hope

I had grand ideals of writing this blog last week (I thought I had HOPE all figured out), but life and moving and driving across the country got in the way! Well, as the past few days transpired, I realized why I had not written this yet... I really have not figured out what hope is, and I really have so much more to learn and so many more days of waiting than I would have "hoped" for....  So, what is hope anyway? We often think of hope as the possibility of a certain outcome, or hope in a person to come through. I have hope that Ryan and I will get to South Asia safely and that things will come together for us there... hope that our family will grow... hope that the friends I have shared Chr'ist with over the past year will come to fa'ith. I feel like the things I have hope in are justifiable... I don't think they are worldly, or anything that is contrary to Scr'ipture or the heart of G'od. But just because we Hope for something that COULD glor'ify G'od it does not mean that it will be what brings the MOST glory, or be the way that G'od chooses to use us. As certain things have not worked the way i planned, i sit with my coffee with tears streaming asking why G'od is not giving me what I HOPE for, I realized that I can't hope in an outcome, but ONLY hope in the Lord. Not in the things that i dream would bring people to Him, or of the things that would help me to serve him better, or what i always imagined my life would look like, but only in the Lord. How do you put your hope in the Lord and not in the things that He does? I realize that I have no idea. I thought I had it figured out. wow. Sometimes we get so short sided, imagining that we have a broad view. I don't know what to do, but I know the one who does, so I will just sit and spend some time with Him and I have full confidence that he will tell me how to live it one day at a time. 
Psalm 17:13-15 "Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants. As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness when I awake, I shall be satisfied with seeing your likeness."

Radiant with Joy

I have a passion... something that gets me out of bed in the morning and keeps me pressing on throughout the day...its all about JOY. I love making peoples' day and bringing a smile where there was a frown! I love to sing loudly and spontaneously break out into dance... No one would say that I am a fabulous dancer, but they would have to admit I have LOTS of fun doing it! If someone asked for words that I want to be described as, the top of my list is always, "Joyful!" My heart longs for joy and the moments that are most defining in my life have been so because I chose joy. How we respond is always a choice and it's a challenge to step back and choose wisely. My life verse is Psalm 34:4-5 (NLT) "I prayed to the Lord and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to Him for help will be RADIANT with JOY; no shadow of shame will darken their faces." This is why I LOVE scripture! How poetic and powerful is this! Through him, we are given freedom from the fears that bound us, and we radiate HIS joy and we will never be covered with shame. I want to be full of JOY... so full that it spills out and radiates out of my very being so that when I smile to someone on the street they see the glory of God living in me. Too often I am not thinking of sharing the glory of God, but of promoting "Sarah" and her "cool-ness' to everyone around me. I want to change this and moment by moment dwell on the goodness of God so that I will continuously "look to Him" and be "RADIANT" for Him! I am an eternal optimist and as I sit here writing, I can imagine that I will do this daily, but I have an awareness that it is not by my own strength but by the Spirit that we are able to do something so bold. Living with a realist (my husband) helps me to know that our world is full of sin and things are flawed and not ideal, but we can both agree that through daily spending time with HIM, we can become the person He desires for us to be and we can radiate His Glory to the world.