I Finally did it!

     Hello, Lovelies. I know it has been a little bit since my last post. I took the liberty of giving myself a moving and settling break. It is with a huge sign of relief that I can say that we are finally moved in. We still have things to sort and organize, but the hard part is over. I only have one box that needs unpacked. That is it. Jereme, the kitties, and I are officially on our own again. Hallelujah, God is good always.

     Guess what? I finally did it. Drum roll, please... I got baptized. Yes, I Sarah Hood at twenty-three years old got baptized. It was such a sweet experience, and something I will forever remember. I got the urge earlier this year to be baptized, but I just kept putting it off for whatever the reason. I did decide that I for sure wanted to do it, and I want to do it in the ocean. What is so crazy is that before I even knew that there were plans for a beach trip, I had been praying for months that God would give me the opportunity to be baptized in his water. I kid you not, the Lord truly blew my mind with allowing me to go on this trip because HE completely orchestrated it. I know that in my last post I mentioned that I was devastated when we were not going to be able to go. I remember telling The Lord to please wait on me before coming back, because I feel that it will be very soon. Now you know why I was so upset. I had a different motive for even going in the first place. 

     Maybe now you can also know how special it was that actually did get to go. Let me also mention at this time the awesome way in which we did get to go. I wrote all about that in my previous post and I encourage you to check that out. The Lord knew that my heart on the matter, and guess what? He made it happen. He did not have to, but he did. How awesome is it that he cares enough for us to do things like this for us. Praise be to GOD for giving me the opportunity to do such a special thing. 

     I could write a book on the reasons that I chose to get baptized, so I obviously can not do that here. I will say that my life has not been the same since I allowed God in two and half years ago, and it will never be the same. God gave my life meaning and purpose. He answered every question I have ever had about him. Nothing has ever been more clear than HIM. It really is true, that when you know the truth you can not deny it, and nor do I want to. I have learned so much, and he is not through with me. I am so grateful that he never gave up on me. I have such a heart for living my life to glorify him, and I hope that you all can see that. 

     Thank you so much for stopping by to hear a bit about my life. I just want you to know that it is never too late to make a change or to learn. You are not your past, no matter what you have done, and you CAN be set free. I would love to ask you at this time how I can pray for you. If you are uncomfortable leaving a comment, you can message or email me. I would love to do that for you. 

*****Side note: the other person was my super sweet young sister-in-love, Hayley. I am so proud of her and the young woman she is becoming. 

“1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound ? 2 God forbid * . How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein *? 3 Know ye not , that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed , that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died , he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth , he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin , because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid * . 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey ; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you . 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What * fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed ? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

— Romans 6 King James Version

God's Big Blessing to Us

   Hello, Lovelies. Today, aside from sharing some of my beach pics, I want to share with you something amazing that God did for Jereme and I last week. But first, you need a little backstory. At the beginning of this month, Jereme and I got hit with some disheartening news along with some unexpected medical bills. We had so many bills, that it ate up our whole moving fund (we are moving in October in case I forgot to mention in previous posts). We were both super down and stressed out that we may not be able to afford a move. On top of the health situation, our stress was super high. We were also heartbroken because we would no longer be able to take the vacation that we had planned. Boy when it rains, it really pours. 

     We had just found the house that we wanted, and we needed to put in an application fee. We  honestly had no clue how we were even going to pay for that app fee. Let me also mention the deposit we would need in the event that we were accepted was completely non-existent. Going on vacation was so far out of the question that we stopped talking about it all together.

     There are so many times that we just sit and laugh after the dust settles, at the ways that God takes care of us. Sometimes we have to live solely on faith just to get by. This month was one of those months. We just had to give everything over to God, and sit back and take it as it came. We didn't know how it would work out, we just knew that it would. He promises to take care of us and he did and always does. He says that we are more important to him than the flowers and the birds, but yet he feeds them. So, we had no choice but to trust that he would do the same for us. 

     No sooner than we had accepted that fact, a few blessings (that I can not really mention) fell into our lap. He was so good to us, that I could cry just thinking about it. He came through in a triple portion. Not only were we able to pay for the application fee, we paid the deposit and had money left to go on vacation (and all of the medical bills taken care of too). Can you even believe that? I am telling you, when Jereme figured everything up and told me that we were going to be able to go on vacation, I cried. 

     You are never going to believe it, but that is not all either. While we were living it up on vacay, another uh-oh happened. I got an email stating that a bill (that I knew I had already paid) was due soon. I was freaking out, like "What? That's not possible. I know I paid that." Well, sure enough, I did pay the bill. The problem was, I paid it too early. I forgot that the billing cycle was different than all of my other bills, so I paid it too soon. I felt so stupid. I told Jereme what I did, and he just shook his head. Great, chalk up another disappointment for the month. 

     Later, we went out to eat with his grandmother who had come to visit us since we were so close to Florida. She called Jereme aside and said that she felt like she needed to give him a little gift. She gave him the EXACT amount we needed to cover the minimal charge for that bill and guess what? We hadn't even told her about it. I know that God prompted her to do that. I am just so amazed that he did that for us. It is so amazing when he proves just how he cares about the tiniest of details. 

     How has God come through for you lately? Stay tuned for more stories and beach trip pics, and thank you so much for stopping by.