It's raining, it's pouring, my annoying dog is snoring...

My brain and body have pretty much taken all that they can take today, so I can finally update my blog!!

This past weekend was Campus Harvest. It's a huge conference for college students that is held once a year in Durham. There is awesome praise and worship and many speakers to listen too. Two speakers that I look forward to every single year are Lynette Lewis and Jim Laffoon. Lynette is a power house! Not to mention that she always has the cutest shoes!! I seriously would love to have her drive one day and impact the fitness/athletics field of work. It would be awesome! One thing she talked about was the value of friendship. It's important to surround yourself with friends who will lift you up and challenge you! I value the very few and true friends I have that build me up as a person and as a woman walking with Jesus. There are very few people who really know the real Sarah. I think that's important. I believe you shouldn't show many people the true depths of your heart, which can make it extremely hard to open up and it's a challenge that I am trying to overcome! :)
Jim Laffoon spoke on relationships and intimacy. There were a few points he made that really got me thinking. The first one was the misconception that "only God is enough." Yeah, when I read that I was thinking exactly what you're probably thinking. "What in the world, yes He is!" Technically, yes, it is true... but if it were all around true, we wouldn't be desiring relationship with other human beings- especially significant others. I don't know about you, but I greatly desire a relationship with a significant other, but I believe God wants it that way. If He didn't want that, then He wouldn't of created man and woman! The second point was the misconception that only people are enough. I believe this is the end of the spectrum that most people are stuck on- having the mind set that having a good friend or romantic relationship will give them the fulfillment they're looking for. Not true.
There has to be a healthy balance between God and relationships with other people. He wants us to have relationships, but He wants our heart also. He is the only one that can truly fulfill all of the fulfillment that I am looking and desiring for.
The last point that he made is the one that really got me thinking. He was talking about how he and his wife had been married almost 34 years. He gave us the secret to their success: remembering that they are not God. I thought to myself, "well of course, I know that a man is not God." Yes, I know that, but do I truly believe it? Well, I can tell you now that I've prayed and dwelled on it the last few days, yes. I do believe that a boyfriend is not my God, but I was surprised at how I had to change my mindset to actually believe that.
  Do not look for fulfillment in any kind of relationship- whether it be friendship or exclusive. One quote that stuck out to me from Pastor Jim was, "don't make each other gods- you'll wind up disappointed and they'll wind up bitter."

In other news, I got a car!! Not only that, but my parents drove three hours to deliver it to me! How awesome is that?! I have named my car Mo (short for Mo-lissa, yes... Mo-lissa) and she is a wonderful car!  I am very blessed to have the king of negotiating as my father! My daddy is just awesome... I can never say that enough. I do not deserve to have such a wonderful daddy!

So what else do I do on a rainy day when I am tired of reading... I take the love language quiz. Or at least today I did. I defied the odds too! It is extremely rare that someone has a tie for their top love language and BAM I did it! Words of affirmation and quality time. Good stuff. So, if you love me... say something nice and take me out to lunch. HA. just kidding, but not really... :D

The adventure continues!

There are so many things that have happened over the last week... it's crazy! Some bad but mostly all good!  :) This post is about to turn into a bullet point post...

