Ok.  So Tuesday was a tough day for us.  It was a day of testing, once again.  And we both failed the test at first!  (It started off ok, and quickly turned sour)…but I had read this when I couldn’t sleep, and thought I’d re-focus what my mind should be dwelling on!

I hope this encourages you to be content in whatever stage of life or chapter you’re in right now!  It certainly got my attention!  Because I’ve been struggling  A LOT lately with contentedness.

BE BLESSED!!!

“OUR DAILY BREAD” August 24, Tuesday

A poet once wrote: “As a rule, man’s a fool.  When he’s hot, he wants it cool.  And when it’s cool, he wants it hot.  Always wanting what is not.”

What an insightful observation on human nature!  So when we read in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” we wonder, Can this be possible?

For Paul it was.  Philippians 4:12-13 describes Paul’s response to life: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”  (NIV)  Paul’s relationship with God superseded whatever he did or did not have.  His contentment was not based on his circumstances, but on his relationship with Christ.

Paul reminds us that contentment doesn’t happen overnight.  It’s something that we learn.  As our relationship with God develops over time and through experiences, we learn to trust God more and ourselves less.  Paul knew that Christ would give him the strength to persevere in whatever situation he encountered. (v.13)

NO matter what you’re facing today, through prayer you can receive the strength to be content.  -Albert Lee

The world is filled with so much good that brings us joy and pleasure, But true fulfillment only comes When Christ we love and treasure.  -Sper

Since we’ve been here in Texas, almost every fiber of our being wants to be back home in Virginia…I talked with a friend of mine last night, and she sent this to me this morning! It really gave me a lot MORE encouragement! (I’ve been lonely and missing home a lot lately) God knew exactly what I need, and when. Thanks Lord for giving me a friend that was willing to spend a little time to encourage me to make sure my focus is right! GRATEFUL AM I!

“God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say, ‘God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him.’ Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.”

Yay! IT’S FINALLY DONE!

I’m so happy! I have been wanting to re-design my old website for such a long time!  (I have just either been too busy with my previous jobs, getting married, working with my husband on building our home-business, procrastinating, or just plain distracted)  BUT…it’s finally done! well, part of it.  Here’s what my plans are:

• Completely re-design the Photography Portfolio website
• Start a monthly newsletter to email our with monthly “specials” and “news”
• Start growing the facebook and linkedin pages!

I have already gotten SO much feedback from everyone, and it’s all been positive and very encouraging!  Thanks to all of those who took the time to look through the site!  I’m glad to share it with the world.  :)

I am excited…I’m having fun and FINALLY getting to redo my blog and portfolio web-site! The new page will be: www.sunrisestudiosonline.com and I SHOULD have something up by the end of this week, as I promised! This is a good thing…I know that my portfolio has been in dyer need to be re-designed and re-vamped.

I will also be putting up brand new designs and photographs as well!

This week started off pretty badly. Our membership site which was getting promoted all weekend…decided WHILE we were promoting it…to break. not once. but SEVERAL times. ugh* So that itself put a rather large gloom over our joy for the week.

THEN we found out we are super low on $, which was yet another blow to the already downcast day. (because money has been coming in so inconsistently, we have our rent paid through August, and all of our other bills) But every month those bills come right back again… When you have two people who are prone to worry and think too far ahead, usually the results of such days are negative.
example #1: yesterday, John was frustrated with what had been happening with the site & the current situation, and John took it out on Sara.
example #2: yesterday, Sara got upset with John too easily, and was extremely emotional all day! (she felt like crying…and did several times)

THE PROBLEM:
When John and Sara are in the moment…they find it hard (naturally, as humans…this is normal) to trust that God has things under His control! John and Sara tend to get frustrated with the situation, since we can’t “control” it. -but in reality, can we really?- Then, because our eyes are focused on worry and being upset about what we see in the moment, we get upset with each other more easily, and things are said that hurt, people cry, tension builds, and we’re miserable…

_________________________________________________________
These day(s) are never fun for us. When we realize how we’ve sinned against each other + God, and realize that He DOES have it under control…THEN He starts to show us things… BUT we do look back at the end of the day and realize -EVERY TIME- that the Lord has protected us from soooo much, He’s provided for EVERYTHING that we need, He’s always brought us back together when things “seem” to be going wrong, and He’s always given us peace and joy when we ask. And He’s ALWAYS…ALWAYS…ALWAYS…made us stronger and made us trust harder through it!

