Retweet Please?

Hello my name is Sarah Roberts and I am Twitterholic. Not really, but I do love me some twitter. I love posting what God is doing in me and through me, funny things my kids say, and how I love my Husband. lol I also like following people that inspire me, provide wisdom, or just make me smile like Pastor Steven Furtick, Sheila Walsh, Elisabeth Hasselback etc...Each time I get on my twitter there is one thing that jumps out at me each and every time and it really bothers me. They are the people begging to get a "retweet" from someone famous. Now, I am not talking about those who are trying to get the word out about a sick child or a certain cause. No, I am talking about the people who constantly ask movie stars, athletes, and even well-known pastors to simply retweet them. It bothers me because I feel like they are looking for validation that "they are somebody" if only a famous "somebody" would acknowledge their existence.

Do they not know that the God of the universe who loves them? Do they not know there is a specific purpose for their lives that is greater than being retweeted by Kevin Durant? Do they not know they were created by God for God? Do they not know they may feel like they have been overlooked by man, but have been handpicked by God! The thing is I know these things, but sometimes I forget...can you relate? We may not be asking for a retweet, but we still search for validation in other ways. Maybe yours is....You can't say no because you don't want to let anybody down. Maybe you are the one that is always going above and beyond for that extra pat on the back. Maybe you feel like you can't speak up about your faith because you don't want to feel the rejection from people. Maybe you have to have the perfect look with the perfect body to feel accepted by people. If you can relate to any or all of these.....
I want to encourage you with the story of David (1 Samuel 16:). God told Samuel that the next King of Israel was at the house of Jesse. As Samuel looked at each of the tall, dark, and handsome 7 sons of Samuel, he said (vs 6) "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him" for anyone would have picked these men of great features and stature. They were impressive to the world's eyes. But God said (vs 7), "Do not look on his appearance or on his height of his stature, because I have rejected them. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons and Jesse said yes, BUT he is the youngest and is keeping the sheep....aka....Yes, but you surely you don't want him he just tends sheep....he's just a little guy. They brought David in and God said (vs 13), "Arise, anoint him, for this is he." The one the world overlooked is the one that God chose. Isn't that great news?!!!! When you feel like you have been overlooked by the world, all you have to do is look at the cross and know you have been chosen by God. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16. And once you realize that you have been chosen by God...you need to know that you have been chosen for God. There is something that God wants to do through you! "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6
Consider this blog post your retweet from God....that he is acknowledging you...that he does love you...that he does see you....and he has chosen you...and there is something he wants to do through you!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

My biggest struggle

This was a day my son and I had talked about for weeks. He wanted me to bring him lunch from a restaurant and have lunch with him at his school. We finally settled on a day and we were both super excited. He got up that morning (I didn't even have to wake him up) and requested Sonic for our special lunch. I picked up lunch and walked into his school promptly at 11:30 pm. I felt really good about myself as a mom at that moment, but that did not last long. I walked into an empty classroom that was suppose to be filled with noisy 1st graders getting ready to have lunch. It was Empty... except for my sweet Cale crying his eyes out while his teacher is trying to console him. As my heart dropped, I rushed over to him just in time for him to look up at me with those tear-filled eyes and say, "momma, you missed it." I turned to his teacher and asked what time lunch was and she informed me it was 11:15-11:30. I had thought the whole time it was 11:30-11:45. I had crushed my little boys heart into a thousand pieces. I apologized and apologized, but still felt like the worst mom ever. I left the school as I cried and cried! I couldn't believe I screwed this up. And even after he had forgiven me and I took him his favorite lunch later that week...I still couldn't let it go. I couldn't forgive myself. I know you may be thinking "It was just a lunch...he will get over it...it's not that big of deal...you are being too hard on yourself." That is my problem. I am actually better at forgiving others and offering grace to others than I am myself.

