Sarah Holman's Blog, page 16

Our Trip to Colorado

 Hey everyone!
I should probably stop starting just about every post with an apology for how quiet it's been around here, but I feel like apologizing every time. I mean, I love blogging and I hate that this blog has gotten so little of my time and attention this past few months. Thank you for continuing to read, even though I've been so sporadic in my posting. 
I think that I have a plan to change that in the coming weeks, but time will tell if it will work, or if you will be seeing an apology at the top of each post.
Scott and my family just got back from a week's vacation in Colordo. It was so much fun! I'd love to share the pictures with you.

We drove the first day from my family's house all the way to New Mexico. But the second day, we broke up the drive to Estas Park, Colorado with a stop in Colorado Springs.This is Garden of the Gods, a pretty amazing rock formation.
As I have a fear of highths, I took pictures of my family dangling their feet over the edge.
My brother and husband rocking it. 😉
Scott and I enjoying the view.
And it was an amazing view.

We got to the YMCA of the Rockies where we were staying and settled into our cabin. The next day we woke up to snow!!




As a Texas girl cold and snow in May is a novelty. It was so pretty.
Most of the rest of the day, we enjoyed the amenities of the place we were staying, including the craft hut.
The next day we hiked to Bible Point. I have made this hike each time I've been at the YMCA of the Rockies, which is now three times. Once in 2007, in 2018, and now in 2022. It's a wonderful hike

They've added plaques with Psalms on them all along the trail. Scott and I stopped at each one and he read them aloud. It was wonderful! The views!!!
Some of the crew!

At the top!
That view!!
Scott and I with the Bible Point cross in the background
The next day we got even more snow. We had a great morning throwing snowballs, playing games indoors and a lot of reading.
Look at that view.
We took Mom to a great restaurant The Big Horn for lunch. The food was amazing. It was my Mom's birthday after all.
Our last full day at the YMCA was so clear
We took another hike near a stream

It was sad to say goodbye to the YMCA the next day.
 But we had an amazing time.

Books I read/listened to on the trip





What has been your favorite place to visit?

Kate's Informant is on it's way!!!

 

*post contains Amazon affiliate links*

It's been a long time in coming. Far too long. But I'm very happy to say that Kate's Informant will be arriving on Kindle on June 1st!

Here are some fun things coming along with it.

You can pre-order the book HERE and then get a pre-order digital goody pack HERE.

If want to help promote the series, or just read the stories for review, you can go HERE and sign up to be part of the Kate's Case Files launch team.

You can also add it on Goodreads HERE.

I'm so excited about this release!

Living Whole Without a Better Half: A Book Review

Post contains affiliate links

Find it on Amazon | Goodreads

Description: There are more singles in--and out of--the church today than ever before. Wendy Widder knows the struggles of being single from the inside out, and she has something to say. While there is no shortage of books about singlehood on the market, Widder's approach is markedly different. In Living Whole Without a Better Half readers study the character in Hebrews 11. Widder uses these Biblical examples to show readers how to embrace singleness as an abundant life and a God-given gift, not as an unfortunate stage they should move past as quickly as possible. By examining the lives of biblical heroes such as Abraham, Moses, and Jacob, she reveals that trying to bargain with God to follow our plans and timing often keeps us from appreciating the opportunities he places in our path.

I was going through a time I was super discouraged in my singleness. I was turning thirty and found myself frustrated with my single state. I turned to books to help me process. I read or started to read a lot of less then helpful books. I was beginning to think that all the singleness books could easily be placed in three categories: 1. Books that promise you will get married someday so hold on. 2. Cheesy upbeat books that talk about how awesome being single can be. 3. Books by disenchanted people who blame the church and everyone around them for their unhappy single lives.

Thankfully, I found some books that were truly helpful.

This book was the best.

Why was this book so good? Honestly, instead of trying to be an exhaustive guide to dealing with singleness, Widder addresses the heart of the matter on a spiritual level. Yet, she doesn't ignore the practical. She knows from experience the ache and the hardships of singleness. She didn't promise that one day I would be married. She didn't try to make singleness into the ultimate life. She led me through a spiritual journey that helped my heart come to a place of peace.

Widder drew lessons from scripture that weren't shocking or nothing that I hadn't thought about before, yet she framed them in a way felt knew because she related them to my singleness. It was the fresh perspective I needed.

I think every Christian woman, struggling with singleness should read this book and have a copy to underline and make notes in.

