God Is Enough

Comfort

/ Sara Vincent / Leave a comment

and a preview of what’s been sitting on my camera….

Grace and her friends at her birthday camp out

The education of our faith is incomplete if we have yet to learn that God’s providence works through loss, that there is a ministry to us through failure and the fading of things, and that He gives the gift of emptiness.  It is, in fact, the material insecurities of life that cause our lives to be spiritually established.

One way or the other, we must all learn the difference between trusting in the gift and trusting in the Giver.  The gift may last for a season, but the Giver is the only eternal love.

Streams in the Desert, October 5

May your Wednesday be blessed and may you be aware of His good gifts.

A God in the Details

/ Sara Vincent / 4 Comments

Last Friday, I was angry.  I was angry about my purse.  I was angry about how life was going.  Our insurance was willing to cover the loss, but it wasn’t worth filing the claim with what it would do to our rates.  I appealed to the buyer’s protection with our credit card; they wouldn’t cover theft from a car.  I felt like everything was going wrong.  And I was mad.  I worked my way through that anger, enjoyed a relaxing drive and laughing with my husband, and then danced the night away with friends.  By Saturday, my soul was at rest.  I had reached a point of accepting where things were at in life and was “claiming” a drama-free week for our family.  And I still had hope for my purse and wallet.  In the back of my mind my only thought was, maybe none of these other avenues are working because God is going to give it back to me.

In spite of my “claim” for a drama-free week, Monday morning started with one of our favorite red glass lamps being shattered while the children built a fort on the couch.  One of those mother moments when I looked and thought, This is a really bad idea.  And then I also thought, No, Sara, let them do this.  Say yes. So I let them and went upstairs for a bit.  And then I heard the shattering thud and knew instantly what had happened.  😦  So, before lunchtime I had given up my hopes for drama-free this week.

Tuesday morning, Matt found himself in a ditch in his truck.  *sigh*  I laughed.  I couldn’t help myself.  He was fine, just terribly inconvenienced, and I couldn’t help but laugh.  So, so ridiculous it was.

So Tuesday afternoon when the city services truck stopped in front of my house I honestly wondered what the next thing would be.  I wondered if something had happened with our payment and now our water was being turned off.  It just seemed like the next ridiculous occurrence in this series of unfortunate events.

The men in the truck sat out there a bit, so I went on and forgot about them, until one of them came to my door.  “I’m looking for Sara,” he said.  “I’m she,” I responded.  “Did you lose a purse?” he asked.

I gasped and my eyes had to be as large as saucers and I replied, “Did you find my purse?!!?”

He led me out to his truck and there it was sitting in the back, dirty and crumpled, but completely intact with my wallet inside.  I hugged him.  I couldn’t help it.  I told him I had been praying for it and that my friends had and that he had made my day.

I asked him where he found it.  He said it was in a trash can at a local park, about two miles north of where my purse was stolen.  He said they find them there all the time.

The smell on the purse is indescribable.  I took it to a local cleaner’s yesterday because I couldn’t even bear to have it on my front porch.  As best I can tell, the thief only took my money.  Every last penny was gone out of my wallet, but nearly everything else was there.  A few random items are missing from my purse, but my guess is that they fell out in the trash can because it’s silly things like lip gloss and fingernail clippers.

I knew my money was gone as soon as the purse went missing.  All I asked of the Lord was that I could have the purse and wallet back.  I didn’t care about any of the rest of it. I have seen God in so many little details throughout my seventeen year walk with Him that I never doubted His ability to bring that purse back, if He was willing.  (And after all this, I’m also confident He can get the smell out of it!  🙂 )

Matt and I have been asking ourselves for weeks, but especially the past several days, Is this God?  Is this Satan?  What are we supposed to be learning? And those thoughts continued to roll through my head as I processed the excitement of the afternoon.  What was God saying by giving this back?  Had we done something right?  What was it?

