involved slicing one jalapeno pepper. By 10:45, my hands were beginning to burn. So I put some lotion on them, thinking they were suffering from dry skin. By 11:00 they were red and swollen and I was crying so hard I could hardly speak. Mom’s “Oh, it’s just your dry skin�� quickly changed into “I’ll go get Dad�� when she saw I couldn’t even bend my fingers or hold a book. Dad came in, saw my miserable estate, and quickly asked, “What has she recently eaten or touched?�� “Jalapenos,�� was Mom’s response.

Now, let me take a minute to describe to you what I was feeling thoughout all this. If you’ve ever burned yourself, you can sympathize. It literally felt like someone had taken my bare hand, stuck it in the fire, and held it there for five minutes. It still hurts a little now, and it’s 9:43 PM.

Anyway, Dad prescribed I wash my hands well and rub some Benadryl lotion all over them. Then, I was sent to bed with a wet towel for my hands.

By 12:20, I could hold a spoon and feed myself a lunch of yogurt and reheated potatoes. By 12:45, I could hold a book (Yay!) and managed to dictate my history questions to Mom. I could finally type around 1:15, and by 1:45, I was feeling so much better, that I could play the piano.

Sometime between all this, Mom looked up jalapeno reactions on the internet. She found dozens of sites describing this “Jalapeno Hands�� mystery, for which there is no cure.

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So there you have it. Aren’t you glad you��aren’t related to me???

Did/do you journal? What��did you journal about?

-Rachel

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I’m a bad blogger. Sorry, everyone for going AWOL, but I have had a CRAZY past two weeks! I was in NJ for a week (and even got to spend a day in NYC–did you see the yet?) and then spent the next week frantically preparing for my big high school graduation party! (That’s right–I’m a free woman now!)

I have tons of pictures and stories to share, but I’m going to need another day or two to get it all together. Until then, feel free to browse my archives, or check out my more frequently updated fashion blog instead!

-Rachel

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So, we’ve decided that our family has no luck with holidays. Remember that that my aunt chopped her finger off, my dad got food poisoning, and my mom backed the van into a tree? Or last Thanksgiving when my dad and aunt were nearly arrested for trespassing at an old abandoned mansion? (Whoops–did I not mention that one? Probably too embarrassing.) Well, we may have topped it all. Because last night, on good old Mother’s Day, we nearly caugh the house on fire.

It’s a quite simple story, actually.

The day started with us peacefully scanning cute old pictures of us with Mom to post on Facebook with the obligatory “Best Mom Ever�� posts that every single person on the face of this earth does on the second Sunday of May. This one was my particular favorite. Because you can tell by my face that my only thought in this moment is “Daaaaadddyyyy!! Save me from Mommy and Santa!!!!�� (He probably smelled like beef and cheese)

Anyway, we then progressed to eating muffins, scrambling to get ready for church in ten minutes flat, and taking the standard holiday Coker family photo with my tripod. And keep in mind that we all looked this gorgeous after no showers, no makeup, and less than ten minutes to get ready. I know, I know. It’s a gift. (Also, we tend to avoid the zoom button on days like this)

After church, we all came home and spent the afternoon relaxing, going for a walk together, and catching up on some much-needed sleep after an absolutely CRAZY weekend. Mom decided that for supper, she wanted to grill some steaks and have us make some potatoes and peas to go along with them, and then we would all go out for icecream later. But since Dad sometimes tends to overcook steaks and Mom likes hers medium-rare, she decided to take matters into her own hands. And light the grill.

It all happened in a blink. A flash. One minute I was standing by the stove, stirring the peas and humming to myself, the next minute Dad was striding across the living room, his face strangely grim. (One thing you should know about my dad–he NEVER yells. He’s just scary calm all the time)

“The grill’s on fire,�� he said.

Famous last words, right?

Well, what proceeded was ten long minutes of all of us standing in our kitchen looking out the window as Dad wrestled with the flames shooting out of our propane grill. He grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed the grill down until it ran out of liquid. Then he threw open the porch door, hauled the still-burning grill down the back steps, and completely hosed it down in the backyard. All this without saying a word, as we watched in horror.

