Instructor Highlights

The instructors at City Dance were asked to write a little blurb about who they are and why they love dancing in bio form. This is what I came up with, and thought I'd share. :]

"While Sabriah Wiedeman is passionate about many things, she is especially passionate about Jesus, dance, beauty, and laughter.

In addition to working with City Dance, Sabriah is working at Barnes & Noble, a boutique called The Hyacinth, and a dance studio in Morton called Inspired Arts Academy. She is excitedly preparing to be the wife of Eric Floberg and enjoys learning more about what it means to be a godly woman and wife.

Sabriah feels that people will never really get to know her until they see her dance. No matter how much time you might spend with her, there is something about dancing that gives her the ability to express her heart and soul in a unique way. She especially loves Contemporary dance. For Sabriah, Contemporary dance embodies artistry, versatility, individuality, expression, and technique.

The human body is capable of much more movement than we allow it on a day to day basis. When Sabriah is dancing, her desire for full range of motion as well as body control is appeased, yet never fully satisfied. One can always discover more about movement, and always improve in technique, and Sabriah loves the challenge.

When one encounters dance, they might also encounter beauty, laughter, and Jesus… sometimes all at once, but more often, over time. When Sabriah joined City Dance’s faculty, she believed that she would be able to bring something special to these children because of her natural love for youth and her heart for the underprivileged. Sharing her passion with others gives her so much joy, and she could not feel more blessed to be able to do that at City Dance.

Sabriah hopes that these children will be able to experience the things that she loves most, and that, like hers was, their lives will be changed because of it."

God at Work

...I know, I know......

IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG!!

I don't know what my deal is... it has almost been 4 months! Usually writing is a priority for me. It is incredibly therapeutic. It helps me make sense of the jumbled mess of thoughts that I have streaming through my brain 24/7...

So believe me when I say, this is very unlike me, and I hope I can get back on my game ;)

Now, to bring you up to speed!

I am currently living with Tyler and Amanda in Morton! It is about 20 minutes from Peoria and 30 from Bloomington. I could not be more grateful to them for letting me occupy their basement! It is so nice to come home to a house full of people who greet me with a smile and ask how my day is going. There is almost no reason for me to feel lonely anymore! Their 3 crazy kids keep it pretty entertaining! And I literally don't know what I'd do without Amanda in my life right now. She speaks so much truth into my life. She often tells me that I'm being too hard on myself. That I'm forgiven. That guilt is not from the Lord. That I'm human. That it's okay. That I need to stop beating myself up. She listens to me so patiently when I bring her what probably seems like the same struggles over and over. What an amazing woman, what an amazing friend :]

This Spring semester, I am teaching at 3 schools, 1 after-school program, the City Dance "Studes", and a studio in Morton called Inspired Arts Academy. I still have my jobs at Barnes & Noble and the Hyacinth, so I'm much busier these days. It's a nice change of pace, and I'm definitely thankful for the income that these jobs provide, but I will be very excited when I don't have to work so many different jobs. 

Come June, I will be moving back home. During the summer, I plan on teaching at Virtuoso, babysitting, doing Insanity, spending tons of quality time with Jane, and having some seriously fun hangz time with my family! I'll also be finishing up any last minute wedding plans, of course! This will be my last summer as a single lady, so I'm going to be all about girl's nights and sleepovers ;)

My oh my, there is so much that I've been learning. I'm doing a study by Beth Moore on the fruits of the Spirit (I hiiiiighly recommend it!!) and I'm currently on kindness and goodness. I'm starting to understand that God is not disappointed in me. He's not disappointed in me!! I have come to realize that I have extremely high expectations for myself. When I fail to meet those expectations, I become disappointed in myself, and assume that God is disappointed in me too. These past couple months, I have felt like such a failure for various reasons. How could I not love the God who loves me unconditionally enough to obey him? How could I feel discontentment when I'm so blessed? I still battle thoughts like these at least once a day, but knowing that God isn't disappointed in me, and is instead kind, compassionate, and understanding, helps me move forward. It is so freeing. 

I don't know if that makes a ton of sense... I feel like I'm still in the midst of learning about it, but nonetheless, I thought I'd share. :]

In addition to all of that up there, my relationship with Eric has definitely proven to be one that sanctifies and humbles for sure! I am selfish and prideful, yet Eric forgives me and chooses to love me still. I love that man so much, and I couldn't be more excited to marry him in only 4 1/2 more months!!!!!

