Sara

Be anxious for nothing

By Sara | April 12, 2026 | Comments 0 Comment

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

I have no qualms in stating that my work is stressful. There’s little room for error in what I do every day. Being responsible for the schedules, travel, deadlines, and behind-the-scenes coordination of top corporate executives means that if I miss something, if I can’t keep up, problem-solve, and facilitate as needed, successful daily operations, events, and management will fail. I quietly carry that responsibility on my shoulders every day. It’s enough to carry that burden for one chief corporate officer. I carry this weight for eight executives, with two more starting in the next three weeks. That’s a heavy burden to bear.

I barely remember the last year of my life. Working 12-hour days does that to you. Gone are my evenings when I could quit at 4:00 pm, work in the yard, and read before bed at night. I now cook a week’s worth of meals on Sundays and live for Saturdays, when I can finally work in my yard and leave my computer behind. Even writing about this lifestyle leaves my stomach in knots.

Over the past two months, my stomach aches have advanced to chest tightness, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness. I visited my doctor last week to try to figure out what’s going on.

“My work is stressful,” I began, after explaining my symptoms to her. “This isn’t fun.”

“You’re having panic attacks,” she explained.

“But I’m not panicking,” I retorted. “I’m just sitting at my desk, working.”

“Your body is reacting to the stress,” she explained. “Part of your body wants to rest, and the other part is saying, ‘Keep up! Get moving! Don’t stop!’ The result is a chemical reaction resulting in all the symptoms you’ve been feeling.”

While she prescribed a pill I can take up to three times a day, if I need to, I don’t like pills. I tried what she prescribed, and while it helped with some of the symptoms, it also has side effects that aren’t any more comfortable.

What I need is peace. What I need is to give it all to God. I’m determined to do so. I’m covering all of this with prayer. I need to reclaim my life, refocus on God, and remember that what I do for Him, how much time I give to His focus, worship, and praise, is what’s most important.

For now, I’m collecting Bible verses on anxiety and peace. Here are just a few that mean so much to me:

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. (Proverbs 12: 25)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:34)
Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6: 25-27)
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)

I know this won’t be an easy forward path, as my workload isn’t changing. I can’t control that.

What I can control is how I handle the stress, how I deal with letting it pile up.

I know that my God is greater than anything the world can throw at me. I am not alone. My Heavenly Father is the Creator of the universe. Even the winds and rain obey Him. The next time I feel the stress begin to build, I’m going to stop, pray, and meditate on the words He gave us all, remembering that He alone is in control.

I trust that God will sustain me. After all, His Word commands, not asks me, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

And so, I shall. I know He will deliver me.

Surrender is a verb

By Sara | March 12, 2026

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

On March 12, 2023, David and I became husband and wife in a ceremony I never would have thought possible. I, the outcast, super-nerd, last one to ever get picked for the team, had somehow become the one that a handsome, intelligent, talented man would choose to spend the rest of his life with. That thought still astounds me.

More than that, I remain in awe and gratitude that God chose David and me for each other before we were born. While the paths we traveled in life were often troublesome, they were what our Heavenly Father ordained for us. We needed to learn, adjust, and trust that His way is better than our way. We needed to learn and relearn full surrender. We needed to put God first before seeking our own ways.

So often in life, we think we know what’s best. We plan without praying, we pursue and plunge without full consideration of the consequences. And then we wonder why we fail.

Isaiah 55: 8-9 tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Plenty of people succeed without God, that’s true, but how shallow are their victories? How empty are their pursuits? God’s plans for us are so much greater than anything we could ever come up with ourselves. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way – and then some.

In my case, I was so desperate for love and acceptance that I foolishly believed it would come from someone who didn’t know how to put God first. How wrong I was. Without God’s love surrounding our lives, without the understanding that we must serve and surrender our will to His, everything we achieve on our own is shallow and flawed.

I had a million reasons why I couldn’t travel to Florida to help Samaritan’s Purse in October 2022. I didn’t have a pet-sitter. I didn’t have vacation time. I didn’t know the first thing about construction, and I’m awkward in social situations. How could I serve in this capacity when I was so insignificant?

Still, I surrendered.

God, if you want me there, I remember praying, you’re going to have to open the doors.

And that’s exactly what He did.

I found a pet-sitter. I learned that my employer offered paid volunteer time. On my first night at the Ft Myers church that housed the Samaritan’s Purse (SP) volunteers, I was joined at the dinner table by a church group that immediately made me feel welcome.

*Me in my Kevlar suit* *outside a hurricane ravaged motor home in Ft Myers after helping remove water-soaked insulation from beneath the sub floor.*

Still, the surrender continued. It was on my third day volunteering when I surrendered to the group’s request to join their team that I met David.

It was in surrendering half of my lunch to David, the first day he arrived, that he saw my heart.

It was only after I had surrendered more time to stay in Ft Myers beyond my original departure date that I heard David’s testimony.

In surrendering my thoughts to God’s, I, who knew nothing about construction, spontaneously asked a couple we were helping whether they’d considered tearing down a wall in their kitchen when they rebuilt their home. They said they’d consider it.

*David installing a new garbage disposal in the kitchen he helped rebuild in Ft Myers, FL. (January 2023)*

Before returning the next day, I asked David if such an undertaking was even possible. Not only could the work be done, David assured, but he promised to tear down the wall himself – and then rebuild their home.

Me, *grouting the new floors David installed in the Ft Myers, FL home. (January 2023)*

This new promise prompted David to ask me to help. Of course, I couldn’t help but surrender to his request.

On December 11th, one day shy of the two months I’d known David, he asked me to marry him – in the house he was rebuilding, on the morning after I’d finally surrendered and driven back to Florida to deliver the help I’d promised to give.

