aaaaand we're back.

well. its all over. eeevvverryyytthhinngggg. over! my 21 units, college, interning, the church, my life at my parents house, the wedding, over! and now i sit in mount hermon, my new home for the next 2 and a half months, with nothing to do! its so wonderful yet makes me nervous all at the same time. i am nervous that i will not make the most of my free time. this past semester i have had little time to do things i claim i wanted to do and now that i have the time, what if i still don't do them? what if i still procrastenate and waste time on stupid things? what if i still put off reading to talk to friends, or run errands, etc? i pray pray pray that that is not true (what a funny looking sentence!). deep down i know that my desire to spend quality time with the Lord outweighs my desire to do other things, but i fear the power of my flesh!

readers (all 5 of you): please ask me what i'm reading! thank you :)

a couple important people have asked me in the recent weeks what i have learned this semester. and after thinking about it for a while i think i can sum it up to a couple of things.
1. i am in need of regular accountability and small group studying! i had a number of people in my life this semester to read with, pray with, and share with, but i missed having a weekly meeting to go through a study. i thrive on schedules and knowing i need to have this or that chapter read so i can discuss and learn with other people!
2. the need of the Word. if i'm not filling my mind with His Word, i won't be thinking of it, won't be speaking it, and won't be living it as well! by thinking of the Word, i am in communication with the Lord. and the opposite is also true. if i want Him to be filling the thoughts of my day, i have to fill my mind with Him!
3. He wants to spend time with me. He doesn't get frustrated and pout and make me take a time out from him. He demands my everything because he loves me, delights in me, and truly wants the best for me. and the best thing for me is Him. His glory, His character, His words. Him alone. so when i ignore Him and put other things above Him, of course i'm going to feel it and feel emptiness! he designed it that way so we would miss Him and come back to Him. what a good Shepherd that gently draws back his sheep.

okay on a different note i am SO looking forward to the reading i want to do this summer. I have a list of books i want to start (and hopefully finish haha) and the first on the list is Living the Cross-Centered Life by: CJ Mahaney (perhaps a life group study? :)). the intro alone hit me in the face. in this short chapter he simply states the neccessity of the gospel being the center of our lives. when asking the reader (me) what the passion of our lives is he says, "maybe your life's passion is not so much a single focus as a constantly shifting gaze." whoa. hoe true that is! how often have i been shifting my focus to and from school, relationships, summer, my future, Christ, my brother, etc! and sometimes the gospel is replaced by "relatively peripheral insights that take on far too much weight." so true!

and here are some recent pics i've played around with!




















I know these are small... sorry!


























okay this is long enough. ill write more another day. :)

reporting live from coffee cat in scotts valley, this is sarah signing off. peace!