For a long time, I was feeling discouraged about my classes at City Dance. I was tempted to believe the lie that I wasn't doing anything, that I wasn't making a difference. I didn't feel like I was doing enough. I guess I just wanted to see a little more tangibly that these kids' lives were being changed. After all, I have been here since August and only have 2 months left. Well, these past couple weeks, God has done some pretty cool things.

On Mondays, I go to Harrison where Liz and I assist Josh. We teach hip hop to about 50 1st graders. These kids are nothing short of adorable. There is vulnerability and yearning in their eyes. They long for us to notice them, to be proud of them. Since there are so many of them, I am only able to remember a few of their names, but they all remember ours. I have been able to develop a closer relationship with some of the little girls, and seeing them is the best. 

However, it's also hard. 

Hearing a 6 year old tell you that she and her mom are moving because her mom and dad don't get along anymore is hard. Seeing that she is oblivious to the fact that this is something that will effect her for the rest of her life is even harder. 

I can't tell you how many times I've heard these little girls (and some boys) hug me tight and tell me they wish I was their mom. And they mean it. 

This last Monday, I made a it a point to go around and talk to as many kids as I could before we started dance class. The first grade teachers have them file in and sit in rows, so I sat in front of them, one at a time, holding their hands, listening to whatever they wanted to tell me. I heard about new brothers and sisters being born. I saw new shoes and hairdos. I was asked my age, if I was married, if I was a ballerina. Soon, kids that I had never gotten a chance to talk to before were eagerly waving me over to sit and talk with them. Each of them had something "really important" that they had to tell me. While it's always a blast teaching them how to dance for an hour, those 10 minutes before class were my favorite part of our time together. 

On Tuesday and Thursdays I teach Hip Hop Fitness/Health & Wellness at Manual High School. These days are always more difficult because, well, they are high schoolers. However, despite the fact that attendance for many of these ladies are irregular, and I don't feel like I hold any of their respect, I've actually become close to some of them. I realized this on Tuesday when a couple of the girls stuck up for me. A high school boy walked by the room and made a rude & suggestive gesture towards me, and the girls jumped down his throat! They told him not to do that to me and to leave me alone! I think I could've handled the situation myself, but they didn't even give me a chance. That meant a lot. 

During the last 10 minutes of class, we eat a healthy snack and talk about life. The girls asked how long I had been dating Eric, and when I said 2 years, they gasped and said, "and you haven't gotten pregnant yet?!" (I might add that one of my favorite students in the class is pregnant.) When I told them that we were waiting til marriage, and that we hadn't even kissed on the lips yet, they just stared at me with wide eyes. One girl finally said, really seriously, "wow... that's really good." 

It's easy to look over things like that... and I will admit, until this week, I didn't realize that these seemingly small conversations might be making a difference to some of these girls, or I should say, ladies. Even though I'm really excited to move on to the next phase of life, I'm starting to realize how much I'm going to miss these girls, and the relationships that I'm building. 

Ok, last story, I promise! On Wednesday mornings I teach junior high - high school at the Children's Home. This has always been one of my favorite locations. These kids, especially, have very difficult lives. Some have admitted to depression, abuse, suicidal thoughts, and the list goes on. Well, last weekend, I was cleaning out my bookshelf, trying to get rid of any book that had the title "for teens" or "pre-teens" in them. It dawned on me that the kids at Children's Home might be the perfect kids to pass them down to. Plus, a lot of the books talk about Jesus! What a perfect way to let them know that I love Jesus and open doors for conversations about him!! 

Well, this past Wednesday, I pulled out the books. Immediately the kids were curious as to what they were and what they were about. I already had ideas of which books might go to whom, and I was thrilled to see that they were actually excited about them and that they all "loved to read!" I gave a little synopsis of each book and told them that I had read them all, so if they ever wanted to talk to me about them or ask me questions, they could. So, I left it at that, and am eager to see what might come from it. :] 

So there's a little taste of what has been happening in my life! 

I'm excited about the future. Being married to Eric, training professionally in dance, living in the city of Chicago after we're married... but there are still a lot of uncertainties. I trust that God is working it out perfectly. But if you're ever thinking of Eric or me, lift up a prayer for us...  because in the next few months our lives are going to change dramatically and we don't even know how yet! It's exciting though, that's for sure :] 

Thanks again for reading. Sorry for the lengthy post!!

November, where have you gone!?

