Meet the women at Charlotte - Rachel

This post marks the next in a series of interviews with different women who are part of the
Charlotte Chapel family.  We hope to allow you to hear a little about the different lives we live, what makes us tick and how we seek to grow in our faith.  This time, we would like you to meet Rachel.

Q: Thank you letting us hear a little about you Rachel.  Could you tell us your favourite Christian song or hymn so readers can listen while they read on?
A :'Salvation's Song' by Stuart Townend, so great to be reminded that God loved me before
the dawn of time, and that my sin is forgiven by my Saviour. 

Q: Can you tell us how you became a Christian?
A: My parents are Christians and church played a big part in my life when I was growing up.  I first remember hearing the gospel at a holiday bible club at my neighbour's church.  Then, when I was about 14 on a Crusader Easter camp, I began to grasp the enormity of what Jesus did for me on the cross, and my need for forgiveness and I repented and asked him into my heart.
Unfortunately my faith gradually became just a basis for my social scene and a moral code. By my early 20's I was very much 'enjoying' pushing the boundaries in London, and the liberal church I had ended up at certainly didn't try to point out the error of my ways.  But still God called me back to him - after a couple of bad experiences I ended up realising I needed to find a new church and a housemate suggested I go along to hers.
On my first visit, God opened my eyes to his word in the Bible through the clear teaching there and I realised that God had so much more to say to me about himself than a list of dos and don'ts.  The clear Bible teaching I received there played a major part in how my relationship with God is deepening.

Q: What would be your desert island book? (we'll let you take the Bible of course!)
A: What, you mean complete solitude and quietness?  I think I might be so excited at the prospect I would forget to pack the book.

Q: To give us a flavour of why this excites you so much, could you tell us what you would be likely to be doing at 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon.
A: I have two kids under school age, and they're usually having some 'down time' (ie TV time!) after lunch while I pack the bag for preschool swimming lessons (making absolutely sure I haven't forgotten the towel again...)

Q: What is your signature dish in the kitchen?
A: That depends on your point of view.  My kids say Macaroni Cheese, my husband says the steak I cook him every year on his birthday and I say anything I can throw in a slow cooker to magically produce a yummy meal at the end of a busy day!

Q: Could you share a piece of advice you wished you had worked out earlier?
A: Babies don't come with foolproof manuals.  At least my two certainly didn't, and the first one wasn't even a blueprint for the second.  It's been a VERY steep learning curve!

Q: Finally, where is your favourite place to be?
A: By the sea - I love its power, its ever-changing beauty and how even being by the sea completely blows away the cobwebs.  God's creation is awesome.

Thanks to Rachel for sharing some of her story. Do feel free to suggest other women who you
would like to get to know through these interviews.