{answered prayers}

i love when God answers prayers! but sometimes, in the midst of praying- it seems like NOTHING is happening and it can be sooo frustrating-

after a year of praying and reminding God that i need another part-time job :) i finally got one! it was totally out of the blue and not expected at all {but that's what God does, right?} i now have 2 jobs where i can work with kids.

i. love. it.

so many times when God is silent in my life, i later realize that He was doing something. i realize that He was preparing the next step for me. i am so grateful and so thankful that i do not have to fully depend on myself, but only on Him.

does God feel silent to you right now?
is there something that is preventing you to feel close?

{sara}

{questioning life}

things have just been rough lately. and yesterday, God said to me, "then get on your knees and ASK me"

really? is it that simple? YES.

why do people make God so much more complicated? why do we get so caught up in "questioning" everything? questioning our existance...others motives...science...politics.

if you claim you are a Christian and that you know God, then why are we not asking God? there is no need to question your whole life every single day. especially when you can get your answers straight from the source. (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Bible)

i feel bad for those who stress every day about knowing what they know (or don't yet know..hmm).
or who to believe. or what to defend.

if you are always questioning...are you living? truly living? are you enjoying life? are you helping others enjoy life? or are you always adding to complication & messes.

you cannot say that you "know" God. especially if you don't talk to HIM.

we talk to those we know, don't we?

{Sara}

{all you need is love?}

 a phrase that has been haunting me lately is the phrase, "as long as we love each other, we can make it"

here is my problem. do we not remember what LOVE is? what LOVE represents?

LOVE is JESUS. LOVE = JESUS. 

{1 Corinthians 13:4-8...}

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 

if the person hits you: that is "easily angered" & not "always protects"
if the person cheats on you: that is "dishonoring others" & "self-seeking"
if the person mocks you/makes fun of you: that is "proud" & not "kind"
if the person lies to you: that is not "always trusts"
if the person is always negative about life: that is not "always hopes"
if the person always leaves angry and threatens your relationship: that is not "always perseveres"
if the person keeps breaking things off with you, then begging the next day: that is not "always trusts"

if your kind of LOVE is JESUS, then you must be:
patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, not dishonoring of others, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keep no record of wrongs, do not delight in evil, rejoice in truth, always protective, always trusting, always hopeful, always persevering, and having your love NEVER fail.

all these things are LOVE. "all" you need is love? "love is all you need"?

if your relationship does not show any of these things, your relationship will not survive on "just LOVE"

{Sara}

{im no quitter}

isnt this hilarious? found this at wal-mart the other day. i laughed about it for a few days, posted it on facebook, sent it to friends..you know. the whole 9 yards.

lately my heart has been very heavy. VERY heavy for those who have been a Christian and no longer claim that. they treat it like another thing you can drop in a day.we give up certain foods, activities, bad habits..etc. and then also expect to just "drop" our faith? if its hard for you to leave Christianity, then maybe you DID have some faith. some love for God. some religion.or, maybe, you actually did have a relationship with Him.

i'll be honest. one of the many i am talking about is my brother. he is so mad at Christianity and Christians. here is the problem...he based it on me, family and friends.{you cannot base your final conclusion of God on humanity}. its not accurate! i personally, have messed up so many times in front of my brother. my language, my attitude, my decisions. o how i wish i  could take that all back! it kills me that people are turning away from God because of our actions. because of how we act, how we respond. but like i have said in an earlier post. {i am not perfect. i am not comparable to God's love and reasoning}. yes, i represent Jesus. i strive to do that every day. but i am not perfect at it at all. if there is ANY good in me, it is all because of Jesus working in my heart. and when i mess up, its just another time that i get back up and press on . i guess what i'm trying to reiterate is this...{do not base your final decision of God because of what people have said or done to you}.


my main question to people who are getting frustrated with the church is "what are you not experiencing? what do you need to experience to make God real in your life?" you cannot stop being a Christian because you "hate" the "church"(the BRIDE of Christ). Perry Noble said it best. he said, "to say you love Christ, yet hate is church is offensive. its like telling me you love me and want to get to know me, yet hate my wife and cant stand her. i would hurt you if you said that about my wife!"  (paraphrased)

this all makes it hard on myself as well. what are we doing as Christians that are making people fed up? are we allowing the whole influence to be based on our actions? or are encouraging engaging in the Holy Spirit! and a movement in their hearts!

its hard to see our mistakes lead people away from God. but, luckily, God does not let go.

may they, by Gods grace, see Jesus at work in many others and in their lives as well.
{Sara}

{Lord, save him}

what a month! life is flying by, but that's because life has been so much fun!

monday, joel and i went to chicago for a cubs game. we love the cubs and i LOVE wrigley field. its such a fun environment. they really do a good job to make it entertaining and lively.

after the game and dinner, we went to walk around millennium park before our train back. (we had over 2 hours to kill!) as we were walking along, we passed a homeless gentleman with a dog and they were both sleeping on the side of the street. as we were walking past them, i thought to  myself, "that poor guy and his dog..." BUT the lady behind me mumbled under her breath, "Lord, save him...."

