I absolutely love Christmas.. always have always will! But since I met Jesus Christmas has just become literally the most amazing time of year!! It's so exciting in build up to anticipate the gift and then to celebrate that Jesus came and died for us so we could be with him forever... I mean WOW!!! It's so amazing like it literally amazes me I can't even really comprehend it that's how unbelievably incredible it is :D It's weird because I'm fully aware that for most people Christmas really isn't about Jesus but I still feel like we come together all over the world to celebrate him because you only have to look at what people do for Christmas and you can see Jesus. It might be about presents and family and food but Jesus was a present, he brought us into God's family and food is everywhere in Jesus' ministry!
Everything about Christmas makes me happy; Christmas jumpers, cosy socks, Christmas lights, mulled wine, hot chocolate, Christmas dinner, family time, carols by candlelight, Christmas holidays, long drives to see family, ice skating, the Christmas market, yule log, time with friends, really well wrapped presents, chocolates on the tree, Christmas decorations, the cold, snow??, Christmas songs and general christmassyness!!!! All of it I love it, everything about it, makes me so happy. Sometimes in summer I yearn for days in front of the fire in Christmas jumpers, slippers with hot chocolate and marshmallows with friends and the cuddles with the dog... best days ever!!!!!
This Christmas I plan to enjoy my time off with my family and friends at home and remember Jesus and how incredible he is. How much of a gift he is. How much he loves me and how much I love him. And just generally revel in the beauty of everything that Christmas means and brings.... My prayer is that you and I would come to know Jesus better over this Christmas season and remember daily his great perfect unfailing never ending completely amazing incredibly beautiful LOVE!!!!
Sunday 18 December 2011
Monday 10 October 2011
Pathfinder weekend away...
AMAZING!!! That pretty much would sum up the whole weekend!
Personally I had been feeling a little dry and I was so stupidly exhausted that I was so worried about it sucking because I felt rubbish and just totally missing the magic. BUT GOD IS SOOOOO GOOD!! We had 'huddle' on Wednesday which is basically just prayer and chats but it generally involves LOADSSSSS of tears and it was a total awakening to me. He then encouraged me to take Thursday afternoon off and enjoy last minute preparations at a leisurely pace and hang out with him at the same time rather than packing everything in and getting WAY too stressed! So I took some time got filled up with his spirit again and got ready to hang out with 71 of the most amazing young people I have ever and probably will ever have the privilege to know!
And boy was it a great weekend... the atmosphere in the group was amazing, God did incredible things in everyone's lives and hearts and we generally had loads of fun being together as a group. I was slightly apprehensive because of the 20 leaders who went 10 had never done the Pathfinder weekend before but they were all amazing. Totally stepped up and threw themselves into everything that was going on and you couldn't tell they were newbies!
& this is what happened; 3 hours before the kids arrived hauling everyone's luggage up 2 flights of stairs, a crazy late night wide game, one broken hand and 3 hours spent in a&e, 3 hours sleep before it was day 2, insane meal times, Anna Jacklin's amazing teaching sessions, great seminars, an incredibly close game of laser-quest in the woods, wonderful creative workshops, tonnes of talent at the talent show, MC Watt Watt's comedy (w)rapping, a leaders dry weetabix race, guess the leader song contest, far too many sweets, about 30 cups of tea in 50 or so hours, a second night of like no sleep, rounders games, an outrageous team challenge, Anna Watkinson made me a pig mug :), lush roast dinner, one kid sent home a little early after being sick all night :(, 9 new Christians and tonnes tonnes more fun!!!!!!
It was amazing and I feel like God has totally reawakened my HUGE PASSION for youth work! & a text from Sam telling me I was a great youth worker was pretty much just the icing on the cake of an amazing weekend :)
Personally I had been feeling a little dry and I was so stupidly exhausted that I was so worried about it sucking because I felt rubbish and just totally missing the magic. BUT GOD IS SOOOOO GOOD!! We had 'huddle' on Wednesday which is basically just prayer and chats but it generally involves LOADSSSSS of tears and it was a total awakening to me. He then encouraged me to take Thursday afternoon off and enjoy last minute preparations at a leisurely pace and hang out with him at the same time rather than packing everything in and getting WAY too stressed! So I took some time got filled up with his spirit again and got ready to hang out with 71 of the most amazing young people I have ever and probably will ever have the privilege to know!
