Test Everything

The past month or so, Bo and I have had a spiritual awakening/revival in our home.  So many things have been revealed to us and it feels like a veil has literally been pulled off of our eyes.   For many years we have believed things because that is what our parents, school, church has taught us and we just never questioned it.  I implore you not to do that anymore.  I urge you to begin to research what you believe IN SCRIPTURE.  God’s word says to test everything against scripture.  Every holiday, every tradition that you think is true, every lie that you have easily bought into because of that’s just the way it’s always been done.  I believe that we are near a time of tribulation that we have never experienced before.  Our world is out of control and continuing to lose its foundation faster than we can keep up with.  Bo and I have never felt an urge so strongly to study and search the scriptures more than ever so that we can teach our children about Truth so that the enemy cannot deceive them like the Bible says so many of the elect will be.  We have been on our knees in prayer and petition to the Lord that He would protect them from the evil one, Satan, and his angels.  That the Lord’s Angels would put a host around our home and property and each of their lives, that His Holy Spirit would fill us each day and we can be the kind of witnesses we need to be to our children and to those we come in contact with.  If you are not in the word like you should be, I pray that this warning causes you to begin to search for Truth and understanding and wisdom for yourselves.  I pray that you begin to become on fire for His ways, His Spirit, His wisdom.  I pray that my generation begins to rise up.  I pray that you do not sit idly anymore.   Do not be lukewarm.  Do not let the enemy deceive you. 

We do not pretend to know it all, there is so much more to understand...but we will continue to search and pray and watch. 

Thank you for your time and ear. 

Love each of you dearly.

Sarah

The God of Miracles

With every faith test, I feel my belief in the God of miracles grows.  He has done things in this short life of mine that cannot be explained.  It is only by the power of God.  It has not only deepened my relationship with Him, but deepened my worship of Him.

A little over 2 months ago, my daughter Arabella, was playing with my oldest son while I was getting ready to kick a ball around at my 4 year old's soccer practice.  One second she was bouncing a basketball, and the next second she was screaming for me.  I ran over and realized her finger was pinched in a basketball bin.  I opened it and I about passed out right there.  Her fingertip literally fell over.  I'm not very good with blood at all, so I screamed for the coach, who happens to be our children's pastor at church and great friend of mine.  He grabbed her and went to find something to wrap it in to contain the bleeding.  The other coach, who happens to also go to my church and is a Kentucky State Policeman and kind of like the Kentucky SWAT version of police, raced to his car and grabbed his EMT bag.  They then jumped in his vehicle, flicked on the lights, and rushed her to the nearest ER.  By the time I got there, they had contacted UK Children's Pediatric ER and were getting ready to transfer her.  She and I rode in an ambulance to get the best care we could have hoped for.  Once at the ER, they surgically reattached her finger and told us that there was a 50/50 chance for the finger to survive.  A week later, we went to her follow-up appointment and realized it was not going to reattach.  The Dr. thought it best to wait it out and use the black finger as a natural bandaid over the raw flesh under the dead finger.  A month later, he was satisfied that it was ready for another surgery.  Before the surgery, we had many people praying and believing that God was doing a miracle.  Every Dr. we talked to just knew they would be doing a skin graft and there would be no nail because she had ripped the nail bed completely out.  30 minutes later, the surgeon came to find us and said all they did was give her a couple stitches at the top of her finger and stitched on a small piece of plastic to the front of the NAIL GROWING IN THE RIGHT PLACE to protect it in case it was brittle.  We went home in awe, wonder and amazement at the goodness of God.

I had to write this, not only as a testimony to look at for myself, but as a testimony to the amazing power of God.  It is clearly His working and His goodness.  God cares about the smallest things...even a tiny little fingernail of a sweet 2 year old baby girl.  He cares about a sad momma's heart.  He cares about every detail of our lives.  Yet, He is so enormous that these huge moments to us are so tiny in comparison to His greatness.  My worship time with Him is so rich right now.  I cannot stop praising Him for what He's done.  I am believing for more miracles and I know that I know that I know NOTHING is impossible for the God of miracles. 

Thank you to so many who prayed for her. 

Some worship songs about miracles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk0hu1oDSrE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m5oxG3_C5g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De6gZZT1690


Below are some graphic pictures that may turn your stomach, so be aware!

Children's Pastor's drawing of Bella's finger before surgery.

Going Home

In Ambulance

On her way to second surgery!

2 weeks after second surgery

Today!

Coming Soon

I have many roles on this earth.  Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Granddaughter, and those can be broken down even further.  But I what I want most is to be, Follower.  Not a follower in the world's standards, but in God's eyes.  I blow it every day.  I'm human.  I pray that God reveals sin in my life and then when I identify those things, I try to work on them.  I am by no means perfect, but I feel I'm at least a work in progress...pushing and fighting to be more like Him.

What pains my heart is to see the blatant wickedness on this earth.  Yes, I know evil is here.  I know the enemy slowly and methodically breaks down any good here.  I know the Word prophecies that the end will be people who are lovers of self and hate anything true and right.  And we will be persecuted.  I can't help but think we are close.  I can't help but plead with you to be teaching your children the Truth of the Bible.  I think they need to understand and know that possibly in ours/their time, Jesus will return.  And what that looks like is imperative to them being able to stand firm. 