A Look back on February and the first half of March

 

I sometimes get tired of myself. I mean, I had every intention of keeping up with this blog in February and filling it with all sorts of fun things. But here we are, mid-March and I realized it had been over a month since I posted. 
You will be happy to know that I have a lot of posts now in the works. This will not be the last time you hear from me this month. 
February 1st found me having lunch with my Mom and youngest sister.
And there was a pretty epic sunset on our way home.
It's weird to look back on pictures because it feels like January and February were so packed and went by like a blur. February started out with a lot of promise, but it ended up having some pretty hard moments in it. I'm very grateful for my family and for Scott, who helped me through some emotional times. While a tough month, the highlight was getting to spend a day in San Antonio with Scott to celebrate five months of being married.
Here we are on the Riverwalk. Fun fact, one of the pivotal moments in our early friendship happened on a walk with my family on the Riverwalk
Here we are at the Institute of Cultures. It was a great museum.
Of course, Mexican food was a must.
Last year, though Scott and I had been a couple for a little over a week, it snowed in Texas so we didn't spend it together. As the holiday had never been a big deal for us, that was okay. While we still didn't make a big deal out of it this year, Scott brought home all the supplies and we made chocolate-covered strawberries with my younger sister. Mikayla is awsome because she comes once a week to see me, and she is willing to grab photos with me.

Yum!
I had fun pre-ordering and getting this book. It was good!
As always, walks and hiking continue to be an important part of Scott and my's relationship. 
Here we are hiking where we did on our first date <3
At Palmetto State Park
And Mckinney Falls State Park
While not nearly as interesting from a photo standpoint. I was very happy to finally, finally, FINALLY, send off the next Kate's Case Files book to my editor! Another book is going to be published in a couple of months! You can be part of the cover reveal HERE. Here I am, trying to look like an author.

What have you been up to?

Wedding Photos at last!

 It took us a while to get our photos and then it's taken me even longer to make up this post.

Scott asked me to marry him in June, on my birthday. We talked about when we wanted to get married. My sister Rose was headed out for a two-month mission trip. We knew that we would need to either have our wedding before or after her trip, as neither of us could imagine getting married without her there. After all, she was going to be my maid-of-honor.

September quickly became the month of choice, along with Sunday as a good day of the week, as Scott works for a Chick-fil-A and we wanted his co-workers to easily be able to make it.

I hadn't spent a lot of time picturing what my future wedding would look like, but I just loved how all the details came together. We did a Texas/country theme. We wanted to keep everything simple and not spend a fortune on the wedding. 

God was really gracious. Our first choices for venue fell through. We didn't want to book a traditional wedding venue, as they are so expensive. We found a community center that not only was a great location but a great price. 

Our wedding venue
Wedding day set up
Prepping the reception area


Scott prepping the stage

Scott and I getting the curtains that formed the backdrop for our wedding set up.
My dress and my flowers. 
A little bit of the detail.
As I entered.
My dad, passing on responsibility to Scott and presenting him with a sword.

Scott sharing the gospel
Scott's Dad leading in singing In Christ Alone
Singing
Exchanging vows
So, when we went to exchange rings, a funny thing happened. Even though we had reminded each other to give the rings to our maid-of-honor (my sister, Rose) and the best man (his older brother Ian) Ian hadn't been given the ring. The bridesmaids and groomsmen all scrambled to locate the ring. It finally took Scott leaving me to locate the ring. He handed it to Ian and this is the photo that captured us finally getting my ring.
Our rings. Didn't Scott pick out a great engagement ring for me? My wedding ring fits right with it.
Our first act as a married couple was to share the Lord's supper.
Our very first kiss. 

Photo time! Christina captured some great ones.
My parents
His parents
The wedding party. Which consisted of our siblings and my friend Kelsey.

Here are a few of the awesome photos Christina captured of us








Entering the reception
The cake my friend and neighbor Stephanie made. It was amazing!
This is Paul and he was the one that connected the Holman and Larkin families
Cutting the cake
Two of Scott's brothers presented us with a song during the reception
\I always hated the bouquet toss at weddings. So, with the help of my sister and maid-of-honor, Rose, we made flowers for each single lady to take home.
Isn't it pretty?
Time to go!
My siblings did a great job decorating the car
And we were off!

So, what would you like to know about Scott and me? I'm planning on doing a Q&A to answer a lot of questions.