And boy was it a great weekend... the atmosphere in the group was amazing, God did incredible things in everyone's lives and hearts and we generally had loads of fun being together as a group. I was slightly apprehensive because of the 20 leaders who went 10 had never done the Pathfinder weekend before but they were all amazing. Totally stepped up and threw themselves into everything that was going on and you couldn't tell they were newbies!
& this is what happened; 3 hours before the kids arrived hauling everyone's luggage up 2 flights of stairs, a crazy late night wide game, one broken hand and 3 hours spent in a&e, 3 hours sleep before it was day 2, insane meal times, Anna Jacklin's amazing teaching sessions, great seminars, an incredibly close game of laser-quest in the woods, wonderful creative workshops, tonnes of talent at the talent show, MC Watt Watt's comedy (w)rapping, a leaders dry weetabix race, guess the leader song contest, far too many sweets, about 30 cups of tea in 50 or so hours, a second night of like no sleep, rounders games, an outrageous team challenge, Anna Watkinson made me a pig mug :), lush roast dinner, one kid sent home a little early after being sick all night :(, 9 new Christians and tonnes tonnes more fun!!!!!!
It was amazing and I feel like God has totally reawakened my HUGE PASSION for youth work! & a text from Sam telling me I was a great youth worker was pretty much just the icing on the cake of an amazing weekend :)
Friday 23 September 2011
GOD IS GOOD!!!
I've had this song in my head literally for years now, but it's not even a song really it was a bit of a tune that would always pop into my head whenever I was having a hard time and I had never heard it in a song but I have never been able to shake it. At times it bugged me others I just went with it. & then one day I was watching something with my best friend and there was a really great song in the background. So I do a little detective work and end up finding it on spotify. Immediately this tune comes on as the intro and I am shocked; like sort of can't even move shocked! I hadn't even really heard the words on tv just loved the feel and then it turns out to be this incredibly beautiful song by a Christian guy and the lyrics spoke directly to my heart. It was one of those moments when you are just so aware of God's grace, and astounded at how he chooses to move in seemingly the most random of ways!
The song was called Family Tree and it's by Matthew West (look it up it's great)
and I'm going to finish the most random of posts with the lyrics in the hope that God will use them to speak to you in some way.
You didn't ask for this, nobody ever would
Caught in the middle of this dysfunction
It's your sad reality, it's your messed up family tree
And all you're left with all these questions
Are you gonna be like your father was and his father was?
Do you have to carry what they've handed down?
No, this is not your legacy, this is not your destiny
Yesterday does not define you
No, this is not your legacy, this is not your meant to be
I can break the chains that bind you
I have a dream for you, it's better than where you've been
It's bigger than your imagination
You're gonna find real love and you're gonna hold your kids
You'll change the course of generations
Oh, this is not your legacy, this is not your destiny
Yesterday does not define you
No, this is not your legacy, this is not your meant to be
I can break the chains that bind you
'Cause you're my child, you're my chosen
You are loved, you are loved
And I will restore all that was broken
You are loved, you are loved
And just like the seasons change winter into spring
You're bringing new life to your family tree now
Yes, you are, you are
Oh, oh, ooh
Oh, this will be your legacy, this will be your destiny
Yesterday did not define you
Oh, this will be your legacy, this will be your meant to be
I can break the chains that bind you
And just like the seasons change, winter into spring
You're bringing new life to your family tree now
The song was called Family Tree and it's by Matthew West (look it up it's great)
and I'm going to finish the most random of posts with the lyrics in the hope that God will use them to speak to you in some way.
You didn't ask for this, nobody ever would
Caught in the middle of this dysfunction
It's your sad reality, it's your messed up family tree
And all you're left with all these questions
Are you gonna be like your father was and his father was?
Do you have to carry what they've handed down?
No, this is not your legacy, this is not your destiny
Yesterday does not define you
No, this is not your legacy, this is not your meant to be
I can break the chains that bind you
I have a dream for you, it's better than where you've been
It's bigger than your imagination
You're gonna find real love and you're gonna hold your kids
You'll change the course of generations
Oh, this is not your legacy, this is not your destiny
Yesterday does not define you
No, this is not your legacy, this is not your meant to be
I can break the chains that bind you
'Cause you're my child, you're my chosen
You are loved, you are loved
And I will restore all that was broken
You are loved, you are loved
And just like the seasons change winter into spring
You're bringing new life to your family tree now
Yes, you are, you are
Oh, oh, ooh
Oh, this will be your legacy, this will be your destiny
Yesterday did not define you
Oh, this will be your legacy, this will be your meant to be
I can break the chains that bind you
And just like the seasons change, winter into spring
You're bringing new life to your family tree now
Wednesday 31 August 2011
New philosophies...
