Work Fiasco

Welcome back to my blog!

     Tonight has not gone as I had planned. . . I'm not trying to be a spoiled sport or a complainer, but my night at work didn't end up turning out too well. . .
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     I was working this afternoon, and I had to write on a lady's cake for her from the display case. I'm definitely not a pro, and so when I wrote on her cake I did my absolute best as per usual. When her daughter came in to pick it up (an hour and a half later than she said, I might add) she told me I spelled the wrong name. I had written "Jess" after being positive that's what her mom said over the phone. It was a pink cake after all. . . But turns out she said "Jeff". So I scraped off the frosting as best as I could and I fixed my mistake. I asked the daughter if the cake looked okay, she said "yes. thanks." and I apologized again. She assured me it was fine, and she walked out with the cake.
     No big deal, right? I guess not. . .
     Her mom called back an hour or 2 later absolutely furious. Her daughter had told me the cake looked fine, but her mother thought differently. She demanded I reimburse her for the cake or give her another one free. . . I wasn't what to do at this point, because if she thought my cake was "absolutely awful" the first time, she'd think so the second. We didn't have anymore cakes she wanted, and she insisted she needed the cake right now. So I was going to plan on paying her for the cake. . .
     I spent the last hour and a half of work completely panicked for her daughter's return.  . .


She never showed up.


     I normally would've handled that stressful of a situation well, but for some reason this one mistake broke me. I hid in the back of the bakery for a while trying to regain my senses and calm my heart rate down. By the time I was closing the bakery and the daughter hadn't returned, I tried to walk out super quick so I wouldn't run into her. I made it to my car safely  and I drove away with a major load off my shoulders. The lady had bluffed and caused a whole lot of chaos in the bakery.
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     As I write to you all about this, of course a comparison to the Bible comes to mind.
     I made a mistake at work, and when I discovered what I had done all I could do was hide and feel ashamed.
     Sound like some famous married couple in the Bible? Our great great great great great great great.......... grandparents who ate that silly fruit from that silly tree and were ashamed so they hid from God. . .
     Granted, I wasn't hiding from God, nor do I do anything wrong, but I was still embarrassed and upset for what the lady had told me about what I'd done. I hid for a while, hoping I wouldn't have to face her or her daughter.
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     I'm so glad this isn't what we have to do with God. I can mess up again and again, (either knowing I sinned or not knowing) and He will forgive me every time. I don't need to be ashamed by my mistakes, and I don't need to hide from God when I blow it. He loves me anyways.
     When I fail Him, He is faithful and comforts me in my weakness. Even when I mess up more than ever before, I can't even hide from Him. I was very comforted to know that, even though I'll mess up waaaaay more than just one time (like tonight) I never need to hide, run, or worry about God not loving me anymore. When I'm the most broken God wants to love me the most.

"But you love me anyway, it's like nothing in life that I've ever known."
-"You Love Me Anyway" Sidewalk Prophets

Sarah

A Story Of Encouragement

Hey all!

     I hope you've been having a good week! I've had so much homework lately that I haven't had much downtime. As stressed and busy as I've been, something exciting happened at work the other day.
     While I was attending the IF Conference a few weekends ago they challenged us to write down the name of someone we were going to mentor. I'd written a name down, and I'd been inviting her back to church etc. but I wasn't getting any sort of response. Then this new girl showed up to work and I was the only one allowed to train her (I was already super excited that I was requested.)
     As I got to know this girl better I learned she was a very open person, and not in a bad way. She ended up asking me what church I go to, after I mentioned I had to leave early for my Bible Study. When she asked me what my past times were part of my answer was playing music at church and in general. We talked a little bit about her history of attending church, and she said she didn't go regularly because her dad was normally busy or didn't want to go.
     I'd been praying for an opportunity to invest in someone, and God began to tug on my heart during this ordinary work shift with the new girl.
     I ended up telling this girl that if she ever wanted to come to church with me I'd love to have her come with me! She looked at me and was actually excited and said "I'd love that!" I got this burst of happiness and told her that I could pick her up Sunday morning, and if she wanted to she could even stay for Sunday School and I'd introduce her to my youth pastor if she wanted to start coming to youth group! She was really happy about this and actually reminded me herself before I left to text her later with the details for picking her up etc.
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     I'd been working hard to make things work with this other friend of mine, and I was getting discouraged that she wasn't coming to church again. Even though God calls us to be a witness to everyone, He doesn't call us to bring everyone back to Him. We are to shine His light, and show His love.
     I was getting so caught up in needing to be the one who helped this one friend return to the church, that I almost missed this opportunity to help a new friend find God for the FIRST time. I'm excited for Sunday, and I'm excited to bring my new friend to church with me.
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     One of the things we learned at the IF Conference was that after we surrender obedience to God He gives us the courage. Once I was obedient to God telling me to step out in faith He gave me the courage to go through with it and invite this new girl to church with me.
     While I'm a little nervous about how it will go, I'm confident that God is in control of this situation.
     I'd appreciate prayers for this young girl that the Holy Spirit would speak to her during the message and the worship. I'll be praying that I'm able to show her with a real friendship can be like; she hasn't had the best experiences since she moved here a year ago.
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     After this whole deal I've got more confidence to reach out to others about my faith.
     The other day I was sitting outside of my class, waiting for the professor to open the door, and some guy next to me asked me about my purity ring, believing I was married. First, I had an inner chuckle to the fact I looked old enough to be married. Ha! Second, no one has ever said anything about it before so that was unexpected!
     When I told him it was a purity ring he thought I said promise ring. When I corrected him he had no idea what that was. So I told him that my purity ring was a personal symbol for myself that I wouldn't be crossing certain lines before I got married. He wasn't quite sure how to respond, and the situation was a little awkward.
     Meeting this new girl at work changed my entire perspective on things. When I was trying really hard to change someone, nothing happened. When I gave everything to God, everything worked out. Who knew?
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     I hope this story encourages you to continue to live out your faith. Don't try so hard to change someone's life- try hard to live your life the way Jesus would've lived. I can assure you, someone will notice you're different. This girl did :)

