Good

Today is the one day of the year labeled with that adjective. An adjective so very overused in our society, used to describe a wide variety of things in this world. But this good is not of the world. Honestly, I feel like good doesn’t even begin to carry the weight and importance of this day. Jesus died. He died an embarrassing, agonizing, and unimaginable death. The Father actually turned His back on the Son. That is something incomprehensible to us as humans. And, you know what, praise God for that! Praise God that we never, ever have to understand the darkness of God turning away from us.

Sisters, this truth is so, so good. Jesus was not weak and He was not murdered. His powerful love was the cause of His death. It was that love, not nails or Roman guards, that held him to that cross. Can we just stop for a second and think about that? When Jesus was given the option to save His life or ours, we were chosen. Woah. That is why we can turn a death into a celebration.

My heart is so full as I am trying to process all of this. Throwing aside the cookie-cutter crucifixion story and starting to break down the cold, hard facts of Jesus’ death, I am overwhelmed with emotion. It is all so raw, and yet the grace behind it is so sweet.

Tonight at my church’s Good Friday service, we finished the sermon of Jesus’ death with this song. As I sang, I stood there in tears. The words spoke straight to my core. Every line I sang, I became more aware of what Abba did for me, and how utterly undeserving I am of His pardon.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

But friends, these are not words of shame, they are words of healing. Words of hope, that His wounds paid our ransom. We are free! This is why Good Friday is good. God’s perfect love was consolidated into the single most powerful act of love in history. The Father sacrificed His son. Jesus bore every sin known to man and faced spiritual separation from God. All so that we never have to. It is unfathomable, but it is true.

My prayer is that we can rest in His freedom, that we praise the one who paid our debt and raised us from the death!

The Girl Behind the Blog: Your Inner Foodie

My last GBTB was back in December when I talked about holiday traditions, so I figured I  would join back in today for this month’s prompt. Well, and it talked about food. I sure love me some food.

I’m linking up with Ashley & Chelsea for this month’s prompt. Please ignore my awkwardness….or embrace it, that’s what I do ;)

The Girl Behind The Blog- Your Inner FoodieTime limit: Vlogs should be 2-3 minutes longDo you have a food philosophy? (gluten free, vegan, whole foods, whatever is easiest, kid friendly,etc)
If you could only have two foods for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Do you have a favorite food blogger or place for inspiration?
Share a favorite recipe or link with us!

Recipes:
Orange Bow Knot Rolls (add 2tsp orange zest to the milk mixture for the dough, and 1tsp zest to the icing)
Hershey’s Chocolate Cake
Mrs. Field’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (add 1/4cup of oil with the butter)
Now, I want to leave you ladies with the most nourishing food I know:

”’For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.’ Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.”
                                                                                                ~John 6:55-59

Live Life: Give

This week’s Live Life challenge is to give. My first reaction….I’m a broke college student, I’ve got nothing to give. Silly Sarah…

When I began thinking of what I could give, I tried to think about what I hoard the most in my life. I wanted to give up what I am idolizing, so that I can use it to further God’s kingdom instead of my own. Once I had this mindset, it was clear what I needed to give. My Time.

Time has been a tricky thing this semester, between school work, Eboard responsibilities, and trying to have a social life, I’ve gained a very selfish and skewed viewpoint of my time. I’ve began to think of it as my own. I wake up, give God a few minutes of my time, go to class, go to the gym, do homework and hang out with friends. Its become monotonous and routine. And I can honestly say that the time with God I’ve listed has not been priority. I could easily sit hear and complain that I just need more hours in the day, but in reality I need to reevaluate my priorities. I have realized this week how closed off I’ve made my schedule to actually let God use me.

This week, I’ve been challenged to rearrange what my days look like. I’m choosing to get up earlier to work out before class. This gives me time to grab coffee or a meal with people in my life that I feel God has called me to invest in spiritually. I’m setting aside more time to spend in His word and in prayer, so that my strength can be rooted in Him. I am starting my homework earlier so that I can have a more fruitful Sabbath.

My time is not my own. It is the Father’s gift to me. It is what I am choosing to give & release this week, for His kingdom to come.

What do you feel God calling you to give?

Live Life: Pray

Last week, I committed to limit my time with social media for Lent. It was surprisingly easy to do. I have only been checking Instagram and Facebook once every night (besides my Sabbath this weekend). I have seriously felt so free and at peace about it, it’s cool to see the it is all truly just excess.

This week’s Lent challenge is prayer. The tagline in my email notification read “Do you ever feel frustrated with prayer?” Ummmmm, it’s like they were writing directly to me. Lately my quiet times with God have been so methodical: bible, journal, pray, done. I've just felt disconnected, like there’s a wall between God and I. The most humbling part, it’s not God’s fault….it’s my attitude. I've been turning my prayer life into a wish list again. When it comes down to it, I've forgotten the reverence behind prayer. I've ignored God’s sovereignty.

