True Love

Dictionary.com defines love as a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

Love...a small word with a big meaning. 

"Love is the greatest thing in the world. 1 COR teaches us that love should be number one on our spiritual priority list. We should study love, pray about love, and develop the fruit of love by practicing loving others. We learn in Galatians 5:22-23 that love is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit available to those in whom God's Holy Spirit lives. God is love, so when we walk in His love we abide in Him. Because we walk in God's love by receiving and expressing it, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking we can love God while we hate other people (see John 4:20). We seek many things during our lifetimes, hoping to find fulfillment in them. But without love, these things fall short of the desired goal. When we put our time and energy into things that do not fulfill us, we feel frustrated. Love is the best thing we can commit our life to. It took me about forty-five years to realize that my priorities were mixed up and that love was not the main thing in my life. It was not my first priority, but it needed to be. The commitment to learn how to walk in love has been the single best decision I have ever made as a Christian. Love not only blesses others; it also blesses the one doing the loving. Concentrating on being a blessing to others has brought me joy. I find it exciting. All of us need to become students of love, excelling in the most important quality of all--love." Excerpt from Joyce Meyer Everyday Life, Amplified Bible.

One morning while out having breakfast I saw a sweet lady who has watched me grow up and who is dear to my heart. Her name is Dot Phillips. Sister Dot recently lost her husband about a month and half ago, but when I see her she seems to be good spirits. I admire that so much. This is a lady where there is no question about her faith and walk with the Lord. Anyway, she proceeds to ask me if I'm married. I reply by saying no. Then she goes on to impart in me some wisdom. What she spoke to me was so beautiful and it made my heart melt. It was her love story. She didn't marry until she was in her thirties. She goes on to say how she dated men, but she could tell that nothing serious would come out of them.One of the young men that she had been dating, actually got up the courage to propose to her, but knowing in her heart that he was not the one. She said that when she finally met Paul, (her late husband) she knew that instant that he was the one. However, she wasn't sure if he was really ready to become serious with her. So she confronts Paul and a week later he calls her up. Then almost fifty-eight years later...well, the rest is beautiful memories. 


What saddens me for this precious lady is that she is not going to get her husband back, at least not here on earth. What gives me hope is that she holds in her heart a much greater love for Jesus Christ. She can't wait to meet Him face to face. I'm now in my mid-twenties and I wonder if God will bless me with a wonderful man, who serves wholeheartedly after Him. I want to be assured that when it happens that I'll know!!! Just like Sister Phillips had said how she knew, that's what I want. No guessing allowed anymore...I WILL KNOW!!


There is one thing I do know for sure; there is a much greater love for me. I thank God for this love. God's love is unconditional. God will be only one to ever fully satisfy. No husband, No wife can ever fully satisfy their spouse like God can. 


God is love!
He loves you!
He loves me!
He loves you and me!


You might say why? You might say how?


Because He gave His life, what more could He give?


The ultimate sacrifice displayed his unconditional love for us all.

The Ride of a Lifetime

Life is just a roller-coaster.

Most of us have been to Six Flags or some major theme park. We have stood in those long lines to ride every ride possible, including the roller-coasters. Anyone, not just Christians, would tell you that there are times in their life when all seems fine and dandy; everything is running smoothly. Then without any warning you begin to fall. Your life is accelerating right before your very eyes and you have no way of stopping it. However, you didn't begin here at this ride. You started off with a few turns, maybe it felt a little jerky, but for the most part it was easy.

Let's take for instance the Mine Train at Six Flags. Some people might say it's a kid ride, but really the adults can ride it all they want and don't have to have any kids. To be completely honest, it's my favorite coaster. Why? As I said before, it's easy. We want our lives to go as easy as possible. There's no going upside-down. So it has a few jerks and turns in the middle, but in a nutshell that's what life is. Just as long as we get to where we are going and get there safely, we're fine.

Now let's take it to another level. Most people have to have their adrenaline ran as fast as it can go. Who knows, the ride is called the Scream Machine. Still considered basic and easy, but there's a little added to the ride. On this ride, the straight path on lasts for a few seconds. You see that the ride is about to head up-hill, but you don't really know for sure what will happen once you get to the top. The cart is climbing up the hill and maybe it feels like it's taking forever, but you know that it has to go somewhere; it can't just stay up there on top. You know that it has to come down. Without any warning, the ride begins with its nose in a downward position and accelerates to 57 mph. Your heart is pounding. Just when you think it's over, here comes another hill. There is no turning back, you must climb it. However, when all is said and done, you've made it through, but the day isn't over yet. There is still so much more to see and do.

