The Blog of Jasmine Sadler

This is written with the intention of preparing those coming to Indianapolis for the Superbowl 46.  It’s a really great city, and now that I’ve lived here for a couple days over 2 years, I’m pretty much an expert!

1. Nobody can drive.  Like nobody.  Seriously though, many people run red lights around here.  Definitely look both ways before driving through an intersection.  There are lots of impatient drivers that will go in the off-ramp to pass you, that will cross over double-yellow lines to pass you, and go through an intersection although your light is bright and green.

2. Remember how to get to I-465.  That’s one of the things that makes Indy the “Circle City”.  It’s the main freeway that is close to everything, yet close to nothing.  You can get anywhere in the circle in 20 minutes.  If you’re anywhere outside of that, give it 30 minutes.

3. Don’t be fooled by the JW Marriott.  It is gorgeous, a good place to meet up and socialize, and the staff is really great.  However, the food and drinks are awful.  Just really, don’t even risk it unless you are really just going to chill or get a cup of cafe americano (espresso and water) because they don’t have coffee at the bar   Which leads me to #4. 

4. The private/non-chain restaurants are awesome!  My favs are: Maxine’s Chicken and Waffles (near downtown) – only get the chicken and sweet potato waffle even if it sounds scary.  You can also branch out with the sides of Fried Green Tomatoes and Grits.  Papa Roux (east side/downtown) – I always get the Smoked Sausage Po’Boy.  The east side location has bottomless sides.  I always get the bread pudding and red beans and rice, but you can taste all of them free of charge.  Monon Food Company (north side) - the BEST (strong statement) mac and cheese I’ve EVER had!  You have to get the side of it.  I pair that with the Chipotle Fish tacos.  They also feature Micro brews along with Imports, Domestic Beers and Wine.

5.  Alcohol is not sold in stores on Sunday.  Not a fan of the hard stuff, but I do like a fine wine with my Sunday dinner.  Shoot, you have to plan dinner and all beverages ahead of time so you won’t be stuck out in the cold.  For those that really need that fix, most restaurants do serve liquor, but you just can’t go to the stores or gas stations for your libation.

6. The downtown mall has the best parking, but nothing inside.  I’m not sure why the Circle Centre Mall was designed the way it is, but the aisles are small with a huge opening in the middle where you can see to the floor below.  It’s nice looking, but it is always packed on the weekends.  It’s not because there are that many people, but because there is no space to walk. Event Parking is usually $20, but if you can find $20 of stuff to buy in the mall (mine is usually spent at Chick-Fil-A), they charge you the normal rate of $1.50 for 3 hours.

With all of that being said, it is really a great city.  My favorite pastimes include the museums and the parks.  There is so much information and they are beautiful.  Welcome to my new city, have a great time, and come back soon!

wehavemorefun. is one of my fav tumblr‘s right now.  It’s just flippin hilarious.  It’s refreshing to find someone with an equally random sense of humor!  And if you want to know what that is, see below:

 You’re Welcome.

**PSA: Nerd Alert**

Hopefully, you can follow this really advanced Math that I had to understand for my math minor on the material conditional.  If you still have questions about tithing, check out my previous post on Tithing and leave me comments

 p: you Tithe

q: God will bless you 

p. q. “If p, then q”.

1. If you tithe, then God will bless you. True.

2. If you tithe, then God will not bless you.  False. 

3. If you do not tithe, then God will bless you.  True.  (and undeserved)

4. If you do not tithe, then God will not bless you. TRUE.  (not trying to be there)

Note: there is only one False combination.  There is no way that tithing will not bless you.  If this was easy, try to learn the whole chaper.  Please note, this is only the first chapter on Analysis (crazy huh?)

I have officially passed my 6 month mark of consistently tithing!  Woohoo!  The Lord dared me to test Him in the verse below, so I did.  It works! 

“Test me in this…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.  I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe.  Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land.” -Malachi 3:10-12

Many of us I (not you, of course) tried to pull the opposition approach of:

1. Does my tithe have to be money?  Can’t I just tithe my time or something else?  Okay, honestly many of us aren’t still farmers and raising livestock for a living.  We are instructed to give the “yield of your seed“.  Back then, it was their grain, wine, oil, and livestock.  Now, we earn paychecks!  Basically, the way that you are surviving and living is the yield = money.  Give your tithe with a pure heart and don’t differentiate between good or bad.

