Rachel Starr Thomson

Links to published articles by Rachel Starr Thomson. Enjoy browsing!

An Introvert Goes to Church
Published by Boundless.org. I’m not shy. What I am is introverted. And sometimes in church, that can be a problem.

Loving My Country
Published by Boundless.org. I’ve learned to love my country because God does.

The Best-Laid Plans
Published by Boundless.org. If I forget that God has accepted my life into His service, I can be annoyed and thrown off by all the interruptions.

Life Between the Holidays
Published by Boundless.org. Holidays are inspiring, like the high points in my own life — weddings and births and even, in a strange way, funerals. But what about life between the holidays, between the high points? What about everyday, run-of-the-mill, uninspiring work days in which we just raise children or clack keyboards or dig fence posts or fight off the flu? Where’s the sacrament, the holiness, in that life?

King of the Wild Things
Published by Boundless.org. Sometimes the wild things rear up, threatening to make me lose my grip on reason and drive into a wild rumpus all my own.

Predestined
Published by Boundless.org. Destiny is for me a real thing. The forces directing it have been active for a long, long time.

Charting My Course
Published by Boundless.org. Values and dreams determine the course of our lives. Have you given thought to yours?

Seven Values of a Heavenly Life
Published by Boundless.org. Store up treasures in heaven by living a heavenly life here on earth with hospitality, generosity, self-discipline, love of truth, love of purity, love for sinners, and passion for daily living. Published on Boundless.org.

Keeping the Heart in Your Writing
Published by CBA Ramblings. My guest post on the fabulous blog of agent Rachelle Gardner. By identifying your passion, fasting and feasting, and practicing discipline, you can keep the heart in your writing even in the busiest of lives.

Run With a Vision
Published by Kerry Beck. On the importance of vision to success as a homeschooling family.

I Remember Christmas
Published by Boundless.org. “This year I am celebrating differently . . . but I remember Christmas as a child. No matter how my observances may change over the years, no matter how busy the season grows, the shadow of those Christmases is still at my elbow, hushed and fragrant.”

What We Don’t Know
Published by Boundless.org. On the importance of becoming biblically literate, and practical ways we can all do so.

WDJD?
Published by Boundless.org. The popular question “WWJD?” used to frustrate me. “WDJD?” — What Did Jesus Do? — has had a far more profound effect on my life.

Fire Words
Published by Boundless.org. Amy Carmichael was a famous missionary — and a prolific writer. An introduction to Amy’s “fire words.”

I Surrender All
Published by Boundless.org. When life really hurts, sometimes the best thing to do is surrender.

Thoughts from the Ship of Singleness
Published by Boundless.org. “The position I find myself in is one of watching my friends face into futures that are taking shape, with comforting lines and seemingly predictable challenges, while my own future still looks like an open horizon at sea. Light and darkness in a sky that goes on forever.” This article addresses the inherent worth of singleness, whether it’s a season in your life or forever.

Work, For I Am With You
Published by Boundless.org. In times of terrifying financial instability, why bother even trying to accomplish anything? Because God is with us — and He can trusted to build in our lives.

Our Father
Published by Boundless.org. The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most repeated in the world, but do we really know its richness? As I helped tour a production based on the prayer, I realized anew how desperately we need the God who is revealed in it.

The God Backstage
Published by Boundless.org. Of all the thrills in the world, few compare with that instant when all the lights go dim, the crowd hushes, and for a breathless moment the theater hovers between the face of the deep and ‘Let there be light.’” Yet, the real miracles happen backstage — in the theater and in life.

A Walk Across the Water
Published by Boundless.org.  The busier — and harder –life gets, the more I need to take the hand of Jesus and learn to transcend.

Schooled at Home
Published by Boundless.org. Homeschooling isn’t just another form of school — it’s a lifestyle that has impacted every area of my life.

Confessions of a Legalist
Published by Boundless.org. When Eve faced Satan, she didn’t stand on God’s command — she stood on her own. Legalism is at its worst when we go beyond God’s Word.

