My Easter Lesson

I am notorious for missing my exits...I will be driving along most days and then the words, "Oh crap, I missed my exit" comes out of my mouth which means I end up taking the long way around. Why does this always happen? Because I am doing anything and everything except concentrating on my driving. I am usually trying to impersonate Mariah Carey with my mad singing skills, listening to a pod cast sermon, playing Truth or Dare with my kids (which usually ends with me eating a month old french fry that the kids have found in their seat), or yes...talking on the phone. OK, OK...I realize you all may be thinking stay off the road in Oklahoma when she is driving, but I really am a good driver...except when it comes to finding my exit. Even though it is right in front of me...I miss it. Even though I know it is coming up because I have driven it a thousand times...I miss it.
Can someone really be that incompetent that they miss the obvious? Just Ask....Judas Iscariot.
Here is a guy who is a pretty big part of the Easter story, yet we don't talk about him much because he was also one of the most tragic characters of the story. Here is a man that missed it. He missed his exit. He missed the obvious. He missed what was right in front of him....the relationship he could have had with Jesus, His teacher. Judas walked with Jesus, he talked with Jesus, was witness first hand to many of his miracles but he missed it because he was so focused on what He thought the Messiah should be. He was focused on his needs, wants, and desires. He was with Jesus, but missed Jesus. He missed out on the love that Jesus had for him, the plans Jesus had for him, the friendship Jesus wanted with him.
The saddest part of the story is....
"Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed this mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."...and throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself." Matthew 27:3-5
You see, he missed the biggest part of Jesus....His forgiveness. There were two people that day who betrayed Jesus...Peter and Judas Iscariot. Both were disciples. Both were with Jesus. Both betrayed Jesus. One came back and asked for forgiveness...the other didn't. One is known as Peter the Apostle...the other Judas the betrayer. He missed his exit...the gift of forgiveness and unconditional love that this man right in front of him had to offer.
My encouragement and challenge this Easter...don't miss it. Don't miss what Jesus has to offer you. Maybe its forgiveness, freedom from the shame you have carried around. Maybe its rest that you so desperately need right now. Maybe it's direction of where to go next. Maybe its love, someone to look at you and say "I love you."
This Easter season as you go to church, surrounded by crosses and lilies, surrounded by Jesus everywhere making dinner to celebrate Jesus, getting dressed up for Jesus... don't miss Jesus. I know I'm not gonna!

Hall of Fame of Faith

I had lunch with a sweet friend this week who is track/cross country coach as well. She barely got into my car when she burst out the awesome news....she was just inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame!!! Believe me there is no one who deserves it more than Coach Clay! She will be only the 2nd female ever to be inducted...Oh I was so proud of her.
There are a lot of hall of fames out there: the Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Nascar Hall of Fame, the College Football hall of Fame and on and on....
Wouldn't that be so awesome to be in one of them? Your name written somewhere that says you were the best of the best at what you were called to do.
I am reading through the book of Hebrews right now and I came across the Hall of Fame of Faith (Hebrews 11).... That's right the Hall of Fame faith. These were the people that God picked out to honor in His hall of fame. Some of the names include...Noah, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, and Samson. These are some big names of the Bible....but believe it or not they were men and women just like you and me. They were ordinary people that served an amazing God. They were ordinary people that had faith in an awesome God. Here is the thing....just because they had great faith didn't mean they were without faults. Yes, Moses had great faith the choose "to be mistreated with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin."(Hebrews 11:24) But it wasn't without fault...he murdered an Egyptian Soldier. Yes, Rahab had great faith to go against her people and hide the spies of God...but she wasn't without fault...Her occupation was a prostitute.
What we learn from our ancestors is that having great faith doesn't mean we are perfect it means we put our full trust in the one who is....God.
My favorite person in the Hall of Fame of Faith is none other than the MVP....Jesus.
"Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking the Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2
Jesus is the "founder and perfecter of our faith." You see he is not asking us to have great faith in something that He himself was not willing to. It took the greatest faith for Jesus to trust God his Father when he said, "Father, if there is any other way please take this cup from me, But not as I will but as you will." He went through the ultimate rejection from man so that you and I would never have to go through rejection from God.....that is our MVP of faith.
You and I can have a great faith in God because of the faith of our God. What do you need to trust God with today?

