Advice can be heeded or not, but impressions stay with you, no matter what. Here are some lasting impressions that just haven't left my heart. Funny, how sometimes they come from the most unsuspecting people.
You can't let what other people think bother you if you know that you're doing the right thing in the right place. - my Dad
Excel at the revealed. - Abby Perry (via Ben Stuart, but I associate this with her)
You're choices aren't between what's good and bad, they're between what's good and best. Don't settle for good when you can have the best in life. - my wonderful Mother
This next one is so good I'm going to quote it directly.
"Sarah Elizabeth, just because you think you like him now, doesn't mean you should act on it. In two weeks, you're not going to like him anymore." - brother Ben (and he was usually right..)
If God wants it to happen, it will happen, and me trying to convince everyone what God's will is for me is not going to change that. You just have to be patient and wait. - again, Ben
You've got Daddy's (God's) credit card! Why not pray big things? - Lauren Lust
There isn't anything you can do to make God love you more, and there's not anything you can do to make Him love you less. - again, L.L.
Getting into a relationship should be the easiest part of it. Later on, that's when it's hard work, so starting off should just fall into place. - Travis Maddry (my impact partner who just mentioned this in conversation one day...i can't tell you how often i've thought about it)
Don't do anything I wouldn't do... - my Mom...now I tell it to her :)
God has already forgiven you. You saying "you're sorry" reconciles your relationship to Him, but it doesn't change your status - you are His child and He loves you. - my Dad
Loving someone unconditionally means loving them even if they reject Christ. It means loving them not just to convert them, but to truly love them. - Mason McGahen (changed my idea of what unconditional love is)
LOVE WINS. - bumper sticker
You can always go farther than you think you can. - Tiffany Garrett (i think she said this when we were running one time, but i've seen her live it and that is what has made a lasting impression on me)
You don't need to have kids right when you get married. Marriage is hard enough the first few years; don't complicate it more than you have to. - Cary Plunkett :)
There have been many more, these are just the ones that pop into my mind the most. So, thank you, friends, for leaving me with a lasting impression that has encouraged me and pushed me to live more obediently and more like Christ. This last one probably took me the longest to understand, but has been the easiest to remember. So I'll leave you with my Dad's profound simplicity - be mysterious.
11.08.2010
11.05.2010
countdowns.
7 days until my birthday.
18 days until I'm in Austin with friends and family.
20 days until Thanksgiving.
34 days until the school semester ends.
44 days until I get to go home for the holidays.
49 days until Christmas Eve.
50 days until Christmas.
57 days until the New Year.
time flies.
10.25.2010
belief.
Last week I was sitting at home alone with a free evening ahead of me, indecisively pondering how I was going to spend it. I was surfing the internet mindlessly, when all of a sudden I had an incredibly strong craving for popcorn. Not just any popcorn, but warm, buttery movie popcorn. Of course, I grabbed my keys, and headed to AMC.
The movie? Why, Secretariat, of course. Every birthday wish that I can remember was spent on having my own horse. I remember considering wishing for a car on my 16th birthday, but at the last minute I resorted to my default and once again, blew out those candles thinking of a horse.
All that to say, I love horses, and so obviously, I'm going to want to go see this movie. Not only do I love horses, but I love the Triple Crown - the trifecta of horse racing! I can talk about the winners of the past few years, the upsets, and the near misses. I just love it.
Secretariat was an incredible horse, breaking records that people today only dream of their horses breaking. He still holds the track record for the Belmont Stakes, the third race in the Triple Crown. He raced in 1973, and 37 years later he is still the champion. What is even more gripping about his story is the seemingly unfounded belief that his owner, rider and trainer had in him. All they had as their foundation was that his bloodline showed promise and that he was proving to be a good horse.
While watching the movie, I realized a profound and yet unmistakable truth. I watched as these people risked everything they had on their belief that Secretariat was a great horse. He was the underdog, he had a female owner in a world of men, a washed up trainer, and an old jockey. The estate of the owner's father rested on the success of Secretariat. I wanted to be nervous for them, but I already knew the ending, so I sat back and enjoyed the suspense all the way up to the climax. It struck me, though, that they didn't know how it was going to end. They risked everything they had on their belief, knowing that they could have lost everything. What great faith. What great courage. They were fighting hard for a win.
I immediately thought of us believers - risking everything we have in this world on our belief in a Savior who rules another kingdom. But we're different. We know the ending. We aren't fighting hard for a win, we are fighting for belief that we do actually win, and that we have already won. The stakes change when we realize this great truth. Our fight is not for the end result, it's for the ability to cling to the truth we know in this present moment.
So sit back and enjoy the suspense all the way up to the climax, but don't quit the fight because we've already won. Cling to faith because you know the ending, and you know the reward. I may have known that Secretariat would win, but I didn't know how. It was awesome. He won the Belmont by 31 lengths. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, not because I was unsure of his upcoming success, but because I was thrilled to be a witness to such a grand victory.
We have a bloodline that cannot be questioned. We have a Victor who cannot be defeated. We have a race that cannot be lost. But belief is what we're fighting for, and what we must cling to. The second we stop believing in the power of our kingdom, we miss out on the thrill of the victory.
The movie? Why, Secretariat, of course. Every birthday wish that I can remember was spent on having my own horse. I remember considering wishing for a car on my 16th birthday, but at the last minute I resorted to my default and once again, blew out those candles thinking of a horse.
All that to say, I love horses, and so obviously, I'm going to want to go see this movie. Not only do I love horses, but I love the Triple Crown - the trifecta of horse racing! I can talk about the winners of the past few years, the upsets, and the near misses. I just love it.
Secretariat was an incredible horse, breaking records that people today only dream of their horses breaking. He still holds the track record for the Belmont Stakes, the third race in the Triple Crown. He raced in 1973, and 37 years later he is still the champion. What is even more gripping about his story is the seemingly unfounded belief that his owner, rider and trainer had in him. All they had as their foundation was that his bloodline showed promise and that he was proving to be a good horse.
While watching the movie, I realized a profound and yet unmistakable truth. I watched as these people risked everything they had on their belief that Secretariat was a great horse. He was the underdog, he had a female owner in a world of men, a washed up trainer, and an old jockey. The estate of the owner's father rested on the success of Secretariat. I wanted to be nervous for them, but I already knew the ending, so I sat back and enjoyed the suspense all the way up to the climax. It struck me, though, that they didn't know how it was going to end. They risked everything they had on their belief, knowing that they could have lost everything. What great faith. What great courage. They were fighting hard for a win.
I immediately thought of us believers - risking everything we have in this world on our belief in a Savior who rules another kingdom. But we're different. We know the ending. We aren't fighting hard for a win, we are fighting for belief that we do actually win, and that we have already won. The stakes change when we realize this great truth. Our fight is not for the end result, it's for the ability to cling to the truth we know in this present moment.
So sit back and enjoy the suspense all the way up to the climax, but don't quit the fight because we've already won. Cling to faith because you know the ending, and you know the reward. I may have known that Secretariat would win, but I didn't know how. It was awesome. He won the Belmont by 31 lengths. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, not because I was unsure of his upcoming success, but because I was thrilled to be a witness to such a grand victory.
We have a bloodline that cannot be questioned. We have a Victor who cannot be defeated. We have a race that cannot be lost. But belief is what we're fighting for, and what we must cling to. The second we stop believing in the power of our kingdom, we miss out on the thrill of the victory.
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