"The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper."
-Proverbs 19:8

Sarah

My Sister Bought Me A Dozen Roses

Hey all! Welcome back to my blog.

     With Valentine's Day fast approaching I've been praying for strength and contentment in this season of singleness. Being single can already be a tough place to be, and this holiday doesn't help with that difficulty. Valentine's Day doesn't need to be a bad day for those of us who are single. God has someone so special picked out for us that we probably couldn't even handle it right now. Just wait- He'll show up at the perfect time when we're ready. In the mean time, remember the One who loves you more than anyone else ever will!
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     One of my guy friends says he doesn't like Valentine's Day because you should be loving others every day of the year, not just on February 14. Some of my other friends could care less. One of my girl friend's doesn't even understand why this is a holiday.
     Then there's me.
     I love Valentine's Day. I love how there is a day devoted to showing love and affection, gift giving (if you so choose) and spending time with the people who make you happiest.
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     This holiday brings up some painful memories for me. It was a year ago tomorrow when most of my pain began. It was a year ago that my best friend pointed out my depression to me. It was a year ago that I was trying so hard to be joyful, but the smile was so fake I could barely stop crying. That was the day my best friend told me we needed to take some space from each other. It was painful, but was it a good idea? Most definitely.
     One of the things I am most thankful for this year is friends who stood by me in everything, and a God who has shown me how He shaped me through all the twists and turns of 2016.
     I may not have a boyfriend this year, but I have a God who loves me infinitely more than any man could.
     I spent some time thinking this morning about how far I've come in a year. Last year was absolutely crazy, guys, but it was necessary for my spiritual walk. I'm trying not to overthink about tomorrow, and I'm trying to focus on what I do have versus what I don't. Remembering that waiting for the right guy is better than settling for the wrong guy is tough- But it is so important.
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     My little sister and I wanted to do something cute for Valentine's Day, so we decided rather than being sad we wouldn't be receiving any flowers from boys this year, we'd give each other a bouquet of flowers instead!
     She just got home a little while ago with a dozen roses, all arranged nicely in a glass vase that she filled up herself once she got back. They're some of the prettiest roses I've ever gotten. They smell even better!! I can't wait to go to town and buy her her own bouquet of flowers once I get off work.
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     This was something different we wanted to do to remind ourself that the only love out there isn't from boys. I need to remember to love my sister just as much as I'd love having someone special to spend Valentine's Day with. My sister drives me absolutely crazy, and there's some days we do actually pull each other's hair and scream. . . But then there's the days we cry over something cute we saw, laugh so hard we can barely get up, and hug so hard we can't let go. She's my goofball of a sister who I can count on when life gets the better of me.
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     While my Valentine's Day may be spent differently than normal, and I'll be seeing multiple pictures of the gifts everyone else received. . . I'll be smiling at my own dozen roses than my little sister bought for me thinking "I bet no one else got roses from their sister. Ha!"
     My day won't be a usual one, but we'll be making it special in our own way. I'll post a picture of both of us with our flowers tomorrow morning, but until then I'll be thankful for what I do have versus what I don't.
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     For those of you who are single, take the time tomorrow to embrace the freedom you have right now. Don't be sad you're single, be happy for those who have found God's match for them! Remember, good things come to those who wait. Tomorrow will be kind of tough for me too, but I'd rather spend Valentine's Day happy to be where I am than stressed about being with the wrong person. Don't allow your situation to define how you feel. If you want tomorrow to be a joy-filled, special day than for goodness sakes- make tomorrow a joy-filled, special day! You're in charge of your happiness. . .
     I pray that we don't degrade ourselves tomorrow, but that we embrace who we are. A wise friend once told me, (and I have a shirt that agrees) happiest girls are the prettiest. We don't need a boyfriend for us to experience true joy; that kind of joy only comes from the Father. Let your smile be so genuine and true tomorrow that people think "wow, something is different about her." Use this place you're in right now to shine your light and be a witness to those around you hurting.
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     Have a great Valentine's Day, everyone! Enjoy the sunshine and treat yourself to something you love!

