Once Upon A Time. . .

New Blog

2crazygirlz — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:24:27 +0000

Hey! I’ve got a new blog. This one wasn’t going anywhere Here’s the address!

dancingintherain05.blogspot.com

Pslam 119

2crazygirlz — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:59:55 +0000

Some of my favorite verses from Pslam 119, hope they encourage you like they did me.

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the way of the Lord.”

“I have stored up my word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

“Behold I long for your precepts, in your righteousness give me life!”

“Let your steadfast love come to me, oh Lord, Your salvation according to your promise.”

“Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope, this is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.”

“Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.”

I know, oh Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.”

“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”

“I am yours, save me.”

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

“My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise. Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love and teach me your statutes.”

“With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord! I will keep your statutes. I call to you; save me.”

“My heart stands in awe of your words.”
“I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise you.

Learning to be Thankful

2crazygirlz — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:01:38 +0000

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I’m trying to believe that people still look at my blog, though I wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t. But, for anyone who still does, I hope this post will encourage you.

Several weeks ago, I started to write a post, and halfway through it I realized that almost the whole thing was filled with my complainants. Something inside of me screamed at myself and told me to shut up and stop writing if you have nothing profitable to say. Since then, I have not written anything (I hadn’t even tried.) I deleted what I had written and forgot about the incident. Since then, several things had only stirred the complaining spirit in me. I’ve noticed myself so many times even asking God “Why?” And no, it wasn’t a godly why, it was an irritated, whining that I hadn’t been awakened to yet.

I believe the very first thing that made me see this was one chilly Monday evening in November (I think.) I was sweeping the kitchen floor and pondering over the different things going on in my life. Discontented with my present situations, I yelled in my head and said, “God, why this? Why to me?” I shocked myself. I couldn’t believe I had become so callus to my spoiled and ungrateful heart.

There’s always been this part of me that could never understand why we were put through such hard trials. Of course the typical “It’s so you can learn to trust God and to be made stronger” was the first thing I would always think of. That was never good enough for me ( it should have been.) At any rate, it wasn’t cutting my present pain. All I could think about was “Why?” I thought, trusting God is one thing, understanding why He picked this trial in particular was another. It always seems as though the things we go through are always the ones that we think of as “the worst,” the ones that get us in particular. The ones that we would pick last if we had a list of trials to pick from.

Okay, now I’m going to try to merge my two themes; complaining and trials. But first, one more thing that really helped me see the truth about myself. I did what anyone should do if they really want to know the truth, ask a friend who you know will tell you the truth, well, they did. And it went like this, (Me) “Hey, do you think I complain a lot?” (Friend) “Not a ton, but…I guess you kind of do have a tendency to complain.” Ouch! But hey, they were right.

As if that wasn’t enough for me to see, God did one more thing to show me how thankful I ought to be. He set my house on fire. Well, I guess I did technically. I lit the candle. I left it burning. I went to bed and forgot to blow it out. I woke up at 2:30 to smoke filling my house and everyone yelling. After we put it out, my dad said, two more minutes and some, if not all, of us would not have gotten out. I a still having some difficulty sleeping. But here’s why that trial is so important to me; I didn’t complain. Why would I? Yes it was a terrible and horrifying thing, but God saved me and the rest of my family from something so terrible. It was the first time in a while where I felt truly thankful. No buts, or what ifs. It doesn’t matter if our piano is all black and our whole house smells of smoke. God protected us! It’s a very unreal feeling when something happens that you would normally complain about but you just can’t because of what God did (or didn’t let happen) in the process . I think it taught me to think that way all of the time because I never know what He’s going to do. But I do know that He loves me and that everything he does is only for my good, and that, right there should be enough to make me thankful. I feel like He just opened my eyes to see how things really were. He showed me that He is good and even if everything else on earth was as terrible as it could possibly be (which, it totally isn’t) I still have an unfathomably awesome God and there is just no room for complaining.

That truth is the very reason it will be possible for me to go through difficult trials. I know why He puts me through the hard ones now…because He’s going to use them to show me how amazing He is when He saves me from them! He’s going to make me love Him more and more. But, if I spend the trial complaining, I’ll certainly miss what He’s trying to show me.