Jesus has been teaching me a lot about overcoming temptation recently through two things 1. Fasting and 2. A new wardrobe philosophy. Now I don't want to go into what I'm learning about fasting because it's all a little fresh and maybe I will put it out there once I have really managed to process where I stand on it all but I do want to talk about the wardrobe thing.
Basically I am a bit of a shopping addict.. I mean I shop a lot, I spend far too much money on clothes and the result would be a wardrobe that is bursting at the seems and probably enough clothes that I could survive without doing laundry for months, years even.. it's that bad!!! I am also very attached to them all and generally a bit of a hoarder in life anyway so when I came across this on a fashion blog yesterday I was a little bit horrified 'I have a one in one out philosophy'. Meaning that for every clothes purchase made one item will be donated or sold from the current wardrobe. I felt a bit of a twist in my gut and then the dreaded words came 'Sarah, I want this to be your philosophy too', now I'm not one to dread the voice of the Lord, but this was an unwelcome whisper.. Did I mention I love to shop? And that I'm attached to my clothes? Well to cut a long story short... I had a strop; Ignored Jesus for a good hour and pointedly added things to my shopping cart on the top shop website just to make a point. However eventually I got over myself had a good hard think and realised he was so very right. That it would help me to curb my shopping habit. That it would teach me to be more generous with what I have. That it would teach me to be content and grateful. That it would teach me to be more responsible with my money and stick to a budget. It's still a little bit of an unwelcome thought but I'm coming round to the idea... & today on a shopping trip with my Step-sister I actually took the jumper I would probably of just bought to the changing rooms, tried it on and decided that I didn't love it enough to part with something from my current wardrobe so it went back on the racks and I left the shop empty-handed but feeling successful. I have already learnt that I am capable of making reasonable and mature wardrobe purchase choices when I use my head and not just that part of it that drools over slouchy sweaters and chunky scarves...
& I guess more importantly what I'm learning is that Jesus only calls us to do things that are for our good even if they seem painful and unnecessary at the time.
(I also know I am probably making far too big a deal out of this and am definitely far too attached to my wardrobe but I'm learning... and well you know me so what do you expect!)
Basically I am a bit of a shopping addict.. I mean I shop a lot, I spend far too much money on clothes and the result would be a wardrobe that is bursting at the seems and probably enough clothes that I could survive without doing laundry for months, years even.. it's that bad!!! I am also very attached to them all and generally a bit of a hoarder in life anyway so when I came across this on a fashion blog yesterday I was a little bit horrified 'I have a one in one out philosophy'. Meaning that for every clothes purchase made one item will be donated or sold from the current wardrobe. I felt a bit of a twist in my gut and then the dreaded words came 'Sarah, I want this to be your philosophy too', now I'm not one to dread the voice of the Lord, but this was an unwelcome whisper.. Did I mention I love to shop? And that I'm attached to my clothes? Well to cut a long story short... I had a strop; Ignored Jesus for a good hour and pointedly added things to my shopping cart on the top shop website just to make a point. However eventually I got over myself had a good hard think and realised he was so very right. That it would help me to curb my shopping habit. That it would teach me to be more generous with what I have. That it would teach me to be content and grateful. That it would teach me to be more responsible with my money and stick to a budget. It's still a little bit of an unwelcome thought but I'm coming round to the idea... & today on a shopping trip with my Step-sister I actually took the jumper I would probably of just bought to the changing rooms, tried it on and decided that I didn't love it enough to part with something from my current wardrobe so it went back on the racks and I left the shop empty-handed but feeling successful. I have already learnt that I am capable of making reasonable and mature wardrobe purchase choices when I use my head and not just that part of it that drools over slouchy sweaters and chunky scarves...
& I guess more importantly what I'm learning is that Jesus only calls us to do things that are for our good even if they seem painful and unnecessary at the time.
(I also know I am probably making far too big a deal out of this and am definitely far too attached to my wardrobe but I'm learning... and well you know me so what do you expect!)
Tuesday 16 August 2011
Sometimes I suck...