So far, the rides of our life have been a little challenging, but basic. It was not anything we could not handle.We catch our breath. Our heart-rates come back down to normal and we move on. Husband is working full-time, coming home when he says he'll be home. Your children are listening to you, not giving you any grief. Everyone is getting involved with church and their surrounding community. Life is going great.You think to yourself that life can't get any better. You thank God for what he's already brought you through. However, you have to know that if you want to continue in God and doing it all His way, the ride is not over.

The next stage might seem to start off the the same way like in the beginning, slow, steady, comfortable, but God won't do the same thing for you as He does for someone else. You experience the light turns, the ups and downs, but now you notice something different ahead. It's something that you would have never seen coming. Life throws you upside-down. We all know that with roller-coasters, turning upside-down only last for a second then its over.

It took me a long time to get on a ride that went upside-down. Why? I had this fear that it would stop right in the middle of the turn. I was afraid of getting stuck in the upside-down position and that the safety bar would give out. Then at that point I would fall out head first and be seriously hurt or worse, it would kill me. To this day I do not ride a roller-coaster that goes upside down if it has a lap safety bar. I remember going to Six Flags and finally riding a ride that I felt secure within its safety hold. That ride was the Batman.

The Batman is an interesting ride. You are in a seated position, but this time your feet dangle. If you're like me, you would rather have your feet dangle than your head dangle. Another interesting point is it has a different turn technique. Yeah, it goes up and own a bit. It has a curve or two and it goes upside-down. So what's this different technique? Towards the middle of the ride, you feel like your life has just taken a very screwy turn. The Batman ride has a corkscrew turn in it. It's very quick, but you can't miss it.

As I said in the beginning, life is a roller-coaster. We start off basic and easy, but the more we get closer to God, the more twists, and turns, and upside-down's of life are going to come at much faster rate. Don't give up hope though because you're afraid. They only last a second or two. I know that in real life, time may be more than a second, but in God's eyes a day is like a 1000 years. So what may take a couple hours or days to solve or even get through, it's still not that long of a ride. You will get through it. "If God is for us, then who can be against us?"

Forgiving Me

Forgiving others seems simple, but when it comes to forgiving yourself it can be difficult. We have our fears, our doubts, and our insecurities. I have done things in my life that I do regret; some things more than others. However, what I have realized is that everything boils down to one thing: PRIDE! It's all about me. Pride was and is the original sin.
God loves me and has always loved me; He will continue to love me. I am just as deserving to be loved. As long as I have breath, my life belongs to Him. As long as I have breath, He will always love me and I will always love Him.
Forgiveness is not always easy. There have been people in my life that I have looked up to and they in return completely let me down. There is no excuse for his or her actions. They made their choice, but what I am having to learn is that I DO NOT have to make that same choice. However, I'm choosing not to make that choice because I'm too afraid to even take that step.
I've been afraid of things. I've even been afraid that certain things not happening such as weight loss, getting married, becoming pregnant. I pondered on these things because I thought God would punish me for the sin that I did. But God... I seek Him, he finds me. I cry out to Him. With my whole heart I repented and asked God for His forgiveness. I'm trying to be a better daughter, a better sister, a better friend, etc. With God all things are possible. I love what Romans 8:28 says, "He makes all things work together for your good." I like to take scripture and personalize it for my own life and walk with the Lord. "He makes ALL things work together for MY good."
It is so easy to say that we need to trust God. It's easy to say that we do trust God, but do we really? In some areas of my life I do, but in other areas I don't know if I do. I carry some doubts. So in saying this: You either trust God or you don't. I choose to trust Him. I also choose to fully believe that He has forgiven me, just like a Father does, and I choose to believe that I have forgiven myself.

Worship

Worship is a lifestyle. So why do people, think that Worship is only in the music. Even some people think that it is only a certain type of music that is for "worship". How sad? The Bible talked about the instruments played: drums, cymbols, strings, etc. So why is it so wrong to have electric guitar? There is nothing wrong with a noise. Heaven is going to be so loud with Praise and Worship. There is no sound system that can be turned down. The tempo of the song should not matter either.

I will admit that there are some songs I am not crazy about, as with everyone, but if it is a song that will lead someone to Christ, then I will sing that song all day long. I am blessed to be part of a church who has the basic intrsuments and that we have singers who worship. Sometimes though I wish that the praise team would just have a few Sunday's to sit out. Music in churches is used as crutch. People think that music is the only way for the Holy Spirit and God's presence to come into the sanctuary.

The Bible says, "When two or three gather together, there He will be in the midst of them." There is nothing in that verse that says the service needs to begin with one fast song and two more that are slow. It is appropiriate to have a basic order of service, but to think that it has to be followed, seriously... Leaders get filled with the Holy Spirit and follow His lead.

But I Know...God is Good!

Sometimes I feel that I am not worthy.
Sometimes I fail.
Sometimes I do not deserve.
But I know that God is so good!

