Reflections on 2016

Hello all! This is a day late, because I wanted to post it on the last day of the year.

Overall, this year has been a good one. 2016 has seen me change and grow, succeed and fail. I have visited many new places, read more books than I thought I could, served God in ways I never thought possible, and received more blessings than I ever could have imagined.

This year was my first full year as a kids' Sunday school teacher - I began last August. I have had so much fun teaching this class, and I learn so much when I'm teaching. I feel so blessed that God called me to this, even though at first I wasn't sure I really wanted it.

This year was also my first full year at my job, which I started last December. I work in a library, and I love my job. I love all my coworkers, and it's just a blast to work there. One thing I really like about my job is that though not all of them attend church or are as involved in their churches as I am, I still feel free to talk about my church when it comes up in conversation - I don't feel like I need to hide any part of me.

This year I read over 400 books, and many were educational, or Christian books. In 2017, I hope to read even more books than this year, and I want to read even more books that help feed my spirit, rather than just my mind or my imagination.

This year, I have also read many books of the Bible. I only have about 10 left, and then I plan to do more in-depth studies of specific books and topics. I'm excited!

This year, I continued learning Japanese, and I feel much more confident speaking the words and phrases I know. I look forward to learning even more next year, and I hope that this knowledge can be used for God's glory.

This year, I also visited a lot of new places, and some old ones. From simply going to a new movie theater, to visiting a whole new town I'd never been to and getting to see beautiful fall colors, and everything in-between, I had a blast on each trip.

I stepped up more at my church, even though some of the things I had to do were things I didn't want to do or feel qualified to do. Though it was sometimes a struggle, I persevered, and came out the other side stronger, more patient, and kinder than before. While I still pray that we'll get someone new at our church who is more qualified with the technological side of things (particularly in troubleshooting and fixing them), I feel like I learned a lot through my unexpected role as Tech-Girl.

I ate healthier than I ever have before and I started exercising. Though I've put on a few "holiday pounds" I still feel better than I ever have before.

For 2017, I want to continue to learn, grow, discover who I am, and who God has called me to be. I look forward to more adventures, more challenges, more books, more movies, more blessings, more trips, more opportunities to serve, and more time to spend with family and friends. I look forward to cooking new recipes, making new friends, creating new memories, and having more fun.

Happy New Year! See you all in 2017!
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Numbers 6:24-26 : "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

The Christmas Spirit

It seems lately that there is less Christmas spirit than there used to be.

More and more, it seems that Christmas becomes about things rather than people. There seems to be less joy and less laughter.

Even I am guilty of not always being in the right frame of mind for this joyous season. I don't focus on the right things. I stress about all these little things that don't matter, and I forget the real reason to celebrate Christmas.

Jesus.

The whole reason we celebrate Christmas is because of Jesus' birth. But that's not all we celebrate. Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus, and not only His birth, but also His life, His death, and the fact that He didn't stay dead.

And why do we celebrate Jesus? Because He is the Son of God.

So, if Jesus is the reason for the season, how do we celebrate it?

I think, as Christians, we are meant to live the whole year like it's Christmas: with love, joy, kindness, generosity, hope, and faith. 

Galations 5:22-23 says "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

You don't have to wait for Christmas to share the Christmas spirit. Because the real Christmas spirit isn't about Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings, food, fireplaces, hot cocoa, presents, or even family. The real Christmas spirit is the Holy Spirit. Thus, we can spread the Christmas spirit anywhere we go. If we live like we know Jesus personally, if we follow Him, and keep God's commandments, if we allow the Holy Spirit into our lives, then we can live like we have the Christmas Spirit all year round, because we will.

Let's all remember what's really important this season. Don't let the Christmas spirit become a spirit of greed or materialism. Try talking to someone about Jesus this Christmas. That would truly be a wonderful gift.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Just Keep Circlin'

I read The Prayer Circle by Mark Batterson a while ago, and I finally feel ready to do a review.

The Prayer Circle is all about....you guessed it...prayer! But not just any prayer. Specific, continuous, miraculous prayer. In The Prayer Circle, Mark Batterson talks about continuously circling your issues, hopes, dreams, and family in prayer. Continuously. Whether you're driving down the road, at home in the bath, or sitting at your desk at work, he talks about praying continuously.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 : Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Notice Paul doesn't just tell us to pray in this scripture, but to also rejoice and give thanks. So, while we should pray hard over every circumstance, we also have to praise and thank God even in the midst of the hard times...especially during the hard times.

