Thank you for joining me as I walk by faith, and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey!
Want to have me speak to your church, group, or event?
Email me at hellosaraclaudia@gmail.com.
All tagged Christian blog
It’s a saying we all have heard, and we know it is true.
The wet, dreary weather we tend to endure in early spring gives way to a beautiful array of vibrant colors and energizing scents as time passes.
While the rain is not a welcome occurrence, it is necessary for the beauty that we all look forward to each year.
This means that, as I hold on to my companion’s elbow, they lead me around obstacles and along a safe, clear path.
At least, that is the intention!
In this way, I can navigate by feeling how the other person moves as well as by relying on their verbal directions and cues.
In Genesis 37, Joseph, the son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his own brothers.
By no fault of his own, all of a sudden, Joseph found himself being plucked out of his homeland and shipped off to Egypt towards a life of labor and lack of freedom.
Joseph’s unfair judgment continued as he was sold to the captain of the palace guard, falsely accused of rape by the officer’s wife, and thrown into prison. Joseph was locked up for two years.
Through it all, however, he remained faithful to God and God remained faithful to Joseph.
It can be difficult for me to take the advice of others. In fact, sometimes I will even seek out affirmation over advice because I know it will be much easier to swallow.
My mom may critique an outfit down to the color of the thread if I ask her opinion, whereas it can be easier to just ask my husband who will always say, ”You look great, honey!”
If I send a blog post for revision to my editor, Erica, she will probably knit-pick it to death, whereas someone else would say, “This is great work!”
You get my point, it can seem easier and better for our ego to ask for advice from someone who will agree with what we have already decided, but this way of thinking doesn’t always lead to the best outcome.
We aren’t professional outdoorsmen by any means and won’t be tackling the Appalachian Trail any time soon, but we do enjoy an afternoon spent meandering through God’s beautiful creation.
On a recent long weekend, we drove to Berry College, where our goal was to hike to the House of Dreams. The charming cottage sits atop Lavender Mountain, 1,360 feet above sea level, and is surrounded by vibrant gardens and foliage and spectacular views of the campus and city of Rome, Georgia far below.
The House of Dreams was built as a gift for Martha Berry, the founder of Berry College, in 1922 by students and faculty.
It was meant to be somewhat of a retreat for her, and we were looking forward to having a peaceful retreat of our own into the mountains.
Maybe you moved to a new town, started a new job, or transferred to a new school.
Whatever the situation may be, when you are learning to live in a new place, literally or figuratively, it can be unfamiliar, unsettling, and scary.
First, there was the obvious way in which I had to learn to live again…figuring out how to do everything without my sight.
To say it was challenging would be an understatement, and to say that I have learned everything there is to know about living with blindness would be untrue.
“Okay, here’s what we have to do. We’re going to lower ourselves about three feet down into the gully and then climb about four feet up on the other side, and then we have some briars to work through… but it’ll be fine!”
These are the words I heard as my dad and I began hiking back to the watershed lake that sits about a mile behind my childhood home.
I had spent my whole childhood, teenage, and young adult years exploring these woods, and I was excited about the adventure.
It’s a saying we all have heard, and we know it is true.
The wet, dreary weather we tend to endure in early spring gives way to a beautiful array of vibrant colors and energizing scents as time passes.
While the rain is not a welcome occurrence, it is necessary for the beauty that we all look forward to each year.
When I am in a conversation with someone, I cannot read their body language, and this is a pretty important aspect!
As a result, it can be hard to know if I have their attention, if they are distracted, or even if they have walked off and left the conversation all together!
In situations like this, I often end up feeling unheard and unanswered.
Flowers bloom, the weather gets warmer, and we can finally start to venture out of our cozy winter cocoon of blankets and fleece!
The weather is not the only thing that has been changing for me recently.
My life has been undergoing a season of change that has brought sad goodbyes, exciting new endeavors, and a whirlwind of emotions.
I wanted to let you in on what God has been teaching me through it all.
Without visual cues, it can be so hard to identify someone by their voice, especially when I am in a crowded room or when the voice belongs to someone who I do not speak with often.
There are some people, like family members and close friends, who I can immediately recognize as soon as they utter one word, but this is definitely not the case with everyone.
While I do not write as often about this aspect of my disability, it still impacts my life in many ways.
Thankfully, the hearing in my right ear was not damaged, so I still have relatively good hearing overall.
I have a hard time hearing any soft noises that originate on my left side, and it took me a long time to get used to only holding the phone up to my right ear.
This means that, as I hold on to my companion’s elbow, they lead me around obstacles and along a safe, clear path.
At least, that is the intention!
In this way, I can navigate by feeling how the other person moves as well as by relying on their verbal directions and cues.
Did you know that the tradition of New Year’s resolutions is actually thought to date back to the ancient Babylonians?
About 4,000 years ago, these people would make promises to their gods in hopes that they could keep their word and find favor in the eyes of their idols.
We make promises to ourselves in hopes to better our careers, health, or relationships in the year to come.
We hope that, if we keep these vows of change, the year will be favorable for us.
For many people, the new year represents a fresh start and a chance to reinvent ourselves.
After the tumultuous year that 2020 has been, I think that we all are craving a little change.
