{breaking free-wk 1}

i'm taking a "breaking free 101" class at Vineyard. and i'm sure there will be weeks i dont want to share about, but this first week blew me out of the water.

i have always been very aware of spiritual warfare. and many of my friends and family have not. which is fine, but the older i get, i wonder what it will take to make them realize how REAL and ACTIVE the spiritual world is.

here are a few points that blew me away in the class. pretty sure i yelled out "YES! so true!". to have these as bullet points made me so excited. here they are:

- This is a God-created world. God stustained world. If we do things God's way in God's world, God will be responsible for the results. If we do things our way, we have to be responsible for the results.

- People may not live what they say they believe; they will always live what they really believe. Therefore, if you want to change the way a person lives, you have to change what they believe.

- Satan's primary tactic is deception. He tries to cause us to believe lies--especially about God and who we are as the children of God.

- People are not the victim of their circumstances, but they may be the victim of their perception of their circumstances.

- In order to chang the way a person feels about his/her circumstances, lies must be replaced with truth, and that truth is most effectively communicated by God Himself. It is the TRUTH that sets us free.

- The Christian life is the exciting adventure of trying to keep your balance. (submitting to God, resisting satan- James 4:7-8)

the scary thing is, is that over the next 10 weeks i'm going to be realizing the lies that i am believing. is my life balanced? am i resisting the devil as much as much as i can? what lies are holding me back?

i was reminded that satan likes extremes. he likes to distort the middle/happy/GOOD stuff. some people i know make God out to be the "evil" one. that scares me.

even as Christians, we can give satan permission to do his work in our lives. which is making me extra cautious from here on out.

what lies are satan telling us? and what are we believing?

how much work is satan doing in our lives?

{sara}

{like a tree}

"but blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. he will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. it does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

{jeremiah 17:7-8}

only 9 days into 2013 and i can already tell you that this year is going to be a year of major spiritual growth for me. major offerings, a breaking free class and job changes seem to be things that can either put a damper on my heart, OR things that i can allow God to use to chisel me. which is really hard to admit. and say out loud like i am now as i type this.

chisel me.

it hurts just to say it. im stepping up. my job as a child of God is only going to become more serious this year. and honestly, i'm terrified! but this is why i love the verses above. its really a simple equation, that is really hard to make my life equation. 

Jesus loves me

I love Jesus

Jesus has promises for me

Jesus does not lie

Jesus fulfills His promises

hard part!! I need to allow Jesus to do just that!

i cannot fear when heat comes. i cannot worry. i cannot stray from my Jesus. i need to cling more than ever.

the song that i have been singing lately is "beautiful things" by gungor. especially the phrase, "you make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust. you make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us" 

 here is the video: {beautiful things}

may you know Jesus' love for YOU.

may you know that He wants to fulfill His promises in YOUR life.

cheers to 2013 and loving Jesus better!

{sara}

{2013 goals}

goals i wanted to share for 2013- they are actual goals in my life right now, but hoping that 2013 i 

act more on things, 

defend what i love, 

hope for the best & love greatly...

• not question what God will ask me to do 
• be more open to the Holy Spirit
• encourage kids to be spiritual leaders
• pray over as many kids as i can 
• be more aware to those who need prayer
• opening my home more to those who need company
• serve my husband on my own initiative
• represent myself in a worthy manor
• encourage and be hopeful for those in uncertain situations
• talk less, listen more
• improve my thank you notes
• be a patient preschool teacher
• treat every day at my job like its the last day to make an impression 

 just remember, that even though its refreshing that we start a new year, that with God every single day is a new start...what a great thing!!!

Happy New Year!

{sara}

{thankful}

one of my favorite verses comes from Habakkuk chapter 3, which states:

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

i came across this passage at a time in my life where all seemed so hopeless. i was a whiner, and like stated in my previous post, i was playing the victim. then a friend gave this verse to me with a note saying "if Habakkuk had it this bad- you can have hope". if you truly think about it...that was everything that had so much meaning to Habakkuk. gone.

when i think of how thankful i am, these are the verses that come to my mind. how many times i can simply wallow in my sadness of what i "cant" have or what i "dont" have...what i "want" or what others wont "give me". 

i am thankful. thankful because i have family that loves me. not all of them...but most :) i have a supporting and loving husband and 2 incredibly awesome jobs. my God has never failed me. and for that, i am so blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

{sara}

{victim}

its always easy to decide to be the "victim" in circumstances. its easy to submit to the feelings that we have the "right" to be in this position and to stay in this position.

do we have that right? maybe. but i encourage you to move on.

we all know its easier to be there. but then we have to ask ourselves, "how is that in any way beneficial for maturing and becoming a better person?" its hard because, while you are miserable, at the same time you arent proving the point of it all to anyone when you claim the victim card.

i played the victim. for 7 years. to get attention, to feel safe. i felt secure in this role because it didnt push me to grow up and face my problems. it didnt make me question things or realize lies that were thrown at me. you get to be the baby and people eventually lose respect for you. but at the time i had the "right" to be moody. and then i learned that no one cared anymore. i was so repetitive with my plea for sympathy while i sat on my butt and did nothing. so many people took the "high road" and it began to tick me off! but then i started to DO something. i realized, "hey! if i take the "high road" then i wont always be ticked that others are doing it".

your healing begins in your time. your healthy perspective starts to change when you decide to change it. if we work through crap and it seems to never end, to me that just says that it will. if we see no end in sight and we feel like we are drowning, then there is a possibility that it means we are dealing with the crap that needs dealt with.  

maybe when we are in pain, we are on the right path?

being in a state of confusion and sadness isnt always bad. a lot of times, thats what we are most sensitive to what God wants to tell us and show us. when we are so open, raw, and acknowledge help, that is when the Holy Spirit takes over.

God does NOT quit on people. if you think He has quit on you, then i encourage you to seek out being properly introduced to Jesus and all of who He is.

{Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid}
John 14:26-28

{sara}

{respect}

as women, boy do we struggle with respect…mostly towards ourselves. it can be SO hard at times to not respect ourselves. such as putting ourselves down, convincing ourselves that we can’t achieve the best, telling ourselves that we have no self-worth, and most of all, we can disrespect ourselves by letting others hurt us. how does this work?

we are in charge of ourselves. does stuff happen that are out of our control? YES. but then what? we decided how to react, what course of action to take, and whether or not to move on or not. 90% of the time we choose who is close to us. we choose who we are intimate with…emotionally, relationally, physically…and we let those people speak into our lives. many times, this is a healthy thing and sometimes not always.

if we, as humans, are being abused in any form by others who are close to us, we need to make sure that we do not let it determine who we are and what we think of ourselves. therefore letting others treat us terribly is us treating ourselves terribly. if we want to start respecting ourselves, then we need to be around others who respect us.

we are all loved and important. no person has higher worth than the other. we are all worthy of respect just like anyone else in this world.

{So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…} Matthew 7:12

{sara}

{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}