• The car search continues! It's been quite exciting for the most part. It's been difficult not having a car, simply because I have always had one. I have become quite the master at "bus hopping." Meaning, I must take multiple busses a day to get to my destination. It's like a race, but no one else knows that it's a race. Needless to say, I win every time :) 
• Highlight of my car search so far: I went to test drive a car with my friend Theresa. We went looking for a car salesman and his name was Duane. He showed me the cars available and asked me why I was looking for one. I proceeded to tell him that I totaled my car and all that jazz. He laughed. Why do you laugh about that? I don't know. Anyway, we get in the car and start driving down the road. He asked me if I'd like to take the car out on the interstate to see if I felt safe, I agreed that it was probably a good idea. So, we head out to the interstate and he says, "yes ma'am, feel free to drive as fast as you'd like, change lanes and even run the car into a ditch to see if it comes out on the other side... just make sure we make it out to the other side." So, most of you are probably thinking, "What a jerk!" In all honesty, I couldn't stop laughing (which isn't necessarily good since I was going 75 down an interstate). Anyway, yeah... Duane the car salesman wins entertainer of the week in the car sales category. Good for you, Duane, good for you. 
• This week, amongst all of my pouting, complaining and feeling sorry for myself, I believe God is teaching me what is truly means to be thankful. I'm not spoiled rotten, but I must say that I had it good growing up. I always had everything that I needed and had many things that I wanted. I got a car before I turned sixteen and then got another one when I turned eighteen. I was grateful for all of those things, but now I have a new appreciation for "conveniences." It is really tough going from having a car since I've been able to drive to unexpectedly not having one at all. I am learning what it's like not to have a car, and I am surviving just fine. Am I looking forward to getting a car? You better believe it. I will be one happy camper, but I am realizing that I can survive without it. I don't "need" all of things that I thought I did. More importantly, I am more grateful for the things that I have than I've ever been. It's been good. 
• MY ROOMMATES GOT INTO NURSING SCHOOL!!! After all of the stress, freaking out and thinking they would not make the cut...they made it! I'm such a proud roomie. We celebrated, we celebrated good. Cookie skillet! Heck yes! :) 
• I saved the most exciting for last. I can't believe it.... I'm now officially in a relationship with the coolest person I know. How awesome is that?! He caught my eye in August of 2009.  I do not know what I have done to get someone so awesome to like me, but I am sure glad it worked! For all of you that know me real well, you know that I always picked on people who were all giggly around a guy they liked and said it was weird. I have a confession: I giggled about it last night. Yes, Sarah Melton giggled like a little school girl.

I can't seem to do anything simple...

Spring Break is over and I think it's safe to say that I ended it with quite a bang...

I was driving back to school in the inside lane of the highway, minding my own business, with a Dodge Durango in front of me and 3 humvee army vehicles to my right. The man driving the Durango (who by far won the most annoying person of the day award) decided to slow down ridiculously fast so that his kids could look at the military vehicles... leaving Graceful (that'd be me) to slam on breaks in order to slow down fast enough. (I was on cruise control going 72 in a 65... speeding but keeping with the flow of traffic). Well, ABS breaks kicked in and my car apparently did not feel like stopping. I tried to get between the durango and the humvees (I drive a small car). Well, that plan of attack was working until the humvee hit my back bumper and I lost control of the car. At this point all I remember is screaming "JESUS" over and over again at the top of my lungs. Thankfully, instead of hitting another car, I run into the ditch off the right side of the road. If I would've swerved any other way, I would've been as good as dead. I remember finally stopping after what felt like 5 minutes, I kept my hands on the steering wheel and just told God "Thank You." Then I did what any other girl would do...I called my Daddy! As I'm on the phone with my dad, the army people come and ask me if I was okay (which I was, praise God!) Then Mr. Dodge Durango decides he's going to pull over, get out of his car and tease me a bit. 2 words: Bad Idea. He basically told me that I shouldn't of had my music so loud and I shouldn't have been on my cell phone.
1. I wasn't on my phone
2. How do you know how loud my music was, were you in the car? I don't think so!
So, after I had had enough with redneck durango man, I forced myself to go lock myself in my car until the patrolman got there. I can't tell you how bad I wanted to hit mr. durango man. It was extremely frustrating. About 10 minutes later, the highway patrolman gets out there. Who proceeds to run after the patrolman to tell the story? You got it... durango man. He tells him that I was on my cell phone and was going 85-90 miles an hour. I WAS ON CRUISE CONTROL. I couldn't have been going 90... unless he was going 90 too. Anyway...
Of course I got charged at fault of the wreck. It was my fault. My Aunt Carrie came to my rescue! She picked me up and got a tow truck to take my car away to be fixed. Then my wonderful friend, Michael (also the coolest person I know), came and rescued me by picking up me, with all of my stuff, and took me back to Greenville! What a nice guy, right? :)
I am happy to say that I just got off of the phone with my insurance company and they are going to take care of everything and my charges are going to be dropped! WOO! *insert happy dance here*

One really neat thing that happened with the wreck is that I had two people praying for me because they felt that I was going to be in a wreck. They will never know how grateful I am for them praying for my safety. Yesterday (the day after the accident) I had my melt down. I had a wonderful friend there for me, though. I am so grateful for God protecting me that day. It was by far one of the scariest things I've ever experienced.

On a lighter note, spring break was wonderful! I enjoy spending time with my family! If only ECU and my hometown were closer.

Now it's time to get back into the swing of things. I haven't worked out in a week and today I go back to doing what EXSS does... work out class. This week will be a rude awakening after not exercising for a week, but I'm determined to get my act together before summer!

