be still and know that I am God...

I recently got a little bored. I shouldn't have been bored because lord knows I have way too much school work to get done before this semester is over, but sometimes you just get tired of work. Well I went and facebook stalked myself. Yes I know I am weird, but still I had fun looking back at old pictures and memories. I came across this video while I was looking through stuff and when I watched it, it made me stop and be in awe of the awesome God we have. Sorry it is still in link form. I tried and tried to get it to be posted as a video but an error kept occuring. I am not the most talented when it comes to blogging, but hopefully it will get better!! It is from last year when we (the basketball team and I ) were coming back from Washington D.C. on Christmas Eve. We left at 5 in the morning so everybody could get to their homes at decent times in order to celebrate Christmas. I was so tired and cranky because we had to wake up at 3 in the morning and I knew a 3 hour drive was ahead of me when we got back to the city. However, when I looked out of my window in the airplane all of those feelings were just washed away. The Lord is so wonderful and uses the coolest things to show us that he is always with us and that we have nothing to worry about. So enjoy the video and be still and be in awe of the works of the Lord.... http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150104343913949

And of course I hope and pray that everybody's journey is blessed :)

looking back

Another school year is nearly over and wow has it gone by fast. I am finishing up final projects and papers, and starting to study for finals which are only 5 weeks away. The weird part is, I will be an upper class man in COLLEGE next year. It seems like not far back I was just becoming an upper class man in high school. Jeez I am growing up way to fast. However I would not trade one minute of it for anything and I have truly had an amazing life. I came upon this app on facebook recently called my year in photos 2010. I know its almost halfway through 2011 but I thought I would see what came out of it. I was surprised at the result and just had to share it with everybody. I love that this picture really does capture what the year 2010 was for me. It was filled with fun in the sun, football games, friends, and wonderful memories I will never ever forget. My personal favorite would have to be the one of my doing my homework in the laundry room of a hotel. That was during my basketball managing days when the uniforms had to get washed for the next day and my physics homework was due at the same time, but we only had one washer and one dryer. Needless to say we were all up pretty late that night. But it was tons of fun and that is a memory I will always cherish :)

I also wanted to catch everybody up on Bible reading. I am nearly done with Deuteronomy. I am learning a lot and I always look forward to my time with the Lord each day. On Friday I read Deuteronomy 14-16 and Psalm 44, Saturday I read Deuteronomy 17-19 and Psalm 45, and today I read Deuteronomy 20-22 and Psalm 46. James is my next book and I should be starting that next week. We are studying this book in my college class so I am looking forward to delving in a little deeper on my own time. It should be exciting.

Since today is Sunday I will wish everybody a day of relaxation and peace. I am sure taking advantage of all the rest I can get today before heading into another jam packed week. Please pray for me, as well as all the other college students as we roll on towards the end of this year. Believe me we will need all the help we can get. I pray that everybody stays safe this week and has a good Monday (well at least as good as Mondays can be) and that your journey is blessed :)

i am second...

I am involved in Campus Crusade for Christ at my college and I love it. Their weekly meetings are so encouraging and their speakers are so motivating and fun to listen to. Recently CCC shared with us a website. It is called I Am Second. You can check it out here: http://www.iamsecond.com/ . It is full of videos from well known people such as Sam Bradford, Tony Dungy, Jason Castro, and Mike Huckabee explaining how God has impacted their lives and how they are second and God is first. I encourage everybody to check out this website and watch some of the videos. One video that particularly touched me was Josh Hamilton's. He is a MLB player who really struggled with addiction for a while before turning to God. he is such a great example of how the Lord answers prayers. Check it out here : http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/ .


On another subject, I have been keeping up with my Bible reading. I am still in Deuteronomy and loving it. To catch everybody up... on Sunday I read Deuteronomy 1-4 and Psalm 40, I had Monday off, Tuesday I read Deuteronomy 5-7 and Psalm 41, Wed. was Deuteronomy 8-10 and Psalm 42, and today (Thursday) I read Deuteronomy 11-13 and Psalm 43.

