Susan, Author at The Sparrow's Home

The new trend of simpler weddings is not only frugal, it’s so much more personal!

October 6, 2020 by Susan 8 Comments

Plan a wedding that is simple, beautiful, and personal. The trends of pared down ceremonies, guest lists and menus is allowing brides to showcase what really matters. Your wedding can be genuinely you without breaking the bank.

2020 may go down as the year of plague and pestilence, but my eldest got married in September… so in the album of my memory, 2020 will always be remembered as the year I got a daughter. (Insert all the hearts and flowers here).

My eye doctor was telling me last week that his daughter got married this summer as well. He was contrasting her wedding to her sister’s from a few years ago. ‘Of course they were both beautiful,’ he said. But he went on to describe this summer’s wedding with words like: personal, lovely, simple, intimate, and special.

Sigh. Who doesn’t want that wedding?!

Do you ever feel like you’re too broken for God to use?

September 7, 2020 by Susan 6 Comments

Whether you feel like you’re too broken for God because of something beyond your control, or a mistake you made that you can’t get away from, the truth is that He’s looking for you. He wants you. He loves you.

Guest Post

This message was delivered at a church service recently by a friend.

Jeremy Kirkpatrick is a friend of ours, he’s a gifted writer, speaker, woodworker, husband, and father of three.

From Jeremy…

I know there are some canners out there who could probably use some extra jars.

I have this Mason jar here, perfectly fine. Any takers?

I have another one…It was just like that one until about an hour ago. But it had an accident. Instead of being in one piece it’s in several.

Do you ever feel like you're too broken for God to use?

Anyone? Aside from that one mishap, I’ve taken good care of this jar. No takers?

It’s worthless now, isn’t it?

It’s funny how the value of something can change in an instant.

In the case of these two vessels there isn’t much difference. They’re the same size, same type, made of the same stuff.

But where one has value, one is now totally worthless because its value was in its ability to perform a function which it can no longer accomplish. When it comes to glass there is very little forgiveness.

Beef Brisket Recipe: Low, Slow, Simple and Perfect Every Time

July 27, 2020 by Susan 4 Comments

This recipe for braised beef brisket is surprisingly simple and turns out amazing every single time. Flavorful and tender, this one’s going to wow you!

I’ve been making Pioneer Woman’s brisket recipe with my own tweaks for years. When I made it recently for a family gathering, my sister (who had never made brisket before, nor tried mine) said, “Why isn’t this recipe on your blog?”

Good question, Amy. Here ya go!

Not Powerless: 14 Days of Praying Scriptures for your Country

July 2, 2020 by Susan 4 Comments

14 short prayers based in Scripture that you can pray for your country. With everything going on you might feel a bit powerless, but you are not! God’s word gives hope, strength, and purpose.

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Prayer can give the pray-er a lot of comfort and peace. But so much more than that…God flat out tells us that he responds to prayer and he acts.

Want some proof?

Moses sought God’s favor and he relented. He prayed God’s own words about his promises to Abraham. And the LORD withheld his punishment.

So he said he would destroy them– had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. Psalm 106:23

But in another case, God told Ezekiel he was looking for someone to stand in the gap and found no one, so judgement fell.

Both groups of people deserved God’s punishment, but in one instance God relented and in the other he did not. The difference seems to be the prayers of God’s people.

You may feel powerless in the face of events that are beyond your control, but God’s people are never powerless.

Before we ever speak or act, our first order of business is to pray. Whatever our differences may be, if you are a Bible-believing Christian, I invite you to pray God’s word for your country. It may make a real difference.

Join me, will you?

Life lessons from the Bible: Which Disney character is most like Peter?

June 22, 2020 by Susan 5 Comments

Finding similarities between Biblical figures and characters in our favorite stories can help us grow in our understanding of Scripture and ourselves.

Guest Post

I’m pleased to be able to introduce you to a friend of mine, Lacey Rene. Lacey is a pastor’s wife and serves at a summer youth camp that we also attend. She taught a class a few years ago on this topic, and it was a big hit. Welcome, Lacey!

From Lacey…

My family loves Disney! Honestly a day doesn’t go by without a Disney song being sung or a Disney movie quote being shouted in unison. But our first and true love is God. My family loves serving God and we take joy in daily studying His word.

These two loves inspired me to see if there were any similarities between my favorite Bible characters and my favorite Disney characters. I was blown away with just how many similarities I found!

To some the Bible may seem dry and outdated but I assure you it is not. It is completely relevant to our modern lives and it will change your life if you let it.

Join me as we dive into a comparison of Peter and Merida.

It’s time for a new conversation for Christians on how we make entertainment choices

May 20, 2020 by Susan 4 Comments

A new perspective on how Christians make entertainment choices and engage with the hypersexualized media that pervades our culture.

I was compensated for my time in writing this post. As always, all opinions are my own.

How Christians should engage with culture is not a new topic. Jesus talked about it, Paul wrote about it in his letters in the New Testament, probably every church leader since then has dealt with it. And if you’re a parent, it can consume you.

How do we equip our children to handle the hypersexualized media that pervades our culture?

This has been a topic of discussion in our home since our kids were young, and hasn’t stopped now that our boys are 21 and 19. In fact it’s even more relevant now, as we want to prepare them to lead homes of their own one day.

In all of the years that my husband and I have delved into this issue, the goal of all of the material we’ve seen has been the same: personal purity. And that is a noble and God-pleasing goal.

But it’s not the only goal.