For some reason...I hold myself to an unrealistic standard and when I fail...I tend to hit rock bottom. Even though I know in my mind that nobody is perfect, I live my life as though I am going to be the first. I want to be the perfect coaches wife my husband says, "Yep! she is mine." I want to be the mom my kids tell their friends about. I want to be the friend everyone turns to because they know I will always have something wise to say. I want to be the one that young people look up to in their faith and on and on and on. If this is you, you understand how stressful and overwhelming this can be, but once again God has used his Word to offer me HIS PEACE, HIS JOY, and HIS GRACE.
I read this verse today and I was broken, "I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of Course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." -Galations 3:5

God doesn't work through me because I have obeyed every law...No! It is because I have a RELATIONSHIP with his son Jesus....GRACE
Cale doesn't love me because I do everything right as his mom...No! He love me because I have a relationship with him as my son....GRACE
People don't look up to me because I have done everything perfect on my life...No!!! They look up to me because of my relationship with Jesus....GRACE.

The craziest thing is... I speak on this topic all the time...and it is the area I struggle with the most. I have to remind myself daily and some times hourly....I don't have to be perfect because I am loved by perfection. Honestly, it is my prayer that I can go everyday and 1)not think to highly of myself (humility) because of what I have done and 2) not think to lowly of myself because of what I have done (grace).

Thanks for letting my confess to you today and maybe my struggles will help you get through yours!

Dealing with your Judas

So...I sent a devotion to all my coaches and coach's wives yesterday from a Max Lucado book. I got sooooo much feedback and replies that I knew I had to write a blog post about it. Everybody, including the coach's family will feel like they have been betrayed as some point. It may be your friends who betray your trust or the parents of a player who love you one minute but don't the next or the administration that doesn't back you or maybe it is your own family member that has betrayed you. At one point, we will all feel betrayed. How do we deal with such thing? Look to Jesus....

It would be hard to find someone worse than Judas. Some say he was a good man

with a backfired strategy. I don't buy this. The Bible says, "Judas...was a thief (John 12:6)

The man was a crook. Somehow he was able to live in the presence of God and experience

the miracles of Christ and remain unchanged. In the end he decided he'd rather have

money than a friend, so he sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver...Judas was a scoundrel

a cheat, and a bum. How could anyone see him any other way? I don't know, but Jesus

did. Only inches from the face of his own betrayer, Jesus looked at him and said, "Friend,

do what you came to do." (Matthew 26:50) What Jesus saw in Judas as worthy of being

called Friend, I can't imagine. But I do know that Jesus doesn't lie, and in that moment

saw something good in a very bad man...He can help us do the same with those who hurt us

Max Lucado

There are going to be times in our lives where we will be betrayed and we have an opportunity to be bitter or to be better, to fight or to forgive, to put up another wall or choose to see the good in something bad. Believe me, I am the first to admit, I am not the best example in this area especially when it comes to the betrayal of someone I love like my husband and children. My first instinct is to fight back and then put up a wall so they can never betray me again. You know the saying, "betray me once...shame on you. betray me twice shame on me." I will not be a fool. Right? Was Jesus a fool? No! He was able to see the good in what the world saw was bad. He did this in everything from his death on the cross to the ultimate betrayal of one of his own disciples. Once again Jesus isn't asking us to do something he hasn't already done himself. But He is offering to help us do the same when it comes to dealing with our own Judas. "I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength." (Phil 4:13)

Here's to seeing ALL as friends...or at least frenemies (just kidding:)).....

Words I don't like to hear

There are always words that I don't like to hear....For instance, if I am in the other room and I hear the words "uh-oh" or "oops" or "sorry momma"...I know it is not going to be good. I do not like to hear those words. When I my husband says the words "We need to talk" I know I have done something wrong. I don't like to hear those words. When my sister says, "What are you wearing" I know I have just committed a fashion faux peau. I don't like to hear those words. And when Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble..."I do not like to hear those words. It's inevitable, you, me, and everyone else WILL have trouble in this world. Why? Because "this world" is not our home. We will have trouble in our jobs, we will have trouble in our marriage, we will have trouble with our friends, we will have trouble with our children. I am really not trying to depress you, but on the contrary...I want to encourage you.

