An Invitation to the Battle

Teach me the power of prayer, of invading the realm of heaven, taking my role beside you and joining the chorus of intercession as you sit, Son of God, and intercede. 



To catch a glimpse of your heart, to empower my prayers with the fire of heaven burning with intense passion. To truly comprehend the power of my utterances, linking with your dreams for the children you created. To call into existence and partner with your heart's cry.



Take my intercession to the next level, my breath mingling with your sweat and blood shed for the nations. The nice neat box where I deposit my prayers, splinter it by your grace and power.

Usher me into the battle today Lord, in the most humbling and powerful place, on my knees.

Friends, today I invite you to war with me. To use this blog as a weapon of warfare in the hands of our Lord, dipped in the syllables of our prayers.

In the comments to this post, leave me something to battle with you, a prayer request.

And dust off your knees with me, read the requests and mount an arsenal of prayers together, as we battle side by side. Invite other prayer warriors to join us. Grab this button, create your own prayer battle post and together let’s invade the heavenly realms and storm the gates of hell.

I’ll be here every Sunday, warring at my post.

Mommy Warrior Song

Tucking my precious warriors into bed, a sweet spirit of worship danced into the room. Sometimes, I lose myself in the stillness of their breathing as slumber kisses their night.

I sing. I worship. I war.

This night, a new song sprang from my heart, a tune of joy.

I will sing for your joy has come.

I will sing for your joy has come.

You have captured my heart.

You have ransomed my life and I must sing.

As always, the days blur together as life blinks by. Sometime later, the tune forgotten, the Lord gave me a gift, wrapped in the song of my son.

He began to hum a tune and add words, a song planted in his heart. It sounded familiar. I searched for where I had heard it before.

He was singing...

I will sing for your joy has come.

I will sing for your joy has come.

You have captured my heart.

You have ransomed my life and I must sing.

... a song planted in his heart by a mommy warrior.

We sing it together now. We must sing!

Powerfully sweet worship wrapped in the song of a child. A gentle warring song of a mommy singing over her children. Sing of His love today. This generation desperately thirsts to hear His tune.

Selfishness Dies Today

I grip a rusty nail, clutching it in my weary hand.

Today, a day to pierce. A day to crucify.

Crucify my flesh, my selfishness that has run rampant too long.

Nail it to the cross, forcing a selfish heart to surrender all as His blood drips and His mercy flows.

A daring prayer coming from the depths of my heart ... Crush me Lord, until there is nothing left of Sarah Dawn, that my life may exude a fragrant aroma and only be resurrected in your power and glory.

In His gentleness, mercy, and strength, He holds the clay of my life in His fingers and crushes. It hurts. I cry out with tears of joy mingled with the pain.

My heart exposed, my selfishness revealed in the light of His grace.

I roll the nail in my hand. A tinge of doubt. I've grown accustomed to my selfish ways.

Jesus, you took the nail for me. This time, I ask you take the hammer.

Song of My LIfe

A song bubbled from my spirit as I was washing dishes. The suds still on my hands, I sat with my journal to pour out my heart before the Lord. This spilled forth. I have asked for Him to go deeper in my life. He is beautifully answering.

"The notes have been too pretty. A song arising from my spirit.

A tune of anguish, sorrow, chords of contentment lingering.

I want my life to be a song of your praise. But my music sounds like the world.

I've been seduced by contentment. My melody wrapped in mediocrity.

A refrain of staleness playing over and over and over and over and over

Rip the sheet music away. Write only your song on my heart.

No more pretty music. No more chords that please the ear.

I want to be the notes that pierce hearts.

Give me your tune. A song of triumph, exhortation and warfare.

A life that makes the enemy shudder when he hears my melody.

Notes mingled with your Spirit, strong, loud, setting captives free.

The song of my life set to the tune of my King."

The Lord desires to co-create with us, writing our songs. What notes does He long to write on the chorus of your heart?

Waging War

“From the days of John the Baptist, until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” - Matthew 11:12

We stand in the midst of a battle. Whether I choose to believe or not, the battle rages on. I see the wounded all around, hurting, broken, singed by the arrows of our enemy. I can cower overwhelmed at the evil hurled by our enemy, or stand and take my role in advancing the kingdom of heaven.

Spiritual warfare, I taught this week, I lived this week. Time to polish my weapons, fit myself with my armor, grasp my sword - the Word of God, that in the strength of my commander I can annihilate our enemy today and walk in the victory Jesus already won for me.

No longer can I close my eyes and watch my fellow warriors fall, pretending it didn't happen. The cries of anguish pierce my soul and I refuse to leave them down on the field of life.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” - Ephesians 6:10-12

Spiritual warfare begins with realizing that we are already in the middle of it.

