Monday, September 29, 2008

In memory of Phillip John Martin, Jr.



Yesterday was a hard day for my family. I guess that I didn't have time to really think much about it until today. I have been so busy with things going on at church. I really want to pay tribute to Phil. 

My brother, Phil, was born on October 26, 1976. He lived 29 years on this earth. He was a loved son, an amazing brother, a good husband, a wonderful father, and a great friend. On September 28, 2006, his battle with cancer ended and our great Lord chose to take him home. Though he is away from us, he will never be forgotten. We love you, Phil!

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." Philippians 1:3

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Welcome Fall!

I absolutely love this time of year. It's much different here in Florida than it is in Indiana but it is still very pleasant. It's not too hot and it's not too cold but the autumn smells are still in the air. Everyone's moods are different. They're happier...and nicer! It's as if they are anticipating the upcoming  holidays. 

I really enjoy decorating my home for the Fall season. It makes me feel like I am still in the North. Of course, who doesn't love Thanksgiving?! I love food! This year, I think I will try to make a pie...from scratch! Best of all, Christmas is just around the corner!

~Sarah (for the both of us)

Friday, September 19, 2008

Confessions of a Christian

Today I (Sarah) just want to share with you all what I have been learning in my devotions. It's rather long, but keep reading!

First it is confession time. With all that I have on my plate, my devotions have been slacking quite a bit the last month or so. I am a leader of a monthly Bible Study and just took on a weekly Bible Study within the last two weeks. I wasn't sure how to get devotions "crammed" in along with my studying that I have to do for my Bible Study as well as the children's programs that I am involved in at church. Jeremy finally asked me last week, "why don't you just do your studying for the Bible studies as your devotions?" I guess I just figured that I would be cheating God or myself. This week I took Jeremy's advice and...well...I'm proud of it! It has really gotten me into God's Word and isn't that the point of devotions? I am devoted to my personal study time more now than ever! It's great! So, now I share...

I am studying the book of Ephesians right now. Paul talks about the spiritual blessings that we can receive in Christ. The most important, I think, is the fact that we can have "redemption through His blood" (Eph. 1:7). This is the greatest blessing of all! 

This ties in with another study that I have been doing on having the mind of Christ. I have been learning the six characteristics of a Christ-like mind: Alive, Single-minded, lowly, pure, responsive, and peaceful. I'm not going to share about all six. That's for another time and another day. I am going to talk about the word "lowly." 

Paul tells us in Philippians 2:3, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in LOWLINESS of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Lowliness and humility are a lot alike but humility flows out of lowliness. How do we get lowliness? We get it by concentrating on genuine appreciation for God's holiness. It's hard to be full of yourself when you see and understand how holy God really is. I mean, look back in the Old Testament and read the accounts of all the people who encountered God. What were their reactions when God spoke? They were afraid. But remember, it was a godly fear. When they met God, they knew the need for lowliness. They immediately saw a BIG difference between God and themselves. 

It was nice to have the reminder this week of what Christ did for me. "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see!" Study the book of Ephesians or the characteristics of Christ and you will understand the greatness of God. When we have a clear view of God's greatness, we will have a proper view of ourselves and just how wretched we truly are!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Leaping Lizards!

I (Sarah) just have a funny story to share with you today. If you live in Florida, have lived in Florida, or have ever been to Florida then you will know what I'm talking about!

Sunday night Jeremy and I came home from church and found that two lizards had decided to grace us with their presence and take up residence in the living room. Now, these were not huge lizards, but two tiny, dark things. Still, I dread every single moment that they are in the house. It is just plain gross! (FYI-The longer they are in the house, the lighter their color.) Now, I know that lizards are scared of people so they will run away, but what if one gets confused and runs over my toes?! (Jeremy does not understand this about me but maybe someone out there will.) Anyway, after moving the furniture to try to coax them outside, they decided that it would be fun to run up the wall and behind the blinds of one of the windows. After that, I decided to just let Jeremy deal with it because I was getting frustrated with the little creatures! Eventually they decided that they had overstayed their welcome and they ran out the door.

Now, usually my story would be over, but alas! It is not! On Tuesday evening I was home alone and saw one creeping along the wall! This one was a lot lighter in color than the previous two so I knew that it had been in the house for quite some time. When I saw it, I was talking to Jeremy on the phone so he came home to "rescue" me. I kept my eyes glued on that little guy until Jeremy got home. This task was different from the last because the lizard took refuge behind our hanging wall clock. We decided that we would have to use a small bucket to hold over the clock and then try to knock the clock off the wall and into the bucket. Eventually Jeremy got the clock off the wall. Well, what do we do next? Jeremy was still holding the bucket on the wall, so I had to tear some poster board in half so that he could slide it between the wall and the bucket. Well, that's good, but how do we get it down without that lizard slipping out? So, I got packaging tape and we taped the poster board to the bucket and voila! The perfect lizard trapping device! 

Okay, still my story is not yet done! Yesterday, Jeremy was driving to work and he saw one climbing up the outside windshield of our car, hanging on for dear life! Then, when Jeremy got to work, he noticed that he had accidentally squished one in the car door as it was trying to stow away in the back seat. Now, I ask you, what is the meaning of all these lizards? Could they be trying to tell us something? No, maybe not. Maybe they just see us a nice people or our house as a nice place to lodge.