Here’s to a New Semester…

Hey friends, I realize it’s been over a week since I’ve written, so I guess I should start by confirming my existence :P I am, in fact, alive. Between visiting friends in Syracuse last week, InterVarsity Eboard meetings on the weekend, and starting class this week, I have been quite busy…in the best sense of the word.

I am currently on day 4 of the spring semester, and I can honestly say I can already feel its going to be a good one. My classes are all a little tough, but all very interesting. My favorite part so far? Getting to sleep in until 9 each morning (and having at least an hour and a half before class). Trust me, after having four 8:30s last semester, this is quite a treat! I love that I can wake up slowly, eat breakfast, and sip tea while I spend time with the Father. It is the best way to start my day.

As I mentioned before, I spent a good chunk of my last two weeks with my fellow Eboard members planning for our fellowship’s semester. I want to start by first thanking each of you who prayed for us as we planned together. It was a lot of work for sure, but God really met me in some sweet ways. I am already seeing what it means to be humbled in leadership, and He is truly beginning to grow me. Besides talking logistics, we were able really focus our vision for the semester. We are so excited to see how God is going to work specifically through small groups to bring more students on Binghamton’s campus to know His redeeming love. Specifically, we prayed hard about a number of students we want to come to know Him in these next months, and we are excited to see 7 meet and accept Jesus. This is more than a number, it is 7 people’s lives transformed by the grace that surpasses all understanding!

I ask for continued prayer for InterVarsity in these months. This Friday is our general interest meeting, where we will hopefully meet many new faces! During the semester, we will be reading through Ecclesiastes in small groups and also focusing on a series about being “radical” in response to the way Jesus lived. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for our fellowship and for me!
Well, its about time for me to head off to orgo, so I figured I leave you with my life through Instagram (@serogers22) these past two weeks. Enjoy!

Great Expectations

My car is packed and I’m gathering the last few things in my room; its official, I’m saying goodbye to my home again until Easter. While school doesn’t start for me until January 28th, I have quite a busy week in upstate New York. This weekend I will be away at a leadership retreat in Saratoga, then I’m making a quick pit stop in Syracuse to visit some wonderful people, and by this time Thursday, I will be all settled into my dorm room at Binghamton.

This coming semester, I have the amazing opportunity to serve on the executive board of my campus’s chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for receiving the position. I am working alongside four other students as we help plan the semester for our fellowship. Specifically, my job is to coordinate the weekly Friday night meetings we hold for a large number of students. Over break I’ve been getting in contact with speakers and all that good stuff in preparation for the spring semester. But this weekend and next weekend, I will be doing a lot of planning with our Eboard as we vision cast for how to grow our fellowship in Christ. We know that God has great things planned for our campus, and I truly believe that we can see lives transformed by His love this coming year.

So friends, I ask for prayer as we are at the retreat this weekend (and our meetings next weekend). Prayer that God will reveal to us the ways He wants our fellowship to work and grow. Prayer that we submit willingly to the ways God is going to mold us and the rest of our chapter. And prayer for my campus. That they return this semester with a curiosity and yearning to know Christ on a deep and personal level.

I have great expectations for these next few days, and I thank you in advance for your prayers!

Currently…

Loving…the frosty ground outside this morning

Listening…to “Of Monsters And Men” radio on Pandora

Reading…the Advent devotional plan by #SheReadsTruth

Eating…gingerbread men & double spice chai tea

Studying…organic chemistry. Wahoo pre-finals week.

Wearing…

Memorizing…

Thankful Thursday

This week has been stressful….that may be an understatement. It seems like all of my professors want to cram as much material in as possible before the exams, and I am most certainly not a fan. Between assignments and studying, I was overwhelmed these past few days and I felt tired and drained. But, I did title this post “Thankful Thursday” and that was no mistake. As I sit here at my computer, I am overwhelmed with peace, despite everything this week. Peace from God that has led to my thanksgiving.

Today I’m thankful for…

Texts from friends saying they were praying for me.

Sweet hugs that were shared.

Sleeping in on Tuesday morning.

A surprise letter of encouragement from my friend Lacy.

The Advent plan I started this week.

That feeling after my orgo test was done.

