The First Love

The title of this post probably has some of you guessing what in the world it is about.No,it's not a love story...
At least not in that sense of the word.
But it really is a love story.
A love story that each of us have had at one time or another;we all had a time when we began walking with Jesus and were hurried on to tell others of this most wonderful friend who placed a fire burning in our hearts to help the world.
This is really great you know.
The million dollar question is:Do we still have it?

The book of Revelation sheds light on this question.
Revelation 2:2 says"I know thy works,and thy labour,and thy patience,and how thou canst not bear them  which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles,and are not,and hast found them liars."

Apparently,these individuals do good deeds,are patient when things are rough,and don't tolerate others doing wrong around them.
Verse 3 continues...''And hast borne,and hast patience,and for my name's sake hast laboured ,and hast not fainted."
Hmm,this is a little scary.This hits a bit too close to home for comfort...These persons do not faint even under hard circumstances.They don't give up easily and appear to have a goal in sight.
The 4th verse brings these two verses to a climax with"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,because thou hast left thy first love."
Ouch!
Have I left my first love.Am I working for Jesus out of love for Him or out of desire for wealth or out of mere habit.Has it become just something we do or do we realize the importance of what we do for Jesus,who already gave us everything.
Even though I've heard this presented a number of times,it hit me hard this recent canvassing program during a worship given by my awesome leader.
Why do we do the right things.Why are we vegans,dress modestly and do outreach?Is it to glorify God and bring honor to His name or to make ourselves look holy...
Just a thought to think of as we go from day to day:Have we left our first love?

I Repent

This morning I was contemplating what to blog about since you are most likely growing weary of my ramblings about canvassing.
Mmmm..I think it will be forgiveness today.
Have you ever had someone in your life who ruined your dreams,spoiled your plans,and marred your happiness?Or perhaps someone who spoiled your best moments or your only chance to have fun or be yourself?Someone who tries hard to shape you into their mold?Who insists on you going out in their armor? 
Recently,I was in this situation.Angry feelings of resentment raged inside.I wish I could...
But then I started asking myself what good all of this anger was doing?And of course the answer is nothing.
It's easy for us to stand up for our rights and be willing to sacrifice all reason for the sake of getting back at our enemy.
But this person has gone past the limits we say...no more mercy for them.
Just then,the Words of Jesus gently remind."Love your enemies."
But Lord...
It was almost as if He was saying,Sarah,you have done wrong too.Maybe you have treated others and me even worse than this individual.But I still forgave you..I didn't count your case as hopeless.
It was then that I realized that God had forgiven me of much more than I would ever need to forgive.He was just asking me to return a little gratitude to Him by forgiving a small offense.
It was humbling to think how much harm we do not only ourselves,but also everyone around us when we hold hard feelings and grudged against anyone.
Jesus can be pictured dying on the cross for us.He would have done it if it had only been for one of us.And how do we treat Him back?
He was willing.
Amazing love!How can it be?

A teacher to be by God's grace

It has been a while since I last blogged.Much has happened.And in this silent time I've made a decision...I will be a teacher.The Lord has been guiding me in this path for a year but I have continually run away from the idea,just like Jonah did.This won't continue!
College is teaching me so many lessons.
And guess what??
Our fall canvassing program is coming up!I'm excited again.The location will be South Carolina.Ever since I started canvassing we've never gone to the same state twice.Pretty interesting I'd say.

This post feels scattered and hap-hazard to me.But this totally describes my life right now.However,I've never been happier.
As many of the youth from my church are disappearing to work or school I can't help wondering where the time goes.These are people I grew up with.We did everything together and have a whole lot of history.Time does fly.
Some are going to be nurses,some carpenters and some teachers.
To me it seems that teaching would be a great responsibility;I'm too weak to do it alone.Help me,Jesus.

Isn't God Amazing?

Note: I truly desire that this blog would be a blessing to others;not just a diary.For this reason I've been reluctant to blog about anything.

It looks like I'll be studying Business instead of Education.Some have been disappointed.But I believe it's what I'm best fitted for.
I've been reflecting on the previous canvassing program and...well,in short,there are alot of things I wish had been done differently on my part.But it's done and many precious memories were made that are totally unforgetable.Texas was over-all the best territory ever;in line after Arkansas.
One of the lessons I learned is not to judge the territory as being good or bad before starting to canvass...For instance,one of our team's highest mornings ever was in unplanned territory consisting of random businesses and spread out neighborhoods.The morning ended with a trailer park.My previous trailer park experience was not too good so I didn't know what to expect.But God blessed.The people were thirsty.They wanted the books.Even teens were eagerly grabbing the Great Controversy...

