Quick Request!

Lift my hubby up tonight...he's trying to fly to Amsterdam & back by Sunday (to help out a friend) and flights aren't cooperating. Pray for Godly focus and peace over their delayed flights!

Da Mono

So, I've got mono...and 2 weeks until I ride on planes for a day or two. I'm also having the hardest time sitting down and taking care of myself. Glad to find out that there's nothing a doc could give me to fix it since we don't have medical coverage at the moment. I'm not sure I've been this concerned about my physical well-being ever, but I can't stop my world to sleep more.

I miss Nicaragua, we had a team come back from a 2 week stint there last week and I cried every time they talked about the Glue Boys. I love those little huffers so much and want so badly to go lift them out of their haze for a couple days and show them what kids should have to do. Also, seeing the girls back from Thailand makes me miss being there and building gingerbread houses with college students.

I think I sometimes wonder if missions is only my hubby's calling, but then I think of any place that I've been and I feel my heart sing longingly for the wonder of those places.

And, wonder of wonders, a couple is now going to our church who has Turkish in-laws. To find others with a heart for that place excites me so much! Seni sevi orum Turkiye!

This May Mean You

I and two others from church are leaving April 2nd to visit friends in China. We are going to deliver Easter eggs so that they can explain the religious and secular aspects of the holiday to their students. Here's the deal, we're fundraising and I don't have many avenues for funding.
About 15 minutes ago, God impressed upon my heart to post my request on my blogs. So, there may be those of you out there who are supposed to support us through prayer or finances. If you feel led to pray we will be gone April 2nd-April 13th.
If you would like to contribute financially you can send a check made out to Hillside Community Church and write "Sara's China trip" in the memo line.
Here's the address to send it to:
Hillside Community Church
103 N. Ford St.
Golden, CO 80403
Please e-mail or comment with questions!

TV Disappointment

I just have to comment on tonight's "Grey's Anatomy". Good one, but it seems that after they pulled off an amazing episode last week, there was nowhere to go but down. As for George and Izzy possibly beginning the downfall of George and Kali...that's just wrong!!
Please, for love of Pete, give me one happy couple to enjoy on this show or I shall have to dump you! Introduce a new character or something!
And where was Bailey in this episode? She adds substance and common sense to the enjoyable madhouse.
I really don't see how they can keep it good. Their writers have brilliant moments, but you need some substance to have a show stand! Look at "Friends" :0)

Corinthians and the Family Team

First things first, my long absence has a good explanation. I'm leaving for China in 3 weeks...I've been attacked spiritually, emotionally and physically the last couple of weeks. The funny things is that I seem to forget that that is ALWAYS what happens leading up to these trips. Freakin absent long-term memory! If you think of it, lift me up to the Father.

I am, by nature, a person who enjoys kids. I think they're fun, but I am not big on the title of mother. As a result I fought the stereotypes I had of that role for a long time. Over the last year, God has shown me the amazing intricacies of His interaction with humanity through my growing relationship with my 3 and 5 year old.

We have been talking about being a part of God's winning team in church the last couple of weeks and at Bible study our leader asked us to think of other "teams" we're on (the marriageteam, missions team, etc). We talked about our "family teams" and then our leader read 1 Corinthians 12. Something in me clicked as I took that passage and applied it to my family. Oh my gosh, my kids are an essential part of this family body!

So often it's easy for me to go into "lady of the house" mode and treat my kiddos as peons. What a perversion of the vision that He has for our families! I already feel a great appreciation for all the examples and words of truth my kids have spoken to me ("Mommy, you hurt my feelings!"). My daughter has taken a great interest in laying hands on people when praying for their physical ailments. How dare I look down on whatever God is teaching her at her present age. So, here I stand, convicted of how I have discounted my kids as add-ons or ignorant peons when their presence in our family is part of the Divine design.

Thank You

Thank you Lanell for loving me and our differences.

Thank you Bink for being everything and more I could want in a sister.

Thank you LOPW for bringing me such great and encouraging women like SuperMom and Robinznest...who knew that blogging was such a blessing and uplifting endeavor!

Thank you Kari for being a kindred spirit and for sitting with me every Tuesday and petitioning the Father.

Prayer was so good today...there seemed to be a fervent and effervescent energy to our conversation with Him today. Mashallah Isa!

One of those Days...

...when I wonder if everyone thinks my Self/ personality sucks. One of those where I'm not confident that I'm okay as me. One of those days when you crawl under a rock and lick your insecure wounds. Blech!

Lesser Addiction?

There are majorly destructive addictions out there and I don't want you to think that I'm making light of those in any way. I feel as though there are some vices that we've glossed over and barely give a second thought. I want to talk specifically about book addiction.

I am a all-around book addict...I was homeschooled until seventh grade and had no friends beyond the kids in my neighborhood and the large stack of books I had in my house. I often hid from my sheltered life in the magical possibilities of "Half-Magic", "Nancy Drew" and "Five Children and It". I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia 11 times during my childhood!! I think the drawback of all my "book learnin" was that I had a hard time integrating into social interaction because books were so much easier to interact with.

Move on to my adult life as a wife and mom. I find that my spiritual and emotional life is affected by what books I let my brain digest. I will go on fiction binges and then wonder why I feel so disconnected from God and my family. I have also become a non-fiction lover. I will find a subject of interest ( Saudi Arabian history, reading body language, history of popular food) and exhaust the library's inventory of the subject.

A friend and I were discussing the book, "Wicked" and how we both needed to take a break from his writing after that book. Obviously it's having an impact on our thought life! I read "The Da Vinci Code" a month ago and I had to pick up my Bible after reading a couple chapters, just so my spirit felt right. I have researched church history and the canonization process and so I knew where the truth was bent factually in that book. BUT it still niggled its way into my brain.


How many of you know women who are gluttons of romance novels and, as a result, are unhappy with the way they interact with their spouse?? Or feel fatalistic about life after reading J.D. Salinger? Or have the weight of all the things they could be doing to improve themselves after reading too much self-help.

I know many teenagers who are addicted to music or movie genres. All of these things in and of themselves ARE NOT BAD! But I want us as believers to consider the spiritual aspects of these areas. God can bring the right song or book (both secular and spiritual) into our walk that will cause us to grow into a new understanding of Him.

I must confess for me I have a great book that He brought me to read that I've set aside for fiction. I needed a break to digest some of what I learned, but I've turned it into fictional gluttony...and I'm starting to feel sick on it.

All of this internal living also keeps us from living out His plan for us. A book or phrase may enliven us to move to action and ought to or we've missed the whole point of its ability to uplift us.

The book of James speak of being a "doer of the word" not "merely hearers who delude themselves." James 1:21-25

I may post more along the same line later, but I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Blessings!