...at blogging that is!! Not many other things being rather fantastic and all... I joke with you but in all seriousness I have been unbelievably appauling at blogging and I have a couple of reasons for you. One would be that university is crazy busy and I struggle to find time to write but the second and much more recent reason for my absence would be that (and in the interest of openness I will now share some rather intimate details of my walk with Jesus)... up until about a week ago I have been standing with Jesus at arms length and my back turned in the opposite direction; close enough to ignore I had a problem but definitely far enough away for there to be one. It took sitting by a poolside in the South of France looking out over the most beautiful valley and being hit by God's creation for me to realise just how far away I was and actually pay attention to the slap in the face Jesus just gave me. It was definitely the wake up call I needed. The floods of tears that followed that night as I broke down on my knees on the cold hard bathroom floor was one of the most raw and strangely beautiful moments of repentance and forgiveness that Jesus & I have ever shared and it has change me. Ever since I feel more aware of my own walk, my own spiritual journey and more in tune with the one who made me!
Every single holiday I've come home and strayed a little and it wasn't until a conversation with my old youth leader and dear friend, Anna, today that I realised the reason. I have always been an active Christian; I mean within 3 months of meeting the Lord I was a youth leader, and don't get me wrong this is an incredible thing however, it does mean that the majority of what I know as a Christian is service. So when I come home and I'm not really serving I am a little bit lost in a very big church, then when you add in a non-Christian family and living far enough out of town to make meeting people a bit of an effort, I start to fall apart a little bit. I NEED TO LEARN TO RECEIVE but I didn't realise this until today... so I guess today is the first day for me in a journey to learn to just receive and be OK and not feel guilty about taking a break from serving over the holidays.
When I think about it makes total sense because I am always so busy serving in Winchester that sometimes I get so caught up in being Sarah the youth worker/evangelism co-ordinator that I forget to just be Sarah. This is probably my biggest reason for pre-momentum excitement because I am so looking forward to having loads of time to be with Jesus and just receive what he wants to give me, what he has for Sarah, just his Sarah without any titles and responsibility to get in the way. There's a time and place for seeking his heart for those too but for now it is a time to seek his heart for me. And I could not be more excited :) :)
I can't even put into words how different I feel now I have turned back around into God's embrace but I will say that I have never felt more at peace and filled with joy ever before. I feel like the fruits of the spirit are growing in me; I feel filled and alive!
Every single holiday I've come home and strayed a little and it wasn't until a conversation with my old youth leader and dear friend, Anna, today that I realised the reason. I have always been an active Christian; I mean within 3 months of meeting the Lord I was a youth leader, and don't get me wrong this is an incredible thing however, it does mean that the majority of what I know as a Christian is service. So when I come home and I'm not really serving I am a little bit lost in a very big church, then when you add in a non-Christian family and living far enough out of town to make meeting people a bit of an effort, I start to fall apart a little bit. I NEED TO LEARN TO RECEIVE but I didn't realise this until today... so I guess today is the first day for me in a journey to learn to just receive and be OK and not feel guilty about taking a break from serving over the holidays.
When I think about it makes total sense because I am always so busy serving in Winchester that sometimes I get so caught up in being Sarah the youth worker/evangelism co-ordinator that I forget to just be Sarah. This is probably my biggest reason for pre-momentum excitement because I am so looking forward to having loads of time to be with Jesus and just receive what he wants to give me, what he has for Sarah, just his Sarah without any titles and responsibility to get in the way. There's a time and place for seeking his heart for those too but for now it is a time to seek his heart for me. And I could not be more excited :) :)
I can't even put into words how different I feel now I have turned back around into God's embrace but I will say that I have never felt more at peace and filled with joy ever before. I feel like the fruits of the spirit are growing in me; I feel filled and alive!
Sunday 27 March 2011
home sweet home...
It's the holidays......... we broke up from uni on Thursday and I am already having a wonderful holiday!! But I am starting to feel that the holiday will be busier than Winch life ever is and that the work that needs to be done will be heavily neglected! I have a sinking feeling that God is going to teach me loads about work ethic and prioritising over this month long break. Which both excites me and fills me with dread because I would much rather be sitting in Starbucks all day or lounging in the sun but God obviously has bigger plans!
Coming home is amazing though.. I completely adore Winchester but there is just something about entering Cheltenham that always feel right!!
