Hello, my dear friends.
I apologize for not updating you on how the latest trip to Texas went. For that matter, I'm sorry I didn't even mention it before I left. I've been insanely busy, blah-blah-blah. You've heard it all before, but I truly am sorry.
I'd love to give you an update, and tell you all about how God blessed us on this last trip (and wow, did He ever bless us!), but I can't get my brain to focus on that right now. Instead, I would like to ask for your prayers.
I've been presented with the possible opportunity of teaching preschool in Peru. Crazy, right? Believe me, I never thought I'd ever be typing those words on this blog! But it's true, and I said I would give them an answer by early September.
Basically, it's a missionary position, so I have to raise a little support. It also requires a two-year commitment, and I'd be in Peru from February to December each year.
There are a lot of really great things about it, like learning Spanish and getting to work with preschoolers in a Christian school. But then there are things that make it a complicated decision, like the fact that I have no formal experience teaching, and that I'd be away from any sort of family situation for two years.
Add to that the fact that all I really want to do is move to Mission, TX, and my life-long desire to see the world, and you can see how it's difficult for me to commit one way or another.
So I'm praying a lot, and seeking wisdom from those who know me best. And I'm asking you to pray for and with me.
I hesitated to tell anyone at first, because I'm so sick of letting everyone down. It seems like every time some amazing possibility is set before me (working with Wycliffe, for example), it ends up not being the Lord's will, and I sometimes get the impression that people who have been praying for me are very disappointed something exciting didn't happen. Do not pray this way.
Pray that God would make the wise way very clear to my family and me, and that He would equip me to do what He asks, just as He's promised to do. It's always cool praying that God would do what He's already promised. Maybe it's kind of cheating, but it's still awesome to see those prayers answered. :)
Thank you in advance for your prayers. I'll be sure to let you know how God leads!
Also, as you read this, you may be tempted to respond in a very dramatic way. I humbly ask that you would please not reply with, "NO!!! You can't leave me!"
Unless you're going to follow up that exclamation with a proposal of marriage, please keep it to yourself and remember two things:
1. THIS IS NOT A DEFINITE THING!
At this point there's about a 50/50 chance of me going or staying.
2. You do not need me.
Believe it or not, you don't. You need Christ. So as much as I love you (and if that's your reaction I'm sure I love you very much!), I am not necessary to your survival.
May God bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you!
Dios te bendiga,
Sarita
Sunday, August 12
Monday, July 23
Flowers & Strangers
As promised, I haven't posted much this month. Life has been crazy! I really don't have time to be posting this, but I'd probably end up wasting this much time anyway, so I might as well attempt to use my time for something meaningful.
A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah 40:6-8
...because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
James 1:10b-11
I always read these verses and thought of the frailness of life, of how we live for such a short, relatively unimportant time, and then leave this world forever. But the other day as I was reading through Isaiah, I noticed the word "beauty" for the first time, and I started thinking. Scripture compares the life of a human with the life of grass pretty frequently, and it's a sobering comparison. But it never occurred to me that it might not be a bad thing.
Flowers are beautiful, especially wildflowers! I love to see fields where wild Daisies or Queen Anne's Lace, or Black-eyed Susans are dancing around with the browns and greens of grasses left to themselves. Really, few sights in creation have ever made me feel as happy and free as that one. But it's a view that I can never enjoy for long. If it doesn't end up in a haybale, the heat of Summer fries them to a crisp (which gives me yet another reason to hide in the air-conditioned house).
Like the flowers of the field, life is short, but, oh! so beautiful! Like a wildflower, there is a raw beauty to life that only its Creator could have given it.
And like the grass, the end could come at any time, and is a certain thing. Maybe the flower will fall off just as the bud has begun to open, or maybe the grass will slowly wither away. Maybe it will be mown down unexpectedly, or maybe it will fade from the world long after it has faded from memory.
The fact is, we don't know. Yet despite its uncertainty, death doesn't have to be scary.
Yesterday I hugged a flower who has been fading for a long time. That's how it happened, too. First she experienced the withering of age, and then she began to fade. Now she is sleeping, waiting to awake in eternity.
As I watched her yesterday, I thought of a quote from the Silmarillion:
"But Men die indeed, and leave the world; wherefore they are called the Guests, or the Strangers. Death is their fate, the gift of Ilúvatar, which as Time wears even the Powers shall envy." pg. 42
Because it's true: God gave us a merciful gift when He banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and the tree of Life. How horrible would that be, to live to the end of time? To die and die and die without ever being free from death? In this sin-soaked world, death is a gift.
Soon Grandma will pass away from this world, only to bloom in glorious eternity, where her beauty will never wither. For us, it is hard. While I'm happy for her, it's never easy to say goodbye when you're not sure when you'll see each other again. But while there is sadness, there is hope-filled joy. Someday we will worship God together in perfection. And when that day comes, it will seem like the time we were apart was the blink of an eye.
Because Eternal Spring is coming fast.
