MOPS

Last weekend I had an opportunity to help a dear friend serve as an exhibitor at the national MOPS convention. I was pretty nervous about the trip since this pregnancy has been harder so far than any of the others. Sickness and exhaustion have kept me on the couch more than not the past several weeks. The Lord was faithful to hear the prayers of those interceding for me and I held up remarkably well!

You see, my friend LT, owns this amazing company called Union 28 . She designs and sells apparel promoting a healthy, positive image of marriage to the world. Wow. The anointing on this company and this woman is truly something worth noting. LT warned me that we would be swamped with women the whole convention. Boy was she right. Other vendors would come over just to see why so many ladies were constantly crowded around our table! I, gratefully, got to sit and run the credit card machine most of the time. It gave me a great perspective to just watch and learn a few things:

1. There are women, lots of them, in the world who are proud of their husbands and proud to be married! In our society where marriage in constantly degraded and covenants are easily broken, it was so refreshing to see hundreds and hundreds of women excited about this opportunity to honor their husbands!
2. There are VERY few women out there (meaning, of the 2200 that I was able to observe at the convention), who do not bear the signs of having birthed children. Everyone longs to be beautiful, whether they admit it or not. God put the longing in each of us. This weekend, I got a new perspective of just how beautiful muffin tops can be! It is the sign of life being born. It is the mark of sacrifice. So what if I have a road map on my belly, a saggy belly button, and a tummy that droops like the jowls of a hound dog among other baby "tatoos". I have 5 absolutely amazing eternal beings that are going to rock this world for Jesus! Muffin top.....I have the rest of my life to burn that off.
3. It pays, literally, to be debt free. LT shared with me that one of the reasons, she believes, her company has done so well is because she has never been in debt with it. She has only ever grown the business with the money that she had. This has freed her up to generously give and bless others with her products. And, of course, we know that one cannot give with a pure heart without reaping a harvest!

So, here's to marriage, baby remnants, and living debt free! Thanks, LT, for the opportunity to serve you and get my head out of the kiddie sand to see the "world" from a different perspective!

My Hero

One of the definitions of "hero" is: an object of extreme admiration and devotion. Hmm. Yep. Sounds like my baby, my honey, my best friend....my hero, Brian. Today is his birthday and boy am I sure glad he was born 35 years ago!!

Truly, I never imagined I could be blessed so with a man like him. Sure, I hoped and prayed for the man of my dreams. But, truth be told, I wondered if he was really "out there". And if he was, how would he find me?

After meeting Brian, over 11 years ago, the more words that came out of his mouth, the more impressed I became with him, with his heart. Brian is the type of man who is often mistaken because of his quiet ways. His occasional blunt statements are sometimes seen as opinionated and unloving. Those who know him best, know that this is far from the truth. He just happens to be real. Ha! Go figure! As one friend fondly describes Brian: "still waters run deep". How true this is! He is very thoughtful, prayerful, wise and committed. He is a man full of integrity, loyalty and passion for the Lord and for the things that He has planted in Brian's heart. He can be brought to tears at the sight of people receiving love from the Father. Then you just might find him splitting the sides of those around him with his antics.

My life is so much richer, lighter, joyful and satisfying with Brian as my partner. So today, I celebrate, Brian, my hero and pray that the windows of heaven be opened up to him in this next year of life. And that the blessings of the Lord would be poured out in such intense measure, he cannot contain it! I love you Bri!