One of this week’s challenges is to pray in a format similar to the Lord’s prayer. This structure opens with adoration for His power, and the supplication is not a selfish one. It’s to see His kingdom come. His will be done. What does that mean? It’s not about me. My mission is to see His kingdom come in my life, and on my campus.

So this week, I’m devoting time to converse with my Savior, intimately. I want to set aside time each morning when I wake up, and right before I go to bed to come God to listen and speak. I am also praying over this prayer, my personalized version of Matthew 6:5-13:

”Our Father, you are good and powerful and worthy of my praise. You provide for me beyond compare. Lord, I pray that your will be done on this campus. That your kingdom come at BU. You are my strength & my power. Remind me that you are my source. I pray against selfishness & pride. You are good and your plan exceeds my own. May I be constantly humbled to do Your will this week. Thy will be done. Thy kingdom come.”

February Cara Box Reveal

I am quite excited to link up at Wifessionals for this month’s Cara Box reveal. This month’s theme was the ultimate date night (inspired by her #clubsexy date she planned for her husband). I sent a box to Alyssa at A Latte Love, so stop by her blog to check out what I sent (fun fact, our boyfriends have the same name)! I also had the privilege to get the most wonderful box from Jessica at Sprinkles Make Everything Better. You should go send these ladies some love!

I was seriously so excited to see what Jessica was going to send me. I told Jessica that my ideal date is just chilling out with some snacks and maybe a movie (honestly it’s the easiest date as a college student). Jessica took this idea and exceeded my expectations!



The first thing I saw was this adorable checklist that correlated with each gift se packed:


Here is each gift (except the date book I forgot to picture):
{caution tape to decorate, make up to get pretty, Mrs. Doubtfire (a childhood favorite of mine), m&m’s and gum to snack on, and some muffin mix I’m dying to try}



I cannot get over how much thought Jessica put into this, down to the wrapping and note she wrote…everything was so good! Thanks again Jessica!!!
I totally recommend participating in this link-up, it is so much fun!

Life Lately

Oh gracious, this semester has become a busy one. As many of you may know, I’ve given up social media during the day…but that has not made my schedule any less hectic. Honestly, I’m happy I've made that commitment because I am starting to realize how unnecessary all of it is. Anywho, I decided to stop by and give you a glimpse of my life lately. Whelp, here goes:

My Valentine’s creations this year {please note the corny card I made….that’s what happens when I’m dating a math major}

~My weekend consisting of crafting some sweet jerseys for my friends’ intramural basketball team
~Part of my morning routine, cereal & a to-do list
~Rocking my new mustard pants…I’m in love
~New running shoes, which have been put to good use this week
~De-licioussssss cupcakes that my suitemate brought back from her trip home. So so good!!!

And last, but definitely not least, this past Friday at InterVarsity we listened to my friend give her testimony about how she’s been transformed in college. Afterward, we invited everyone up to write how they want to be transformed. Here are the cool responses we got!


I hope you all had a swell Thursday!

Live Life: Fast

Week one of the Live Life challenge is focusing on fasting. This is the aspect of Lent I am most familiar with. Growing up, I always heard my friends talking about how they were giving up sweets or tv or something for the time of Lent. Many of them did so begrudgingly, so I never understood the point. But this year, I wanted to fast with a purpose. The point of fasting isn’t to just give something up, it is to examine the aspects of your life that distract you, specifically from God. Immediately, one thing comes to mind. Social media.

I am overly attached to this. I wake up in the morning and immediately check Facebook, Bloglovin’, and Instagram on my phone. Periodically throughout the day I do the same. The last thing I see before I go to sleep is my screen. It seriously a problem. I am starting and ending my day with the world. I distract myself from boring lectures with virtual updates. And yet, in the midst of it all, I devote maybe 15 minutes solely to my Creator. 15 minutes. That’s 1% of my day. 1% to the One who gave me life and everything I have. That’s pretty darn embarrassing.

This Lent, I am not trying to achieve a goal, I am trying to transform how my time is spent. I want to live in a way that shows that God is enough for me. My time does not need to be filled with nonsense that won’t matter days, weeks, or years down the road. My time needs to be with Abba, my Heavenly Father. This Lent, I am unplugging social media during the day. I am only logging on briefly at night and on Sundays. My day will start and end with God, and my down time will be spent being intentional with the people placed in my life. My hope is that through this, I will see glimpses of a life lived to the fullest….a life lived for Him.