Living in spite of pain

So let me tell you a story. I was about to type up this post when I heard a very loud, screaming noise. It was the fire alarm. And it turned out not to just be a drill. Guess what, I forgot to grab my phone and my computer. Nothing to keep me occupied while we waited to go back inside. Fortunately, the fire was able to be put out quickly. And I guess it's not such a bad idea to be away from electronic devices once in a while, as long as they don't get burned!
Anyway, to the topic at hand. I shared this topic before, with slight variations, in a different setting. I don't know your story, or your background. There is a lot of pain in the world. You may have been abused, you may have been hurt, or you may have caused pain to yourself because you had such pain in your world. You may have even been hurt by a false perception of God. Everyone has a different story. I have experienced pain, but it can't even compare to the pain that many others in the world have experienced. It hurts me to think of all the pain that friends and loved ones have experienced. Even more so all those in the world I don't know. It must hurt God even more, and I believe it does.
I just want to share with you how much God loves you. No matter what you've done, He still loves you. Whether you have been abused, or someone has caused you pain. Or even if you are the one who went wrong, hurting someone else, and causing yourself pain in the process. For all of you, I just want you to know that God still loves you. No matter what you've done, or what has been done to you, He loves you anyway.
Romans 5:7,8 reads, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." John 3:16 is also one of my favorite verses. If you know it, you can close your eyes and say it. If not, here it is: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God loves us anyway, no matter what. To close, I would like to share one of my new favorite songs, written by Josie Minikus and sung by her and her husband Matt:

"To My gentle searching eyes there have been no disguises 

Nothing that you have done that you can hide 

I've seen you in your darkness, sin and know the pain and guilt within,

But the question on your mind am I worth saving anyway 

I see you child for who you are 

Know that sin has left its ugly scars 

But I know who you were meant to be 

And My love will set you free 

So come weary child rest beside Me for awhile 

I know your care the burdens that you bear

Abide in My love hide in My love 

Don't push Me away ashamed and afraid 

I know who you are 

And I love you anyway My child 

So bring Me all your wants and needs 

I promise they can't burden Me 

Most desperate one cannot exceed My care for you 

And bring Me all your doubts and fears 

The hurt you haven't faced in years 

The wounded heart you stuffed inside 

The tears you've tried so hard to hide 

So come weary child rest beside Me for awhile 

I know your care the burdens that you bear 

Abide in My love hide in My love 

Don't push Me away ashamed and afraid 

I know who you are 

And I love you anyway My child 

So come to Me just the way you are 

Though you've fallen hard and wandered far 

Stop trying to be so brave so strong 

It's okay to cry child tears aren't wrong 

So come weary child rest beside Me for awhile 

I know your care the burdens that you bear

Abide in My love hide in My love 

Don't push Me away ashamed and afraid 

I know who you are 

And I love you anyway My child 

Yes I love you always My child"

And here is the link to the song:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVluMzsBpLs 