Sometimes I am weak.
Sometimes I am discouraged.
Sometimes I am sick.
But I know that God is so good!

Sometimes I am wrong.
Sometimes I am misplaced.
Sometimes I struggle.
But I know that God is so good!

My life is far from perfect, but through all the mess and all the situations, God is so good. He has shown and proven Himself faithful. Thank you Jesus for being so good to me.

Tis' The Season

Not much of a Halloween fan, except for the fact that all the candy in the world comes available in the big bags. However, what I love is that once Halloween is finished the rest of year is down hill. In just a little less than a month after the October festivities, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Then a month after that holiday, we celebrate Christmas. It's so close.

Today was incredible. A couple of days ago we experienced a bit of warm temperatures for the month of October. We soon heard on the news that the numbers would plum it. The weather people were right. That next morning, it was cold. I think that the high was in the low 50's. Now it's high 40's. It feels wonderful. It actually feels like fall. Daddy said that we could turn on the fire furnace to warm the house. I was so excited to hear that statement. 

Next thing you know we will be eating turkey and then opening presents. Most importantly though, we be celebrating something better. It will not be about the presents or the turkey. It will be about a man who came to this earth to die for each of us here on earth.

26 Going on 30

Hearing the words, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present to you this years graduates, Class of 2005!" One of the best days of my life. A feeling of accomplishment came over me. All the classes, all the homework, and all the projects finally paid off. Nineteen and one step closer to experiencing independence.

My goals were set. Some of them included: Start college in the late fall; going to study Cosmetology. Get a full time job and work as much as I could. The overall goal was to get out on my own. It was all in my head. In order to succeed, I had to follow a certain order.

Now, here we are. It has been six years since I have graduated high school. I am happy to report that I did graduate from Cosmetology school in 2008. Then I went on to pass my state board exam to receive my license for my career. At this point I was only twenty-two. I still had three more years before I said I was going to move out. Well, my three years are up.  I told myself that if I was not married by the time I was twenty-five that I would try to move out on my own. It is October and it's less than two months from my twenty-sixth birthday and I still live at home. 


Last Christmas, I became engaged and week before our one year dating anniversary, I called the engagement and relationship off. How smart of me? Seriously Sarah? I knew that I had to call it off, but there again I was so close to moving out. However the more I thought about it, I would not be moving into independence. Although getting married was a wonderful thought and feeling. Someone actually loved me. Someone wanted to marry me. I felt horrible, but I knew what I had to do. However, this is not about getting married.


Now that I am officially in my mid-twenties, I wonder what I will become. Some days the word failure comes to mind, but on the other hand, I have accomplished some. The dream to get married isn't really important to me anymore. I want to succeed. Currently, I got myself back into school, training for a different career. This time hoping for better income results. When I graduated back in 2008 from beauty school, the economy sunk. So basically, people were still getting their hair done, but not as often. Really, the only way that you made money in the business was if you already had a clientele. I still do hair on the side. However, my career choice time is in the medical field. I am studying to be an Occupational Therapy Assistant. 


Here back in September, a friend of mine turned thirty. It made me start to think about what I have accomplished. While there may be some, it's just not where I need to be. Sometimes I cry because I wonder if I will ever move forward or if I'll be stuck here for the rest of my life. I've made some bad decisions and now for some I am paying the consequences. God wasn't kidding when he said "You will reap what you sow."  I know better and I should want to do things the right way. When will it fully click? 


I may not be happy with my situations, but I'm thankful that God is always with me and that he will not leave me behind to watch me fail. Through Him all things are possible. I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me. Thank you Jesus for being right there beside me. I know that you are guiding me every step of the way. 


God bless!

A little more about me

My whole life, I have been brought up in church. I started singing when I was four and from then on out, I keep singing. There is no stopping me. Music has played a vital role in my life. Have I always listened to "appropriate" stuff? No. However, now that I am older, I like to listen to music that encourages me to keep going. So it may not necessarily be Christian music, but now I know what I can and can not listen to.

I have been writing for a few years. Writing is something I can do when I really want to express myself and I can't quite put into words to come from my mouth. My thoughts become clear when wrote on paper. I believe that through writing, it is one of the ways that God can use me to witness and encourage those who read. I am by no means a professional. I write how I want to write. I am the editor. Whenever I want to write to publish, I ask God to give me the words so that people can be ministered to. 

I want God to use me in mighty ways. A friend of mine asked me the other day, where I could see her in twenty years. To the best of my ability I answered her. I ask myself that all the time. I even ask God. Of course, He won't tell me the entire plan for my life at once. So I just take one day at a time. Try to live the best that I can. I also try to let as much of Jesus' light shine through my life.

I am not perfect, nor will I ever be in this life.