&&& I just found out that one of my best friend's is getting MARRIED!!!!! I am sooooo excited.... God is so turning his life around this year and it's really amazing to see... GOD IS GOOD..ALL THE TIME!
Anyway got to run my Grandparents are here!!!!!! Happy Jesus lovin Sunday :)
Coming home is amazing though.. I completely adore Winchester but there is just something about entering Cheltenham that always feel right!!
&&& I just found out that one of my best friend's is getting MARRIED!!!!! I am sooooo excited.... God is so turning his life around this year and it's really amazing to see... GOD IS GOOD..ALL THE TIME!
Anyway got to run my Grandparents are here!!!!!! Happy Jesus lovin Sunday :)
Thursday 24 March 2011
ET FTK...
So when Catherine asked me to be on CU committee this year I admit I was a little petrified especially when she told me that they wanted two of us to make up the Evangelism Team. It was the scariest thing because she wasn't allowed to say who it was, so I it was literally diving into the unknown. It could of turned out disastrously but God is sooooooo good!!!
LUCY TENNANT, who would be the other half of ET, IS AN ABSOLUTE LEGEND. You so know God is in control when you are called to be in partnership with someone you didn't really know but it turns out you're visions are so in line. I feel like God is teaching me so much about partnership and teamwork and it's amazing. It's really quite incredible to be doing this together and it is such a blessing to have someone you can always turn to for support. Even the fights are incredibly entertaining!!! It's also just really cool to be a team within a team and be able to play to each other's strengths rather than have to do everything solo!
This is such a random post but we are doing an alpha talk together tonight and today I am just thinking about how much of a blessing Lucy has already been in my life and it's only been a month or two....
SO EXCITED ABOUT WHAT GOD IS DOING THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!
Basically I JUST LOVE LUCY...... & I LOVE JESUS EVEN MORE...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was a little unsure whether to say the next part but in faith I am going to step out and say people are going to enter his kingdom at alpha tonight!!!!!!!!!! So please be praying because the Lord is bringing revival and he wants us to get on board!!!!!!!
LUCY TENNANT, who would be the other half of ET, IS AN ABSOLUTE LEGEND. You so know God is in control when you are called to be in partnership with someone you didn't really know but it turns out you're visions are so in line. I feel like God is teaching me so much about partnership and teamwork and it's amazing. It's really quite incredible to be doing this together and it is such a blessing to have someone you can always turn to for support. Even the fights are incredibly entertaining!!! It's also just really cool to be a team within a team and be able to play to each other's strengths rather than have to do everything solo!
This is such a random post but we are doing an alpha talk together tonight and today I am just thinking about how much of a blessing Lucy has already been in my life and it's only been a month or two....
SO EXCITED ABOUT WHAT GOD IS DOING THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!
Basically I JUST LOVE LUCY...... & I LOVE JESUS EVEN MORE...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was a little unsure whether to say the next part but in faith I am going to step out and say people are going to enter his kingdom at alpha tonight!!!!!!!!!! So please be praying because the Lord is bringing revival and he wants us to get on board!!!!!!!
Wednesday 16 March 2011
the joy of JESUS...
Today is Wednesday and I am insanely happy, in fact I have been seriously happy since Saturday actually, something just clicked actually and ever since I just can't really stop smiling! To me this feels new but then a friend mentioned today that I am in fact always happy, except maybe when i am hungry but thats another story, and it made me think that Saturday was sort of just a new burst of Jesus' joy and it's just generally making me buzzed!
I'm having so much fun just living life.
And I think the coolest part is that there have obviously been not so great things happen over the last few days but there is something about living life with Jesus that makes earthly rubbish shrink down in comparison!
I don't really know the reason for this post other than that I wanted people to know the Jesus brings so much Joy! Although thinking about it now the same friend text me just saying 'the joy of the lord is our strength' last night and it all seems to make sense because of his joy we are strong!
& my prayer for anyone that reads this is that you will be filled with his joy and that whatever you are facing right now it would make you strong. That because of him you know that you can face all things and come out the other side, and that just the thought of that alone would make you even more joyful!!
IT'S CRAZY STUFF THIS JESUS LOVIN'..... AND SERIOUSLY FUN :)
& I am now going to get into bed and read 'God knows my name' by Beth Redman... majorly good read and it's really blessing me with spiritual truths that sort of start to slip through the net a little, if you haven't read it I would definitely recommend you give it a go.. well worth it!
I'm having so much fun just living life.
