Thursday, November 30, 2006

so how is everyone? i can't believe it's almost Christmas...this year seems to have passed SO quickly!!! anyway, just wanted to say hello to everyone today :)

-sara delight*

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Posted by sara @ 10:10 AM CST
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Monday, November 27, 2006

Where is God?

Where is God? What part does God really play in our lives? Yes, we have our “holy” music, our “holy” buildings, our “holy” sacraments. Oh, and we mustn’t forget our “holy” days. The day we show our religious devotion, and walk out the door to leave that which is “holy” behind.

We “seek” God once a week. We sing to Him and follow another’s lead. We repeat another’s prayer, and kneel in hopes someone will recognize our piety. We follow. We listen to another’s voice. We read the words placed on a screen, and watch some skits that help us understand. Our stomachs growl and we stare at our watches, in hopes the preacher will notice our boredom so we can be first in line to eat. We teach our children to bless their food with their cute rhymes, never too long.

Yes, we have religion and then we have our lives. We have our special days set aside for God and the rest belong to us. But what happened to the days of old when men put their faces to the floor? They wanted to know God for themselves, but could they? In hopes to reach Him they would climb the highest mountain. Anything to be closer to where He may be…They wanted to talk to God. They wanted to pray for their families, their friends, their nations. They were desperate for revival, and wouldn’t leave until they met with Him. They wanted to hear His voice for themselves. There was no futile distraction that could knock them off course. There was no man’s voice that could not stop them, or suppress their passion. Their heart was set. They would seek and find.

But who are we? What have we become? What do we really seek? A holy day once a week, where we can put our soul at ease for the sins we have committed. It’s as if we drag ourselves out of bed, feeling we are doing God some service as we sit and listen to someone talk about this God that once moved among people’s lives. We give some of our money to contain Him. Don’t offend me or I will find another building where I will never have to think about my sin, my motives, my life. Don’t you dare say my lifestyle is wrong or I will take my money elsewhere! Ah, yes, we will give to that poor
missionary. We send them to do what we won’t. We let them speak what we fear to. We send them to stand w here we would break. We send them to reach the un-reached and tell of this “great hope”, our “blessed savior”…still, do we care to?

How much time have we spent this week seeking? Oh, no, we have no time, or do we? We pour out our time as water onto the desert sand, it is consumed with endless hours spent on our couches staring at a box. It houses our dreams, our fantasies. We watch and listen to the people tell us we need more... Buy their product, and it will make us feel alive. We will live happier, more comfortably. We look, we buy, but in time the new always wears out, we need something more. Again the cycle repeats and we go along for another empty ride aboard the carousel of greed.

We continue…we stare. Look at all the beautiful people, the rich, the
celebrated, and we long for what they have. Then we sit and wonder why their lives crumble, and their “perfect” marriages fail? Their families are broken just like ours.

We continue…we watch. We are mesmerized as the created take the throne of the Creator. We will create better than God, we will endure pain, cut and reconstruct our bodies to be “beautiful”. Then we will be lovely, we will be pretty, we will be wanted… we will rise above God and form life and destroy those who have no voice, those “unwanted” lives He gave to us…we will fix this mess our Creator has made…

We continue…we stare…we are entertained. They shake their fist at God, and curse Him. We pay…we want more…entertain us more…we too join in this folly. We work harder to buy more things to find the life they sell…in hopes to find what “Christianity” promised, but never gave us.