Easily we believe that Jesus defeated our enemy on the cross, and yet, we continue to allow the enemy to push us around and take advantage of us. Jesus made me to be a victor, but sometimes I act more like a victim.

Pretending the enemy doesn't exist, weakens my defense. Ignorance covers its eyes and like a two year old says "I can't see you, you're not there." while he lurks waiting to devour.

I need not fear. The enemy clings to the darkness, but the light of the Word shines the truth. The sacrifice on the cross drips with a blood stained victory.

I choose to be aware of my enemy, but impressed with God.

No more sitting on the sidelines. It's time to wage war.

Count My Fingers

"My servant Caleb thinks differently and follows me completely."

-Numbers 14:24

Precious one, today we celebrate your life. Counting your fingers, you woke up with a five year old smile.

"I will run faster now that I'm five." you proclaimed as you wiped the slumber from your eyes. Dear one, you've scratched the surface and it's just the beginning.

God has called you to run an enduring race, to run towards the prize and to teach others to run alongside of you.

Your namesake in the Bible, carried a legacy of boldness for the Lord. Trusting in His goodness and mercy despite the giants of the land. Standing strong, he faced an army of grumblers ready to kill him. He boldly declared the promises of the Lord and stood in the midst of the mediocrity of his generation, passionately believing that with God all things are possible.

Our Caleb Eric, you are called to shake the nations. Your boldness and passion for the Lord will slay many giants in your lifetime. You will fearlessly walk into all of the promises of the Lord. You will see the promised land.

The deep places in you will cry out and search the deep places of the Lord. Your creativity will move hearts and impact cultures.

Caleb, you bless our family with your joy, spontaneity, and life. An honor to be a part of your childhood, watching the plans of God unfold in your life. His purposes, your uniqueness, perfectly blended in a precious son with a contagious giggle and zest for life.

Happy Birthday my son.

Today Until Forever

"May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you." - Psalm 33:22

Celebrating 12 years of a decision that changed my life. A decision to say yes to a mighty man of God. Wear his ring. Raise his children. Share his life. Support him as he pours into the nations.

We dated only 2 weeks before he asked. Never talked about marriage until his ring was on my finger. We were best friends, knit together by God's grace and mercy. I couldn't imagine my life without him. He fasted and without knowing my answer, bought a ring and took me to our favorite park.

For the first time, he said he loved me. The words were on our hearts for quite a while, but not yet uttered from our lips. I rejoiced, but my heart saddened just a bit. Closing my eyes, I whispered to my Abba in heaven, "Lord, I always wanted to hear that for the first time when it meant forever." Opening my eyes, I saw my Ryan on his knee.

Whispering memorized scripture over me, he washed me in God's Word and then asked me to be his wife. Without any hesitation, I said yes really quickly. Then, a ring, and shaking. Poor guy didn't even get a kiss.

Walking back to the car, still shaking, I repeated with joy and awe "Ryan, there's a ring on my finger." Smiling, he finally said "I know Sarah, I put it there."

And so it began. We walked down an aisle to begin the rest of our lives. A path lined with rose petals to lead us to life's path of joy, tears, partnership, and God's love.

We celebrate 12 years of marriage today. I married my best friend and I still cannot imagine my life without him. May your unfailing love continue to rest upon us O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

My Walk Up the Mountain

"Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. ... So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided." - Genesis 22:13-14

Godly wisdom counseled me this week "Loosen your hold to this world dear friend and grab onto the hem of His garment." My heart's cry, to be close enough to my Lord to simply reach out in faith and grab His cloak, to know Him that intimately.

Embarking on a new study, I began to dig deeply into the wealth of treasure hidden in His names. God led me to study Yahweh Yireh - The Lord Will Provide. My faith will never be the same.

Many of us know this name, we use it, we quote it, but my heart did not have a tight grip on this promise. As I delved deeper into the character and nature of my God, my faith bubbled over and His name washed away my doubts.

Abraham walked to sacrifice his son, the fulfillment of a promise God made to him. His faith astounds me. His obedience overwhelms me. His God amazes me. Because Yahweh Yireh provided, as all hope was laid on the altar.

In a sense, I am on that same path, sacrificing my life of ministry on the mission field, a fulfillment of God's promise to my life. Walking down the path to my mountain, I will board a plane to a new mission field, my hometown.

I serve the same Yahweh Yireh. Why would God ask for such a sacrifice? As we place something dear to our hearts on the altar, sacrificing it to Him, we acknowledge that He is God and we are not. In this act of worship and surrender, we experience His provision for our lives as Yahweh Yireh.

I have called out to Him. He has answered, asking me to lay down my dreams, all of His promises fulfilled in my life here in Costa Rica. To surrender them and place them on His altar.

I have grabbed his cloak, knowing He alone is my Yahweh Yireh and I'm expecting with joyful childlike faith the ram of His provision.