Creator and Sustainer

As I have been in Charleston for almost three weeks now, I have really been enjoying my time here through all the uncertainties and constantly taking steps out of my comfort zone. I have been learning a lot lately on trusting the Lord and completely surrendering my life at the foot of the cross. It is refreshing to know that God is bigger than anything in this world...My patience is growing stronger and I am striving to be content in anything that is thrown at me, in joys and sorrows. I am weak, but with God I am strong.



Random thought: How do you experience God? Journaling? Outdoors in God's creation? Music? Different for all. For me, I really feel God's presence when I am outdoors...whether it be a strong, mighty thunderstorm, or taking a stroll "down on the farm" through the peaceful country of the midwest cornfields, God's fingerprints are everywhere in nature :) The other night I went to the beach at night...full moon. cool breeze.waves crashing. Creation in its natural form of it's Creator is unexplainable and magnificent at the same time. So many times, I take life's blessings that God has placed in front of me and take them for granted. Simply being alive is a blessing in itself, but when we accept/choose to let a personal God into our life, our eyes are open to the Good in the world that we were intended to have from the start.

Where's the Love?

I am feeling very irritated at this moment. I DON'T understand why some people have to make fun of certain politicians (aka: Sarah Palin), people from different backgrounds, or simply others who are different. It urks me that just because one might not support the individual or disagree with their view point, the same people who are preaching to not judge or "treat people how you want to be treated," are the ones who poke fun at that person. If anyone claims to know God personally and truly desires to be like Christ, I don't think that mocking someone or pointing out their weakness to the point of disrespect is very honorable...It definitely detracts from their character. What gives us the right to bring down an individual based off of our own reasoning? NO MATTER how stupid one acts, how many piercings they have, how annoying one's personality might be, or how much one disagrees with the person, we should NEVER put down and disrespect the individual. It is shallow and not effective. I had to get this off my chest because lately I have been noticing it more and more in society and I think some things need to truly change for the better...Let's bring back some character and integrity.

community within cornfields

it has been refreshing to be in macomb for these past few weeks because i have experienced community within this town in a different way then i have before. first, at my church. it is refreshing to return back to my home town church for a bit to realize that things have changed for the better. people are striving to love each other more and work to LIVE out the kingdom of god through their daily lives, working to be authentic and real with each other. there is a genuine open door there no matter who you are and what baggage you carry. let's be real: we ALL carry baggage. we ALL have the opportunity also, to be lifted up through prayer and the power of Christ which is an encouraging, yet unworthy availability. i've also experienced or observed community through relationships. whether it is a family who lets us go pick apples, pumpkins, grapes, and other kinds of vegetation from their farm for fun (and to eat!) or having intentional weekly meetings with close friends/students to converse over life's questions and struggles. it is a wonderful thing to see that community is occurring more and people are breaking down walls and being real with each other. comfort zone's are being stretched. growth is occurring.

goodbye's and hello's :)

hello all...

now that my journey to europe and back is complete, i currently am embarking on a new, transitional phase as i move down to the state of south carolina. as i visited chicago this past weekend, i was filled with a certain sadness because i was saying goodbye to the great city of chicago-living a few blocks from wrigley, ann sathers (the best cinnamon rolls), julius meinl, deep dish pizza, and so many other things the city offers. however, most importantly, i was realizing how hard it is to say goodbye to quality friends, and an amazing church FULL of genuine community, while seeking the kingdom of god.

i've never enjoyed goodbye's, however, when i take a step back from the whole thing, i have a jubilation inside for the new, unknowns to come. i know that moving to a new place is definitely stepping out of my comfort zone, and i know that any time i take a step out of comfort, i grow and am stretched. i learn to trust jesus and lean on him in all the little "unknowns." all of my doubts, worries, and fears drive and push me towards the feet of god to SURRENDER and cling to him.

Hebrews 6:19 "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

i am greatly looking forward to experiencing this growth, while of course experiencing this growth in a much warmer environment without having to dig out my car in -10 degree weather :) i know that chicago will always be there for me to return if i strongly have that desire and that's comforting to know, however, in the mean time, it's nice to know i have many friends that will "house" me on my chi-visits :)

on a different note, i've been training in karate the past few weeks while at home (i move the end of september) and had my first run after karate practice tonight. a starry, clear n' cool night to run-very excited to get back into shape! ok, past my bedtime...

sarah :)

new pics!

