Sarah Anne I Am

I used to have this habit. It was a bad habit, but it felt like a gift. It felt like raw, unleashed, talent. Sarcasm. Biting, hard-hitting, cruel. I could dig down into peoples skin and come away with chunks of self-esteem like no one else. I was what- fourteen, fifteen years old- and yet I could use sarcasm like I’d been trained in it in the mountains of Peru for forty years. (As far as I know, there is not a sarcasm training camp in the mountains of Peru, but at the age of fifteen I probably could have started one on my own.) But, of course, it couldn’t last. Not the talent- that has stayed with me. Still, like a flash of malevolent genius, retorts will come to me immediately. I just bite my tongue, now. Sometimes literally. Clenched jaw, pained smile, closed eyes, trying not to speak in the face of something so incredibly presumptuous, immature, blind, or uncalled for that it takes far more willpower than I possess to keep quiet. Hey, Holy Spirit, thanks for being ...

If you profess to believe in God,   And to have a relationship with Him,     And to trust Him,       Then please stop assuming that there are limitations to His power. Please do not assume that sin makes it impossible for God to grow something beautiful from a terrible situation,    Please do not assume that His control over your life applies only to the “big” things,      Please do not for one moment allow yourself to be deceived into believing that YOU ought to have control over something instead of Him. If the first paragraph didn’t apply to you, then the second paragraph does not either. I am not trying to convict an unbeliever into having faith in a God they do not choose to follow. However, if you are a follower of Christ, please remind ME to live like one. Please remind me that if I have more confidence in my abilities than I do in those of the God that made science, I am an egotistical lunatic,   Please remind me that relying on my own understanding simply beca...

Chloé: Don’t post that on Twitter! Post it on Facebook so you can tag me in it! Me: Gosh, be more demanding, why don’t you. Chloe: See, it’s like we’re married, and I don’t have to impress you anymore. Me: I’ll just tag you in THAT quote. Chloe: Ok, but run it by me before you post it, so I can be sure you are quoting me accurately. Me: You are SO HIGH MAINTENANCE. *I read the above to Chloe* Chloe: No! See, it’s like a joke, and the punchline has to be the end. So get rid of everything after the marriage comment. And before it. Just say- Me: Chloe…would YOU like to post the status? That might be more efficient. 

  My awesome future mother-in-law, sister-in-law’s, and I have been emailing about modesty. Because it’s worth talking about.  This is one thing that I mentioned, and I felt it was worth sharing:   I think it is important that girls know that it perfectly natural to desire to be beautiful, attractive, and desirable to a man.   It is however VERY important what you do with that desire- you can use that to help drive your goal of purity, in wanting to be able to be beautiful and captivating to your husband in a way that you never sought to be to another man. Or you can let that desire to be rooted in vanity and promiscuity, seeking approval and validation from ANY man.   My sister and I talked about this a while ago- how every woman wants to know that she is beautiful and worthwhile, and the importance of finding your assurance of that FIRST is God, how He has created you, and His love for you, and  then second in your husband- NOT simply in any man who gives you the once-over...