And I think the coolest part is that there have obviously been not so great things happen over the last few days but there is something about living life with Jesus that makes earthly rubbish shrink down in comparison!
I don't really know the reason for this post other than that I wanted people to know the Jesus brings so much Joy! Although thinking about it now the same friend text me just saying 'the joy of the lord is our strength' last night and it all seems to make sense because of his joy we are strong!
& my prayer for anyone that reads this is that you will be filled with his joy and that whatever you are facing right now it would make you strong. That because of him you know that you can face all things and come out the other side, and that just the thought of that alone would make you even more joyful!!
IT'S CRAZY STUFF THIS JESUS LOVIN'..... AND SERIOUSLY FUN :)
& I am now going to get into bed and read 'God knows my name' by Beth Redman... majorly good read and it's really blessing me with spiritual truths that sort of start to slip through the net a little, if you haven't read it I would definitely recommend you give it a go.. well worth it!
Monday 14 March 2011
made with love...
OK so firstly sorry for the post after post after post today but I had the afternoon off and God is obivously speaking a lot so I wanted to share it with you!!
I just pulled a cardigan out of the wardrobe and noticed the label for the first time ever... underneath the usual brand and size nonsense thats always there there was a tagline that said 'made with love' and I just thought that was seriously cool that I could wear things that were covered in love. Which sort of hit me that, that is exactly what I do daily because I walk around covered in the blood of Christ which is the most perfect expression of love. I walk around wearing a coat of love.... majorly cool!!
And then a second thought hit me that it was pretty crazy to say something was made with love until I realised that if I had a label it would say exactly that because I WAS MADE WITH LOVE. God created us out of love and every detail of us he thought about intimately. He literally considered everything about you and me which is beyond understanding in itself. It's such a crazy thought to think that he made me with all the love in the world in his heart and spoke me into being because he had so much love he couldn't keep it inside. He had to make me, he had no choice because to deny the desire to love me would be to deny himself.
Basically what I'm saying is GOD LOVES ME AND GOD LOVES YOU!!!
AND JESUS IS INSANELY COOL.... but that's a whole lifetime of blog posts really so stay tuned I guess!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH JESUS I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just pulled a cardigan out of the wardrobe and noticed the label for the first time ever... underneath the usual brand and size nonsense thats always there there was a tagline that said 'made with love' and I just thought that was seriously cool that I could wear things that were covered in love. Which sort of hit me that, that is exactly what I do daily because I walk around covered in the blood of Christ which is the most perfect expression of love. I walk around wearing a coat of love.... majorly cool!!
And then a second thought hit me that it was pretty crazy to say something was made with love until I realised that if I had a label it would say exactly that because I WAS MADE WITH LOVE. God created us out of love and every detail of us he thought about intimately. He literally considered everything about you and me which is beyond understanding in itself. It's such a crazy thought to think that he made me with all the love in the world in his heart and spoke me into being because he had so much love he couldn't keep it inside. He had to make me, he had no choice because to deny the desire to love me would be to deny himself.
Basically what I'm saying is GOD LOVES ME AND GOD LOVES YOU!!!
AND JESUS IS INSANELY COOL.... but that's a whole lifetime of blog posts really so stay tuned I guess!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH JESUS I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
slow songs...
I am definitely a 'i love the worship songs where we can just dance around and celebrate in the victory of the cross' type but literally just singing away in my room right now I realised just how powerful the slow songs are. And I don't mean songs that drag or anything I just mean songs that give you time to actually think about what you are singing as you sing it. Because when you sing 'everyone needs compassion' slow enough to actually realise what you're singing the truth of it hits you and personally i catch my breathe and almost can't believe I sang it in such a offhand sort of way for so long...
so the challenge is this: think about what you're singing the next time you worship our awesome God and see what he has to teach you from the words that you normally sing without really thinking :)
so the challenge is this: think about what you're singing the next time you worship our awesome God and see what he has to teach you from the words that you normally sing without really thinking :)
Send revival start with me.....
