Have you ever wanted to write about something but you didn't know how to put it it a way that wouldn't make people ask you a thousand questions or start suspecting something about you that may or may not be true? Or that you at least don't really want people talking about because it's not really that exciting in reality anyway it's just something that excites you even though there's probably no reason for it too?? Have I completely lost you and compelled you to do exactly that which I am writing in hopes of people not doing??
*SIGH*
Maybe I should just go to bed and keep all thoughts to myself...
And so, Goodnight :]
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
I GOT A NEW JOB!!!!!
God is so good and has overwhelmed me once again with His blessing and provision! After interviewing at the Pregnancy Care Clinic almost 2 weeks ago I was beginning to wonder if I would ever hear from them and if it could possibly be good news when I did. Friday I got the call that they wanted to offer me a position as the Human Resources Director. (or something like that…I can never remember the official job title!) This was so exciting because it wasn’t even the job I had originally interviewed for. After talking with the employer she thought I would be perfect for the position so she had me talk to the current human resources director to get a feel for what the job is and to see if I would be interested in it. Apparently this lady thought I would be perfect for the position as well and they are excited to have me on board!!
The Pregnancy Care Clinic is a non-profit organization here in Oak Harbor. My employer goes to my church and she is an amazing woman with a beautiful passion for this ministry. I am so excited about the opportunity to work with her and so many other Christian women that have a deep love for the Lord and care and compassion for the women that come to the clinic for help and guidance. The clinic does not recommend or endorse abortion in anyway. We are pro-life all the way! (just thought I better put that disclaimer in there)
My job will include being in charge of all the volunteers—training them and helping them with any problems, as well as looking through volunteer applications to find some more wonderful people to help us out--teaching parenting classes, helping with pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, doing some minor counseling work with young women/couples, and setting up seminars every couple months to help the volunteers (and myself) keep up on the last issues, laws, and advances in various pregnancy related issues. (i.e.: adoption, abortion, pregnancy heath, etc.)
To celebrate Amy, Miriah, Stephen, and I went out to Applebee’s for dinner and had quite a lovely time…at least I thought so! There were some serious moments but mostly lots of laughing and poking fun at one another. Amy’s face must have been tired because she had to stretch it and I laughed so hard I cried. I love my friends. Thank you for celebrating with me and for bringing so much joy into my life!!!
The other exciting thing right now is that my parents are, at this very moment, on a plane traveling to Oak Harbor to visit me for a week. They should be landing in a couple hours and I’m pretty excited! I got the house all cleaned up for them and it’s so great that we’ll all get to celebrate together! It will be so fun to show them around the island and help them understand why I love it here so much. Hopefully the rain will stop and the sunshine and mountains will come back into view while they are here. I’d hate for them to miss those beautiful sites! I have Monday and Wednesday of work, which makes their visit even more spectacular. I’m hoping we have a great time together…this is such a new season of life for all of us. It will be interesting to see how that affects our relationship. I think it will better it honestly. Time will tell.
So, until next time my friends and avid readers, blessings. :D
The Pregnancy Care Clinic is a non-profit organization here in Oak Harbor. My employer goes to my church and she is an amazing woman with a beautiful passion for this ministry. I am so excited about the opportunity to work with her and so many other Christian women that have a deep love for the Lord and care and compassion for the women that come to the clinic for help and guidance. The clinic does not recommend or endorse abortion in anyway. We are pro-life all the way! (just thought I better put that disclaimer in there)
My job will include being in charge of all the volunteers—training them and helping them with any problems, as well as looking through volunteer applications to find some more wonderful people to help us out--teaching parenting classes, helping with pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, doing some minor counseling work with young women/couples, and setting up seminars every couple months to help the volunteers (and myself) keep up on the last issues, laws, and advances in various pregnancy related issues. (i.e.: adoption, abortion, pregnancy heath, etc.)
To celebrate Amy, Miriah, Stephen, and I went out to Applebee’s for dinner and had quite a lovely time…at least I thought so! There were some serious moments but mostly lots of laughing and poking fun at one another. Amy’s face must have been tired because she had to stretch it and I laughed so hard I cried. I love my friends. Thank you for celebrating with me and for bringing so much joy into my life!!!
The other exciting thing right now is that my parents are, at this very moment, on a plane traveling to Oak Harbor to visit me for a week. They should be landing in a couple hours and I’m pretty excited! I got the house all cleaned up for them and it’s so great that we’ll all get to celebrate together! It will be so fun to show them around the island and help them understand why I love it here so much. Hopefully the rain will stop and the sunshine and mountains will come back into view while they are here. I’d hate for them to miss those beautiful sites! I have Monday and Wednesday of work, which makes their visit even more spectacular. I’m hoping we have a great time together…this is such a new season of life for all of us. It will be interesting to see how that affects our relationship. I think it will better it honestly. Time will tell.