"Above all else, guard you heart, for everything you do flows from it."
-Proverbs 4:23

Sarah

Relishing In His Truth- Branching Out

Hey all! Welcome back to my blog.

     This afternoon I've been thinking back on what I learned at the EFCA Challenge Conference in Louisville, Kentucky this past summer.

     I found all the sermons and promo videos on the EFCA youtube channel. I'd been wanting to listen to sermons in my free time, and there's no better content to soak up than that of Reid Kapple's first sermon at Challenge. So that's the first sermon I listened to today. These sermons are not the usual 25-30 minute sermons I'm used to from my church. These speakers were going at it for 45-60 minutes, so it does take a bit more commitment to listen to an entire sermon.

     Why do I listen to sermons that I've already heard before? Because of what they did to me the first time.

     I absolutely love listening to people who are full of the Spirit and on fire for God get up and speak about it. The goosebumps are real, friends.

     Some of the things I just had to write down and put on the back of my desk were:

• "If we reject the truth of God we will either find ourselves living as gods of our own world or machines in a godless world."
• "Knowing the WHO shapes the WHAT and answers the WHY."
• "Who we are and why we're here is rooted in who God is and what He's done."
• "We were never intended to be who we were created to live for.

     It was the best 45 minutes of my day. I can't wait to watch another sermon later this week. I plan to watch the sermons of the next conference on youtube (since I'm too old to attend again.) I've learned how to work the system hehe

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     This past weekend I was able to attend a local IF: Gathering conference. For those of you who don't know what this is, IF is a women's conference live in Dallas, Texas. It is live streamed all across the world. Some watch it in their pajamas at home, and others (such as myself) gather together at a local church to watch it in a group setting with beautiful tables and lots of yummy treats.

     It was a new environment for me: adult women, no close friends, and I took myself. This was my first conference I went to that was for young women and not high schoolers, and it was the first conference I ever went to by myself. Granted I did get to drive and sit with other ladies from my church, but still.

      I just counted the page in my notebook from the "swag bag" they gave us and, granted these are smaller notebooks, (5" by 7"-- Yes, I checked. . .) I took 22 pages worth of notes! I filled that puppy up with truth and knowledge. It was a test of my sitting still skills (something my quirky and fidgety self has always struggled with,) when I had to sit in a chair from 6-9:30 at night on Friday, and then from 9am-5:15pm the next day. They fed us lunches, so that made it all better. But my gosh! It was SO GOOD! The live stream portion was different and something I didn't quite care for, especially when the worship band would come on. It just wasn't the same.

      I've got my notebook here beside me and I wanted to give some (probably hundreds) of bullet points that stood out to me. This was a women's conference, but most of the truths apply to men and women alike.

