the thing about worship…

…today it’s my ‘stick it’ to the enemy.

as a worshipper and worship leader, i am hardwired to see my life through worship-tinted glasses. worship is adoration to my amazing saviour, clinging to my safe and comforting father, thankfulness for my god’s great love. and sometimes it is my weapon, my battle cry and my rebellious screaming and hitting of the air. a rebellion against an enemy who wants to destroy me.

back story: i have a bulging disc in my l5/s1 vertebrae that has cause intense and chronic nerve pain for over a year now. i was due to have surgery last week. it has been postponed twice due to emergency surgeries taking priority and the bureaucracy of the nhs. my mom has flown over from the states to help post-op. except i am still pre-op. this momma has been stressed, discouraged, despairing and highly anxious.

i called in some troops yesterday for support. my two sweet friends sat either side of me on my couch. one holding my hand, the other with her hand on my head and we worshipped. we worshipped together and i cried and connected. i connected with my dad. my father who loves me and knows me and loves my kids and has plans for me and is always working things to my good. he is amazing. i freaking love him and i am his. and he has my back and he is taking care of it. the lightness i felt at the end of that time was amazing. the peace was intoxicating.

i had forgotten. had been listening to the enemies doubts and my own fears of not being taken care of. i was being taken down. but not anymore.

worship is my weapon!

what do i do when i have prayed the same prayer for a week now? (god, please either heal me or get me into surgery!) what do you say to him when you know he heard and you know he is taking care of it but you dont know anything else? you worship. you tell him why you love him. you sit with him. you choose his joy over despair. you stick your middle finger up at the enemy and say, ‘i am going to worship through this’. so there.

try your best, im his and that aint changin. i am going to praise him through my confusion and choose trust over fear and i am going to be happy and joyful because i am his. and he is the best dad, in the whole world.

huzzah!

sarah

happy music monday

or tuesday. i’m a day late. on my unofficial feature. clearly one night of meal planning does not, an organised girl, make.

anywho.

in the land of emo and melancholy brit rock, i long for happy music. you know, like mmmbop…sike! ha. not, like mmmbop, but you know what i mean. music that sticks in your head for hours, makes you involuntarily sing along and generally uplifts your day just for listening.

here are my favourite, ‘turn up loud, roll down your windows and sing at the top of your lungs’ songs. enjoy!

flo rids-good feeling

cee lo green-forget you

eliza doolittle-pack up

paloma faith-upside down

we’ve gotten real

i have been researching and reading and planning like crazy and still feel totally unprepared for the journey i started today. but today, the oliver’s, well we got real. real food that is. we are making the transition. i have been unhappy with our eating habits ever since we had kids and have gone from avoiding it due to the overwhelming stress of it all, to ditching wheat and dairy and then eating butter and cheese pasta the next day. it has been a mess really, but i think i have found a path that i feel super happy about. it is healthy and enjoyable and although its not fast, it isn’t too terribly slow and complicated either.

so this is what the plan is: we are going to eat animal products from happy animals that get to live the way they were meant to live, we are going to ditch all processed/refined foods and we are going to soak our grains before eating. here is my day today…

breakfast: soaked baked oatmeal

snack: apple and raw cheese slices

lunch: sourdough cornbread cheese muffins

snack: kefir smoothie

dinner: outdoor reared chipolata sausages and baby new potato salad

at 1pm its so far so good! the kids have eaten most of their food and i haven’t melted down with all the changes. awesome.

i’ll be posting my recipes as and when i find oliver approved ones that are worth sharing. if you are interested in my resources i have been researching here, here and here and have been reading sally fallon’s book, nourishing traditions. it is truly awesome. i might even do a book report soon….if i ever leave my kitchen!