No other Name

I have always loved Christian music! This isn't easy to say but even as a kid when everyone was so amazed with the New Kids on the Block I was listening to Ray Boltz and Amy Grant. When I was in High School my friends and I didn't go to the Mariah Carey concert but we went to Point of Grace and Bebe and Cece Winans concerts. The same goes for now, my radio is always turned to Klove (or the Sports Animal during football season:)). Well, there is a song that is always on and we even see in church that moves me every time and there is one specific line in the song that has a way of bringing me to tears...


"My heart will sing no other name, but Jesus"


I think it gets me every time because that is where I long to be, but not yet there. You see, my heart sings a lot of name besides Jesus. And the one it sings more than any other is Sarah. It sings Sarah when I am selfish. It sings Sarah when I am self-serving. It sings Sarah when I am prideful. It sings Sarah when I have self-pity. It sings Sarah when I doubt. It sings Sarah when I worry. Can you relate?


I have had some pretty intense Dates with Jesus this week seeking his help, wisdom, comfort etc. and what I found was I was seeking answers not seeking Jesus. I was seeking answers when the answer was Jesus. When we seek Jesus we find comfort. When we seek Jesus we find the help. When we seek Jesus we find wisdom. Psalm 105:4 says, "Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him."
One of the people that knew this better than any other is John the Baptist. He could have lived for himself yet he wore clothes "woven from coarse camel hair." He could have lived for himself yet he ate locusts. He had disciples of his own that even came to him and said "everybody is going to him instead of coming to us" and he replied, "I am not Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.....therefore, I am filled with joy at HIS success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less."
He had a heart that sang no other name but Jesus...not even his own.
My heart will sing no other name, but Jesus

I Hate to Lose!

Can I just say...I hate to lose! It doesn't matter if I am playing candyland with my 2 year old, wii tennis with my 7 year old, or racing my husband on the scooters...I hate to lose. Then you throw in that I am a wife of a football coach and a chaplain for a softball team....there are times I am not sure if my heart can take it...all because I hate to lose. Can you relate? May be yours isn't sports maybe you can't stand not having the best cupcakes at the school, or you have to be the best dressed at every event, or your house has to be the cleanest in the neighborhood or you feel you just have to be the best in everything all day everyday. We all have our areas where we hate to lose and it gets exhausting and hopefully this blog post will encourage your heart and give you the opportunity to breathe.
I was reading twitter posts of people I follow and I read this quote that was made by CS Lewis, "Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose." Wow! How powerful is that? AND how true is that? We base so much of our happiness on things that we may lose and probably will at some point. Jesus says it this way, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it." The ONLY true happiness is when we lay down our own desires, plans, dreams, and pick up the relationship with Jesus that will never go away. When we focus our time and efforts on being more Christlike, when we do lose those things we still have love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because lets face it, we will lose. We will lose games, but we still have the love and joy of Christ. We will lose the cupcake war, but we still have the love and joy of Christ. We will lose our youthful looks, but we still have the love and joy of Christ. We will lose, but we will win with Christ.
Believe me when I say, this is the easiest message for me to type, but the hardest thing to live out. I am not saying I am going to like to lose, but I am truly praying and asking God to help me lose my lifestyle so that I can gain his. I want my joy to come from the giver of life, not the scoreboard at the end of the day:)

The Best of Me

I realize I confess a lot on my blog and today is no different...I guess I hope that in someway God will use my stories to get through yours. I read one little verse that hit me like a ton of bricks.
"Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce." Proverbs 3:9.
The part that hit me and made my mind race was..."honor the Lord with the best part of everything. The questions I started asking myself were "who or what gets the best part of me?"..."who gets the best part of my time?" "who gets the best part of my patience?" "who gets the best part of my attention?" I humbly had to admit that it wasn't the Lord. I often give him the leftovers. There are even times in my quiet times with Him that I have also planned the next days activities or this weeks family meal plan. So where does my best go? The ironic thing is my best goes to the ministry I have been given and the family I have been entrusted. For you it might be your work outside the home, or your kids, or your friends, or your tv, or your workout schedule. None of these are bad things, but when given our best time, attention, effort will always keep us from being our best for which God has called us to.
God knows that without giving Him our best then it is impossible to be the best at all he has called us to be...wife, mom, sister, friend, minister etc. It is all a reminder, once again, that I am called to "Be still" and sit at the feet of Jesus so that I can serve as the body of Christ.