We continue…going to church EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY… but why? Do we really believe…we turn up the music, drowned out our fears that maybe “the way, the truth, and the life” isn’t true after all…what if we are wrong?…So, what are we really seeking??? Have we ever experienced God beyond the four walls of our church? Do we really seek Him? Yes, we need that source of accountability and fellowship, but have we replaced a relationship with God for ceremony and missed what its all about? The freedom…the peace…breathing in and knowing you have purpose… "abundant life"…Our silence tells the truth…

Do we even know…time ticks, our lives fade, we must stop…we must THINK…how did twelve change the world yet our churches are full and “Christianity” has become more of a joke than anything. How can this be? How come the world runs from the church instead of to it? How come they refuse to listen to us? How have we lost our power? How did we lose our respect? How were the days lost when people esteemed the church as a refuge, a safe place? Was it that our hands reached out to others and began to take? Was it greed? Lust for power? Religious pride and arrogance? Was it that we condemned others while our words dripped with hypocrisy? Selling truth for personal gain? Was it that we loved the applause of man rather than pleasing God? What was it?

Where is God? Does He play a part of our lives beyond the day we set aside for Him in our week? Does He exist beyond the pages of that dusty book that sits on our shelves? What do we believe? And do we really know this Jesus? Does He really step into our lives and make a difference? What do our lives speak beyond our t-shirts and stickers and all the noise we make?

Mankind is in great need, far greater than at any other time in history. The church is in need! We are in need! We must cry out to God for mercy and change! We must “humble ourselves, and pray, and turn from our wicked ways” (II Chronicles 7:14) The time is HERE, the time is NOW for us to seek God!

We must AWAKE out of our sleep, (Romans 13:11) for truth hath fallen in the streets, and we must no longer cower in the face of adversity.

Let this manifesto serve as a call to rise up and boldly challengeeverything within our senses. These are definitely the last days, and it certainly appears as though true Christianity is on the verge of extinction. TRUE brothers, sisters, and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us UNITE as ONE! Let us be what God has called us to be! No longer can we stand on the way side and watch sin devour our fellow man, our neighbors, our friends, our families, our loved ones, and ourselves! (I Peter 5:8) JOIN US! UNITE! Let us join together and seek the face of God for revival in our
lives and this nation. JOIN THE REVOLUTION!

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Posted by sara @ 10:43 AM CST
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Friday, November 24, 2006

hey everybody, hope you all had great thanksgivings! i ate so much im sure it was a sin :) anyway, happy thanksgiving late! :)

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Posted by sara @ 01:22 PM CST
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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Just reading this morning in Luke 4...very interesting chapter...but the verse that always sticks out to me the most is when Jesus says, v18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those that are bruised..."

to me, this verse is LIFE...it reminds us Jesus is the life giver, the restorer, the deliverer! so wherever you may find yourself today...no matter if its in the darkest valley where you are devestated by tragedy or hardships, whether your heart is shattered and been dashed to pieces, or whether feeling completely in bondage to sin...let this verse sink into the depths of your heart and be a well spring of life...

one thing i am being reminded of daily...especially the last week is my desperate need of the LIFE that comes from Jesus...like before my feet hit the ground in the morning i've just been saying, "God I need You today. You are my life, my song, my sanity, my reason. I give my day to You!" ...simple, but so needed...i am constantly reminded of my weaknesses and my short comings, but it is Jesus that is our Deliverance, Our Sunshine, Our Light, Our HOPE, our REASON for even being here at all...

So, know, He is closer than the air you breathe...BREATHE IN AND KNOW HE IS THAT CLOSE!!! Call out to Him today, and no matter what your need...KNOW HE IS LISTENING...

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Posted by sara @ 12:14 PM CST
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Saturday, November 18, 2006

CHECK OUT the new LIMITED EDITION shirts I made!

These shirts are to serve as a billboard of sorts and make a statement! Check out the link, it will tell you more about what the shirt means and show ya a pic!

