{words mean things}
dear candice,
there are two kinds of words in the world- good and bad. simple. words are so important in the world. just think- whithout the words "let there be light" we (or at least the sun) wouldnt be here. there wouldnt be any of the greatest quotes like, "you shall not pass" (gandalf), "do or do not- there is no try," (yoda), "you know youre in love when you cant fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams," (dr. suess) or " come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest." (jesus).
so back to the main point- good and bad words. i like how james put it- "with it (the tounge or words) we bless your Lord and Father and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. from the same mouth comes blessing and cursing." (james 3:9-10) this is so true. i mean when some one commites a crime and they go to court or whatever they do, whatever the judge says can literally bring death to that person. this is swhy thinking before we speak is so important. words can hinder a persons self esteem or self image. they can also raise a persons self esteem or self confidence. words are how we make friends. words are how we tell our stories. without words i wouoldnt be writing right now. without words, david would have had an extreamly difficult time writing psalms. there are four main communication skills that everyone is supposed to learn. they are reading writing listening and speaking. what do all of these skills have in common? they all use words duh! communication is the key. now in society, since we can communicate in practly any way we want, our words are very important. words can change a persons life. words can end someones life.
God has given us a beautiful gift- the gift of words. use them wiesly.
i love you.
love,
sara
Thursday, August 26, 2010
tuesday, august 10 2010
{help}
dear candice,
im trying to come back so bad.God has still been telling me to go back to see you. i miss you so much.
candice, my sister and i went to a world vision convention today. i go to go to walk through the lives of real children and the affects of AIDS in their communities. at the end of the walk that i went through, there were pictures and information about children that needed help. this was really hard for me because it showed me that there are real children who need real help. my help. i picked up one of the information packets and i couldnt even look at the picture. when i didlook at her my heart was broken. it reminded me so much of when you looked at me in the eyes and needed my help. the people asked me to consider sponseriong her. but before i could even answer or respond my first thought was, "ill talk to candice about it." so here i am, talking to you about sponseriong this little girl named Eunice. so even though you cant reply and you dont evenknow im saying any of this, what should i do?
i love you,
love,
sara
dear candice,
im trying to come back so bad.God has still been telling me to go back to see you. i miss you so much.
candice, my sister and i went to a world vision convention today. i go to go to walk through the lives of real children and the affects of AIDS in their communities. at the end of the walk that i went through, there were pictures and information about children that needed help. this was really hard for me because it showed me that there are real children who need real help. my help. i picked up one of the information packets and i couldnt even look at the picture. when i didlook at her my heart was broken. it reminded me so much of when you looked at me in the eyes and needed my help. the people asked me to consider sponseriong her. but before i could even answer or respond my first thought was, "ill talk to candice about it." so here i am, talking to you about sponseriong this little girl named Eunice. so even though you cant reply and you dont evenknow im saying any of this, what should i do?
i love you,
love,
sara
friday, july 30 2010
{real life}
Dar candice,
God is so amazing! He sees me right now. He sees my broken heart. Just because you're mad sad lonely or mad or scared didn't mean that youcanb go to the Heavenly Father. He knows how we feel because He made those feelings and He made them. So what's holding you back? Sing praises to to the God who parted seas and created every little hint in this world. You and I only have one life on this earth. So we need to live it to the fullest it can be. When some people say that they really mean "do all the things you always wanted to." but when I say it I mean "you should go serve God with everything you have!"
Candice I want to show the joy I have for my Creator! I'm coming back I promise.
I love you.
Love,
sara
Dar candice,
God is so amazing! He sees me right now. He sees my broken heart. Just because you're mad sad lonely or mad or scared didn't mean that youcanb go to the Heavenly Father. He knows how we feel because He made those feelings and He made them. So what's holding you back? Sing praises to to the God who parted seas and created every little hint in this world. You and I only have one life on this earth. So we need to live it to the fullest it can be. When some people say that they really mean "do all the things you always wanted to." but when I say it I mean "you should go serve God with everything you have!"
Candice I want to show the joy I have for my Creator! I'm coming back I promise.
I love you.
Love,
sara
monday, july 26 2010
{i will never forget}
Dear candice,
So it's been 5 1/2 weeks. Guess what! I'm still wearing the finger nail polish that you and the other little girls put on my fingers. I REFUSE to take it off (although it has pretty much allready come off of most of my fingernails). I'm also still wearing the bracelet that I made on the first day at the projects. Funny story. My mom tried to get me to take it off but I simply replied ,"mom I can't take it off" "well sara if you can't take it off we could cut it off." "no mom you don't understand I CANT take it off.
