learning about love...

Since the last time I posted on the blog world a bunch has happened. As you can tell I have changed the background and layout of the blog. It was time for a change and I have to admit, it was so much fun to go through and pick and choose a new design. I am pretty content with it. I went home for fall break and had a great time with friends and family, took a bunch of mid-terms that fried my brain, helped out with my church's kids retreat, and interviewed for my second summer at passport. Also, after about a year and a half of searching and emails and phone calls I have finally found an internship for my major! I needed this internship to graduate and I was become frustrated and worried that I was not going to find one that worked for me. But silly me for not trusting fully in the Lord. I now have an internship at my local hospital and over this upcoming Christmas and Spring breaks I will be shadowing in the OR. I am so excited and cant wait to start.You can now see exactly why I just have just not found the time to blog my thoughts. However I have a semi-easy week right now and have some fun things planned for this week so be on the lookout for more Sara Bumgarner happenings!!!

In the middle of this crazy busy month, a certain concept has been on my mind and I wanted to share it with you. This past semester at the church I attend here in Raleigh while I'm at school, they are putting on a relationship series in the college class. The overall concept of this series to to teach us as college men and women how to treat each other, and what a Godly relationship looks like. As I am in a serious relationship myself, and also have many other types of relationships with all types of people, I was quite interested in what they had to teach me. So far this semester we have learned about the good news of God and how he loves us, What Mr. and Mrs. Right looks like (and what they don't!), how men and women are different by design and how each of us should act in accordance with each other, and how to love being single until God calls you into the next phase of your life which is known to us as dating. To me this series has been very insightful so far. It has taught me how to love others more deeply, how to focus on the love that God has for me, and how to invest in my dating relationship in a way that is pleasing to God and to the advancement of our relationship. I know that sometimes relationships and the Bible can be a touchy subject, especially when it comes to the roles of the man and the woman. However the college class really summed it up well for me and clarified it in a way that I think is pleasing to most people. In a relationship men lead, provide for, and protect the woman. He keeps her best interests in mind as well as the interests of the Lord in everything that he does. Women in the relationship affirm, receive the strength and support, and help strengthen the man as well as the Lord, in everything that she does whether that is in the home or in the workplace. In other words, men and women should work together for their own relationship and their relationship with God. I think that is pretty awesome and it has really helped not only my dating relationship, but also my relationship with my family and friends, as well as with God. I am so thankful to have a great church away from home that still encourages me and teaches me and lifts me up. God is so good to us. Below are some pictures of the relationships that I have and that I thank God for everyday. What relationships do you value the most?

My dating relationship with the wonderful Chase Smith

My relationship with my family

My relationship with my friends

My relationship with the younger generation as a mentor

(this picture was taken this past weekend at the retreat witch went so well and the girls, along with me learned so much about how to pray)

One more little side note that I wanted to share before I left. Tomorrow I am getting my hair chopped off. I don't cut my hair very often, so this is a big deal. I love my long hair and I see it as a great attribute for me, but it is down to about my elbows and it is starting to become a little hard to manage. So after tomorrow if you see me I will be rocking shoulder length hair!! I am so excited to be adding yet another change to this crazy month.

I hope everybody is doing well and that their week is off to a great start. I will continue to pray for y'all, and as always I hope that your journey is blessed!!!