Sorry that I had to put a bunch of links up. I am still new to the whole blogging process and I have yet to figure out how to post straight videos. But I will work on it and hopefully figure it out soon. until then you will just have to put up with my links :) I pray that this week has gone well for everybody and that you have enjoyed this wonderful weather. I also pray that your weekend is amazing and that rest and relaxation is in store. Stay safe and I hope that your journey is blessed!!!!

two more down, and a new pair of shoes :)

That's right!!!! Since Thursday I have finished Numbers and Galatians. Both were great and totally worth the time taken to read them. I have decided I like the new testament better though for some reason. I am not really sure why, I just do. To catch you up on my reading.... on Wed. I read Numbers 31-33 and Psalm 37:1-22, on Thurs. I finished up Numbers with chapters 34-36 and Psalm 37:23-40, Friday I started Galatians 1-3 and Psalm 38, and today I read Galatians 4-6 and Psalm 39. I really like Galatians. It is the book that contains my life verse which is, "I have been crucified by Christ. It is no longer I who loves, but Christ who lives in me." Such a powerful and wonderful verse and I LOVE it :)

I also wanted to announce that I bought myself a new pair of shoes recently. They are bright red TOMS (check out the picture below). The TOMS company is so great and you should really check out their website if you have not already. For every pair of shoes purchased, another pair of shoes is donated to a person living in a third world country. How amazing and fantastic is that!?!?!?! I have always wanted a pair of TOMS, but I have never really had the NEED for a pair. I am not the kind of person who buys what I want, instead I wait a little bit until I find the need for it. Well I bought a new dress for work this summer and I did not have ANY shoes that were dressy, but still casual at the same time and matched color wise. Ding ding ding, I finally had a reason to get my TOMS :) And they are totally worth the wait by the way. I love them and have been breaking them in. I can not wait to show them off this summer with my new dress and hopefully whoever gets the new pair of shoes from my purchase will be as excited as I am to wear them around!

I hope everybody is enjoying this beautiful weather this weekend. I know my body is loving all the vitamin D it had been receiving. Spring has sprung and that makes me just plain happy :) I pray that everybody has a very restful and peaceful Sunday and of course that your journey is blessed.

can't come up with a title today.

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. Life called and I had to answer :) I am finally getting back into "school mode" thank goodness and adjusting to the time change. Falling back an hour is so much fun, but springing forward just makes my body tired for a while.

I have no title today because I really have nothing pressing to tell. I will catch you up on my Bible journey but that is about it. Life is good and I am happy and content. I kind of like days like today. I may have so much work to do this week but I am confident that I can get it all done, and that makes me feel good.

To the Bible!!!!! I have a bit to catch you up on. Sorry it has been a while. I am still in Numbers, but I am almost done :) On Friday I read Numbers 18-21 and Psalm 33, on Saturday I read Numbers 22-24 and Psalm 34, on Sunday I read Numbers 25-27 and Psalm 35, Monday was my day off!!, and today I read Numbers 28-30 and Psalm 36. I am still learning all the rules and offering guidelines. Kind of boring and I am glad I don't have to do that. I am also learning about the Israelites continued wanderings in the dessert. Poor people, you should have just trusted God. With Him all things are possible!!!


Well that is all for today. Sorry it was not much but I just wanted to stop in and tell everybody that I am still alive and doing great. Hope your week is going great too. Remember that Thursday is St. Patricks day so put on your green :) I pray that everybody stays safe, has fun, and more importantly that your journey is blessed.

I Feel Like Noah

Yes i really do feel like Noah. I am sitting in my house looking out the window at the rain just puring down. It has been raining all week long with only a few breaks. I don't think I have ever seen it rain this much and this long except for when hurricanes used to come when I lived on the coast. All the animals are in the house which makes it even more believable that I am Noah. The cat is curled up beside me and the dogs are in the laundry room. Its actually kind of funny! I know that we need the rain and all, but geez this much this fast is crazy. There is also a rumor that it may turn to snow tonight. Maybe one more snow before spring? I really would rather it not snow since I am ready for spring to get here, but snow sure is better than rain :)

My bible journey is still going strong and I am enjoying every minute of it. On Tuesday I read Numbers 8-10 and Psalm 30, on Wed. I read Numbers 11-14 and Psalm 31, and today I read Numbers 15-17 and Psalm 32. Numbers is good but nothing really exciting. Its a lot about rules and regulations and the wanderings of the Israelites. It is still cool to read about where they came from and their journey to the promised land though. Psalms is always encouraging and very easy to read and understand. It is always neat to see what it has in store for me every day.