Lord, please give us the strength as weak and sinful human beings…to trust more in you, not just when times are hard, but even when you grant us favor and success with people and business! Please help us to keep our eyes on YOU at all times…and keep you #1 ALWAYS. Let us please seek harder after YOU than after any profit we will ever make. (the $ is all yours anyway!) And please help us to be good stuarts of what you’ve already given us, and not take ANY of it for granted! We want to be used by You…and we can’t do that until we’ve surrendered ourselves to YOUR WILL..not OURS! Thank you Jesus…for being soooo faithful to us, being the “glue” that keeps this marriage strong, and being our Father who loves and cares for us so carefully!

Matthew 10:29-31 ——> Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

I figured I’d share this with all of you, since I was encouraged and thought I might share the verses along with my thoughts…so YOU could think about it too!    Please take the time to think about what you read, too…don’t just breeze through it.  The Bible is MEANT to be gone through…not breezed through. 

If there’s anything I can pray for you today about, please don’t hesitate to leave me a message!

PSALM 19

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth.  Their words to the ends of the world.

(the earth was MADE to show God’s glory!  note:  it doesn’t whisper…it shouts!  That means it’s impossible to ignore!)

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion.  Like a champion rejoicing to run his course.  It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.  (PERFECT!) The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.  The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.  The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.  They are more precious than gold, then much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.  By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.  (HW:  look up definitions of bolded words…he makes a list of  important things!  Make sure to know the definitions…so that I may understand them better.)

Who can discern his errors?  Forgive my hidden faults.  (HIDDEN–>  I don’t see them automatically!) Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.  Then will I be blameless. Innocent of great transgression.  (Lord, please don’t allow my sins to RULE OVER ME!  I don’t want to become that.)

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SELAH

Here is how Sara plays catch-up…she writes for a while consistantly, then something happens to distract her, and she forgets to keep it up!  :-/

This year has been truly an adventure!  I have no regrets, and can look back at all the blessings, heartaches, lessons, adventures, tests, trials, and temptations.  I can say that the Lord has been molding me and shaping me, refining me as I go!  Those times I wasn’t looking to the Lord, He allowed me or my cirumstances to bring me to my knees…to allow me the GRACE to see more clearly!  He’s put people in my life to help me and make me more of a servant leader!

There are those who are leaders, and there are those who are followers.  I KNOW without any doubt that God has “wired” me and built me as a natural leader.  He’s given me the gift of good people-skills, & open ears to be able to listen, and He always gives me the words to say when I ask!

There were too many times when I failed to listen to what God was telling me, and yet He still loved me, & kept bringing me back to Him!  the BIGGEST change and blessing…was my John!!!!  Words can’t express how much I’ve ben blessed with & by him!  Before we were “together”, I hadn’t seen him in a long time.  I had just finished getting over the hurt I had been dealt by my last relationship with Jared…and our friendship was destroyed.  Between that and being chased after by one other man, I was emotionally a wreck.  I wasn’t fully focused on the Lord, because I was so distracted!  I even gave in to my “WILD STREAK” a few times.  The thoughts were not pure!  I was looking for an excuse to get into trouble, to fulfill desires, and drinking more than I should have.

I was walking the Christian walk, but my heart was still very bitter and angry from what had happened before.  I hadn’t truly forgiven him for what he did to me, hadn’t forgiven myself, and it was making me close up.   So I finally got to that point around May when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to move on, and God wouldn’t be able to use me and grow if I didn’t fully let go of everything.

My sister got married on May 8th, and I got to see this awesome strong guy take her away.  :)  I don’t think anyone else would have been more worthy!  That encouraged my heart…that if my little sister found someone perfect for her, then there was still hope for me!