So, I will learn to love the trials because I know that through them, God will not make me stronger, He’ll show me how weak I am and how strong He really is. He’ll show me how impossible it is for me to make this on my own, how much I need Him, how much He loves me. Of course this will be something I will always fight against. A sin this cultivated doesn’t disappear over night. So bear with me as I go on this lifelong journey, as God teaches me to always be thankful.

Sarah

Rambling or Babbling…I’m Not Sure Which One :)

2crazygirlz — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 22:06:55 +0000

I think this post will be pretty short, since what I’m going to write about I have not had sufficient time to reflect upon, and therefore, will most likely have nothing of much consequence to say. But I will give it a shot…because I feel inspired to write, and I try not to pass up that opportunity because within an hour or two it will pass and likely not return for a week or so. Anyway, I’m already rambling…or babbling, only the readers of this can tell which

Alright, so here’s what I’ve been thinking about, tell me your opinion. I’ve been thinking about the kind of person I want to be, or more importantly, the kind of person that I ought to be, specifically in the area of what I believe. I’ve always wondered if I could be swayed from the truth that is taught in church every Sunday. I’ve heard lots of stories about young people who are easily led away from what they always used to believe, what their parents had always taught them. I hope and pray that God will keep me safe from that, and that He will show me exactly what I do believe. I truly want to have my own convictions about things. I hope that they would be godly and biblically based convictions, but at that same time, I don’t want to be a brick wall that won’t listen to anything that is slightly new or different from what I am use to. Basically, I want to be teachable and yet firm in my (hopefully) godly and true beliefs. You see, when you’re a child, you tend to go with what your parents believe. You think that whatever they say is naturally the truth. You don’t care to find out for yourself.

Now, I hope no one takes this to mean that I disagree with what my parents have taught me. I have been truly blessed with the parents God has given me and I honestly can’t think of one area that we seriously (or even not very seriously) disagree on. But I want to be able to say what I believe and not exactly what my parents believe just because I’ve never taken the time to figure it out for myself. I want to search the scriptures and know them so well that when anyone asks me, I can tell them the truth because I know it to be true myself, not just because my parents (or other people) have always told me so . And yet, I want to be teachable. I want to be open to what people say, but at the same time I need to be very discerning. I guess what I need to do is to have an open mind that is willing to be taught, but I need to take everything that I have been, and am being taught and run it through the scripture filter. I need to make sure that what I believe is based entirely on the Bible, not on what makes me feel good. That every detail matches up. I shouldn’t let one thing slip. Obviously this is going to take a ton of prayer for discernment and also a crazy amount of scripture searching.

I really want to be so strong, but I know that it will take a ton of work (and of course, I will have none of this without Christ giving it to me.) So I just really need to pray and read!

So, that is just one thing that I have been thinking about lately. I hope it didn’t sound too scatterbrained I hope I didn’t say anything heretical!

Sarah

The Little Things That I Remember That Probably (But Hopefully Don’t) Only Interest Me