Have a good rest of your day

~~~Sara 

For such a time as this

 (This is something I wrote for a speaking activity last year at ARISE)

Once upon a time....
There was a brave and beautiful young woman named Hadassah, or better known as Esther. I really admire her and she has become one of my ideals, someone I personally want to be like, next to Jesus. There are several reasons for my admiration. Everything Esther did shows God's love. Her life shines like a star in the Bible account. Which, incidentally, is what Esther means. Her original name, Hadassah, means compassion. I think both of these names describe who she was and who I want to be.
Esther was probably a kind and compassionate young woman, who cared for others. I imagine she was humble, serving others with hardly a thought for herself. All things she did showed God's love. Her life was a shining star- God shone through her. Because of this, she was beautiful. Yet, she remained humble. In spite of her beauty, she was not conceited, or overly focused on herself. She remained focused on others, and that is why she was beautiful.
One day, she became part of a contest of women all eagerly waiting to see if they would be the next queen. In the midst of this change she remained true to God, though for security reasons she did change her name. Eventually, she did become queen. Now in the kingdom there was a man who had worked his way up to the highest position, short of being king, in the kingdom. His intents, however were not good. When he saw Mordecai would not bow down to him, he thought to get rid of all the Jews.
Isn't that how Satan works? He wants to wipe out all of God's people, to ruin God's plan for humanity. But God steps in every time. Through supernatural power, or angels, or through us. I think He prefers to use us in His plans whenever possible. This time, He chose Esther. She was willing to answer His call. Are we willing to listen to God's call and do what He asks of us? I want to be willing to do what God asks of me and give everything up for Him as did Esther.
In Esther 4:13,14, it says, "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace anymore than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
I want to break this verse down a little. First, we should not think that we are so sheltered that we will escape persecution. If we aren't willing to share God no matter what the cost, other calamity may come to us and others will share the message, but we may be lost. Perhaps we have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.
In order to be ready for the hard times, we need to be so grounded in God's love and selfless service to others that we will be prepared and God will keep us strong, as He did Esther. Then we will be able to say, as did Esther, "If I perish, I perish," Esther 4:16. Someday, we may have to go against the law of man in order to obey the laws of God- that's fine. Esther did, too. Peter did. Even Jesus did. It's nothing to be afraid of.
If we have a firm relationship in Jesus then nothing will scare us anymore. Then, and only then, will we be able to give up everything for God and for others. To go to the greatest lengths for God and what we believe. Like Esther, I want to love God and others so much and be selfless to the point that I am not focused on myself anymore. I want to give all to God, even my life if that's what it comes to. Jesus gave all for me, why shouldn't I be willing to give everything to Him?
He died for me and for you! So lay down your life for Him and to Him. Give Him everything, because you love Him and He gave you His all, even His life.
In John 3:16, it says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
That's the beauty of it. He gave His all, out of love, so that we wouldn't have to perish. And yet, because of our love for Him, we can be willing to give our everything, even our lives for Him. And we won't care about our life on earth anymore, because we have a heavenly one that will be so much more beautiful and glorious. All we will want to do is invite as many other people to share that beautiful eternity with Him. In closing, I want to remind you of the importance of love to this relationship. In John 15:13, it says, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. If we really love God, our love will so grow that we will give everything for God and for others. We will give our lives for our friends, and our enemies too. I hope you will get to experience this love and relationship with God and others so instead of being selfishly focused on yourself and your wants, you will shine like Esther and be willing to give everything to God. That is my prayer and I hope it is yours too.

Growing up Sheltered- A good thing?

I grew up in a home that wasn't exactly strict, but there were lots of things that I was sort of sheltered from. I mean, I knew there were people who had sex before marriage, did drugs, alcohol and all that, but it never interested me. I have never been rebellious really. It probably helped that I was homeschooled for awhile and then went/am going to Christian schools for the rest of my education. But regardless, I have never desired to stand out from the crowd. The crowd for me, is full of Christian youth who are all like me. In some ways, we are different, but in others we are not. Many of us grew up in Christian families and were homeschooled and/or went to Christian schools for a majority of our education. I think in any group of young people there is peer pressure to behave a certain way, but the difference is that in Christian communities the pressure is not to do bad things necessarily. And I don't think it is a bad thing to shelter children for a time. They need to have a moral code ingrained in them before they are exposed to the world and its dangers. They need a strong foundation.
Another thing that I have been thinking about is the reason I would go to a Christian college. I want it to be because I am craving companionship with other people who are striving to follow God and His commandments, not because I am trying to be sheltered from the world. I know I struggle and I need the support of other people who struggle but who fight for the right, who have convictions and who follow the better way even when it is hard. We don't have enough time in this world to dwell on the things of earth, but we must put good things in our minds. And I think we need to trust in God's shelter, for He is the one who will guide and protect us when the storms beat against our foundation.

Princess in God's House

