Sarah B Anderson

How To Talk About Faith When You Aren’t So Sure Yourself

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Apr 19, 2018 | Faith, Parenting, Personal Growth | 0

In the Jewish tradition, when someone is named, it’s believed that the essence of who that person is, is being named and drawn out. It’s why Adam’s name is a play on the Hebrew word for Earth, having been made from the dust of the Earth, and why Abram, a name meaning exalted father, is changed to Abraham, meaning a father of a multitude, after God tells him of the descendents he’ll have outnumbering the stars in the sky. I’m not Jewish, but I’ve always liked this idea, and when it came time to name my own two boys,...

Why I (kinda) Get Judas

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Mar 28, 2018 | Faith, Personal Growth | 0

A few days ago, in preparation for the start of the Holy Week and the arrival of Easter, I read the story told in John 12, of Jesus being in Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, six days before the start of Passover. The story takes place at the beginning of Holy Week marking the slow descent to Golgatha where Jesus knows what waits for Him, where it’s just a matter of time before the crowds’ approval turns. With all of this on His mind, Jesus is sitting at the table eating a meal with His friends,...

12 Years In: How Marriage Is [And Isn’t] What I Thought It Would Be

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Mar 8, 2018 | Marriage, Personal Growth | 0

In the classic romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally, at the end, after decades of bad relationships and bad timing and bad breakups when Harry chases down Sally at a New Year’s Eve party and they finally realize they belong together, Harry says: “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to begin as soon as possible.” * * * We took pictures together before our wedding ceremony. I realize that bucks against tradition a little bit. That there is something about that moment when the...

What’s Love Got To Do With Lent

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Feb 13, 2018 | Faith, Marriage, Personal Growth | 0

In our house we like to say, “Expectations are just preplanned resentments.” There’s a reason it’s become a familiar line. Because I tend to live with high expectations, around holidays especially. My birthday, Christmas, our anniversary and Valentine’s Day—all great days rife with almost unlimited potential to be ruined by my unrealistically high and poorly communicated desires for the day. The thing about Valentine’s Day especially is, I am not a romantic in the traditional sense. I don’t love stuffed animals partnered with a box of chocolates. I like flowers, but a bouquet from Trader Joe’s is just as...

On Women and Jesus

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Jan 24, 2018 | Culture, Faith, Ministry, Personal Growth | 0

I was a senior in high school when a male youth leader told me I needed to work on my “gentle and quiet spirit”—a direct quote taken from a letter the apostle Peter wrote to the New Testament Church. He may have had a point. I was loud and outspoken and maybe a little unruly. A group of friends and I had been kicked out of a fast food restaurant for being all of those things—and not so gentle or quiet—a few months before. So, his remark wasn’t completely unfounded. But still. The part of me that got a...