Date night silliness including a thrift store run for ugly Christmas sweaters.


Some awesome time with God reminding me of His power through all situations.

Only two weeks separating me from winter break!!

“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”  ~Psalm 61:2

The Girl Behind The Blog: This One Time

Hello lovelies! Today I am linking up with Ashley & Julie for this month’s vlog!

I hope you enjoy my awkwardness…it’s pretty typical of me :p

On Leading

During my time here at Binghamton, I can humbly say I am learning what it means to be a leader. I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve as a small group leader for almost two semesters now and God has definitely been teaching me a lot.

It is important to vision cast. Vision casting gives purpose to your actions, reminding you of God’s will behind it all. As a small group leader, it can be easy for me to get caught up in the planning. To focus on making “good conversation” flow during bible study or to come up with a creative application response. But that’s not the point. A small group needs to be community. One that promotes deep, vulnerable conversation and equips its members to live missionally. I so easily consume myself with the minor details that I lose sight of that purpose. But without vision, we lose focus on God’s will for our time. Furthermore, if God’s will is not been done, the vision needs to be reassessed.

We are not called to lead alone. God made us relational people for a reason, we are not called to ministry alone. Both semesters I’ve been a leader, I’ve had a co-leader with me. This is by far the most wonderful thing that could have happened to me! Having a partner in crime helps in so many ways. My first semester as a leader, my co-leader Winnie mentored me in how to lead small group. She taught me how to facilitate discussion and challenged me to step out of my comfort zone. This semester, I am paired up with my friend Sasha. She balances me out so well. We are able to bounce ideas off of each other and share the work that goes into planning and facilitating. It has also been so beneficial to fellowship with the other small group leaders in IV. We can come together and share our joys and burdens, what works and doesn’t work, and ultimately build community with each other as we grow together.

Things will go against your plan. This is by far the most difficult thing I am coming to terms with. It is taking a lot of time for me to truly comprehend that God’s plan does not always match up to my own. Some weeks our small group has low attendance, sometimes Sasha and I struggle to facilitate deep conversation, some planning sessions take way longer than expected. But that’s okay. It’s more than okay, because God works in all situations. He is not limited by my idea of a good small group. Ultimately, His will is being done.

If I could sum leadership up in one word I would say humbling. I have been humbled when my plans do not work. I have been humbled when I am reminded to refocus on God’s vision over my own. I have been humbled in realizing I can’t and shouldn’t lead alone. But all in all, leadership has grown and challenged me to rely more on God. It challenges me to live transparently for God in everything I do. I am learning to let God equip me for His kingdom work.

A Grand Thanksgiving Feast

Looks something like this…


Oh you know, just an intimate gathering of 30 people.

Complete with 2 turkeys, a 10lb ham, 3lbs of pasta, and lots of other deliciousness.

Jealous?


Top: all dressed up and ready to go // a glimpse of our menu // best dressed
Bottom: some of my lovely small group members // dessert // my wonderful friends who planned this shindig…they are kind of amazing

After this on Saturday night and a church potluck tonight, I am nothing less than excited for real Thanksgiving this Thursday with my family. Now if it was just Wednesday so classes could be done and I could go home!!!

Expedition

As I mentioned before, I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to attend InterVarsity’s annual fall conference Expedition. The weekend was filled with goofy friends, matching pj’s, late night drug store runs, lots of laughter, and God. Meeting me right where I needed Him most.

It. Was. Awesome.

I participated in the prayer track, and I can honestly say I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew I’d be taking away new insight on my prayer life, but I definitely wasn’t expecting the ways God challenged me.

First, He challenged me to reevaluate how I pray. As an extravert, I constantly feel the need to fill the silences. I can easily be that person who rambles in their prayer….but that’s just no good! In fact, Matthew 6:7 speaks blatantly against that. In my track, we learned how to pray in agreement. now, I had done it before, but never properly. But after this weekend, I really see the power in keeping your words few and affirming each other’s prayers. Silence is also becoming more prevalent in my personal prayer. I’m learning (and struggling) to allow God to fill my time instead of just talking at Him….it is a conversation after all!

