bloggin'

So, yet another friend of mine has informed me that I haven't been blogging enough lately. I guess my momentum depends heavily on comments. I'm sure that's true for a lot of bloggers. If I get a lot of feedback, I'm more likely to spout out something else right away. Do I really rely that heavily on the opinions of others for my own confidence? Absolutely. Sad, I know. But anyone who knows me well will tell you I've always been that way. I depend way too much on what other people think, and not enough on what I want or need. I was even worse about it before I met Kyle! Can you imagine? Me more withdrawn and self-conscious?
Anyway, no real point to all this except to say thanks to those of you who read and comment. You have played an important part in my life over the past few months.

Strange Christians

I had two seperate experiences this week dealing with Christians who were also strangers. Each incident left me with strong feelings toward the person, but the feelings were completely opposite.
The first ~ Wednesday night, my adopted fam and I went to eat at a favorite Chinese place of ours. Now, for those of you who don't know my adopted mom, she is one you don't want to mess with. She definitely has a temper on her. (This will come into play later.) Anyway, we walked in behind an older couple and got in line. In this particular restaurant, you walk through a corral (I always feel the need to moo when walking through one of those) and pay before you eat. That was where the fun began! On the other side of the bars (the already eaten and about to leave side) stood a young couple with two young boys. As we walked in behind the first couple I overheard the young woman chastising her husband for not being in line. (He was taking the kids coats off) Then she decided to take it upon her self to declare her "rightful place in line." She stepped right in front of mom. Big mistake! Mom didn't realize what had been going on, so she called the woman out on her rudeness. Well then the argument began. She proceeded to tell mom in a nasty tone that cutting her in line wasn't very "godly," and she didn't appreciate her talking like that in front of her children. Then she continued yelling... mom must not be a Christian because of the way she was acting. (Now up until this point mom had held her tongue, and much to the surprise of the rest of us, didn't throw a well deserved swing.) Mom looked at me and pointed to the lady and said, "She's a Christian!" Then the lady turned and offered to let mom infront of her - after she called her a fat@$$ b*#?ch. Mom refused and the lady went ahead and paid for their meal.
She was obviously in a hurry....Her family was dressed nicely.....They left at 10 till 7.
following me? She was on her way to church.
I was so angry at this woman I'd never met before, because she's the kind of person people use to label all Christians hypocrites. I wanted so badly to say something to her, but what to say? Would she hear me? Would she just want to fight with me too?
I walked away feeling angry and awful...


The second ~ I went to church Sunday morning knowing that I was going to hear a sermon that would touch me personally. Dr. Johnson is doing a series called "Get This Christmas Right." Sunday's was on Those Living With Loss. It was a very good lesson. He always has a way of making God's word real. It's no longer words on a page, but a scene that I can see play out in my mind and better understand what God's trying to tell me with that story. Anyway, toward the end, he asked anyone living with loss this holiday season to raise their hands. So, though it was way out of my comfort zone, I raised my hand. Then he asked us to look around and find someone with a raised hand to lay a hand on. I was sitting by myself because my usual crowd was not there. (Going to church by myself is a very painful thing for me.) This young woman came and sat beside me and placed her hand on my shoulder as we prayed. Then she offered me a tissue. Before the end of church she'd given me her name, number, e-mail address and a hug. She wanted me to feel free to call her to vent or share frustrations.
I walked out of church feeling like a weight had been lifted, and that there are people out there who are willing to get involved, invest themselves and invite you into their life. At that moment, she was Jesus to me.

SO, when you or I cross paths with a stranger this week, how will they feel when you walk away? I hope the feelings I leave behind are like the later...

prayers, please...

There is a young mother in Indiana that needs your prayers. (Her oldest of 4 children is in my class at school.) She was involved in a freak go-carting accident this past weekend. She has a severe head injury that I'll spare you the details of, and she broke a vertebrae in her back causing paralysis. The doctors don't know if the paralysis is permanent. They don't know if she'll walk again, or even pull through this.
Please lift this young woman up in prayer. Pray for strength for her husband and children. Pray for those of us that have contact with this family, that we may be Jesus to them in this time of great agony and need.

Please visit Niki or Benny's blog today. (Links are to the left.)
The entire Dry Bones team needs your prayers. Lift them and their work up before the Father.
Love you all....

blessings of the wanderer....

Ever wonder why God causes people to cross your path? Are you intended to bless them? Are they intended to challenge you? I've asked my self these questions lately.
God caused an incredible young man to come into my life for three short days, but I hope to call him friend for the rest of my life. His name, Luke Copeland; his story, one of courage and faith. Luke graduated from college this past May, and since then has started a journey that some think is crazy, but most envy. He is in the process of traveling to all fifty states and staying with a new family in each one. Sometimes he knows the family, sometimes he just knows of them, sometimes he doesn't know where he'll stay until he's there. Where ever he goes, he absorbs the scenery, observes the people, touches lives and serves his God.
I was blessed to have him cross my path this weekend. Because of a lack of understanding on my part, Luke got into Indy Friday morning with no place to stay that night. Once I realized I was supposed to be his contact person here and find him somewhere to stay, I stressed and went into panic mode. I called everybody I could think of to bail me out. (blessing #1 It forced me to be vulnerable and talk with people I'd not spoken to in a while.) By the grace of God, my friend Doug managed to get his friend, Chris, from church, to help me out. Later that night I spoke to Chris about the arrangements and such... for those of you who don't know, talking to someone I don't know is way out of my comfort zone, but Chris was very willing to help out a sister and brother in need. (blessing #2 Made a new friend in Christ.)
Saturday morning, I left Luke with a list of things to do, as he was at my house to help me get it closer to sellable. (Is that a word? ) When I returned, I intended on 'helping' him, but it turned into a time of great conversation. We talked about everything from the plight of the homeless, to the owl my momma made when I was a baby that sits in my house, to Kyle. He tenderly asked me questions about what happened, and I was able to share with him the details of the accident including how God so obviously saved my life. It was nice to talk about it. That may sound strange, but I was able to do it without tears. I wasn't trying to hold them back, I spoke freely ~ they just didn't come. (blessing #3 Talking about something so painful without letting it ruin my mood or my day... It was cleansing.)
Later that afternoon, once I realized the boy hadn't eaten all day, I cooked him dinner. It was not my best, but it wasn't too bad either. Again, we had great conversation. He was very complimentary and appreciative, and I was tickled to feed a southern boy. (blessing #4 remembering the joy I get out of cooking for someone that's thankful and tells me so.)
I saw Luke one last time Sunday evening. A group of us went to the Ordinary to eat the best pizza in Indy. Sarah, Carrie, Chris, Luke and I sat and shared stories and laughter for 2 hours. It was a lot of fun, and I hated to see the evening end. As we parted ways, I thought of how the weekend began. God is so amazing! He took what started out a stressful weekend and made it into a time that I can look back on and know He was reminding me of who He is. ( blessing #5 Refocusing and enjoying every minute.)
To sum up, God blessed my socks off this weekend, and He used a new lifelong friend to do it!