Best Tangible Gift Ever--Revealed

She had been planning this since July.
She kept it secret until Christmas Day.
She spent over 100 dollars on supplies.
She emailed over 25 women to help her.
She made deadlines and extended them for those women. She directed their snail mail to my mom's address.
She spent the night with a friend who's an expert at this kind of gift-making.
She and that friend (Hannah, friends since birth) got little sleep that night, working from dinnertime till around 2 a.m.
She worked on it at my mother's house for hours and hours.
She fooled me into thinking it was a quilt or something like that she was hiding.
She wrapped it in a big, big box under a squishy pillow to add to the trickery on Christmas Eve.
She blessed me more than she'll EVER know. I couldn't hold in my joy--it came out in laughter and tears, on and off for an hour as I opened it.
She's my only daughter, Sarah Grace, to whom none can compare.
She sat beside me on the sofa for the big reveal.




A Friendship Scrapbook !!!

Here it is. I'll post a few pages at a time.


Staring at Page 1....





From Sacha (who did her own page)














and Barb (best friend since 3rd grade when I lived in Kansas)













Isabelle, my French friend and sister in Christ whom I "met" online after Katrina hit)
and my sister-in-law, Pat, also wrote touching letters to me....














My friends Therese and Bonnie shared fond memories. It's the little things people remembered that made me say, "That meant something to her? Wow."

Therese said it best when she described what she hoped I'd feel as I read this scrapbook. "May you curl up in the lap of the God of the Universe, lay your head on His chest, and hear His heart beat just for you."







Bonnie's handwritten, three-page letter is tucked into the lavendar envelope. A sample of it follows...














My friend Sandy Steward (from Ben's lacrosse games) and Danielle (dressed as a cute Norman Rockwell girl at my 40th birthday party)













You can click to enlarge any of the photos. I'll post more soon.

Such love. I can hardly believe this many people love me "Just As I Am." They do a whole lot of overlooking and forgiving, that's for sure. True friends.

Newsflash

I made a deposit today into our Russia trip fund. The current balance is $702-- enough to cover the application cost for one of us. I am so happy!

The wreath sales have brought in nearly $450. (I am still waiting for donations of two people who ordered a wreath.) Some people donated who didn't need a wreath, and a bit of cash came at Christmas. I am so thankful.

Once again I realize God has given us faith for this trip that will cost $6000 plus traveling money for us both to go. Please keep praying.

Wonderful

My mom is out of the hospital; she was released on Christmas Eve.

We had a wonderful Christmas:

*I received probably the single best present I've ever gotten in my life. Many of you had a LOT to do with it. You know who you are. It deserves its own post, which will happen very soon.

*My side of the family came over last evening. We haven't had what you'd call the traditional dinner for years, for whatever reason, which is fine. No one seems to mind what's on the menu, as long as it includes cookies. So we had a buffet of build-your-own enchiladas (which do look Christmassy with their white flour tortillas, red enchilada sauce and chopped green onion on top), plus some Spanish rice and applesauce. I completely forgot to take pictures of the family at the table. Waaa. I was too busy enjoying them.

*Paul wanted us to open one gift Christmas Eve. Not ordinary. But then again, these weren't ordinary gifts. He had written special notes for each one of us citing his appreciation for the qualities he sees in each of us, and how God is using us. I'm tellin' ya, it was a Hallmark commercial. Very, very special since he seldom speaks, let alone writes, what he really feels in a warm fuzzy way.

*Funniest memory: My dad often uses old-fashioned expressions in his everyday language. We kid him about things like "groovy" and "swell." And he is very "over the top" with verbal appreciation--a gusher, you could say. Well, he opened a generous gift certificate (yes, the paper kind) to Double T from Sarah. He beamed and said to my mom, "My oh my, Brenda, we can really make out there!" To which I said, "Please don't. Just eat."

So then every time they opened a gift card to some restaurant (perfect for their hobby of eating out), someone would say, "Are you gonna make out there, too?" I teased them that I don't really want to read in the Police Beat of the Pennysaver, "Local retired couple caught making out in a string of area restaurants."

More later about the BEST TANGIBLE GIFT I'VE EVER GOTTEN BESIDES MY BIBLE. IT's EVEN BETTER than my CAMERA!!!"

A Few of My Favorite Things, part 1

A gnarled tree,
Bent by the winds
Seeking the sun.
Alone
but not lonely.
Boughs that bow
as if knowing they perform
for only One.
The Producer.











A child's hands.
Soft little fingers curled around an orange crayon,
Studying the next stroke,
Staying in the lines.
Or not.
Boy's fingers in need of a good scrubbing
Most of the time.
My precious artist.







Storm clouds in the evening
Silent
Their hush announces the presence of God
in His heaven
Just in case you missed Him
When the sky was blue.

Squirrels frolicking in the trees
Stopping only to notice that winter
Must be coming.
"This playground of mine," says he,
"does not hide me as well as it once did."

"Maybe I should stop playing and get busy looking for
acorns to hide. Or maybe I'll just wait another day.
As for nuts, I think the lady taking this picture of me
is the biggest one around here. She thinks I don't notice
her, but I do."