As I drove along, my soul knew it wasn’t anything we had done.  It was just God.  He gave it back because He’s God and He can and He chose to.  It’s grace. Simply grace.  And really it’s His grace that leads us through the trials that bring us to our knees.  For if grace means undeserved gift, then the trials of life that make us more like His Son are surely also grace.  It’s all grace.  Every moment.  Every breath.

And I’m so thankful for His endlessly abundant grace and His concern for the details of this day-to-day life.  Oh, how deep is His love for us!

For His Glory ~

~ Sara

What Do You Do?

/ Sara Vincent / 5 Comments

Once again on Wednesday I rose early to run.  No inclement weather threatened this time.  We met, Nikki and I, at our usual place, parked our cars, and started out.  Four and a half sluggish miles later we returned to the parking lot, laughing and rejoicing that we had finished.  And then we saw it.

Nikki saw it first – the back window on my SUV shattered.  Glass all over ground, floor, Ellie’s car seat.  My purse gone.  My new purse, a “souvenir” from my trip to Chicago with Grace.  The purse, the wallet, all the contents…credit cards, driver’s license, who knows what else…and the cash for our groceries this week….gone.

What do you do when it feels like this is just another incident in a long series of major incidents?  What do you do when you feel like you’ve spent the summer facing unexpected expense after unexpected expense, and none of them small?  When it just seems to be one thing after another?

What do you do?  You remember that moth and rust destroy, that thieves break in and steal.  You cling to the promise that every good and perfect gift is from above….all things work together….He will provide….He is here….He is enough…He is faithful.

What do you do when children come, smiles hidden, eyes alight and hand you envelopes rattling with change, stuffed with monies saved and cards made?  You weep and you hug and you give thanks.  In this inconvenient, broken moment of canceling credit cards and replacing shattered windows, you find your own heart shattered at this love-gift from children, from a Savior.  For without this broken moment, their beautiful gift never could have been given.

And I give thanks….

0805.  broken window

0806.  stolen purse

0807.  a friend who prays with me and for me

0808.  generous, abundantly generous, children


0809.  granny oakley

0810.  drives in the country

0811. dancing

0812.  barn swings

0813.  laughing

0814.  perspective

0815.  Sunday school prayer time

0816.  someone who dances with me



Oh, sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth!  Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day.  Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!  For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

~ Psalm 96:1-4

Week In Review – So Happy It’s Friday

/ Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

Downer Warning:  It’s been a week, and I am just starting to really “feel” the events today.  This could be a very crabby post.  Feel free to flee now, or read on at your own risk.  😮

On Wednesday of this week, I had my SUV broken into and my purse stolen.  My brand new purse and wallet that I had only had for one month.  Exactly.one.month.  On a day that started out well and in the middle of what I hoped was going to be a drama-free week, everything was turned on its side.  I tried to do school with the girls, but they were clearly disturbed by what had happened and I was so distracted by phone calls to be made and trying to find somewhere to take my window-missing truck before it started to rain, we ended up only getting about half of our stuff done.  I spent most of the day numb and somewhat disoriented.  Thursday felt about the same.

Today I’m just mad.  I’m mad that my whole week got jacked up by someone’s selfishness.  I’m mad that everything cost just enough to be a giant nuisance, but probably not enough to make it worth submitting to insurance.  I’m mad that we haven’t even gotten the credit card bill for the dang purse yet and it’s already gone.  I’m mad that Matt had to take money out of savings so that I could go get groceries (because I was trying to be “good” and use cash and that was stolen).  I’m mad that I had to put groceries back today because I had to save money to go replace my driver’s license.  I’m mad that I have to make a bunch of phone calls this afternoon to change our auto-pay information from our checking account, because we had to open a new one.  I’m mad  that when I went to order new checks today, I got all the way through and realized I had no way to pay for them online.  I’m mad at the inconvenience it is causing Matt to be without any of his business credit cards for the next couple of weeks.

