Be Still

Today I want to tell you about one of my favorite words. It's not a word that you hear every day. In fact...many of you probably haven't ever heard of it, much less said it. I don't even say this word that often, but it's not about saying it, it's about what this word means, and how it's done.

I know...cut to the chase, Sarah. But forreal, I want you to know how amazing this word is before I tell it to you. It totally re-vamped my life and gave me a new perspective on things that happen in life.

Selah. That's my word. Heard of it? It is used seventy-four times in scripture: mostly in the book of Psalms and a few times in Hebrews. Here's one definition I found for Selah:

Selah (Hebrew: סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh) is a word used frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in the
Psalms, It is probably either a liturgico-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, something like
"stop and listen". "Let those with eyes see and with ears hear" is most concise. "Selah" can also be used to
indicate that there is to be a musical interlude at that point in the Psalm.


Here are some instances in the book of Psalms where Selah is used:

Psalm 46: 1-3

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

Psalm 46: 10-11

10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

This chapter is a song. These people are praising God and singing about how good God is and how BIG God is! But yet, after the big song, they take a pause, a Selah. They stop the noise of their lives, even if it's singing and praising God, and they take the time to hear God's still small voice.

Stop and listen.

It is an act of worship. Worship doesn't always mean singing your guts out, it can be silent. An act of obediently listening to God's voice. After all, how can you have a conversation without listening? You can't have a relationship if you're the one doing all the talking.

Stop and listen.

Check out this video by Rob Bell, same guy from the video yesterday, he has a great video about being silent before God. Check it out, its worth the 10 minutes.

"Noise"

The next time your life gets crazy...be still. Know that HE IS GOD. Selah.

Let me know what you think of the video :)

-ST

Fear, Part 2

What is it about waiting that makes us lose our minds? This idea of not knowing something and having to wait to find out the answer...it's enough to make most people go batty.

And if anyone tells you that they don't mind waiting...that it doesn't bother them...chances are they're lying.

I was at the Doctor's office on Friday. I waited for THREE HOURS before I was even seen. Everyone I talked to was just in shock of how long it was taking me to get seen. I waited for so long that by the time I was seen by someone, I missed my window of opportunity to get to the nurse I needed to see. So after all that waiting, I didn't get what I needed. I then had to travel to ANOTHER Doctor's office that was still open, wait some more, and finally I accomplished what I came to do.

Now, after all that waiting, I'm STILL waiting to hear back from my checkup. And yes, I'm losing my mind.

But it's kinda crazy...amidst all this waiting and heart racing madness...I hear a still small voice deep within me speaking to me, "Peace my daughter, I know the plans I have for you, Peace, Peace, Peace."

God is so good. I can feel Him holding me as I worry. When I am weak, He is strong.

Here is a link to one of my favorite depictions of God's love for us during our darkest times and our fiercest storms in life. I pray you take the time to check it out, it makes me cry every time.

"Rain"

Until next time,

ST

Let me know what you think about this video or how it touched your heart. Cause it will.

Short and Sweet

Don't you hate it when you're always the one who works works works to do things for other people and they never say so much as a thank you? Or even acknowledge what you've done for them?

That's how we treat God, ALL the time. We beg beg beg for Him to do things for us, whine when we don't get them, and when we do get them, we just sigh and say "it's about time." So tell Him thank you today for something He's done for you. Bet it'll make you feel real good, and Him too!

Have a great Tuesday, blog land!

ST

Fear

Let's face it: no one likes being afraid. Being afraid isn't fun. Your heart rate pumps up, your palms start to sweat, you begin to breathe heavily. Your eyes dart back and forth quickly. And eventually, if you let it get the best of you, the thing you fear can start to consume your every thought, to where you can focus on nothing else.

The past couple of weeks I've had some fear in my life. For me, it's fear of something unknown. And I think the scariest part is, the unknown will become known next weekend...and I'm afraid to find out what it is. I had a breakdown at work yesterday about it. Just cried and cried in my office.

Why is it that something can be so scary and consume our entire thought process, even before we know if it's true? For all I know, the thing I'm afraid of could turn out to be nothing at all.

I think the devil uses fear to try and distract us from focusing on God.

But in Isaiah 41:10, God tells us just what He wants us to do with fear:

10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

And in Romans 8:15, God tells us that fear is DEFINITELY not from Him:

15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear,
but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

This verse gives me chills. God didn't give us fear, He adopted us into His family as His children. So when we become afraid, we must get rid of that fear, give it to our Heavenly Daddy...as this verse says, and we cry "Abba, Father."

Dear God, take away my fear. Make it all better. You're such a good and loving Daddy.

The Real World...not MTV style.

So this summer I decided to stay here in Columbia and work full-time at the place where I've been working for a couple years now. I really love my job. I get to do fun things and work with really cool people and actually use the skills that I've learned in school! Not too many people get to use what they went to college for, so I feel lucky that my education is paying off.

Anyway, I am directing this blog to all of you grownups out there in blog land...

How does ANYONE get ANYTHING done in their lives when they have to work a 9-5 job?! I mean, it is so hard to get anything done when the rest of the world goes to work the same time you do, they all get off the same time you do, and by the time you can actually have time to think in the afternoons, everyone is closed!

It seems that the only way some of these things can get done is by taking time off work and losing money so as to get your personal stuff done while the corporate world is still awake and functioning for the day. Why does it have to be that way? Why can't the rest of the world be open for business when it's convenient for me? Gosh, it is all about me after all (totally kidding...but really, it is.........kidding again).

