My site has been updated and retrofitted, thanks to my loving brother, Gabriel Serafini (check out his site at serafinistudios.com). I am very grateful for this update.
Thanks Gabriel!!

Whats new in my life? Nathan, my fiancee, moved out to the Bay Area in the beginning of July and moved into his own new apartment in Fremont, CA a few weeks ago. He is loving his new job, a small consulting tech firm that assists Novell and Microsoft clients (businesses and schools) with their networking problems and projects.

I am working as a live-in nurse in Palo Alto, as I have been since mid-June.

In my last post, I announced my engagement, and said that we might get married in April. We have moved that to June 9, 2007 so that all members of our families can be there. (My step-dad is tremendously busy doing taxes in April and the preceeding months leading up to it, and June 2nd, the day that Nathan proposed, happens to be the Upper School Graduation day, and Nathan’s Dad supervises Food Service at the Upper School. June 9th it is, and we are looking forward to it!

On the rare chance that I get a Friday or Saturday night off, then I like to go either folk or contra dancing, and Nathan joins me every once in a while. I also get a thrill (still) riding my bicycle and enjoy taking walks.
Thank you, Readers, for patiently waiting for this entry which has been a long time coming, and I joyously welcome comments!

Much love and best wishes to you,

Rachel McVey (Robertson)

I have some happy news to share with you all. I am engaged!! Nathan J. Robertson (a school friend from years back) and I have been cooresponding for a few months now and not a day has passed that we haven’t exchanged several emails and called each other, in addition to hours spent on skype (free phone calls over the internet). I visited him in St. Louis for a few days in May, and he came to CA to visit me in June. Our priorities in life are the same: honesty, integrity, and love towards our fellow brothers and sisters. He is a Christian Scientist, just like me, and is interested in keeping that an important aspect of our life together, as am I.

We are currently thinking of marriage next spring, possibly April, marking one year from when we reconnected (online).

My best wishes to all friends out there and God bless you!!

Sincerely,

Rachel McVey Robertson (soon to be)

love you all!!

http://csmonitor.com/lib/backgrounders/readersWrite/jillCarroll/jillCarroll_readersWrite.html?s=yv2
(Copy and paste link to read other prayers from around the world for Ms. Carroll.)

Just looking at these prayers from all over the world regardless of religion, denomination or sect: such love pouring out from hearts acknowledging God’s (Life’s, Truth’s, Love’s) protection for each of his precious ideas (men, women, and children).

Truth is always the victor, and this prayer-fact is reliable. We can stand on this rock of truth. Paul’s supporters prayed for his release and Paul was delivered. Daniel on God to shut the lion’s mouths, and the lions could not touch him–they weren’t even tempted too! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego weren’t touched by the furnace. They walked through it, but not even the smell of fire was left upon them. Evil, error cannot stand up to Truth. Error and evil must always be destroyed by Truth.

My hope for today is that persons around the world read these prayers and recognize that we have more in common (Life, Truth, Love) than we can imagine.

My prayer for today is that the persons around the world, the captors, the hostages, and pray-ers and onlookers realize that good, God, Love, truly is the only power and that evil has only the illusion of power.

As far as work, I am still looking and listening for the next adventure, life’s next turn. It is important to me that whatever I end up doing should bless the community. I am not “looking” too hard though because I am so enjoying the time off and the thought of being a “starving artist” and creating art all the time intrigues me.

As you can see from when this was posted, I still have a challenge of letting go of the day and climbing into bed. Late dinners and late nights are the norm that I am trying to break free from.

About two/three? weeks ago, I started the process of forming a group for “young Christian Scientists” in the Bay Area. Our first meeting will be in a few days. I hope we have a good turnout.

That is about it for now since it is bedtime.

Write me! I would love to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Rachel McVey
rachelannamcvey@gmail.com

Take care and be BLESSED!!

The TMC Youth is a great place to start in thinking about the future of our movement and how young people can contribute towards its prosperity and be blessed by it at the same time.

