thoughtful thursday

What a difference a week makes! Last Thursday morning I woke up without a vehicle, unsure of how much it would cost to retrieve my car - if I even could. This morning I woke up with a peaceful heart... not stressed, not upset, not fearful... our lives can change in the blink of an eye, for better or for worse. We never know what crisis, what challenges, what issues and what blessings lie ahead.

Seriously, if you're going through hell, keep on going.

My friend Natalie, who I've written about before, is the surviving spouse of an amazing man of God who ended his life prematurely due to bi-polar disorder. Natalie is a tower of strength, a woman of faith, an incredible example for those who face their darkest hour. She is writing a book about her experiences with her husband and her journey since his death. Her publisher wants to see interest in the book before they will give her a contract and she's working to demonstrate that interest through her blog, her twitter account and a facebook page. Her blog is
http://www.enterthenatcave.blogspot.com/ - I encourage you to follow her blog. You can link to the facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=118005558233031&ref=ts or just go to my facebook page and search my groups for the group, Tears to Joy... and please, share these links with your friends. Natalie has a beautiful spirit and a wonderful perspective. Even if your life hasn't been touched by the same tragic circumstances that hers has, you can learn to face anything with the faith that she has. Natalie is a humble woman and would never self-promote... but I believe that her message needs to reach people... so I will unashamedly promote her! I hope you'll join me in this effort.

This has been a week of peace for me but I've been acutely aware of people in my life who are not experiencing peace. My heart is so heavily burdened... every time something happens that breaks MY heart, while I'm healing and resting from that, it seems like I'm so much more sensitive to what's happening around me. I am grateful that God allows me to share those burdens, that He trusts me to love others. I want to be good at it.

Last night was my brother's last night as Youth Pastor at our church. Now he can be a "real pastor". That's an inside joke... he is a REAL pastor... having love and compassion and wisdom and patience to guide and disciple a group of UNRULY (Stasha's word) young people requires a true professional. Bubba will now be working as Pastor to young adults and handling counseling, helping in those transitions from youth to adult. He'll be great at it. It's a new stage of life for him. Young people who had been part of his youth group for the past ten years came back last night to be there... it was really sweet. As he was giving his last message at the youth service, our pastor's daughter, Abbie, who is 16 and has downs syndrome, FELL at his feet in tears crying, "Don't go, Pastor Jim!!!" She got up and stood beside him on the stage and wrapped her arms around him... My brother is usually fairly unflappable. I mean... he's spent a lifetime around dramatic old me... and Angie's a fairly emotional woman... and he's got two emotional girls... so Jim usually is the calm, level headed one in the group... but Abbie got to him... and of course... once Jim started crying, me and Angie both got mushy... it was a precious moment... funny, sweet and sad all at the same time.

Made me glad, once again, that I'm here to share in those kind of things.

Time for me to glam and dash... time to make the donuts... or sell the insurance... or whatever I do.

Hope you all have a beautiful day!