{called to ministry}

i remember the day like it was yesterday. i was at SOS in Cincinnati Ohio with our youth group, and we were doing exercises of praying over people and asking the Holy Spirit to tell us what He wanted us to tell the other person. this exercise is done with your back to the person and not knowing who they are, you have 2 minutes to pray (before you turn around)and ask God what He wants you to tell that person.

so of course, i was suspicious and  carefully picked my person. as i stood behind her, i touched her shoulder to let her know someone was behind her, and i felt this burst of energy flow between us- i then started shaking. when the woman turned around, she had to keep her eyes closed until she was done telling me...

i was told this:
"God wants me to tell you today that you are a beautiful butterfly waiting to come out of a cocoon. Its like, you are at a place in life where you are about to realize your calling, and God wants you to know that He loves you and has big plans for you. Whats going on now, is preparing you for what is to come when you burst out of your cocoon. He's got you. He has big plans for you. And He wants you to know that He sees you, recognizes you, and cannot wait to use you. He loves you!...did i get it right??" lol

of course she did!!

all day i couldn't get it out of my head...God wanted me to know that He {noticed} me. and that He was about to reveal His {plan for my life} to me. i was blown away. and felt so privileged! but more so blown away-

later that week, at a session, we were doing an alter call. a lot of us leaders had gone up front or to the sides of the auditorium to pray for students. later in the session, one of the pastors went up and said "any leaders out there that need prayer? anyone feeling called to ministry or know you need to make a life decision tonight? come up front to this corner, and we will do a "calling" prayer time for you"

i had just finished praying for a youth, and bolted up front. before i knew it, i was being prayed for. i was being prayed over and they were praying that my {ministry as a woman would be respected, fruitful and blessed}. that financially i would be taken care of and that my life would begin to take its rightful direction.

after that trip, my husband and i started dating and things were coming together. the next SOS the following year i was engaged and had just quit my previous job (which i didnt get to even do my "2 weeks notice")

again, i went up for prayer and the woman asked me some very specific questions about how much i loved children. "do you work with children?" she asked. as she was praying for me, she said she saw me teaching in a classroom with all these kids watching me while i {taught them about Jesus}. she said kids would notice me. she even pointed out a little child that would catch my heart, and she gave me specific features of a child to look for in the future, and that when I see that child, i'll be reassured that this is what i'm supposed to be doing....

...a month later i started working in children's ministry :)

what have you been called to do (loving people & sharing Jesus can come with ANY job)? actually, the real question is...are you doing it??

{Sara} 

{growing up- doing what really matters}

i like the Message version of Matthew 5:38-48:

"Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you." 

i used to have a sign in my room that said "get over it". which can be rough sometimes, right? but its true. our society wants us so badly to {get what we deserve}, {pursue for justice}, {fight for rights}...does that all really matter when this isn't even our home? we are aliens- here on earth to serve JESUS, to love JESUS, and believe in Him so that we can be with HIM when it really REALLY matters. 

when i leave this world. i will be with JESUS. i am a kingdom subject here on earth to show the love of Jesus. i am a Jesus lover on a compassionate pursuit to plant seeds of hope, faith, and love to my enemies and to help them find who Jesus is, and want to be with Him as well!

we have a BIG job! 

{blessings- to better the mood}

whew! joel and i have been having a {season} so i thought i needed to post some {blessings} that are happening lately..they may seem pathetic and simple, but hey...im trying!

1. i got a car! still needing to figure some things out, but the timing/money was perfect. and it was a major prayer request that was answered!

2. right now some close friends of mine are living in town for a while with my parents. its been really nice to see them whenever i can go over. their daughter is precious and i love my comfortable friendship with them.

3. really loving my job/jobs. babysitting is also that {extra} little blessing :)

4. i have amazing friends that care for me and send me random/loving/encouraging text messages

5. i have a husband that keeps me sane :D he is hilarious, funny, honest, and encouraging.

6. we have 8 weddings this year! its been great to be able to make some of them a little {weekend getaway}
 since we dont have the money to go on a vacation this summer.

7. my God is {GOOD}, and even though some things are happening now..i know that His promises are never taken back. i am looking forward to this list growing and growing!

whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. my Father will honor the one who serves me. {john 12:26}

{your negativity is killin' me}

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

{Ephesians 4:31-32}

 a few things that i feel God has helped me realize to help me move on from grudges are:

1. i am not one to judge- God is the ultimate Judge
2. i do not know their heart- God knows their heart (and mine) and STILL wants best for that person
3. i want others to forgive me, so i need to forgive them
4. holding a grudge KILLS my joy!
5. not moving on shows signs of immaturity

holding a grudge is feeding a monster of destruction and resentment. if we love Jesus, then we need to understand that because of Jesus' great love, and because of the cross, who are we NOT to forgive?  because of who Jesus is, and because He so easily forgives us, we can bite our tongues and choose JOY and moving on.

how many grudges are you holding? 