The link:

http://events.bandmps.com/tmcyouth.html

(Copy and paste into URL)

Some happening things are going on and lets be a part of it. Some things I would love to see develop in our community as Christian Scientists:

–Form a close knit but welcoming community

–Community service program

–Sit in a circle for services (at least occasionally)

–Youth lectures

–Offer Sentinel Radio on podcast

–Offer the Bible Lesson as a podcast

–Reverse Sunday Bible Lesson schedule so that the lesson read is then studied the week after.

–Have Connie Coddington’s show (and others if there are any) aired as a podcast

Feel free to post COMMENTS and SUGGESTIONS–what you have to say is valid, valued, and appreciated!

Moral and spiritual might belong to Spirit, who holds
18 the “wind in His fists;” and this teaching accords with
Science and harmony. In Science, you can The one
have no power opposed to God, and the physi- real power
21 cal senses must give up their false testimony. Your in-
fluence for good depends upon the weight you throw into
the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you
24 the only power obtainable. Evil is not power. It is a
mockery of strength, which erelong betrays its weakness
and falls, never to rise.

My favorite part reads “The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable. Evil is not power. It is a mockery of strength, which erelong betrays its weakness and falls, never to rise.”

I am reading a book right now called “What’s So Amazing About Grace” by Phillip Yancy and I love it. He is not a Christian Scientist, but he has a great deal to say about grace, Christianity, and what it means to be a Christian. At first, I was turned off, but with some encouragement from a friend, I read on and have been delighted and thoroughly satisfied with what the book had to say.

Grace, gratitude, and goodness are wonderful to behold, both in my own attitude and from others, all a blessing.

Those are my thoughts for now.

There is a new group forming for twenty and thirty something Christian Scientists in the San Francisco Bay Area. The idea is to meet in a central location for food, fellowship, and activities. The mission of this group would be for attendees to share experiences and thoughts that bear witness to Truth and Love.

Activities include but are not limited to:

watch and discuss movies
discussions based on the weekly Bible Lesson
Bible study
volunteer opportunities
fun outings

Food possibilities:

Pizza
Potluck
Subway

Possible locations to meet could be

Christian Science Reading room
Restaurant
Coffee house

All suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Please leave a comment below or write to rachelannamcvey@gmail.com.

Goal: To edify the communities in which we live, play and work through discussion, sharing experiences, and blessing others.
* Edify: to improve the morals or knowledge of someone or a community. syn. enlighten, inform, educate, instruct, improve, teach

Anyway… I love my new place–it is close to everything including walking distance to church, the art center, Lake Merrit (Oakland), a BART station, the carpool pick-up spot (if I were to carpool to work) and downtown in general. I am working hard as always, taking an art class (glass fusing) and generally enjoying life–especially the new-ness of my new place! Life is a lot different than it was in Jamaica though. have to go now cause I’m tired.

Well, it is 1 AM and I really need to go to bed, but hopefully another update will come along when I have more news to share.

Take care and be blessed,
Rachel

I apologize for the long silence, as always. For the past month, I have been living with my parents, in their two bedroom little house. My bedroom is really my Step-dad’s office, so we are sharing the very tight space together.

Work: I was hired from my first face-to-face interview (last week). Friday gone (July 22) was my first day at work and Monday will be my second. I’ll be sharing my time between two offices in San Francisco, working for a Fiduciary. Not sure of the spelling on that one, but I’ll learn! There is a lot of technical terms to learn for that job.

Now that I have been hired, I hope to also find my own apartment, and I am looking forward to that adventure!

Until I move out, however…

My Mom and Step-dad are remodeling the house that they will be moving into next, so every day and every evening, that is all they talk about. My mom just spent a week at a recorder (a wooden instrament) workshop and performed in two concerts-one last night and one this morning.

Every evening, or almost, Craig, my step-dad, practices his viola. I really wanted my mom to do the workshop because I want to see her spend as much time on her recorder as Craig does on his viola, though I can’t really see that happening. Anyway, I am excited for her, also because I want to be doing my art things and look forward to her supporting and encouraging me when the time comes.

Food shopping, house shopping, dinner, dishes, commuting, the people of San Fran, that is my life these days…

Take care and hope to hear from you!