Posted in General Posts by Sidney Ann Fowler on 4/22/2012
I Shall Worship With My Feet!!!
This morning I was sitting in church, and the title of our sermon was "Worshiping With Your Feet". Rev. Lauren Conrad closed the sermon with the idea that sincerity is not religious talk, but religious walk. We must put our feet where our mouthes are! My last blog post was titled "Are You A Player or a Pew Warmer?", and it focused on assuming the roles that we as christians are called to as being members of the church. The sermon this morning was parallel to my previous blog post, because we were challenged to stop talking and start helping. Stop saying you want to be like Jesus, and start following Him. You have to move in order to play!
This morning, Rev. Conrad used Mother Teresa to illustrate this exact point. Mother Teresa was running late to the National Hunger Initiative Conference, an opportunity for people from all over the world who are passionate about feeding the needy could come together to brainstorm how they could be more effective. On her way into the building she sees a man sitting outside dying of hunger, so she acted and fed the man. Later that week a woman asked if she could give the majority of her savings to Mother Teresa's cause, and instead of taking the woman's money, Mother Teresa led her to a homeless and starving child and asked her to simply take care of the child. This changed the lives of the hurting child and the woman.
We often find ourselves stuck in the "discussion of ideas phase", or we allow the act of giving money to be sufficient instead of taking time to really do something. You must start moving!
I have chosen to get moving by abandoning my comfortable life and worshipping with my feet all so that God's will may be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. I encourage you to do the same! Volunteer for a day in the soup kitchen, join a cause, or serve in any other capacity where you could lend a helping hand! By the grace of God, my feet will carry me through Bulgaria, Romania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala sharing the gospel and helping those who are hurting and are in need! I shall worship HIM with my feet!!!!!
Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
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Posted in General Posts by Sidney Ann Fowler on 4/18/2012
I was challenged to write 100 facts about myself by a fellow teammate, so here we go:
1. I often eat popcorn as meals.
2. I listen to music SUPER loud
3. My favorite color is black
4. I received best in archery at summer camp… I went to camp for like 7 years and then was a camp counselor
5. My camp’s name is Camp Pinnacle and the Disney movie Heavy Weight’s was filmed here…. Yes, I have walked where Ben Stiller walked… it is my claim to fame!
6. I have my advanced license for scuba diving, and am almost a master diver.
7. I sleep with a pink elephant named Flatso.
8. I hate pulling things out of the oven.
9. I am an animated talker.
10. My hair is ALWAYS in a side ponytail.
11. I love playing tennis.
12. I love love love the lake!
13. Well, actually, I love anything that includes a body of water.
14. Hiking and the mountains are my jam.
15. I have blue eyes.
16. I am terrible at bowling, yet I love it.
17. I am currently taking a shotgun class. (Welcome to South Carolina!)
18. I lived in Italy for a semester.
19. I like to cook, but I find it takes too much time.
20. I am extremely close to my family.
21. I live in Chacos.
22. I took ballet for 12 years.
23. In Beauty and the Beast ballet performance, I was Chip.
24. Beauty and the Beast was my favorite Disney movie when I was little.
25. I once asked my mom what I had to do for the handsome prince to choose me at age 4.
26. I am so HOT natured!
27. I am a Tri Delt.
28. One of my favorite things in the world is to work at FCA camps.
29. I enjoy running.
30. I am training for a half marathon!
31. I have two hidden talents that will remain hidden until we meet!
32. I do not tan; therefore I like to call my skin color fluorescent beige.
33. I love to paint.
34. My major is Management with emphasis in Entrepreneur and Leadership studies and support in Marketing.
35. I am a morning person! Once I am up, I am up!
36. I am kind of an old lady: I love old tv shows, going to sleep early, and hot tea.
37. My favorite Christmas present was my awesome teakettle. What’s up is it whistles!
38. I got so sunburned at Disney World’s Blizzard Beach that it is now referred to as blister beach!
39. Riding with my windows down is a daily thing for me!
40. Sometimes I like to just drive through the country.
41. I LOVE REAL FIRES!!!!!!
42. I once decided I would have a yard sale: I sold our cat, my brother’s signed Hank Aaron baseball, my mom’s gold bracelet, and many other treasures that were not mine!