{called to 'come'}

some things i have been studying the past few weeks are:
1. predistination
2. freedom in Christ (new covenant & Jesus)
3. battle of the mind

lets just say. its been a unique few weeks. could these subjects be any more larger and include any more detail?? when God calls us to grow, we better be ready, and we better know our stuff. im really being challenged this week only because i believe what i believe because i was told what to believe, and now, i'm learning it needs to be MY personal belief.

 my devos this week:
 in Hebrews 12 Moses sees a burning bush. (this is a very simplified version :) ). Moses was warned by God "do not come closer". God restrained Moses for a good reason! God knew an unholy man would face death in the presence of a holy God. His words of rejection were actually words of love and words of compassion. In this story we see a contrast between Gods LAW and Gods GRACE.

Law: do not come any closer because you are NOT worthy
Grace: i have made you worthy through Jesus!

Because of the new covenant, and Gods grace through Jesus, we are commanded and called to "COME".

isaiah 55 "come"
matthew 11:28 "come to me"
hebrews author states, "you have come to God!"
james 4 "come near to God"
revelation even wraps up the whole bible with mentioning "come" several times

His law warns us, yet is grace welcomes us. Jesus came to the earth so that we can come to God!!

{our story}

Joel and I met in the spring of 2009 and the second we met I honestly remember thinking to myself, “what if I marry this boy?” Who knew…!

One of the first moments I knew that Joel and I would be great together was a trip to Chicago that we took with some friends. Joel was the most patient driver I have ever ridden with- I was amazed. With my road rage, I knew that this would be a good fit for me. His peace and patience made the day perfect and I loved watching how he enjoyed life. I remember coming home and being excited that I had found a friend that I had felt safe and at peace with!

We started hanging out more over the summer of 2009. Joel doesn’t talk much, and he began to get flirty over text.I finally got it out of him that he liked me, and our first date was August 4^th, 2009. Our first date happened to be 3 days into a 21 day cleanse that I was doing. Lucky him! I knew that I would let him hold my hand that night when I saw that he had made me a fruit platter…it was gorgeous. His mom later asked about the date, and I told her what he had made, and she said, “Sara Jo! He CUT fruit? My son CUT fruit? He must love you. He has never cut fruit. You need to marry him now.”

Our second date included the game “20 Questions” in order to get him to open up – we became best friends that night.

A month after dating, and convincing others over and over again that we were just “dating”, we decided to go to GCC’s first Wednesday service. It was honestly the most awkward service I have ever sat through. I wanted to die. All that week Joel and I had discussed taking the next step, but he was so nervous. Once the Pastor started talking, my face turned bright red and I wanted to run out. The guy next to me, I’m sure, was wondering why I was looking at him the whole time, because I couldn’t look over at Joel. The pastor continued to talk about how in life, we are faced with scary situations and sometimes we just need to “jump” and trust that God will take care of us. He said that when we jump, we are not jumping into an abyss, but we are jumping into the arms of God, who will protect us and bless our decision.

The next morning, I woke up with a few text messages that he had sent me over night. It had been obvious that he had not been up all night praying about us. The last text I got said, “I'm ready to jump…will you jump with me?”

What a great way to wake up!

We became official on September 5^th, 2009, became engaged March 17th, 2010, and got married August 6^th, 2010.  We got married on our 11^th month of being together, and celebrated 1 year of dating after a month of marriage. There are countless times where God had made clear the direction of our relationship. Many times, it was the simple prayer of “God, put our hearts where they need to be, because this is going so fast!” But of course, God knew what He was doing, and of course, we were terrified at times, but that is what made it an amazing journey. My marriage to Joel has been such a blessing. God truly blesses those who love Him and “jump” into His will for their lives- and I am truly honored to fall in love with the same person every day.

{everyone is on God's heart}

Yesterday I went to Meijer to buy clocks for JAM. When I walked out, I had realized it had started to rain and said out loud, "Seriously??". As I gathered my bags out of my cart, this man came out from the corner, took his headphones off and asked if he could bother me a second. Now I admit, I get upset when people ask for money. I'm guilty of always assuming that everyone has friends like me that I can call and they would do anything for me. I said he could and he proceeded to tell me that he lost his wallet. I asked where he needed to go and he said downtown. I offered to find a ride for him and he said no, so I left.

I pulled into the church parking lot and turned around. I thought to myself, I am pathetic, I can give away $20.

I parked and ran back in. I went up to him and said, "So...you say you lost your wallet...did you report it?" He said he had and he lost it on the bus. Well, then I felt dumb. This was a true story. I pulled out my $20 and gave it to him. He told me he only needed a few dollars to get on the bus and that he would give me change. He wanted to re-pay me and I told him no and that I didn't want that. I said if he ever wanted to thank me, he can stop by the Vineyard. Next thing I knew, we were both getting emotional. Right then, the bus pulled up and I said, "is that your bus?" He said, "now it is- I got to go get change".  We exchanged names and I left.

I was then overwhelmed and cried all the way back to work...only because I knew that man was on Gods heart, and I had obeyed.

My final thought from this encounter is this- I am constantly reminded by the world that my financial situation cannot afford to help others. I mean, I really don't have money to just "hand out". Yet God reminded me that  because of HIM, I always have time and money to help others, because its not MY money, its HIS...