Thank goodness I had the prescence of mind to grab my camera. Because this was one sight I did NOT want to forget.

Well, at the end of the day, we were able to have a good laugh over our little Mothers Day mishap. We cooked the steaks in the oven, and when that didn’t cook them enough, we microwaved them. Then we went to Walmart to buy a new fire extinguisher, should this travesty ever occur again.

These are the things you remember. The messy bits and funny stories that make life interesting. The Mother’s Day that we caught the grill on fire and microwaved our steaks. Doesn’t get much better than that.

-Rachel

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This is something I’ve been thinking about and struggling through for a long time, so I figured it’d be good to get some of my thoughts out in a video blog! I’ll admit, I can be a bit rambling at times, but you can tell this is something I’m really passionate about. We shouldn’t hide our true thoughts and feelings behind worrying what others think of us! We should be free to just be ourselves and not judge anyone based on our own convictions!

What are your thoughts on this subject? Is this something you’d be interested in hearing me discuss more thoroughly later?

-Rachel

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First off, thank you all so much for your incredibly sweet comments on my new site! I, just like a lot of you, simultaneously love and hate change, so this was definitely exciting and scary for me. But I think it’s going to pay off!

To celebrate my new site, I hosted a giveaway last week for two autographed books, and I am happy to announce that the winner is�� Layla! Layla, I’ll be emailing you shortly with info on how to get you your books. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Okay, so just in case you didn’t think the last few weeks could get any more exciting, I’m going to hit you with some SUPER fantastical news. ::Drumroll please:: My sister Hannah and I have decided to combine our passions for fashion and photography and start a style blog together!!!! Yay!!! (you may all cheer now)

��Don’t worry, I’ll still be blogging here with all my thoughts on writing, life, and general randomness. The new blog is going to be shared by me and Hannah, though, and we will be posting (Lord-willing) five times a week with fresh, new, and exciting content. A new outfit to be inspired by every day!

The new blog is called she said {she wore} and you can check it out !��There’s already a week’s worth of content on there because we wanted you all to have some cool stuff to look at on your first visit! So check it out, comment on your favorite look, and sign up for email updates! Oh, and you can see our facebook page and follow us on twitter . (Oh my gosh–so many places to find me/us)

So what do you think? Are you excited about seeing even more of the Coker gals on the world-wide-web? Are you looking forward to having a blog you can visit every morning for fashion inspiration that is cute, modest, AND affordable? Do you just love us? (Let me hear you say—yeah!!!)

Obviously, I’m too excited for my own good. What can I say? I love working with my sister on something we’re both passionate about, as another way to serve our King.

-Rachel

P.S. In case you wanted those links again: , , .

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I don’t. No, seriously! I am *that person* who is ALWAYS late, ALWAYS overdue, and ALWAYS running behind. If they gave out an award for procrastination, I would get it�� eventually.

But this is a question I get surprisingly frequently! All my readers hear about my busy life–flying to book signings, writing novels, tutoring young writers, teaching piano, and running a photography business–and they wonder how I don’t lose my head. And, quite frankly, I wonder the same thing a lot of the time. How am I not going absolutely CRAZY? How do I still have time for school and a social life?

*Sigh* It’s a struggle. Honestly, it is. And I am definitely not the most organized person on the planet, so it’s probably ten times harder for me than it would be for someone else in my shoes. Also, on top of being a procrastinator, I’m also an over-achiever, which works out into this weird mix of lazy ambition that really wears me out most of the time.

BUT, I do have a life! And I am fairly successful at what I do. So I figured I’d share some advice on how to balance a busy life in your teens.

First, make sure that school comes first.