Since I have last written, I should update you all on a few important things…

1.       I got an IPhone – Whaddduppppp!! ;)

2.       I have been working about 10 hours at Barnes and Noble every weekend.

3.       Howard got a new battery!

4.       I started teaching a couple more classes each week with City Dance.

5.       Eric and I finally decided on a location and date for our wedding! :]

I honestly can’t believe that November is already almost over. It seriously flew by! I look at my calendar and wonder where all the time went…!

I don’t really know where to begin, because while I don’t feel like a lot has happened, I guess a lot really has….

For starters, I am looking to move out of my apartment. As much as I love it, and have really become accustomed to keeping house and living on my own, it is too expensive for my small budget. Sarah and her family have been so gracious and generous to me, and they have kindly offered to let me live with them. So, I called my landlord soon after I was given the okay that I could live with the Housemans, and nervously asked my landlord what it would look like if I were to break lease. I told him my situation, and he was very matter of fact about the whole thing. He said I was obligated to continue paying rent until someone else wanted to move into my apartment. I gave him written consent saying that he could show my apartment to potential renters, so now, I am just waiting. I could be out by January, or I could be out by May… it just depends. I’m really praying that the Lord would bring someone else to rent my apartment SOON so that I can move out as soon as possible and start saving money.

I have also decided to return to the church that I was going to in Bloomington/Normal – Charis Community Church. After a lot of thinking, I decided that I would rather be involved in a church with Eric where I already had some roots. Aaand since I go to Blo/No almost every other weekend anyways, it made sense to just commit to going there every week. I’ll be looking to join a small group as soon as possible, and I’m really excited about that!! :] It’s going to be nice to know where I’ll be going to church every week and know that I’ll see familiar faces for a change!

Emotionally… Gosh. Well, it has been a roller coaster, but really, when isn’t it!? This month, I found myself doubting my abilities, feeling like I had nothing to offer as a teacher, and becoming extremely discouraged. I realize that tutoring at the Dream Center is not for me. It is clear that these kids don’t care, and I can’t make them care. At least, I have no idea how to. Perhaps if I had even a little bit more of a passion and zeal for math, that might spill over to them, but honestly, I am at a standstill. They are not motivated to learn, and it makes me not motivated to teach them. I only have a few more weeks there, and I can’t tell you how relieved I will be when it’s over. It puts me in a bad mood every week!

As far as dance goes, our November studio classes did not fill as much as we would have hoped. However, the Spring is looking extremely promising, and we just got a grant for Spring programming, so praise the Lord!!! But even in this area, I have been questioning myself and realizing how much I miss dancing. It has officially been 6 months since I stopped training consistently, and I just miss it. I find that when I am not in class, it is so much harder for me to be inspired as a teacher.

I wonder how many other teachers feel like this…?                    

Anywho, for the most part, life is really good!

…As I said before, wedding things are starting to fall into place, and that is really fun! :]

…City Dance is going to be in a ton of schools/afterschool programs this Spring, and it’s frackin’ awesome to see how many doors the Lord has opened!!

…Work at the Hyacinth is wonderful, as always.

…Time at home with family this Thanksgiving was perfection.

…Eric and I continue to grow closer by the grace of God, and I learn to love him and be thankful for him more and more each day.

…The Lord continues to pursue me, and if there is one thing that I am most thankful for, it is that. I continue to pray that I’ll be desperate for Him while I patiently wait for the Spirit to work in my heart. I desire a greater love for the Lord and an unshakable faith.

On a side note, I am so excited about the Christmas season approaching! The music, the lights, the cheer! Eeee :] Such a fun time of year! May your hearts be drawn to the Lord as he reveals himself to you this Christmas season! 

Can't Complain!

Hello all!

I’m finally finished with my chores, ready to settle down and write. The bathroom mirror is spotless, my carpet is dirt free, and my whole apartment smells like Glade goodness. I love keeping house. ;)

I am so pleased with the progress that this place has made. It is really coming along! This past week, Sarah and her family decided to be the most kind and generous family ever! Sarah gave me some furniture that she isn’t using right now, her mother told me to give her a list of things that I needed and has been going to Mission Mart to search for them. Not only that, but Sarah’s dad is going to look at my car this weekend and diagnose it. (Poor Howard died twice last week and we had to jump the battery to bring him back to life. The poor old car…)

I also went to Hobs Lobs (Hobby Lobby :P) this week and bought a beautiful canvas picture!! A woman named Jenny gave me a gift card (Jenny, you’re seriously the best) and I got to use it on this gem!  I also lucked out!! It was originally $60 but because they accidentally left up a 50% off sign, they had to honor it, and I got it for $30! Boom behbeh!

