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from death to life: my friend’s story.

13 Mar

im so grateful for the response from my latest posts and series. i truly belive there is something unique and wonderful about connected to another’s story. experiencing their journey through pain and disappoint, and hopefully their testimony of redemption and restoration in the end. im grateful to have shared a least a little piece of my puzzle with you, but id now like to share a part of my wonderful friends story.

taylor mitchell is a gem. one of those people you meet and are immediately drawn to by her incredible personality and south Arkansas charm. she truly  loves people and has a real and genuine passion for God that is seen in the veins of every friendship she has and everything she does.
if you met her today, you wouldn’t in a million years expect to hear the kind of testimony she has and the story she’s lived out. before i just go ahead and blurt it out, i want you to watch the video below. this is taylor telling her story with her own words and heart. this is a story of real life redemption. of real pain - met by real love. real sorrow and grief - met by real peace and grace. from death to life, we see God rescue, restore, and redeem again and again. please let her words remind you again of Gods unending love and pursuit of your heart and life.
here is an excerpt from TAYLOR’S BLOG about this video and heart behind filming it.

I am Taylor Mitchell. I have a story, just like you do. It may not look identical to yours, but it could possibly have the same ending…REDEMPTION.
I want to share with you my personal journey. My desire is to tell the world my personal experience because it sheds light into the amazing, everlasting LOVE of Jesus. His relentless and unchanging love. The bible mentions in Revelation 12:11 “and they OVERCAME him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony…” I believe that every time this story is told, I not only find more healing, but others find hope and more than anything, they see that life is not over!! It is not how you start the race, it is how you finish!! I pray today, as you watch and listen, God will invade your heart with His love, His healing, His redemption! You are loved and adored. Don’t settle. Keep pressing forward because YOU have a story to tell!! 

 
Follow Taylor
Blog: iamtaylorm
Twitter: @taylormitchell
Sang and wrote on Trinity Church’s worship album “In You” – be sure and check it out on itunes:: HERE

(this AMAZING video was created by my wonderful and talented friends at Jonathan Link Studios)

if you’re at your desk.

19 Dec

if you’re at your desk for an extended period of time, like me, you get annoyed by your phone vibrating on your desk, or having to hold your phone to watch a video or switch music whilst needing to respond to an email at the same time.

well i have found something just for US.

it’s called the “Milo” by BlueLounge.com
i ordered mine earlier last week and it was shipped and in my mailbox in 4 days. i brought it to work this morning and i think im in love with this wonderful little piece of plastic and suction pads.
what exactly is this and how can this be so great, you ask?!
well here is the answer straight from the blueloung.com site.

This nifty little stand features a hi-tec Japanese micro-suction technology to directly grip your phone at any desired angle. The micro-suction pad is reusable, easily cleaned, and will not leave any residues on your devices or tabletop.

Place the back of your device onto the front micro-suction pad. Hold for a couple of second to ensure the micro-suction fully grasps the flat surface of your device. Freely browse, make phone calls or enjoy your favorite app. Peel off to remove device from Milo.

it really does suction (as opposed to stick) quite nicely. works with any kind of phone, and i can tell you firsthand, it stays very secure to my phone and the stand to my desk and its ONLY a whopping $15.00!

you’re welcome.
-s

Unveiled:a book you need to BUY!

2 Dec

My friend Heidi Kratzke just published and released an amazing tool for any writers out there. It’s called “Unveiled: Writing prompts that reveal the heart of God” and it’s brilliantly filled with everything from six-word stories to ongoing journal activities, famous quotes to intriguing photographs. This book provides hundreds of unique prompts to not only challenge you as a writer, but to also prompt inspiration and creativity when you’re stuck and don’t know where to begin. It’s been a wonderful tool for me to use as a writing practice, while also giving me the opportunity to really see the heart of God in different and unique ways. I know this book would be a great resource to you, as it has been to me. I’d also recommend this for a writers group as well, so get a copy and add it to your library – TODAY! You won’t regret it.

Be sure and get a copy HERE and take a look at the video below, of Heidi sharing heart behind writing this book.

just in time.

1 Dec

for christmas…

this morning i discovered the wonderful creation that is CanvasPop. a neat site that lets you transform your beloved Instragam photos into a 12×12 (or bigger) canvassed work of art. such a fun and personal way to decorate and would also be a great christmas present, i’d imagine. *hint hint*

just in time for the holidays. be sure and check them out HERE!

love, loss, and a life ahead.

25 Aug

Even in the midst of tragedy, Hope and Grace can still be found… constantly steady they are standing tall, with arms wide open – ready to heal the deep places of us. They’re ready to gently and kindly help put the pieces back together, not for it to look like what was, but to beautifully bind together what will be.

This is the story of a beloved friend of mine and how he and his girls have encountered this kind of tragedy and loss, almost a year to the date.

Loss, helplessness, and great pain looked him and his family square in the face. And in those days, weeks, and months that followed loss, the posture of their heart remained in a place that can only equate to the immense kindness and grace of a very loving and very present God.
I want you to read about the very real story of how my friend Guy Delcambre and his family dealt with the loss of a wife, mother, and best friend. How they continue to cling to grace, with assurance that there is Hope not only for tomorrow, but for today, right now, even in this very moment.  Maybe you haven’t experienced a loss like this, but maybe you need to hear about a loving, kind, and gracious savior. One that will meet us at our lowest place, pick us up, and restore us to a new life again.