43.Watching the Olympics is one of my favorite things.
44. I collect crosses.
45. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
46. My mom and I listen to Christmas music all year round.
47. My favorite foods are as follows: Sushi, Dill Pickles, Cabbage, and Sandwiches.
48. I watch Friends every night while falling asleep!
49. My life is basically stamped with my monogram… I blame my mother!
50. I have a chocolate lab named Dixie and a cat named Doger.
51. I once had a bird named Jimmy Buffet, but he had a heart attack.
52. I listen to all kinds of music: My ipod looks like 15 different people of all ages combined their music together.
53. I have recently been listening to A LOT of classic rock.
54. I love flowers.
55. I LOVE the ATLANTA BRAVES!
56. I have a new found love for Milk! I bet my bones are stronger than yours!
57. I made a 100 on my last test in College! (shhh I am brilliant!- Amanda Bines in She’s the Man)
58. I am obsessed with the movie She’s the Man.
59. I fall asleep very easily.
60. I LOVE to ENO!
61. I really really want to learn to play the piano!
62. I once stole a street sign, felt so guilty, and then returned it!
63. Diet Coke=Water
64. I love candles.
65. My prime thinking happens in the bathtub.
66. I was born on Friday the 13th and turned 13 on Friday the 13th…. So I bet you can guess……
67. My lucky number is 13!!!!
68. Jesus Loves Me!
69. I drive up to an outdoor chapel in the mountains called Pretty Place to watch the sunrise on a regular basis.
70. This past summer my Dad surprised me with a daddy-daughter date and took me to the exact spot where he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior at age 12.
71. I love going to the movies.
72. I love white water kayaking, and I went off a 50 ft waterfall.
73. My brother and I look like polar opposites.
74. My nose is the only bone in my body I have broken. I broke it when I tripped running up the stairs.
75. I enjoy sitting on the back porch and drinking a glass of wine.
76. I love watching the sunset over the lake.
77. I love being rubbed!!!!!!
78. I rarely get sick, but when I do, I really get sick.
79. I love catching crabs at the beach!
80. I love buying books and the bookstore experience more than actually reading them.
81. I DO NOT enjoy Bumble Bees.
82. I drive a trailblazer named Henry.
83. I LOVE to NAME THINGS! New car… new name. New any object… New name
84. I am the seventh generation Sidney in my family, and am named after my grandmother.
85. I LOVE THE RAIN! Thunderstorms are the BOMB.
86. I would love to attend seminary.
87. I make loads of to-do lists.
88. I am terrible at science!
89. My favorite card game is rummy.
90. I really like elephants.
91. I say “Bless You” to myself when I sneeze.
92. I love being put to sleep for surgery.
93. Laughter is an hourly must!
94. I love to lie in the grass and look at the stars.
95. I cannot do a cartwheel.
96. I once won the bubble gum blowing contest of Greenwood, SC.
97. I think Boston is way cooler than New York.
98. I want to get an English Setter when I get back from the World Race.
99. I am SO excited to be going on the World Race.
100. I cannot wait to meet my amazing new teammates!!!!!!!
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Posted in General Posts by Sidney Ann Fowler on 2/23/2012
Are You A Player or A Pew Warmer???
During my time in Florence, Italy God taught me about the meaning of being called to the Church, why we are a part of it, and what it looks like. I have spent the majority of my life as a member at First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood, and I knew that I loved it, going to church was very important, and ultimately, it was the "norm" for me. Being a member of the Church is far more significant than I understood, and the Lord began unveiling His purpose for the Church to me on a warm night in the Piazza Del Duomo in Firenze.
As I was walking home through Florence's main square, I began looking up at the Duomo, the largest cathedral in Florence, and I began thinking, what a shame! What a shame that hundreds of thousands of people enter these cathedrals every day, and yet the majority of people who enter the house of God do not meet Jesus! These cathedrals have become art galleries and historical buildings on display, where camera flashes are not welcome and loud talking is prohibited.