What a month: A Lookback at Jaunary

It seems lately every time I resolve to blog more. Life throws in a curveball. 
Married life has been awesome. But we've already faced a lot of challenges in our first five months of marriage. December saw some stuff with my family. And January started out with a rushed trip to Alabama to see a cousin on hospice. We did go over some cool bridges.
It snowed on us for the last leg of the trip. Scoot is a great driver.
We woke up in Huntsville to a winter wonderland
It's so pretty!
And we got to enjoy the snow together. Yes, we threw snowballs at each other. Scott got one that went down my back. He felt really bad about that, but I was laughing.
We spent quite a bit of time with his cousin, but I also got to meet a lot of his family, including his only living grandparent.
His cousin died, which was sad. But I'm so glad I got to meet Sean. While were spending most of the time with family. We did sneak in a walk...
And a date to a Mexican restaurant.
While we were all sad, the funeral was full of hope. This was not the end for Sean. He loved Jesus and he is in heaven.

On our drive home, we found out that several family members had tested positive for Covid. We kept to ourselves, which ended up being a good thing as Scott and I both came down with it. Thankfully, we both got mild cases.
We celebrated our recovery by getting out to a state park and taking a nice long walk. That and we visited our families that we had missed horribly. 



The rest of the mouth was filled with rescheduled meetings that had to be canceled because of getting Covid. 

Stay tuned as I hope to (finally) share wedding photos here!

Top 10 books of 2021

This was an odd reading year for me. Not only did I read less but I have more books than usual that I never finished and hated. It wasn't a fantastic reading year. However, even with that, there were some pretty awesome books that stood out and made this list.
I did a lot of reading this year via Scribd. If you want to try it out, click HERE to get two months free trial.I also used my Kindle, Audible, and (of course) old-fashioned paperbacks. You can see all my Goodreads stats HERE.
#10 What Dreams May Come by Alana TerryAmazon | Goodreads | Scribd | Audible
I found this book at the thrift store a few years back and sat down one day when I was sick and read it cover to cover. It was a gentler story that blessed me with its heart and strong faith. This was my first Alana Terry book and it won't be my last.

#9 When Sinners Say "I Do" by Dave HarveyAmazon | Goodreads | Scribd 
Our pastor, Aaron, gave Scott and I each a copy during our premarital counseling. It was the only marriage book I read all the way through and I know I'll be returning to it. It's not an exhaustive source, but it does get to the heart of so many things. I feel like I would have benefited from it even years ago as a single.
#8 Kingdom Single by Tony EvensAmazon | Goodreads | Scribd | Audible
This was the first read of the year and one of the best books on singleness I've ever read. While I'm no longer single, I still am grateful for the positive impact this book had and will continue to recommend it to others.

#7 Before I called you Mine by Nicole DeeseAmazon | Goodreads | Scribd | Audible
This was another new to me author, and so far everything else I've read by her has fallen short of the abslout amazingness of this story. The struggles in this story are so relatable, the emotions so well captured that even I teared up several times while reading (and that doesn't happen often). I know I will be rereading this book again before too long.
#6 Suffering is never for nothing by Elisabeth ElliotAmazon | Goodreads | Scribd | AudibleI have been so blessed by Elliot's works since I was young. This book is a new release compiled from a series of lectures she gave on the topic. Again, this will be another book I will be rereading and find value in the future.
#5 The Lines Between Us by Amy Lynn GreenAmazon | Goodreads | Scribd | AudibleThis was the second novel by Amy Lynn Green I read this year and it was stellar. I really didn't think that she could write a book as brilliant as her first book but I was wrong. This book was amazing and delved into both unique history and some wonderful moral questions.
#4 The Heir of Redclyffe by Charlotte Mary YoungeAmazon | Goodreads I learned about this author while reading the book Snuffed Out . My friend Kelsey and I read it together and I was blown away not only by the readability, but by the depth of characters and exploration into pride and humility. This is an old book and author, but it is a timeless gem.
#3 Love, Paris by Natasha MetzlerAmazon | Goodreads Ever since I read Emma and the Reasons, I have been waiting for the next book in the series. This was an emotional book I felt a whole lot of emotions while reading it. I even had to stop a couple of times. Metzler wove a realistic story about a girl who made a string of really bad choices, but whom God redeemed. 
#2 Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn GreenAmazon | Goodreads | Scribd | AudibleThis book... where do I even start? I love epistolary novels, but this is the best epistolary novel I have ever read. Not only that, it was such an amazing and unique story that I never wanted it to end. It was so, so good. The characters were vivid, the history it captured unique, and moral questions asked were so well thought out. I had a hard time reading after this book because everything felt dull in comparison.
#1 Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane C. OrtlundAmazon | Goodreads | Scribd | AudibleThis one has been recommended by my pastors for a while and I was glad to dig into it. I was more blessed by this book than I thought I could be. It was theologically rich and extremely well written. I've already given the book to some others, it was too good not to share.

