Hi friends!  I am SO excited to be attending the Declare Conference for my 3rd year in a row!  My sweet friend Kristin from The Beautiful Deep invited me 3 years ago and I haven’t missed it since.  If you are a christian blogger I highly recommend attending, you won’t regret it!

Each year we do a “getting to know you” post to link-up with other Declare attendees and this year there are 6 questions to answer, so here we go!

1. If we were meeting in person, how would you introduce yourself? (job, family, career, ministry, where you live … share whatever details come to mind).

Hi!  I’m Rachael, wife of 11 years to my hot husband Matt and momma to 3 beautiful kids, Ellie(9), Livvy(7) and Zeke(5).  My husband and I own Back & Body Chiropractic in Lewisville, Tx. We both have our undergrad degrees in Exercise Physiology(our love bloomed at OU working at the Houston Huffman campus recreation center).  I have been teaching group fitness classes for almost 10 years and recently become a Revelation Wellness instructor.  I started blogging to simply work on my writing and found I actually enjoy it!  My blog started out as “Life Outside the Shell” but has recently transitioned to my name(Rachael Gilbert) because God birthed First Fruit Fitness in me and I wanted them both under the same site! We attend Gateway church in Southlake and I’m the Zone leader for Pink Fit groups and both my husband and I serve on the altar ministry team…we LOVE our church!

{OK let’s be honest, I wouldn’t have told you ALL of that if we had met in person because I don’t use as many words in person as I do online.}

2. What is your favorite thing to write and why?

I LOVE writing things God teaches me in my every day life.  He usually teaches me a lot through my family and fitness.  Which tend to be what I write about most.

3. What is your favorite thing to read and why? (If this question is too broad for you avid readers, what’s a favorite book or blog you’ve read lately?)

This is going to sound like a good church girl answer but honestly…the Bible!  A few years ago I prayed and asked God to give me the same love for His word as I had for sweets at the time and I haven’t been able to stop reading His word ever since.  It is awesome!

4. If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?

I would love to be outdoors somewhere(preferably a beach) and talk alone with God about my dreams and fears that hold me back from pursuing them.  I love to be around people but I can relate so much to Jesus in needing time to truly be alone with the Father.  It’s empowering and refreshing.

5. What’s one thing you love about your blog and one thing you’d like to improve?

I love that I finally have a WordPress blog that has the ability to look more like a website than just a blog. I am in the planning phases of my First Fruit Fit Club(launching in the next month or two) so I would like to improve my ability in using WordPress and effectively connecting to my target audience!

6. [Lightening Round] Would you rather …

• Read on Kindle or paperback? Paperback
• Drink coffee or tea? Green tea
• Go to a musical or a movie?  movie
• Vacation at the beach or the mountains? beach
• Have an exciting night out or a relaxing night in? Depends on my mood and how busy my life has been lately but usually I’ll go for the night out!
• Watch sports, play sports, or no sports?  play sports or run Spartans

I can’t WAIT to reunite with old friends and meet new ones at Declare this year!  See you soon!