The act of surrender isn’t a noun. It’s a verb. It requires continual action, perpetual reinforcement, and consistent affirmation. I, more than anyone, know how valuable surrender to God can be.

Psalm 37:4 tells us to “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Surrender to God is a delight. He knows more than we do what is best for us. His plans are better than anything we can come up with on our own.

*David and I helped Samaritan’s Purse in Ft Myers on December 12, 2022 – the day after he proposed to me.*

I stand here today, a surrendered woman, blessed beyond measure by a God that I can never outgive.

*David and I celebrated our third anniversary at a local restaurant.*

March 12th isn’t just my wedding anniversary; it’s a celebration of how gracious our God is, and it’s a day that allows me to continually testify to the unending, unparalleled power of surrender.

Thank you, Jesus, for teaching me the act of surrender. May I never cease to sing Your praises, and may I never stop surrendering to You.

No greater love

By Sara | March 1, 2026

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 3:3)

“It’s hard to leave,” David said on the day he stopped by my house on his way back to Florida to begin rebuilding the home of a couple who lost everything after Hurricane Ian in September 2022. I will never forget those words. We had only known each other for a few days at the time, but we had already bonded, as I had with my entire Samaritan’s Purse (SP) team, having spent the previous week serving together for God’s glory.

*David and I (second and third from the right) posed with a homeowner and our Samaritan’s Purse team after serving in Ft Myers, FL (September 2022).*

There was no shortage of help needed for those who had lost everything after this catastrophic Category 4 storm barreled into the state, with 150 mph winds, 10 inches of rain, and a 7.21-foot storm surge. More impactful than the cleanup we provided was the love we shared with those who were feeling hurt and helpless after realizing how much they’d lost in the storm. Our reminder that they were not alone but rather loved by God was precisely the help and hope they needed to press onward into an unknown future.

*David adding new flooring to the Ft Myers home he helped rebuild after Hurricane Ian.*

Following this week of service to share God’s love, David visited me on his way home to Virginia Beach. I chronicled his request to do so in my blog entitled “I’ve been looking for you.”

We had initially planned for David to stop again on his journey back to Florida. I had promised to show him around my coastal town, followed by a homemade dinner together before he continued on his way. I made lasagna for the occasion and had envisioned something significant happening on that day.

Instead, David sent me a text the night before telling me he couldn’t make it. He was finishing a remodeling job back at home, which was taking longer than expected. Despite his apologies, I was incredibly disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to spend any time together.

More than that, I felt like this change of plans was God’s way of protecting me, preventing me from getting too attached to someone I barely knew when I’d spent the last ten years of my life defending my heart from men who were not what they appeared to be. I didn’t want to be involved in another relationship. It was just God and me then – and that’s exactly how I wanted it to be.

Still, I remember the great sense of disappointment that surprised me when I learned my Sunday plans with David weren’t going to happen. I cried my eyes out when I received that message. My response didn’t make sense to me. I was determined not to let my relationship with David be anything more than a Christian friendship – and yet, I was crushed to learn that my first afternoon out in ten years, this one pseudo “date” had gone by the wayside.

And then I thanked God. Surely, I thought, my Heavenly Father prevented me from any further hurt by reminding me to keep my walls up and my expectations down.

Rather than let David know of my disappointment, I told him not to worry about it. I assured him that I understood and wished him well on the rest of his venture.

It was then that David asked if he could still stop on his way back to Florida. “Mondays are extremely busy for me,” I retorted. “If you want to stop, I’ll be happy to give you a snack and a sandwich for the rest of your journey, but I won’t be able to talk long.”

And so, that’s how our visit went. I was kind but somewhat guarded when David and his sweet kitty, Bo, stopped at my house late Monday morning. I gave David an egg sandwich for his snack and a German sweet-bologna sandwich for the rest of his drive into Florida. We chatted for a bit – and then he gave me Bo to hold.

*Bo and me after his first manicure at my house.*

“His nails are really long,” I said. “Would you like me to trim them?”

After David agreed, I took Bo to my screen porch, where I brushed his fur and gave him a quick manicure, all the while talking to the kitty more than I was to David.

David sat in an adjacent chair, taking it all in, then asked if he could take a photo of Bo and me to remember the visit. “Of course,” I said as he captured one of my all-time favorite pictures of me holding this sweet kitty.

We exchanged a few more niceties, then David got the hint that it was time to go.

As I walked David to his SUV, he put Bo back inside, then stretched out his arms for a good-bye hug. “It’s going to be hard to leave,” David said as he opened the car door, sat down, and smiled up to me from inside.

I remember being shocked at his chosen turn of phrase, even thinking at the time, “Surely, he doesn’t mean that the way it sounds.”

But he did. And he still does. It’s a gift that never stops giving. David and I frequently repeat this phrase as he runs to the store or leaves the house to run errands. “Is it going to be hard to leave?” I will ask. “It always is,” he’ll respond.

*David and Bo on one of their many car rides together.*

And I always smile at the love I feel when I think of all God gave me in this man. From a simple act of surrendering to God by going to Florida came the gift of a soulmate that I will never take for granted.

God loves us like this. He loves us so much that He will stand at the door, waiting for us to open it and welcome him in. His love is patient, kind, compassionate, and all-knowing yet wholly forgiving. We are to model our compassion for others after the kind of devotion God detailed for us in Corinthians.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

That’s the kind of love that David and I share. There is nothing greater than the magnanimous affection our Creator has for us. David and I entwine ourselves in it as we pray before meals, read the Bible together every night, and constantly, fervently, continuously give thanks to our Heavenly Father for His sustaining grace, strength, and provision. We would be nothing without our Creator’s love. We would be nothing without Him – in our lives and in our marriage.

“I could’ve stood in that driveway all day holding you. I never wanted to let go,” David reminded me as we embraced each other earlier today.