2crazygirlz — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:00:51 +0000

I think I had a very happy childhood. At any rate, any misery I experienced was of my own making, and I fully deserved it. I mean, really, I had it all. From ages two till about nine, I really was a princess, except for the fact that no one obeyed me…which irritated me greatly. I remember so many things even from the age of two. I remember pretending to be a deer that was kidnapped by hunters (not hunted mind you, kidnapped.) I remember my sister (Emily) and me lying in bed at the late hour of nine o’clock and thinking how bad I was for staying up so late. I remember I never wanted to think of anything sad because I knew I would cry(I always did.) I remember wondering how my dad had the heart to spank me…since I thought I was so cute. I remember going through books with Laura and Emily and fighting over which of us was the pretty girl on each page. I remember wishing I could find Narnia and Neverland. I remember wishing I was a boy (that didn’t last long.) I remember wishing I was a horse. I remember the time when playing dress up with my best friend Naomi was about the best thing that could possibly happen. I remember dropping a big, white cooler on her big sister, Abigale’s, head. I remember long road trips from California to Ohio in our bright orange truck. I remember the day I actually thought my grandpa was going to spank me…and I remember how traumatized I was. I remember telling mom and dad that I would live with them forever. I remember when my eight year old sister, Laura, told me that she wanted to ship me to China…and I remember how traumatized I was. I remember never wanting to go to bed because I thought I would get sick if I did. I remember when my dad had a mustache and he would kiss my check and I remember rubbing my checks so hard afterward because it tickled so bad. I remember the day I discovered my eyebrows…I thought they were bugs and I tried so hard to pull them off (which naturally made me scream louder than I already was but somehow it just didn’t click.) I remember the night I woke up and decided to sit on my dresser, (don’t ask me why) of course I knocked the whole thing over and all of the clothes came out. I remember thinking how amazing my sisters looked when they did there ballet…and I wondered why I never looked so graceful. I never remember being shy of anyone…everyone was my friend. I remember sitting in my dad’s police car and thinking how cool it was. I remember one Valentines day, our co-op had a dance…and I stole Laura’s boyfriend for one of the dances…ha,ha,ha, she was so mad (yeah, I was six.) I remember when my dad would drink coffee and I remember asking if I could have some…so he would take tiny bits on his finger and drop them into my mouth…that’s when I became addicted. I remember thinking how beautiful my sisters were…but especially Emily because I thought all real princesses would have dark hair. I remember when I lost a tooth in the grass in our backyard…and I remember how traumatized I was. I remember thinking that when I got married my husband would do everything I said (with no questions asked.) I remember when my dad told me that the sun actually was a star, and I remember thinking how crazy he was. I remember playing this really fun game with Emily in our living room back in California. I would creep as close to her as I dared and then, suddenly, she would take off after me and I had to try to get to the sliding glass door before she caught me. I remember my fluffy white kitten, Jewel. She had one green eye and one blue one. I remember thinking how bored God must have been, and that’s why he created the world. I remember wishing I was a mermaid. I remember when my dad got baptized. I was so confused because I was sure he already was a Christian.

I know there’s a ton more but I think that’s a sufficient list for one post. Anyway, sorry for my lack of inspiration…hopefully I haven’t told everyone all of these things before. I am tying very hard not to repeat myself…but it’s soooo hard! But it’s a bad habit and I am determined to break it…sorry, I’m rambling now

Sarah

2crazygirlz — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:01:11 +0000

Wow, thanks Amy!

Now I have to list five facts about myself. In case anyone is wondering, Emily gave up this blog. Otherwise I would post five about her (but she might not like that:)

So here are my five random facts…

I absolutely HATE grasshoppers!!
I absolutely LOVE buffalo!!
I observe people constantly. I diagram out their entire personality (I’m sure I’m wrong most of the time.)
I have decided that one day I will go to Ireland (Notice I have decided, which means I will do it!
If I could be named anything other than Sarah it would be Katherine.

Now I hope I am doing this right. I think I pass it on to five people So…I’ll give it to…

Jacob @ http://behindafrowningprovidence.blogspot.com

Bethany @ http://so-very-random.blogspot.com

Laura E. @ O Taste and See that the Lord is Good

Laura W. @ Candid:

Bethany P. @ Rejoice Evermore

Okay, I really hope I did it right Thanks again Amy!!

I LOVE Things That Twinkle!!

2crazygirlz — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:25:59 +0000

Okay, there are few things that I like better than leaning my head out the car window on a warm spring night and looking at all the beautiful stars shinning above me. It really makes me smile more than almost anything else. Tonight, however, things didn’t start out with a smile. I leaned my head back to look out at the stars that I just assumed would be there. But, to my surprise and disappointment, I didn’t see anything! I then gave a little sigh and tried to think about something else. “I wish I could see some stars,” was all that was really going through my head…until I saw something. Oh! There it was again! I squinted my eyes, hoping it wasn’t my imagination. But it totally wasn’t. To my amazement and delight, I saw that the endlessly long field next to me was absolutely bursting with fireflies! I couldn’t believe it! I completely forgot about the stars and focused all of my attention on this new wonder that God had set before me. I really don’t know if I have ever smiled that big (well, maybe a few times:) I was absolutely thrilled…and this wondrous displayed made it impossible for me not to praise the God who had put it there for me. Okay, here’s where it gets really, super good…with my mind totally captivated with the glowing bugs…I hadn’t thought about the stars…until I unintentionally looked up…I think you guessed it, the sky was bursting with stars! It was one of those moments that completely took my breath away! I was just sooooooo awesome! It might not sound as amazing to you as it was to me…but it was just a total reminder that God not only created those beautiful and amazing things, but He also delights in putting them there exactly at the right time, knowing that we take pleasure in them

