If you think of me...

Please pray for me tomorrow. My friend Alicia's wedding is at 1pm and we have so much to do! Please pray that I would be able to be a servant to Alicia and not a burden, that God would give me the wisdom to know how to serve her best. Pray that I would have patience with other people and that they would see Christ in me. AND pray that I would have fun and that Alicia would have fun too! I am really looking forward to dancing...haven't done that since the summer.

I know now why people joke about eloping! Hope you all have a great weekend!

THANK YOU!

Sarah Dudley sent me my "birthday" blog and it was awesome! Thank you to EVERYONE who was apart of it. God is SO GOOD! The Father has just been continously showing me that I am loved and cared for and that present conveyed that very well. It was great to see all you wonderful smiling (and not smiling) ;) faces. I miss you ALL!

This week has been crazy, but fun. My best friend, mentor, sister in Christ, partner in crime....and I could go on....Alicia is getting married on Saturday. So this week, so far, has been about getting things ready for the wedding and rehersal dinner. I can't believe that she's going to be married in less than 4 days. Alicia is one of the reasons I am where I am today. She's known me since I was in the 8th grade. When I was a freshman in High school and she was a junior, we were on the same JV soccer team. She was also in my youth group. Since I didn't have a car she would drive me everywhere in her Nissan pickup truck. She was one of the first people to really invest time in me and who wanted to see me grow in Christ. Even after she graduated she still kept tabs on me and would take me out to lunch. Ever since High School we would have the best converations in her car, or my car when I got one. These converations would last for hours and could be us in the car outside my house, in a parking lot, on campus, at church (not during church mind you) or where ever. God has really blessed my life with her. I wouldn't be at the BCM if she hadn't dragged me there and signed me up for a small group. I wouldn't have gone to Project Impact if she hadn't suggested that I do a summer project. And then seeing our relationship change from mentor/ mentee to being peers. I remember the first time she came to me for advice. I was blown away, not because I'm so cool and such a stud, but because we were now both adults and peers. I know those words don't describe exactly what I mean, but they are close. And now she's going to be married! This girl has seen me at my best and my worst and loves me despite everything. We have so many fun memories. One Day 2003- us sharing a tent for a week and no showers, plus the lovely storm that knocked over everyone's tents, expect ours (yeah for Coleman!!!). Picking her up at the Air Port on New Years last year and hanging out at her house all night. I'll try to find a way to put up pictures after the wedding.

Friends, where ever they are from, are truly a blessing from God!

God is good!

I know that majority of my posts have been very reflective and stoaic. The last couple of weeks have been difficult, but God is so good in that He is taking care of me. I HATE being emotional. This is usually my Meloncholoy side coming out. I'm normally pretty calm and collected and unemotional, the chloeric side. The emotional part kicked in this week when my dad and I got into an argument. A note on my dad...we are very much alike...He's the male version of me except he's not following Christ. These arguments last a good three to four hours. The reasons this is, is because He loves to argue. When I was younger I did too, to a certain degree. I never "win" these arguments. They frustrate me because they are all about how I am wrong and He is right. Usually a pretty good blow to my pride, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but they are frustrating to me because my father is so lost and these talks make it so evident. Very few people have the power to make me cry and He is one of them. These debates are so draining and I can't leave until they are over (the price you pay for living with your parents) and I'm usually emotionally, physically, and spiritually drained. We started the talk at about 8:00pm and didn't end it until 11:30pm. I had an 8 am class the next day and I'm usually on campus Thurdays for about 12 hours. I was so exhausted, but God got me through the day. I am just realizing how much I need to continue to pray for him. I'm not going to be living at home for very much longer and I have an opportunity to be light in my house for Christ now. Those of you that know me pretty well, please pray for me and my dad...his name is Gordon...and that God would continue to work on his heart and that He would be able to see Christ in me, my mother, and my brother. My father knows how to become a Christian...he has just never taken that knowledge from his head to his heart.

On an interesting note...I was across the street from the Dahli Lama (probably didn't spell that right) on Tuesday. Our BCM is right across the street from the Mariott Hotel, which was where he was staying. There was a bazillain cop cars and government SUV outside the hotel. An random tidbit.

Reflections

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior." -Isaiah 43:2-3 (NLT)

The past week was a really hard week. It just seemed like everything that could go wrong did and I there was nothing I could do about it. School has not been easy, I just really have not been motivated and there is so much to do. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. I like to be in control. It's somethig that I've stuggled with most of life. I like things to be orderly, planned, and figured out ahead of time. And I have been learning that my plans aren't necessarily His plans. I like to be doing something...constantly. I feel guilty if I'm not using my time. Well, the Father is so good! One day He just took everything from me (which was hard because I have a hard time letting go of things) and He basically was like "Do you trust me with your life, that I will make everything all right?" Blind faith is so hard, but I am so thankful that in my weakness that He is strong. That even though I will go through fire, I will not be set abaze. And that because of this refining process I will come out more like Christ.