It is kinda like when my kids decide they are going to jump on me. If I know it is coming, I can brace myself, prepare myself, and it never hurts quite as bad. But if I have no idea it is coming, it definitely hurts a lot more! If we prepare ourselves for the troubles to come...we can brace ourselves and not fear the "if" but get ready for the "when." So how do we prepare?

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

First, your joy comes in the hope we have in Jesus. The hope that He will work our trouble for the good. The hope that He will never leave us or forsake us. The hope that there is NO wasted tears. Second, we must be patient during the storm for "this too shall pass." Maybe you are waiting on an answer from God about your job...be patient. May be you are waiting on your children to come back to God...be patient. Maybe you are waiting on your husband to lead spiritually...be patient. Maybe you are waiting for your house to sell...be patient. Third, be faithful in prayer. Never stop praying....it doesn't have to be these highly spiritual prayers. Many of my prayers are ones of questioning, anger, doubt, confusion and guess what? He hears these prayers just as loud as the Lord's Prayer. That is part of the relationship we get to have with our heavenly father. He is not this "Big man who lives upstairs." No...He is the one true God who is fighting in the trenches with us and for us everyday!

No I don't like the words..."In this world you will have trouble..." But I do love the words..."But take heart! I have overcome this world! (John 16:33) My Jesus (any yours) has overcome this world and because He did, we have the hope we want and the patience we need to get through the troubles we will face.

The Understanding Wife

As a wife, we tend to go through times with our husband that sounds like this....
"I will never understand him" "I will never understand how his mind works" "I do not understand why he does some of the things he does. As a coach's wife those times tend to come more often during the season because during the season you are trying to understand how you are going to get the kids from carpool, homework done, dinner made, get to the game on time, baths done, bed time...Oh and then the laundry, pay bills, clean house, take your own shower all in a perfect, timely manner. Right?
Well, hopefully I can offer you some encouragment when it comes to understanding your husband! I was reading in my quiet time this morning and I came across a verse that jumped off the page. It is from Proverbs 19:14, "...but only the Lord can give an understanding wife."
God knew that we needed to understand why our husbands do not take out the trash, but instead tries to stuff more in it. God knew that we needed to understand why our husbands works so long and hard. God knew we needed to understand why it is so hard for our husbands to share their heart. God knew we needed to understand why our husbands do not understand us. God knew therefore...our Help comes from the Lord....can I get an amen?!
As I reflected back on my own experiences and my own marriage I found that the times I am struggling with understanding my husband are times when my walk with Jesus has taken a backseat to everything else going on in our lives. And the times I am seeking God daily, I am more understanding of what my husband might be going through on the football field or with parents or with administration or with his own personal struggles. I found that when I am spending time with my Savior, I am able to see my husband through my Savior's eyes...I am able to see him the way God sees him. I am able to see that God created my husband in His Image just like He did me. So if we want to understand our husband we must go to the one who created him.
I looked up what the word "understanding" means and here is what I found..."a superior power of discernment." I loved that! That is exactly what I need as a wife..."a superior power of discernment". I need this superior power and I know the only way I can get it is from the Lord. So my encouragment to you as a wife today is "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and then all things will be given to you as well" (matthew 6:33) including understanding your husband.

