Childlike Faith

I often wonder what it would be like to be a child again. At times I can only remember little details of my childhood. Grandma letting me dance with her, mom always drinking pepsi with me, dad rubbing my head and back, and grandpa watching tv drinking a beer while grandma cooks... I miss that.

On Sunday mornings I get to spend an hour with 2 and 3 year old kids. Often I just observe them. I'm so jealous of their ability to be unbothered. There only worry seems to be if they get to play with the play-doh. I wish I was more like them...

One morning I asked to them, "Do you guys pray?" They all said "Ya!" "About what?" "Food, mom, dad, everything!" "To who do you pray to?" "JESUS!"... Why aren't we all so excited to tell others about praying and Jesus?! After this conversation I guess I did think praying was more exciting.. Why wasn't I always seeing it this way?!

I want this faith.

This childlike faith. The ability to state what you believe without fear. The ability to proclaim the good and shrug off the bad. The ability to love others even after harm has been done and your play-doh has been stolen. The ability to hold no grudge. 

"Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

-Mark 10:15

Love my favorite little mans faith and joy. <3

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O U R L I V E S W I L L N E V E R B E T H E S A M E

Heres to 2011...

A challenging and learning year. As I sat reminiscing about the past year I realized how many things I have learned about my life. I like change, purple is still my favorite color, I finally know what I want to do with the rest of my life, a camera is my best friend, I'm not always right, and the Lord ALWAYS has known who/what to put in my life.

It was also a difficult year.. my grandfather passed away, within a month my grandmother passed away, I had surgery, I've been sick most of the year, I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends, there were many fights, and I have been restricted in a variety of ways.

After my grandfather passed away my life seemed to turn upside down. I was challenged in a way I didn't even know existed. My grandpa was the man who supported me on all levels. When my mom said no, he said yes. When everyone else said I couldn't, he said I could. I quickly realized my supporter in my life was gone. When my grandmother passed away, my family was weird. I lived in a house that was sad, and my sadness became even bigger than it was a month before. I had surgery at the beginning of the year, and it was scary. Never again do I want that. I was upset my body looked different and that I was suddenly always sick... One of my best friends stop talking to me, and a variety of others, which made my heart hurt immensely. It seemed to add anger to my hurt. I fought with lots of people because of my hurt, and finally felt restrictions I never felt before.

I then realized on Christmas Eve that my life would not be the same without these things. As I cried about my grandpas death, my heart was happy about what I have learned. My grandpa (even after he has passed away) continued to change/support me for the better. His passing pushed me to learn what I love and dream big. The Lord taught me through this that even though my grandpa's support seemed gone, His was always there. Through this pain I learned to dream. "If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough."

Through all the pain of this past year, I learned to dream. I learned to let go of everything small. To try hard on everything I do. To let things go. Let myself change. ...I learned how to live.

I guess my main message is that this heart (my heart) that was once hardened by sadness and anger changed. It was the time I never thought it would. It wasn't a change that was desired by me, and it wasn't even encouraged. But yet I am thankful with unconditional love.

If I could say my one goal with this next year, it is to live by the saying at the top and bottom of this post.  Our lives will never be the same. Because of God our lives won't. If you believe God is your personal savior your life is constantly changing. You have to let Him, it will come at weird times, but your heart will be filled with a happiness.

So, 2012.. my life will never be the same. and I hope I can show you all the ways.

Blessings!

Hey ya'll. 

I've missed writing. I've been so busy with school and taking pictures for Bug Photography I haven't had time for anything. I LOVE LOVE LOVE taking pictures. I really feel like God has led me to do this. It has definitely turned into my passion.

As most of you know for awhile I had been using my boyfriends SLR camera. I had been in need for one for quite some time!

 Last Tuesday as I was looking online I finally clicked the button 'put in cart' on Best Buy's page. The Canon Rebel T3i sat there until Thursday. I contemplated clicking the button 'finish order' for a few days. On Thursday as I was about to click it I decided to check one more place... Craigslist! As I opened it up I searched all Canon SLR cameras. And there is was. A brand new Canon 60D for a great deal! Soooooo.... I GOT IT!

BEST decision ever. I LOVE IT! It's perfect! 

Sincerely,

A very happy girrow that got a beautiful camera and can't wait to show ya'll the amazing pictures it takes!

Sarah Ann

Acceptance

Wow, I feel like I have really been stinking keeping up with this blog. My life went from nice and easy to lots of school work and pretty hectic within a week! I am going to try harder to keep this going.

When things get hectic everyone tends to freak out. At the beginning of school I felt so stressed and overwhelmed. Then I realized why? I have so much to be thankful for! At a recent conference I went to one of the speakers said "if it doesn't matter in 10 years, it shouldn't matter right now." Isn't that so true? I loved it!

So, on Monday when I started to get stressed I thought of all the things that I am thankful for... below are just a few!

Cooper and his parents.