The last couple of days have been good in that I've gotten to relax and reflect on Him and what He is doing. My birthday was good. I skipped all my classes and spent the afternoon with my mom. She had gotten me a new comforter, sheets, pillow cases ect. So we shopped and re-decorated my room. I was able to get frames for pictures that I taken this summer. And then a bunch of girls from th BCM took me out of Olive Garden that night. God just really blessed me. I was amazed at all the people that left me messages, called me, sent me e-cards, text messaged me ect. That meant so much to me. He is so faithful! Life is hard (and really I don't think I've experiened true suffering) but I just look around me at the people that are handed difficult time: a couple at our church-their young son has a brain tumor and the fact that they were in the church service praising the father in all of their suffering, my interim pastor, Mitch -today his brother-in-law was rushed to the hospital because of a heart-attack and he still preached because he knew that God wanted him to give a message (which the message was awesome). These people amaze me, not because they are super-christians or on some other plane, but because they are just like me. They get frustrated. They fall. They get angry. They get dismayed. But even at their weaknest, God's strength is so evident in their lives. I want my life to reflect Christ in that way. I have so much to learn. But, I am so glad that Christ is going to finish what he has already started in me.

Okay, well I better go.

Another Song

Songs are just really speaking to me right now. Here's Dare you to Move by Switchfoot

DARE YOU TO MOVE

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happen's next?

I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistence
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

P.S. THANK YOU for all of the birthday wishes! God just really showed me how much he loves me through all of your notes, emails, cards, and phone calls! I am so blessed to have friends like y'all (you're even rubbing off on me) ;). Have a great weekend!

RESTORED

I just praise my Father in Heaven, who took this weak and fragile vessel and is slowly creating a masterpiece. In my class on Milton we learned the the latin word for poet is "maker." He is my AUTHOR and POET and I am His POEM. Here is one of my favorite songs by Jeremy Camp:

RESTORED

All this time I've wandered around searching for the things I'll never know
I've been searching for this answer that only will be found in your love
And I feel it
My heart is being mended by your touch
And I hear it
Your voice that's shown my purpose in this world

You have restored me form my feeble broken soul
You have restored me

I've only come to realize my strength will be made perfect at your throne
Laying all reflections down to see the precious beauty that you've shown
And I feel it
My heart is being mended by you touch
And I hear it
Your voice that's shown my purpose in this world

Laying all these questions down you've answered what I need
You've given more than I deserve, You're making me complete
You give me all these open doors I'm humbled at your feet
To show mw what you've done for me

Season's of laughter

This semester really started off hard. The last couple of days I have just been thinking about the little mercies that God has given me in the last week. He has given me so many little things to laugh and rejoice over. Last Sunday was my friend Alicia's Bridal Shower. My friends Ashley, Chrissy, and I hosted it. It was a blast. Ashley and I had been running around all day trying to get things ready and it was easy to get stressed out, but the shower was a hit. I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time. After the shower we went with Alicia to pick out decorations for the wedding at Michael's. Ashley and I were limping around the store because we had been wearing heels ALL day. And I about killed my self by tripping over them. It was so funny!

I absolutely hate Tuesday's and Thursday's. I have a lovely 8am class. I live about about 30-45 minutes away from campus so I have to get up extra early to get to class on time. And I stay on campus until 4pm, so it's usually a pretty long day. Well yesterday we had our BCM large group meeting so it was an extra long day. I was pretty tired and worn out. But God blessed me so much, one of the girls in my small group handed around a handmade Birthday card for everyone to sign and then gave it to me at the end of the night. I had tears in my eyes because I was so touched. Birthdays were really not celebrated a lot in my family and just the fact the Taylor went the extra mile, even just for a card, just really blessed me. God is so good! And then I found out that friends were planning a birthday dinner for tomorrow at Olive Garden. So fun! It has been so cool to just see how much He provides for me daily! It still hasn't really hit me that my birthday is tomorrow. Wow. Twenty-one years old. Time sure flies.

"That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?"