My Word for 2012

I have a confession...I am a fixer. Can you relate? I am the person that likes to "fix" the problems. When my kids come to me with a problem...I figure a way to fix it with a kiss or bandaid. If my husband has a problem...I figure a way to fix it with a letter or scripture. Being in ministry, People come to me daily with their problems and I immediately go into "OK, lets come up with a plan and see if we can fix this thing." It is my way of controlling the world in which I live in because if I can control it then I can fix it and everything will be ok. I don't like seeing people hurt and/or in pain so the easiest thing to do is try to fix it. Well, over the past couple of months my heart has been so overwhelmed and broken with all the problems I can't fix....like the pain my friend is going through in her marriage and nobody even knows it or the friend who is struggling with the most likely death of her TWO children or the girl that has struggled with years of abuse and the only way "she feels" loved is in the arms of another girl and on and on....
Well, I was laying in bed crying out to God about how I could help or "fix" them...I finally looked up and there on my wall were the letters I had put a few months back that read..."Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10
First, he calls us to "Be Still"...not do more...not serve more....not fix more but be still. Why? Ask Mary and Martha (Luke 10). I have always felt bad for Martha because all she wanted to do was serve. There is nothing wrong with serving in fact, we are called to serve. Jesus himself said, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and and to give his life as a ransom for many." What Martha was doing wasn't wrong she was just doing it in the wrong order. We are suppose to sit then serve. Sit at his feet so then we can serve. Sit at his feet so we know how to serve. Sit at his feet so we know when to serve. My prayer times were so filled with praying for the needs of other people that I forgot to just sit and marvel and who He was. I forgot to sit and be filled up. I forgot to sit and just "be still."

The second part of that verse reminded me that He is God and I am not. I was never intended to save anyone from their problems or even fix their problems. That is a weight I was never intended to bear. I was trying to be what only Jesus can....their Savior. We are not called to fix problems just LISTEN and point them into the direction of the ONE who can....Jesus. He is God, comforter, leader, provider, healer...ALL that we need.
So....My word for 2012 is Still. When there is a need...be STILL. When there is a problem...be STILL. When I am angry....be STILL. When I am overwhelmed....be STILL. This is not going to be easy for me, but in the words of Bethany Hamilton,"I don't need easy, I just need possible."
I would love to hear your WORD for 2012!!


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Great Expectations

There was a study done by a Psychologists by the name of William Marsten. In this study, Dr. Marsten asked 3,000 people "What do you have to live for?" What he found was that 94% of the people were living for the future. Some couldn't wait for a vacation...Some couldn't wait until their kids went to college....Some couldn't wait until they could retire....Some couldn't wait to get married....Some couldn't wait to have kids. We go through our entire lives waiting for what might happen. When we are 10 we can't wait to be 13...When we are 13 we can't wait to be 16...When we are 16 we can't wait to be 21 and then after 21 we wish we were 18 again. There's got to be more to life than enduring the present to get to the future. Right? If we look to tomorrow, we are going to miss what God wants to do today. Jesus said, "My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." (John 10:10NLT) He never intended for us to "just get through" this life so we could get to the next. No!...there is purpose in this life....there is purpose in this year of your life...there is purpose in today...there is purpose for every season of our lives that will lead to a "rich and satisfying life." And it starts with today! In 1 Peter 1 it says "Now, we live with great expectation...". Now not later,but now! We can expect great things from God today because of what He did for us yesterday. It's time to live life to the full...today!
I encourage you...stop looking for your purpose in tomorrow and ask God what His purpose is for you today...because tomorrow never comes.
Have a great week!