just a couple of thoughts....

hey all.... i so wish i had a bunch of time to write out all the thoughts in my brain. i also realized it has been a chunk of time since i last posted anything, and wanted to "check in".

i just glanced at the list of all the things i hope to accomplish this year (see 2 posts ago), and at first I was overwhelmed. yes, all the things are good and great and fine and dandy. but something has been poking at my li'l brain in the last few days and i wonder what direction this might go. hang with me (and comments are welcome).... the list is a great source of accountability as i keep focused on things that i always seem to be straying from. already i have had a couple of friends say, "hey, how is such and such going?" or "i saw a couple of your goals, and your recent commitment is honoring that!" that is a great encouragement to me.

but i will be very frank... that list is MY list. many things are spiritual and well-intentioned, but i will be honest -- i didn't ask God if these things were on His list. i can say that a few of them definitely are.... but my point is i didn't ask. which brings me to this:
each new year i have a list or a theme that i try to adopt that takes me on a path for a few months (i mean for it to be a year, but honestly, i'm lucky if it squeaks past february or march). recently on a couple of blogs i ran across a thing that has dared me to give up the list and adopt one word.

it's called One Word 2011 . it originated from a blog www.gritandglory.com when Alece started it last year.
choose one word and live that through this year. be open to what God has for you in that one word.
the last few days i've been chewing on this idea... what words speak to me right now? is this something i want to do? and you get the idea... one word keeps coming back to me. and now it almost taunts me and is just daring me to commit to it.

PRAY


i can go into my list of excuses at this moment, but i will not. i admit it. i do not pray as much or for the things i really need to pray for. i'm sure we can all agree to this. yes, i do pray for the big things in life, and i offer up little prayers at the beginning of the day and at dinner. but this just became very personal.
i was recently struck by some of the things that take up real estate in my brain, trying to sort out the solutions, and realized i am not praying through them. i am not asking and expecting God to work mightily through them. i am not allowing God to be God and do the (seemingly) impossible.

i just started a book today by Steven Furtick called Sun Stand Still. i was a little cynical starting the book and had a couple of reservations -- can God really work mightily in my life and through my life as He did with Joshua when He literally made the sun stand still while the battle raged on? God promised Joshua that he would be successful in conquering the Amorites (see Joshua 10) and He stopped the sun mid-day and fulfilled His promise.
as i'm reading the book there are 3 situations at the forefront of my mind (one is a vision/dream i believe God planted, one is a temptation i seek freedom from, and one is a relationship i desire to be changed). i realize that all three of them demand a miracle. i constantly am trying to figure out how sara can conquer these and what the strategy should be, when it's really only GOD that can do it. and i don't think He wants me to sit idly by just waiting for Him to work. i now realize that He wants me actively involved by asking for Him to intervene and believe that He can and will do it (this is part of the audacious faith that Steven talks about it in his book). and it's not just the big things. it's the little things. the Bible talks about praying ceaselessly. this is to pray about everything. even the mundane and boring and monotonous things. so it's everything on the spectrum. and i was silenced by the lack of conversation i have with my Creator about all of it. Again, not trying to get in the overwhelming category by all that i'm not praying for, but just taken aback by the desire God has of me to share with Him all that is in my mind and heart, and to release it to Him and expectantly watch as He works in all of it.

as Christ-followers, our life is not to be mundane and ordinary. Because Jesus was anything but mundane and ordinary. _____________________________________________________________
*this post was originally posted on my blog "stepping through the journey of life" on 1/20/11

Breakfast of Champions!

