Summer Day 76, Fri Aug. 14

I just looked back at last summer's day count. There were 80-something days. Looks like this summer will be the same. So much for Phineas & Ferb's 104 days. I guess they go to school from mid October through late May. I'm sure my kids would be on board for that. In fact, I am pretty sure all my kids' teachers would be, too! ha ha!

Things I Liked About Today:
1. I LIKED sleeping a little bit late. (oh yeah, all the way to 8:30!)
2. I LIKE how well the kids behaved while we were grocery shopping. (I'm sure it had everything to do with my prayer time before we left!) They even stood quietly while I tried on 2 shirts & a pair of jeans. The dressing room attendant lady commented on how sweet they were while I was inside the dressing room.
3. I LIKE how they all helped carry in the grocery bags. (of course, I expect that of them, but I'm glad they did it without argument or having to be bribed!)
4. I LIKE how having a friend over to spend the night motivates my messy boy to clean his room! It's still not perfect, but it's a heck of a lot cleaner tonight than it was this morning!
5. I LIKED watching Samuel sit at the window watching for his buddy to arrive....and then I LIKED how he squealed & ran to the door when they pulled up. I LIKE how sweet his friend is! They are really great kids. I'm blessed.
6. I LIKE how I got to sit & read my People magazine in Dairy Queen while the kids played.
7. I LIKED the fact that the kids were so excited when Larry arrived at DQ while we ate. I knew he was coming, but they didn't.

And just so you know, I really LIKE what I'm going to be doing Sunday morning! Let me tell you the story....it's way too big to be listed as one of my "likes" above. Oh yeah, this is much bigger than all of those!

A number of months ago, maybe even a year ago now (I can't remember), I started noticing this lady who posted comments on a lot of my friends' pictures & status updates on Facebook. After a while, I realized the common thread among all the people she knew was our (current) church. At that time, we were still at our old church, so I figured she had joined our (now current) church during the years we were away. I finally sent her a message & asked if she went to the church. As it turns out, somewhere along the way during the years we were gone, she did visit it (I think?) with a friend and met a lot of the women, but she had turned away from her faith since that time & declared herself an atheist. I was a little surprised because I suppose we (Christians) assume that atheists look/talk/behave differently than us in some extreme way. And sure, Christians ARE different & SHOULD BE different, but the truth is, we probably all have some common ground with people of all different religions & belief systems.

I befriended this sweet lady & began talking to her....not so much because I was hell-bent on converting her, but because I wanted to get to know her. I wanted to see how she went from belief to disbelief, what happened in her life to turn her away from God. (But of course, I prayed that I could do or say something to be a light in her life, to point her back toward God somehow!)

Over the course of the time I've known her (solely through Facebook), I've read the things she writes -- beautiful poetry & stories mostly. We've talked through hot-topic issues a couple times. I've learned about her background and we've become friends. Several months ago, she saw me in person at one of Savannah's band concerts. She was there with a friend to see another kiddo & spotted me in the crowd, but we didn't get to talk. I didn't know she was there til later that night when she sent me an email to tell me she saw me. I've only seen pictures of her. But all that is going to change this weekend.

You see, about a month ago, she told me (& others) that she saw God's hand at work in her life and she had made a startling discovery -- that God did indeed exist! I still haven't heard the whole story of her conversion (I can't wait!!!), but to hear the excitement & warmth in her status updates, I can "see" Jesus shining through her words. This Sunday morning, she's getting baptised at a local church & I was invited to attend! I am so over the moon excited & happy for her. I can't wait to see how God uses her, how He continually changes her from the inside out, how He will hold her & pour His love into her life. What a great day Sunday is going to be!

And to top it off, one of my oldest & dearest friends' daughter (who happens to be Sarah's best friend) is getting baptised on Sunday night! Talk about a day of seeing God's glory! I can't wait!