• A group of women praying on the living room floor can change the world.
• Discipleship is doing life with others.
• Don't just pray for others, pray for them specifically by name and pour out your heart-- (Small story with this one: I felt God tugging on my heart to call up a friend of mine who moved up to college this fall and invite her back to church. I'd felt this tug since the Wednesday before at my Bible class. This friend of mine turned away from God and the church after she graduated, and I kept wanting to do something, but I'd given up. During this session I couldn't get that little voice in my head to go away, so I wrote down to call this friend on the way home. . . And I did. She had said she'd come back for church on weekends before she left- she came back once, ended up dating a not-so-great guy at campus, and we haven't sen her since. When I called I was sent to voicemail- as I expected- and I left her a voicemail telling her I missed her, loved her, and that I hoped she'd found a good church to go to. I then proceeded to bring up how she said she'd be coming back to our church and how I hoped I'd see her the next day. I had invited my friend to church, and the next morning she did not show up. She also never returned my call, not even with a text. Let me tell ya: obeying God is not always easy, but once I told myself I'd call her it didn't seem so scary. That brings me to my next bullet point. . .)
• Courage comes after our obedience to God.
• Intimacy with God > Ministry for God
• We do what we do, not because we love God, but because He loved us.
• The things I learn today are the things I'll need tomorrow.
• I'm only free to receive the desires of my heart when my desires become God's desires.
• My job is obedience to God- His job is everything else.
• Our everyday habits can be our everyday idolatries.
• Discipleship is what God wants versus what we want.
• Dare to live broken (Don't hide when you're struggling- You could be an incredible encouragement to someone else by showing that it takes courage to be publicly broken.)
• Jesus is the only one who will ever love us to death.
• God can work with anybody, all He wants is a heart of availability.
• Invest in the Word, not for if we fall, but when.
• The young sheep don't know the shepherd's voice yet, but I know His voice. Help the young sheep learn to hear His voice (I'll be writing a blog post on this topic specifically, so keep your eyes out!)
• We are only here for a short while. Don't sit on the bench; get in the game!
• Pour out to God, and He'll pour out to you to pour out into others.
• What if we walked up to the impossible just because God is there?
• When did we receive our calling to ministry? When we got saved. . . (Just let that soak in- Everyone is called to be a missionary of some kind!!!)
• They'll know how much you love God by how you pray.
• It's not about the numbers we receive with our blogs or Bible studies; It's about the 1 (God.)
• Revelation 7:12- (On the live stream there were some speakers who were multilingual, and we all read this verse together out loud. . . It was as if we were in Heaven sining together in everyone's natural tongue. It was so incredible.
• It doesn't matter if you have a doctorate degree, experience, or comfort. . . We are all called to go and make disciples.
• Pray about who God wants you to invest in.
• People need access to our lives so we can truly invest in their lives- be real and open with people.
• You lose your joy because you focus on the mission rather than following Jesus.
• Do small things well.
• You don't have to start a blog or run a huge organization, just love Jesus 100%.
• Coffee dates. Conversation. Hugs. They can change the world. (Community and investing are key.)

What Does Access Look Like?

1. Space and time
2. Stories of experience
3. Being real and vulnerable
4. Revealing your less than perfect self

Be A Disciple:

1. Learner of ways
2. Someone who has done it and is doing it
3. Intentional about community
4. Living their life on mission

Reasons our method of witnessing broke:

1. We have traded being with God for doing things for Him.
2. We're trying to go big when Jesus called us to go small.
3. We blog about sin rather than repenting from it. (I related well to that one.)
4. We love the organization or blog more than the people.

First Things To Be Put First:

1. Daily walking with Jesus
2. Loving people (What it costs us? Discipline.)
3. Jesus becomes our first love while we're on the living room floor praying
4. Turn off the noise.
5. God moves through those who know they're not qualified.
6. Be known for following God more than the TV, being on closet floors more than social media, for doing small things well. . .

     I know all of that was so much, and some of it without its context may have been kind of difficult to follow completely, but that's only a fraction of what I scribbled down in my new notebook! God moved in the lives of dozens of women this past weekend and I was super excited to be a part of it too!

      Tonight I attended a women's event at my church called Influence. The talk was about friendship, and let me tell you, it was needed. I need healthy friendships with other young women. This night gave me some amazing reminders of the friend I should be versus what type of friend to look for only.

     The focus was mainly on the verse Proverbs 27:17

Iron Sharpens Iron

I knew about this verse beforehand, but I had never studied that intensely before. It was good stuff, my friends!!!

     The month of March holds some good opportunities for me, as well. I'm jumping in on the first night of a middle school/high school youth conference with one of my best friends for the messages and music. Then the following day I'm signed up for a women's retreat at my church. From 9am-4pm I will be actively engaging with Jesus while relaxing, snacking, and visiting with my other sisters in Christ. Might I add I'll be the youngest one at this event, too. Oh well. Growing individually takes some discomfort, right? It'll be good for me.

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     I'd love your prayers for my life as I branch out on my own and continue to personalize my faith!!! I'm excited to see all these opportunities arising, and after I'd prayed that God would give me moe chances like this.

     I'd also love you to continue to pray for my friend who left for college and has been ignoring the church. I'm hoping to remember to keep calling her every weekend until God tells me to stop. . . This could be difficult as I know she'll get mad or upset, and the people pleaser in me wants to make her happy and leave her alone if she's content. I know the Holy Spirit will continue to tug on my heart if I give up. He's done it before, and He'll keep doing it too.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

-Proverbs 27:17 NIV

Sarah