The next day I was having my quiet time in a Chinese restaurant down the street from my house, when the man next to me begins asking questions. The man is a plastic surgeon from Brazil, and He asked me if I was translating the bible. I found this to be hilarious, because sometimes I copy my favorite scripture down in my journal and the next thing I know, I have copied an entire chapter! However, this time around I was simply paraphrasing and writing my thoughts to help with scripture memory! The man and I enter a conversation about many different stories in the bible! After he linked 4 different passages of scripture to the 1 I was reading, I started thinking this man must really know God. When he was almost finished talking, he asked me if I went to church. Of course I said yes, and I even got so excited and told him of the AMAZING church I found in Florence. He shook his head and said that he didn't believe in the church, that it was corrupt, and one day I would understand. I was flabbergasted! One day I would understand? I didn't believe him! I began sharing various scripture with him.
One of which being Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Unfortunately, he had so much bitterness towards the church that his heart was hardened, but I often think of him and pray for him.
This man was not the only person I met who felt this way! Just about everyone I spoke with in restaurants, on the streets, and on trains said they believe in God, but not the church. So, where have we, the church, gone wrong? Why are people turned away, and why are hundreds of thousands of people not meeting Jesus everyday when they enter through the doors? So I began assessing not only myself, but also the members who fill the seats and pews of churches. It comes down to this question: Are you a player or a pew warmer? Tommy Nelson, the pastor of Denton Bible Church, addressed his congregation by asking them 2 questions.
1. Are you going to heaven or hell? For those of you who said hell, we will get there in just a minute, but for those of you who said heaven, I have another question for you.
2. When you get to heaven and God asks why He should let you in, what would you say? For those of you who are saying because I did this and this and this, you are probably not a christian. You can go church, read your bible, and even pray, but that is not who a christian is, that is what a christian does. A christian is someone who believes they are a black hearted sinner and no matter what they do, they will always fall short to the glory of God. But our God loves us so much that He did everything in His power to change that. That is who a christian is, and once you are who a christian is then you can do what a christian does.
We constantly get this order mixed up, because in the "Bible Belt" it is socially acceptable to be a christian. We fill churches, but our hearts are not where they need to be. We are so consumed with checking off everything on the "spiritual checklist" that we are not assuming the role of which God calls us to as members of the body of Christ. If every person who claimed to be a christian actually stepped up and assumed that role, Christianity would be the fastest growing religion in the world. Take note, this is not about numbers, it is about hearts and the difference between death and eternal life.
So what now? GET IN THE GAME! Stop being a pew warmer and step up to bat! My teammates and I are going on the World Race as the church, and we will humbly walk through 11 countries pointing to the cross at the head of the church. We are rising up and playing the game; are you?
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Posted in General Posts by Sidney Ann Fowler on 2/6/2012
Join Me!!!
My most recent task in becoming closer to leaving for the World Race has been writing, stuffing, and mailing support letters! I think my tongue may permanently taste like an envelope seal! As I have been addressing many of the envelopes, I realized that all of these people know me and have seen me grow up, but not all of them may know how the Lord has been moving in my life the past 4 years. THIS IS MEGA IMPORTANT TO KNOW!!!! I want people to understand how specifically called I am to the World Race and carrying the Lord's children to the feet of His son, Jesus Christ! So, I have put together a video that shows a slight glimpse into where I stand in my walk with Christ! I would absolutely love to speak personally with anyone who sees this video or reads my blog and wants to know more about what the Lord is specifically doing in my life!
Join Me! from Sidney Ann Fowler on Vimeo.
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Posted in General Posts by Sidney Ann Fowler on 11/23/2011
MOTIVATE ME!
According to the English Dictionary, the word MOTIVATION means desire to do, interest or drive; incentive or inducement.
My current prayer is for MOTIVATION.
MOTIVATION for God's word, my relationships with others, my school work, this blog, etc.