Now most of you are probably thinking: "Sarah must be really tired or stressed because her spelling is so off!" But the title of this blog is a line from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The one class that I think is going to keep me sane this semester is my upper-division class on the quite witty and charminig, old English poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

In class we were discussing two of the pilgrims that Chaucer describes in his General Prologue, the Parson and the Plowman. They are both idealistic characters because they fulfill exactly the roles that they live for. The parson is the village priest and he is a perfect example of what a priest should be. His riches are in heaven and not of this earth and he is a humble man of vast integrity. The line above is a description of the parson and why he lives they way he does: That if gold rusts, what shall iron do? Gold, which is a higher standard of metal that doesn't rust, what would happen to iron if it did? Great question. Quite a huge challege to those in ministry, but I got something else out of it entirely. As great at the parson is depicted in the Canterbury Tales, he is not perfect. So he really can't be contrasted to pure gold, man cannot be the standard. But in Jesus we have the perfect standard, and because of his sacrifice and his free gift of salavation, we will have eternal life. Not rust or decay!

Isn't it cool how God can use even Chaucer to speak to us?!

What a Woman!

I'm currently doing a Beth Moore study with some of the girls in my small group. It's called Jesus the One and Only. I am falling in love with Christ all over again. Beth Moore just has a very interesting and unique perspective on things. But her perspective doesn't take away from the Word. Jesus the One and Only focuses mainly on the Book of Luke, but you end up reading vast portions of the rest of the bible as well. This week has been about Elizabeth and Mary finding out about their unique pregnancies. I am really enjoying the time in the Word and just going over the Book of Luke with a different perspective! This verse really hit me when I read it:

"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished." -Luke 1:45

I know that the context of this verse is Elizabeth referring to Mary and that God's promise that she would bear the Messiah would come to pass, but I couldn't help thinking of how it applies to me (not that I'm any Mary). It just got me thinking about all the promises that God has given to me: that I am loved, cared for, free from the bondage of sin, nothing handed to me in life will be more than I can bear, that I am not alone, that the Father has a grand plan for my life, and I could go on. What hit me was the condition of Elizabeth's statement. Mary was blessed because she "believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished," not because the promise had been made to her. I know God has promised me (and the rest of His children) many things...but do I really believe those promises all the time? Still working on that! My small group compared Zechariah and Mary's encounters with the angel Gabriel. Both were told great revelations and reacted in different ways. Both asked Gabriel a question: and one got an explantion and the other got the pleasure of not talking for nine months! I would have so been Zechariah! I would have doubted the promise. How sad is that...to look the gift horse in the mouth? So I'm learning a lot. There is a lot to be learned from Mary. I am going to have so many questions for her when I get to heaven! Anyway, got to got get stuff ready for a bridal shower tomorrow!

You are hereby summoned...

Jury Duty. What powerful words. Just the sight of the envelope can send people into hissy fits, fits of rage, or meltdowns.....and possibly even sighs of relief because they get a couples days off from work. Obviously, (or maybe not) I just received my summons. I don't have to report until Oct. 3rd, which is a good things because I don't think I could handle missing any school right now. I just walked into the house this afternoon and my mother and brother were in the kitchen, they both gave me these sympathetic looks and then proceeded to inform me that I had received an "extra" special letter in the mail.

I don't know what to think really. I personally don't think I am mature (or even old) enought to decide someone's fate, based on what could be circumstanial evidence. I'm taking a Rhetoric classe about the art of persuasion, and according to the professor...lawyers are a key example of rhetoric in action. So this might be interesting.

And on a bright note my birthday is next week, September 15, my 21st birthday. I remember that when I was like ten that I thought that people who were 21 were really old. Don't really have anything special planned, but I'm sure the family will come up with something. And since I'm in a mood for lists here's a list of things I would like for my birthday:

1) Letters! I really like letters...really, really, like them. I love the written word (probably because words of affirmation is my primary love language...followed by quality time).

2) Books! Go figure that I would enjoy books as well. Here are some titles that I haven't read yet or would like to read:

Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
The Five Love Languages by...really don't know
Believing God by Beth Moore

3) Anything American Eagle (well not everything...but most of it)

4) Flowers (peach roses are my favorite)

I've realized that as I've gotten older and don't really want a lot. I like practical things and really I just enjoy being around people and getting quality time. So anyways hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend!

A Great Weekend!

I just got back from spending the weekend in Phoenix with Katherine and Stephanie! Lots of fun. We did a movie marathon. We watched "Throughly Modern Mille" with Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore (a spoof on the 20s), "An Affaire to Remember," which by the way isn't about an extra-marital affair but about an "event or time" to remember. Great movie...made me tear up. And we finished the night off with "3 Men and a Baby" and watched the first part of "3 Men and a Little Lady." We had a lot of fun just talking about the summer and catching up. Then Katherine road back to Tucson with me so she could hang out with some other friends in Tucson.

So tomorrow I'll probably spend some time with my mother and then work on a paper that's due Thurday. My week is filling up fast with things to do!