Photo(s) of the Day #8- [my brother is BA.]

I just found out moments ago that my brother is the lead in the musical this year!  He's playing Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.  Yes, he is a senior in high school, and no, I have no idea how they are going to pull it off but if nothing else, Kienan will be amazing.  Here are some pictures from previous musicals with Kie.

My amazing brother and I after last year's musical, Anything Goes.

Kienan as Moonface Martin.  Best role ever.  Until this year.

Lt. Joe Cable in South Pacific.  And Kie kind of looks like he's on crack.  It's fine.

And I put this one in for poops and giggles because Kienan REFUSED to audition for the musical his freshman year.  AKA my senior year/the ONLY year we could of been in a musical together.  I'm still bitter.

You're awesome bud!  I can't wait to see how amazing you are!

Photo of the Day #7- [random.]

Here's the picture for today.  I just really looked at it and it is quite humorous.  And yes, we are at a tea party.  BE JEALOUS.  IT WAS AWESOME.

I know it's extra large but it's fine.  Don't worry about it.

This is a classy photo.  And probably sums up the relationship of the three of us.

Rachel: happy.  Loves to laugh, giggle and be in a good mood at all times.  Probably telling a good story or hearing one.  Or just being enthusiastic.

Ellie:  silly.  She is almost picking her nose.  A little shameless at times, maybe even contemplative.  I love it.  Awesomesauce.

Me: weird.  Obviously most attractive of the group.  And a little isolated at the end of the table.  But focused seeing as I'm the only one looking at the camera.

Good picture pick for the day.  Joy Weaver with the photo cred.

PS- School starts back up tomorrow.  BAD NEWS BEARS.

Photo of the Day #6- [cul de sac.]

This was random picture I selected from when I was about 4 years old.  Enjoy this wonderment of a picture.

I made it a little larger so you can really see it.  This picture is of all the youngest kids in my cul de sac growing up.  From left to right we have, Jacob, Kevin, Lee, Stephanie, Josiah in the back (obviously not wanting to take a picture), Melanie, me and Kienan.

Let's evaluate the classy moments going on in this picture:

First off, Jacob is holding an Indian drum and wearing war paint.  Kevin is wearing a Barney shirt.  Always a good choice.  Lee is wearing his helmet.  Safety first.  Stephanie has a bowl cut.  Josiah is playing with a bow and has war paint but is also wearing a baseball cap.  Melanie is the baby of the group and just not paying attention.  Kienan and I are the only ones who seem to be happy in this picture and Kienan is holding a hatchet.

Classy Waterman Drive.  Very classy.

Photo of the Day #5- [high school small group.]

Today there is only one picture.  I took it last spring I believe and I love it.  This is most of my small group from high school.

Let me tell you a little about these girls.

Let's start on the left with Ellie.  I've known Ellie since elementary school.  We're the same age but didn't go to the same elementary school, but my mom taught her and I spent a lot of after school time there.  I don't really have too many memories until sixth grade though when we were in the same middle school and same class.  From there our friendship blossomed.  That year, Ellie's family switched churches and started attending mine.  Ellie has been a huge source of support in my life.  Two summers ago, I don't think I would of survived without her.  She is absolutely goofy and funny, and peppy.  I love it.

In the middle is Molly.  I met Molly through some mutual friends and through our high school small group.  She's a little calmer and subdued than the other two in the picture which really makes the dynamic of the group different.  She's very sarcastic and has a very dry sense of humor.  I would say she is more realistic and practical than the rest of us in the group.  She's an amazing bassoonist, and is getting married this next summer.  Which is weird.  But awesome.

On the right is Rachel.  Rachel and I have known each other for most of our lives.  We grew up in the same church which kept us around we other often.  It wasn't until very recently though, that my relationship with Rachel really took off.  This year, Rachel transferred to JMU and so we've had much more time to spend with each other.  Rachel kind of blows my mind.  She has an absolutely amazing faith, and is amazingly compassionate.  She is so funny because she can be crazy and goofy but can also be amazingly down to earth, with insight well beyond her years.  She has really helped me grow in my faith and walk in Christ.

Basically, you should know these girls because they are phenomenal.

Photo(s) of the Day #4- [what i'm thankful for.]

Here's a VERY SMALL selection of the things I'm thankful for in pictures.

thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm writing this, sitting on my couch, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade by myself.  This is the first time in my life that I have woken up on such a big holiday and not had my family around me.  I will be joining my family at 2 PM for Thanksgiving lunch but I think it's moments like this where I realize more than ever how much I'm growing up and how much my life is changing.