So, until next time my friends and avid readers, blessings. :D
Friday, May 21, 2010
And So It Goes
It would take too long to go through the craziness of my life from the past month so here's some highlights :)
*The Bethel Concert Choir came to our town and sang at our church. What a blessing and pleasure it was to see so many old friends and hear such beautiful music! I am so glad they were able to come and that our church responded so positively to the whole thing!
*My job has been a constant up and down ride. Overall, I really hate it. God has recently blessed me with some wonderful clients that make my job so much more pleasant than it once was but I'm still not getting many hours which means I'm not making much money.
*On the upside of the job stuff...I had an interview with the Pregnancy Care Clinic this past week for either their Administrative Assistant position or their Career Services Director position and am hoping and praying that they hire me for one of them! Time will tell...my prayer is that I would have peace about whatever decision is made and that I will remember that it is God's plan for my life that rules, not my plan.
*Two of my good friends and brothers in Christ left for deployments this week. I already miss them. I saw a bakery the other day and heard a song that instantly made me think of Nick. I got a hangnail today and automatically thought of Timothy. (haha ;) When these little things bring my friends to mind I try to make sure I stop to say a little prayer for them. I figure they are coming to mind for a reason. :]
*My parents will be here a week from tomorrow. Weird. Crazy. Exciting. I hope we have great weather and that they are able to see why I love it so much here. I wish Erin could come with them...maybe next time... :)
*I am struggling to wait patiently for love. And too often I fear that it will simply never happen for me. There. I said it. Prayer would be greatly appreciated as I work on allowing God to fill every part of me and trusting that He can and will provide for all my needs.
*I can feel that life is changing. I don't exactly know what that means or where it will take me next. Part of me is excited. The other part is nervous. Again...trusting Him to work it all out...
*One of my best friends will be having her second child in a month. The other has entered into a new and exciting time in her life. I'm so happy for both of them and I love them both so much. God has truly blessed me in the friend department!
*That last sentence goes for all my friends. They're literally all over the world now and I love each of them so much and for so many different reasons. Isn't it so fun to think about the various ways God brings people together and forms relationships?? It's amazing when you think about it...
*I'm so glad I serve a God who care about every detail, no matter how small it may be
*The Bethel Concert Choir came to our town and sang at our church. What a blessing and pleasure it was to see so many old friends and hear such beautiful music! I am so glad they were able to come and that our church responded so positively to the whole thing!
*My job has been a constant up and down ride. Overall, I really hate it. God has recently blessed me with some wonderful clients that make my job so much more pleasant than it once was but I'm still not getting many hours which means I'm not making much money.
*On the upside of the job stuff...I had an interview with the Pregnancy Care Clinic this past week for either their Administrative Assistant position or their Career Services Director position and am hoping and praying that they hire me for one of them! Time will tell...my prayer is that I would have peace about whatever decision is made and that I will remember that it is God's plan for my life that rules, not my plan.
*Two of my good friends and brothers in Christ left for deployments this week. I already miss them. I saw a bakery the other day and heard a song that instantly made me think of Nick. I got a hangnail today and automatically thought of Timothy. (haha ;) When these little things bring my friends to mind I try to make sure I stop to say a little prayer for them. I figure they are coming to mind for a reason. :]
*My parents will be here a week from tomorrow. Weird. Crazy. Exciting. I hope we have great weather and that they are able to see why I love it so much here. I wish Erin could come with them...maybe next time... :)
*I am struggling to wait patiently for love. And too often I fear that it will simply never happen for me. There. I said it. Prayer would be greatly appreciated as I work on allowing God to fill every part of me and trusting that He can and will provide for all my needs.
*I can feel that life is changing. I don't exactly know what that means or where it will take me next. Part of me is excited. The other part is nervous. Again...trusting Him to work it all out...
*One of my best friends will be having her second child in a month. The other has entered into a new and exciting time in her life. I'm so happy for both of them and I love them both so much. God has truly blessed me in the friend department!
*That last sentence goes for all my friends. They're literally all over the world now and I love each of them so much and for so many different reasons. Isn't it so fun to think about the various ways God brings people together and forms relationships?? It's amazing when you think about it...
*I'm so glad I serve a God who care about every detail, no matter how small it may be
Saturday, April 10, 2010
I really like spending time with friends. Tonight Amy and I have several people over. We cooked a bunch of yummy breakfast foods for dinner and we all sat around the big table just talking and laughing and making fun of each other. It's been awhile since we've done anything like this and I've found it refreshing to be with people. I love Amy and I love hanging out with her but I really do find a special joy in spending time with the group. Tonight a few newer people came and it's been nice to get to know them better too. Overall, it's just been a really good day. :)
Tomorrow Amy and I are singing a duet at church. It'll be the first time we've ever sung together so I'm pretty excited...hopefully I'll remember all the words! haha...it should be wonderful and I think people at our church will like it. We'll also be making an announcement about the Bethel choir coming to our church! I really hope people get excited and offer to host students for us!