Sarah

Being Unrealistic in a Realistic World

2crazygirlz — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:43:18 +0000

You’re walking through the store. You’re pretty bored. In fact, the only reason you’re there in the first place is because you’re mom is looking for something and you really don’t want to go that slow. So you walk on…with absolutely nothing to do. Well, you could try to find something, like a piece of trash on the floor. But how fun is that? Well, at least you’ll find it. At least you won’t go home with the unsatisfied feeling of having looked for something and not being able to fine it? That is not cool!

Okay, I was totally kidding in the paragraph above. That is a terrible way to unbore (okay, I know that’s not a word but I like it) yourself. If you know me at all (which you probably do if you’re reading my blog) then you will know that I like doing things that are just a little…odd. Not in a bad or unsafe way, but I like doing things that just aren’t typical. Let me give you an example; a few months ago, I was talking with a friend, they happen to be going to a particular store and they wanted to have a goal, something that they could look for while they were there. Now, being the random person that I am, I quickly told my friend to look for a man with pink hair. There was a pause. “But, that’s not very realistic” was all I got.

Bingo! That was my point! Even if you can’t find it, running around a store looking for something that is a very rare find (like a man with pink hair or a man with a wooden leg) is much more entertaining than looking for something that you are certain you will find. I mean, if you were in Wal-mart you wouldn’t say, “Go see if you can find a public bathroom.” Why? Because you know it’s going to be there. Plus, though it is highly improbable that you will find the extremely unrealistic whatever it is, imagine how much more amazing it would be if you actually found it! As appose to finding a snickers bar on the candy rack.

I guess this post is basically to promote more imagination in the average American teenager. That is just one of the many ways in which someone could entertain themselves. Another of my favorites is talking to people who aren’t there. I mean, if I feel like talking to someone I will (whether you are there or not.) Sometimes, actually often, I will pretend that someone is with me when I’m all alone. Of course it’s not as good as having the actual person there with you, but it does help if you’re bored. I mean, it became so real to me that one time I actual poured a blow of cereal for my friend (this was about two years ago and I don’t even remember who the person was.) As weird as it might sound, it’s a blast! Plus, the bonus on that one is, you can make them say (or not say) whatever you want! Just kidding!

Here’s another good one, talk to someone of the phone who isn’t there. I’ve done it a million times. I go out walking by myself, I see that I am about to pass a group of kids that I really don’t want to talk to, so I take the cell phone and pretend that I am arguing with someone on the phone. It’s a total blast!

All of this to say, I am promoting a little more wackiness to our everyday lives. However, I am not implying that we lives like idiots, taking every chance we get to make fools of ourselves. Live sensibly, yet excitingly. Make stories to tell your kids. But don’t make any that you wouldn’t tell them. Sometime, try doing something just for the sake of doing it, whether it makes sense or not (actually, I would recommend that it didn’t.) It’s the wacky things that you’ll remember. So, you have to tell me what you think. Rate my insanity from one to ten

Sarah

My Opinion in Agreement With Jacob Kolb’s Post, “Hanging Out at the Mall.”

2crazygirlz — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:20:00 +0000

Alright, this post will be shorter only because I would only be repeating the profound words spoken (or written rather) by Mr. Kolb. This post is coming from a girl so it will be, as is only natural, slightly different form that of Jacob’s. I really don’t think men and women will ever (or were ever meant to ) agree on the subject of shopping. Therefore, I think I will tend to be a bit more lenient considering that fact that I have a weakness for it myself.

I also pity the hundreds of guys that get sucked into shopping with their girlfriends. If you like to shop that’s not necessary a bad thing (though it can be, as we have already established) but don’t make your boyfriend, father, brother, cousin, friend, or any other guy do it unless he really wants to (there are a few guys out there that kind of like it.)