Okay this post is a bit of a mimicking of my good friend Brooke. You should really read her blog, by the way. It is in my blog reading list. Sometimes I have a hard time thinking of what to write, especially if I am hungry, and I just got back home from college after spending nearly a week with my cousins and other family. If you don't have thirteen cousins and six of them are under the age of eight, you don't know what fun is. I'll write about that in another post, sometime. After I quench my hunger, maybe...did I mention that I am really hungry right now? Well, I am.
Anyway, my name is Sara. Sara Elisabeth. Sara means princess, and Elisabeth means house of God. So I am a princess in the house of God. We are all children of God, princes and princesses. And to be in the house of God can be accomplished if we have Him in our lives, He will always be with us and we will live in His presence.
I like how my name reminds me to live like God wants. Princesses don't live life all fun and games. They have life just as hard as the rest of us and they still live nobly and without complaining. They have to be the example for everyone else. What they do is being watched by everyone else. They have to act happy and carefully watch their public image to ensure that they are being a good example.
Now that I think about it, that is similar to how we are watched as Christians. Everyone looks at us and if we mess up or not. It is important to be kind and loving toward everyone so they can see God's character through us. But that cannot be accomplished if we don't let God into our lives, and be constantly in His house. We need His presence in our lives in order to really live like His children. Since He is the King of Kings, we are Princesses and Princes- if we accept Him into our lives. My prayer is that I can live like a Princess as my name suggests, every day. May God help me.
Catch you next time readers,
Sara

Update on my life

So, I haven't written for awhile. Life is busy and I just forgot I guess..I am sorry.
Anyway I graduated from high school May 2017. I had a summer of relaxation with some work here and there. Last August I went to Oregon for a program called ARISE, based on evangelism and learning doctrine in a new light. It lasted three months. Initially, I have to admit, I was apprehensive about going. But from the very first I felt welcomed. The people there were really amazing, the food and accommodations were great, and the nature and scenery on the campus there was beautiful. But the most amazing part was learning about how much God loves me, and how to be vulnerable and open with other people.
Part of the program was largely focused on classes where we learned all sorts of things. There were doctrinal based classes, classes based on how to do evangelism, classes on things like health or how to deal with homosexuality. Two of the classes really stand out to me. The first was about the crucifixion. It's amazing what Jesus did for us. The explanation was done so beautifully that for the first time I was almost crying-certainly I felt like it-and others in the class felt the same way. It was maybe the first time I really understood Jesus' sacrifice for us. Even though I grew up hearing this all my life, it never really sunk in until now.
The second class I was awed by was the class on the second coming. It was so beautiful to think about Jesus coming back to get us someday. Someday soon we won't have to deal with heartache and pain anymore. Someday soon all the diseases will be gone. I know I personally have a cousin with Rett Syndrome, which is heartbreaking and horrible, but it is our reality. She is a beautiful smiling girl with an amazing smile, and so strong in spite of all she goes through. She cannot walk, she cannot talk, she cannot use her hands, and sometimes she has some trouble eating. Her fingers from lack of use are curled permanently. She has seizures and needs help with basic tasks every day. It breaks my heart to see her suffer.
But someday no one will have to suffer. I won't have to wear glasses. No one will have to worry about bites and stings. The animals won't be afraid of us. Children and babies won't die too young. Everyone will have enough to eat. Cuts and bruises will never hurt us again. The best part is that no one will want to hurt anyone else ever again. We all will have seen how much pain sin has brought and we will all voluntarily abhor sin and everything that comes with it. We will all think about others more than ourselves and consequently will all be perfectly content.
I can't wait for the day when we realize how much Jesus has done for us and we will want to always be like Him, always serving others before ourselves. When that happens, Jesus will come back. When everyone in the world has made a decision one way or the other, Jesus will return soon after that, and we will get to go home with Him if we so choose. Heaven will be so beautiful. Not just because of the plants or the food or the animals. The most amazing part of heaven will be the relational aspect of it. When we all live in perfect harmony and love for one another and our maker. Heaven is less of a place than it is an idea. We can start preparing for heaven right here and now.
At ARISE I felt a little heaven on earth in my heart. We were eating a tasty, healthy, mostly vegan diet. We were surrounded by beautiful scenery. We went to several waterfalls while there, two lakes, and the ocean. Oregon is a beautiful state, one of my favorites. We also went hiking sometimes. Fall in Oregon is a gorgeous season. But the people were the best part. Everyone was so welcoming to me and my personality. I made the most amazing friends there because even though we were living in a dorm and saw each other's craziness all the time, they still loved me. Even the teachers there who had never met me before, were so happy I was there.
ARISE was the best experience of my life hands down. Even in writing I can't explain how amazing, wonderful and beautiful it was. You will just have to go there yourself. I promise you won't regret it. If you want a better relationship with God and others, this is just the thing for you. You might have to pay some money, but it will be totally worth it. If you would like to find out more about this amazing program, you can find out about it at willyouarise.com. If you don't want to leave home there is also an online program which is somewhat cheaper. Either way, go apply. You won't be sorry. The next set of students will be heading there on August 21. Become apart of our ARISE family.
I am not trying to pressure anyone to be a Christian or follow Jesus, but at least check this out. Your perception of God could have a dramatic and beautiful shift. I hope to meet you someday, maybe in Oregon, maybe in heaven.
Have a good week, Sara