The radio stayed so busy with everyone calling for books that I turned it down so it wouldn't interrupt.

It was definitely not rich-looking territory or well-planned but God had a purpose for reminding my leader of that area that needed to be cleaned up before moving to another town.

Isn't God just amazing?

Rejections and Such

In canvassing there are tons of rejections every day,five days a week.
Most of the time we just ignore the rejections and move on...
Thursday I didn't.
Door after door of"We have no money".
"I don't have a penny to my name."
"Honey,I don't have a dime on me."
By the way,the people who are saying this are owners of beautiful two-story mansions and fancy cars.Hmm,maybe some are telling the truth but I think not all of them are truthfully so poor.
Honestly,it isn't easy to give a friendly "God bless" while leaving.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

How many times do I say the same thing to God when He wants to spend time with me.

How many times do I give a multitude of excuses why I'm too busy to have devotions or commune with Him in prayer.

Wow.An eye-opener.

Just a thought that I'm pondering on today.

This summer is flying along faster than I would like but at the same time a break sounds welcome.

My first dump bag(when someone buys all your books)was on Thursday.It's never happened before.

When the friendly couple who were smoking kept asking what else I had,my hopes went up.But they soon dropped as they said they only had a little money.
Long story short,they bought all 8 books I was carrying with instruction to hold their check two weeks.

I almost fell over of shock.

They wanted all the books.

God truly is a giver of good gifts.

Even though there are times when it doesn't look very bright or hopeful,He is still there.

Rainy weather is my least favorite weather to canvass in.Worse than snow or heat.

I'm just thankful that God holds this work in His hands and his workers as well.Even though we are such pitiful messengers sometimes...

Students Working on a Scholarship?

Hello,my name is Sarah.We're students working a special scholarship project.I'll let you take a look....

.......

.......

How many times do us canvassers repeat this phrase every day?I don't know.I don't want to.But I do know this:It borders on 100 times per average day.We canvass 5 days a week.All summer.

Yeah,you get it.

It's alot of times.

I've found myself repeating this phrase without the slightest thought of what I was saying this week.It's good and bad at the same time.It's good because it means I've finally learned the prescribed canvass(a long process) and can now cease struggling to create a new canvass at each door.But something troubles me also;it means I am getting into the habit of canvassing.It means that I'm doing things from habit instead of necessarily trying to canvass.I'm not doing a good job of explaining this but what I mean is that I pray that the fire we had at the start of our journey with Jesus may never flicker and die out.

I noticed that this summer my love of businesses wasn't as strong as before.I didn't really care where my leader dropped me off.

Now to get back to the introduction I used.Yes,we are students working on a scholarship project.We definitely need money for our education.But our mission goes much deeper...it goes deeper than scholarships and school and money.

The efforts we put forth in the heat and cold,in the sun and rain and snow,may tell in Heaven.It will be worth it.

Sometimes we struggle to drag ourselves to the finish line without collapsing.Literally.But there is a Heaven ahead where the will be lots of time to rest.Forever.Shall we now give our best to the Master?

This summer is perhaps my busiest summer ever.Not only cause I'm canvassing,but also that I'm taking a correspondence course as well.If you don't hear from me often,know that I love you all and will eventually get a few minutes to blog about what's happening.In the mean time,please pray for me and my entire team as we work here in Crowley,Texas.

All the Way My Saviour Leads Me

As I reflect upon the past few months,I see God's mercy ordering events from something as small as a kind friend being willing to print important documents off the computer to a pretty huge step like being accepted to Ouachita Hills College.

I'm still in shock.

Still in amazement at how blocked doors were opened and gigantic mountains were removed by Jesus.

The words of the hymn "All the Way My Saviour Leads Me" are especially comforting to me.

"For I know what-ere befalls me,Jesus doeth all things well".As a canvasser,these last few words of the first stanza hold a special meaning.Those who canvass or do any outreach know well that
 there are dangers and trials that come but Jesus does do all things well.

He has sent His angels to watch over us and keep us safe from harm.But sometimes He does not protect us from all trials and hardships;not because He doesn't care but because He sees our characters could improve to be more like His.

This is precisely what happened to me this last canvassing program. A multitude of trials came slamming their way towards not only myself but alot of the canvassers.

I'm afraid the fire of wanting to work for God had begun to cool off prior to the program.

It was a wake-up call to me to be more alert that we're in a battle.It's not over yet. The more earnestly we work the sooner it will end,but until that day we must press on until Jesus comes. :)