ASKING...SEEKING...FINDING..................................VICTORY...MANSION...

It was Wednesday, August 10, 1983, twenty five years ago today. Our second child, Jessica Janette, was due to be born. I was miserable as I waddled around with a 9 lb. 6 oz. baby inside of me who was 23 inches long! Miserable was mild compared to what I felt in late morning when I heard the news. It's one of those days when I knew the minute I heard...similar but different to hearing that President Kennedy had been shot or that the Twin Towers had been hit...this news was really personal...my dear friend Sarah Saber, her husband-Mark, their three children - Kate (6), Adam (4), and Emily (baby) and their babysitter Kim (from our youth group) had been hit head on by a coal truck while heading south toward Nashville, Tennessee from Bloomington, Indiana. Mark, Sarah, Emily, and Kim had already been pronounced dead! Kate and Adam had been taken to a Kentucky hospital.

Questions...seeking answers to life questions...that's what I remember most about Sarah. Sarah was a seeker! Mark became a seeker, too!
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• Sarah: "How do I best serve this GOD who I know exists? As a wife? As a mother? As a daughter? As a sister? As a daughter-in-law?"..." "Can we get a group of mother's together and just pray, pray, pray?" "Patti, what do you think GOD would want me to do in this situation?" "What do you think this scripture means?"...
• Mark: "Can you guys come over and spend the night, so we can just sit out on the front porch like we have before and talk about life, GOD, and spiritual things?" "How much can I give? Never enough!" "Sikes, could you pray about another specific thing for me?" "How can Sarah and I become more and more like JESUS?"

I wish you could have known this family! Steve and I knew them for only a few short years...yet, they left their mark on us for eternity! Kate and Adam are now close to the ages their parents were at the time of this tragedy. I got an email from Kate the other day after I let her know that Steve would be talking about her family in his sermon this morning. In part, Kate said,
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"It's a day that comes every year but this year seems a bit tougher -- we are gathering as a family to watch home movies and have a meal together which will be nice. I don't have any wise words to share...only that parents are encouraged to instill faith and the importance of Christ into their kids at a young age. When I taught Sunday School a year ago I constantly heard parents say that they wonder if this time (4 and 5 year olds) mattered for their kids to be in church -- I know that my faith today is a result of the six years I had with my first parents -- and thank God for that! The early years matter more than anything I argue... Hope that helps...I'm so grateful they are remembered 25 years later..."
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I invite you to listen to a tribute made to their lives this morning by my husband, Steve, at the Pitman church of Christ, Pitman, New Jersey. Steve tells just a few of the amazing stories from these remarkable lives. Stories of faith, praying in faith, random acts of kindness, major league baseball, and McDonald's.... Steve also addresses 7 of the QUESTIONS we asked 25 years ago. Some of them remain unanswered. Some we can answer with confidence! You may read through them here. Then, take some time and listen to Steve (should be posted within the next few days) here at www.cochrist.org Then, click the link on the middle right to Online Sermons. Be blessed...be a seeker...ask the questions...
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1. GOD, why?
2. GOD, who are You?...Acts 17:24-25
3. GOD, who am I?...Acts 17:25-26
4. GOD, why am I here?...Acts 17:27
5. GOD, what must I do?...Acts 17:28-30
6. GOD, what is for sure?...Acts 17:31
7. GOD, will I be remembered? Revelations 14:13

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We smile when we think of or listen to 2 of their very favorite songs:

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Victory in JESUS:

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As I listened to this at the following link, I imagined Mark, Sarah, and the crowd of heavenly witnesses singing...in fact, today while Steve was preaching and talking about GOD being in control, there were two extremely large claps of thunder... At that moment, I imagined GOD calling Mark and Sarah over and saying come here and listen to Steve Sikes' give a testimony to your lives...CRASH! BOOM!

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http://www.woodlandsparkchurch.com/index.php?pr=Downloads&PHPSESSID=4e858388dd93847ca9a261ba2e678769

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Mansion over the Hilltop:

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I searched a long time to find a sample of how they liked to sing it.... and low and behold it was Elvis style...

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-cRMgZ9FbQ

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