This week sure is flying by. In no time I will be back in the city and back to college life. I am over halfway done with the semester and I am looking forward to the rest of it. Tomorrow I get to see more of my family and I can't wait. I love my entire family so much and whenever I get to see them I get really excited. I am so blessed for what I have and I would not trade it for anything in the world. I thank God everyday. He is soooo good!!!!! I pray that everybody is doing good and I hope that everybody stays safe in this nasty weather. And of course I hope that your journey is blessed :)

Special Lent Post

Just a warning and heads up, this post is going to be a little different. No updates on life or my bible reading journey or fun ideas. This post is about lent and what my stand on it is. If you don't want to hear a "sappy" story or anything this post might not be for you. But if you are adventurous and don't mind my ramblings then please enjoy!!!

For years and years I did not observe lent. I did not think it did anybody any good to say you are going to give something up for 40 some days only to give up a couple weeks into it. I saw lent kind of like new years resolutions, a good idea but not very good follow through. That was until last year when I had a very eye opening experience. My pastor was talking to us in youth group about lent and what we were giving up, and I openly expressed my opinion about the whole situation. I expected some rebuttal but I did not expect the words that came out of his mouth. He told us that lent was not about giving something up to make you healthy, or to make you feel better physically, it was about drawing close to God. He said that we need to look in our lives and hearts and see if we are putting anything before God, and once we figure what that thing is we need to reflect on it and try our best to put God first in everything that we do. WHOA BABY. That was all I needed to hear to make myself realize that I had been looking at lent in a totally wrong light. So last year was the first year I observed lent in my Christian life. It was a pretty humbling experience to tell you the truth. Last year I decided that the only liquid I would ingest would be water. I made that decision because I was not being thankful for all the good stuff in my life. So many people around the world do not even have clean water to drink and I am sitting at home drinking lemonade and milkshakes. I made it all 40 days last year and I was very proud of myself. I learned to thank God more often for all the things that I have in my life and I also learned to pay more attention to those who are not as fortunate as I am. It was just such a neat experience.

Well this year I am taking a little bit of a different route. I have realized in the past couple of months that I have been putting my focus on a certain something more than I have God. That certain something is my boyfriend. Going to the same college is great. We get to see each other everyday, we get to go out on dates, and I get to talk to him face to face. However, because we are so close I have been focusing a lot of my attention on him and school and not as much on God. Not to day that God is not a HUGE part of my life, but I think that I could be talking to him more throughout the day and leaning more on him. I contemplated what I should do. I could not give up my boyfriend for lent. That would be a little awkward and probably not the best idea in the world. But I realized that I could give up an aspect of him. I thought back to the time when holding his hand was just so special, now it is just something we do. Hugs and kisses and have replaced the hand holding as the way we show each other love. I noticed that that is what was holding me back from God. That is when I made the choice to give up kissing my boyfriend for lent. Some you may be thinking WHAT Sara kisses a boy?!?!?! Yes world I do, sorry if I disappointed anybody :) But anyways I talked to Chase about it and he is on board with the idea, and my roommate has decided to do the same thing, which I think is great because now I have a girl to talk about my journey with. I truly believe that this lent is going to be awesome and that I am going to really put my focus more on Godly love and less on earthly love. Yes it is going to be hard but I know I am strong and through God I am even stronger. My hope is that at the end of lent, my relationship with Chase will be stronger and that we will have realized other ways to show love to each other that is not physical, but more so that my relationship and foundation with God will be stronger and that my walk with him will be built upon rock and not on sand. He is the most important relationship and I love him so incredibly much.

