Sarah Dixon Young's Blog: Love Much, page 9

Accidental Lent, On Purpose Resurrection

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Some years, I am very intentional about how I will grow closer to Jesus during the Lenten season.

I make elaborate plans about what I will fast from and which devotionals I will read. Perhaps the memories of celebrating Lent during my Catholic school days impress me with the importance of being satisfied with less, so that Jesus can be more. 

But this year, I decided to just stick with my regular devotional routine. I am always wanting to grow closer to Jesus, and I didn’t ...

Planting Abiding Seeds

It is almost time to decide which seeds to buy for our garden.

I want to take my time in choosing because I almost always make mistakes. One year, I bought round zucchini seeds (Round zucchini are the worst kind of squash and only fit for pigs), and last year, I bought pole beans instead of bush beans. 

My mistakes were only noticeable over some time. It wasn’t until the beans started vining up that I knew there was a problem.

Seeds hold so much potential, and it is fun to envision the...

Deconstructed

Our pigs have torn one wall off of their only shelter.

The chickens are just about as bad, having picked the insulation out of one side of the chicken house.

The cow continually breaks the hay ring so she can lay on her food and peer witlessly at the unused bedding in the barn.

North Dakota winters prove the costliness of their ignorance. Their deconstruction arises from instinct, perhaps, but it is no less deadly if we leave them as they are. 

It is popular nowadays for young peopl...

Tables in the Wilderness

This week, the Lord asked me to do something that I did not want to do.

First, I tried the docile Moses approach of offering excuses: “I don’t feel well.” “What if bad stuff happens?” “What if it’s haaaaaard?”

The Lord told me the same thing He told Moses. “My name is not the What-If. I AM.”

That is an indisputable fact, but my docile excuses flared right up into good old fashioned tantrum throwing.

“I can’t do this, Lord. I don’t want to. I’m not going to.”

While I was pious...

Reaching Out

Sitting beside the deathbed, I noticed that the last efforts of the woman were to reach out her hand. 

Was she reaching for water? prayer beads? a photograph? 

Her reach was unwearying. I took her hand. She squeezed mine and then was able to rest.

It reminded me of my children when they were small. Darkness made them reach their tiny hands between the bars of the crib. They never tired of reaching until their hand could hold mine. They wanted to be reassured that comfort and safety...

Correct Formula for Volume

It was a typical Tuesday. 

I was doing math with my fifth grader.

When I am teaching my children, I try to give them my undivided attention. Church business, ministry things, laundry, and bills take a back seat. 

It was a good thing they did on Tuesday because math needed my full, focused attention. 

“A rectangular tank is 90cm long and 50cm wide. It contains 162 liters of water when it is ⅔ full. Find the height of the tank.”

“Well,” I told my daughter, “what I do for proble...

Here Hovering

It’s 3:30am on Sunday, and I am awake.

The phone has buzzed several times, and I know it is darkness calling.

Saturday night is attack time for the enemy. The Father of lies saves his best ones for Saturday nights to try to pollute the chance of Sunday morning resurrection.

Sickness, sin, death, and the septic tank not working all shake hands at 3:30am on Sunday.

So, I pray in the darkness without turning on the lights. 

It reminds me of the original darkness. “The earth was ...

Spelling Lessons

I am a notoriously bad speller.

Yes, I had to look up notoriously. You may wonder why a poor speller would become a writer. Well, I love words. I just am not very accurate in my spelling of them!

I love using words to convey truths about Jesus, the Bible, and faith, but in writing about these topics, I have encountered some real spelling difficulties.

Take Jesus, for example. I write about Him often because He has changed my life, but I never quite know what to do with the possessi...

Back to the Ark

Since we were going to be driving across the country anyway, my children, my adventurous mom, and I decided to visit The Ark Encounter in Kentucky.

We had visited several years ago, but we were excited to build on our knowledge.

I have a particular interest in the pitch Noah used to cover the ark, and I was hoping to find more information about it. I was not disappointed.

I found an exhibit dedicated to the topic of pitch. It read: “God told Noah to coat the Ark inside and out with...

One: A Poem to Worship By

The unity of One

admits naught of two,

yet strand of three

is unbroken.

True weaving is done

by Proficient who

made all that I see

with words spoken.

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