That’s how God feels about us, as well. He is always holding us. His love “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

I am blessed to be loved like that – not just by David, but by my Creator. There is nothing greater on earth.

Will the real King please stand up?

By Sara | February 16, 2026

“God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” (1 Timothy 6:15)

*My brother was all smiles at the Georgia Elvis Festival in December 2025.*

My brother is a huge Elvis fan, so I knew gifting him and my mom with tickets to a local Elvis festival concert last December would be a huge hit. What I didn’t anticipate was the impact our Elvis weekend would have on me.

Of all the concerts held over the three-day event, we attended the “Elvis Christmas Show,” which promised to include gospel favorites. This event was no amateur hour. These singers were all either Ultimate Elvis Champions or award-winning Elvis Tribute Artists (ETAs), and they were phenomenal. Their voices, outfits, and dancing moves would have made Elvis himself proud.

What blew me away, most of all, though, were the testimonies. These singers didn’t just honor the King of Rock and Roll; a few of them stood unafraid in a theater filled with hundreds of fans to proclaim their faith in the King of kings before singing their favorite gospel songs in a Presley-style manner.

Bill Cherry’s version of “How Great Thou Art,” in particular, gave me goosebumps with its passion and conviction. When Ultimate Elvis Champion David Lee testified about his faith and invited the audience to a free concert on Sunday morning at a local church, my family and I agreed we had to attend.

As we rode home after the show, still basking in the fun experience that none of us will ever forget, I pondered Elvis’s faith journey. Was he a Christian? From his later years, it may have been hard to tell, but perhaps he had lost his way in all the adoration and expectations that doubtlessly comprised his life.

*Grand Champion Elvis Tribute Artist Alex Mitchell posed for a picture with my mom and me.*

Upon researching this topic, I discovered that Presley was raised in the church but didn’t seem overly interested in Christianity until the late 1950s. After skyrocketing to fame, Elvis purportedly felt empty and longed to discover a deeper purpose in life. It was in 1956 that Presley encountered the gospel singer Jake Hess, who drew him into the genre’s evangelistic lyrics. Not long afterwards, Elvis sought Christian counseling and began reading the Bible on his own. It was then that Presley started talking about his faith to his friends and family.

In 1977, Elvis was baptized at Memphis’s First Assembly of God. Unashamed of his transformation, Elvis began incorporating more Christian songs into his repertoire and eventually recorded several gospel albums.

Presley’s stepbrother, Billy Stanley, wrote a book about Elvis’s faith entitled The Faith of Elvis: A Story Only a Brother Can Tell.

“He was a Christian, and most people don’t know that,” Stanley told CBN. “When I say ‘Christian,’ he was a Bible-carrying Christian…wherever he went, he took the Bible with him.” Stanley should know, as he was often tasked with making sure Elvis’s Bible was always with him on tour.

“He read the Bible almost every day,” Stanley said.

*Elvis Tribute Artist Riley Jenkins performed with the Infinit-E Tribute Band at Epworth by the Sea* *on St. Simons Island, GA in December 2025.*

Still, the pressures of fame haunted Presley. “I always thought…he had the devil on one side, and he’s got God on the other side, and there was a constant battle going on inside of his head.”

*ETA Riley Jenkins posed for a photo with my mom at the Elvis Festival.*

Only God knows who won the battle in the end.

After seeing the Elvis impersonators in concert the night before, it was a bit surreal to see David Lee, still looking every bit like the icon – from his pompadour and sideburns to his gold-brocade-trimmed jacket – casually talking to parishioners before his morning concert at a local church. I had no idea what to expect, but it was the faith this man expressed on stage that drew me to his secondary event. It must be hard for these ETAs to shed their stage personas, I mused, after making a career out of living, breathing, and becoming the legendary rocker at regular events across the country.

While he didn’t provide the full details of his conversion, Lee testified during the service that the only time he was in church growing up was during occasional Vacation Bible School sessions. Consequently, he surrendered to Christ later in life. He now uses his platform as an ETA to share his faith with others, hoping to bring his fans closer to the Heavenly Father who saved him. “My job may be singing like Elvis,” Lee said, “but the most important thing I do is to perform at events like this, where I can share my faith and hopefully help someone else find Jesus.”

*My mom and Ultimate Elvis Champion, David Lee, at the Brunswick Worship Center.*

“It must be hard to walk around in public with that hair and sideburns,” I later mused to my husband, David, “knowing he’s always going to get looks and have Elvis fans fawning over him. He can’t hide that persona.”

Case in point, one of my church friends later told me that she and her friends spotted Lee at a local buffet, after the service. “He seemed nice,” she said, adding that they had all spoken to him.

All of this leaves me wondering who we, as Christians, are emulating. We may not sport pompadours or flashy outfits, but who do we embody when others see us? Do our lives exemplify our faith, or would our friends and co-workers be surprised to hear that we are Christians? Are we closet-believers, fearing “offending” others with what we believe, or do we live our faith out loud, standing bold in our convictions, unashamed in our beliefs, and confident in our salvation?

Elvis Presley will always be known as the King of rock and roll, but Jesus Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords. It’s indisputable who changed the world more profoundly.

We don’t need to sermonize to stand for our Savior. We don’t need to dress in sandals to walk a path of conviction. It is our humility, kindness, and dedication that will speak volumes to our colleagues.

The world desperately needs King Jesus. As Christians, we need to live, breathe, and emulate Him on the stage of our lives so that everyone we encounter will see Christ in everything that we do.

I’ve been looking for you

By Sara | February 8, 2026

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

“Sara, I’ve been looking for you!”

So came the cry that changed my life, uttered by my husband David in October 2022.

