February 25, 2014

SARAH

February 25, 2014/ Laura Liira

Today's post is from my lovely friend Sarah. I've had the privilege of knowing Sarah for a number of years. She has a beautiful heart for Jesus and an electric personality. You just can't help but want to be around her!! I'm extremely jealous (and inspired) that she's embarking on a 3-month trip around Europe this Saturday! Here she is...

Hi, I'm Sarah!   A dark-haired, green-eyed gal who is blessed to live on this glorious island, work in the advertising industry and have adventures on the side.

When Laura first shared on the One word concept, I found myself inspired to do something similar and spent some time reflecting on what God might have for me.   Rather than just one, I have two words on my heart for this upcoming year:

FAITH & COURAGE

In a few short weeks, I will be hopping on a plane and flying across the world for an extended time of rest and adventure.   I need to take some time out to focus, and have been planning this trip for a year. With a departure date looming, these words are intertwined in my heart, and often whispered as a simple prayer.

No matter what the future holds, I will need both faith to believe, followed by courage to act.

On the night of my 30th birthday (just a few days after I had settled on my words), Luke started singing "Give us courage, give us faith..." during a moment of responsive worship.   A smile crept across my face, knowing with certainty that these are my words for 2014!   Bring it on.

Sorry about the day late post..I was very busy this weekend, hanging out with 300 girls at Illuminate (our teen girls' conference) and then hearing our senior pastor preaching his last sermon as lead pastor at GT! Posts on both those things will come soon :)

xo,

s.s.♥.

February 17, 2014

ONE WORD 2014 // NADIA

February 17, 2014/ Laura Liira

Nadia has been one of my dear friends for almost nine years now. She is a constant encouragement to me and I am so thankful for our friendship! Here she be...

I was inspired by Laura’s decision to choose ONE WORD to set the tone for her year. I have simply chosen a word in past years, one that I truly believe God has whispered in my ear. He has promised to unfold new and beautiful perspectives with this word over the coming year.

This year as the new year was unfolding, and truth be told i was a wee bit late on choosing my word. My dear friend Jessyca who lives in San Diego and I were skyping when we decided to ask God to reveal words to us to choose for each other. I chose RUN for her and she chose DRIVE for me.

It is beautiful How God confirmed these choices in the next week. As jess and I speak often we were skyping only a few days later and without thinking I told her that my greatest struggle in that moment was that I was trying to find my drive... She quickly reminded me of my word for the year. In that week she decided to begin training for a marathon! We laughed about it but she believes that a literal “run” is not what God was speaking. I love how listening to God’s promises can often draw us together. As my life can take many twists and turns It will leave me wondering what exactly God is doing in the current season. Since I have been home from California I have been striving for many things and God’s heart has shown me that all I need to do is be with him. He has shown me great favor and I am piecing together my drive in life. When I was in school I learned a great deal about dream interpretation. In this you learn that cars and vehicles often symbolize ministry. It is hard to know exactly where God is taking me in this season. What I know for sure is that I have some incredible and beautiful friends to go there with. At the moment I am still finding my drive and whether it is about “ministry” or simple everyday life. I am going to choose my vehicle and find my drive!!

all photos by Amy Gary Photography

Thank you Nadia for sharing! Love you girl :)

HAAPPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!!

xo,

s.s.♥.

February 14, 2014

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

February 14, 2014/ Laura Liira

image via honestlywtf

Happy Valentine's Day!

Those three words usually spark 2 reactions: 1. lovey dovey fireworks in your heart or 2. ugggh. Regardless of your reaction, I want you to take in this verse today:

Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way! -Jude 1 MSG

There is a love that is larger than romantic love. A love that stretches wider, longer, deeper and higher than any Nicholas Spark's novel could. You are loved by God with this love and it is an everlasting love. He loves you, He loves you, He loves you.

So relax today. Rest today. And open your heart because His love is on the way.

xoxo,

s.s.♥.

February 06, 2014

ONE WORD 2014 // AMY

February 06, 2014/ Laura Liira

Hey! I’m Amy! After giving it a lot of thought, I decided that 2014 needed a word that I could hold onto during the ebb and flow of the challenging and beautiful times ahead. I chose the word ‘cherish’ because I wanted to see the value in each situation, and to foster a hope for each day. Sometimes I find it easy to be worried with the unknowns in the future. Often, I voice my frustrations more frequently than my gratitude. My husband recently joined the army, and the decision was a substantial one. We will be given orders on when and where to move, and we can certainly expect to move often. This did not originally fit with my “plan” for our future together. My career plans, and hopes to settle down and buy a house suddenly need to be drastically modified. As the unknowns ahead started to fill my mind, and I lost sight of what truly matters. Then I read 1 John 2:15-17:

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

I realized that my own achievements and possessions had become a major priority. Yikes! I also realized that in all things, I needed to rejoice, and to find moments and people to cherish and appreciate. Life is a gift, and I have been given so much to be thankful for. Living for Christ and loving others is much more important than the career and possessions that the world makes so appealing.

Thank you for sharing your heart Amy and again, thank you for taking all the beautiful photos!! (Hire her!!)

xo,

s.s.♥.

January 27, 2014

WORRYING ABOUT IT WON'T CHANGE A THING GIRL.

January 27, 2014/ Laura Liira

Did Monday sneak up on you too? I had a pretty packed weekend followed by a rather annoying stomach ache that I woke up to this morning. The week ahead of me is looking quite full. I'm faced with two choices. 1. Stress out and worry that I won't get anything done. OR 2. Pray and trust God will give me the strength I need. I'll take the latter. It's a tough one though because worrying about it is my natural reaction. If I'm not careful, I get carried away with stressing and worrying and sooner or later, half my day is eaten up.

Sometimes I need to give myself a pep talk. It goes like this... Break it down and really look at it. Worrying won't change a thing girl. Not a single thing. Stop stressing and pray. Go read Philippians 4...you know the verses...