So God has been speaking to me about revival for a while and I sort of didn't believe it was actually going to happen until {ONEL!FE} where God totally gave me a slap round the face (not literally obviously) and was like 'SARAH WAKE UP I'M BRINGING REVIVAL CAN YOU PLEASE STOP DOUBTING AND GET INVOLVED' it was one of those times where you become so inspired and you literally do come home changed. I'm not one to live off a conference high but it definitely woke me up and made me stand up and get involved with what God is doing and beg him for more. So I'M SPEAKING IN FAITH... STANDING READY FOR ACTION.... && FIGHTING FOR HIS KINGDOM!!
and the crazy thing is that since I started doing these things I am really seeing God move powerfully, he is stirring up revival and I get to be a part of it... :D :D :D
But more than that it's like now God has made me expectant I am hearing about Revival more and more and I JUST KNOW THAT IT'S COMING!!! At church last night we listened to the most amazing talk on Joshua 3:5 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you' all about how for revival and society to be transformed we, the church, have to be transformed first. We need to be living lives that make people want to know about Our GOD and we need to BE EXPECTANT!!
So during the talk I was inspired to do just that consecrate myself! And the start for me is to be daily on my knees begging God to bring his spirit and save my friends, my university, my family, my city and my nation! It's not going to be an easy road I know that for sure but it's going to be sooooooooooooo worth it!
AND I'M SO STUPIDLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT GOD IS GOING TO DO!
p.s. I should soooo be writing an essay right now but this is so so so exciting I needed to share it... it's way more exciting than essays... but anyway that's enough procrastination back to work.... boo!!!!
and the crazy thing is that since I started doing these things I am really seeing God move powerfully, he is stirring up revival and I get to be a part of it... :D :D :D
But more than that it's like now God has made me expectant I am hearing about Revival more and more and I JUST KNOW THAT IT'S COMING!!! At church last night we listened to the most amazing talk on Joshua 3:5 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you' all about how for revival and society to be transformed we, the church, have to be transformed first. We need to be living lives that make people want to know about Our GOD and we need to BE EXPECTANT!!
So during the talk I was inspired to do just that consecrate myself! And the start for me is to be daily on my knees begging God to bring his spirit and save my friends, my university, my family, my city and my nation! It's not going to be an easy road I know that for sure but it's going to be sooooooooooooo worth it!
AND I'M SO STUPIDLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT GOD IS GOING TO DO!
p.s. I should soooo be writing an essay right now but this is so so so exciting I needed to share it... it's way more exciting than essays... but anyway that's enough procrastination back to work.... boo!!!!
Friday 11 March 2011
BEAUTIFUL..
and in an effort to remember the truth I have decided to stick up a lovely picture of me hanging out in the flowers as...
TO MY HEAVENLY DADDY I AM FAR MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN THOSE FLOWERS ARE TO ME!!!!!
In the battle of truth vs lies I AM CHOOSING TRUTH!!
TO MY HEAVENLY DADDY I AM FAR MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN THOSE FLOWERS ARE TO ME!!!!!
In the battle of truth vs lies I AM CHOOSING TRUTH!!
i believe.....
So as I sit in my room after doing loads all day the song 'affirmation' came on in the calm after the storm or so to speak. It's a song that literally goes I believe..... I believe..... and each line is just a fact about what whoever wrote the song believes and it really made me think about how many things we actually do believe without realising it. There are things in my life that I have probably always believed without even thinking about it. And I mean the good and the bad. It really challenged me to think about what I believe. The Oxford Dictionary defines believe as to 'accept that something is true, especially without proof'. Which really challenges me because as I thought about it it made me think that I probably do believe outright lies about myself as easily as I believe that Jesus died for me. And It's just not right!!!!
So today I am asking him for his truth and to let that be the basis of my beliefs! I want to honor him in everything I believe and not just the 'spiritual' things! I guess it's time to get on our knees again and apologise for believing Satan's lies and ask him to bring his truth and let that be the beliefs that shape our lives.... Care to join me????
and on a total God is so good at helping me stand true to Lent that one of the lines in the song is 'I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you'. As I am giving up facebook and snacky rubbish for lent this totally made me remember that this Lent I am turning to what is good for me and that means see you later Junk and HELLO MORE OF JESUS..... YES PLEASE.... DEFINITE UPGRADE!!!!!!!!!!!!
So today I am asking him for his truth and to let that be the basis of my beliefs! I want to honor him in everything I believe and not just the 'spiritual' things! I guess it's time to get on our knees again and apologise for believing Satan's lies and ask him to bring his truth and let that be the beliefs that shape our lives.... Care to join me????
and on a total God is so good at helping me stand true to Lent that one of the lines in the song is 'I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you'. As I am giving up facebook and snacky rubbish for lent this totally made me remember that this Lent I am turning to what is good for me and that means see you later Junk and HELLO MORE OF JESUS..... YES PLEASE.... DEFINITE UPGRADE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday 8 March 2011
dial-a-pancake...
