sarah beth has had a rough day. she's been sick a lot today, having a hard time keeping things down. and she's still in a lot of pain. she was able to get up a few times, so that is a positive. any progress is a wonderful thing.

please continue to pray for her. and in your prayers, would you please include her parents, mark and kathleen? as you can imagine, they are exhausted. sarah beth has a long road ahead of her with this, and of course they are with her every step of the way.

praying for each other really does matter. and it really does make a difference, whether the circumstance we're praying about changes or not. prayer is conversation with God and draws us near to Him. when we draw near to Him, He promises to do the same for us. so even if the situation doesn't change, it's definitely made more bearable by the fact that He's right there in it with us.

i got to spend a little bit of time with sarah beth today, which i loved because i didn't get to see her yesterday and i was needing to lay eyes on her for myself. she had a great nurse in the ICU who let her mom and dad and some other family come in pretty much whenever. while i was there they went to get some lunch. that left me with sarah beth and lots of time for a visit. i got to help her a little with her lunch but not much because she was able to feed herself. all i did was cut things up and open milk and she handled the rest. it was so good to see her eating and enjoying it. but it was even better to have some good conversation with her. and to see her open her eyes even though it was just a tiny bit.

i asked her if there was anything specific she wanted me to post on her blog and she said to "tell them it's all good but my head." that ties in with one of my favorite things she has been saying to her mom. and she said it several times to me during her lunch. "this brain surgery thing is a breeze...the only thing that hurts is my head."

her dad stopped by on his way home this evening and said she's been moved out of ICU into a regular room on the neurology unit. and she's opening her eyes a little bit more than earlier today. she'll be back on here before we know it!

thank you for praying - please keep it up! Our faithful God hears and answers.

Sarah Beth has come through her first day post-surgery pretty well! She is still in ICU, waiting for a bed to open up in neurology's stepdown unit. She is still very sleepy. She's been talking, though, instead of using sign language like she was at first, and she has been able to eat a little bit. She still hasn't opened her eyes. Her mom's not sure if that's from a little swelling or if her eyelids are still just too heavy for her to manage it just yet. She is able to move her arms and legs. These may all seem like little things, but they are HUGE. And all of them give evidence of the power of God and of His care for Sarah Beth. Each bite she takes, each word spoken, each movement of her feet and hands - each is an amazing victory!

I know you are continuing in prayer for Sarah Beth as she recovers. Please pray for strength, peace, and endurance for her as she waits for pathology reports and throughout her recovery and rehab. Obviously she has faced many challenges up to this point. She has a long road ahead of her which will continue to bring challenges and difficult circumstances. Also pray for wisdom and discernment for her so that when treatment options are presented she will be able to choose well.

God has proved and will never stop proving His faithfulness. Sarah Beth's life is a prime example. And He is just as faithful to everyone who puts their trust in Him. He is so deserving of our praise!

Hi everyone...this isn't Sarah Beth - this is her Aunt Leigh Ann. As she said in her last entry, she's asked me to keep loveyourguts going while she's out of commission for a bit. I'm honored and I am humbled. She has a way of doing that, though - humbling me. She is an amazing young woman, full of faith and full of passion to serve Jesus Christ. The way she has walked through this cancer journey hand in hand with Jesus truly has been such a picture of what it means to trust in God and to surrender.

As you know, today was surgery day. They finally started at about 5:45 pm (or so). A little after 9 pm we were told that the surgery was over and had gone well. the surgeon said he was able to get everything he could see of the tumor. She is in recovery, breathing on her own. she was still asleep but they anticipated her waking up within the next couple of hours.

From her family..."thank you" is not enough to tell you what your prayers have meant to Sarah Beth and to our family. By lifting her up to Jesus you have helped to carry her (and the rest of us!) through these past 2 1/2 years as well as this day.

Romans 1:8 says "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world." Through this blog, Sarah is able to share her life journey and her faith in God with the world. Literally, her "faith is being reported all over the world"! The faith of many of YOU has been reported as well, from wherever you are in the world as you read her words - right into her very life. you have done it through your prayers for her and through your words of encouragement, love and support. Keep letting Jesus grow your faith. Sarah is.

She loves your guts!

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch for one hour? he asked Peter. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

I love this scripture because it shows that even Jesus himself experienced all the human emotions that we go through as we walk through this earthly temporary life. But in the end, He knew as well as I know that our God and Father is Sovereign and His ultimate plan will be accomplished. This is all done for His glory and His glory alone....Praise God!

I've been in the hospital since Saturday and we know that this place in my brain has grown as well as the swelling. I am scheduled for brain surgery tomorrow afternoon. My family and I are very comfortable with the surgeon and the hospital staff that will be taking care of me here.

For me, this week has been kind of a whirlwind of emotions and such, but know that I am ultimately at peace. I know that my God is in control, no matter the outcome, but I am full of hope that we are going to get through tomorrow and the recovery that lies ahead. I appreciate all the prayers from so many different people from all over the country and even different parts of the world. It is so overwhelming and that is one of the reasons I have so much hope.

I must admit that as I write this, I'm having a very difficult time formulating exactly what I want and desire to say, so I pray that the Holy Spirit is making this clear to you.

I'm not sure what the recovery process is going to look like, so I have asked my aunt Leigh Ann to keep you all updated throughout the next few weeks until I can get on here again. She is great and you will just love her!! You might not want me to get back on here! :)

Thanks again for all your prayers and support and if there is anything one thing I can stress to you it is that the reason I am at peace is because the hole that is in every human heart is full in mine because I have my Savior which makes that whole in my heart complete. That doesn't mean that I don't/won't struggle (that's why I shared the verses with you at the beginning). It just means that when you have Jesus, the Holy Spirit and your Father in heaven, you can endure anything and no matter what the outcome, have complete peace about it because I am not in control and I have don't have to worry about the big picture....it's already taken care of....again, praise God!

I must sign off because I'm not sure I've ever been this tired and I have a big day tomorrow.

LOVE YOUR GUTS!!!!!!!! :)

sarah