hi all...
i'm really enjoying my time back in the u.s....along with the wonderful comforts of a home-laundry, coffee maker, a bed, a/c, free internet, etc. i miss jods of course, and am thinking/praying for her daily...i'm sure she's going to meet some hot, irish hunk!
well, the jetlag is still effecting me at weird times, but i'm getting back into the routine. i JUST downloaded the rest of the pics to snapfish.com (same password: green) for you all to look at. i hope that you ENJOY because it took me forever and they downloaded in a strange order...but the important thing is that ALL the greek pics are included ;)

on another note, some of you know, some of you don't (i apologize for announcing this on the blog, but i plan on going into more detail in person), but i have decided to move to charleston, sc. it was a very difficult decision and took me forever to decide (jodi was a saint listening to my pros and cons all the time) but i am happy with my decision and am excited to see what the next year looks like. i will always love chicago...the best city ever and could definitely see myself come back. however, at this point in my life, i feel like it is the right timing to move.

well, more on life later...but enjoy the pics!

sar

goodbye (for now) europe...hello usa!!

well i cant believe it has finally arrived:::my last night in europe-paris to be exact..jodi and i took the 4hr ride to frankfurt; switched trains with only 5min to spare because our train was late, then rode for another 4hrs to arrive in paris for our second time. jodi and i had taken some packets of nutella and bread from that mornings breakfast at the berlin hostel, so that we could snack on the train ride...i have to admit, i was a bit sad that i was taking my last train ride..jodi and i played cards, listened to music, played the movie quote game, and of course conversed about the trip, and told favorite stories:::oh yeah, before we got on the train, we made sure to get our last doner kebab for lunch.

we made it to paris late last night and chilled out in our hostel..we def noticed the hostel was a lot less crowded than zhen we were last here...obviously school has started back up and less vacationing is occurring..this morning we actually went inside the notre dame because we didnt before.the stained glass was remarkable and i am in love with the high ceiling architecture of the cathedrals.we also took another free tour of paris::offered by our friends, new europe, this was our third free tour that jodi and i have taken-in cities of madrid, berlin, and paris.altho we had seen a lot of the sites in our first trip to paris, we got to hear the history and facts behind the sites. we made sure to hit up the crepe stand we had been to before and jodi and i were so happy to find a gyro place before our tour for lunch..of course we are STILL thinking of greek food!! i wish we could find a good greek salad now; but we havent found it possible in other places. for dinner, went to a tex-mex restaurqnt because weve been craving mexican cause weve been deprived of it this entire trip::it was just ok of course...well tomorrow i leave around 130pm and fly to philly for like a 6hr layover:::fun!altho i just started reading the notebook, so im excited to dig into that and maybe finish it.

im super excited to be back in the us, altho i am a bit sad that this adventure is ending...but soooo thankful for it and the amazing experiences/stories i will take with me forever. please stay tuned for more blogs on life back in the states, including more adventure that comes my way.i am really looking forward to running again and signing up for a 10k to get me motivated...in addition to getting back into karate ;)thanks for reading and all of your support/prayers throughout the trip...pray for safe travels tomorrow, along with jodis travels to ireland in a few days.bye!

ps stay tuned also for pics that i post when i get home on snapfish.

hallo

hallo!
yesterday afternoon after we got all clean and showered, we went downtown berlin and walked around in addition to scouting out places we wanted to see. we walked into the humbolt universitz bookstore to browse and rested in one of the nearby parks.one of many! we took the train to a friend, anne, who is from tucson, az but has lived here with her husband since 2005 working for Campus Students for Christ. She made a wonderful dinner for us in addition to another American family that shes temporarily housing until thez find an apartment. Leslie and Matt, both of Chicago, are starting a new year long position here in Berlin working for CSC. We had great conversation about the German culture and learned about each others backgrounds...and our travels of course. Jodi and I found out that Anne is the aunt of a former TIU soccer player (josh neuman)..small world! i didnät know josh, but jodi and her brother eric do. ANYWAYS,jodi and i were super excited to find out about a church to attend sunday..tomorrow at noon. so we are going to meet anne, her niece(who is an au paire here, and leslie, matt and kids) tomorrow. we havenät been the whole 5.5wks besides all the cathedrals we visited and that one mass service in italian. i am very much looking forward to this.

today, we woke up and carb loaded of course and were on our way to meet a tour group in downtown berlin to see the concentration camp, sachsenhausen. we traveled about 45 min by train north of berlin and walked 20 min to get to the camp. i knew going into it, that it would be mentally and emotionally draining to learn and see the actual camp that thousands of communists, anti socialists, jews, and many others brutally suffered and died, but at the same time, i was very interested and desired to soak in the history. the holocaust has always interested me for some reason. anyways, in the end, i learned a ton and will explain more in person of what i learned and saw.

well, we decided to stay in berlin until monday, then we will depart for paris for my send off to go home wed! i cant believe that its here and 6 wks is almost done! i believe tonight, jodi and i are going to a pub crawl with a group from our hostel and i am excited to taste a few different beers that germany has to offer. miss you all!

sar