I had some interest in a few guys, but noone was making any moves.  Finally, my roomate Angela told me, “Sara!  just pick one!”  —>  the following weekend, our friend Stephen had a birthday party.  I just happened to see our friend Joshua Gravis, who had introduced John & I…  and God gave me the question to ask josh about John Roney…which sparked an interesting mini-conversation.  From that point, I felt led to call John on that following Tuesday…we talked for an hour, and when we hung up, I thought he’d probably just go on with life and forget about me.  WELL, that very next day, we were having our usual “Circle Of Sisters” at Deerpath house…as soon as the group ended, John called me!  (which totally took me by surprise!)  He traveled up to our house that night…on the phone w/ me all the way up  :)  When he got there, before he even got through the doorway, he gave me a nice big hug!  (I felt something special between us when he did that)  We stayed up till about 1am talking about lived, hearts, passions, and thoughts.  It was probably the most refreshing conversation that I’d ever had!!!!!  That night, when he left…as soon as the door closed, my roomate Aviel [whom I've known for a good 13 years] said, “I want to see you marry him!”  It caught me off-guard, & yet somehow I had this feeling that Aviel said something that would come to pass!

Sure enough, after that night, we were inseparable, excepting one or two nights we couldn’t see eachother.  There has been a “web” as John & call it…that the Lord has been weaving since the beginning!  We had so much favor with people around us, such encouragement & support from our family and friends, confirmations through circumstances, and even instructions straight from the Lord on what to say/do, and when. 

Along came July 4th, and I got introduced to John’s mom, who was home for the holiday, since she has been stationed in New Mexico, working for the Dept. Of Energy.  July 8th, John & I were at my house talking & relaxing…and he asked, “What would Sara say if John were to ask her to marry him, and he didn’t have a ring?”  me being the sass I am, said, “Why don’t you ask her and find out?”.  He finally (after a few seconds to compose himself) asked, and I said “yes!  A thousand times yes!”  So that day was a new chapter…even though we both had already talked about, & knew it was coming!  It was a matter of time.

This brought on new changes in both our lives, as we started to arrange our lives and work, to plan for our big day!  We both prayed, & felt like God was telling me to leave my sign Sign*A*Rama job.  This was very imporatant!  The original goal & plan was for me to buy the sign shop from my boss; Mark…after 1 or 2 years.  I was working as a sales-woman, and doing quite well!  The clients loved me, and I had more success on my “cold calls” and meetings than any other sales person he had previously!  I was loving the job, the perks (getting my own signs, etc) and the clients.  My grampa even wanted to partner with me and open up our own sign shop!  Just the two of us!

BUT GOD HAD OTHER PLANS!

He told me that it was best to stay home with John once we got married on October 3rd.  (which we picked, because we first saw eachother again on June 3rd)  John also had the same instruction given to him about it!  So we started the wedding plans…

I talked it over with my boss, who reacted the way I knew he would.  He was upset, and couldn’t understand why I was “throwing something great away”.  I tried to explain to him as best I could how God had given me instructions to leave, & that John would need me at home to help with the business we were building.  -which is also hard to explain to anyone who doesn’t understand internet marketing.  He even tried to give me the weekend to “think” about it…I did.  I talked it over with John, & I prayed LONG and HARD!  I still got the same answer.  So I told him my final decision.  I felt horrible that I was disappointing him, and disappointed that I’d be leaving a profitable business, to go into the “unknown”.  BUT I knew that obedience was what I was needing to do!  I knew that if I didn’t obey what the Lord was saying, there would be bigger consequences!  Several other attempts from my boss came..he gave me one last “decision” weekend, and he & his wife took me out to Ruby Tuesdays to try and persuade me otherwise.  He talked to me once or twice too, saying he was ok with me leaving, but wished I would stay.  He thought I was making a big mistake.  (I understand from a human and business point of view how it would seem that I was letting go of something great!  And I WAS!  BUT God had other things in mind for me, and I’m going to trust HIS plans and instructions over MINE…ANY DAY!)

I have no regrets.

I still miss working there.  I still miss Mark & Jason.  But I know that it’s for the best.  Money is very tight right now, but that’s ok!  —>  If we hadn’t been so tight on money since we got married, we would not have had so many lessons to learn, time to focus on the Bible more, issues to work out between us, attacks from Satan to teach us how much we need to trust in the Lord’s power, failures to teach us that we were trying too hard to get “to the top” in business…that we needed to “SEEK HARDER AFTER THE LORD THAN YOU DO FOR PROFIT!” Through all of these trials, tests, temptations, we’ve learned to rely more on Christ FIRST, then eachother!  We have learned to be more patient, to listen more intently for the Lord’s instructions, to not have expectations on the other, and to encourage the other to remember what our focus and purpose are.