I’ll post some pictures of the place coming along! By the way, to all the ladies that I told I wouldn’t invite over until my place was a little more homey, I think the time has finally come. Feel free to now visit and invite yourself over anytime! ;)

Well, let’s see! This week has been a mixture of draining, somewhat discouraging, yet fun, relaxing, and encouraging! I know that doesn’t make much sense, so let me explain. My week looked like this—

MONDAY

11am-2pm | Work at the Hyacinth

-   This is always fun and stress free! I love the ladies I work with and the products that we sell!

2:30-3:30pm | Teach Hip Hop Fitness at Manual High School

-    This was the first week that I taught here, and the kids were not that into it. :\ I had to talk super sternly and tell them that they simply could not choose to participate whenever they wanted to. I kid you not, these students would walk off to the side and sit out when they didn’t feel like doing what they were told. It was completely mind blowing to me. I felt my cheeks get really hot and I haven’t felt that angry in a long time! I am going to change the format of the class and hopefully move it to a different location in the school. You see, we were in the lobby, so tons of people were constantly walking by. I understand that these kids probably felt silly when their friends walked by and laughed at them or when strangers were constantly walking by and looking over at us. So anyways, I’m hopeful for next week. The mentorship part went well. They were willing to be open and honest. And there is no doubt that I made it more than clear what my expectations were for them next week. Whew!

3:30-5:30 | Teach at Friendship House

-    I’ve been teaching here for about 2 months now, and I’m really starting to see progress and enthusiasm in some of these kids. Last week, a little girl gave us a drawing addressed to “Boom boom boy (Josh), Ballet girl (Liz), and Mrs. Silly (that’s me! Haha) That was so incredibly heartwarming. Like… okkaayy, maybe we really are making an impact here??

TUESDAY

11am-3pm | Chill wit my soul sistas ;)

-    My girrrls! I luh them so much! We always have so much fun together!

3:15-4:15 | Teach Math at The Dream Center

-   This week, there was no supervisor in the room with me for the first 15 minutes, so some of the students were just so disrespectful I couldn’t believe it. At one point, after 2 girls had been rudely talking in the back for about 5 minutes, I turned around, looked right at them, and said, girls you need to stop talking. It was as if I wasn’t in the room. They didn’t even look at me, they just kept talking. Nuh uh. No no. That was it. I raised my voice and that got their attention! Some of the students were like, “whooaa!” as if they didn’t think I had that in me. Honestly, I didn’t know I had that in me, and I hated that I had to do that. I don’t want to gain their respect by yelling at them, but people have told me that sometimes, that is the only thing that will get through to these kids. It’s heartbreaking, really. When the supervisor came in later, he laid it on them hard. He told them that he didn’t work at the center to work with kids who didn’t want to learn. He flat out told them that if they weren’t going to take advantage of what was given to them, then they could leave. Ayiyii. Talk about sobering.

I got on the phone with Amanda later that day and told her what had happened. She told me that sometimes outreach is just hard. You might get students who you can really develop relationships with and see change in after a few months, and then you might get some that you never get through to. It’s sad, but that’s the reality of it. So, as I continue to be a light in these dark places, please pray for me! And pray for these kids! They don’t know what they are missing out on. I got to drive through some of the neighborhoods that they live in, and my heart broke. They live hard lives, and for many, they choose to harden their hearts to lessen the pain. God help them.

WEDNESDAY

9-10am | Teach Hip Hop at The Children’s Home

-    Ok, this was the most encouraging teaching experience that I’ve had so far while being here! It was my first week at this new place, and I was told that I would be working with kids who had developmental delays and behavior management problems. I was slightly nervous because I was going to be teaching hip hop by myself and I wouldn’t consider myself quite qualified to do that! But I actually surprised myself! I choreographed a combo that isn’t half bad ;) Anyways, these kids are true sweethearts. They would get discouraged when they didn’t get the movements right away, but I just had to keep encouraging them and reminding them that they were not going to have it perfectly their first day, and that they should be so proud of themselves for trying so hard! During the mentoring at the end, the kids opened up right away and I came to the conclusion that I’m going to love teaching here every week. :]

So, there’s a sneak peak of what my week has been so far. I’ve gotten to see my fiancé a lot this week, and that is always the best. :] So all in all, I really can’t complain! God continues to take care of me and showers me with blessings that I don’t deserve.