Are you ready for that, little flower?
Tuesday, June 26
Time Jump to 1904!
It seems strange to be posting a bunch of pictures of me, but they are rather fantastic photos, and after putting up with my updates on this costume adventure, I think you've earned the right to see them!
Getting to dress in the 1904 time period was great! Especially since it meant I got to try one of those newly-invented "ice cream cones."
As you can see, my friend Stephanie did an AMAZING job with this photoshoot! I encourage you to check out her other work, especially the pictures of the other girls. This was a fantastic project, and the results are just breathtaking!
http://www.facebook.com/simplereflections.stef
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.449701738386805.107777.298821260141521&type=1
Love and Peace,
Sarah Weber
The Great Costume Adventure!
May 17th
Well, this is incredibly random, and may end up being a little embarrassing, but I'm posting it here anyway!
A friend of mine wants to do a photo shoot of people dressed up from every decade between early the 1900's and 1980. My "decade" is 1900-1910, specifically 1904 and the St. Louis World's Fair. I have a LOT of costumes, but strangely enough, I don't have one from the early 1900's. After doing some research, I can see why. There were some UG-LY styles back then! But it wasn't all bad, and it's definitely a fun era to try to recreate!
So here I am, with about a month to assemble a costume, my passion for doing costumes well, and a tight budget. This one seems like it's going to be quite the adventure, so I've decided to journal it here. Hopefully it works out, so that this won't be a journal of how I failed miserably at making a costume!
To view the majority of my research, check out my Pinboard.
To view the majority of my research, check out my Pinboard.
I picked up my first items today at the free store:
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An 80's prom dress
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and a pair of boots!
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Obviously I have a long way to go. The boots shouldn't be too hard to modify, but the dress is going to be tricky.
I am so thankful I found it, though! The lacy top is perfect, and the sleeves only need a little bit of adjusting.
The flower, however, must go!
Until the next post!
-Sarah
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May 28th
I haven't accomplished much yet. So far I've made some embarrassingly ugly drawings of ideas, and taken off the flower; which I'm saving just in case I want it for the hat.
After putting more thought into modifying the boots I posted about last time, I was feeling very uneasy about how they were going to turn out. I can probably make them look okay, but the fact that they're a little too big for me was discouraging. In a time where pretty little feet were praised, big boots would not look right. But what could I do but work with what I had?
This past weekend I went thrifting, hoping to find more materials to work with. I found two lace curtains to supply my great need for lace. Everything nice seems to have been dripping with lace in 1904, and I need all I can get!
And then, I found the perfect boots!
Cost so far: $7
I haven't accomplished much yet. So far I've made some embarrassingly ugly drawings of ideas, and taken off the flower; which I'm saving just in case I want it for the hat.
After putting more thought into modifying the boots I posted about last time, I was feeling very uneasy about how they were going to turn out. I can probably make them look okay, but the fact that they're a little too big for me was discouraging. In a time where pretty little feet were praised, big boots would not look right. But what could I do but work with what I had?
This past weekend I went thrifting, hoping to find more materials to work with. I found two lace curtains to supply my great need for lace. Everything nice seems to have been dripping with lace in 1904, and I need all I can get!
And then, I found the perfect boots!
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Are they not absolutely perfect? And they fit just right! I probably drove my friend batty talking about how thankful I was to find them. Now I can dedicate more time to the dress itself.
So, armed with yards of lace and a pinboard of ideas, I think I'm ready to begin work on the dress! It's just a little terrifying. But if all else fails I have a backup plan: I'll just wear the long skirt and blouse of a working class woman.
After these finding these boots, however, I'm feeling very encouraged!
Cost so far: $7
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June 12th
It's taken me a dreadfully long time to do absolutely nothing, but at long last I'm beginning to get somewhere!
With some help from my mother, I managed to get the sleeves of the dress to a proper level of poofiness. I also took off the sheer outer skirt and replaced it with a lovely lace curtain. At the moment it's not very photogenic, but once I add the waistband I'll share a photo with ye. :)
Tonight was the night of the hat! It's a very important part of the costume, and hopefully the most difficult part to make look right. Using an old, child-sized straw hat, a J.C.Penny gift box, scrap fabric from a bridesmaid dress I made a few years ago, lots of hot glue, and some trimmings, I managed to scrape together something that I think will do.
Just so long as no close up pictures are taken of it, I think it will be fine. It'd be better, but I didn't have as much scrap fabric as I thought. Neither did I have the time nor patience to make the fabric lie flat, so when you're holding it in your hands it looks pretty dreadful! Still, I think it's acceptable.
It's taken me a dreadfully long time to do absolutely nothing, but at long last I'm beginning to get somewhere!
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| Believe it or not, this will be a hat! |
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| It looks much more purple in real life. |
Tonight was the night of the hat! It's a very important part of the costume, and hopefully the most difficult part to make look right. Using an old, child-sized straw hat, a J.C.Penny gift box, scrap fabric from a bridesmaid dress I made a few years ago, lots of hot glue, and some trimmings, I managed to scrape together something that I think will do.