I desire to have a crazy deep hunger for God's word. I want to grow more and more hungry every single day. I want God to put a drive in my heart that is never satisfied or content! I want to be motivated to remain on my toes, ready to jump into what He has in store for me in life and in His word. I get into the word, but I want to go deeper. I desire that and my prayer is that the Lord intensifies that desire and motivates me to do it!
I want to have motivation for my relationships with others. I want to be driven to go deeper and deeper with people. I desire to invest into others. I am great at investing for a little while and then getting busy. I want to make the kind of investment in people that says I am in it for the long hall!!!
My school work.... well lets face it, every college student needs motivation for this one.
This blog. Truth be told, I am the most inconsistent blogger I think the internet has ever seen. However, I want to have the desire to blog about the insanely awesome things the Lord is doing in my life!
So right now, one of my main prayers is MOTIVATION, and the Lord is blowing my mind! I am learning so much from His word, and it is so filling yet it keeps me wanting more! I have been working on following through with my relationships with others. The Lord is motivating me to love when it is hard, find time when there is none, and to show people that I am in this for the long hall. The Lord is also motivating me in my school work! Good grades=graduation, and graduation=WORLD RACE!!! Instead of spending hours on facebook, I complete my school work so I can get in the word or spend time with others! It is awesome! Having good time management skills is one of the greatest things. As for the motivation for this blog, yep, I am totally blogging right now!
So my challenge for who ever is reading this post is to get motivated! Lets get motivated together! Motivated to share the gospel to everyone we meet. Motivated to be the Church. Motivated to invest in people. Motivated to be the child of God that we are called to be. The Lord gives us the tools. We have His Holy Spirit, our testimonies, and His written word; lets use them! Pray for motivation to get up and get moving to be a disciple!
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Posted in General Posts by Sidney Ann Fowler on 9/25/2011
Tonight in church we began singing the worship song Blessed Be Your Name. Incase you are not familiar with this tune, the words of the chorus are:
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your Glorious Name
You give and take away, You give and take away!
My heart will choose to say, Blessed be your name!
My heart suddenly began skipping beats, because this song could not be a greater illustration of the feeling in my heart! I am currently living across the Atlantic Ocean in Florence, Italy following the Lord! I have honestly loved every single moment that I have spent here, and I would not choose to go home early if I was offered a first class ticket! This city is so beautiful, yet so lost! My academic advisor (who totally and completely loves Jesus!!!) told me that the people here do not like to speak of Christ. Talk about a mission field! In my previous blog post I mentioned that I know the Lord has led me to Italy for a specific reason. Now, I do not completely know that reason, but I would like to share with you some of the things the Lord has already revealed to me and how it is all preparing me for the world race!
Everything I am learning can be summed up in the simple words of the previously mentioned song Blessed Be Your Name. The Lord has given so much to me since I have been here, and He has taken away. At the end of everyday, my heart will choose to say blessed be the Lord's name!
I took a day trip to Sienna with my new roommates and new friends. We were in the museo for the Duomo looking at a beautiful painting that was composed of several smaller paintings. Each small painting was depicting a story in the bible. The picture in the center of this masterpiece depicted the crucifixion. I was sitting next to my new Jewish friend while gazing wide eyed at each piece, when she asked me about the picture of the three crosses. While sitting in the museum in Sienna I shared the entire gospel with a girl who had never heard the story of the crucifixion. THE LORD GIVES! He gave me power, boldness, and used the Holy Spirit to speak through me! It was such an incredible blessing, words can hardly describe!
During my time here, my great grandmother has passed away, my parents have sold our house and are moving in less than 2 weeks, and my brother accidentally hit our dog while backing out of the driveway! So, THE LORD GIVES AND TAKES AWAY, but BLESSED BE HIS NAME!!! My Nanny Gore is singing praises to Him in heaven, and that itself is an incredible gift and blessing! Of course I miss her very much, but I know without a shadow of a doubt I will be seeing her again one day! The Lord has also taught me so much about our REAL home! When I first received the shocking news of our house being sold I was upset, but the Lord quickly reminded me that my house in Greenwood, SC is not really my home. I will never go home, until I enter heaven and meet my maker face to face! As for my sweet puppy Brandy, please pray hard for her! She is currently stable, but the vet said the true test will be if she makes it through the night! Tonight I told God that He gives and takes away, and no matter what happens I will shout Blessed be HIS name!!! I told you, the song really sums up how I am feeling!