Anyway, do any of you adults out there in this world have any advice? Lord, I can hardly take care of myself, I can't imagine taking care of a family on top of all this.

Mom and Dad...I have gained a new appreciation for what you do. I don't know how you did it, but you guys are amazing...and this further proves my theory from when I was little that yall have to be superheroes. Just no other way it's possible.

Be jealous, world. I have superhero parents.

With Arms Wide Open

Today, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and we were talking about different churches in our area.

During our conversation, we chatted about people we know who have been turned off from going to church because of the people in that particular church.

This breaks my heart. I just wanna get this off my chest. I get very VERY upset when I hear of someone having a horrible experience in a church because someone was ugly to them or what have you. It's OUR job as followers of Christ to point people to the Lord. To some people in this world, we might be the only Jesus they ever come into contact with. Would Jesus be ugly to a person because they aren't wearing a tie to church? Would Jesus treat that person differently because they didn't grow up in a church and go to Sunday School their whole childhood? Would Jesus love someone less if they didn't know all the Bible stories? OF COURSE NOT!

It's our responsibility as followers of Christ to welcome everyone with open arms. Sacrifice for them to show them the true meaning of God's love for us. Remember, we are called to love people "as Christ loved the Church." And don't forget, Christ's love for the church was shown in death on a cross.

People shouldn't be turned off from going to ANY church because of the people in it. The point of the Church is to share the Gospel with everyone...to the ends of the earth. Why would we turn anyone away? Or treat anyone badly? He who has ears, let him hear! Remember?!

So on that note, if anyone wants to come to church with me, I don't care what your background is. I don't care how you grew up, I don't care what you wear, what your hair looks like, what kind of shoes you are wearing. If ANYONE wants to come to church with me, call me, send me an email, facebook message, anything, and you're more than welcome to come.

Let's remember why we're here folks, to share the love of Christ with PEOPLE. Not to scare them away from a chance to hear His message.

And if you've been burned by a church before or someone in a church, remember this. We are all HUMAN. We screw up. People mess up. That's why we need a Savior. No one is perfect, but Jesus is! So don't get turned off from going to church because one person was a hypocrite, or one person treated you badly...because Jesus died for that person too. In the end, it's all about Him and His grace and love!

Stop and Smell the Roses

Okay folks, so let's just face the fact right off the top: today's society is OBSESSED with technology.

Blackberrys, iPhones, Droids, texts, phone calls, emails, twitters (or tweets? I'm not into all that twitter nonsense...), notes, wall posts, instant messages, Skype, ooVoo, and yes, even blogs...we're immersed in a world of constant communication and connection with anyone we want, anywhere in the world.

We even have such things as 24-hour news stations where you can turn your television on at 4am (Lord knows I don't know why you'd want to watch news at 4am, but hey, to each his own) and find out what's going on in the world!

And this can be a good thing!

First obvious pro about technology is, its EASY. Let's be real, we all like things to be easy. No person in their right mind, given the choice between two options, will choose one because it's hard. We like easy. Second, it's convenient! You can access pretty much any information you want, whenever you want it. You can contact whomever you want, whenever you want them. And third, you can be in constant communication with people who you just can't go five minutes without talking to them.

But the con list...oooh boy the con list is HUGE in comparison.

And mostly I'm speaking to the ladies out there in blog land...show of hands, how many of us have our phones within a one foot radius of ourselves at all times? (*I'm raising my hand proudly*) And some of you gentlemen, you are guilty of this too, you're not getting away that easily. Here's a few phrases from my con list that I made: too easy, no excitement, become too dependent, constant worry, become consumed. How many of you know exactly what I'm talking about?

I think many of you would agree with me that technology has ruined dating. Imagine how exciting and thrilling dating would be if you had to wait around for a letter from your love, because it was your only form of communication? Or how excited would you be if after a month of not seeing your love, you see them riding up to your house in their carriage that they rode in for a week to see you? My heart is pounding just thinking about it. Instead, we have cell phones and text messages that if they aren't responded to instantly, the other person is rude or inconsiderate. You sit around all day consumed with worry about WHY DIDNT THEY TEXT ME BACK?! DONT THEY WAAAANT TO TALK TO ME?!?! Let's face it girls, how many of us need to check into "text rehab" for a little while? I think it'd do many of us a world of good.

I can't tell you how good it feels sometimes to just turn my phone off, and to know that if someone wants to find me, they can't! I like taking time to stop and smell the roses. You should try it. It's pretty freeing.

On a larger scale, our obsession with technology is basically a need for instant gratification. If we text someone, we expect an answer. If we call someone, we expect a return call immediately. If we don't get this instant gratification, the other person is rude or inconsiderate or doesn't like us, etc etc etc.

I think this problem with a need for instant gratification goes way bigger than in the technology aspect, though. I think we can see this problem in our spiritual lives also. When we pray, it's like we are making a phone call up to God, expecting an answer right away. And if we don't hear from Him that second, He has forgotten about us. He doesn't love us enough. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The Bible says that God's ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Why do we always want an instant answer right away? Because that's easy. Waiting for God's timing isn't easy.

But God even tells us not to worry! In the book of Matthew, chapter 6, verse 25, it says:

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So in this world of constant communication and instant gratification, take a pause. Breathe. Put the cell phone away. Say a prayer, and leave it be. Take time to stop and smell the roses. They smell really good if we actually pay attention to them :)