Isaiah 58:1-12

S. Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-11
O: Observation: Key words - help, pour yourself out
A: Application:   God makes himself clear about the type of sacrifices He wants us to make.  Rather than withhold superficial things for fasting, marking ourselves as sacrificial in the eyes of others but continue to give in to the desires of the flesh in private, God wants us to do the opposite.  He wants us to serve Him and sacrifice our own lives, our own desires, our own comforts for the sake of others.  But wait... there's more... He wants us to do these things in private.  God knows our hearts... he knows our intentions.  If we are serving to make ourselves look good, He knows.  If we are serving others to serve ourselves, He knows.... and He loathes that.  It's dishonest and impure.  It's selfish and it does not demonstrate love.  God is glorified through true, pure, wholehearted living and THAT is what He wants from us... THIS is the kind of fasting that He wants from us... to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to remove the chains that bind people, to free the oppressed... to HELP.  To lend a hand.  And to do it when no one is looking - for the sake of glorifying and loving Him.
P: Prayer: Lord, help me to remember that I am here on this earth to love and serve you through loving and serving my fellow man.  Help me to show love to the people that it is hard for me to love.  Help me to have honest, loving conversations.  Help me to not seek glory or recognition from man, rather, increase in me the desire to glorify and recognize your face among men.



Until tomorrow...
Peace give I to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Peace give I to you.
~Sara

Hi... I'm Sara. Join me on my journey.

Allow me to introduce myself...
My name is Sara Frawley.  Welcome to my little corner of the great big world.  I am a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a granddaughter, a friend, an amateur artist, and most importantly, I am a child of God... a daughter of the King.  My life is represented by a chapter in God's story; it began before I was born and it will continue after I am gone.  This is my journey of faith, love, life, and imperfection.

Why begin a blog now?
Tomorrow begins the liturgical season of Lent.  Traditionally, I have given something up for 40 days in an effort to draw nearer to God.  The idea, for me, is that when I discipline myself to remove something that I regularly reach for, I am reminded to stop and pray and listen for God's voice.  In the past, I have given up potato chips, diet coke, chocolate, cigarettes, cussing, Facebook, television, and junk food (among many other things). Some years, I have taken on new disciplines rather than giving up something superficial.  Some years, I took on the discipline of participating in various Bible studies, while others years, I vowed to spend more time with my children or teaching a class or learning a new skill.  This year, I am doing a bit of both - I am giving up a small amount of time - daily - and I will fill that time with personal, independent, intimate time with God through a new (to me) practice of scripture study.  I will be Bible Journaling... a creative way to soak in the scriptures while I meditate on what they mean to me personally; all while expressing my thoughts and responses to God creatively in my Bible.

I discovered this wonderful expression after receiving a very special gift for Christmas this year.  One of my best friends sent me a journaling Bible.  While I thought it was beautiful and I was excited to have a new Bible, I took my time in diving into figuring out how I was going to begin to use it. A few weeks later, I googled "Bible Journaling" and my world opened up.  As my fingers perused webpage after webpage and picture after picture of examples of Bible journaling endeavors, shared by others, I got excited and couldn't wait to begin journaling in my new Bible.  Each time I journaled, my excitement increased and I found that I wasn't just excited to draw, paint, or write in my Bible... I was excited to READ my Bible.  I am 35 years old and this is the first time in my life that I have found myself daydreaming about having some time to read the scriptures.  I know, I know... I'm the only one in the world who has ever felt a little.... er... lackluster... or... overwhelmed at the sight of this big book of words, strung together by my maker; regardless, I got excited.  I've been journaling in my Bible ever since.  Here are a few of my entries:

                                              

What's next?

Each day (hopefully), I'll wake early in the morning and spend some time with Jesus in His word.  I'll be Bible journaling each day and it is my intent to share each entry with you here.  Some days, I expect, will be more detailed than others, and some days, I'll merely let my entry speak for itself and only upload the picture.  

I hope that you'll join me on this journey... not only to see my progression, but also to experience the art of Bible journaling in your own life.  So... here goes....

Until tomorrow,

Peace give I to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Peace give I to you.

 ~Sara