All of this is preparing me for the race in so many ways, and I am positive this is just the beginning! There is a cost for following Jesus. Matthew 8 is the story of the man who wants to follow Jesus, but asks if he can burry his dead father first. Jesus replied, "Let the dead burry the dead". I am following Jesus now, and will still be on the race! While on the race, I will miss holidays, funerals, moving, etc, but those are all worldly things! I would choose everyday of the year to miss those things if it meant completely abandoning the ways of this world to follow Jesus! There are also times that I will want my family, but the Lord has taught me that He is my father and is always here! He has also shown me that were there is one fellow believer, there is a brother or sister! This is something that I have known, but it is completely different knowing it than living it! Here in Florence, I have found an incredible body of believers who have opened their arms to me, making me one of the family!
So the Lord does give and take away, but even when He takes away He gives. The Lord has taught me so much during my time here in Italy, and I wish I could write into words everything. I am growing in my relationship with the Lord in ways I had never expected, and I trust the Lord 110% in everything! Every morning when I wake up, I leave my life at the foot of the cross not knowing where the Lord will lead me throughout the day, but I follow Him without fear for I am walking in the light!
One Love,
Sidney Ann
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Posted in General Posts by Sidney Ann Fowler on 8/26/2011
In the past year I have been in a learning and growth period of life! I knew that the Lord had plans for me in Italy this fall semester (I am boarding my plane in a few hours!) and that He wanted me to be apart of something that would help change the world through the gospel, but I had know earthly idea what it was! I began to want to skip time, and skip to the part of my life when the Lord was "really going to use me". The Lord quickly told me otherwise! He revealed to me that we are not promised another day, minute, or breath so why do we live for it? We are called to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and that end is where we all stand daily! I am called to make disciples in my own community! Yes, I was in a learning period of life, because the Lord was equipping me with knowledge that I needed to be able to complete the tasks now set before me! My spiritual growth from this past year has been immeasurable, and now looking back, I would not fast forward through that time to save my life! This past summer, I was writing in my journal when the Lord revealed something else to me: Our lives are just like a 500 piece puzzle!
Ok so imagine you have just dumped out this puzzle on a table. This is you being born! Well when working a puzzle the first thing you do is to find all of the edges and put them together! This is forming your personality, and what fits in your life and what doesn't. For instance: I am terrible at biology and anything science related! Seriously, if I ever become a doctor, NEVER bring your children or anyone you love to see me... They will die! So needless to say, any and everything science related is not in my puzzle!
Every puzzle also has four corners:
1 2
3 4
If you were told that corner 1 will connect with corner 4, wouldn't you try your hardest to make them fit? They really go on opposite sides of the puzzle, but you do not know that because you do not get to cheat by looking at the box cover! So you will waste so much time trying to make two pieces fit that clearly are not meant to be linked together until later down the road! We may start at 1 and the Lord wants us to end at 4, but He cannot just tell us that because we would skip over everything in between! Also notice that every single piece links either directly or through other pieces! This is similar to our lives, because everything that happens in our lives has the purpose of bridging or connecting to something else!
The next thing we do when working a puzzle is to sort and group the pieces that have the same colors and begin working from there. Imagine our puzzle having bright colorful houses, and each house represents a different stage of our life. In my life, the blue house is when I took dance for 12 years from a ballet teacher who loved the Lord with her whole heart! She planted so many seeds in my heart during that time that I now see and understand because I am piecing together my orange house while at Clemson, a time that my faith is exploding!
I am so excited to begin a new chapter of my life today as I step onto the plane and head across the Atlantic Ocean! I cannot wait to see how knowledge the Lord equips me with in the next 4 months will be applied to the 11 that I will spend on the race!
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