Over the summe I have started going on walks in my neighborhood. There's this one part of the main road hat crosses a creek. So (obviously) there's a bridge. In the middle of my walks I will sometimes stop and just look at how beautiful it is. It is honestly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. This is where I really like to talk to God. We have nice little conversations. The other say when I was looking out on he bridge, I was litsening to mi iPod. The song "i'm not who I was" by brandon Heath came on. I thought of you imeadiatly. So what do I do? I burst into tears. So all the old people vacationing from minisoda and Indiana who have to cross the bridge for their super fun vacation to the carnton mansion are staring at a 14 year old girl standing at a bridge crying. I kinda feel bad for them.
So all that to say you are still in my thoughts and prayers now more than ever. I'm coming back I really am.
I love you.
Love,
sara
Dear candice,
So it's been 5 1/2 weeks. Guess what! I'm still wearing the finger nail polish that you and the other little girls put on my fingers. I REFUSE to take it off (although it has pretty much allready come off of most of my fingernails). I'm also still wearing the bracelet that I made on the first day at the projects. Funny story. My mom tried to get me to take it off but I simply replied ,"mom I can't take it off" "well sara if you can't take it off we could cut it off." "no mom you don't understand I CANT take it off.
Over the summe I have started going on walks in my neighborhood. There's this one part of the main road hat crosses a creek. So (obviously) there's a bridge. In the middle of my walks I will sometimes stop and just look at how beautiful it is. It is honestly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. This is where I really like to talk to God. We have nice little conversations. The other say when I was looking out on he bridge, I was litsening to mi iPod. The song "i'm not who I was" by brandon Heath came on. I thought of you imeadiatly. So what do I do? I burst into tears. So all the old people vacationing from minisoda and Indiana who have to cross the bridge for their super fun vacation to the carnton mansion are staring at a 14 year old girl standing at a bridge crying. I kinda feel bad for them.
So all that to say you are still in my thoughts and prayers now more than ever. I'm coming back I really am.
I love you.
Love,
sara
sunday july 25 2010
{emotional wreck}
dear candice,
my life feels like a whirlpool of madness. i feel like a bottle of coke that has never been opend and little things keep shaking me up. one of these days i just know that im gonna get shaken up so much that im gonna just explode. i dont want my life to fall apart. i dont wanna blow it. i dont want to try to find peace in a broken world. sadly i feel like my life has fallen apart, that i blew it and that i found "peace" in a world of nothing but crap.
i had a nice little talk with Jesus last night. i just went to God without having to worry about saying the right thing or Him not understanding. He got everyting i was talking about it was amazing- then again He is God... He kinda made everything and decides if i can take my next breath or not. suddenly when i talked to God, i felt whole again. He gave me another chance. it was such a beautiful thing.
so dont be afraid to talk to God. He knows how you truly feel... after all Hes the One controling it
hang in there. im coming back.
i love you.
love,
sara
dear candice,
my life feels like a whirlpool of madness. i feel like a bottle of coke that has never been opend and little things keep shaking me up. one of these days i just know that im gonna get shaken up so much that im gonna just explode. i dont want my life to fall apart. i dont wanna blow it. i dont want to try to find peace in a broken world. sadly i feel like my life has fallen apart, that i blew it and that i found "peace" in a world of nothing but crap.
i had a nice little talk with Jesus last night. i just went to God without having to worry about saying the right thing or Him not understanding. He got everyting i was talking about it was amazing- then again He is God... He kinda made everything and decides if i can take my next breath or not. suddenly when i talked to God, i felt whole again. He gave me another chance. it was such a beautiful thing.
so dont be afraid to talk to God. He knows how you truly feel... after all Hes the One controling it
hang in there. im coming back.
i love you.
love,
sara
tuesday, july 13 2010
{go}
dear candice,
My heart breaks.
Tears fill my eyes.
I want to scream.
A storm of emotion floods my heart.
I hate how you have to live in such a broken world… I don’t even know what to do.
I’m trying to wrap my brain around so much. Last night I was reading in Matthew chapter 10. I was curious about the names of Jesus’ disciples. Following directly behind the names of the disciples was Jesus’ command to them. He told them not to go to their hometowns to teach the Good News but instead He said, “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse lepers. Cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”
This was such a slap in the face from God to me- especially the part that says, “Give without pay.” Am I willing to give without getting paid for it?
Since then, I have been thinking of ways to give without pay. Does this mean come back to see you and bring necessary food and clothes with me? Does it mean telling the lady I babysit for, “no thanks,” when she hands me a handful of old paper bills? I’m still working on the right thing to do.