It was my last day serving with Samaritan’s Purse in Fort Myers, Florida, following Hurricane Ian. I had spent the previous 6 days helping homeowners gut their storm-ravaged homes – removing personal belongings, floodwater-soaked insulation, clothing, appliances, and even rotten food from refrigerators. Our labor of love helped hurting individuals see their way forward, so contractors could begin rebuilding their houses. More importantly, our prayers and compassion brought the love of Christ to everyone we helped.

*Debris piles lined the streets in front of Ft Myers’ homes after Hurricane Ian decimated the community.*

On my last day, as we returned to our church base camp, David asked our disaster response team to sign his Samaritan’s Purse Bible before we all went our separate ways. I was excited to do so, but disappointed that I didn’t get to say goodbye to him, as he disappeared while I was writing. After handing off David’s copy of God’s Word to another team member, I reentered the building to gather my belongings and load my car for the journey home.

*David’s Samaritan’s Purse Bible, annotated by me to him, to commemorate our time serving together after Hurricane Ian.*

Before leaving, I decided to change out of my dirty work clothes before hitting the road. Upon reentering the bathroom, I spotted my first miracle. There, on a bench outside the shower stall, sat the handcrafted toiletry bag my sister had made me. Had I not returned to change, I never would have seen it, nor would I have known it was missing until days later. In fact, I might never have found it again.

*My reflections topped the page of David’s Bible as I was the first one to sign it.*

Leaving the restrooms, I should have turned left to the parking lot and headed home.

Instead, I believe God’s angels turned me right so I would exit the building the wrong way. What makes me say so? Because it was there, outside the back of the church, in an area I had no purpose in visiting, that I heard David’s call: “Sara, I’ve been looking for you!”

As David and I smiled at one another across the campus, I waved, and he came rushing over to hug me. After doing so, he asked if he could stop by my house on his way home to Virginia – thereby forever altering my life. Had I not gone back into the building, had I not turned right instead of left after doing so, had I not gone out of a door I had no reason to exit, I might never have seen David again.

But that’s not what God wanted, for both of us.

The rest is, as they say, “history.”

So it is with God’s pursuit of all of us. From before we were born, our Heavenly Father has pursued our hearts. He longs for us to find Him and call Him Lord. Our free will allows us to pursue our own selfishness or God’s grace. The choice is always ours. He is always ready for us to walk into His open arms, to turn the corner, and pursue His faithfulness.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

“I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently find Me.” (Proverbs 8:17)

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29)

“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually!” (1 Chronicles 16:11)

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

Just as David was looking for me, I was looking for Him – without even knowing it. He was the other half of my heart that I never thought I’d find, the happiness I never thought I’d experience. We found unspeakable joy when we found each other.

So it is for all of us when we surrender to our Savior. We can only find what has been missing in our lives, the happiness beyond comprehension, the fulfillment of all that we’ve been seeking, if we invite Christ into our hearts. More than a soulmate, Jesus Christ is our soul’s eternal Savior. He’s the only one who can give us eternal life and fulfillment beyond comparison if we will turn our hearts, minds, and souls over to Him.

“I’ve been looking for you,” says God. Turn right and walk into His waiting arms. Let the angels guide you to eternal life in Christ Jesus. Surrender and be made whole. You might never find Him if you don’t seek Him. Your Heavenly Father has been waiting for you.

Never be afraid to share God’s love

By Sara | January 18, 2026

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)

Before Christmas, I was privileged to spend four days smiling, dancing, greeting, and loving my community by ringing a bell outside my local Sam’s Club to collect money for my local Salvation Army. Notice I didn’t say that I was a bellringer. I was more than that. I was a giver and receiver of love – God’s love.

While I played music and rang a bell for hours each day, I also simultaneously offered blessings to everyone who walked past me. I never asked anyone for money. I just gave love – with my energy, smiles, and joy. The donations that came in, simply because people knew my cause was worthy and recognized the Red Kettle, blew me away – every single day. In fact, my kettle was so full at the end of my first day that the local coordinator provided me with two kettles each day thereafter.

Every day, someone touched my heart and soul. There was the man who, while riding by on his scooter, stopped to tell me he was in constant pain but still wanted to give to others. After telling him that I’d pray for him, he thanked me. “Sometimes, God uses pain to get our attention,” I said. He said he knew that, confirming he gave our Savior thanks every day for the ability to keep moving.

*My Salvation Army Red Kettle was full to overflowing on the evening of my first day* *of volunteer service.*

There was the woman who told me it was her 65th birthday as she placed money in the kettle for others on her special day. I asked her if I could sing her the unique song my family has been repeating on birthdays since I was four years old. She agreed, so I showered her with “A happy birthday to you. A happy birthday to you. Every day of the year, may you find Jesus near. A happy birthday to you. A happy birthday to you. May this be your most blessed year!” When I was done, I hugged her and told her she was a blessing. She responded by saying that my simple song “made her day,” while I assured her that she had made mine!

There was also the pastor I didn’t know was a pastor, who went to his car, came back with a church newsletter, and handed it to me, saying, “You blessed me, now I want to bless you.” The newsletter featured a story he’d written, years before, talking about a classic car his father had helped him buy as a young man, and how much it meant to him. It seems that his father never expressed emotion, so he learned to withhold his feelings in the same way. When his father gave him what he perceived as an ugly, distasteful car ornament to add to the car, he withheld doing so for years, thinking he didn’t want to demean the car’s value by adding it.

Privately, he hadn’t thought about this ornament for decades, choosing to hide it just as he’d hidden his emotions. It was only when deciding to share the story in a sermon analogy that he faced the raw emotion of how we often hide our faith in Christ, never wanting to offend or demean others with His blood and sacrifice. As it turns out, the day he shared this story, his parents came to hear him preach – nearly causing him to rethink what he would openly disclose to both his congregation and father.

