Revolution YOU.

Friday Favorites.

January 11, 2013 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Hello and Happy Friday! Can’t believe it’s already Friday again…where does the time go? I have to work this weekend, so nothing too exciting will be going on around here, but that’s alright. Well, since I haven’t done a Friday Favorites post in practically forever, I thought I would sum up the past few weeks in a few of my favorite moments right now. So, without further ado, here are my favorites from the past week[s]…

5. Getting to spend some quality time with James’ family over Christmas. While we weren’t actually able to go home to the North Country, it was so so nice to have his family with us over the holidays. Gave me a chance to practice some of my cooking as well…haha. But seriously, we had a blast showing them around Dallas, and look forward to the next time we have visitors:)

Family and SNOW!

4. Visiting the Dallas World Aquarium with James’ family. Seriously, one of the best aquariums I have been to—and I love aquariums. The rainforest feature was very cool, and allowed for more animals [like birds and monkeys] to be included in the tour. Very unique, and definitely worth a visit if you are ever in Dallas!

Seriously…a waterfall!

3. Samson’s first visit to the vet. This may sound like a strange one, but I was nervous to take him to the vet for the first time. I mean, what if he was really bad and tried to attack everyone? But, my fear was in vain. He was a very good boy, and even started purring when the vet pet him…definitely a keeper:)

Doesn’t he look like so innocent?

2. Fort Worth Stockades. Another cool place we visited while James’ family was in town. I unfortunately didn’t take any pictures, but it was seriously such a cool place. It kind of looked like a replica of an Old Western cattle town, except for it wasn’t a replica. It was the actual town, restored of course, but it looked the same as it did years and years ago. It was neat to see all the old shops and restaurants, and imagine what life would have been like there 100 years ago.

Sculpture inside the 100+ year old hotel.

1. Starting the New Year off right with a wonderful conference at Gateway Church. We were able to hear some amazing speakers, like Max Lucado and Rick Santorum, and were inspired to live a year of purpose in 2013. It was definitely a good way to refocus, and get the year off to a great start.

So, there’s my condensed list from the past couple of weeks. What are some fun things you’ve done so far in 2013?

Hope you all have a great Friday, and an even better weekend! God Bless:)

Be a Witness…Not a Conformer.

January 10, 2013 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Hello, and Happy Thursday! Again, this week has truly flown by. Fortunately, the rain stopped sometime last night…not that I don’t like rain, it’s just that two straight days of it starts to get a little old. But, I know we needed it, and after the drought we went through last summer I vowed to never complain about rain again! Anyways, enough about the weather and the ever increasing speed of time. I read the book of Jude this morning. This sounds impressive until you realize Jude doesn’t even have chapters—just 25 verses. But, just because it’s short in length doesn’t mean its lacking in importance. It is actually a very relevant 25 verses.

“Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”

Jude 22-23

While this may sound a bit graphic, it demonstrates one of the most important aspects of the Christian faith—witnessing. Whether it be through our words, actions or deeds, we should always be reflecting Christ’s love to others—sharing the good news with them in any way we can. But, just because we are called to be loving and merciful, doesn’t mean we should be tolerant or condoning of the sin we see around us. While we love the sinner, we need to hate the sin.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when believers say something along the lines of, “Well, Jesus hung out with sinners, so therefore it must be okay for me to behave like them, tolerating the things that they are doing.” I’m sorry, but that is just not how it went down. Jesus spent time with sinners yes, but he did so for ministry purposes. He didn’t condone what they were doing, encourage them to continue sinning, or even look the other way. He went into the darkness with the intention of bringing them out into the light. He loved, and still loves, sinners, but that doesn’t mean he approves of the actual sin. In the same way, we need to love those who are living in sin, or unbelievers, but what we don’t need to do is become tolerant of the sin. We need to lovingly minister to them, just as Jesus did, with the intention of bringing them out of the darkness and into the light.

The bottom line is that we live in a sinful, fallen world. As believers, it should be our goal to witness to those around us in whatever way possible—whether it be through our words or actions. But, remember to ‘show mercy mixed with fear’, using discernment as we witness in our sin-stricken world.

On that note, I’m off to go tackle my to do list for the day. Hope you all have a great Thursday! God Bless:)

Pray with Confidence.