This world is so broken and one person can make a difference- one person can fix it, one very strong willed person. I want to make a difference… I want to fix it. But I can’t do it alone. Gosh, I can’t do anything by myself.
I can’t do anything without Christ- but I can do everything with Him.
This is just a leaf off the tree of what is running laps around my head.
Give without pay.
I love you.
Love,
sara
dear candice,
My heart breaks.
Tears fill my eyes.
I want to scream.
A storm of emotion floods my heart.
I hate how you have to live in such a broken world… I don’t even know what to do.
I’m trying to wrap my brain around so much. Last night I was reading in Matthew chapter 10. I was curious about the names of Jesus’ disciples. Following directly behind the names of the disciples was Jesus’ command to them. He told them not to go to their hometowns to teach the Good News but instead He said, “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse lepers. Cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”
This was such a slap in the face from God to me- especially the part that says, “Give without pay.” Am I willing to give without getting paid for it?
Since then, I have been thinking of ways to give without pay. Does this mean come back to see you and bring necessary food and clothes with me? Does it mean telling the lady I babysit for, “no thanks,” when she hands me a handful of old paper bills? I’m still working on the right thing to do.
This world is so broken and one person can make a difference- one person can fix it, one very strong willed person. I want to make a difference… I want to fix it. But I can’t do it alone. Gosh, I can’t do anything by myself.
I can’t do anything without Christ- but I can do everything with Him.
This is just a leaf off the tree of what is running laps around my head.
Give without pay.
I love you.
Love,
sara
thursday, july 8 2010
{hope}
dear candice,
three weeks. it feels like forever times three since ive seen you. i miss you so much.
my heart breaks at the thought of what you will have to go through in your life. candice a nine year old girl like you needs the love and care that your just not getting where you are in your life. but even though you may not ever get love that you truly need and you may be hungry sometimes there is always hope. you can always count on love from me when you feel like no one needs you.
one of the most important things in the world is hope. a mentor once told me that hope isnt wishing for somthing- its having the confidence that somthing with a postitive outcome will rise through troubles. this is true weather or not you have hope that you will get to eat tomorrow or if you have hope that there truy is someone who loves you and that youre not alone.
so though the hard times in your life- from your goldfish dieing to your best friend dieing and everything in between- just know that there is always hope through your struggles.
i was taught to have hope in a hard time in my life and since i had hope that things would get better i am able to teach you what true hope means.
be hopeful!
i love you.
love,
sara
dear candice,
three weeks. it feels like forever times three since ive seen you. i miss you so much.
my heart breaks at the thought of what you will have to go through in your life. candice a nine year old girl like you needs the love and care that your just not getting where you are in your life. but even though you may not ever get love that you truly need and you may be hungry sometimes there is always hope. you can always count on love from me when you feel like no one needs you.
one of the most important things in the world is hope. a mentor once told me that hope isnt wishing for somthing- its having the confidence that somthing with a postitive outcome will rise through troubles. this is true weather or not you have hope that you will get to eat tomorrow or if you have hope that there truy is someone who loves you and that youre not alone.
so though the hard times in your life- from your goldfish dieing to your best friend dieing and everything in between- just know that there is always hope through your struggles.
i was taught to have hope in a hard time in my life and since i had hope that things would get better i am able to teach you what true hope means.
be hopeful!
i love you.
love,
sara
monday, july 5 2010
{long 2 weeks}
dear candice,
over 2 weeks and i still miss you. im still praying for you and i still love you.
im so tired. i just wanna lay down and take a break from life. you know that feeling where you just really need to be by yourself and dont want anything or anyone to bother you? well thats exactly how i feel...but 10 times worse. i almost want to go throw my phone in a river. i mean it seems like a pretty good idea to me. it sure would save me quite a bit of stress. i honestly thought that this kind of drama only went on in tv shows.
anyway, all that to say, so many things, including interactions with other people, get in the way of me living my dream free life of pursuing one thing and one thing only: my relationship with Christ.
in the book of James in the Bible talks about how what we say can really hurt other people. ill be the first to tell you that its really easy to read somthing in the Bible that was written some 2,000 years ago but when it acctully happens to you, you really realize that God wasnt just talking about what people said and did 2,000 years ago, but that even in 2010 we are still human. people still just let their mouths overflow with things to say.
duct tape will do great things- like maybe say shut someone up. i wish i had a roll of duct tape at hand all day long so that i could just wrap someones head up when they say somthing that i dont like. unfortunatly, life dosnt work that way...but i wish it did. let me tell you- its so unbelieveably hard to have self-control about somthing that makes you want to just scream non stop. but still you have to try to stay strong.