Conviction Life
Published by Boundless.org. Most of us live by default or reaction, but God calls us to live deliberately — thoughtfully — by conviction.

More and Merrier
Published by Boundless.org. An up-close and personal look at big-family blessings, gleaned from my experiences as the oldest of twelve children.

Mind Soul Ink Paper
Published by Boundless.org. Books are more than ink and paper. As W.E. Channing said, “They are the voices of the distant and the dead, and make us heirs of the spiritual life of past ages.” A celebration of books and reading.

The Other Christian Faith
Published by Boundless.org. It’s as old as Christianity–and it’s a lie.  Are you trusting in the Other Christian Faith?

The Road to Change
Published by Boundless.org. The history of America is marked by change, conviction, and upheaval. As I traveled through the States on a road trip with my sisters last summer, I reflected on the changes we’ve seen — and those we still need.

Now For the Not-Yet
Published by Boundless.org. Am I living well today? And is the way I’m living actually going to lead to a good, God-honoring future — not just here, but in eternity? A detailed discussion of living well today for the sake of tomorrow.

Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled Interview, Part One
Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled Interview, Part Two
Carolyn Currey and I were interviewed in Home School Enrichment Magazine recently. The interview was reprinted on Crosswalk.com. We talk about our lives in large, homeschooling families, and about the experience of writing Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled .

Paint the Light
Published by Boundless.org. Christian writers and other artists have the chance to seek God and write what they see. In these dark days, it is our calling and privilege to paint the light. My third article on Christians in the arts.

Through the Noise
Published by Boundless.org. My second article on Christians in the arts, exploring the way God uses art to make a quiet place where He can speak.

Live Out Spring
Published by Ungrind.org. “As a woman, I want to show God’s goodness just as spring does.” How can we live out the goodness of God in our lives? A meditation written especially for women.

Living the Past
Published by Boundless.org. How can we use creativity and artistic gifts to serve God? For one thing, we can keep the past alive. This is the first of three articles on Christians in the arts.

20-Something Reasons to Live At Home
Published by Boundless.org. I am 25 and I still live with my parents, and this is not an accident or a regret. I love living here, and I think more young adults should seriously consider foregoing “independence” for things of much greater importance.

Praying Like Paul
Published by Boundless.org. The Apostle Paul knew how to pray for others. I’ve learned a lot from him.

Weak
Published by Boundless.org. In the story of life, we’re not the heroes–but we desperately need one. A meditation on Jesus’ love that goes deeper than our weakness.

Broken Embrace
Published by Boundless.org. On the cost and power of forgiveness.

While You Wait, Rebekah
Published by Ungrind.org. We all have waiting periods in life. This article is encouragement to make the most of the “meantime.”

Vocabulary of Grace
Published by Boundless.org. On speaking words of grace in everyday life.

The Face of Love
Published by Ungrind.org, an ezine for women. This is a reprint from Letters to a Samuel Generation .

Hero Hunting
Published by Boundless.org. On seeking out heroes in literature, and why Hollywood’s a bad place to find them.

Four Habits of a Pulpit Critic
Published by Boundless.org. Four ways to stop absorbing sermons and start engaging with them, and why it’s so important that we do.

A Journey In Words
Published by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Encouragement for writers and a bit of my own story.

In a Separate Place
Published by the Young Ladies Christian Fellowship. A few reasons why I’m so grateful I was homeschooled. I did a lot of reminiscing in this article and it was fun.

Beauty and the Beast: Good, Evil, and the Art of Writing
Published by The Sword Review. An essay on writing about evil without assisting it.

Carnival of Homeschooling #70: The Yes, No, Yes Edition
Hosted by Dewey’s Treehouse. This is not an article–it’s an edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling, a truly marvelous blog carnival. I include it here because the hostess based her theme on Yes and Amen: The Magnificent Power of Yes , a blog post of mine. I was honoured by her use of quotes from the post throughout the carnival. If you’ve never read a blog carnival before, this is a great way to meet a lot of homeschoolers and read about what’s going on in these exciting circles.