I'm running to Your arms...the goodness of Your love will always be enough

It's SPRING BREAK!
I love SPRING BREAK!
(insert happy dance here)

Anyway... here are the top 5 pros to spring break:
1. HOME HOME HOME!!
2. I don't have to workout every day
3. Good food!
4. Shopping!
5. My body gets rest!

Top 5 Cons to spring break:
1. I don't have to work out every day
2. Good food
3. What's a calorie? I don't think they exist on spring break...
4. No schedule
5. Shopping! (It makes my wallet hurt...)

I would have to say that the good definitely out weighs the bad! Today has definitely been one of the best days this week... I was reunited with my best friend! I haven't seen Kendall since Christmas break and our schedules are all over the place, so it's very rare that we get to talk through out the semester. It was nice catching up with her about the awesome things that are going on in each others lives! She is one who will squeal, jump up and down and act all excited over life. It's so much fun to be around her! I have been blessed with a wonderful, Godly friend! I definitely would not have gotten through high school without her!

I am having a complete writer's block and have no idea what to talk about. Which is odd... I always have something to talk about...

Yesterday I invested in an awesome piece of workout equipment. Garmin 405cx watch. It's pretty awesome, I must say! I cannot wait until it comes in the mail. It's a personal training watch. It has a GPS that can track your distance when running outside, it monitors heart rate and calculates how many calories you've burned. It also sends your workouts directly to your computer. Oh, and it tells time :D
So yeah, hopefully it'll help me be a bit more hardcore in the aerobic exercise field... I certainly paid enough for this watch, so I better start being hardcore!

I've started reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan

You should read it! I thought, "I'll read this book over spring break, no problem..." Ok, I was wrong. I'm still on chapter 1. I read books really fast, but this one I've had to slow down and actually think about it. Needless to say, I'm learning a lot and will share more about it once I get farther into the book... and you can choose to read about it or not! :) 

Happy Birthday, Papa!

Today I woke up and realized that it would've been my Papa's 71st birthday. The memories that flooded my mind are a bit harder to handle than I expected. Papa was pretty much the coolest grandparent anyone could ask for. Yeah, he put a new meaning to discipline at times, but he always knew how to make you laugh until you cried. His humor was like no other.
Papa truly understood the definition of being Jesus' "hands and feet." He was an elder in the church, a Gideon and as a Gideon he used to minister to men in jail. He was a great teacher and would tell you EXACTLY how it is. No and, if, or buts about it ;)

If you never got the chance to meet him, which I wish everyone could have... I'll explain why he is no longer here.

In January of 2000 my Papa started having strange symptoms and his left eye closed up. We had no idea what was wrong with him, so my Nana (or as he would say, his woman) took him to the doctor. They returned with some shocking news. I remember my daddy telling me that Papa was sick. I didn't really think much of it until I heard the word "cancer." My Papa was diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoma. It is an extremely rare brain cancer, found on the brain stem. It cannot be directly treated because the patient would go brain dead. Even worse news followed... the doctors didn't see my Papa living any more than 6 months.

By the way, I remember this story as a 9-10 year old, so if any family is reading this and I don't have my facts straight...feel more than welcome to correct me :) Oh and Papa's story has a lot to do with my story as a christian, but this is Papa's day and I'll share my story later. :) Ok, back to the story:

One thing I noticed from the get go is that my Papa never panicked. I never heard him complain, heck I don't think I ever saw him sad. He was always smiling and putting his complete trust in God. He said that he was going to fight this for the Kingdom and God's glory would be shown through the fight against cancer. Gosh, talk about a man of God! So, he shortly started chemotherapy and sixth months later...when I was expecting disaster to strike, my Papa was alive. He was still fighting.

Funny memory time. When Papa was first diagnosed, the doctor made him wear an eye patch over his eye. I'll never forget being at the beach, sitting on the pier waiting to eat breakfast and a kid runs up to Papa- amazed at what he saw! He looks at his mom and points to Papa saying, "Look mom!! A real pirate!!" My papa looks over at the boy and says, "arghh!!" See, me being a pirate just makes sense now :)

The next 3 and a half years are a blur. I remember that Papa eventually started using a cane to walk, then a walker and then a wheel chair. I do remember that he ended up getting one of those nice recliner like power scooters. Those things were so much fun to play on. I remember my Aunt Angie (Papa's daughter) riding up on it through the pasture to get to the family swimming pool. hahaha!