all i know is when its all said and done Jesus still died a painful death for you and me and He will ALWAYS reign.
stay strong.
i love you.
love,
sara
dear candice,
over 2 weeks and i still miss you. im still praying for you and i still love you.
im so tired. i just wanna lay down and take a break from life. you know that feeling where you just really need to be by yourself and dont want anything or anyone to bother you? well thats exactly how i feel...but 10 times worse. i almost want to go throw my phone in a river. i mean it seems like a pretty good idea to me. it sure would save me quite a bit of stress. i honestly thought that this kind of drama only went on in tv shows.
anyway, all that to say, so many things, including interactions with other people, get in the way of me living my dream free life of pursuing one thing and one thing only: my relationship with Christ.
in the book of James in the Bible talks about how what we say can really hurt other people. ill be the first to tell you that its really easy to read somthing in the Bible that was written some 2,000 years ago but when it acctully happens to you, you really realize that God wasnt just talking about what people said and did 2,000 years ago, but that even in 2010 we are still human. people still just let their mouths overflow with things to say.
duct tape will do great things- like maybe say shut someone up. i wish i had a roll of duct tape at hand all day long so that i could just wrap someones head up when they say somthing that i dont like. unfortunatly, life dosnt work that way...but i wish it did. let me tell you- its so unbelieveably hard to have self-control about somthing that makes you want to just scream non stop. but still you have to try to stay strong.
all i know is when its all said and done Jesus still died a painful death for you and me and He will ALWAYS reign.
stay strong.
i love you.
love,
sara
monday, june 28 2010
{ready to live}
Dear Candice,
I’ve got to admit it-sometimes I get tired of life. As weird as it sounds, life sometimes gets in my way of living. Let me explain.
Life has so many rules and restrictions. Can I not just live? Life’s too short to color in the lines, sing in key, or raise your hand when you have something to say. Why can’t I just express myself OUTSIDE the lines? Sing in whatever key I please? Or just talk whether or not anyone is listening? I just want to live to show the glory of my Creator. Did He create me to make a perfect picture or be different? I want to live! I want to shout His name on a rooftop WITHOUT getting arrested.
Life is sooooo much more than being perfect. True life is only possible when you sing of no other but the name of Jesus.
So don’t worry about coloring in the lines. Sing sing sing! God doesn’t care about how you sing- but what you sing. Talk away. Speak about the great joys of life and of His name. our purpose in life isn’t having everything we want it’s about glorifying God!
I love you.
Love,
Sara
Dear Candice,
I’ve got to admit it-sometimes I get tired of life. As weird as it sounds, life sometimes gets in my way of living. Let me explain.
Life has so many rules and restrictions. Can I not just live? Life’s too short to color in the lines, sing in key, or raise your hand when you have something to say. Why can’t I just express myself OUTSIDE the lines? Sing in whatever key I please? Or just talk whether or not anyone is listening? I just want to live to show the glory of my Creator. Did He create me to make a perfect picture or be different? I want to live! I want to shout His name on a rooftop WITHOUT getting arrested.
Life is sooooo much more than being perfect. True life is only possible when you sing of no other but the name of Jesus.
So don’t worry about coloring in the lines. Sing sing sing! God doesn’t care about how you sing- but what you sing. Talk away. Speak about the great joys of life and of His name. our purpose in life isn’t having everything we want it’s about glorifying God!
I love you.
Love,
Sara
sunday june 27 2010
{truly, truly i say to you...}
Dear Candice,
Today in church we talked about lying. I felt like I needed to try to repair some broken relationships that I have due to some lies. I thought about you. have I lied to you? did I lie when I said "this isnt the last time I will see you" on that thursday? or "I will come back" or "Im praying for you" or even "I love you"? not at all. I have done just the opposite. that WASNT the last time, I WILL come back, I AM praying for you and I DO love you. you have shown me the very face of God.
I love you.
Love,
Sara
Dear Candice,
Today in church we talked about lying. I felt like I needed to try to repair some broken relationships that I have due to some lies. I thought about you. have I lied to you? did I lie when I said "this isnt the last time I will see you" on that thursday? or "I will come back" or "Im praying for you" or even "I love you"? not at all. I have done just the opposite. that WASNT the last time, I WILL come back, I AM praying for you and I DO love you. you have shown me the very face of God.
I love you.
Love,
Sara
friday, june 25 2010
{long week}
Dear Candice,
I can’t believe it has been a whole week. it feels like I haven’t seen you in years. But still I wont forget you and I’m praying for you.