CLICK HERE TO CHECK THEM OUT

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Posted by sara @ 02:12 PM CST
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Thursday, November 16, 2006

well, this morning i walked in my room and there sat "destiny" on my bed! So she told me that she wanted to type all of you on the journal a post but her paws were too big, and she wanted to say hi and she hopes she can come to a show one day and meet you all :) sara delight*

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Posted by sara @ 09:32 AM CST
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Monday, November 13, 2006

you all have to check out this link... NOTICE WHAT PHOTOSHOP alone can do...very interesting stuff!

love,sara delight*

CLICK HERE CAMPAIGN FOR REAL BEAUTY

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Posted by sara @ 12:52 PM CST
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Monday, November 6, 2006

ok so here's there deal, i got SO much out of this chapter that it was TOO much content to put into one post, so here is PART ONE of Proverbs 2

V1-3 “…if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and IF YOU CALL OUT for insight and CRY ALOUD for understanding, and if you LOOK for it as for silver and SEARCH for it as for hidden treasure, THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

V3 Something I found really interesting here, is that it says when we "call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding" that God will hear us! I know there are many ways we can pray, whether it is through tears, a whisper, written words, in song, or simply screaming at the top of our lungs. I don’t believe prayer is about a particular method, but it is more about the issue of our hearts. So, it made me wonder why he put so much emphasis on verbalizing our request here. I started thinking…We speak of the things we are passionate about, whether it's music, sports, love, fashion, cars, relationships, etc...We can't help but speak of them because we are passionate about them! So that may be one reason it says to verbalize this prayer….because we are pushing pride aside, and showing an outward expression that we are truly serious about our request.

Then it says, “if you LOOK for it (wisdom) as silver and SEARCH for it as for hidden treasure”, you will find it. What do we do when we seek for silver and gold…or in our terms, the dollar bill? Hours are spent pouring over marketing plans, research, investing, and working our rear ends off to produce the money! Money! Money! We are dedicated! We are committed! There is an intense level of seriousness involved! I think it means, look, if you are serious, then seek wisdom with that same zeal. This isn’t about setting a timer to 3 minutes, and praying. It’s not about a checklist. It’s about an authentic passion, and a genuine heart!

6 “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

Spiritual wisdom is not something we can conjure up! It is the direct result of spending TIME in His presence! NOTHING ELSE can bring about that kind of fruit. Yes, we can learn theology all day long, and this is just my personal opinion, but I think this wisdom he speaks about is something that man alone cannot teach us! Many times we think church attendance will suffice, but i think it’s deeper than that. It’s about communication with a living God, and His communication with humanity. It’s about listening PERSONALLY, not having someone else SEEKING GOD FOR US, AND sharing what they learned! Yes, we need teaching, but I'm talking about personal seeking here, and spiritual discernment being the result of that.

7 “He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. 9 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. “

What a promise.
11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.

I think discretion is like being cautious. What are we cautious about, or are we? Do we guard our minds? Are we even cautious at all about what we watch on tv or the images filling our computer screen? Now, I’m not Miss Myspace, but I do check our Inhabited myspace. Point is for the last two to three weeks I’ve logged on, there is this banner for “Maxim” flashing in everyone's face!!! The thought has crossed my mind several times…”man, I bet that is such a huge temptation for guys to visit that site...”and even for girls to compare themselves and see what they should do to look "sexy"! Now, I’m sure there is some way in the human brain to justify looking at “Maxim”, not that it makes it right, but we justify LOTS of things that aren’t right! JUST REMEMBER that justifying one thing makes it easier to justify the next! It can easily become like a stepping stone and lead to more and more and more and more…At some point “Maxim” won’t satisfy! I know that's hard for some guys to imagine, but there becomes a hunger for more! In time, you can get sucked into a lifestyle of addiction. Pornography dethrones caution all together. I say all that because I care, and I know that SIN IS DECEITFUL! It masks itself in beauty and promises satisfaction, but always leaves us empty. So, BE CAREFUL! BE CAUTIOUS! USE DISCIPLINE, it pays off!

The problem is that we often times fill our minds with the same junk as everyone else through movies, tv, music, mags, etc...Not that these things are all bad, but we need to have standards of what we will and won't allow in our minds! Even if people think we are crazy, we need to USE CAUTION because it will protect the gateway to our hearts. It may seem extreme, but some times extreme measures need to be taken to keep us from falling or pick us up after having already fallen!