It's funny because I've never been a fan of change.  Normally I cringe at the idea of new things because I thrive in consistency.  But then again, who doesn't in some way?  Being consistent and things staying the same is a comfortable place to be.  It means that where you are is just fine; there's no need to adapt or adjust our lifestyle.

As some of you know, the past four years or so of my life have been the hardest of my life.  Because of that, I've been looking for consistent things in my life.  There was so much change for so long, and most of it was negative.  I think that's really made my mentality of "change is bad" even stronger.

Surprisingly enough, more recently I've decided that I'm don't want to be comfortable anymore.  Being comfortable for me has meant being comfortable with being mediocre.  I've never really pushed myself or wanted to be more.  And the fact is, is that I was created to be more.  I was created to give more of myself, to give ALL of myself, and I've been slighting God for a long time.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  -2 Corinthians 5:17


This verse pretty much sums it up.  I want to be in Christ; I want my life to be dedicated to Christ.  I want what He wants for me.  And so if I truly want that, He will make me a true creation.  That in a nutshell means I'm not going to be the same.  Change will happen; the old Sara will be replaced by something better.

And while I'm kind of scared out of my mind, I'm excited to see what Christ will do.  I'm excited to see how God uses me to fulfill His will.

I think this is what I'm truly thankful for today.  For God finally getting my heart to place where I'm really ready to accept His call on my life.  To want to change in order to do what He wants.  This is no longer about me.  And it never has been but I've made it about me.  My change comes because I'm in love with an amazing God.  And I couldn't be more thankful to have relationship with that amazing God.

[Food for thought]-
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  -Hebrews 13:8
(Shouldn't I be finding my consistency in Christ?)

Photo(s) of the Day #3- [wales. on top of the world.]

So recently, I've been thinking about traveling.  And this makes me think of this summer when I was in Wales.  I traveled with my choir from school and did a tour of England and Wales and the first full day in Wales was probably the best of the whole trip.  Mostly because we climbed a mountain to see ruin of a castle that is one of two sites they believe could possibly be the real Camelot.  Here are some pictures.

This is the sign before the climb.

Definitely got the best pictures of the whole trip on this mountain.

I would probably climb that mountain everyday if I lived in Llangollen.  It was amazing.

[Photo credit: Sara Willard and Kelsey Failes]

Photo(s) of the Day #2- [cecilia]

My best friend and sister will be home in approximately 24 days.  I'm pretty sure I can NOT WAIT.  Cecilia has been gone since before I got back from England was the beginning of July.

Cecilia and I have been friends since high school.  It's funny because I was actually friends with our sister, Twyla first.  Now I'm sure you're confused.  Technically, Cecilia and Twyla are my step-siblings, but I've always called Cecilia my sister.  I believe this first picture was taken August 2006.  That feels about 50 years ago.

So this picture and a couple of the next ones, pretty much sum up our relationship.  We are ridiculous.  Yes, this picture is one of many during a Ramen Noodle photoshoot.  I can't say that I'm ashamed at all.  I look like I've been crying in this picture because I have.  From laughter.

I'm pretty sure in this picture I straightened my hair.  
My hair is stick straight.  I also believe we "dressed up" and put on more makeup than necessary.  Oh, the things we do.

This photoshoot is obviously a little more recent, seeing as I finally have short hair.  And now that I'm writing about all this pictures, I realize just how often Cecilia and I got bored and did photoshoots.

   

I miss everything about this girl.  I miss watching Sweeney Todd a thousand times and eating corn dogs. I miss listening to Queen and Steve Miller Band and making up lyrics because we have NO IDEA what they are talking about.  I miss playing duets on the piano.  I can't wait to hug my sister until the end of time when she comes home.

Photo of the Day #1

So I've decided that I want to share a photo or in this case, a postsecret everyday.  Or at least close to it.

I though this one was a great one to start out on.  This was put up on the Sunday morning postsecrets a couple of weeks ago.

I absolutely love it.

Sometimes I just need that reminder, especially when things are hard, that there's a bigger picture, and while sometimes we feel like there's no point to all the hard work we put in and all the things we do, it's so much more than that.

We are making an impact everyday.  Everything we do affects someone else and we have to remember that.

I love thinking that I'm a part of something big and important and especially magical.

the power of prayer.

