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Your Three Day Guide to Oahu

September 29, 2018by Rachel Prochnow8 Comments

First of all-this is a three day guide. My first piece of advice as you board your United flight bedecked with your wide brim straw hat and Hawaiian shirt-is to stay longer than three days. Seriously, just go ahead and extend your flight and hotel right now, because once you land in Oahu you’ll never want to leave. That being said, I stayed three days and it was amazing-but I cried the last day because I really, really didn’t want to leave. Keep in mind, this blog isn’t an exhaustive list of all the epic things to do when you’re in the Aloha state, nor does it touch on Hawaiian culture-this is simply what I did and what I loved!

Where to Stay

There are a million breath taking resorts along the coast of Waikiki, but one gem stands out amongst them all-The Royal Hawaiian. Not only is this a travel blogger’s dream with its pink archways, impeccably tiled floors, and famous pink guava pancakes-it is also a remarkably historic resort. Built in 1927, the 400 room structure was built in a Spanish-moorish style and retains that aesthetic to this day. Today it is known as “The Pink Palace of the Pacific.” As you stand on Waikiki, back towards the ocean, facing the pink palace, you begin to see a distinct difference between The Royal Hawaiian and her peers. They tower above her-sky scrapers, room after room, going as high as possible. Standing in striking contrast, the Royal Hawaiian is demure, basking in her unassuming beauty and historic charm. Needless to say, I 100% recommend staying at The Pink Palace during your time in Oahu. The food is absolutely superb. We tried the Calamansi Butter Poached Lobster Tails, the Pier 38 (azure wood oven roasted fresh fish, fingerling potatoes, asparagus, and white wine butter sauce), The Royal Signature Pink Haupia Cake, and of course Truffle Fries (who doesn’t love truffle fries-amirite?!). I also recommend their breakfast and of course getting the pink pancakes. 🙂

Aye Sea Turtles

One of my favorite activities was snorkeling with sea turtles. You board a catamaran with 20 other adventurers and embark to sea. You start chatting with the crew and learn that many of them are from the continental U.S. and moved here after college. You’re really ~~jealous of~~ happy for them! As your catamaran ventures deeper into the sea, you look out and see these floating green circles in the water! To your delight, they lift their little heads out of the water and say in a Californian accent, “Duuuuuuude, noggin!” Just kidding about the talking sea turtles lol-but they are seriously so cute. The crew anchors the boat, you’re all given your life vests, snorkel gear, and then hop in the water! There are sea turtles everywhere. You’re so close to one you could reach out and touch it. But instead you snap some pics with your Go Pro because you’ve been warned not to touch the sea turtles. The sea turtle excursion is definitely something I would recommend!

Get Outside

My favorite activity was definitely the Lanikai Pillbox Hike-its only about 10 minutes away from Waikiki. It is definitely worth the steep hike up the mountain. The hike isn’t that bad-after taking on Banff-honestly anything is easy lol. As you hike, there are crazy, breathtaking views of the azure waters below, and islands in the distance. You gotta do this hike. Also, spend a few hours at the beach next to this hike-its incredible.

Get a Car and Drive Along the Coast

We rented a car through Turo and it was so easy. We got a mustang convertible and went on a day long adventure! We headed to north shore where the surfing competitions are held (any Blue Crush fans out there?!) and it was incredible. As you venture down the coast, you are sandwiched between the perfectly blue ocean and the lush, looming, green mountains. As we drove through the mountains we played the Jurassic Park theme song -thats where it was filmed! Just driving around and seeing the land is amazing. We also made it our personal ambition to find a really eclectic hole in the wall place. I encourage you find your own place! Sometimes stumbling upon cool places yourself makes it that much more of an adventure!

The most important thing to remember in Hawaii is to take it all in. Don’t spend time rushing from one thing to the next because some blogger said you needed to do it 😉 Make it your own trip. Linger over views that take your breath away. Get a convertible, blast the music, sing off-key, and enjoy paradise! Go with people you love and experience the magic of the island with the most special people in your life. Most importantly- eat all the pink pancakes you can!

Lylas,

Rach

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True Beauty in an Instagram Culture

September 18, 2018September 18, 2018by Rachel Prochnow5 Comments

As I open up my Instagram Explore page, I am bombarded with images that look similar: the most gorgeous women from all over the world: long, thick hair, full, pouty lips, curves in all the right places, and dressed to entice. As I am looking at these images of these women, thoughts pop into my head, “I definitely need to go to the gym today-shouldn’t have eaten that cookie!” “I wonder how she got her hair to curl like that, mine never stays-ugh I hate my hair” or “I wish I had longer legs”.