Second, and one of my favorite aspects of the weekend, was learning about ninja prayer. (Just saying it makes me smile!) Confused? Ninja prayer is where you go into situation, maybe a public place like a café, and pray over your surroundings. You observe the environment, listen in creep on conversations, and pray. The purpose of ninja prayer, or stealthy intercession, is to come in, pray, and leave without people knowing. Its not about you, but totally about the people around you. We had the opportunity to pray over a couple other tracks at the conference, and boy was it powerful! There’s something so wonderful about being completely selfless in your prayer. Coming back to campus, I’ve been excited to try this in the cafes, dining halls, and even in church. It is so easy yet so impactful. Think about it, God has sovereignty over every situation…even the ones we aren’t fully connected with!

Finally, God met me on such a personal level. As I mentioned here, I was convicted on one speaker’s talk on rest, and how I fail to do it. But beyond that, God revealed to me ways that I was still broken and hiding from Him. You see, God had been putting my one friend on my heart a lot lately. I had felt this pull to talk with her for a few weeks and we finally got to hang out at Expedition. I went into the conversation thinking God wanted to use me to encourage her and be there for her, but boy did I underestimate His plans. Our conversation opened up things within me that I hadn’t told anyone. Brokenness I had kept to myself because I didn’t think anyone could relate. But to my amazement, Katie was in the same boat. We talked and cried (well, I cried) and prayed for each other. I left feeling refreshed and free. I have a peace that was from truly handing these things over to Him. I am so joyful that God brought Katie & I together that weekend, because I know for sure it was not by accident. He is just so good.

Anywho, I figured I couldn’t end this post without some pictures of my weekend at Expedition!



Late night snack run…complete with mini Ben & Jerry’s // Maggie and I with our amazing pajamas // post-Expedition Chipotle // Piggyback ride // Katie & I debriefing our fellowship on the prayer track

All of the Binghamton IVCF who went…I love these people so much!

The Girl Behind The Blog: Show & Tell

Happy Halloween, friends! I’m super pumped to be linking up with Ashley & Erin for another Girl Behind the Blog vlog. I Was bummed when I missed last month’s so here’s mine this month.

So I realize I didn’t introduce myself…whoops. and I mumble a little. And the lighting is weird. But enjoy :)

Rest

As I contemplated what to write about in this post, I became overwhelmed with the possible ideas. My heart is so full and I have so much good stuff to share, but somehow I don’t think writing a novel of a blog post is ideal. So I’m starting here. I’m starting with rest. The concept of rest has been strong on my heart recently. Why? Because I don’t do it. I was asked about two weeks ago what I do to rest. My answer: I go be by myself. As soon as the words left my mouth, it hit me. I don’t rest. In fact, since the beginning of the semester, I hadn’t spent any time alone besides when I slept at night or the occasional time I studied alone (study parties have become a habit this semester). Even my quiet times have been a quick morning routine in my bedroom while my roommate is still asleep. I felt convicted by this realization. but also very conflicted. I’m a major extrovert! I hate being alone. I feed off of people’s energy. I feel a strong pull to community. And honestly, I suffer from major FOMO (fear of missing out). But as I pondered the thought, I realized how truly exhausted I was. I felt mentally and physically drained, and frankly…spiritually discouraged. Talking it out with my friend, I realized my feelings of inadequacy in leadership or inability to fruitfully pour into my friends intentionally all comes back to how empty I’ve made myself. I hadn’t allowed myself to be filled. That night, after that conversation, I rested. I apologized to a friend who I promised to hang out with, telling her I needed to just have some time for myself. I went to my room, laid down, prayed, and cleared my head. The result was overwhelming, I felt refreshed.

This past weekend, I went to InterVarsity’s Expedition Conference (more on that later!). I was so excited for the intentional time I would have to with people in my fellowship. We stayed up late each night playing games…resulting in about 9 hours of sleep for me total for the weekend. Don’t get me wrong I LOVED the time I spent with my friends, but I totally threw this rest thing out the window. The irony is that I even told friends who felt bad about going to bed early that it was ok if they were tired, that they needed rest. Silly Sarah, why didn’t you take your own advice?! God challenged me immensely this past weekend, He really identified areas of my life that I needed to give up to Him. But the real kicker came in our last session before we left. The speaker prepared a lesson to help send us back to our campus, full of God’s power and strength. The topic: rest. Woah. It was like the message was written right to me. Jon spoke about the importance of rest in our lives. How God gives sleep to those He loves (Psalm 127:2). He talked about how we need to be restored. That we need to intentionally make time to fill ourselves up in a stress free way. Why? Because God can’t use us if we are to weak to see where He is calling us. There is no shame in needed to be alone and rest, it’s required. We can’t pour into others until we, ourselves, are filled.