So, what is a prayer circle?

It can be a physical circle. The Israelites literally circled Jericho and brought it down. Pastor Batterson literally circled the block that would become the home of his new church and coffee shop.

Sometimes you literally have to circle your dreams in prayer.

And sometimes it's not physical. Sometimes it's spiritual. You can spiritually circle your dreams in prayer. Just remember: do so continually.

If you're hoping for a new job, but it doesn't look like anything is happening, pray continuously, and rejoice, even when you can't yet see the results.

If you're hoping a child will turn back to God, pray continuously and rejoice. God is always working.

If you're single and want to marry and start a family, pray continuously and rejoice. Thank God for all you have already learned, and the great plans He has for each season of your life.

Romans 8:28 : And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Whatever you're praying for, do so continually, praise God, and keep serving Him. He is always with us, and will answer our prayers.


A song for any season:

May you pray continually through your season of waiting.
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Isaiah 55:9 - "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

'Tis the Season

'Tis the season for...

• Christmas songs
• Cheesy holiday movies
• Spending time with family
• The smell of cookies baking
• Putting up decorations
• Holiday cheer
• Thanking God for sending His son to us

I love the Christmas season. I don't know what is is about this holiday that sucks me in so much. Maybe it's the feeling of goodwill that often spreads through mankind. Maybe it's the winter weather that hits so many places. I love the cold weather, and the place I grew up would actually get snow! 

Then again, the true spirit of the Christmas season is remembering how Jesus came to earth to save us, so that's probably what really sets the tone for this season.

I'm not going to go on and on about Christmas...yet. But I wanted to share a little today.

I finally got my tree put up. It's a small one that has the lights built in,  and my aunt gave me some bows to put on it. Now that I've had it a few years, it's easy to put up and to put away, which I really like. It also looks so pretty with the little red bows with bells, and the lights flickering in red, blue, and green. Have you put up your tree yet?

I've been drinking a lot of hot chocolate lately too. I used to buy the instant hot chocolate packets and make them with water - as instructed. But that always gave me a stomachache, so I stopped and after a while of not having hot chocolate, I finally tried something new. It was my mom's great idea, actually. I just heat some milk up and then add some chocolate syrup. It's great hot chocolate! Do you have any hot chocolate recipes that you like?

At praise and worship practice tonight, we started practicing Christmas songs. I love Christmas songs. If I had to pick a favorite part of the season, the songs would be it.

My favorite secular Christmas song is Silver Bells.

My favorite Christian Christmas song is Silent Night. But I like most Christmas songs. I just can't put them all in this blog post to share.

As I'm writing this post, I'm watching 12 Dates of Christmas. It's a really good movie about changing the way you think, and about finding love, of course. It's definitely a secular movie, but it's family friendly.

Well, I could go on and on and on about the Christmas season, but I'll end the post here. It's getting late and I need to get some sleep. It's been a busy day.

I hope you all have a good night, and that you have a wonderful start to your holiday season!

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Matthew 12:1 - She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save people from their sins.

What's New

Ta...da! A whole new blog!

Well, there's a lot new with me, which is the reason for the changes to my blog. I realized that one of the reasons I wasn't blogging as much as before was that I was trying to use the same format I started with. But I've grown and changed, so it's time for my blog to grow and change too.

I have a job that I love (Going on 1 year there! Woo!), working with people who are awesome, who build me up rather than drag me down. I have stepped up more at church, and I have taken on more responsibilities there.

I am so many things, and some of these things are new. So, I want my blog to reflect who I am now, rather than who I was when I first started the blog.

So, while you can expect to see some of the same content as before - my musings about things I learn from my Bible, or at church, expect to see some new content as well, including more about me and my daily life.

Some of the things I want to share more on my blog are:

• Daily life musings
• Recipes/Food musings
• Book musings
• Movie musings
• Music musings

So, why am I telling you instead of just doing it and letting it be a surprise? Well, because while I'm working on more content for the blog, I want to keep it going. Some of these new posts will take a little time, and I don't want to say "I'm making changes, stay tuned!" and then not post for a month. Or something like that. It shouldn't take that long for me to get a new blog post, especially if I'm branching out with what I can talk about. I have so many new ideas.

Anyway, I just wanted to keep you all informed of some of the ideas I have to make the blog more relevant to my whole life.

Let me know what you think! :)

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Psalm 55:22 - Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

A Quick Update

Hi all!

I know it has been a long time since I posted anything, but I wanted to let everyone know that I am still blogging.