2. But, Tithing is only referenced in the Old Testament; I’m covered by the blood.  “All Scriputre is breathed out by God and profitable.”  Either you are a believer, or you aren’t.

3. Where did the “10% thing” come from? Every 10th animal… shall be holy to the Lord.  Kings would take a 10th of people’s things to give to his staff.  Abram gave God a 10th of everything when he was blessed.  Jacob promised God a full 10thof all that is given to him.

4. Do I really have to do the whole 10%?  Is that before or after taxes?  Can I stop giving offering since I’m starting to tithe?  *Nerd alert* The good thing about a percentage is that it affects us all the same.  If you make $10 and have to give up $1, is that any easier that making $1,000 and giving up $100?   Offerings, sacrifices, tithes, contributions, vow offerings, and freewill offerings are DIFFERENT things.  Tithes are already the Lord’s, offerings are what you have chosen to give in addition.

5. The church misuses money.  It’s not up to you to decide if it is misued, they are held accountable.  The church leaders must also tithe the tithes that are given.  Find a new place to tithe where you are learning and being fed the word of God.

6. When God gives me more money, then I’ll start tithing.  You can’t wait for that.  God says that when you tithe more, He will give you more, not the other way around.  **Super Nerd Alert** This is called a Material Conditional.   Check out this post on Tithing and the Material Conditional. 

 Enough of me trying to prove it’s the right thing, this is MY celebration!!  I chose to obey the word of God and I’m happy that I did!  Final thought from my bff “I’d rather obey God and be sitting with Him in heaven, than to disobey God and find out later that I should have.”

*Disclaimer - I have a clue about cars.  This story begins when my friend saw me rip the oil sticker off my windshield as soon as I got back in the car after an oil change, he was shocked!  I told him that I have a GM car and it has super powers lets me know when to change my oil.  After going back and forth with the arguement, it concluded with me shutting it down by saying “My daddy says it’s true and he’s kept a car running for over 30 years!”

But, I really wasn’t all that sure.  After searching, I first came across GM’s Technical Tip and Cadillac Maintenance info.  Then, perused one of my fav sites and found the video above, and one with a really attractive mechanic!  And for all those “hip” readers of the 21st century, there are articles about trusting the system, and if you really have to change oil every 3,000 miles.  They have all come to the conclusion that the Oil Monitoring System really does work!  It takes into account your driving conditions, the current engine performance, and better grades of oil.  It is also great for helping the environment with oil disposal.  In conclusion, I WIN! I’ll continue with changing my oil around 10% for now.

In case you have no idea where that quote is from, click –> here <–

…then, get hip.

Anywho, Michigan won the Allstate Sugar Bowl!!  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, see the 8-minute highlights below. 

Enjoy, Happy New Year!

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

-Matthew 6:33-34

Let me start by saying my LS is one of the beastingest people I know!  Fortunately, I can personally point out characteristics that make many of my LS’s quite THE BEAST.  But this one in particular was my first president in an organization that promotes sisterhood and service and was rebuilding a chapter from the BOTTOM!  She led us all through a time when many of us didn’t even know how to make it successful.  She is an alumna of University of Michigan and THE Georgetown Law and has passed the BAR exam!!   Other than that, she’s caring, hilarious, gorgeous, and pretty fly!

After I read her latest blog post, at first I was hurt that she is all depressed.  Then, I was really excited that I have the opportunity to witness and share my testimony with her.  I was just going to comment back on her facebook wall, but thought it was getting a bit lengthy, so below is my hip and shorthanded candid  response:

Girl, this chapter is the realest talk ever!! My first super testimony was my own experience struggling for a job.  I prayed that His will be done!  Similar to you, I had my own “revelation” moment.  After months, I finally just got content that I was staying at home for a while, and even asked my parents (first time for everything) to get me these dream boots for Christmas!  I used this time as an opportunity for me to get closer to my parents and closer to God.  I had to find out what He wanted me to learn.  Now, 2 years later, I realize that I wouldn’t have the close relationship with my parents that I have now had I not been home for those months.  It finally got to a point where I stopped stressing.  Soon after, I bought a flight that I couldn’t afford, and decided “I’d work it out”.  But, Money got REAL funny.  I thank God that a couple days before the credit card bill was due, I got my job, and they direct deposited my moving stipend in my account!