While urging his congregants never to be afraid of public perception, he looked over at his dad, who was wiping tears from his eyes. At that moment, the pastor left his pulpit, walked directly to his father, pulled him out of the pews, and told him he loved him. As the congregation cheered, he reminded everyone never to be afraid to show God’s love.

And so, I won’t. Whether it’s in front of Sam’s Club as I told every passerby, “God bless you” and “Merry Christmas” while playing traditional and contemporary carols, proclaiming the joy of Jesus, or by standing unafraid to tell others in my workplace how the light they see is Christ in me, we all must stand unafraid to talk to others about our Savior.

*Day 4.* *Bell ringing on Christmas Eve.*

Matthew 10:8 reminds us, “Freely you have received; freely give.” More important than filling a Red Kettle, may we generously bestow the love that Christ so sacrificially gave to us. If He could hang on a cross – stripped, broken, and bleeding to show His compassion for us – how can we give anything less to a world that so desperately needs Him?

We are the only gospel that many people will ever see – the only church they may ever know. We are Christ’s church, and everything we do should glorify our Savior and proclaim His love. This year, I am praying that God gives me more boldness, more faith, more passion for His faithfulness. I would be nothing without Christ. May I never be afraid to say so. May we all do the same.

Don’t let Satan steal your joy

By Sara | December 21, 2025

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)

“Where are you on the joy-meter?” Our pastor posed this question to our congregation last week. I could only smile in response. My life verse has always been Nehemiah 8:10, which says, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Being joyful has never been a problem for me.

I’ve discovered that being perpetually happy in Christ puzzles and perplexes people. It’s a perspective, to me, more than an emotion – and I know how blessed I am. We all know how to be lighthearted in certain situations. Finding jubilance, however, can be elusive.

Satan hates the joy we feel as Christians. He wants nothing more than to steal our exuberance and hurt our witness. We must be conscious of this reality and remain strong in the power of God’s love to prevent him from harming us. While Satan can’t revoke our salvation, he will do everything he can to alleviate our joy and hurt our witness.

Let’s start with the definition of joy. According to Merriam-Webster, joy is “a feeling of great happiness or pleasure.” Dictionary.com defines it as “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.” FreeDictionary.com describes joy as “intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness, or an instance of such feeling.”

I love that people see the joy of the Lord in me. A few weeks ago, two of the executives I support said things that humbled and encouraged me. I strive to show God’s love in everything I do. It’s not always easy, but I never forget that I represent Christ in my actions.

To start the week, one of my executives posted the following note in our leadership team chat:

“Good morning and good Monday, team. I have to share a little sunshine with you this morning (which most of us are lacking). I started watching “The Sound of Music” with my family last night, not having seen it since I was little, and realized who Sara Olson reminds me of with her incessant spreading of joy and care for all in her orbit.” She then posted a link to Julie Andrews singing the theme song for the movie.

While I thanked her for her kind message, I also commented that I was glad she defined the similarity as stemming from my desire to share happiness and encouragement, and not because she was trying to “solve a problem like Maria…”

Since the dawn of time, humankind has sought to attain this ephemeral emotion. For fun, I asked ChatGPT how many books exist in the world that talk about finding joy. In response to my query, Google estimated that there are 130+ million unique book titles stemming from this aspiration. Volumes have been written across the following genres:

Self-help
Psychology
Religion and spirituality
Philosophy
Memoir and fiction
Poetry
Children’s books

Of the millions of tomes examining this topic, only one true authority exists: God’s Word. Depending on which version one refers to, there are between 160 and 242 mentions of joy in scripture. The NIV Bible mentions the word 218 times. If we include derivatives, such as “joyful, rejoice,” and other similar words, one can find over 400 mentions throughout this holy book.

Are any of these facts surprising? As my pastor explained, “To know that our sins are forgiven, to know that we have a home in heaven, and to know that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us should be enough reasons to always fill us with joy.”

And yet, most of us walk as if we’re stuck in quicksand, with little reason to smile, let alone be happy, grateful, and joyful. As Christians, we should be different. People should look at us and see grins, not grimaces. They should see contentment, not complaints. We should emulate Christ and show compassion to others. We are heirs to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. How can we be bitter about what others have done to us when we’ve been forgiven by the Almighty Creator, through no righteous acts of our own?

All that being said, in the midst of my writing this post, last week, the Devil attacked me. For two entire days, I was caught in his web of despair, desperation, and debilitating weakness. It took me until today to thoroughly shake off the dregs of his arsenal. Even now, I am still climbing out from under it.

How did this happen? How could I let it happen? I stay prayed up, embedded in scripture, surrounded by Christian music, and devoted to God’s Word.

And yet, out of nowhere, the attack came.

David and I spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, together. We hug, pray while embracing, and share everything. We have a picture-perfect marriage – until we didn’t. Just like that, my world shattered. What started as my voiced frustration at something David shared with a neighbor that I considered private quickly escalated into a monumental meltdown of words that kept us both on edge, with little sleep, eating, or talking. I can fully attest to the fact that there’s nothing that will steal your joy faster than relationship trouble.

Words, once wielded, are weapons that inflict deeper wounds than any two-edged sword. James 3:8 reminds us that “No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” Proverbs 13:3 says, “The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”

I can fully attest to the validity of both verses. My history of abusive marriages has led me to stay as silent as possible when tensions arise. David’s family history growing up in a house where no one talked about problems has led him to become frustrated with my silence. These differences only exacerbated our difficulties and left me with painful declarations on loop in my head and new fears in my heart.

When all is said and done, each of us has a choice to make: what power are we willing to give up to Satan? Are we willing to let the Devil win, or are we going to give it all to God? I, for one, want my joy back. And so, I’m giving it to God.