January 9, 2013 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday! I don’t know about you, but here is Dallas it has been raining [pouring] since yesterday afternoon. And it’s still raining. And it is supposed to keep raining ALL day. In a weird way I kind of like the rain, even though I would much prefer snow at this time of year. It’s relaxing to snuggle up inside while listening to it come down. Going outside is a slightly different story, seeing as I am immediately soaked while walking from my front door to my car, but for nom I’m inside cuddling with Samson. Great way to start off my Wednesday. Anyways, I was reading in 1 John again this morning [which is an awesome book by the way] and came across this passage…

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

1 John 5:14-15

When we pray, we can’t just ask God for any and every thing we want, expecting him to give it to us—just because we asked for it. Instead, the emphasis here is on God’s will being done above and before our own. The first thing we need to do is align our will with God’s will for our lives. It can’t just be about what we want. It has to be about what God wants for us. Once our will is aligned with God’s, and we pray for those things within his will to happen, we can expect God to follow through with an answer. We can expect him to hear us, and be certain that he will answer. We can be confident in our prayers.

This is something I struggle with. I feel like when I ask God for something in prayer, I’m not always confident that he will follow through with an answer. I hope that he will, but not truly confident. This passage was encouraging to me because it reminded me that I can go boldly before the throne of God in prayer, and if my will is aligned with his, I can be certain of an answer.

Pray with confidence. Expect God to follow through on his promises in your life.

Hope you all have a great rest of your day! God Bless:)

Preparing for Rejection.

January 8, 2013 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Good Morning! For some reason, it just doesn’t feel like a Tuesday today, but apparently it is. Ah, well. I guess I am pretty excited that it’s Tuesday, because that means we get to go see Max Lucado speak at our church tonight! He is such a great author, and I’m really excited to hear what he has to say. I’ll let you all know how it was in tomorrow’s post. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. So I know I said I was going to start reading the Bible straight through again like I did last year, but I kind of changed my mind. By all means, if you’ve started reading straight through, keep going! It’s just that for me, I’ve been feeling led to pray, letting the Holy Spirit lead me to the passage of scripture I’m supposed to read for the day. Lately, it’s been 1 John. And there is a LOT to be learned from 1 John. So, here is something I felt led to read and share with you this morning…

“Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.”

1 John 3:13

Well that was simple and to the point. Don’t be surprised if the world hates us. Hmm. As Christians, we were never meant to blend in to the background. We were never meant to conform to the patterns of this world. Quite the opposite actually. Instead of conforming, we have always been called to stand out. To live differently—separate from the patterns from the world. The problem? Living differently isn’t always the most popular choice amongst our peers. They may not understand why we act differently, and this lack of understanding often leads to hatred, or rejection, on their part. Don’t be surprised. They only feel this way because our lifestyle pushes them to conviction in regards to their own lives. As Christians, we can’t let persecution, rejection or even hatred cause us to live within the patterns of the world. We can’t let them affect us, but rather, we must have an effect on them.

If ever you are feeling rejected, persecuted or hated because of your faith, take comfort in the fact that Jesus knows exactly what you are going through. In fact, he’s been there himself. Rely on him, and he will bring you through any trial or circumstance you may find yourself in.

Well, I hope you all are having a great Tuesday so far. I’m off to get a few things done before work. Have a great day, and God Bless:)

No Grey Areas.

January 7, 2013 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Good Morning! Hope you all had a great weekend, and are having an excellent start to your Monday. My weekend was good. I had to work on Saturday, but got to relax and hang out with James and Samson on Sunday—always a good thing:) Anyways, back to Monday. So this morning I was reading in 1 John, and thought I would share this passage of scripture with you…

“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin.”

1 John 1:5b-7

I like the black and whiteness of this passage. There is no possibility for grey area when talking about light and darkness. When light shines, darkness cannot exist. Likewise, where Christ’s light shines, evil/sin cannot exist. We can’t claim to be living for Christ if in actuality our lives are bathed in sin. We can’t pretend to exude the light of Christ on the outside if our actions and lifestyle choices don’t line up with what we claim to believe. Like I said, black and white.

I know this is heavy stuff, but there are so many Christians out there today who really think they can live in the grey areas of life. They don’t understand that Christianity requires death to the old nature—and a new life in Christ. Our society teaches us that it’s okay to compromise. That living a life fully committed to Christ isn’t necessary. The more we listen to those lies, the more blurred the lines become in our minds. We start to see Christianity as a grey area instead of the black and white truth that it is. This, my friends, is a very dangerous place to be. The Bible is very clear that our lives should be separate, or different, from the world. We can’t go on living in sin [walking in darkness] if we claim to be living for Christ [living in truth].

