Sarah Robbins Favorite Things 2017
These Are a Few of MY Favorite Things!
It’s my FAVORITE time of year!
The holidays bring about my two favorite things: Friends & Family and Entertaining!
Each year I host a “Favorite Things” party for my “favorite peeps!” Check out the details of the day…
(and holiday decor below!)
The Robbins Nest– Holiday Home Tour!
WELCOME TO THE ROBBINS NEST– Holiday Home Tour!
It truly is the “Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!”
If you know me, you know I LOVE decorating–I often say if I had to choose another profession, it would be interior decorating! It’s even more fun this time of year–which is why I start early (November) and keep it up late (late January) to enjoy the glitz and glam this time of year brings!
My husband and I tend to agree–he is great at decorating the outside, and I focus on the interior. The same is true for holiday decor. He did a beautiful job outside didn’t he? Continue reading
GALentine’s Brunch With My Besties
Every year a small group of gals from my church and I get together for a GALentine’s Day Brunch! It’s a chance to catch up, and show LOVE to one another.
In the spirit of LOVE and celebration, I choose a woman to shine a spotlight on! Last celebration, my sister was launching her new cookbook, so we featured her book, and each girl got to go home with a copy (along with a little seasonal Starbucks mug from me!)…
This year, there were so many exciting celebrations…each girl was truly celebrating something (from new books, to babies– from milestones ministry to milestones in business..yes, my friends truly are THAT awesome!) So we celebrated our collective group of amazing women! I was thinking it would be cool for each of us to nominate a woman for next year? Continue reading
Oh The Places He’ll Go
Oh The Places You’ll Go– Gabriel’s First Birthday
My, how time flies! My baby turned ONE earlier this month! Also celebrating her birthday this month, is his great-grandmother Beverly who turned 90!
Phil and I found it fit to celebrate both young and wise in an intimate celebration with immediate family!
The Theme: Dr. Seuss “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” (and for Grandma we celebrated, “Oh, The Places She’s Been!)
When guests walked in, they signed our “Guest book” which was Dr. Seuss’ “Oh The Places You’ll Go”. I had our family sign a page for Gabriel, and moving forward we will have each of his teacher’s (and influential people in his life) sign it each year, and I plan to proudly present it to him on his 18th birthday, to celebrate all of the “places he’s been!”
Guests would “write a message on any of the pages, it will be something he treasures through all of his ages!” Continue reading
Buck or Doe? A Baby Gender Reveal For Katie Farrell, of Dashing Dish!
This Christmas was the BEST ONE EVER…
We gifted a family a home, Gabriel’s cousin Easton was born and they celebrated their first Christmas together…and on Christmas Eve we had the gender reveal party for Gabriel’s cousin-to-be (due Father’s Day)!
Since we hosted the party on Christmas eve, we chose a festive theme– “Buck or Doe!” Everyone wore red if they thought the baby would be a girl, and green if they thought it was a boy–this made for super fun and festive photos!
What is a gender reveal you ask?
The parents get an ultrasound or blood test to determine the sex of the baby, and often keep it a surprise and find out with their family together at a fun gathering. You can view mine here, and my sister Emily’s here.
Since my sister is a celebrity food blogger, and famous for remaking healthy versions of food people crave, I knew I had to get creative (especially for the dessert bar and drink bar!)
For drinks, we started with a “BABY It’s Cold Outside” Hot Cocoa and Coffee Bar! Continue reading
“Home” For The Holidays
“Home” For The Holidays…
For the past three years around Christmastime, Phil and I gave the gift of “home”… In 2014, we built a home for our 117 “sons” in India (learn more here). In 2015 we built a home for our 47 daughters” in India, in honor of Gabriels birth (learn more here). Thanks to our network marketing business business, it allowed us the freedom and flexibility to not only build these homes, but to travel to spend time with our “children”.
This year we prayed about gifting a home–and the Lord spoke to our hearts about gifting a home to a deserving family in Michigan…
Here’s the story….
Phil and I were young when we got married, and we were financially strapped (we remember having 19 cents in our bank account, and paying bills from our quarter jar). We bought our first apartment in a tougher area of town, and desired to move to a safer neighborhood, and to purchase our first home.