It’s like this…the other day i heard that song "Promiscuous" playing on the radio, and I listened for a minute, and I thought, "dang that is so bad, but it's so dang catchy!! Now, to the normal person, listening to that song, dancing to it, and singing along is A-ok...but my point is, that in time, you get those kinds of messages burned in your mind, and they eventually enter your heart! Then the things that you viewed as wrong, don't seem as bad as they used to. Now, I'm not saying over night, you'll turn your choir robe in for a lil outfit and be dancin’ in the clubs with every boy or girl you meet. We have all watched and listened to things we shouldn't have, and it doesn't just zap us into someone different overnight. It's a PROCESS of change. I'm just saying, remember that THE MIND IS POWERFUL!!! IT IS THE BATTLEFIELD! WE MUST BE WISE ABOUT WHAT WE ALLOW INTO OUR MINDS, because in time, those things WILL affect our actions, and even blur the lines of right and wrong!

In closing...just check out all the verses that have the "mind", "heart", "thoughts", mentioned and how that relates to what we allow into our minds. Now I'm aware often times we can't help some things we are bombarded with, but I'm talking about what we CHOOSE to allow into our minds. ok i could list the whole Bible at this point :) i'll just give a few verses...there are so many...

" Keep thy heart with all diligence. For out of it are the issues of life"
Proverbs 4:23

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" Proverbs 23:7

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight!"
Ps. 19:14

"A good man out of the good treasures of his HEART bringeth forth that which is good; an evil man out of the evil treasures of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" Luke 6:45

"For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit...and is the discerner of the THOUGHTS and intents of the heart" Hebrews 4:12

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Posted by sara @ 05:15 PM CST

Thursday, November 2, 2006

Ok, I am going to share the following with you at the risk of becoming a complete fool in your eyes...I risk that in hopes someone will get what I am attempting to say, and it will awaken something on the insdie of them. Now I wrote the following journal entry with NO INTENT of ever sharing it with anyone. It was just for me…but today I ran across it and thought I would share it because it is the essence of what our new record is all about…”the life unfolding”…it’s about really seeking God, and getting out of the box that often blinds us. It’s about looking for God outside of the ways we always have because they have been comfortable. I don't mean just the initial experience of salvation. For example, Moses found God on a mountain. David found Him in a song. Daniel found Him in a dream. Rahab found him through spoken words. Israel found Him in a cloud by day and fire by night. Esther found Him in her destiny. Deborah found him on the battlefield. God is not bound to our methods nor ideas of how we think He will speak to us or move in our lives. I think that is one of the coolest things about God…

9/30/06 Raleigh, North Carolina

I just walked into the bathroom at Starbucks in North Carolina...oddly enough, as I was in there, i said out loud..."God teach me! I want to know You! I want to love you! Here am I send me, use me for your glory" I had just moved all my stuff inside from outside...it was getting hot. So, i went to plug in my computer, which i wasn't even using yet, and there on the outlet was some sort of code that read...P.V. 02.31.33. and call it coincidence if you want, but i went to Proverbs 2 and the whole thing is about finding wisdom, finding GOD! I had JUST PRAYED "God teach me"...those were my exact words!!! right before i came inside, i was writing about how doubt holds us at a distance from ever seeing God interrupt the "natural" world, our normal cycle...again, it would be easy to dismiss this as coincidence...that's the way our mind works, especially mine! the natural man doubts...but i believe God has found me here in Raleigh, North Carolina today...why? because I REALLY ASKED...man, that is so cool...i am honored that i requested His presence and He came…

THE END

Now, i am going to share what God spoke to my heart through Proverbs2 tomorrow..but i figured if i posted it today it would be way too lengthy of a post to read :) so i will share tomorrow...plus it'd be cool if you all READ PROVERBS 2 and share what you get out of it on your post tomorrow! just an idea :) its a freakin cool chapter!

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Posted by sara @ 04:14 PM CST