Shopping can be very fun but I agree that it should be done as a once-in-a-while thing and not a every other day excretion. For one thing, like Jacob said, it’s very tempting to spend, spend, spend. And don’t give me the excuse, “I’ll leave my credit card at home.” I’ve done it a million times. The problem is, Emily is very generous and if I happen to see something that I like she says “I’ll buy it for you and you can pay me back.” So, the only way to really be safe is to go without the credit card and be alone. But that’s boring anyway so there really isn’t a point. Plus the temptation to covet becomes more of an issue. I’m not saying that everyone who ever goes shopping is coveting, but I’ve found myself feeling covetous of the people that are carrying eight or ten bags from different expensive stores. I start wishing that I had that kind of money and I was able to get something new whenever I wanted.

Another thing is just the environment. The way you talk can start to change and begin to “fit in” with everyone else. The stuff that you would never look at if you were with your parents is suddenly right there and no one is stopping you form looking at it. Again, this is not an “every time” scenario, and I know I’m repeating things that have already been said, but, it can be easy to let your morals slip a little when you’re so saturated in the world. And, like he said, there are so many more meaningful things we could be doing.

Let me clarify, hanging out is fun! I enjoy it. But I think it should be kept to a minimal. I’m blushing now as I write because my sister and I were at Zona Rosa today (blast!)

Sarah

My Opinion in Opposition to Jacob Kolb’s Post, “Dog’s Rule, Cat’s Drool.”

2crazygirlz — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:50:34 +0000

First of all, let it be understood that what I am going to say about dogs does not apply to all dogs everywhere. Likewise, what I am going to say about cats does not apply to all cats everywhere, this is just as a general rule.

First off, I don’t mean to insult, but after seeing the way my brothers treat our cats, I do not blame Noah for not coming to a boy calling him. Especially one calling in an annoying tone. Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Second, it is completely inaccurate to say that cats disobey “every command given them.” Weather they do not come to certain people or do as they say depends largely on the cat (not to mention the person, as we have already established.) I think that, depending on the person, that cat will treat it’s owner with kindness and be a joy. The phrase “depending on the person” holds the key. I have two cats, both of them love me. I never yell at them or do anything that would irritate them (at least not intentionally.) My brothers, however, treat the cats like a science experiment; as if the cats were there for them to beat up on and drop off the deck and step on their tails. It’s no wonder that the cat will not come to them. Emily and I, on the other hand, have very good relationships with our cats. They don’t feel threatened every time we come near. So therefore, I must concluded that very often, it is the person’s fault that a cat will not do or behave as the owner wishes.

Now, dogs. Oh the messes they make! The endless begging and whining that makes my ear ring after very long (Sophie excluded of course.) The long walks on the cold mornings that make my fingers freeze. Let’s face it, dogs take ten time more work than cats do. Even if a dog does seem to be more “personal” with humans, who cares? Why take the trouble of cleaning up mess after mess? And spending those long hours of training a dog when you could have a nice, quietly purring cat that curls up in your lap whenever you want?

Again, it is not that I dislike all dogs (there are some that I wonder why were ever created.) I think they can be very fun and I am glad that we have the two we do. But the main theme of this post is to refute the evils that have been said against the poor cats of this world and to show that dogs are not all that they are made up to be. Yes, cats have their down falls, but, in my honest and most humble opinion, their small number of defects are nothing compared to the trouble and mess that dogs cause.

So that I don’t leave everyone with the wrong impression on what exactly I think of dogs and cats, I will give you what I think of the main ups and downs of both sides. Dog are playful and can be a joy. They are also protective (though in the defense of cats, I have heard a few stories of cats saving their owners, though it is uncommon.) Dog also comfort in a unexplainable sort of way and seem to understand what we say to them. The bad things are, as I have said, the mess, the hassle of walks and the begging (I hate a dog that always begs for my food!)

Cats are graceful and walk around with a very intelligent air about them. They take little work and don’t go to bathroom all over your house. They sit on your lap and don’t squash you in doing so. They are less expensive and can be very comforting in their own way. The bad thing is that, if you do get on their bad said, they will scratch you (though dogs do too.) they, don’t seem to forget a wrong done and are less quick to forgive then the canine species seem to be.

So, I wouldn’t say I have a favorite because I love my dog and my cats. But I do think that the other side taken (from a person who is known to be cruel to even his dog) was blown out of proportion and I am very glad that cats were created, even more than I think I am thankful for dogs.

Sarah