God called me out tonight.
He legit said, "Sara Meghan Willard, I have something to tell you, so listen up!"
I was sitting in church and needed something to write and as I was flipping in the back of my Bible, I read something I had written there my senior year during a youth retreat.


It read:
If God is telling you anything, He's talking to you about your mess.  Stop telling others what God's saying to them.


I found out some news about a friend yesterday that upset me.  From that moment, carrying through to today, I was upset.  I was anxious and frustrated.  But when I read that quote, I realized that's exactly what I've been doing.  I've been too concerned on fixing my friend while I'm not really even in a place to tell him how to live his life.


As I stated in my last blog post, I've always struggled with prayer.  It's something that my friend, Rachel has really been encouraging me in and I've been praying more in the past couple days than I have in awhile.  When I was upset last night, I couldn't sleep.  I was so conflicted.  So I prayed.  I prayed about frustration and confusion and for the desire to want what God wants for me.  And I kind of felt like I was talking to no one.  I didn't really feel that much better after praying so I hoped God would answer my questions soon.


So tonight he slapped me upside the head.  It was a "Godsmack" as my friend Phil would say.
During 6:33, the first slide on the powerpoint was a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.


To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.


It's funny that for so long I have thought I could be a disciple of Christ without prayer.  Tonight we defined prayer as talking and listening to God.  As Christians, we are called to have a relationship with God.  What do we generally do in a relationship with friends?  We hang out with them, we spend time talking and listening to them.  That is what God wants from us!  In order to know Him and discern what he wants of us, we have to be spending with Him.  If I want to really hear from God, I HAVE TO SPEND TIME IN PRAYER.  This is something I'm learning now.


Everyone talks about the power of prayer and sometimes I doubt it.
The topic for 6:33 tonight was prayer.  We were reading from Acts 4 and verse 31 really jumped out at me.


After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.


That is amazing.  If that isn't a testament to the power of prayer, I don't know what is.


[Food for thought]-
The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.

finally safe.

Life has been ridiculous lately.

So ridiculous.

The funny thing is that I have been growing more than ever and I'm constantly shocked at how God has been revealing something to me every day.

I've noticed more and more recently that God reveals himself to different people very differently. While one my of best friends is definitely a woman of prayer and really hears God speaking to her in the silence, I've found that God really likes to speak through song, which I find is quite appropriate. Earlier this week, I stumbled over a song by Phil Wickham, entitled Safe. The message in this song could not be more appropriate for my life of late.

Here are the lyrics:

To the one who's dreams are falling all apart
And all you're left with is a tired and broken heart
I can tell by your eyes you think your on your own
but you're not all alone

Have you heard of the One who can calm the raging seas
Give sight to the blind, pull the lame up to their feet
With a love so strong and never let you go
oh you're not alone

You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms

Did you know that the voice that brings the dead to life
Is the very same voice that calls you to rise
So hear Him now He's calling you home
You will never be alone

These are the hands that built the mountains
the hands that calm the seas
These are the arms that hold the heavens
they are holding you and me

These are hands that healed the leper
Pulled the lame up to their feet
These are the arms that were nailed to a cross
to break our chains and set us free

Everything about this song reassures me.

I'm being honest when I say that it is really easy for me to forget about God taking care of me. I'm always looking for an immediate answer to my problems and more often than not, I forget to consult God about it at all. I seek out the people in my life to carry the burdens, and to make things better when really God is giving me those opportunities to seek Him out and rely on Him. This song is a perfect reminder of how God wants to carry me. Every time I listen this song, I get chills. Phil Wickham talks about this AMAZING God, one that built the mountains and calmed the seas. Honestly, if I'm not reassured by that, what will reassure me? Obviously, a God that can do all of those things will make sure I'm taken care of and will know exactly what is best for me.

I also stumbled over Psalm 27 the other day. I was upset and when I opened my Bible, it literally fell open to that page.

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

⁸ My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

¹³ I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Again, this is just another God moment. He knows what I need to hear. He knows what I'm struggling with and He knows that I NEED HIM. I need to make Him the FIRST one I turn to, to offer up things to Him in prayer and let Him take control. More and more I'm realizing that I really want Him to have those things. I want to surrender that control because I know that I'll just mess it up if I try and do it on my own.

My prayer is that God continues to show me what He can do when I let Him take control. He is my comfort and my strength. In Him, I am safe. And I've been looking for that safety in all the wrong places.