my life, currently.

one) Jesus loves to hear from you and he's omnipotent - never underestimate the power of prayer.

two) watch good movies and read good books, and you should be okay.

three) conversations over dinner with friends can be life changing.

four) beauty is good for the soul.

five) for every good quote you read, try to make up your own "quote." be a giver as well as receiver.

six) do things if you feel like you are too tired/busy to do them. it's always worth it.

seven) parking garages are awesome.

eight) my life is going according to plan. HIS plan. nothing to worry about.

nine) ambitions are lovely things to have.

ten) a christmas tree in my house + 80% chance of snow today = a happy, happy girl right here.

eleven) I would explode without dreams.

twelve) something about dressing up and sitting in a cathedral listening to Handel's Messiah makes me so happy. you should try it sometime.

thirteen) everyone has bad hair days, they are usually just good at hiding them. don't feel bad.

fourteen) having an intense desire for chocolate is perfectly normal. embrace it.

fifteen) poetry is my favorite.

sixteen) GOD IS ASLKFJA;GLJKALGJASLGAJGA;

seventeen) the year I'm turning in four months! ahh!

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Jesus is loving Barabbas - a Judah Smith video

     My sister showed me this video last night and it brought me to tears. It's so beautiful and true, and it reminded me of the truth of the cross in a way I didn't know I needed. Please take eight minutes to be blessed by this. Judah Smith is a dynamic and gifted speaker, and the graphics of the video help to intensify the message. For this reason, I suggest you view it in Youtube so that the screen is bigger. :)

-Sarah :)

P.S. My spiritual life has been a whirlwind lately. So many new things that God is introducing to me! I'm not sure I will be able to share them all; I'm afraid of coming across as confusing and I don't want to lead anyone astray. But I hope that I will be able to put some of my thoughts in order enough to give you a couple of posts soon. I haven't blogged in exactly a month! :P

who we are in Christ - God doesn't create junk

     Christians need to have a certain amount of self-esteem. I'm not talking about constantly doing things to keep people thinking highly of them. That's more of what the world (read: unbelievers) would say self-esteem is. People are always saying "believe in yourself!" As if you were something so amazing, that you could rely on yourself to accomplish anything.

     But we can't do that. We can't rely on ourselves. Jeremiah 17:9 says: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

     So, as Christians, where do we get self-esteem? We all need it. Otherwise, we'd have such a low opinion of ourselves to the point where we would start lying to ourselves about our worth. We do have worth. But it's not in ourselves. If the heart is deceitful, there's no way we could look in ourselves for truth about who we are. We are more critical of ourselves than anyone else is. We all have our insecurities, and NO ONE on earth is entirely immune to peer pressure.

     We get our worth from JESUS. Since Jesus bore the punishment for all of our sin and fear and insecurities and failings, we have HIS record. That doesn't mean we don't sin. It does mean, though, that we aren't going to be punished for our sin. God looks at us as beloved sons and daughters. I don't know about you, but I find it comforting to know that God thinks I'm beautiful. THAT'S how I should look at myself. The devil likes to whisper in our ears and tell us lies about how we aren't worth anything, how we can never be a success, et cetera. That's when I look at what God thinks of me. He loves me as a Father loves his child! And his opinion will never change. Oh, happy thought!

     I'm an introvert myself, so I count myself as one of the socially awkward club. You know, the kind that go to Chick-fil-a and have to muster up all the courage in their being to go up to the counter and order lemonade. (True story.) So, when I go out in public, I'm constantly comparing myself to people, whether it's my physical appearance, or the way I speak, or my sense of humor. It's easy for me to sit here on my bed and type a bunch of words about how comparing yourself to others doesn't get you anywhere, and how God made you unique and for a special purpose. It's harder once I go out there and try to apply it to my life. But God's always working. He really is. He's showing me this and, slowly but surely, bringing me out of the pit of low self-esteem.

     God has perfect timing. I started attending my new church around August of last year, and last September, youth group started. Our theme for this whole year in youth group has been: "Be yourself; who you are in Christ." It's amazing and wonderful that God would place me in this group, talking about this subject, right around the time I started struggling with self-esteem. Last week at youth group, we did a sort of recap of everything we've learned in the past few months. I wanted to share with you who we are and what we have in Christ.

1) We are inseparable from Christ.
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39

2) We are sanctified (set apart and being made holy).
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus," - Ephesians 2:4-6

3) We have the Holy Spirit in us. 
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." - Acts 1:8

4) We are free. 
"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." - Galatians 5:1

5) We have authority. 
". . .so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs  according to the hope of eternal life." - Titus 3:7

6) We are masterpieces. 
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:10

     Everyone in my youth group also received a card with the following printed on it:

I am a child of God.

I was created in His image for a unique 

purpose that He prepared for me before I 

 was known to this world. 

     I constantly need this reminder of who I really am, otherwise, I would always be beating myself up for my shortcomings and mistakes that I'm bound to make. When I read this card, I'm reminded that God is a forgiving and loving God, no matter how many times I mess up. 

     I'd like to leave you with this video made by the Skit Guys about being who God created you to be. Enjoy. :)

-Sarah :)

he's for me and he hears me

     Jesus is my best friend. He's always there for me to talk to. Always. No matter what I have to say, he always understands me because he made me. He knows me inside and out. Perfectly. It's so very comforting to know that he's always on my side. He wants me to succeed. He wants to help me.

He's for me.

. . .If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31

Kari Jobe - You Are For Me

 

a nice thought

I wrote the following in a little journal of mine the other day:

"I can't wait to hear Jesus' perspective of his time on earth."

"Really, I just can't wait to meet him."

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

John 20:1-18 

fiery trial - part 7 (turn your eyes upon Jesus)

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in his wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of his glory and grace

     

     I can not tell you how utterly comforting these words are to me. I can look at my wonderful Jesus instead of feeling miserable about my circumstances! The things of earth are not even worth being compared with his glory and grace. 

-Sarah :)