thank you - hillsong

     We sing this at my church and it is one of my favorite worship songs at the moment. Enjoy. :)

one little word

     Today in church, my pastor talked about the devil and temptation, and how we can resist that temptation. It was such an encouraging and inspiring message for me, especially as I'm entering the school year (speaking of the school year, prayer is appreciated; I start tomorrow) - I need to remember that I have all of the power I need from God inside of me to resist temptation.
     I am the biggest procrastinator you ever met. No exaggeration. It's difficult when I keep saying "I can read that later" or "I can do that in a minute" only to find myself cramming - again. I wonder what happened this time. I try so hard!!! Why isn't it working?
     I'm learning to be patient with myself. I'm not perfect, and I need to rely on God more. And I need to be patient with myself and my struggles. It's not easy getting past them, and it's impossible if I try to do it without God.
     A verse my pastor mentioned really, really encouraged me. I'm positive you've all heard it before - I've heard it before. But it took on new meaning today:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

      Maybe it's because I've felt so bound lately - always wanting to be perfect; never wanting anyone to think poorly of me. It's exhausting. I want freedom. I want the devil to flee from me.
 
One little word shall fell him.
Jesus.

We sang "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" in church and it is now my anthem.

The spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sideth!

I want to draw near to God and resist the devil. I know I'll find freedom in Jesus. :)

-Sarah

P.S. Happy Labor Day :)

church // food for my soul

     I went to church today for the first time in a few weeks... things like waking up too late or the family car not being available made it difficult to attend before, but I went back today! And it was amazing. I didn't realize that after only three Sundays of missing church, I would need it so much. I sang my heart out during worship, soaked in the sermon, and took communion, and it did me so much good. Funny how I notice when I'm physically hungry more than I notice my spiritual hunger... anyway. Just dropping by to say that CHURCH IS IMPORTANT and I love love love my church family. :)

What's your favorite part of church?
Sarah :)

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. 

Matthew 18:20

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.

Acts 4:32

changing churches

     I went to one church for ten years. There were so many people I knew there. I was so used to the building and the events and the atmosphere of it all. My family has now been directed by God to find another church home, and let me just say that it is so HARD. Remember my "fiery trial" blog series? There are things about that church that I just love, and having attended it for so long, it has been quite a trial to stop going there and look for another church. 

     I'm not going to expound on the emotions I have experienced because I did that in my fiery trial series (if you didn't read that and you want to, they all have the label "fiery trial," so the posts are easy to find), but basically I just doubted God a great deal and wondered why and how this could turn out for my good. 

     My family has been attending a church we first visited in the summer, and we all love it. I hope that soon we will be able to call it our church home, but for now I'm just enjoying getting to know all of the wonderful people there and becoming more familiar with the church (not to mention going to the amazing youth group!). 

     I still struggle sometimes with this change; it's easy to think about what I don't have in this new church and what I did have at the old one. But being sad is alright. This is a hugely different experience, and it's taking some time to adjust. I'm just praying that God will give me complete joy and contentment in whatever church he places me. 

     I planned for this to be longer, but I think God really worked in my heart during the long time that I was putting off writing this post. Like I said before, the "fiery trial" series really speaks for the me that I was months ago, so that would put this post in perspective. 

Have you faced any big changes that God has helped you through?

-Sarah :)