Am I 100% joyful today? No. But that’s okay. I’m getting there again, little by little, with God’s help.

There is a powerful stanza in the Christmas song, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that says the following:

“And in despair I bowed my head:
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said,
‘For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.’”

But the carol doesn’t end there. Longfellow continued by proclaiming God’s power over animosity and anger in the subsequent verse:

“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.’”

Each of us has the power to focus on what is right in our lives or what is wrong. We all have trials. We all face challenges. We all must daily decide if we’re going to focus on God – or let the Devil get a foothold. Sometimes, doing so requires a strong will and determination. Philippians 4:8 reminds us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

And so, I will not let Satan steal my joy. That is my choice and doesn’t depend on anyone but me and God. It may take a moment or two longer to get my joy-meter back up to where it should be, but my Heavenly Father is right here with me, reminding me that He loves me, and that means everything to me.

At Christmas and throughout the year, I won’t let Satan steal my joy. It’s my choice – and one we all must make. After all, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” I want the world to see that joy in me – every day, all year long.

Be Still and Know that He is God

By Sara | November 30, 2025

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” (Psalm 46:10)

*View below Anna Ruby Falls, Helen, GA.*

I’ve lived in a state of exhaustion for so long that it has become my new norm. While my day job will never be my life, having a high work ethic means that my days last as long as it takes to perform my duties to my elevated standards. With seven executives to support – one of whom is a C-level officer who travels nearly every week and holds back-to-back meetings all day, every day – there is no margin for error in what I do, or a chance to slow down. Hence, I typically work 50 to 60 hours a week.

A strong need to get away, coupled with a real concern that I would lose my vacation pay for the year if I didn’t use it, led me to try to take some time off a few weeks ago. I use the word “try” as I intended to take off two and a half days but ended up working all but one.

Still, David and I were able to spend a week in the northeastern Georgia mountains while I worked – a part of the state I had always wanted to visit but never traveled to on my own. With David, everything is different – even vacations.

*Our rented cabin in the woods, Lakemont, GA.*

As we discovered for ourselves, northern Georgia boasts several state and national parks, as well as 20 lakes, forests, and numerous hiking trails that traverse tranquil forests, cascading streams, magnificent waterfalls, and breathtaking mountains. Visiting in late October also allowed us to experience the vivid colors of fall foliage – something I hadn’t encountered in Georgia in the past 15 years, having lived along the state’s coastal region.

As the mountains came into view on our drive, I confess that my spirits lightened at the prospect of escape – and our journey had just begun. Stepping out of the car at our mountain cabin was like discarding a brick-laden backpack I hadn’t even realized I’d been carrying. As we walked our dogs along the dirt road that first evening, marveling at the beauty and tranquility of our northern retreat, I remember speaking quietly to David, not wanting to disturb the placidity of the woods with the sound of my voice.

*Cascading waters below Anna Ruby Falls, Helen, GA.*

“It’s so peaceful here,” I observed. “I love the silence.”

There’s something to be said about remaining quiet when I’m outside – absorbing the beauty of God’s creation. The outdoors has always been like a sanctuary to me. It’s where I feel closest to my Creator. Anything other than the sound of nature disturbs the worship that fills my heart as I hike in the woods, kayak in the marsh, or stroll along the sand. While I frequently listen to audiobooks while I’m doing yard work, I crave noiselessness when I’m outdoors. It almost seems blasphemous to speak when all creation is singing of God’s glory.

*Woods along the Minnehaha Falls Trail, Chattahoochee National Forest, Lakemont, GA*

While it was colder than we would have liked during our getaway (in the low 50s during the day and high 20s at night), with rain and wind filling five of the seven days we were there, we still made beautiful memories in the mountains. David and I were together in the felicity of God’s forest – feeling His presence and allowing the silent perfection of our surroundings to permeate our spirits.

Sure, we lost power twice during the week we were away – once over a five-hour interval in the pitch dark of the cold woods – yet that hardly mattered. We had shelter, candles, and a fire in a freestanding stove that we could huddle around together. I will never forget the blessed getaway and the joy my heart felt as we hiked several trails alone, experiencing the serenity of silence together.

While the nature of my job will always bring stress-filled days, I know how to let it go as I serve a Savior who promised to carry all my burdens. Psalm 55:22 reminds me to, “Cast [my] cares on the Lord and He will sustain [me]; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” I know how to lay it all down at His feet, and I have no problem doing so. Every time I do, He fills me with His peace, joy, and tranquility.

*View from Black Rock Mountain along the Tennessee Rock Trail, Clayton, GA. The 80-mile view spans Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.*

Whether I’m on the beach, in the woods, hiking in the mountains, digging in my yard, or just sitting on my porch, whenever I take the time to be still, I always feel God’s presence beside me. Nothing on earth is as powerful as our silent Creator, whose omnipotence will always speak more power than any trepidation the world may thrust upon us.

Chaos will always call. It’s up to us to silence the voice of disquietude and listen to our Almighty Father, instead. As the Psalmist, King David, told us, “Be still and know that [He] is God.” (chapter 46, verse 10). Our trip to the mountains serves as proof of the same.

*David and I basked in the grandeur of God’s love as we sat alongside Minnehaha Falls in Tiger, GA.*

God did it

By Sara | October 12, 2025

“You thrill me, Lord, with all You have done for me! I sing for joy because of what You have done.” (Psalm 92:4)

On October 9, 2022, I embarked on a journey that would forever alter my life in ways I never could have imagined. In a blog entitled, “Here Am I. Send Me,” I detailed the doors God opened that led me to assist Samaritan’s Purse after Hurricane Ian decimated Ft. Myers, FL. Through prayerful surrender, I know my Creator led me to demonstrate His love to those who had suffered immeasurable losses following this natural disaster. The more I gave, the more joy I received. God’s love is like that. He’s still giving back to me, to this day.