I'm working out some changes I want to make to the blog, so stay tuned for those.

Hope to update again soon!


Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ - 1 Corinthians 1:3
Much love!
Sarah

Praise Him Even When Everything Goes Wrong

So, your phone breaking is not the end of the world. But it can be frustrating enough that it certainly feels like it. Last Saturday, my phone started shutting off and restarting on its own. Sometimes it doesn't restart. I was finally able to install the update at the request of the tech people, but it didn't help at all. On Tuesday, I didn't have a phone all day - it shut off at 7:15am and didn't come back on until Wednesday morning.

I have an appointment Saturday to have it looked at, but that's a whole week from when this started, and by Wednesday, I was pretty frustrated. It had been on Wednesday, and aside from shutting off and restarting a few times, didn't seem to have the major problem it had of turning off and not turning back on. Until I got in the car to go home. I was checking an app, and it froze in the middle of what I was doing. It didn't just turn off; the screen froze and then it turned off.

Now, I'm pretty tired on Wednesday nights and sometimes I argue with myself about whether or not I should go to church or stay home. I usually win. Going to church is more important - unless I'm sick, in which case I want to stay home and rest so I don't get worse.

So, I went to church, determined to give God glory in spite of my frustration with my phone. What I didn't expect, was how much I would praise God while I was there.

Normally, I sing with the praise team, but I'm the sound room backup if the main guy can't make it. He wasn't there Wednesday so I ended up in the back. Once I get the sound set, and everyone can hear everyone else and the musicians, and everything sounds good, I like to sing. Well, Wednesday, I didn't just sing. I sang loud. And I put my hands in the air, and I almost laughed my head off. I found such joy on Wednesday night that it was hard to keep worrying about my phone, or anything else for that matter.

In spite of how much I didn't feel like going to church at the beginning, once I got there and started praising God, I remembered how insignificant my phone is. I remembered how awesome God is. And I remembered that no matter what is going on in our lives, whether it's going right or wrong, we have to praise God. And when it's going wrong, we should praise Him even louder. That brings our negative thoughts about whatever situation we're in under subjection to God. It reminds us that nothing - no situation, no phone - is more important than God, and that nothing we do - certainly not worry - is more important than praising Him.

So, I hope that by writing this, I've helped someone, and that the next time any of us gets into a frustrating situation, we remember to turn it over to God, and just start to praise Him.

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Psalm 30:4-5: Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Jesus' Robe

So, I watched The Robe, starring Richard Burton. 

It's about a Roman soldier whose Greek slave gets the robe of Jesus Christ. This robe, the soldier feels, has some sort of mystical power that is making him go mad. Really, it's his own guilt at having been the one in charge at Jesus' crucifixion. Thus begins his journey to find answers to his "madness." It leads to him meeting many of Jesus' followers, standing against fellow Roman soldiers, and his understanding of Jesus' forgiveness.

It's awesome. Go watch it.

It goes along with the theme of Easter/Resurrection Sunday, which we're still learning about in my Sunday School class.

I know, I know. That's all after nearly 2 months of no posts? I'm afraid so. Today is just a movie recommendation. If you've seen The Robe, or if you watch it after this post, please comment below so we can discuss it.
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"The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they slapped him in the face" (John 19:2-3).

"Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'" (John 20:29).

What Kind of Person Will You Be?

I know. The title is a loaded question. Let me share the lesson I've been learning in my women's Bible study group, and maybe it'll make it more clear.

So, as women, we want to find women in the Bible to model our lives after. Well, I do at least. I hope you do too.

There are also women in the Bible we immediately can put into the other category: Don't be like her.

Two specific women are Elizabeth and Jezebel.

Elizabeth was John the Baptist's mother, and Mary's cousin.

She was a godly, dutiful wife. She loved her husband, helped the poor, lived righteously, and set a good example in her community.
Her husband, Zecharius, was a priest in the temple of God. He was a godly, righteous man, who did his duty, loved his wife, and set a good example in his community.

See where I'm going with this?

Zecharius was visited by an angel of the Lord who told him that his wife (who was barren) would have a son, and they would name him John. Zecharius asked for proof. The angel made him mute. Still, in my Bible study class we discussed that he must have communicated somehow what happened there because when John was born Elizabeth calmly told the family and well-wishers that the baby would be named John (unusual because it wasn't a family name). It was only when they turned to Zecharius for confirmation that his tongue was loosed and he confirmed it.