Before the downturn of the economy we got into a really bad (interest only) mortgage. Phil was an entrepreneur; I was a brand new teacher. When the economy took a turn for the worse, so did our situation…home prices started drastically decreasing (especially in our neighborhood), our mortgage was sold to a company in Asia (so we couldn’t even qualify for government refinance programs no matter how many times we tried), people around us were foreclosing, and it seemed there was no end in sight.
Everyone told us to foreclose! But we knew in our hearts that this wasn’t the best thing to do, and that God would order our steps and bless our obedience, so we faithfully paid a really high monthly “interest only” payment on the home. We prayed for answers every day…
Our answers came in a form of a business that has since radically blessed our family (and allowed us to bless many other families too). It allowed us to purchase our current home, which is a miracle and total testimony of God’s goodness in and of itself (see Chapter 7 of my husband Phil Robbins’ book, The Secret Garage to hear the story of our “Jericho”—our miracle home! It will blow your mind!!!)
When we were moving from our old home to our new home, we happened to have had a flood, and had boxes everywhere. Our turnaround from our first home to our miracle home was so fast we didn’t even have our first house up for sale. During the move, a woman happened to drive by and knocked on our door (the house was a mess from the flood and moving,) and she asked us if we’d be willing to rent her our home since they were looking (her husband is ill and she needed to be closeby to work, his treatments, family, etc)! This was a total answer to prayer for both of us!
We knew it wasn’t the season to sell (our house depreciated in value by over 70,000!) So we said yes! We faithfully paid off our first home and current home, and for the past few years this family has rented from us—they’ve gone through so much personally, but they remained faithful to God, and faithful to their commitment in caring for our home.
This December, Phil and I felt a strong stirring in our hearts (individually, and as a couple) to “gift” them the home. So on December 23, we Facetimed our renter to give them the news of God’s faithfulness—that the Lord was blessing them with the home! She cried saying “You won’t believe this. When I walked in the home for the first time, I heard God whisper to my heart… He said ‘this is your home’. I didn’t know how that was going to happen but now I do!” We were all in tears! We talked about how this was a sign from God that he was caring for them in their time of need, and continuing to meet their needs, answer their prayers, and show His faithfulness to them! God is faithful…
Phil and I always say “blessings are tied to our obedience”. We also cannot forget that other people’s blessings are tied to our obedience, as well!
Our life would have looked a lot different for us (and them) if we would have walked out on the home and followed the world’s “wisdom” to foreclose. I am so glad that we followed the leading of the Lord—He ultimately knew that first home belonged to this family, and he has us in our home today for a plan and purpose! (We wouldn’t have qualified for our current home, if we had foreclosed).
I know it’s hard to trust God when things don’t make sense, or we don’t see an end in sight, but I want to encourage you today that there is a God who can make a way when there seems to be no way! He holds the answers to your prayers, if we would just seek Him and listen to Him!
Present your deepest desires to God! Cast your cares upon the Lord! How do you hear from Him? From the time we spend with him in prayer, in giving thanks, and in reading (and speaking) his word. I can’t encourage you enough to read Phil’s book The Secret Garage (to not only hear more of our miracle testimonies, but it teaches you how to pray, and how to hear from God. ) He cares about ALL THINGS concerning you!
As this year comes to a close I want to encourage you to bring your requests to God! He wants to speak to you, and lead you! He is not a deaf or dumb idol–He speaks to us through His word, and He will always lead you with His peace…
If you feel troubled or perplexed, don’t make a decision until you pray for answers and feel led by His peace. When you hear that still small voice, listen and obey! Don’t be distracted by- or led by anyone else’s opinions. Remember: Your blessings—and other’s blessings are tied to your obedience!
To GOD be the glory for the things HE has done! This was our best Christmas yet!
Wishing you and yours a BLESSED 2017! Happy New Year!
#TrustHim #ALLThingsArePossible #HeWantsYOUToBeBLESSEDToBeABlessing
I believe in letting our lights shine so we can encourage others to walk out their God given destiny, to see their reason “why” in action, and to inspire others to do good here during this short time we have on earth.
Matthew 5:16New Living Translation (NLT)
16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
I hope this inspires you to believe for more, encourages you to reach for more, and gives you more hope for YOUR future!
PS- people often ask how we were successful in this business, given our start. The Lord spoke to me to write a book to bless other’s in business, and to teach them exactly how it was done. It is the #1 best-seller on Amazon today! I encourage you to pick it up, learn from it, implement it…so you too can be BLESSED to be a BLESSING! Check out my book here!