In a later blog post, dated December 31, 2022, entitled “Surrender – Samaritan’s Purse Deployment, Part 7,” I described what came next. “On October 12, 2022, Sara Victoria Christiansen and David Robert Olson had a divine appointment to meet on a Hurricane Ian disaster relief bus while serving Christ through Samaritan’s Purse (SP). What began as an act of total surrender has blossomed into a love story to span the ages.”

David and I posed with our Samaritan’s Purse team in October 2022 in front of the home of Herm and Nancy in Ft. Myers, FL. (David is in the back row, second from the right. I am on the far right, front row.)

Three years later, the love that David and I feel for one another is stronger than ever. My stomach still does a quick flip when David smiles at me ardently upon entering the room. We both sigh with contentment when we “huggle” (an original David and Saraism, meaning a combination of hugging and snuggling) while watching TV, falling asleep, and waking up together. We still pray with our arms wrapped around each other at every meal. We work together on chores such as cooking, washing dishes, and yard work on a regular basis. And I must say that, for someone who has always been a loner, my experience being a part of “Team Olson” is pretty spectacular.

But where does all this affection come from? What is our secret?

The answer is simple: God. Matthew 19:26 reminds us that “With God, all things are possible.”

David and I have never been alone in our relationship. From the very beginning, God has always been right here with us. It is His love that surrounds us, first and foremost. It is His strength that keeps us strong. Ecclesiastes 4:11-13 explains this principle this way, “If two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

“We met on a church bus,” David and I often tell others before beginning the story of how God brought the two of us together. We fell in love while serving our Savior. We were both dirty, sweaty, unpretentious people who saw each other in the truest light possible. There is no falsehood when you’re serving Christ in a disaster zone.

David and I joke that we courted in Home Depot, while picking up supplies to help a husband and wife whose home David was rebuilding for them after the hurricane. In my Turning Trials Into Triumph – Samaritan’s Purse Deployment, Part 6 blog post, I explained how all of this came to be.

“We serve a risen Savior who will always turn our trials into triumphs,” I wrote, “We have only to surrender all the pieces of our broken puzzles for our Divine Creator to put us back together again.”

*David and I volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse in Ft. Meyers, FL the day after he proposed to me – on Dec. 13, 2022.*

And so, here David and I are today: still as much in love as we were when God brought us together. We may not have known at the time of our initial meeting that we loved one another, but God did. He knew before we were born that we were destined to be together. He knew that we had to get through all the mud and muck of our messy lives to learn, grow, and become the people that now fit together like two proverbial peas in a pod. Had we met earlier, we might not have been the people who could have fallen in love so quickly. I might not have responded to David’s proposal, just two short months after we met, “A million, trillion, kabillion times ‘Yes!’” had God not made David the man he is now.

And David might not have known I was the one for him had he, too, not seen me showing God’s love in Florida. We both had to be there, at that moment, in total surrender to our Creator, for everything to come together the way it did.

*Three years post-meeting, David and I broke out our SP shirts to celebrate the occasion by “huggling” on the couch.*

As “Jesus [is] the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), so, too, He is the author and finisher of our love story. Without prayer, David and I wouldn’t be as close as we are. And without our daily commitment to reading God’s Word, we wouldn’t be growing stronger in our faith and commitment to our Savior.

The truth is, there are three participants in our marriage: David, me, and God. Our Creator keeps us strong. He keeps us faithful – to Him and to each other. He guides us in our actions toward one another and to Him. He “keep(s) [our] tongues from evil and [our] lips from telling lies.” (Psalm 34:14)

*Even at a church luncheon, David and I always sit close and take photos with our heads touching.* (October 12, 2025)

We “Trust in the Lord with all [our] hearts, and do not lean on [our] own understanding. In all [our] ways [we] acknowledge him, and He [makes] straight [our] paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

David and I are two imperfect people – but we have God and each other, which means we have everything we need. Because of Christ, we both know love, true love, like we’ve never known before.

I bought a sign at an estate sale years ago that graces the upper wall of our screened porch. While David and I have straightened the sign numerous times, it always seems to shift and hang crooked above our seating area. It’s too high on the wall to straighten without bringing a ladder inside to do so. Truthfully, I like its crooked positioning as it’s emblematic of our lives. The sign reads, “We may not have it all together, but together, we have it all.”

*Our perpetually crooked sign hangs on the wall of our screen porch.*

With Christ as our center, tethered around us, we do have it all. He doesn’t ask us to be perfect. He asks us to give everything to Him.

David and I don’t know what God has in store for the rest of our days, but we know He does – and that’s enough for us. We trust Him, completely. He’s brought us this far, and He will see us through.

If the World Hated Me, It Will Also Hate You

By Sara | September 28, 2025

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.'” (John 15:18-27)

It finally dawned on me why there is so much toxic vitriol directed at Charlie Kirk. It’s not about the man who stood fearlessly for his faith, freedom, and family at college campuses across our country. Ultimately, this is all about God.

From the moment a sniper’s bullet hit Kirk, many people celebrated this violent act. Videos of people clapping, cheering, and celebrating the death of a 31-year-old father, husband, and Christian man are visible all across social media. When word spread that Charlie was dead, the evil rhetoric didn’t end – in fact, it intensified. The more Kirk’s friends, associates, and even our president lauded him, the more people seemed to justify their hatred of this conservative leader.

Where does all this anger come from? How can so many people find it acceptable to celebrate the death of someone they didn’t even know? Is this all about Charlie’s political views, or is it more about his Biblical stances?

