GoG 88: The "Darlin'"

I stopped at McDonald's for a sweet tea, and the guy at the register called me "darlin'."

"There ya go, darlin'" .... as he handed me my cup.

Ha! It made me smile really big. And oh yeah .... that little "darlin'" was God's grace alright! :D

GoG 87: The Red Beans and Rice

Monday afternoon, shortly before we left to head home from Poplar Bluff, Shelley made us lunch.

RED BEANS AND RICE!!!!!!

Golly, I was excited! That may not sound like anything amazing .... but I really like red beans and rice. It's a southern dish .... New Orleans kind of thing. And it is sooooo good! It's one of my favorite, if not my favorite, dish that Shelley makes. Mmm ... mmm! And she made it for us!

Good food is just grace. Period. We don't deserve to have such GOOD stuff to eat .... but God gives it to us anyway!!!!! Mmm mmm!!!! :)

GoG 86: The Callings Chat with PM

Sunday afternoon Tiffany and Neil went to Wal-Mart, and I rode home from church with Pastor Mike, Shelley, and the kids. When we got back to their house, Pastor Mike, Shelley, and I sat in the living room ... and PM started asking me about ministry. .... specifically, youth ministry ... and asked me more about SoZo and what I've been doing/continue to do with my life concerning ministry. We got to talking about callings ... my calling ... what I think it is right now ... and how I think it's changing.

It was really great to get some thoughts/ideas off my chest ... but it was just really good to talk to Pastor Mike, specifically ... Shelley too ... but Pastor Mike, especially - about my calling. It was grace because Pastor Mike was (and really still IS) my youth pastor ... next to my parents, he and Shelley have had the greatest impact on my life for Christ .... and any and every conversation with him is God's grace at work. I am so thankful for him. :)

GoG 85: The Princesses, Water Colors, and Bubbles

So Saturday, during our Poplar Bluff visit, was a great day because I got to spend extra time with the Chambers kids - Justus, Noah, and Anna. Oh, what fun!!! .... Justus turned 13 in February ... gosh, he's old! Noah is 9 and quite the little chatterbox ... my favorite chatterbox. I wanted to steal him all weekend ... bring him home with me and talk to him all day long! And Anna will be 3 later this month. She talks and talks ... and she's got the most prominent personality of any 3-year-old I know! She was my buddy for the weekend. We played princesses and painted with water colors and blew bubbles (her favorite!) ... and she told me "You always have to come" and "I need you to come" all weekend long. It was a ton of fun.

These are all glimpses of God's grace ... they are great kids ... and they love me. But I think I really noticed the grace when I was hold Anna at one point on Saturday. We were sitting on the couch watching The Blindside ... and Anna had climbed up on the couch, took a seat in my lap, and just cuddled with me for quite a while. Oh, it was precious!!! What a doll! It was a great weekend. :)

GoG 84: The PB Trip

Behind again. Too funny!

Last weekend, Tiffany, Neil, and I went to see Pastor Mike and Shelley in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Always a good trip! So Friday's GoG was pretty much that .... just seeing Pastor Mike and Shelley. And getting hugs from Shelley.

Gosh, I miss those guys!!!! What a blessing to see them!

GoG 83: The Breakdown

So .... I had a "breakdown" tonight in my BBF's car. It wasn't an easy "cry fest" and "spill my heart fest," but it was needed. Beyond needed. :)

I found out that I haven't let go of some disappointments that have happened in my life over the past 3 years. That's a bummer. But it's also grace ... God's grace! ..... God cares about me enough to bring about comments (moments) in our lives to bring the uglies to the surface. He doesn't want 'em to fester within us. He wants us to deal with 'em and let of 'em and ask forgiveness for 'em and move on from 'em. Praise God for that!!!!!

And praise God for a BBF who will listen and give advice and pray and stand by me in the midst of my uglies.