Thanks for reading, friends. Until next time. :]

Grace: I Just Can't Get Enough!

I apologize for the delayed post! While I should have been better at making time to write, I have been so happily distracted! I’ve been busy with work and mostly, having fun with friends. Praise be to God, I have made another bosom friend… Sarah! :] 

I met Sarah through my soul sister Amanda, and now we are a soul sister trio! Hehe! Our alternate identities are Bri-Bri (me), Ray-Ray (Sarah), and Day-day (Amanda). Anywho, while we all have a lot in common -mainly silliness, weirdness, love of laughter, crafts, beautiful things, and food-we each come from very different places and are able to offer new insights to one another. Both of those women looovee Jesus! And it’s amazing to see what the Lord has done in their lives over the years. 

Here's a picture of the two beauties :]

Well, recently, Jesus has been doing a lot of work in my heart. Two Sundays ago, our pastor talked about being discontent with your character without bearing guilt or shame. He reiterated that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) and told us that growth is continual, not completed. Now, when he said that we should be discontent with our characters without bearing guilt or shame, literally, the first thing that popped into my head was, that’s impossible. I can’t do that. I become so shameful when I mess up, when I let people down, or feel like I have let God down. I feel unworthy, undeserving, and unlovable.  Well, because this attitude is exactly the opposite of the attitude that we should have in light of the gospel, it is pretty unacceptable that I keep falling into that pattern of thinking!

So, once again, theme of the week: GRACE.

As I was sharing with Amanda and Sarah one night that I felt like a failure, their responses were that of concern, honesty, and truth. I’ve been battling my tendency to think of the God in heaven as a God who looks down at me with a furrowed brow and shaking finger. I have to continually remind myself that I am in Christ… meaning, God seems me as he sees Jesus. But when you have to tell yourself that 300 times a week, it becomes so exhausting! So, these wonderful women graciously 1) pointed out that I was putting unfair blame on myself and 2) pointed me to scripture. The next day I decided to look up as many verses about grace that I could! I flipped to the back of my bible and went down the list of verses about grace given in the concordance.

Here are the ones that fed my soul like no other:

John 1:16
“And from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.”

Romans 5:20-21
“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 6:14
“For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under the law but under grace.”

After a lot of reading and journaling, I came to these realizations:

I am a bad accepter of God’s gift of grace. I don’t take it when he holds it out for me take freely because I forget that it is a gift and not something that I can earn. Choosing to feel shame is basically telling God that what Jesus did on the cross was not enough. This verse says it how it is…

Galations 2:21
“I don’t set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”

I decided that I needed to memorize these verses to keep that fresh in my mind.

Our sinful self is the old self. The old self is no longer who I am. I am a new creation under a new reign: grace. My new self is covered by grace and defined by Jesus’ righteousness.

Amazing, right? God’s love for us is so overwhelming. Why he loves such sinful creatures, I will never understand, but I am so thankful that he does!

Well, let me briefly share with you what else the Lord has done these past couple weeks. Praises and prayer requests…

• City Dance was given a bigger space to hold studio classes! Not only that, but mirrors, paint, and other supplies have been donated to us. We’re really hoping that from now on, enrollment and class offerings will grow.
• We’re going to be using this space on select afternoons as a place where parents can drop their kids off while they run errands. While the kids are here, we will do crafts and activities. Again, all of the art supplies that we need have been donated. God is so good, right?
• We have a few events coming up that will really allow us to get our name out there and hopefully boost enrollment. Please pray that these events are a success!
• In addition to getting a new job at The Hyacinth, Barnes and Noble called me yesterday apologizing for the delay and asking if I’d still like a job! If we can coordinate availability, then I am going to take it. God is providing left and right!
• My homies and I want to start a Bible Study once a week. I can’t wait to grow with these women!
• I started shopping for wedding dress fabric this week and wow oh wow it was fun and successful!  We’re still looking for a location, so pray that we find one soon.
• I get to go to Bloomington once a week until the end of October to work on a flash mob dance that a few girls have volunteered to do with City Dance!! I’m so happy I get to do that because it’s the perfect excuse to hang out with them ;)

Well folks, as you can tell, the Lord is great! And he is faithful. That’s all for now :]

I am my father's daughter ;)

I have cried more in this past week than I’ve cried in the past few months!