Are you living for Christ? I mean, really living for him? There is no grey area in Christianity—only the black and white truths. Don’t try to live in the grey. Commit to living completely, 100% in the light.

Well, I hope you all are having a great start to your week! God Bless:)

Lukewarm?

January 4, 2013 By: Sarah Leff2 Comments

Hello and Happy Friday! Hope you all are having a great day so far. As usual, this week has again flown by—seriously how is it already January? At least it’s been reasonably cold lately. Not quite like being in Michigan, but it’s better than nothing!

Anyways, I thought I would share with you something I read in Revelations last week that really stuck out to me. It’s regarding the different churches depicted towards the beginning of the book, and Jesus is the one who is speaking…

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Revelation 3:15-16

The church Jesus was talking about here was neither hot nor cold. They weren’t on fire for him, but were stuck somewhere in the commitment stage of their relationship with him. Not fully committed to him, yet not completely unbelieving either. So many Christians today are like this. Tossed back and forth between the rocky waves of culture and the solid truths of Christianity. They can’t quite decide if they’d rather follow Christ or live their lives by the world’s standards. They are lukewarm.

We can’t be lukewarm Christians. We can’t go to church and be committed to Christ one day, only to turn around and live a double-standard life the next. We need to be 100% committed to him. On fire for him. Passionate for him. Always. All the time. No matter where we are or who we are with. Don’t settle on following God with half of your heart—commit to giving him the whole thing.

This is something I have struggled with in the past—giving everything in my life completely to Christ. This year I’m really going to focus on being totally committed to Christ 100% of the time. No matter where he leads me, or what he is calling me to do. I’ve tried figuring out how to do life on my own, and it just never seems to work out the way I planned. This year I’m going to focus on giving everything to him, and being on fire for him always—not just when it is convenient.

We have to change lukewarm into hot within the church. But we can’t do that if we aren’t completely hot ourselves. Commit to being hot—not lukewarm in your walk with Christ. I have a feeling you won’t be disappointed with the outcome.

Well, I hope you all have a great rest of your day, and an excellent weekend to boot! I’m off to work on some editing this afternoon. Wish me luck! God Bless:)

Hello 2013.

January 3, 2013 By: Sarah Leff2 Comments

Hello and Happy New Year! I’m so sorry it’s been such a long time since my last post…the last couple weeks have been crazy. Crazy, but definitely fun! James’ parents and sister [plus a couple of her friends] drove down to see us for Christmas, and stayed until New Years Day. We had so much fun exploring Dallas, and just spending some quality family time with them. Christmas was great…we cooked a big meal in the apartment [which turned out great, thankfully], and then it started to snow! Being from Michigan, I love my white Christmases, so the few inches of snow we received on Christmas day was a huge blessing. It made being away from home much easier.

Beautiful Fake Tree.

My Attempt at Unique Photography.

The Tree in all it’s Beauty.

Samson…playing with the packaging.

The Feast!

Snow in Texas? Yes Please!

Sisters:)

I even got James to come out and enjoy the snow with me!

The river behind our apartment.

During their visit we also went to a few malls in the area to do some after Christmas shopping, went to the Dallas World Aquarium [which is excellent—I would definitely recommend it], explored the city, and of course hit up a few local restaurants. Overall, it was a great week:)

Downtown Dallas.

Don’t remember what it is, but it is cool!

Penguins!

Stingrays:)

REAL Flamingos. YES.

The scenery around the aquarium…seriously more than just an aquarium.

Even a waterfall…there were birds and monkeys too…so cool!

Now, it’s back to the daily grind. I am happy to report that I officially finished reading through the Bible in one year! This was a goal I made at the beginning of last year, so it’s really exciting that I actually followed through with the reading. I learned so much from reading through the Bible that I am going to do it again. I found this great website which lists a variety of different reading plans, including different versions and start days. If you’re interested in joining me, it’s not too late! I am doing the NIV plan which started on January 1^st and goes from beginning to end. I may switch it up a little and read something from the Old Testament and New Testament each day, just for a little variety. There is a plan for this as well—the Old/New plan. Whichever way you choose, I hope you follow along! Reading through the Bible in a year is a great goal—one that you will definitely benefit from everyday.

That being said, I am going to continue to post devotions as often as possible during the week based on what I have been reading in scripture. I also have some new and exciting ideas to make the more interesting, so be looking for those changes/additions over the next few weeks here. Also, if there is anything specific you would like to see included in the blog, let me know! I always love your feedback.