I had a very special moment with my Papa a few months before he died. I remember he was rolling around in his wheel chair throughout his house and he stopped in the kitchen and was having some trouble. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I remember it being negative. This was almost 4 years into his what was supposed to be 6 month battle, and this was the first time I heard him complain. I remember my mom, Nana, Aunt Jeanne (Papa's sister) and me getting on our knees, laying hands on Papa and praying for him in the middle of the kitchen. It is a special memory that I will hold close to my heart forever. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about that moment and the wonderful example that my family has always set for me.

A few months later, Papa was on complete bed rest. He did not want to die in a hospital room. If he was going to die, it was going to be at home, surrounded by family and close friends. I remember celebrating my brother's birthday in the living room, where my Papa's bed was set up. The living room was connected to the dining room, so we were able to have dinner and celebrate with Papa as he laid in his bed. I remember my brother singing "Who Am I" by Casting Crowns into my Papa's ear that night. It was a special time of worship. My entire family, Nana and Papa's children and their children. It was so special.

The next day I watched one of the hardest things I've ever had to watch in my entire life. My daddy saying bye to his daddy. My daddy had worked by Papa's side since he was 14 years old. They are so much alike, it's crazy. I don't have to look very far if I'm missing Papa... my daddy has so many of his characteristics. There's a picture somewhere of my daddy leaning over my Papa, hugging him and shaking his hand. I remember sitting there in the dining room watching them. What a great example of a good father/son relationship.

The next day... June 17, 2004 12:58 in the afternoon, Papa went to be home with Jesus. Yes, it was a sad event, but I remember being comforted by the fact that the wheel chair was here, not in heaven. My Papa was doing cart wheels, back flips... you name it, he was doing it- no wheel chair. His body is whole now. No pain, no chemo and NO CANCER! My Papa was healed. He did win his fight against cancer. Sometimes God's healing is taking someone home and I am completely okay with that!

A few days before Papa died, there was a dove that stayed in the front yard. I remember sitting in the kitchen watching it... no one knew why it was there.  Before I move on, there's one thing you have to understand about Papa. He was a go big or go home type of guy. There was the wrong way to do things and there was the Wayne's way to do things. He always knew how to go out with a bang. Well, why should his death be any different?...

Our Pastor, Randall Worley, was on his way to the house to visit the family a few hours after Papa passed away. He said that he looked up and saw a dove flying away. Hmm, nice one, Papa. Don't know how you had that one arranged ;) I'm just kidding... but not really.

So, yes, my Papa would have been 71 today. We would be making him a big, chocolate cake and he would probably be eating sardines out of the can...dipped in mustard. Gross! He would also be eating black licorice. He had a strange taste in food and candy, but that's okay. He would also be on the floor, playing with his 2 granddaughters that he never got the chance to meet... but he will one day! He has 10 grandchildren (go big or go home, right?) :D

That's my Papa's story. He was so much more than a cancer patient. He wanted to change people's lives, through Christ living in him. Gosh, if he only knew how many people showed up to the visitation and funeral. We were only supposed to be accepting visitors for two hours... we were there for almost 5 hours!! Countless people coming in and talking about the Legacy that Papa left. What an honor it is to be a part of his family... his legacy. He was an incredible guy.

Now that I've finished writing, I notice there's tears running down my face... but joyful ones. The memories are sweet. I will cherish them forever. :)

Whirlwind of a week!

This week has been insane! When I say insane, I mean insanely awesome! Let me tell you why...

Monday: one class and was only required to do two lifts (meaning that I only had to do two lifting exercises 3 sets of 10). My body was extremely thankful because I have been sore for about 6 days straight. It is in desperate need of recovery!
Tuesday: Got extra credit in a class for going to an aerobics class, almost understood what was going on in Exercise Phys (yeah that's a big deal!), and then got to hang out with the coolest person that I know! I managed to get some studying in. :)
Wednesday: Only 2 lifts again...which my body was once again extremely grateful for! Got a B on my midterm! yeah!! I also found out that I get extra credit for allowing the department to conduct a 48 hour research study on me! I'm required to wear a monitor on my ankle, which kinda looks like I'm on house arrest...but who cares- it'll make me look tough :D... and it's extra credit!!
Thursday: Classes all day- found out I have terrible short term memory (yes, it was an experiment that proved true), but that's ok...I will improve it :) Got to play basketball, got to stand up for my "being lady like" beliefs (I didn't get to say anything, but I proudly raised my hand)and was introduced to The Coffee Shack- this great place where I can get some studying done. woo!
Friday: no classes. yay :)