I’ve cried for myself,

      for my family,

and for my friends…

I have been clinging to the Lord’s promises,

begging that He would come through for my loved ones and for me.

And you know what?

While I still don’t know his purpose for all of this, I have felt his healing hand rest upon my heart, telling me that it’s all going to be okay…

Praise God for that :]

And heck, while I’m at it…

Praise God for his word!

…I’d be completely lost and hopeless without it.

Praise God for encouragement!
…Seriously, what would I do without my dear friends and fam?!

Praise God for the transition of seasons! For the brisk air and the gorgeous colors!
…I see God’s love so powerfully displayed through nature. I’d like to think that while circumstances are rough, He still wants to give me reasons to smile. Give me orangy/red & green trees, and He’s got me. Oh yes, he loves me that much ;)

Anyways, I’m doing pretty well now! :] Seriously, I’m finding it easier to be hopeful and joyful.

But I will say that if there is one thing that I’m learning through all this, it is:

When situations seem hopeless, you have to choose.

First, you can either acknowledge the hurt, or pretend like it doesn’t exist. It’s no one’s choice but yours.

For me, this is always so hard. When I acknowledge pain, I feel weak… and who wants to feel weak? Definitely not me! Most people try to prove the opposite! “I’m tough!” “I can handle it!” “I’ve got it all together!” But how often is that so far from the truth?

I’m reading a book called Wild At Heart, written particularly for men. It’s super helpful for women to read too though!! If you feel like you just don’t understand certain things about your boyfriend, your fiancé, your husband, or your sons, reading this book might be a step in the right direction. It isn’t just for men! I’m finding it extremely helpful. Now, with that being said, this is related to what I was saying earlier, I promise.

In Wild At Heart, John Elderidge talks specifically about wounds. Because I can’t say it better than he, I’m just going to copy and paste an excerpt from the book:

“Men are taught over and over when they are boys that a wound that hurts is shameful,” notes Bly. “A wound that stops you from continuing to play is a girlish wound. He who is truly a man keeps walking, dragging his guts behind.” Like a man who’s broken his leg in a marathon, he finishes the race even if he has to crawl and he doesn’t say a word about it. That sort of misunderstanding is why for most of us, our wound is an immense source of shame. A man’s not supposed to get hurt; he’s certainly not supposed to let it really matter. We’ve seen too many movies where the good guy takes an arrow, just breaks it off, and keeps on fighting; or maybe he gets shot but is still able to leap across a canyon and get the bad guys. And so most men minimize their wound. “lt’s not a big deal. Lots of people get hurt when they’re young. I’m okay.” King David (a guy who’s hardly a pushover) doesn’t act like that at all. “I am poor and needy,” he confesses openly, “and my heart is wounded within me” (Ps. 109:22).

Or perhaps they’ll admit it happened, but deny it was a wound because they deserved it….

God is fiercely committed to you, to the restoration and release of your masculine heart. But a wound that goes unacknowledged and unwept is a wound that cannot heal. A wound you’ve embraced is a wound that cannot heal. A wound you think you deserved is a wound that cannot heal. That is why Brennan Manning says, “The spiritual life begins with the acceptance of our wounded self.” Really? How can that be? The reason is simple: “Whatever is denied cannot be healed.”

While Elderidge is talking specifically about men and a certain kinds of wound that only they receive (usually from their fathers), I think the general idea can be applied to women as well. I don’t know about all you other women out there, but I still really relate to what he’s saying!

After we acknowledge that we are wounded (and as we’ve read, that is the way to go if we want to heal!), we can choose to believe what God says, or what Satan says.

Satan says God has forsaken us. He is not powerful enough to come through for us. He doesn’t care about us.

Well, let me tell you, the Bible says very different things.

It is so much easier to believe what Satan wants us to believe. We want to see God come through now and when he doesn’t, we give up on Him. In our impatience however, we miss the process, and honestly, the blessing, of total reliance on God.

If you’re in a dark place, go to the Lord. Search His word for promises, and cry out to Him to fulfill them. There is nothing like seeing a prayer answered, or experiencing the “peace that passes understanding.” It’s seriously the best.

Welp! I think I must take after my Dad, because I’m preachin! Hahah, I apologize for going on. But I do hope that this has been somewhat encouraging to someone out there! I will stop now!

