Life Lessons from The Bachelorette

I've always loved hearing stories from people about the ways the Lord reveals Himself to them in the little things in their life. It blows my mind how He works in random ways, but to be honest, I get a little jealous when it doesn't happen to me. Well, God decided to change that recently while I was watching The Bachelorette…and it was pretty crazy!

Let me explain…

This season, the bachelorette Desire has been very open about her feelings for one guy, Brooks. She admitted her feelings for him were far beyond the ones she felt for the other two men left in the competition. However, he also happens to be the only guy left who won’t profess his growing affections to her. He finally realizes he did not share the intensity of the feelings she has for him and chooses to leave the show. Des is understandably heartbroken after pursuing a guy who failed to provide her the affirmation she longed for. Meanwhile, two men have openly expressed their growing love for her and she remained blinded to the beauty of their genuine feelings.

Are you seeing the parallels yet?

We are uniquely formed by a craftsman, not just made by a mold in a factory. God knows how I work. He knows my thoughts, desires, & needs. He is invested in me beyond how anyone else can be. And yet, I still avoid Him who desires me intimately, and I continue seeking after things that cannot reciprocate or fulfill me. Even the people I care for most in this world cannot match the fierce passion the Father has for me, and they never will. Like Des, I so easily long for affirmation in people or things and ignore the One who was waiting there for me the whole time.

Now, obviously I know that the two remaining men in the bachelor are not comparable to the Creator of my heart, but it was amazing the parallels I saw through this situation. We live in a fallible world with fallible people, but an infallible God is there waiting for us to return to Him. I can be so stubborn to the free gifts of life & love that Abba offers me. He formed me with exactness. He knows what makes me tick, and offers comfort to my pain. God, the Creator of everything, created me with intention broad enough to be used for His glory, and intricate enough to be precious in His eyes.

Today, I am amazed at the ways God is choosing to reveal Himself to me, but I am also overwhelmed by His passionate pursuit of me. I need to get out of my “Brooks complex” and open my eyes to the Savior who consistently reveals His perfect love for me. Sisters, God is good and He is pining after you. Invite Him in & experience the beauty of His love!

...and yes, I watched The Bachelorette.

- Sarah

The Girl Behind the Blog: Encouragement

Hello friends!

I’m back linking up with Ashley & Nadine for this month’s vlog. Hope you enjoy!

The Girl Behind The Blog- Encouragement
Time limit: Vlogs should be 2-3 minutes long
Introduce yourself and your blog
What is something that encourages you in the blog world?
What is something that always encourages you in real life?
How do you go about encouraging the people you love?

Here’s the link to the ever-so-lovely Samantha I mentioned. Stop by and say hello to her :)

- Sarah

Hi. I do, indeed, still exist.

So thus begins the post where I talk about how I haven’t been around these here blog parts for (almost four) months. Whoops. Time has really just slipped away. Instead of writing it out, I decided to vlog about it and externally process…because that’s just what I do best :)

Enjoy!

- Sarah

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.”