The freedom, not of religion, but to be a follower of Jesus Christ is becoming hated.  People are killed all over the world because of it.  If you stand for Truth, you will be hated.  We came to this country to escape persecution and now we have almost come full circle.

What I encourage you with, is to stand firm.  Keep your eyes open...your hearts ready.  Don't be caught sleeping or oblivious to the signs.  Watch and Be Ready!  Jesus is coming soon!  That is what we have to look forward to.

If you want to read more check out Matthew 24-25, Mark 13

We've been singing this song in our church for a while.  It's my heart's cry. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBHcvJhc6Pk

Joy

I woke up grumpy.  I feel like I haven't slept in weeks.  It's one thing or another throughout the night.  One decides to sleep and the other two need their blankie or a drink, or had a bad dream, or a fever...the list goes on.  I'm tired.  I woke up thinking...this is gonna need strong coffee.   Then I pleaded with the Lord to help me make it through this day.  He responded with, "you are gonna need a strong devo...a strong time with Me."  Ouch.  I had first wanted coffee and to mindlessly scroll through my Facebook feed.  Okay Jesus, if I am gonna make it through today I have to do what I know I must.  So I dragged myself out of bed and sat at the table.  Read a bit, prayed a lot, and started the day.  I'm not going to say it has gone perfect, because that would be a lie.  But, I can say it has gone better than it would have.  I have been more patient this morning.  I have not yelled as much as I could have.  Just a sweet time in His presence helped me be a better mom.  Without Him, the enemy gains his foothold and I am condemning myself at how awful of a mother I am. 

I'm a negative person by nature.  I naturally see what's wrong with the picture.  I have to work at being positive and finding the good.  Small things put me in a bad mood.  I'm a perfectionist at times.  BUT I know, and I can see that the Lord is refining those things in me.  He's helping relax more.  He's helping me not sweep the floor 100 times a day. (it's a sickness)  He's helping me let the toys sit for a bit longer.  Enjoy these small babes. I'm learning to look for the gifts each day.  He's always working out something in us.  Mine is the struggle to see the joys. 

Today's joys...
The sound of the boys playing instead of fighting
Arabella asking me to hold her like a baby
Bella telling her daddy he can't leave without a kiss
The quiet of the schoolroom when they are working on making their fingerprints

Those are a few from this morning.  I challenge you to get a journal and record a few gifts each day and then look back and see the little blessings...the ones that make your heart smile. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Who will you be?

I've always wondered when I look at my children and their completely different personalities, what they will be when they grow up.  Will they choose you, Lord?  And then a good friend of mine told me that I could pray that the Lord would reveal or give me insight into their lives.  So I began to pray, "Lord, show me what they will be.  Show me how to push and hold back in different areas of their lives so that I can teach them what you would want them to know."  I feel like the Lord has given me bits and pieces and spoken little things to me, and those things I have put in my personal journal so that I can look back and see if I was totally crazy, or if the Lord was speaking.  There's little things about each one that I watch and see their strengths.  If you see those in your kids, encourage those strengths.
I can't help but think that Brody will one day be a pastor or evangelist of some kind.  Even though he tells me he wants to be an engineer and build iron man suits...which is a wonderful thing...his discerning and soft spirit tell me otherwise.  He has no fear of speaking to strangers.  He loves to sing and memorize the Word.  He's a different kind of kid.  Last night while the storms were all around us, he decided we should sing, "I am, holding on to you. I am, holding on to you. In the middle of the storm, I am holding on, I am!"  He sang it for a while and then the storm calmed down.  He praised God and said, "He's listening.  He loves me mom.  He did that for me."  Then after a bit the storms came again, and I could hear him in his room singing that song til he fell asleep.  It made me think of Paul in jail praising the Lord despite his circumstances.
This morning we were talking about families and choices and how every choice we make has a consequence.  Then I sat down to drink my coffee.  Bella was on my lap.  He walks over and lays his hands on her and asks if he can pray.  I said of course.  He prays, "Lord, help Bella to choose you Lord.  Help her to make you her Savior.  Help her to follow you."  By the end, I was bawling.  He looks at me like I'm crazy.  All I can say is, "Thank you buddy."
I don't know what the Lord has for His life.  I don't know who he will be.  But I do know God has a great plan.  And He does for you too.  God can still work and is working and you have the choice to follow and be who He has you to be.
Right now, the Lord has called me to be the mother to 3 littles. To raise them in the best way I can and teach them their schooling.  To show them how to live in a world that doesn't choose Him.  When they are gone, I suppose I shall be asking myself, "What now Lord?  What will you have me to be now?"  And He will again have another plan.  

Ready

Angry, sad, disappointed...how I felt yesterday as I read the Supreme Court ruling about something that goes completely against God's Holy Word.  All these questions flooded my mind.  How could we go from a country seeking religious freedom to a country against God completely?  How am I going to teach my children Truth when the government totally goes against that Truth?  And feelings of confusion on loving people, but hating sin...and tolerance and intolerance...