SO! On a different note, this week has been good! Quick recap:

• Teaching at the Friendship house was awesome this week… The boys were tough again, but the girls seriously light up when they learn new steps and when we acknowledge their success! Keep praying for the guys!
• Math went well this week! I’m going through some ACT questions with them. I only had 2 students participating this time, but they were respectful at least. Pray that they are internalizing this for themselves and not just mindlessly copying down what I’m telling them!
• Love date nights with the fiancé!  :] We’re about to start reading some books together, so pray that we learn more about one another and honor Christ in our relationship always!
• Halleluyer, my table and chairs are almost finished!! It’s seriously adorable. Now I just need some seat cushions, and I’ll have the best looking dining room set in Peoria ;)
• I GOT A 2^ND JOB!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! :] I will now be working at a little boutique called the Hyacinth!!!
• Yesterday was the CHRIS JONES EVENT! And it was seriously SO awesome! Oh my goodness… I’m completely sore, but we had a better turn out than what we were expecting, and we got to hang out with Chris all day! He is tight with people like Justin Timberlake and other famous celebrities, so it was so cool to get to ask him questions and learn more about life as a professional dancer. I think we were all incredibly inspired and encouraged after the class... I sure was :]

Ya’ll. God is good. I’m so thankful! Chances are if you’re reading this, I really love you. So you should probably text, call, or message me, because I’d love to talk with you! :D

Please support!

This is a support letter that I have written... please take a moment to read it.

Dear friends and family,

I hope this note finds you well! As many of you know, I am currently working with City Dance – a non-profit organization located in Peoria, IL. I wanted to take a moment to share why I have a heart for this organization, inform you of the exciting work that we are doing in our community, and invite you to become a part of it.

The sad reality is that many youth in Peoria participate in unhealthy activities such as gang involvement, criminal activity, drug as well as alcohol abuse, and the list goes on. While these might be activities that they choose to participate in, they don’t get to choose the life circumstances that they are born into. I have met children whose parents are in and out of jail regularly, children whose parents have abandoned them. There are kids who come home from school wondering if they will be able to eat a meal, let alone see their parents at all that day.

These staggering facts break my heart. In some ways, it is no wonder that these kids head down destructive paths; they do not know anything else. They have no hope of a better life. What they need are options that are relevant to their interests in order to discourage participation in unhealthy activities. Some of them need a family. Some just need to be loved. And our communities are in dire need of quality programming that can be effectively utilized to decrease behavioral problems, improve academic performance, and bolster the development of positive character traits and healthy relationships.

So here is where we come in. City Dance is committed to changing lives through dance and the creative arts. We are currently operating as a multi-site after-school/weekend arts program with a community outreach mission. Our particular focus is the under-served youth population in Peoria and surrounding communities, but given the opportunity, we serve all ages.

Our larger mission is focused on using the arts as a vehicle to provide a supportive, positive environment for the under-served youth and young adults in our city – one that fosters a love for creativity and positive self-expression and offers the opportunity for mentorship and positive decision-making.

Dance is our primary focus, with a large emphasis on the styles that connect most with the youth and the population we are serving. Currently, these styles are hip hop, street jazz, break dance, lyrical, and contemporary. We also offer creative arts mentorship opportunities to individuals interested in other areas including graphic design, photography, videography, audio production and recording engineering, painting and drawing, vocals, drums, etc.

Unfortunately, for many of these kids, there is no possible way that they are able to afford a program like this. They need your help, and so do we. Would you please consider partnering with City Dance prayerfully and/or financially? While any help is greatly appreciated, we are in most need of consistent support.

Thank you so much for considering this unique opportunity. We truly believe that in partnering with us, you are not only helping us transform our community, but ultimately, fulfilling a greater purpose: bringing God’s Kingdom to earth. If you have any questions, I would love to connect with you. Please let me know if this would be something of interest. I am really looking forward to hearing from you!

In His Name,
Sabriah

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Please consider:

_ I would like to commit to a consistent contribution of $_______
monthly/semi-monthly (circle one).

_ I would like to make a one-time donation of $_______.

_ I would like to commit to praying for City Dance as well as Sabriah.

Please note:

You can either donate by sending a check to

613 Pierce St. Morton IL 61550-OR-

online at citydancepeoria.org 

*Make checks payable to City Dance*

**Remember that all donations are tax deductible.**

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If you decide to give to City Dance, please let me know. I would love to personally keep you updated you on the happenings and express my thanks!!