I will not be bitter. I will let go. I will trust God completely and overcome. And it's all because of a little thing called grace. :)

GoG 82.5: The Life-Giving Friend

In addition to becoming an unofficial aunt today, I met with my dear friend, Sara-Ruth. Sara-Ruth and I have described ourselves as very similar to one another but different at the same time. We both stress about little things. We both love deeply but are afraid of being vulnerable. We are really hard on ourselves. We get worked up (excited) about simple/goofy/wonderful things. The list could keep going. :)

Sara-Ruth is one of my all-time favorite people to chat with, spend time with, just sit close to. She is ... as she put it - a life-giving friend. She talked tonight about how I make her feel better ... that she goes away from me feeling as though she can take on the world again. She said that when she spends time with me it's as if I "radiate something ... there's life there." And so she, in so many words described me as a life-giving friend.

But that is what she is for me. I told her that, once I leave her, I can say ... "Okay, life! Let's do this thing!" All I have to do is see Sara-Ruth, and I am feeling better than before I saw her. All I have to do is get a hug from her or see her and her family at La Ranchera and chat with them for 2 minutes, and I feel better ... as if a new breath of life was breathed into me for the day. .... Not many friends do that. I think I count the number of friends who do that for me on one hand.

Sara-Ruth is so genuine, passionate, God-fearing .... a ray of sunshine, really. And she doesn't even know it. And it is her friendship ... her life-giving friendship that is my second glimpse of grace for the day ... GoG 82.5.

GoG 82: The Baby Wade!!!

Baby Wade is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maggie has been one of my very best friends since I was 6 and she was 7. And she is married and had a baby today!!! When did we get so old!!!!

And baby Wade is my glimpse of grace for today. I'm an unofficial aunt!!!! :)

Oliver James Wade.

8 pounds 11 ounces.

Born at 9:14am Wednesday, March 24, 2010!!!!

GoG 81: The Emily Day :)

I got to hang out with my Emily today!

We laughed together.

We ate soup and grilled cheese together.

We took a walk in the park together.

And that's grace! :)

GoG 80: The Answer to Prayer

My GoG for today is that God is providing people to help with SoZo!!!!!!!

About 3 weeks ago, my parents volunteered to help until some other people could step in. And this weekend, two people from church told me they would love to help out with SoZo! Two very capable people who will do a great job! And I am sooo excited! What an answer to prayer!

Look out, world! The SoZo youth are a comin'!!!!! :D

GoG 79: The Jon Friend

So ... today I got to chat with my dear friend, Jon. Gosh, I love that guy! ..... We've been going to the same church together for several years ... but lately, over the past year or so, we haven't been able to stay in touch as well. ... Oh, we see each other just about every Sunday ... but usually, all I get is a wink or a wave or a smile from the stage or a "hey, how's it goin'?" And a lot of the time, none of the above 'cause our paths don't always cross at church. Sometimes, we get to squeak a little more out when we play football with the gang ... but not always.

But today .... oh yeah! :)

I was so encouraged and filled with joy, really, when Jon walked with me to the football field when I first got to the game. I almost burst with joy when he told me he asked for me to be on his team (I had previously told him that I wanted to be on his team). I was excited to get a hug from him ... as well as several winks and smiles and laughs. He also made fun of me quite a bit .... all those guys do. I must have the "lame disease" or something. ;) Haha! And I was blessed to get to chat with him as we walked back to our cars when we left the game. I was able to chat with him just a little about his wife and son ... we didn't chat too long ... but he did say ... "I think about you a lot and your friendship." And I was incredibly blessed to know that he thinks of me as a dear friend .... because I just love him to death! I would give my life for that guy! Jon is one of the few people in my life whom I would literally say, to his face, "You just make me feel better about life." He really is one of my "pick-me-up" friends. He just holds a really special place in my heart.

We had the chance to chat and interact and laugh a lot together today. And it's long-time friends who are one of God's greatest glimpses of grace in our lives. Thank you, Lord, for friendship!

GoG 78: The Compliment from Ben :)

Today, one of my best friends told me I'm an amazing person.

Ben.

And that's about all I needed to continue on after a busy and overwhelming evening of prepping for tomorrow morning's announcements at church. Whew! I don't know why I'm so nervous!

Friendship. Compliments. Responsibilities. .... They're all apart of God's grace in my life. :)