All of Matthew 6 is on point!  Give to the Needy, Pray the right way and understand The Lord’s Prayer, study up on FASTING, Serve God not money, Don’t worry about tomorrow.  Then, and only then can your testimony be greater than this “revelation” of depression.  God Bless you LS, I’ve already sent a prayer up for ya!

When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
   and delivers them out of all their troubles.

-Psalms 34:17

God, Please bless the victims, their families and those still recovering from this terrible incident.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The memorial service is going on (as I type) for the five victims in this incident on Saturday, August 13, 2011.  That morning started with a bright sunny day.  I was actually at a cookout when it happened.  Last Sunday, I performed on a different stage at the Indiana State Fair and Tuesday I went back for a fun evening with my friends.  I’m sure there were many with similar expectations of a fun time.

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows,
not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,
but the Father only.”
  -Bible, Matthew 24:36

Watch with Caution

There is also an age-restricted video on youtube that is more clear.

That next day, my pastor, Darryl K. Webster continued his series from Job, Can God be Trusted with your Troubles?  He stated God will speak to us through other people, through the Bible, and through circumstances.  Then, he stated God speaks to turn us away from our deeds, to show us He is soverign, and to humble and test us. 

The stage collapsing was God speaking to us through a circumstance.  God has allowed this to happen.  Instead of asking WHY, we should ask WHAT did He want us to learn?  God’s works are great!  He caused the winds to collapse the stage and causes everything to happen in our lives.

“He loads the thick cloud with moisture;
   the clouds scatter his lightning.
“They turn around and around by his guidance,
    to accomplish all that he commands them
   on the face of the habitable world.
“Whether for correction or for his land
   or for love, he causes it to happen.”
 -Bible, Job 37:11-13

Please keep everyone in your prayers.

For real, this is my favorite book!  It has more action than Harry Potter, more drama than The Color Purple, more life lessons than Think and Grow Rich, more comedy than Act Like a Woman, Think Like a Man.  I know I talked about reading through the bible in a year with my church in another post, but I didn’t succeed with it.  But now, I’ve found the best way to read it daily and I thought I’d share (so sweet of me, i know).

First, why I didn’t succeed:

1. I am busy don’t like to sit still for a long time.  Being busy is not a good excuse, because what if God was too busy for you?

2. The way that I like to study the bible, it takes me about an hour to read through about 3-5 chapters and take notes.  (see #1) I like to take notes as I read instead of highlighting parts, then going back and taking notes because it felt like I was reading it twice.3. It’s hard for me to read in the morning because I’m trying to rush to work.  It’s hard for me to read before bed because I pass out as soon as I stop moving. (see #1)

4. The one-year plan jumped around to the different areas of the bible everyday: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy, Gospels.  I learned quickly that once I start a story, I like to finish because some stuff was getting good!  I first got stuck at Job (very good if you’re going through tough times, Lesson: Stay faithful to God).  Then I got stuck at Joshua (Not only did God part the Red Sea, He also stopped the Jordan River from flowing).

[Side note: my bible is super cute]

Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for!

The Method to Reading your Bible everyday

Step 1. As soon as I sit at my computer I go to my favorite bible website www.biblegateway.com (where I search everything I want to find in the bible). 

Step 2.  In the Search bar, type the chapter where you left off and scroll to the Bible Version of your choice.   I love the English Standard Version. 

Step 3. *Most Important*  Click the Sound Icon

I have the Narrator (Max McLean) read the bible to me as I read along with the passage!  Now, I don’t have to think too hard about the dialouge, then analyze the content (Problem 1), I can take notes and still “continue reading” (Problem 2), I’m already fully awake (Problem 3), and I can read 3 chapters in 15 minutes or whatever I have time for that morning (Problem 4).

But there is no substitute for having your sword and all of your armor with you at Bible Study, Sunday School, or in your leisure time.  I usually have mine in my everyday purse since my bible and little notebook are so compact.