Ok...this post is boring and people are hovering so I'm gonna stop...:)
Tomorrow Amy and I are singing a duet at church. It'll be the first time we've ever sung together so I'm pretty excited...hopefully I'll remember all the words! haha...it should be wonderful and I think people at our church will like it. We'll also be making an announcement about the Bethel choir coming to our church! I really hope people get excited and offer to host students for us!
Ok...this post is boring and people are hovering so I'm gonna stop...:)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Psalm 28:7
I don't want to say much. My heart hurts. My soul cries out for comfort and rest in the midst of confusion and pain. I sleep but I find no rest. Dreams haunt me and startle me from my slumber. I find no peace in closing my eyes. I seek joy and a stillness for my weary soul and ask that God "restore to me the joy of my salvation." There is so much to be thankful for, especially this week...Easter...when Jesus died so that I might have life.
Help me God to not be consumed by the evil one and his plots against me. Surround me with your love and the remembrance of your sacrifice. You are my strength and my shield; my heart trust in you, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to you. This is my humble prayer...
Help me God to not be consumed by the evil one and his plots against me. Surround me with your love and the remembrance of your sacrifice. You are my strength and my shield; my heart trust in you, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to you. This is my humble prayer...
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Boundaries
Boys. Girls. Friendship. Relationship. Confusion. Frustration. Joy. Wonderfulness. Exhaustion.
haha...so what you're probably thinking now is "Sara's got boy issues!" and you're right, though probably not in the way you think. There is no "special someone" in my life right now nor the hopes or possibilities for that at the moment. I am however finding myself confused and often frustrated in my friendships with males. There have to be boundaries to keep our hearts pure and prepared for the one God has for us. However, how far must those boundaries go? Are there certain situations where I can step beyond a normal boundary to connect with someone new and learn about them without it appearing that I am interested or pursuing a relationship beyond friendship with them?
A good, recent example is that there are a few new guys coming to the Pier. They've only been there a few times now but they mentioned really wanting Christian fellowship. Amy and I instantly thought "We should invite them to hang out with us and our group of friends sometime." BUT for this to happen we would need to ask them for their phone numbers and that seems like a step beyond the boundaries or a situation where our motives could be brought into question.
So what should we do? Ask for their numbers and hope they know we don't mean anything more by it? Pretend like we never heard them say that and continue hanging out with the friends we have, never really reaching out to them? Wait until one of our guy friends is around and have him get their numbers so he can do the inviting?
The problem with #1 is that I feel like Amy and I have been questioned, or challenged may be a better way of putting it, to make sure our motives are always pure and that what we are doing won't distract ourselves or others from God. Though Amy and I know our motives are pure, will others stray or become concerned because they see it differently? The problem with #2 is that it goes against our nature to not reach out and befriend new people. We just can't do it and it's a terrible way for the Pier to act as a whole. If people want to get more involved we should make sure that can happen for them, not turn them away. The problem with #3 is that, for the most part, our guy friends aren't really around anymore. Several of the guys are gone for one reason or another. Some are away at school. Others are preparing for upcoming deployments and then there are some guys that just haven’t really been around the Pier lately in general and honestly from what I’ve seen, probably wouldn’t be super comfortable in this kind of situation anyway.
So where does this leave us? I feel like both Amy and I have been put in positions of leadership at the Pier, which we love and enjoy, but we feel restricted when it comes to inviting new people we see at church or taking extra steps to reach out to new people that are coming. Why? Because most of those people are male.
For the most part Amy and I have come to the conclusion that we should reach out to people, male and female, and let the chips fall where they may. My apologies in advance if anyone sees our actions as unwise or stepping over boundaries but I refuse to let possible friendships slip by me because that person happens to be of the opposite sex. Even more importantly, I refuse to deny people opportunities to meet and fellowship with other Christians simply because there are no boys present at the time to invite them along. Jesus invited both males and females to hang out and fellowship with him, so why shouldn’t I? :)
*As I reread this I realized it might have come off a little hostile. That’s not the way I meant it. This is just something that has been frustrating me because I just so desperately want to befriend people and make them feel welcome and I hate feeling like I can’t or shouldn’t do that simply because they are guys. I hope that makes sense… :)
haha...so what you're probably thinking now is "Sara's got boy issues!" and you're right, though probably not in the way you think. There is no "special someone" in my life right now nor the hopes or possibilities for that at the moment. I am however finding myself confused and often frustrated in my friendships with males. There have to be boundaries to keep our hearts pure and prepared for the one God has for us. However, how far must those boundaries go? Are there certain situations where I can step beyond a normal boundary to connect with someone new and learn about them without it appearing that I am interested or pursuing a relationship beyond friendship with them?