Agh. Boring. I know. But if you’re still in middle or high school, that is the most important part of your life right now and you have to realize that! I’m never allowed to do ANYTHING until all my schoolwork is done. Accounting tests have to be taken. Economics homework has to be given in. Having a good education is very important to me, and I think it’s really the foundation for being successful in life (apart from God, of course!). I’m not talking about a fancy ivy-league school kind of education, or even a college education, mind you! I’m just referring to a good old high school basic understanding of math, history, literature, economics, and government. (Notice I didn’t say science. Science is pointless and I have yet to understand how understanding the different fungi kingdoms is going to help me in life)

For me, I refuse to over-commit myself to anything unless I know I can get my schoolwork done first. I might procrastinate and cram sometimes, but it’s definitely important for me to have good grades and be well-read. I think it will really help me later in life when it comes to determination and learning new things.

Second, don’t wear too many hats at the same time.

This is such a problem for me. I’m one of those people who isn’t super smart or even driven, but I have a lot of different talents that I’m really interested in! For years, I tried to balance writing, piano, and photography–on top of everything else I have going on! But I’ve learned that being jack of all trades really makes you master of none. So I’ve decided to cut back on piano and really pursue writing–my number one passion! I’ve also decided to combine my loves of writing and photography on a super-cool new project with my sister that I’ll be announcing very soon!

It’s all about prioritizing. I’ve learned the hard way that if you try to do too many things at once, you’ll just get overwhelmed. But if you pick one or two (or, in my case, if I’m being honest–three or four) things that�� you love and really pursue them, you’ll be much more successful!

Also,�� be honest with your friends about how much free time you have.

I love how all of my friends are super busy and I’m super busy and we can just be honest with each other about that. We’re all working young adults who have busy schedules to juggle, and we’ve learned this usually means our get-togethers are a bit more limited and spontaneous. When I want to meet with my best friend for coffee (or tea, on my part) I’ve learned that it’s usually better to shoot her a message first thing in the morning saying “Coffee? 3 PM?�� than trying to plan something out way ahead of time. If she’s free, she’ll come. If not, it’s no big sweat.

Don’t worry about telling your friends that you can’t meet up with them because you have some edits to do or some school to catch up on. If they’re real friends, they’ll respect your space and wait!

But most importantly, remember to make time to just chill.

I seriously CANNOT stress just how important this is. With��a busy life of late nights and early mornings, overdue projects and scheduled appointments, sometimes it’s easy to forget that you’re still just a teenager and you need time to just chill out and have fun. Take off work one weekend. Go to the movies with your friends and spill popcorn everywhere. Sleep in every once in a while. If you overwork yourself, you’ll never truly be happy, even if you love what you do.

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Sometimes I surprise myself by putting together a semi-helpful blog post. Hopefully I’ve done that today! Anyway, let me know if you still have questions,�� comments, or suggestions on this topic. I’d love to hear them!

-Rachel

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“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy…��

Ah. I have no idea what that means anyway. When I think of changes, I don’t think of��beautiful, lyrical poetry. I think of David Bowie, strutting around on a stage, stuttering out “Ch-ch-ch-changes…�� Blame my homeschool upbringing.

So, you may have noticed that we’ve moved sites! It’s a little nerve-wracking, because I got soooo comfortable with my wordpress site. Too comfortable. It was time for a change of pace. Plus, it was getting way too annoying to direct people to . I needed my own “dot.com��.

Which brings us here! Today. To the launch of my new website.

We’ve made a lot of changes. Most of the archives are gone. Sorry, but I couldn’t move two and a half years of blogging to a whole new site! So we’re starting fresh here. If you want to go back and read my former witty posts, you are welcome to check out the archives here. But hopefully this site will be full of funnies very shortly.

In fact, to celebrate the new site, I’m hosting a giveaway! That’s right! One winner will be mailed two autographed copies of my books, “Interrupted�� and “Chasing Jupiter��! To enter, all you have to do is answer this question, “Do you like change, or hate it?��

For extra entries, you can:

Each person can enter up to four times! Let the competition begin, and let’s celebrate the new blog!

(Giveaway open to U.S. citizens only; ends Saturday, May 4th at 10 PM EST)

-Rachel

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