SEEING the Good, which means SEEING God

I had the amazing opportunity to be a speaker this past weekend at the Kansas State FCA conferance. There was almost 700 students, athletes, and coaches in attendance so I was quite humbled to be a part. I had prayed and prayed about what God wanted me to share and I was confident and super excited to do just that. I was waiting back stage, they got me all set up with my cordless mic, I am listening to the praise band and praying intensely, they do my introduction and it is go time....I am ready to bring the Word! I go out on stage with a great welcome,especially when someone in the back yells "boomer" and I obliged with yelling back "sooner." Yep, God was definetley in the room:) I begin the message and I can feel the Holy Spirit just speaking through me and the response from the crowd was just so overwhelming that it gives me goosebumps even now as I type.....Everything is flowing and then I see it......two girls right in the center, right in front of me sound asleep. ASLEEP? I don't just mean nodding off....I mean they have their heads back, mouths wide open, and think I saw some drool too. As much as I tried to focus on the 698 people that I felt God was speaking too, I couldn't stop staring at those two girls that were sound asleep.

I would like to say this is the only time that I have ever focused on the 1 negative thing in the middle of a thousand positive things. Can you relate? If I have 9 out of 10 people say something nice, I will focus on the 1 that didn't. If my husband does 9/10 things right, I will gripe about the 1 thing he didn't. If my children get 9/10 right on their spelling test, I will focus on the one they didn't. If I have 9/10 great qualities, I will focus on the one that isn't. If God blesses me in 9/10 areas, I will focus on the one "I feel" he isn't.
I have been studying the book of Psalm, and I am encouraged by the man in which God called..."The man after God's own heart"....David. David had a lot of negative going on in his life during this time: People were trying to kill him, he was on the run, and hiding in caves....and he wrote these words..."I am still confident of this:I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13.
We have a choice each and every day whether or not we are going to "see the goodness of the Lord" or not. I believe in the goodness of our Lord and I believe there are positive things all around us....we just have to choose to see it! When you choose to see the Good, I am confident that you will then, see God. And the more we see God, the more we see that even when the negative things pop up... God will work, even in those, for the good (Romans 8:28)
I am laying down the challenge to see the good in the annoying co-worker that sits next to you, to see the good in the husband that sleeps next to you, to see the good in your school or workplace, to see the good in the burnt dinner you just pulled out of the oven, to see the good in YOURSELF.
Yes, it is easier to focus on the two girls asleep, but when we do, we will miss the work and the blessings that God is doing all around them:)

My unbelief

Trying to explain what God has been doing in me over the past month would be hard because, to be honest, I wasn't sure. There is a song with the line..."it seems like its chaos, but somehow there is peace." This seemed to explain it pretty well until I read a story in Mark 9 that explained it perfectly. Let me set this up for you...A man comes to Jesus and tells him that his son is possessed with a spirit that affects his speech and makes him go into seizures. He then goes on to say that the disciples tried, but could not help the boy. Jesus says,

"Oh unbelieving generation, how long shall stay with you?

How long shall put up with you? Bring the boy to me."....vs(21) Jesus

asks the father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood,"

he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him

But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."

"If you can?" Said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

Immediately, the boy's father said, "I do believe; help me overcome

my unbelief."

I am part of an "unbelieving generation" that still questions God and his goodness everyday. A generation that thinks we were put on this earth just to be "happy." A generation that thinks we are entitled to anything and everything the world has to offer. And when those things do not happen, we question the goodness of God. Honestly, I think we all do. Maybe you have prayed and God isn't answering your prayer the way you thought he should. Maybe you have asked God to remove you from a situation and you are still there. Maybe the relationship you thought God had for you, isn't working out quite like you had imagined. We all deal with unbelief in almost every area of our life, but everyday we must choose to believe that God is good even when our circumstances are not.

My favorite part of the story is when Jesus says, "if you can?" It is almost like he is saying, "you have got to be kidding me. I am the God of the freaking universe...and you are going to come at me with "if you can?"
We have to believe that God CAN do anything we ask of him, but more important, believe that when he doesn't, it is because His way is different....it is better. Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways declares the Lord." When life is hard as a mom and wife, I want to believe in the goodness of God. When ministry get me overwhelmed, I want to believe in the goodness of God. When I am surrounded by what seems like the impossible I want to believe the "Possibles" of God.

Lord, I do believe...Help me overcome my unbelief:)