Self-centeredness becomes my mindset.

Comparison creeps into my mind on how I can look more beautiful.

This morning, after a solid one hour scrolling session, I brought these feelings to God. I asked Him what He thinks true beauty is.

I wanted to know what true, real, lasting beauty is that remains once the makeup is off, the hair isn’t cooperating, the filter is gone, and some weight is put on.

What does God say is beautiful?

The foundation of our beauty begins with what God says about us. He looks at you calls you daughter, worthy, precious, and loved. The God who put the stars in their place, who parted the Red Sea, who set the earth in motion, who upholds everything by the power of His word calls you daughter, beloved. Throughout this blog, I want to explore what makes us beautiful and what God says in His Word is actually a beauty that ought to be pursued.

“THE GOD WHO PUT THE STARS IN THEIR PLACE, WHO PARTED THE RED SEA, WHO SET THE EARTH IN MOTION, WHO UPHOLDS EVERYTHING BY THE POWER OF HIS WORD CALLS YOU DAUGHTER, BELOVED.”

But how do we know He loves us?

We know the depth of His love because He sent His Son Jesus, who was fully man and fully God, to die for us. Jesus didn’t have to do this, but He willingly submitted to The Father, and took on weak, human flesh. Jesus was tempted in every way, yet He lived the perfect life. The He was brutally tortured, crucified, and was killed.

He endured all this for you.

But it didn’t end there, He was raised to life after three days so that we could be restored back into a right relationship with God.

That is the length God will go to call you His own.

He loves you.

That is why you are beautiful and beloved.

Now that we have the foundation of where our worth comes from (what God says about us and what Jesus did for us), let’s look at scripture where God outlines characteristics we ought to pursue.

QUIET AND GENTLE SPIRIT

As I was praying this morning, 1 Peter 3:3-4 popped into my head, “Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

As someone who has always considered myself a strong, I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T woman, this verse took me a while to grapple with. I always wanted to be passionate, fierce, and opinionated. But maybe there is more strength in the ability to hear others, empathize with them, meet them where they are, and gently point them back to the truth of Jesus than to be someone who values independence and autonomy over everything. Because anyway, we are all thoroughly dependent on Christ. Once we understand that, it frees us up to love people in a way that is marked by patience, kindness, and gentleness which is produced by the Holy Spirit working in us.

“BUT MAYBE THERE IS MORE STRENGTH IN THE ABILITY TO HEAR OTHERS, EMPATHIZE WITH THEM, MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE, AND GENTLY POINT THEM BACK TO THE TRUTH OF JESUS THAN TO BE SOMEONE WHO VALUES INDEPENDENCE AND AUTONOMY OVER EVERYTHING.”

PROVERBS 31

Proverbs 31 came to my mind as I was considering the type of beauty we ought to be pursuing. The entire chapter is full of godly characteristics we ought to cultivate.

She is trustworthy. “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of grain.” Proverbs 31:11

She does good. “She does him good and not harm all the days of her life.” Proverbs 31:12

She is a hard worker. “She seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands” Proverbs 31:13

She has responsibility. “She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.” Proverbs 31:16

She is compassionate and gives willingly. “She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy” Proverbs 31:20

She is clothed in strength and dignity. She doesn’t fear the future because her trust is in the Lord. “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.” Proverbs 31:26

She is wise and kind. “She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue” Proverbs 31:26

Lastly, She fears the Lord. “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.” Proverbs 31: 30

These are the characteristics that contribute to real, unfading beauty.

Beauty that grows with each passing year.

Beauty that delights in the promises of God and treasures His Word.

Ultimately, the Bible points us away from external appearance and to the “hidden person of the heart” (1 Peter 3:4) to determine where real beauty is found. I’ll be completely transparent with you, there are times my words are harsh, my heart leads me to judgement instead of compassion, my flesh tells me to pursue idleness rather than discipline. I fail on so many of these characteristics. But luckily for me, for all of us, Jesus is strong where we are weak. When we fail, He is there to pick us up. In our insufficiency, He is fully sufficient. When we fail, let’s turn away from that sin, ask God to give us a right understanding of the gospel, and praise His name for his goodness.