Candice, God will use you in so many ways. Despite your age, condition, and experience, God can and will still use you. Take it from me. Here is how I have experienced God:
The few short years I have lived consist of struggle pain suffering joy peace and love. The pain of every day for the past year has somehow been overcome by the joy of a love greater than this world. My life and what is left of it is, in a way, a sea of unforgiving circumstances that result in letting small things defeat me. This is how my entire life was until that seemingly ordinary day when God placed you in my life. I am changed forever. Through all of the pain and suffering, somehow there was still love. Love is the result of care and compassion and is expressed in profoundly diverse ways. Love is an action- not an emotion. One cannot feel love toward someone else. Instead, he or she cares about this person enough to take action and not just let their feeling sit. The action taken in this situation is the love. This is why I am able to say to you that I love you- because I care about you enough to pray for you and write you letters.
You Candice can love because He first loved us.
I love you.
Love,
sara
Dear Candice,
I can’t believe it has been a whole week. it feels like I haven’t seen you in years. But still I wont forget you and I’m praying for you.
Candice, God will use you in so many ways. Despite your age, condition, and experience, God can and will still use you. Take it from me. Here is how I have experienced God:
The few short years I have lived consist of struggle pain suffering joy peace and love. The pain of every day for the past year has somehow been overcome by the joy of a love greater than this world. My life and what is left of it is, in a way, a sea of unforgiving circumstances that result in letting small things defeat me. This is how my entire life was until that seemingly ordinary day when God placed you in my life. I am changed forever. Through all of the pain and suffering, somehow there was still love. Love is the result of care and compassion and is expressed in profoundly diverse ways. Love is an action- not an emotion. One cannot feel love toward someone else. Instead, he or she cares about this person enough to take action and not just let their feeling sit. The action taken in this situation is the love. This is why I am able to say to you that I love you- because I care about you enough to pray for you and write you letters.
You Candice can love because He first loved us.
I love you.
Love,
sara
thursday, june 24 2010
{missing you}
Dear Candice,
I miss you so much. I close my eyes and long to see your bright blue eyes looking up at me asking the question, “do you truly love me?” words alone will never be able to answer a priceless question like this one. But if I had to sum up my answer into one word it would be “yes.” I love you.
I have been working at a vacation Bible school all this week teaching kids your age how to praise God with dance. I don’t think I will ever be able to work with kids again without thinking about you. I so wish I could be in the backyard of that unoccupied apartment in the Talladega projects playing kickball with you. I miss you.
I will never forget you.
I love you.
Love,
sara
Dear Candice,
I miss you so much. I close my eyes and long to see your bright blue eyes looking up at me asking the question, “do you truly love me?” words alone will never be able to answer a priceless question like this one. But if I had to sum up my answer into one word it would be “yes.” I love you.
I have been working at a vacation Bible school all this week teaching kids your age how to praise God with dance. I don’t think I will ever be able to work with kids again without thinking about you. I so wish I could be in the backyard of that unoccupied apartment in the Talladega projects playing kickball with you. I miss you.
I will never forget you.
I love you.
Love,
sara
friday, june 18 2010
{new hope}
Dear Candice,
I’m still very upset that I had to leave you yesterday. I cried and cried when I had to wash off the little notes that you wrote on my arms and legs with magic marker. You wrote “I will miss you,” on my right arm and “I wish you would come back” on my right leg. I’m so sad to be torn away from your peaceful smile and your hopeful spirit.
You may not see it but you gave my life meaning and hope. Just the thought of you makes me sad that you have to endure such hardships. But somehow through your and my trials, no matter how big or small they may seem, God is still with us. He will never put us though a trial that is too difficult for us to endure. God sees your heart. Stay on fire for Him. But most of all, don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example for the believers in speech, life, love, faith, and purity.
I love you.
Love,
sara
Dear Candice,
I’m still very upset that I had to leave you yesterday. I cried and cried when I had to wash off the little notes that you wrote on my arms and legs with magic marker. You wrote “I will miss you,” on my right arm and “I wish you would come back” on my right leg. I’m so sad to be torn away from your peaceful smile and your hopeful spirit.
You may not see it but you gave my life meaning and hope. Just the thought of you makes me sad that you have to endure such hardships. But somehow through your and my trials, no matter how big or small they may seem, God is still with us. He will never put us though a trial that is too difficult for us to endure. God sees your heart. Stay on fire for Him. But most of all, don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example for the believers in speech, life, love, faith, and purity.
I love you.
Love,
sara
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