None of this is a big deal.  It really isn’t.  But it’s been an entire summer of this.kind.of.stuff.  Unplanned, unbudgeted inconveniences.  Matt and I laid in bed on Wednesday night and began to count up how many unexpected expenses we’ve had just this summer:

  • my truck window
  • my purse, wallet, and cash
  • his truck totaled
  • flat tire on his truck led to getting four new tires
  • two weed whips gone
  • one lawn mower dead
  • tool theft
  • roof repairs
  • broken rear hatch handle on my truck
  • broken antenna (not a cheap fix)
  • both air conditioning units at the house needing repairs
  • two speeding tickets

There were a few more, but they’re not coming to mind.  Needless to say, we’re worn down by the financial blood bath that this summer has been.

On the other hand, God has been more than generous with us this year.  It’s been a good year for the business and He’s been prompting Matt to work hard on saving money.  It’s just that Matt thought he was saving for the future, not for right now to just replace all our broken or stolen stuff.

I know God hasn’t changed.  I know He is still good.  I cling to His faithfulness and His promise to carry me.  There is still much to be thankful for and at least one beautiful story has come out of this, which I will share on Monday.  But today I feel a little like I’m going insane.  I told a friend today that I’m not even sure if this is Biblical, but I’m just going to go ahead and start “claiming” a drama-free week next week.  In Jesus name.

Now that I have written all of this down and looked back through it, I’m actually laughing.  It’s all just so ridiculous.  I wonder what could be next?!?!

Have a fabulous weekend, friends.  I’m sure going to try to here!

Only By His Grace ~

~ Sara

Early

/ Sara Vincent / 1 Comment

Last Wednesday, I woke in the 5 o’clock hour, like I do every Wednesday.  I clicked the weather app on my Blackberry, making sure the rain was still going  to hold off.  Clear skies, it said.  Weary, I rolled slowly out of bed and began to dress to run.  I ate my breakfast, tended the dog, and strapped on my watch.  I grabbed my water and went out to the truck and started driving west, toward our meeting place.

And then I began to see lightning.  A little at first, then more frequent and more threatening looking.  I texted back and forth with my running partner and we finally decided to cancel our date.  I did what any logical person would do at 6:30 in the morning, I turned toward Starbucks.  🙂

Out of my truck windows, I began to see the color rising in the east.  Reds and oranges like I had never seen before.  And I was speechless.

As much as I wanted to sleep in that morning, as exasperating as it was to get up and get ready and NOT run, I knew this was why the forecast on my phone had been wrong.  I needed to see that sunrise.  A heavenly reminder as I began my day that He is here, He is enough.

And while He is enough in and of Himself, He gives graciously and abundantly.  And I count the gifts.

0792.  six miles

0793.  conquering the beastly hill and reaching our summer goal

0794.  a quiet afternoon in my room

0795.  a change of pace

0796.  indescribable sunrise

0797.  texts from friends as I prepare to speak

0798.  speech completed!

0799.  feeling one thousand pounds lighter

0800.  the completion of another family wedding

0801.  a Saturday to recover

0802.  sleeping until 10 am

0803.  Sunday morning worship

0804.  Sunday evening at home

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

~ Ephesians 4:29

May your words and your actions today encourage one another and point to the Giver of all good gifts.

By His Grace ~

~ Sara

**Photos courtesy of my good friend Angee who took these out on her land on Wednesday morning.

Here. Enough.

/ Sara Vincent / 4 Comments

God is here. God is enough.

That has been my mantra today. It was on the white board as we did school. It was on the chalk board in the kitchen. It was on my Facebook status.

He is here. He is enough.

I needed to know that today. As I was distracted by so many things to do, urgent tyrants screaming for my attention, while true priorities struggled to be heard, I needed to know He is here, He is enough. As I continued to assemble thoughts and plans for the presentation that I give in a little over thirty-six hours and I wrestled with feeling unprepared and wholly inadequate, I needed to know He is here, He is enough. As I fought for motivation to keep working when the day grew long and waking up at 3:30 started to reveal itself under my eyes and in my muscles, I needed to know He is here, He is enough.  And as I face tomorrow and its particular trials and temptations, He doesn’t change – He is here, He is enough.

As you face your day, your week, your private struggles, may you rest in knowing that He is here, He is enough. Have a blessed Wednesday trusting in His presence.