Blessed Be Your Name

Sitting here in Jonesy while Imogene naps, I thought I would share with you a glimpse into the heart of this dear woman. This is what she said to us with tears in her eyes last night, after my mom and I arrived and as Drew was taking a break from moving in the house next door.....

"The Good Lord has brought this all together so perfectly. He's painted a picture so perfect - more beautiful than any other picture ever before!"

She was released from the hospital today so we are back at home trying to get her back into her routine. She is absolutely lovely. And it is good to be here.

****LATER****

I thought I would share with you a reason exactly why Imogene is so lovely. Tonight, I was just chatting with her about the recent events. You need to know that her short-term memory is fading fast; she introduced me to the same nurse at the hospital about 10-15 times this morning. I can't even begin to tell you how many times she's gotten choked up over how blessed and loved she feels and how greatful she is for her family. Tonight, when talking with her, she said, "You know, BJ, for years I've been praying for the Good Lord to give me an opportunity to bring His name into my daily conversation with people in a manner which won't make me sound preachy or turn people off. I just want to spread His love. This time I've had in the hospital has given me the opportunity to do so. I am so very thankful."

She's 84. She's a fighter. She's losing memory and body. Yet her spirit is strong. Her faith is even stronger. She has been talking about the Bible and God non stop. (Funny quote from today when talking about a family friend: "Well, he was kind of like Job in the sense that he told Satan to get thee behind him. Well, I don't think Job said that, but someone did at some point....")

Friends, please pray for my grandma. She is in pain. She is overjoyed at the thought of meeting Jesus and Grandpa Max at the gates of heaven, but she is saddened at the thought of leaving her loved ones behind. Her main concern in this time is that she not become spoiled or selfish and that she would never take anyone or anything for granted. She breathes love for her Maker. She cries tears of thankfulness and joy. And she is an absolute joy to serve. I don't know how long she has left; whether it be months or years. I do know that right now, today....here with her is exactly where I need to be.

Amazing Love

My friends, I have been refreshed! I want to tell you why I love my God. Simply, it is because He has first loved me. Allow me to expand.

Last week was a difficult week for me for many reasons. Ranging from relational difficulties with those around me to questioning future plans and current decisions, many things were keeping me from wearing a smiling. The weekend, however, was so very fun. I got to celebrate with a dear friend for her upcoming wedding, had a great time hanging out with the girls, visited my home town, and had WORLDS of fun with quality peeps... doesn't get much better.

Tonight however, for many of the same reasons as last week, I was discouraged again. I thought of several self-fix-it remedies I could do to cheer myself up, but all involved either calling someone or crashing in on someone's house. And honestly, I just didn't want to burden anyone with my issues tonight. So, I just headed off to Barnes and Noble with my bible and journal to spend some much needed time with God. Here's the kicker, though. I really didn't want to journal. And I really didn't know where to look in the bible. I knew all I really needed and wanted was the blessed love of a friend, yet I was too prideful in wanting to burden anyone.

Walking into the bookstore, I thought of my friend Sharla. She is always such a blessing to see. Earlier today, while sitting at my computer at work, I was blessed by her heart. Even though I haven't seen her for probably two weeks, just thinking of her heart today lightened my load. Walking into B&N, I thought, "God, I just really want to see Sharla tonight. I just need to be encouraged by her. That's really all I want." But again prideful, I didn't want to call her. And I never see her there (I'm there quite frequently), so I knew I was out of luck.

I walked in and headed to the Christian book section to check out Erwin McManus, an author who has come highly recommended by her and her husband, Cameron. I didn't even have time to find the M's on the bookshelf before Cameron comes walking up to me to say hey. I asked him what he was doing and he said that him and Sharla were out without the kids on a date and decided to swing by the bookstore to hang out. He pointed me over to Sharla and already, my heart was lighter. Sharla and I started chatting while Cameron was looking at books and then we all chatted together for a while. Can I just tell you how encouraged I was? It was such a HUGE blessing to me. If all that happened was that I ran into them and got to say hey, I would have felt 100% better. But they invited me to sit with them and we talked for probably an hour and a half or so. It was so very refreshing. SUCH a blessing.