This morning, I woke up knowing I needed to rest today. I needed to overcome the stress of homework & midterms…through God’s peace. As I returned from my morning class, preparing for a quick nap, I received this text from my friend Amy: I couldn’t have gotten this text at a better time. I love how God used her to remind me of this truth. (Also, check out her post on rest)

Dear friends, where are you right now with God? With life in general? Are you overwhelmed with stress from school, work, or relationships? Are you feeling stretched too thin by a need to always be active? God does not call us to more than we can handle. He calls us to rest, in Him and His power. My hope is that you can be encouraged today to say no to the clutter in your life and truly humble yourself to His grace. It is okay to be tired, just embrace it :)

Rest well today!

Oh Hey There…

Hello friends, just stopping by to let you know that I do still exist. I realize that my last post was from almost 3 weeks ago. Yikes! I’ve just been so busy with school, friends, and all-around awesome stuff that I just haven’t had the time to sit down and flush out some good thoughtful posts. That being said, God has been doing major work in and with me these past few weeks (He’s pretty awesome like that) So stay tuned, I'm in the process of getting my thoughts down so I can let you lovely people know what I’ve been learning and growing through! Anywho, I’m off to go immerse myself in my orgo textbook and contemplate acid-catalyzed hydration and electrophilic additions you jealous? Stay tuned for some pretty sweet posts coming up!

Have a wonderful Monday!

“For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the LORD.”

                               -Ephesians 5:8

iPhone Happenings

I would like to start off by saying thank you SUNY system for giving us break for Rosh Hashanah. What’s better than a 4.5 day weekend? Yay New York schools! That being said…my 8:30 class today felt like a Monday class. It was gross. Anywho, this weekend I spent Friday night through Monday afternoon visiting some friends down at Penn State. It was a great birthday weekend…minus the cold that kept me hugging a box of tissues on a couch for most of Sunday. But seriously, it was still a fun weekend. Then yesterday, some friends and I decided to take an impromptu daytrip to Syracuse. We explored the Carousel Mall and chowed down and ahh-mazing bbq at Dinosaur BBQ. I may still have a food coma. All in all, it was a great weekend spent with many wonderful friends!!


Top: See how there’s a cough drop in my tea? Yeah, I lost my cough drop….only to find it disintegrated at the bottom of my cup when I finished. Apparently colds make me lose my common sense // My friend Mary and her ice cream “lollipop” // My very first jar cake!! I’ve been gushing over these since I heard about Tookies over on Aunie’s blog. Granted this was not Tookies…but true to name, it was Wicked Good (I realized I just advertised two opposing companies…shhhh!)
Middle: Julie, one of the girl’s I stayed with at PSU, one night this weekend // Rocking my PSU attire while I was there // One of the MANY stores in State College packed with spirited attire…I’m a little jealous Binghamton doesn’t offer this many options!
Bottom: This picture does no justice, but State College is the cutest town!! // Re-dying our hair while I visited (I’m really loving my pink streak…even though it fades too quickly for my liking)


Top: Starting the new plan for #SheReadsTruth: Galatians!! If you haven’t yet, I totally recommend joining in // A crafty night with one of my best friends // Making road trip Bingo for my Syracuse trip (it was a big hit!)
Bottom: Keeping it classy with sparkling water and Tootsie pops // Boys being inappropriate at the Syracuse mall :p // My new ring set….I’m slightly obsessed with it


Top: A few of the lovely people I went to Syracuse with // Dinosaur BBQ. Ah. Maze. Ing. // My friend Dallas casually sitting in a tractor scoop
Bottom: My carmates for the road trip, minus my friend Jon. We had a blast! // Encouraging words on Kaitlin's blog today. They meant so much to me today! // New necklace from Syracuse (and the biggest Forever 21 I’ve seen)

Well, I’m off to do the homework I procrastinated on this weekend. Have a lovely Wednesday!

