I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord. (Psalm 40:1-3)

Waiting requires patience and that is something I do not possess. This is a work in progress. We are learning to wait for Him to lead us in everything. That is where we find strength. Strength was something hard to find when this trial started, but Christ gave us the power and desire. James stepped up and performed. As soon as we turned this over we became faithful to His word and His lead. Anything that did not match up to what Christ wanted was a waste of time and energy. The one thing I have learned through this was to listen; He will put us where we need to be. It is so hard to wait, I read the angst in the words on so many sites and I pray that Christ will give the peace only He can. Submitting to His will takes courage and to stand and wait and not lose heart or hope is hard. Give your problems to Him, let Christ get the glory. I’ve tried to become the spiritual leader in our home and have found Christ leads through the attitude of James, Allison, and Sherry. God has given me the strength to go forward through them, not the other way around. The love of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, dear friends, and friends we have never met is amazing. I’ve asked for James’ cancer many times, but there is no way I could touch the number of people this brave little man has and continues to. I marvel how Christ works through these kids. I haven’t had a revelation or anything it’s just a different way to look at situations. I go back to what a friend said. “If someone told you they loved your child more and could take care of your child better, you would let them.” Isn’t that what Christ is doing? Give your problems to Him, He can handle everything.

James is doing well. The softball game raised over $17,000. “Thank you” does not seem to be enough. I know the monies raised will help someone, somewhere. We are blessed to have the Long’s in our lives. The have given unselfishly. (By the way, they are due with a little girl in February!!) James is looking forward to the holidays and I have a feeling his Christmas tree will be up soon. For those who haven’t driven by our house, it came down in late July. James is handling his shots, and favors them at night when he is asleep. Whatever works, right? Thanks to all for the prayers for James and his friends. There are so many to visit, but please take the time. Go to our links and those links and down the line. We will update on the Thanksgiving blessing as it nears. James and several of the kids from church painted on pillowcases for the kids at Children’s. They were prayed over and we will take them soon.

On another note, below is some info on a fundraiser for the Janie Sims foundation from Janet. Please support this, they are a great family and a great cause:

I will be heading up the Bake Sale again this year at the Magical Marketplace at Vestavia Methodist to raise money for Curing ChildhoodCancer/Janie Sims Children's Foundation. If you or anyone you know is interested in donating any cakes, pies, breads, cookies, etc....We sure would appreciate it!

The bake sale is November 14th. (You can drop off bake sale items on Thurs. Nov 13 from 5pm-7pm or Fri. Nov 14 from 8am to 9am in the Logos Room across from the fellowship hall).

Thank you so much for your help! Let me know if you have any questions.

~Janet Sims 566-3569

God bless all of you.

Praying for James and his friends,

Jim