Samson was pretty tired after everyone left…

Well, I am off to do some editing. I’ll be back tomorrow with a devotional of sorts. In the meantime—check out those reading plans! Have a great rest of your day, and God Bless:)

Merry Christmas!

December 22, 2012 By: Sarah Leff2 Comments

Good Morning! Hope you all are having a great start to your long weekend! Seriously, I can’t believe that it is almost Christmas. My mind is stuck somewhere back in August, and for some reason cannot come to terms with the fact that today is December 22^nd. Where did the time go? Craziness I tell you.

I just wanted to let you all know that I probably won’t be posting much over the next week [if at all]. James’ parents and sister are coming in to town on Sunday night, so I’m probably not going to have a lot of time to blog…which is okay. We are excited to see them! So, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas if I don’t talk to you before then. Have fun with your families and loved ones, eat lots of yummy Christmas cookies, drink some eggnog [if your in to that sort of thing], and don’t forget the true reason we celebrate Christmas—the birth of Jesus!

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place whileQuirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,  and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.”

Luke 2:1-21

Thanks so much for being such great readers over this past year…God Bless:)

Pure Joy.

December 20, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Good Morning! Hope you all are having a great Thursday so far. Did anyone else experience crazy windstorms last night?? It was seriously SO windy outside our apartment last night. I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t enjoy it—because I did. I love the wind—it reminds me of being out on a sailboat in the middle of Lake Michigan, and that is always a pleasant reminder. Needless to say, we survived the crazy wind, and none of our furniture blew away. However apparently there is a large tree down somewhere in our apartment complex, so it must have been windy enough to blow that down…

Anyways, let me share with you what I read this morning from the book of James.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4

While this is a fairly popular and commonly known verse, it is full of importance. As Christians, we are guaranteed to face trials and challenges in our lives. There is always going to be someone who opposes us, or a situation that pushes us to our limits. The trials aren’t the important part. The important part is how we handle those trials in our lives. James says we are to consider our trials ‘pure joy’ because in the end they are what cause us to grow as Christians in our walk with the Lord. If we never had any challenges in our lives, do you really think we would grow? Definitely not. The trials, temptations and challenges are necessary in developing us into the people we are in Christ.

So, when you are faced with a challenging situation or a difficult person to love, remember that those trials are for your ultimate benefit. Embrace that fact, and allow God to work in and through every situation in your life-whether it be good or bad. In the end, all those trials you went through will mean something, and you’ll be glad for the lessons you learned along the way.

Well, I’m off to work. Hope you all have a fabulous rest of your day! God Bless:)

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus.

December 19, 2012 By: Sarah Leffcomment

Hello! Hope you all are having a wonderful Wednesday so far. Mine is going well…it’s windy and cloudy outside, so it feels nice to be cuddled up inside with little Samson next to me:)

Precious.

Anyways, I don’t have too much time, so I’ll get right down to what I read this morning from Hebrews.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Hebrews 12:1-3

I have always loved this passage of scripture. But, now that I’m older and reading it at a different time in my life, it has a much deeper meaning to me. The Christian life has never been, and will never be, without challenges. We live in a sin-stricken world, and there is nothing we can presently do about that. Choosing to live a Christian lifestyle requires sacrifice. Commitment. It means giving up on your own agenda in the pursuit of God’s plan for your life. The only way to really succeed is to fix our eyes on the only one who has ever lived a perfect Christian life—Jesus. We are going to stumble and mess up sometimes. We’re humans—that’s just what we do. But, what’s important is that we learn how to pick ourselves back up again, and continue to focus our attention on Christ.

Over the past few years of my life I’ve gone through a lot of changes both spiritually and emotionally. While I have continually drawn closer to Christ, I have also had my fair share of challenges and stumbling blocks along the way. But, each challenge I have faced has shaped me into the person I am today. And that person is strong and confident in the person she is in Christ. I know that I have a lot of learning ahead of me, and that there will inevitably be challenges along the way, but I am no longer afraid. I know God has a plan for my life. All I have to do is fix my eyes on Jesus, and run the race set before me.

What about you? Maybe your going through something right now that just seems too difficult to overcome. Don’t be discouraged. God will bring you through whatever it is that you may be facing, and in the end you’ll be stronger because of it.

Hope you all have a great rest of your Wednesday! God Bless:)

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