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
                                                                    ~Psalm 37:4

Birthday Shenanigans

Well, I’ve successfully made it to my nineteenth year. After all of my birthday madness on Wednesday, I can honestly say I’ve never felt so loved! So many people here at school helped to make my day so special.

My day started out in a way I could have never imagined. At midnight, I was in my room doing homework and my friend Travis called me to tell me that he had someone leave me a present outside of my suite. I walk out of my room to find all of my suitemates and my friend Kristen in the common room waiting for me with cupcakes! Then, my suitemate Shannon told me to go outside. I open the door to my common room to find 30 of my closest friends waiting outside in the hall. 30!!! Even some of my off campus friends! To say I was overwhelmed in that moment is an understatement. Everyone starting singing and I was given a Burger King crown and a cake. You see, my friends from my building have a tradition to surprise people at midnight on their birthday, and we always do the same thing for my friends in InterVarsity…but I didn’t expect both groups to surprise me! It was so crazy. We couldn’t even fit everyone in my room!

Oh & I got caked….three times.

My breakfast: a cupcake of course. My friend surprised me in the afternoon by taking me off campus to show me this amazing view of a valley! It was breath-taking! After my last class of the day, my friend Kristen and I went to Starbucks for some coffee to catch up. I even bought some pumpkin spice Via’s…so good. When I got back to campus, I found my common room decorated by my suitemates.

Throughout the day, I came across random notes people wrote to me :) Finally, I ended the night with a surprise piñata! That sucker was tough to kill!

Between the loving phone calls from home and all of the amazing ways I was surprised throughout the day, I truly felt loved. God has blessed me with so many wonderful people here and I am so grateful. I wouldn’t want to start my nineteenth year any other way, and I’m excited to see God’s plans for me this year!

iPhone Happenings

This week has been very interesting. A little hectic, but I’m starting to get back into the swing of things here at school. Here’s my week in pictures:

Remember when I said I would never be a fashion blogger? Well the full-length mirror in my dorm room is causing my narcissism to kick in. Whoops :p
Don’t judge me…


Top: New Student Outreach for InterVarsity in my housing community // #SheReadsTruth on lies // A beautiful sky between storms
Bottom: Boston crème cupcakes from this recipe. They were so good! // My gorgeous friend Kristen after I helped her get all dolled up for a date night with her boyfriend // Learning about intentional friendships


Top: Banner at the InterVarsity general interest meeting…we had 160 people come! Praise God :) // Late-night Denny’s after InterVaristy // Wegman’s run (two of the girl’s first time)
Bottom: My suite’s newly painted door brick // Walk in integrity // Birthday package of goodies from my parents!


Top: I got a new clear case to put scrapbook paper in // Necklace from my momma
bottom: Fighting pride // Birthday nails


Well, that’s all my iPhone has to say. Have a wonderful week!

iPhone happenings

I managed to survive my first day of classes yesterday, honestly it was a pretty easy day! My first class wasn’t until 1:15, and I found out I got a TA position for my old biology class! The downside is that creates a lot more work in my schedule…but I can’t really complain. Here are my iPhone snapshots from the past week:

Top: #SheReadsTruth on being slow to anger // My new chevron ring, I’m in love // Cupcake run with my mom before I headed back to school // Jealous? These babies were so good!
Bottom: “Do not return evil for evil” // My beautiful home here on campus // Proverbs 22:21…the exact words I needed to hear from God in that moment. He’s pretty cool like that! // My vneck sunburn from being outside for hours (this photo doesn’t do it justice)


Top: All dressed up // Our beautiful birthday cake for a friend // Love these girls, they’re the cutest matching roomies // First Sunday back at church here
Bottom: First pumpkin spice latte of the season // More wonderful truths // My friend Angela hiding in a column :p // Wonderful mug cake


Top: Encouraging devotions before class // Starting “One Thousand Gifts” // First day of school
Bottom: Our suite’s wall schedule // Proverbs’ beautiful writing // Pink bubble wrap stripes in our common room