I GREATLY encourage you to read Guys words over at his wonderful blog allthingsdelcambre.com and start at his post “Rescuing Me” as he remembers the days leading up to the death of his wife Marianne. As he has stated, this is his goal in recounting those days with us all:

Over the course of the next week, I want to share just a bit of my heart as it was during the five days Marianne was in the hospital, the days just before she died.  I really hope you will be able to get a sense of God finding me as I sank deeply.  It is truly the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me.  And it happened in the darkest moments of my life

Do me a solid and SUBSCRIBE to His Blog so you don’t miss a post, follow him on Twitter so you can stalk him, just kidding… he does post pics of his stunning girls and keeps you informed on his new post as well. and lastly, please keep Guy and his girls in your prayers. It’ll be the best decisions you’ll make all week. Maybe all year.
Also, and be sure to scroll back a few days (or weeks, or months, or even years) to see some pictures of his beautiful girls and more encouraging post that he’s written that will be sure to inspire and offer hope to you, today!

-S
*please share this post on your twitter or facebook, so others will have the opportunity to be encouraged and blessed by Guy and his story*

summer hit list

20 Jun

reading is something that lingers in the back of my mind at all times. yet, I never make enough time for it when i know it’s always beneficial for my heart and mind. so this summer I have a reading resolution… hopefully it wont pan out like most new years resolutions… 

i could think of a million books i wanna read, but here are just a few choices for my summer reading hit list.
now, if there is something you think i can’t go without reading, fill me in and quit being selfish.

(click book to open in amazon.com)
   
       

obviously if I read all of these, none of you would never see me. however, if I at least read half, I would be a happy camper.

 -S

screw art.

27 Apr

i don’t mean that like, “efff art, who needs it!”

i mean, check out this guy named Andrew Myers.
he makes ‘Screw Art’ and it looks pretty amazing!

ANDREW MYERS ART


-S

attitude of gratitude.

23 Mar

i wanna stop and recognize.

you know?

not this whole, stop and smell the roses bit. because frankly, i don’t really even like roses.
but you can ask my family and friends and they will be the first one to tell you… “well…. i mean, id say Sarah is a tad on the pessimistic side, maybe, but her hearts good…”

You know when anyone finishes a sentence with… ‘but their hearts good or they mean well” that’s probably an indication that there is room for some serious improvement.

Id be the first to tell you that I definitely have a bad case of the blunts… and im not talking about drugs here. My problem is that i am a realist and I have a very formula based/logical thought process and personality. and when it kicks in- instead of encouraging your amazing idea, i want to be the one to tell you ways that it could not succeed (maybe i should be a business consultant). typically, i don’t say it out of mass desire to be your own personal debbie downer, but i want you to think of all the option and angles…  i can be a dreamer, but in the next breath, im the one keeping people’s feet on the ground - as if God isn’t the one that does what He wants while surpassing my logic as a whole…

Basically, I don’t focus and celebrate the good or the positive enough… (sigh)

I honestly belive that i started becoming bent that way, because i did not practice this whole gratitude thing…
Erwin McManus says in his book Stand Against the Wind that:
“Gratitude and forgiveness are inseparable, as are ungratefulness and bitterness. When we are grateful, we see and experience life with a healthy optimism. When we lack gratitude, we move toward pessimism. An ungrateful heart always sees what’s wrong with life. The longer we live without gratitude, the more embittered we become.”That’s why i believe, gratitude naturally spurs optimism.

ok, now that confession time is over, here is what im aiming at and here is where my heart and mind have been convicted.
what im aiming at is: stop and recognize what you’ve been given. whether it be who you know (the friends in your life), where you’re at, and TRULY realizing the gifts you’ve been given or even the gifts other possess. I wonder sometimes,  if i sat and thought about the AMAZING family i have, the great job i have in the midst of heightened unemployment, the church family i have, or the car i was just blessed in getting… and hell, lets not forget the very breath in my lungs…
I mean, if i remembered and thought on those things MORE, would i be as stressed out or as discouraged? would i be as quick to find fault or the problems? would i be as consumed with the what if’s of life?

the answer is hell no, people!

and here’s some word to back it up:

Philippians 4:8 – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

To me: THIS is the key to living a life of gratitude… changing the way you think. Like Paul is saying, whatever is true and lovely and excellent… these are the things that need to consume your mind. Then He seals the deal with this convicting statement  (Amplified version) :  if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].

if there is ANYTHING worthy of praise… gah, well i can think of like a millions things than, Paul – cause you basically just summed up ALL of life. however, I have a feeling that was his intention.
ok lets move to vs 9 so we can really get a good spiritual kick in the…butt…

vs 9 – Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.

the financial problems, the loss, and the pain we experience in everyday life , while i do not want to discredit the magnitude of their effect on our hearts and lives, i promise you – that they will only pale in comparison to when you finally look, and remember the abounding blessing, favor, and life Christ has given you and me.

you see, the old song ‘turn your eyes upon Jesus’ had it right- “and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.”  lets fix our eyes upon that and truly live with gratitude, or should i say… lets live in a continual state of gratefulness.

I encourage you today – be conscious of what your mind is fixed on. lets remember that gratitude is formed once you realize what you have been given, who you are, and from who all blessings flow.

this hilarious video is a prime example of our lack of gratitude in everyday life.

-S

 

hidden memories.

22 Mar

dutch stylist & jewelry designer Miranda van Dijk has just created a crazy innovative collection called hidden memories.

 

essentially she prints these old photos on unbleached cotton and then turns them into brooches and necklaces. its quite fascinating what the mind conjures.

all that to say, my brithday is in July…

-S

jumper.

18 Mar

the denim j.crew jumper. 
im all for denim on denim, but jcrew- has outdone themselves this time.
this is definitely an item that i will not be purchasing – however, if you purchase this, just know that you’ve opened yourself up to world of criticism from me. i will also try to sneak a pic of you with my phone and mass text it out to others… sad but probably true.

-S

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