Everything that I just typed was random and probably very insignificant to any individual choosing to read this blog, but it's my blog and I wrote what was on my mind. :D

This week, God has confirmed that He has all of my concerns under control. I tend to get ahead of myself a lot. Earlier this week, I had a discussion about how the basis of a relationship with God is trust. Actually, it should be the basis of every relationship. Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about how simple that is... but I make it so complicated. God just wants us to trust Him. That's it. I think we, as humans, tend to complicate so many things that do not need to be that way. Simplicity is a beautiful thing, in all aspects of life. :)

One more thing, earlier in this post I said something about being able to stand up for my "lady like" beliefs. It was cool to be able to do that- but sadly I was standing alone. I don't mind standing alone, but why weren't any other girls standing up? The subject was the Sociology of Sport. The professor played a video talking about women being marketed in sports. Except they weren't being marketed for their talent- they were being marketed based on looks. I was almost sick with the pictures that were flashing up on the screen. Well known women athletes, women that many little girls look up to, posing for multiple pictures- half naked, provocative and degrading herself. WHY?! Why are women buying into the lie that they are just useful as objects? What happened to being honorable, modest and classy? It makes me so sad. Have we forgotten what it means to be a lady? Someone who is to be looked up to, carries herself with integrity and needs to be cherished? I get so frustrated sometimes. I've actually had people come up to me and ask why I dress, talk and act the way I do. I've had people tell me that I'm too uptight, need to loosen up. I, personally, don't think I'm too "uptight."Since when is it wrong to be a lady?  Innocence is a good thing, people!!

I should probably step off my soap box before I say something not so nice :)


I like being a lady. It's fun. :)

Back to the Basics

One of the coolest things about having Jesus as your best friend is the things that He constantly teaching you. I also think it's something that I need to be more thankful for instead of being my stubborn self and either a) take advantage of it or b) get beyond frustrated. Challenge is good. I love any kind of challenge, until it's one of the life changing ones. It's always good in the end, but the process of getting to the end frustrates me sometimes.

A few days ago I was chillin' with God just talking to Him about some different things going on. He reminded me of a lot of things that He had been trying to teach me lately. It first started with the misconceptions of righteousness. It was one of the first messages preached at VCM (campus ministry at ECU) this semester and it spoke to me- I had never really thought about the true meaning of righteousness until then. It's something I had heard about since I was little, but I feel like I'm finally starting to grasp it's true meaning. The big one came a week or two later. A simple phrase that really got me thinking. "Who told you that?" It goes back to Genesis 3 when the serpent tempts Eve. After all that went down, God comes to the garden looking for Adam and Eve and they were hiding because they were naked. When God finds them (does anyone else think it's awesome that God's like "hey guys, where are you?" haha anyway...) He asks them who told them that they were naked...
When going through my daily routine there have been thoughts or opinions that would enter my mind and I've had to ask myself "Who told you that?" What is the real truth? What does the Word have to say about it? Which leads me to this....

Back to the basics.

I don't care if you've been saved 8 days or 8 years. You need to do this book. The Purple Book is a book written about Biblical Foundations. It's a miniature Bible study type thing. It's really neat and straight forward. When you've filled it out once...do it again! I've been through it once but I feel like I need to go through it again. I told God that I wanted to start over. It's time to rebuild my foundation. I'm ready to be taught and try my hardest to keep the stubborness aside. 

In other news...

It's baseball season at ECU! I've never sat through an entire baseball game, studied the rules or been a fan! :D My roommates are quite the baseball fans, so since I drag them to football games, I went to a game with them. Let me tell you....it's fascinating! Especially when you know what's going on! I'm going back again today! It still has NOTHING on football, but it's a sport and it's fun! Plus, if I get bored, football practice fields can be seen from the stands and I can watch spring training :D just kidding, but not really...

This picture is too funny not to post. Yes, this is normal... ;)

Much better! We had a good time. ECU kicked butt :) 

A classmate of mine got approved to do a research study through the university. It's called 7 Days 7 Ways. It's a faith based fitness research study. The study is conducted at a small church about 20 minutes away and I was able to volunteer to help teach aerobics to the research participants. The study is every Saturday morning in February. I got the chance to help teach this morning and had a blast! The participants are mostly in their 50's-60's and we are tracking exercise, simple nutrition and how it impacts weight and body fat percentage. I am excited to see everyone's results next week! I'm thankful that I only had to wear a name tag and not a microphone! :D