This weekend I went home to WV. Erin Adkins (the girl I have asked you to pray for) got married Saturday night. It was a beautiful wedding! Please continue to pray for Erin and her husband Brian as they walk through this road together. She will resume chemo treatment when they return from their honeymoon.

Sunday, my uncle preached a sermon on "God's Purpose in My Problems." It was very profound to me and I would like to share it with you.

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something stange were happening to you, but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.....So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." I Peter 4:12-13,19

God uses problems in life for 5 things:

1) to DIRECT me
*Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways. Proverbs 20:30 says "Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being."
*Sometimes the pain turns us to God. 2 Cor. 7:9 says "yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance...."

2) to INSPECT me
-Deut. 8:2 "...the LORD led you...to test you in order to know what is in your heart...
-James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, WHEN you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
-Isaiah 48:10 "I have refined you...I have tested you..."

3) to CORRECT me
-Psalm 119:71 "...it was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws.."

4) to PROTECT me
-I Peter 3:17 "It is better to suffer for doing good than doing wrong.."

5) to PERFECT me
-Romans 5:3-4 "...We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

In summary, we will all go through trials at some point in our life. These verses are a great reminder that when we suffer, we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ!

I'd like to leave you with this quote:
"The real problem is NOT your problem. The real problem IS YOUR RESPONSE to the problem.

love your guts:)
sarah

It's interesting, this past week I have discovered some things about myself. I work in a very demanding ministry where it is very easy to get burnt out. I go home most days so drained (emotionally and physically) that I can hardly concentrate on anything else. It is a very taxing job. There are many days where I'm ready to "throw in the towel". There are many times when I wonder what in the world God has me doing in Lincoln Heights. I'm just a white country girl from West Virginia! What in the world do I have in common with the people of Lincoln Heights. I may not be able to relate to them on many issues, but I can relate to them in the one area that matters most: God's love for us. Now, I know God has called me to this ministry at this point in my life. Yes, it is a hard job. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever see fruit. However, I am trusting God that the seeds being planted will not come back void. I may never see fruit, but I have to be OK with that. As for my personal life, I really need to evaluate some things. I say that I want to be God's servant everyday, but am I? I say that I want to live a life that is set apart, but am I? Living in this area, it is hard to SLOW DOWN and really evaluate things. This is the fastest culture I have ever seen. People are always on the go. It is very easy to get caught up in the world and lose focus on the one thing that matters most: Jesus. This entry is all over the place, but my mind is kinda all over the place. I know that I am at one of those points where God is getting ready to do something with my life, and I am just opening up my everything to Him so that He can work. Hope all is well with each of you!

Sarah

I've started uploading pictures on the photos link. Stay tuned for more....

Hope all is well with each of you! Things are well on my end. It's late here, so I'm off to bed. Just wanted to send you a note to check out the pictures! ttyl...

sarah

Tonight was the Super Bowl.....go Steelers, right? Well, I really don't have a preference because I don't like NFL football, but on the contrary, I'm a huge college football fan. I don't even care who is playing, I just like to watch it. I haven't been to a college game in 2 years. I know...it's pathetic. I did go to a Redskins game last year, and it was fun, but just not the same as college. Living here in DC, I get the "where are you from" all the time because of my accent. Just so you know, I am very proud to say "WV"!! This is no joke, when people call me from WV, their ringtone is "Country Roads"....and the best part is, the kids down at DayBreak know the song by heart! It's hysterical! West Virginian's....don't worry, I'll never forget my roots!

Grey's Anatomy...the best show on TV by far. Hopefully you guys got to watch it tonight after the game. I saw two movies this weekend; Annapolis and Nanny McFee. Both were good. I really want to see End of the Spear. My small group bible study thought it would be cool to start a book club, so we did and our first book was The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Great book and movie! The book we are reading now is End of the Spear. This entry has nothing of "substance" in it, but that's ok. Hope you all had a great weekend. Talk to you later:)

sarah

The tumor that I had is benign!! It's a huge relief and I'm starting to believe that God wants me around here for awhile.

I just spent an incredible night w/ my cousin who is here from California. I believe God spoke through her straight to me because there were some things she said tonight that I needed to hear and I know God wanted me to hear. I'm not sure if I have wrote about this or not, but when I was receiving chemo treatment, I fell into a very deep depression. I have experienced depression before when I lost a loved one to a tragic death....but this kind of depression was a lot different. It is still hard to put into words as to how I was feeling, but I can say that it was the darkest place I have ever been to before. I have been wrestling with guilt over the past few months. Being God's child, having hundreds of people praying for me, 3 clear PET scans, an incredible family, friend and church support and the list goes on and on. How could someone with all those things fall into depression? Cari reminded me about Elijah...during the greatest moment of his life, he went and hid in a cave. God sent angels to help him during that time....to the point where they lifted his head to feed him. God had compassion on him and wasn't ashamed of him. Here I was, a huge moment happening in my life, and I ran and hid. If it weren't for a few "angels" in my life, I would have stayed in that cave forever. But, God had compassion on me...giving me those close friends/family that literally carried me through those few hard, hard months. She reminded me that God has done the chipping and that He is gently molding me now(that doesn't mean that there aren't future "chippings")...but that now He is in the process of molding. I apologize if it seems I am rambling...it is 2 in the morning, but I was just so excited that God used tonight to speak to me that I had to share it with you! Please continue to pray for me because I have come a long way with my depression battle, but I'm not totally out of the woods, yet. However, I'm believing God and trusting in Him that I will come out of this someday.

Wow!! God is amazing!! Thanks again to all of you who keep me in your prayers. I can't even begin to tell you the amount of times I have thanked God for you! If you can imagine a limp body with strong people to carry that body...that has been you to me....so, thank you! Prayer is powerful and I am starting to believe that my life is a testimony to that.

love your guts:)
sarah