What were your favorite reads of the year?

In Christ Alone

 

This song is a favorite of mine and Scotts, which is why we sung it at our wedding.

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2022?

 

Today is the first day of the new year. For some of us, we are hoping that this is a fresh start after a rotten year. Some of us wonder if this year can possibly be as good as the last one. While others are too numb or exhausted to care what happens.
I always like making goals and plans for the new year. I find it fun, exciting, and invigorating. Yet, the older I get, the harder it is to make those plans. I know how quickly they can fall apart, for good, bad, or neutral reasons. So why bother?
My dear friend, I want you to know that God has amazing plans for you this year. I don't know what they are, and sadly, I cannot guarantee you that they will feel good. I personally have gone through some years where I could not wait for them to end. I know that feeling, and I know that God uses them for our good.
This year may look daunting to you, or it might look like a grand adventure. You might be sitting, looking at your phone screen, not even caring that the calendar flipped, too numb to feel anything. No matter what, I want you to set aside your phone, computer, or whatever device you are reading this on and grab paper and a pen. Write the following down and let it sink into your soul.
2022God is holding this year and has big plans for me in itGod is holding me and won't leave me this yearGod has good things for me this yearI am feeling (insert your feeling here) about 2022. Yet no matter what this year holds, I know the One who holds this year.

Let's all help each other remember this truth in the coming days and weeks.

2021: What a Year!

January first, we all sat in the living room talking about changes. Scott was my best friend and I could tell a lot was on his mind when he said that he knew that this coming year, he was going to face a lot. 

That day, I watched my sister Rose struggle with purpose after a year of door after door getting slammed in her face. She had been passionately trying to pursue the good works God set before her yet nothing seemed to be going right.

I felt so stuck but prayed that I would know what I needed to do to change. It was so odd because I prayed and I kept feeling like I was exactly where I was supposed to be, but still felt like I was in a holding pattern. My word for the year was courage. I knew I would need it. My biggest challenge to myself was to courageously reclaim the joy.

I was grateful to throw myself into the release of Fanny's Hope Chest. It was a story I had put more of my heart into than any project for a while. It took more courage than I thought it would to send it to readers for the first time. I wasn't sure I was going to deal well with negative reviews. 

"Will you trust me with this?" It's a question that God asks us often if we are listening. Not audibly, but when we are trying to hold tight to something we love. As February rolled around, I knew God was asking me again if I would trust Him with the friendship outside the family I valued most. Not going to lie here and say I was in a place of peaceful surrender, because I wasn't. I was filling my days with projects and telling God that it would tear me to pieces to lose my friendship with Scott, but I knew He would hold me and put me back together.

February sixth, instead of the friendship ending, I found myself in a relationship with my best friend. I did tell Scott it was very, very hard to promote a book about singleness in the first glow of a new relationship. He smiled. 

Oh, and yeah, we had two SNOW stormes in Texas. If we get snow, it's kind of a weird dusting. But this year, we got four-plus inches. It was crazy!

It wasn't just me that saw changes happen for this year. I watched my sister Rose find her open door. Rose has done training with Youth with a Mission and is on track to continue serving with them and possibly joining the staff. You can follow her journey HERE.

As if being in a relationship with my best friend wasn't enough, I also got to see God answer some other long-time prayers of my family. I saw relationships be restored that I had given up on. There were so many happy tears, long hugs, and words that healed spoken. Because it's not my story, I can't share a lot, but I was overwhelmed this summer with God's good gifts.

And then I got engaged. 

Scott and I decided to get married before Rose left the country on a mission trip which locked us into a short engagement. Since neither of us wanted a fancy wedding, that was fine with us. I can honestly say that while there were a couple of stressful moments, I genuinely enjoyed planning the wedding and preparing for it.

Getting to spend the holidays married was pretty amazing since both families made such an effort to include us in their celebration. 

It's been an amazing year. I can't wait to see what God has for us next.