well, as the first Monday of 2011 comes, it was easy to make this decision for a good breakfast after walking 2 miles. why is it so easy on that "first real day" to do the right thing, and it's so not easy in about 10-14 days? so i'm posting this more for my encouragement, that it can be done, i can do it, and i hope to continue making good decisions this month. it did help also that on stepping on the scale today i saw a number that i haven't seen in quite a while (a good thing!). with the stresses of 2010, i "maxed out" TWICE at my top weight. so with this number peering at me from the scale in the wee hours of the morning i can celebrate that i have lost 10-13 pounds in the last couple of months. i wasn't trying, it just kind of happened. though it definitely provides the boost of momentum to "keep running the race" so to speak.
during my cool down lap of my walk, one of my favorite worship songs was playing on my phone -- "Jesus Paid it All" by Kristian Stanfill. to be honest, i don't focus much on the crucifixion of Christ. in that moment, though, i really did. and as the chorus broke out ("oh praise the One who paid my debt / and raised this life up from the dead") i looked to the bright blue, clear sky, catching the sun breaking through the trees and just was in awe... thank GOD for CHRIST. the one who bore ALL the sins of this world and is now victorious reigning over all, waiting patiently to come again so that all who confess Him with their LIVES may know Him for eternity and dwell with Him.
Heavenly Father, i pray that You consume my life -- that each day starts with You, is surrendered to You, and everything else trickles down from You and time spent with You. Help me to resist the urge to merely "fit you into my day". Thank you for this day of life and help me to live You out as You would have me to. In Jesus' Name, Amen. ____________________________________________
*this post was originally posted on my blog "stepping through the journey of life" on 1/3/11.

new year's in my head

if you happened to catch my above average Facebook activity, you may have caught that New Year’s is a phenomenon that takes over my brain waves. 

all of a sudden my mind jumps to all the things i hope to accomplish, ways i hope to change, activities i want to dare to try, and in general, how i want to improve or how life can be different. new year’s, for me, has the effect like the slates i used to have when i was a kid. the one with the red plastic pencil and the little plastic page that you pull up to erase whatever was previously written. january 1st has that effect of a loud and dramatic pull up on the page, extinguishing the disappointments or failures that have been lingering in my soul. 

i wish to borrow a genius comment from Anne of Green Gables by Miss Stacy to Anne: “tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes in it.” i think of this each new year as i look ahead wondering what awaits this silly girl. the whole experience liberates my imagination as i ponder “what will be?”. 

i start this mental list of all these wonderful ideas i hope to realize. (why is it that my best ideas come when i can’t write them down??)

as the list takes shape in my head, i am reminded at how legalistic i can become. i love lists. i love to cross things off lists. and though many of my ideas have a good intention, i find myself consumed with wanting to cross that item off the list, not because a good thing has necessarily manifested itself in my life, but because I CAN CROSS IT OFF THE LIST. 

so then i must take a step back. is it just about the list? or is it because i truly am willing to invest the time and energy to change or incorporate new habits, or what have you.... 

well, the reality is my life is an atlas of many roads paved with good intentions. let’s be honest. it’s january 2nd. i have no clue what will happen this year. but in the spirit of New Year’s, i am posting a list of what has been circling around this noggin. this may serve as comic relief in 6 months when i look back on this. it may be a source of accountability. or it may become a prayer list for some of the items. 

blogs can be interactive, and i do pray that this becomes so as i share my life. i would love to hear comments, encouragements, et cetera. and without further ado...

sara’s 2011 list

God-centered stuff

seek God more fervently and consistently

read the entire New Testament (i have started a NT in 30 days plan)

have a consistent quiet time with the Lord

read the Bible consistently

set aside sabbath times through the year

be open to what God has to teach me and bring into life

pray for God to reveal His will for our family

relationships

become a better student of my husband

set aside special time for my marriage (including date nights and fun activities)

communicate more and better with my husband

invest in the gals in my life -- be intentional about making time with them

communicate with friends out of town

become less selfish, and more selfless (sounds redundant, but i need to focus on this!)

faith family stuff

host a small group

find an area to serve 

house stuff

do weekly plan sheets to efficiently plan each week’s goings-on

have a consistent schedule re: housework

plan meals for each pay period or month, tying in coupons

balance checkbook each week and pay bills each payday

finish settling the house

frame photos and hang

physical

exercise regimen -- consistency is the key!

train for walking a 10K

walk a 10K (or two??)

lose 20 pounds

doggies

work on training dogs

introduce them to other dogs in the neighborhood

get them on a consistent walking schedule

introduce them to the beach!

get them to the vet for checkups

regular grooming/baths

creative stuff

journal

keep up the blog

start a book review blog?

find creative writing opportunities

read 1-2 books a month (preferably more, but let’s start small!)

photo outings

work on photography

as i wrap this up for the night, i know there are about 50 more things i wanted to include in the list, but of course they elude me now... 

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*this post was originally posted on my blog "stepping through the journey of life" on 1/2/11