So that is what my lent is going to be this year. hope the story was not too sappy, and i hope that you will consider something to give up for lent to draw closer to God. It does not have to be anything huge, just something that needs to be put aside for a while so God can come back into your life. I hope that you will be praying for me while I am on this journey, and I will be praying for you as well. I sure hope that this lent season is a great one and I hope that your journey is blessed!!!!

Home Sweet Home

It is Monday and I am sitting on the couch looking out the window at the mountains in the distance. Ah, I am home and it sure does feel nice. A break was much needed from school and the city. Even though I have to do work for upcoming tests when I get back I am loving this spring break. I am so blessed to have a warm home and bed and loving parents to come to. I think God every day for that.


While I have been home I finished the book of Hebrews!!! Now I am moving to the book of Numbers. It has been pretty good so far and pretty easy to understand. To catch you up, on Tuesday I read Hebrews 7-10 and Psalm 26, on Friday I read Hebrews 11-13 and Psalm 27, on Saturday I read Numbers 1-3 and Psalm 28, and Sunday I read Numbers 4-7 and Psalm 29. Today is my day of reflection. I have been thinking about what I want to give up for Lint. I will save that story for Wed. so be in suspense!!!

This week is going to fly by fast but I am going to make the most of it. I have a couple of things planned with friends and family, but other than that I will be vegging out in front of the TV and sleeping in. LOVE IT. Hope everybody's week goes well and that you can also find a chance to relax. I pray that everybody stays safe and that your journey is blessed.

A Fork In The Road

Changes have been going on in my life recently. I believe they are for the good, but right now they are just causing me to be overwhelmed. I recently changed my major from biochemistry to cellular and molecular biology. It is a long story why i switched and I will not bore you with the details. But I am happy with the switch so that is all that matters. I also have picked up a genetics minor. Over the past year I have become super interested in genetics and genetic disorders. Something about it just lights a fire in my soul so I thought pursuing a minor in it would be the best thing. Well yesterday I had an advising appointment. I have a new advisor and I love her. She is so sweet and has an abundance of great advice. She is a blessing for sure. Anyways we were talking about my plans for after college. For some time now I have thought about being a nurse practitioner and working with children. My advisor suggested that since I love genetics so much I look at some colleges that have a genetic counseling program. I took her advice and now I am confused. Well not really confused, just weighing out the options of what I should do with my life. I have been praying a ton these past few days about it and for some reason I keep going back to the websites about genetic counseling. Being able to help babies and children and families work through a genetic disease diagnosis sounds like such a blessing. Helping others is what I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember, could this be my calling? I am not 100 percent sure just yet, and i still have about a year to figure it out, but I feel like God has been tugging on my heart this week. I am excited to see what comes out of all of this. And just to think that all of this came out of an advising appointment. God can work in some mysterious ways sometimes!!!!!

Speaking of working in mysterious ways, my bible reading over the past couple of days has really been speaking to my heart. Tuesday I read Hebrews 1-3 and Psalms 24, and today I read Hebrews 4-6 and Psalms 25. I had never even looked in the book of Hebrews before. I did not realize that it was a proclamation about how superior Jesus is to all the prophets of old, and how we should pick up everything and follow him. WOW what a message. I wish I could have read this earlier on in my christian life. Psalms is going well also. Today a certain verse really spoke to me. Like I said I have been kind of stressed and worried and I know that I should not be. Worrying means that you are not putting your trust in God, but hey I am not perfect and sometimes ( a lot of times) I catch myself being a worry-wart. The verse was Psalm 25:4-5. "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." LOVE IT!!!! Such relief to my spirit to hear that.

Hopefully all my ranting and stress relieving chatter did not totally confuse you or bore you. Thank you for listening and if you don't mind, prayers would be much appreciated for all the decisions that must be made on my behalf in these next few months. Oh and just a reminder for anybody who cares...93 days until PASSPORT. I filled out my name tag form and travel form today. So very exciting!!!! I hope and pray that everybody has a wonderful rest of the week. It is hump day and Friday is in sight!!!! I pray that everybody stays safe and that your journey is blessed :)