I tell you this not to tell you how great Sharla and Cameron are. (But they truly are wonderful!) I tell you this because in a most amazing way, tonight I felt the most gentle finger tip of God reach down and wipe a tear from my cheek and replace it with a smile. Guys, seriously, I am blown away. I am so grateful that the Lord showed me exactly what I needed, exactly what I wanted. Had I not had that thought of wanting to see Sharla upon walking into B&N, it would have just been a surprising blessing to run into them. A great surprise, a surprise I would have been very thankful for, but that's probably all I would have thought of it.

Instead, God showed me my needs. He showed me my desires. He knew that in my weakness, simply journaling empty words and wondering aimlessly through the Bible would not be enough for me tonight. He knew exactly who I needed. He let me know who I needed. And in His amazing provision, through the most random of ways, He fulfilled even the simplest of desires.

I wish I could accurately vocalize how loved I feel right now. How in the midst of all my worrying, all my self doubt, all my fears over the future, all my frustrations, God goes out of His way to remind me that He loves me. That He cares deeply for me, even for my most simple and basic needs. And that I am His child whom He delights in. And that I deserve nothing less than the best the world has to offer. We all do. And tonight, I am blessed to simply be HIS.

Wholly His.

Unabashedly His.

Desperately, HIS.

It is because of His great love for me that I cannot help but gush of my love for Him. And my amazement over the ways He loves me. How great is the love He has lavished upon me; I am so very HONORED to be His child.

The refuge for the poor, a shelter from the storm
This is our God
He will wipe away your tears and return yourwasted years
This is our God
So call upon His Name, He is mighty to save
This is our God

Oops... I did it again

Seriously, guys. This is getting just a tad bit ridiculous. It's not even 9 am yet....

Here's a shout out to all my Girls. I can't WAIT to see you guys tonight and spend the entire weekend with you! Super, super, super, super, super, super.... super!!!

Also, here's a HUGE congrats to Miss Callison Phelps who is officially engaged!!! Blessed is she who waits on the Lord! :)

Better Man

I am a dork. Should go without being said. I just picked up a fairly full topless cup of soda, only to basically throw it back at my desk. I'm not sure really what happened. I was getting ready to take a drink and decided mid-air to readjust my grip on the cup. Somehow, that equated to my cup flying across my desk, dousing everything in sight with coke. I'm surprised my laptop is still working.

Not to be outdone by myself in an awe-inspiring display of coordination and talent, while I was mopping up the sticky mess, I inadvertently knocked over another cup I had sitting on my desk, this time containing water.

The conclusion, my friends, is two fold. One: I have too many partially full cups of liquid on my desk. Two: If this is how much damage I can cause in 30 seconds with two cups of liquid due to my utter lack of dexterity, I should not be allowed to drive. Or ride a bike for that matter.

In the mean time, I've rediscovered how much I like Better Man by Pearl Jam.

I've also decided to learn how to play drums. So far, it's going good enough much thanks to Dave "Don't Call Me Davie" Royer. Maybe that will help my dexterity.

(0ne More) Song For You

Your Life: The Soundtrack
Opening credits:	Meant To Live - Switchfoot
Waking up:	Beautiful Day - U2
Average day:	Here With Me - Plumb
First date:	The Way I Feel - Matt Wertz
Falling in love:	Accidentially in Love - Counting Crows
Love:	Love of My Life - Santana
Fight scene:	Headstrong - Trapt
Breaking up:	Through With You - Maroon 5
Getting back together:	Crazy Love - Ray Charles
Secret love:	Don't Cha - Pussycat Dolls
Life's okay:	Can't Run But - Paul Simon
Mental breakdown:	Narcolepsy - Third Eye Blind
Driving:	Tripping Billies - Dave Matthews
Learning a lesson:	Bad Day - Daniel Powter
Deep thought:	For Me, It's You - Train
Flashback:	Carried Me - Jeremy Camp
Partying:	Hey Ya! - Outkast
Happy dance:	God is a DJ - Pink
Regreting:	Cold - Crossfade
Long night alone:	Lonely Tonight - Matt Wertz
Death scene:	Poems, Prayers, & Promises - John Denver
Closing credits:	Stars - David Crowder Band
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