A good, recent example is that there are a few new guys coming to the Pier. They've only been there a few times now but they mentioned really wanting Christian fellowship. Amy and I instantly thought "We should invite them to hang out with us and our group of friends sometime." BUT for this to happen we would need to ask them for their phone numbers and that seems like a step beyond the boundaries or a situation where our motives could be brought into question.
So what should we do? Ask for their numbers and hope they know we don't mean anything more by it? Pretend like we never heard them say that and continue hanging out with the friends we have, never really reaching out to them? Wait until one of our guy friends is around and have him get their numbers so he can do the inviting?
The problem with #1 is that I feel like Amy and I have been questioned, or challenged may be a better way of putting it, to make sure our motives are always pure and that what we are doing won't distract ourselves or others from God. Though Amy and I know our motives are pure, will others stray or become concerned because they see it differently? The problem with #2 is that it goes against our nature to not reach out and befriend new people. We just can't do it and it's a terrible way for the Pier to act as a whole. If people want to get more involved we should make sure that can happen for them, not turn them away. The problem with #3 is that, for the most part, our guy friends aren't really around anymore. Several of the guys are gone for one reason or another. Some are away at school. Others are preparing for upcoming deployments and then there are some guys that just haven’t really been around the Pier lately in general and honestly from what I’ve seen, probably wouldn’t be super comfortable in this kind of situation anyway.
So where does this leave us? I feel like both Amy and I have been put in positions of leadership at the Pier, which we love and enjoy, but we feel restricted when it comes to inviting new people we see at church or taking extra steps to reach out to new people that are coming. Why? Because most of those people are male.
For the most part Amy and I have come to the conclusion that we should reach out to people, male and female, and let the chips fall where they may. My apologies in advance if anyone sees our actions as unwise or stepping over boundaries but I refuse to let possible friendships slip by me because that person happens to be of the opposite sex. Even more importantly, I refuse to deny people opportunities to meet and fellowship with other Christians simply because there are no boys present at the time to invite them along. Jesus invited both males and females to hang out and fellowship with him, so why shouldn’t I? :)
*As I reread this I realized it might have come off a little hostile. That’s not the way I meant it. This is just something that has been frustrating me because I just so desperately want to befriend people and make them feel welcome and I hate feeling like I can’t or shouldn’t do that simply because they are guys. I hope that makes sense… :)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Goals
I've been thinking about things in my life that I have been wanting to work on but that I kept coming up with excuses to avoid. Well no more. It's time to step up, face facts, and do the work to accomplish these things. Today I sat down and set up some goals that I would like to reach. Some have specific time periods. Others are simply things I'd like to be consistently working on. I figured to keep myself a little more accountable I would post them here.
1) Spending time in scripture and prayer each day. This is something I have always struggled with and know I need to make a part of my daily life.
2) Exercise/Lose weight. Again, something I've always seemed to struggle with and it's hard for me (embarrassing really) to admit here how desperately I need to work on this. That being said, it's time to take hold of this issue and conquer it. This one might be the most difficult one for me but I know I will be so proud of myself and I'm sure happier and definitely healthier once I reach it.
3) Going along with the previous goal, I want to start eating healthier. No more snacking (or choosing to snack on healthy things like fruit... :) and cutting down on pop and other sinful delights I often allow myself to have. I'm not helping myself or my body by filling it with these things.
4) Find something in the community to be involved in. I would really love to find a choir to be part of or a volunteer-type ministry. I'd really like to reach out to those around me, get to know some different people, and serve Christ. This one may take some time to get started since I don't have a set work schedule yet but I'm excited to start looking into it.
So there it is. That's what I've come up with so far. I would love your support and prayer as I try to reach these goals! :)
1) Spending time in scripture and prayer each day. This is something I have always struggled with and know I need to make a part of my daily life.
2) Exercise/Lose weight. Again, something I've always seemed to struggle with and it's hard for me (embarrassing really) to admit here how desperately I need to work on this. That being said, it's time to take hold of this issue and conquer it. This one might be the most difficult one for me but I know I will be so proud of myself and I'm sure happier and definitely healthier once I reach it.
3) Going along with the previous goal, I want to start eating healthier. No more snacking (or choosing to snack on healthy things like fruit... :) and cutting down on pop and other sinful delights I often allow myself to have. I'm not helping myself or my body by filling it with these things.
4) Find something in the community to be involved in. I would really love to find a choir to be part of or a volunteer-type ministry. I'd really like to reach out to those around me, get to know some different people, and serve Christ. This one may take some time to get started since I don't have a set work schedule yet but I'm excited to start looking into it.
So there it is. That's what I've come up with so far. I would love your support and prayer as I try to reach these goals! :)
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