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| Special thanks to my lovely model, the Piggy Bank! |
Left to do:
The collar
Trimming/waistband
A parasol???
Cost so far: $7
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June 13th
After putting on the dress yesterday, I realised how very important corsets are to the 1900's look. Whilst bemoaning my discovery to my mother, she told me that she had a pattern to make them! They're not quite period, but they're certainly better than none at all, and I set to work at once... well, almost at once.
I'm too tired to stitch any more tonight, so I'm going to bed and will (Deo volente) finish first thing tomorrow morning. It's been lovely getting to repurpose some more. So far this corset is made of an old pair of jeans, the lining of an old coat, scrap fabric from my grandma's christmas present, and boning from a bridesmaid dress that was turned into an Arwen costume for me many years ago. Fun, fun, fun!
When it's finished, I'll post pictures. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to come very close to completing this adventure! It's been lovely, but that deadline just keeps getting closer!
_________________________________________________________
After putting on the dress yesterday, I realised how very important corsets are to the 1900's look. Whilst bemoaning my discovery to my mother, she told me that she had a pattern to make them! They're not quite period, but they're certainly better than none at all, and I set to work at once... well, almost at once.
I'm too tired to stitch any more tonight, so I'm going to bed and will (Deo volente) finish first thing tomorrow morning. It's been lovely getting to repurpose some more. So far this corset is made of an old pair of jeans, the lining of an old coat, scrap fabric from my grandma's christmas present, and boning from a bridesmaid dress that was turned into an Arwen costume for me many years ago. Fun, fun, fun!
When it's finished, I'll post pictures. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to come very close to completing this adventure! It's been lovely, but that deadline just keeps getting closer!
_________________________________________________________
June 18th (only 5 days before the photoshoot!)
Well, my plan to finish everything on the 14th didn't quite go as planned. My boss asked me to come in and work, which was fantastic, but meant that I accomplished next-to-nothing this weekend!
However, as of today that has changed! I think the dress itself is finished!
Is it perfect? Of course not. But I put it on and was startled by how nice it looked! That sounds vain, but I was getting worried.
At long last I posted the promised picture of the waistband and curtain overskirt (or whatever you would call that)!
But what I find much more exciting is the collar! It leaves a little to be desired, but when I put it on it actually turned this 80's prom dress into something from 1904!
Well, my plan to finish everything on the 14th didn't quite go as planned. My boss asked me to come in and work, which was fantastic, but meant that I accomplished next-to-nothing this weekend!
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| with waistband & lace |
Is it perfect? Of course not. But I put it on and was startled by how nice it looked! That sounds vain, but I was getting worried.
At long last I posted the promised picture of the waistband and curtain overskirt (or whatever you would call that)!
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| The train is conveniently long and nicely patterned! |
But what I find much more exciting is the collar! It leaves a little to be desired, but when I put it on it actually turned this 80's prom dress into something from 1904!
I know I keep talking about how surprised I am, but it's the truth! I was really beginning to think that the only wearable thing that would come out of this adventure would be the corset and boots. Praise God, He somehow made my fingers do work I didn't think was possible!
So now I have the hat, the boots, and the dress! In just a few minutes I'll be running to the store to get eyelets, and once they're in I'll have a corset.
All that remains is a parasol, and I have something I'm going to try to work with for that. My goal is to finish everything today, so be looking for an update later!
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| Can't you just hear the choir of angels singing? |
*************
As you can see, the motley corset is finished! It's actually far more comfortable than I expected. Not so much that I'd want to wear one every day, but the photoshoot shouldn't be too uncomfortable.
Hopefully the next post will be after Saturday, and will feature a picture taken by a much better photographer than the one who's been harassing you with these photos! ;)
Final Cost: $13
Soli Deo Gloria!
Sarah Weber
Wednesday, June 6
Vamos a Orar
Hello, everyone!
I'm writing to ask for your prayers for a very special trip to Mission. Billy is going to Texas for a month and a half!
While I'm a little jealous, I'm much more excited for him, and excited to see how God is going to use this time! You can read all about this Summer Internship on his blog.
Isn't it a wonderful privilege to be able to pray? What a generous God we serve, Who has made a way for us to be vitally involved in things we could never physically help with! Seize this opportunity to bring this trip before the Lord in prayer. He hears.
Grace and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
-Sarah
I'm writing to ask for your prayers for a very special trip to Mission. Billy is going to Texas for a month and a half!
While I'm a little jealous, I'm much more excited for him, and excited to see how God is going to use this time! You can read all about this Summer Internship on his blog.
Isn't it a wonderful privilege to be able to pray? What a generous God we serve, Who has made a way for us to be vitally involved in things we could never physically help with! Seize this opportunity to bring this trip before the Lord in prayer. He hears.
Grace and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
-Sarah
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