{{{{{{TRIGGER}}}}}} its like that phrase set off an alarm in my heart. in a split second, i wanted to cry, and my sorrow for this individual was crazy and insanely large. as we kept walking, my heart started beating so fast and i knew the Holy Spirit was working. in that split second, i realized something...that phrase called ME out to do something. i was to be the one who did something, because i represent JESUS. i felt like that phrase awakened my whole being. it awakened who i am designed to represent and the image i was created in. it was like the lady was whispering to me "...you represent Jesus...DO SOMETHING"

i have never had that reaction before. the last time i gave my food away on the street was because a man followed me from the restaurant to a coffee shop and asked me for my leftovers...sounds horrible, right?

so i asked my husband and friends if it was OK that i gave away our {amazingly wonderful} cheesy bread from dinner that we were saving for our snack on the way home. i went to give it to him, and he was appreciative. then as we were walking away, God told me to give him some money. i asked my husband how much we had...and we had a $20 and a $1. well, of course then God says, "really? you cant give up a $20???"

so i went back and gave it to him. he then got up and gave me a hug. we talked about his situation he was in and gave him some encourgement. his dogs name was stella and she was a rescue. as we were talking, a lady walked up and stated, "ugh..that poor dog! is she OK?" and i thought to myself..."what about HIM? you stop and give your full bottle of water to a dog, yet this man is dying of thirst?" it was heartbreaking. he promised he would use our money to buy himself something to drink :)

lesson learned. God calls us out when we least expect it. He calls us out using others responses to tough situations. We must ALWAYS be attentive and aware of what God may be wanting to do.

PS i only lasted 2 days on juicing :) but i love using it to supplement!

{Sara} 

{mary&martha}

i read luke 10:38-42 recently about an account about mary and martha. i had to chuckle, because i can relate to this story so much! a sisterly quarrel :)
 martha has Jesus over for dinner, and gets upset that mary (who is sitting at Jesus' feet listening to Him talk) isnt helping with the prep. she goes to Jesus and says "Lord, dont you care that my sitster has left me to do the work by myself? tell her to help me!"

 Jesus replies, "martha, martha...you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. mary has chosen what is better, 

and it will not be taken away from her"

 ummm...embarrassing! i cant imagine! martha just got "boom!"ed.
 i just love this account. first off, because this is such a sibling thing to do ;) and also, its so true what we do in our Christian walk sometimes. we can get so caught up in what others {arent} doing in our eyes. we can be so judgemental about others and their personal relationships with Jesus. when i catch myself personally wrongfully accusing, i am reminded that i do not know their heart...only God does.
 i was thinking about what sister i would have been, but then i realized i have been both. i have been so caught up in serving and being busy with helping others, that i realize i haven't spent time with the ONE whom i am doing all that service for.
 in ministry (all Christians are called to ministry wherever you are), its so important to remember to rest at the feet of Jesus and just listen.
 all this to say... we are each at a different place in our relationship with Jesus. we need to watch our hearts and make sure that they are not only in the right place, but sitting at the feet of Jesus.

{my never changing faith}

i just returned from our Vineyard Regional Conference (which was amazing) and was excited to share with everyone what happened. well, now i feel that i am not ready for that! its kind of like a fun secret :) but i will say it was more detail on my calling as a Christ follower, so that is so refreshing!

my post this time is  more about those who have given up the good fight. who have thought they have ran the race, but didnt. those who thought they "tried Jesus" but didnt fully get the experience that would put a desire  and yearning in their heart.

i want to share with you more about my relationship with Jesus and the change He made in MY life:

it breaks my heart to see people frustrated with Christians. i will type it again...it breaks my heart to see people frustrated with Christians. in general, and we are all guilty of it, we put human beings on such a high platform sometimes. which is great, right? because it helps us set goals, define who we are, and achieve more love and respect for those around us. everyone expects everyone to 'practice what they preach' and if they don't, we get mad. we get really mad. because we are humans who are disappointed in a human. i guess the thought that always comes to my mind when i am ridiculed is, i am human. i will fail you. please please please do not depend on me! as a Christian, i do know i have a calling, a purpose and the Bible is very clear on that. if i am doing good, it is only because of my Jesus who helps me, and if i am failing, it is because i am human who is full of error.

it hurts me. it offends me. when people talk about my best friend, Jesus the way they do. it hurts when they slander my Heavenly Father, and it hurts when they mock the Holy Spirit.{i have experienced the Trinity in a way that has made me fall even more deeply in love with God and people. i have realized my purpose, who i am in Christ, and self worth. i have had conversations with a God that to a lot of people seems ridiculous. i have encountered a God who is reachable.}

i read a post of a friend that wants to get Jesus out of his mind. he cant believe how hard it is to get out of the mindset of Christianity. that isnt being brainwashed, what he is experiencing is a God and a Holy Spirit who wont let go because He loves that man so much. 

with humans, we are so adamant about getting to know the person fully before we "judge" them. its offensive to even say something about someone without knowing that person. relationships are encouraged so that we can understand one another more deeply and love each other. this is the same for God! the full Gospel is a story of a God who wants a relationship with us. He wants us to know Him. He wants us to experience Him! if you are mad and bitter at a God who IS love, then you have not built a relationship with a God of whom you can slander and ridicule. 

Isaiah 37:9 {For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land}
John 1:3-5 {Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. in him was life, and that life was the light of men. the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it}