Join with me in pursuing this kind of lasting, enduring beauty. Let’s fight for that. Let’s fight for that when the entire world is screaming to us that physical beauty entices and sex appeal is the way to get attention. When I find myself nose deep in my phone, I take those feelings to God. I let Him know I feel insufficient, I confess that to Him and I ask Him to remind me of my true identity-the one that is in Christ alone. And I meditate on scripture that speaks into that truth (Ephesians 2).

So Let’s be women who trust in our identity that is rooted in Christ. A true identity tells us we are precious because God says so. Let’s pursue a beautiful heart that remains and becomes more lovely as we mature more into the image of Jesus.

-Rach

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How to Dress for Fall when It’s Still 95 Degrees

September 13, 2018September 14, 2018by Rachel Prochnow6 Comments

Ok-you got your autumn boots, your scarves, your super trendy hat, your free people thermal sweaters-and of course you’re armed with your pumpkin spice latte. Your fall wreath is up with all its ruddy hues and deep browns. You take one brisk step out the door and BAM-you start sweating. Wait- no you’re melting. Seriously-your makeup is dripping off your face. It’s September?! Its FALL. Why isn’t there a brisk chill in the air?! You desperately want to bust out all your fall paraphernalia- but alas-its 95 degrees and you’re reminded that you reside in the uppermost tier of hades. Hold up sister-I’ve got your guide right here on how to dress like fall when its 95 degrees outside.

1. Keep your Denim Shorts

Yup-wear them. Pair them with cute booties and maybe that trendy hat you’ve been waiting to finally wear. These simple steps will automatically transition your look-but you won’t be profusely sweating as you attempt to wear your thick chunky sweater prematurely. Wear a light, flowy top that is brown, red, rust or another fall color.

2.Fall Florals or Dresses

All my friends know I love me a good floral pattern. Look for florals that are slightly darker-no pastels or light pinks. Red is the color of this season-so wear it. Urban Outfitters has the cutest fall florals. They have some super romantic off the shoulder ones (like what I’m wearing here). I also love this black and white gingam dress I got on sale from Nordstrom this past week. It’s a little thicker material-so you could even wear it into October as the weather finally starts to chill out.

3. Army Green

I got this strapless army green dress from Target. It’s light, breathable-and is in that fall color palette that makes it a perfect transitional piece. Once it gets colder pair it up with your thigh high brown boots and that awesome chunky sweater I know you’re dying to wear!

I know-its so frustrating when your heart is alight with the realization Autumn is here-but the temperature out there is blazing hot. Use some of this these tips to ease into the cooler months while looking comfortable and cute!

lylas,

Rach

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Rachel Prochnow Lifestyle Blog

September 10, 2018by Rachel Prochnow4 Comments

Scroll.

Beautiful person. Friends laughing together at some incomprehensible inside joke.

Scroll.

Beautiful place. Azure shores. White sand beaches. Waves crashing.

Scroll.

Delicious food. Colorful watermelon held up to a 10 year old girls’ face. There is laughter in her eyes. You almost feel like you’re in on the joke.

We seem to scroll endlessly on Instagram. Sometimes seeing photos that capture the beauty of this world, the wonder, the incredible expanse that is our world. Other times seeing brokenness. But here in this world-in the tension between the already and not yet: we see glimpses of God. We see Him in our little niece’s tingling laughter as you try out your best British accent. We see it in the sun set as we are held by the one who has captured our heart. We see it in loud, rowdy games of Catch Phrase where your aunts get way too into the game. Everywhere we go we see glimpses into God’s character, His creativity, His ridiculous sense of humor, His compassion, His goodness, and most importantly His love.

Over the past four years, I’ve been working on a community called Radically Radiant where women can come together and be reminded of Jesus. Now I am expanding this community into something more. I am converting it into a space where women (and men!) can come together to see Jesus in the little things. Jesus isn’t just a compartmentalized aspect of our lives-He is everything. He is in everything. He upholds everything by the word of His power. So why shouldn’t we see Him in delicious food? In fashion? In travel? In friendships? In fitness?

Through this expansion, it is my goal to weave Jesus throughout every aspect of life. I want to create a space where there are a wide array of conversations going on-sometimes deeply profound and weighty-other times light hearted and full of whimsy. Our God is a multifaceted God full of life, love, humor, and compassion. Let’s make a place that reflects that.

I want to invite you, friend, to embark on this journey with me! Let’s see all the different ways we can see Jesus in this beautiful world He has created. Yes, it is a broken world. But even in the dark-the light shines and the darkness has not overcome it.

Can’t wait for this journey with you,

Rach