Charlie Kirk was a man of God. He spoke unashamedly about Biblical truths related to traditional marriage. Charlie attested to the spiritual, mental, and emotional values of celebrating one’s God-given gender and living in a traditional, heterosexual marriage. Unfortunately, such talk in today’s cultural environment is considered by many to be a form of hate speech. In fact, had Charlie espoused such beliefs in the U.K., he could have been arrested and incarcerated for simply sharing Biblical concepts in a public setting, as Pastor John Sherwood was. In fact, a recent Telegraph article, published on Sept. 3, 2025, details how an average of over 30 people are being arrested daily in the U.K. for violating new hate speech laws. Their “crimes” include such things as praying outside abortion facilities, using the wrong pronoun for trans individuals, or even posting negative information about one’s boss.

Photo credit: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/03/the-victims-of-britains-free-speech-crackdown

According to PreventHate.org, Section 4 of the U.K. Public Order Act 1986 makes it illegal to use “words or behaviors that are threatening, abusive, or insulting and that are likely to cause annoyance, alarm, or distress to another person.” Such a perceived offense can be deemed criminal under these new laws – a frightening concept.

Political correctness now means that anything less than complete acceptance of who, what, and how others are living may be deemed hateful by others, to the point where such perceived “hate” is legally worthy of arrest, incarceration, or even – in Kirk’s case – death.

Although this anger is being manifested at a man who can no longer defend himself, logically speaking, the one they’re angry at is God. The outcry may be perceived to be against Charlie, yes. But Kirk’s stances were our Creator’s. His arguments were intended to spark debate and encourage others to delve deeper into God’s Word. To argue with Kirk is to rage against the wisdom of the Almighty.

Charlie spoke only what God’s word tells anyone who reads the Holy Scriptures. Anything outside of God’s grace is sinful. We’re all sinners in need of a savior. That’s the gospel truth. It may be uncomfortable, but that doesn’t make it any less accurate.

Aaron Edwards, a theology professor at Cliff College in England and father of five, knows a thing or two about being hated for taking a Biblical stance against homosexuality. After warning his peers about accepting a 2023 vote to accept same-sex marriage within the British Methodist church, he was suspended, fired, and ultimately evicted from his home. School officials also threatened to report him to the U.K.’s anti-terrorism office, Prevent.

Similarly, Bernard Randall, Christian chaplain at the Church of England (CofE), was reported to Prevent and ultimately forced out of his role for “telling students in a chapel sermon that it was OK to question LGBTQ ideology.” Randall told Christian Concern, “My story sends a message to other Christians that you are not free to talk about your faith. It seems it is no longer enough to just ‘tolerate’ LGBT ideology. You must accept it without question, and no debate is allowed without serious consequences. Someone else will decide what is and what isn’t acceptable, and suddenly you can become an outcast, possibly for the rest of your life.”

In Kirk’s case, as with these British clergymen, there was never any rebuke or directive, telling anyone how to live. Instead, all three of these men urged anyone who would listen to consult with God’s guidebook – the Bible – to obtain that advice. Repeating such wisdom isn’t hateful. It’s loving. It’s up to each of us, individually, to determine whether we want to read, heed, and obey God’s Word. Since people like Kirk’s killer can’t go after God for His message, they’re more than happy to attack people like Kirk for being a spokesperson for the same.

The amount of kindness, decency, patience, and love we demonstrate in sharing this message doesn’t seem to matter. Anything less than total acceptance of an alternate opinion is deemed hateful in today’s culture.

Worse than that, many have been conditioned to perceive the lack of acceptance as worthy of death. To put it more bluntly, anyone who stands for God rather than humanity doesn’t deserve to live. They deserve a bullet. They will reap what they sow. These messages and more have been circulating since Kirk’s death, and they are a sad testament to the degradation of our society.

The good news is that God’s love is more powerful than evil. It is a consuming fire. The devil may think he won the day by wreaking havoc, mayhem, and death across our nation with the recent slew of terror attacks against Christians, but all he’s done is empower those of us who see past our present traumas to God’s all-knowing purpose in bringing good out of every evil act. Over the past few months, Satan spurred Tyler Robinson into firing a bullet into the neck of Charlie Kirk in September, Robin Westman into killing two children and injuring 18 more at a Minneapolis Catholic school in August, and Thomas Jacob Sanford to drive his car through the front doors of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Michigan on Sunday, September 28^th. Following his crash, Sanford began randomly shooting into the congregation of over 100 people, killing two and critically injuring another. Two additional victims later died in an ensuing fire set by Stanford, which also decimated the church building.

These acts of terror were seemingly enacted against those whose only perceived crimes were being Christian. It’s up to the rest of us to stand firm in our faith and demonstrate forgiveness in the face of such evil.

Kirk’s legacy, beliefs, and desire to show courage in the face of hate will live on forever. Charlie’s willingness to speak truth and love to a world filled with lies and deception is no longer just his mission. We are all Charlie Kirk now.

Even more critical than following in Kirk’s footsteps, we must model ourselves after Christ. If we must emulate anyone, it should be Jesus. Let us, as Christians, go forward in faith, remembering the one who died on a cross in demonstration of His love for us. The world hated Christ, just as they hated Charlie – and all Christians around the world. Now, more than ever, we can’t let hatred stop us from showing God’s love to those who need a Savior.

Dr. Ben Carson reminded those viewing Kirk’s memorial service that an assassin may have ended Kirk’s life at 12:24 pm, but the gospel of John tells us in chapter 12, verse 24 that “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Drawing from this parallel, we can take comfort in knowing that many more lives will be committed to a greater purpose in living for Christ as a result of witnessing Kirk’s testimony – in life and in death.

Psalm 56:4 reminds us, “In God I will praise His Word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” Let us all stand firmly for Christ – no matter the cost.

The world hated Jesus, and it will also hate us. Let us always show love and forgiveness in return. After all, they will know we are Christians by our love.

Author: Sara