The way that they both make me laugh. How blessed I am to have this family in my life. They constantly remind me to be thankful! I appreciate them.

The Warehouse.

The high school group I help out at! I am so blessed that God put this in my life and that I can hang out with these guys weekly! It's fun and it's great to learn about Jesus with them. God shows me a lot just through these high schoolers. Alone, they are a blessing!

My parents and boyfriend.

My parents may be hard for me to handle sometimes but, I know they will always be there. How blessed I am to have parents and for all the things they have provided/done for me! AND of course Trevor. How he always shows me the joys in life and how to have simple laughs. It is amazing how anything and everything is fun when I am with him.

JESUS.

Of course is always someone that can cheer me up!

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" -Psalm 107:1

How easily when something goes wrong we can forget that. When you try and look at the good things in your life you really can see a lot. Looking at the bad is not only wrong, but makes you so sad! It seems like common sense but, everyone continually does it!

LOVE GOD. 

LOVE ONE ANOTHER. 

LOVE YOUR LIFE.

It's what we were called to do, and lets be honest when you love all of the above, life is great! Accept things the way that they are.

HAPPY FALL!

Sarah Ann

Constant Change.

SO, 
I have already missed updating on Monday. ... BUT, it's Tuesday and I can update today. :)

I had a busy week. I work at an amphitheater in the box office. It is a really fun job but it can get really crazy at times. I worked there both Friday and Saturday. Kid Rock, and Blink 182 were playing.. not together lol. It is really cool to see the different crowds. The nicest of people I have had so far were for the Blink 182 concert.. the meanest is definitely country concert people. Man, they are meanies! Not probably what many would expect.

This week I took family photos for some people that I really LOVE! I always liked taking pictures and I absolutely loved how they turned out. I am so proud of them! I couldn't be more excited!
Below is a pic of me taking there pictures:

I had a day off yesterday which was amazing! I went over to my friend Ashleys. We swam, layed out, and went to the mall. I couldn't have been more happy with yesterday. I really needed a break. My days usually are filled with millions of things to do. Yesterday was just great to be able to RELAX.

In other recent news, 

my boyfriend went back to school Sunday. :( I cried most of Sunday. Although I know he will be back and he isn't that far away, it just is such a change to not have him here. I don't think he really understands why I miss him so much. He comes back every weekend. But, I'm a girl and I REALLY MISS HIM ALREADY.

I also REALLY DISLIKE storms and... It is about to storm. UGH. :(

Going to try to update again soon with more exciting information. For now, thats my life!

Sarah Ann

Patience.

There are a variety of ways that the Lord has showed me patience and what a virtue it truly is. I could probably name more than 20 different ways that I have been showed the value of patience in the past week.

Patience noun

bearing of provocation,annoyance, misfortune, or pain, 
without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

Sometimes, it is harder for me to be patient than others.  But, always the hardest time for me to be patient is when I really want a piece of clothing. I know that kind of sounds dumb. But, when something isn't on sale and I really want it, it is SO hard for me to wait. I could probably go into a store any day of the week and be able to pick out 20 different things I would like to have. This, is why it is important that I always get things on sale.

About a month ago I found these black shoes that I wanted at Target. I tried them on, and absolutely loved them. They fit perfect, I could walk in them, and they were... 25 bucks. $25 may not sound like a lot to most but, if I know I could get them for cheaper there is no way I will get them. I sadly put them back on the shelf and walked away.

This past Sunday I was in Target again. As I saw the clearance sign for the shoes that said "85% off" I immediately scurried over there. The black shoes were there! Those cute adorable things that I could walk in. AND the best part was the price tag only said $6!! As I lifted each of them up looking at the size I suddenly realized that my size wasn't there. I quickly walked up and down the isle again but, nothing. No size 7 1/2. I was a little upset that the shoes I had been thinking about for a month were just not available anymore.

As I walked into Target on Monday to buy some bath items I decided to check one more time in the shoe section. As I walked over there I started up the isle and picking up the shoes to look at the sizes again. ...BEHOLD, the size I needed! The $25 shoe that was only $6! I couldn't of been more excited that my patience paid off.

Here are the shoes. 

Paired with a dress that was originally $80 that I got for $20!

I realized that the patience I know that God keeps teaching me made me so very happy!

Sarah Ann

WELCOME!

Hello, I am officially in the blogging world!

I never thought that I would write a blog but, after going to a conference this past weekend (The Becoming Conference) I guess I decided that I wanted to try it out.

I chose the name Monday's Love for a variety of reasons.

1. No one loves Monday's but, there is no reason not too.
2. To show how our love of things changes weekly. Every Monday I could probably have a new love.
3. Monday is a start to a new week and if I don't get to post any other time of the week, I always want to make time on Monday.
4. Why not make a good time out of Monday?

So, on this blog I really would love to post clothing, furniture, and random thoughts that are in my mind.

Thank you to all who are going to read/follow me!

Sarah Ann