All those emotions swirled inside me last night.  I woke up feeling a little encouraged as I asked the Lord how I am going to navigate these things in this sin-filled world and how I am going to help my children understand.  I felt like the Lord was telling me that I shouldn't be surprised.  He is coming soon and these things are going to happen.  Slowly, the enemy and his evil schemes are going to infiltrate every part of this world, and Jesus is going to come back.  When the leaders of this country believe it's ok to kill innocent children, marry outside the context of His Word, take God out of school, let crimes inside our government go unpunished, take away rights of parents, the list goes on far above my comprehension...the breakdown of a once God-founded country will eventually fall.  I had a conversation recently with one of my best college friends about what we will be doing if in fact the things continue unraveling.  Calmly we made plans of where we will be and how we have plans of surviving the downfall of America.  Weird how we weren't panicking and truly felt it was necessary to divulge our plans to know of each others safety.  At the end of our conversation we were in tears thinking about how we are ready for Jesus to return.  In the end, it's only Him that matters. 

So as a young woman who is trying to navigate this world with perspective, knowing that this isn't the end of bad decisions and the slow breakdown of our world, how do make it work?  How do I teach my children right and wrong when people blatantly go against what we believe?  It's going to be in our face more than ever.  I do believe we are to love, but I also think it's my job to protect.  Now more than ever, it will be our job as mothers and fathers who love Jesus, to teach Truth and the Word, and hide it in ours and their hearts.  How long before His Word is taken away?

I do not have to accept this world's interpretation of how I am to live.  I only have to accept His interpretation of living.  Must I abide by the laws of the land?  Yes, His Word says to do so.  BUT once it interferes with what the Bible says, I must obey God over man.  I will not act like it's okay to teach my children evil.  I will teach them what's right.  To some, I may sound like a raving lunatic, and that's okay too.  The Lord says that I am to be prepared that people will think Christians are the crazy ones with their close-minded beliefs and intolerance to sin.  But here is where I make my stand.
Joshua 24:15  But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

There's a difference

Wow!  It's been quite a while since I've written.  I usually make time to write when my heart cannot contain or hold back how I feel.  Recently I have been writing a lot in a journal, so my thoughts have been expressed elsewhere...which you may be relieved to know. :)  But I felt compelled to share what I've been learning, and how the Lord has been speaking to me.

It hasn't been that long that I've felt the presence of God in my life.  I grew up knowing a lot of things about God, but not knowing the true presence of Him in my life.  I always did the right things.  I "performed" to a set of standards that legalism always expects of you.  I was a good girl because if you were bad, you were not accepted in the circle.  I was condemning to the world around me at times too, and I still am because of that religious spirit.  There came a point in my life that I was sick of the whole acting thing.  Life is messy.  Just because you do the right things, that doesn't keep you going down the easy road of life.  Pain and heartache happen to all of us.  Life sucks at times, and if there is the absence of His presence, it feels empty.  I always felt like there was something more.  Something I had to be missing.

About 12ish years ago...yikes I'm old...I went to college and found I was missing His presence...His intimacy...His love.  And then over the years, I have come to know Him more.  He is constantly sanding and refining me.  The work He does is never done.  He points something out, and then begins to work on your heart in that area...and if the lesson isn't learned, He comes back to try it again.  I know because I've been through it.

In a recent study at church, I have been learning how to hear the voice of God.  I thought I was going to find out how to hear from Him.  Find out there was a process to easy communication that I hadn't figured out yet.  He actually revealed things to me that blew me away about Him.  Of course He has a plan for us, His plan is amazing.  But He is not a God that is just used for our purposes.  He is not a genie.  He wants to talk to us through His Word.  He wants us to meditate in His presence.  The Holy Spirit in us is for a more intimate relationship with Jesus.  And through that relationship, you see His plans, you see Him working in your life.  You hear his voice.

 He has revealed to me how I have confused His voice with the enemy.  I have many thoughts of  self-condemnation. I always think I am not doing something good enough.  I'm not a good enough wife...  not a good enough mother...not a good enough housekeeper, teacher, don't spend enough time in the Word...I have beaten the tar out of myself.  And I have believed it was conviction.  But I refuse to believe that lie.  The Spirit doesn't speak like that.  Jesus doesn't condemn us.  His conviction is gentle and loving.  This condemning of self is Satan's way of distorting His presence.  It has brought me down long enough.  I have exposed him and I am transforming my mind to realize that it's not the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit says, "Sarah, I miss you.  Come sit with me.  Come talk with me."  There's not a hint of condemning.  The Holy Spirit's conviction brings to light and exposes things, but doesn't heap judgement on our heads.  His conviction spurs true repentance and gives us hope that we can overcome. 

I will continue to be in His Word, because it is His Word.  I'm not in it anymore because it's what I should do.  It's what I want to do.  We have it right before us to study and learn how to become more like Him.  How to be changed and renewed....a constant process.

I pray all of you hear from Him in your life.  That your faith is made personal and you get to experience His presence.  It's unlike anything else.  Once you get a taste of HIM, you will not be able to go back to how you once were.  You will be forever changed.