They stood together as a couple without yelling, shouting, cussing, or offending any well-wishers. Calmly, they agreed with one another.

That's a good example of a marriage. The couple serves God, stands in agreement, and doesn't argue when other people are around.

Now, what about Jezebel?

Jezebel was an evil, lying, manipulative queen, who was more interested in control than anything else.

She served Baal. She lied to get her way. She manipulated and controlled her husband.

Yes. She was married. Just like it takes a special kind of man to be married to an Elizabeth, it takes a special kind of man to be married to a Jezebel.

Ahab was a wicked, weak, and greedy king. He always wanted more. When he wanted a farmer's land and couldn't get it because God had told the farmer not to sell it, ever, he went home and pouted and whined about it until Jezebel, in the spirit of control, took matters into her own hands.

She lied and manipulated the situation to make the farmer look like a criminal, so that he was killed, all of his sons were killed, and his lands were seized.

So, in a sense, both Jezebel and Elizabeth were good wives who took care of their husbands. The difference is the spirit in which they accomplished this.

Elizabeth took care of her husband and stood by him out of love. Jezebel did it out of control, and wickedness.

Something I've learned is that the manipulative, selfish spirit of Jezebel is not limited to only women. That kind of character can be found throughout the Bible, even in men.

So, whether you're a man or a woman, we should strive to fight against the Jezebel and Ahab spirits that try to rise up within us. They are the controlling spirits that want things to always go our own way no matter the cost.

We should strive to be like Elizabeth and Zechariah. We have to strive to be good, godly, loving people. We have to respect the authority in the church, help those less fortunate, and take care of our duties, even when we would rather be selfish and just do whatever we want.

And remember, every Elizabeth should be looking for a Zechariah, just like a Jezebel will be looking for an Ahab. An Elizabeth would not be happy with an Ahab, just like a Jezebel could not stand a Zechariah.

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When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. - Luke 1:41

For the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah, go to Luke 1.

For the story of Jezebel and Ahab, go to 1 Kings 18-21, and 2 Kings 9.

Baptism

So, I got baptized last month! The pool was heated, don't worry. Lol. So, for today's post, I want to talk about what baptism is, its purpose, and why we should do it. Because we should. Oops. That might be a spoiler.

What is baptism?

Baptism is when you are dipped under water as a symbol for being cleansed. It shows that we are new creations in Christ. 
Do we need to be baptized?

Yes.
Why should we be baptized?

Baptism is a declaration that we have chosen to follow Christ. Christ was baptized as an example for us to follow. It is important for one who has repented of their sins.
Is baptism necessary for salvation?

No. Believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is all that we need to be saved. If someone is saved one day, with the intention of being baptized the next day, but dies that night, they are still saved.

Why is it important?

It is a step of obedience. It is an outward symbol of our inward faith. It is a "work" that we can do on the earth, and as we learn in the Bible, we are not saved by our works, but by Christ Jesus.

Where can I find Bible verses about baptism?

You can find verses about baptism through out the Bible, not just in the New Testament. Though Jesus' baptism contains many of the more well-known verses. I have included a couple here, but I urge you to seek out others for yourselves. Study and learn. Repent, and be baptized. May God bless you.

Matthew 3:13-15 - Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

Ephesians 4:4-5 - There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

Mark 16:16 - Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

These verses also contain records of baptisms:

Mark 1:5
Acts 2:41
Acts 8:12
Acts 9:18
Acts 10:47
Acts 16:15
Acts 16:33
Acts 18:8
Acts 19:5

Such Great Love

1 Peter 4:8 - Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.

Jesus' love covered a mutitude of our sins. He loved us so much that He died for us, just so our sins could be forgiven. If He loved us that much, can't we love each other enough to forgive each other?

In my Sunday school class, we were talking about pleasing God. I'll do a different post about that. For today, I want to cover just this verse. An example given was when a man cheats on or otherwise dishonors his wife. Should she take him back, or immediately go for a divorce? The assistant pastor used this example with this and other verses to show that God would prefer reconcilliation. Which I knew. I'd just never thought of it in connection with this verse before.

Think about it. If God can forgive us for all that we've done, can't we forgive each other? Can't we at least try to give each other another chance? I mean, it depends on the people involved, I guess, but forgiveness is something that's required of us. It's not optional.

So, if Love is the only thing that can cover sins, no matter how many, then in order to forgive people, we must first love them, the way God loved us, even if they aren't worthy, because we certainly weren't worthy.

Just my thought for today.