Our focus that God’s given us for Sponsor A Missionary, is to start building it out.  He’s given me my strengths of detail and setting up fundraising ideas, to help start this non-profit!  The goal for “SAM” is to get to the point where we have missionaries on their own pages, with people or organizations donating, so we can send $ to each missionary, visit them, take pictures and video of their work, and to give them encouragement in what they’re doing!  THAT is our passion!

Right now, we need to save up $700 so we can get our 501C3 so we’ll be “legal”, and people can donate (tax-deductible) That’s the hardest part right now!  It’s hard to get an organization up and rolling when you have no funding!  We DO however…have several things that we can start, to try and get some immediate funds to send to the three missionaries we already have signed up for their own pages!  (Nikki Arnold-Bik- S. Dakota, Pastor Alex Sam-India, and Peter Wallace-Kenya)  It’s SOOOOOOO encouraging to see missionaries sign up to be a part of SAM!!!  It makes me heart smile!    We have a facebook fan-page..and already have almost 1,200 fans!!!  It’s such a beautiful thing what the Lord is doing through us with this!  We are excited to see where and when He takes it.  We are excited to see how everything comes together.  The Lord’s taken SUCH GREAT CARE of us this year!  I cannot and will not complain about any of our circumstances!  :)

Sometimes it’s been hard, since we live at John’s mom’s house.  We are rent-free, except helping with utilities & misc. small expenses she may need help with.  We’re blessed beyond words!  Sometimes it’s hard living with his sister (loud & constantly needing to talk) and his mom (negative).  BUT it’s a blessing to have an extra sister, who looks up to me for advice, talks with me, shares things with me.  It is nice to have his mom be willing to allow us to stay here!  -until we move to Florida  :)-

I am learning more and more to be content in where we are…especially through our current circumstances, and the instructions from the Lord to move to Florida.  (Naples, specifically)  The instruction is to go.  Not question.  Not worry.  We know we must go!  I don’t know what the Lord has planned, but whatever it is, we will most certainly grow!  It is “what’s best”, as He ha told us.  :)

It’s definitely been a lot different for me!  Since we got married, there have been a lot of changes, compromises, issues, lessons, & just plain ol’ adjustments to make!  Some days it’s really hard!  Some days it’s easier.  But this WONDERFUL marriage that the Lord has made is truly a beautiful and perfect thing!!!  I WOULDN’T TRADE WHAT WE HAVE FOR ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD!  I keep falling more deeply in love with John every day!!  It is a PERFECT match!  :-D  God knew what He was doing.  God KNOWS what He’s doing!

This life is but a blip…I pray that through this next year given us, that we would continue to trust in the Lord’s provision, have a joyful spirit, encourage each other, and remember to keep our focus in the right place.   (The Author and Perfector of our faith)

I ask the Lord to protect us from Satan’s attacks, since he’s attacked us so many times already!  (I know he’s scared of what God can do through “Team Roney”)  I ask for the guidance & wisdom to know what to do/say, that God would show us His plans, grant us patience, & the Grace to move forward & treat each other and others with the highest respect!

I THANK YOU LORD, FOR EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE FOR US, AND ALL YOU’VE GIVEN! GRATEFUL AM I!!!!

All I need’s another day Where I can’t seem to get away From the many things that drag me down, yeah I’m sure you’ve had a day like me Where nothing seems to set you free From the burdens you can’t carry all alone In your weakness He is stronger In Your darkness He shines through When you’re crying He’s your comfort When your all alone, He’s carrying you This valley is so deep I can barely see the sun I cry out for mercy, Lord You lift me up again.

I am such a fool…my mind keeps me so occupied, that I lose track of where its really supposed to be. ESPECIALLY around Christmas!!! I mean, look around…how many people do you see NOT rushing around or stressed out? My husband John and I have been so wrapped up in business and obtaining more business for income, that we -or at least I- haven’t stopped to just thank God for Christmas and to sit back and enjoy the few days we have left before Christmas Day…not to worry, since The Lord has it all under control…to trust in His provision alone, to “let go” so to speak- when we finally let HIM carry the burdens, THEN we get the peace! THEN can we truly enjoy everything He’s provided! Only THEN will we actually be full of joy.

Things don’t satisfy. Money either. These things both do not go with us when we die! “But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy”…

-selah-