So as a CU today we are going to be making pancakes and delivering them to people's houses and I feel like God is making me really expectant. At our Church weekend away this past weekend, which was immense, the speaker was talking about how we will never get more than we expect, so I am really glad that God is turning me into an expectant person.
I really want to bless my university and just let God use me to spread some joy! As we feed the hungry students this evening we will also be answering a question about God/Christianity etc and it really excites me that we get to share the gospel and give out food at the same time...
I'm getting so excited about what God is going to do :)
Sorry for the randomness of such a message but I'm really excited about JESUS and I wanted to share it.... plus I'm saying bye-bye Facebook for Lent so I think I might be posting a bit more as I have been wasting so much time fruitlessly sitting on Facebook and I would much rather be sharing what God is doing!
I really want to bless my university and just let God use me to spread some joy! As we feed the hungry students this evening we will also be answering a question about God/Christianity etc and it really excites me that we get to share the gospel and give out food at the same time...
I'm getting so excited about what God is going to do :)
Sorry for the randomness of such a message but I'm really excited about JESUS and I wanted to share it.... plus I'm saying bye-bye Facebook for Lent so I think I might be posting a bit more as I have been wasting so much time fruitlessly sitting on Facebook and I would much rather be sharing what God is doing!
Thursday 3 March 2011
give it all.....
So I was subtly reminded tonight that I have been neglecting this beautiful blog and it made me want to write something about what I have been learning recently...
I think the night I became a Christian was a little bit disconnected from the time I actually completely submitted myself to Jesus and literally gave him everything. The night I became a Christian I definitely fell head over heels in love but I didn't really understand the joy that was involved in handing over control of everything for a few months. I gave my summer to learning more about God but I still tried to control my life, I still made my decisions on my own and I still decided what I thought was best for me in my life. But then one day it struck me that if this relationship was going to work I was going to have to give everything. I wanted to live a crazy life for Jesus, I wanted to be his hands on the earth and I wanted to be his voice to his broken world but I wanted to do it with myself in the driving seat. BUT IT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS. If we want to be living the life he has called us to then we have to submit to him and trust that he will honor it. We have to literally give him every single part of us for him to use us to the max. Jesus said he came to give us life to the full but surely we can't possibly claim that unless we give him everything???
JESUS GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR US NOW IT'S OUR TURN.
Because if we hold back we are held back!!!!
I heard someone on a podcast say a while ago that 'You are only going to get out of this experience with Jesus what You put into it' and it's soooooooo true. We will reap what we sow. It's as simple as that.
So today I am getting on my knees and giving it all, all over again. I'm asking him to forgive me for what I have tried to claim as my own and I am asking him to take all of me and use it for his glory!
Will you join me??
If we want to live lives that can have a real impact and can truly bring him glory and do the work of his kingdom this is the only way; to give everything!!
I think the night I became a Christian was a little bit disconnected from the time I actually completely submitted myself to Jesus and literally gave him everything. The night I became a Christian I definitely fell head over heels in love but I didn't really understand the joy that was involved in handing over control of everything for a few months. I gave my summer to learning more about God but I still tried to control my life, I still made my decisions on my own and I still decided what I thought was best for me in my life. But then one day it struck me that if this relationship was going to work I was going to have to give everything. I wanted to live a crazy life for Jesus, I wanted to be his hands on the earth and I wanted to be his voice to his broken world but I wanted to do it with myself in the driving seat. BUT IT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS. If we want to be living the life he has called us to then we have to submit to him and trust that he will honor it. We have to literally give him every single part of us for him to use us to the max. Jesus said he came to give us life to the full but surely we can't possibly claim that unless we give him everything???
JESUS GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR US NOW IT'S OUR TURN.
Because if we hold back we are held back!!!!
I heard someone on a podcast say a while ago that 'You are only going to get out of this experience with Jesus what You put into it' and it's soooooooo true. We will reap what we sow. It's as simple as that.
So today I am getting on my knees and giving it all, all over again. I'm asking him to forgive me for what I have tried to claim as my own and I am asking him to take all of me and use it for his glory!
Will you join me??
If we want to live lives that can have a real impact and can truly bring him glory and do the work of his kingdom this is the only way; to give everything!!
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