Some of this, some of that

Happy Friday y'all!!!

If you think to look at the time on this post....it's CORRECT!!!

That sweet puppy of ours, Pepper, came pouncing on my face at 5:00 am. And, yes...she is in the bed with me. The other night she fell between the footboard and the mattress. She just whimpered and cried and was practically standing straight up. She moves around alot at night, but she's still so small you can't ever feel her. She apparently got a little close to the edge of the bed!

She's beside me now. She's seriously chomping on some puppy food. Our other dog, Bailey, just looks at her like, "Ummmm....why is your food in my bowl." Don't ask either. The girl loves her big sisters bowl and Bailey is patient and tolerant of it all.

Here is our precious Pepper.....

I think I hear Pepper saying.."Play with me Bailey, play with me!"



And, the answer is...."I don't want to play. I'd rather go sit with that wonderful 'mom' I have!"



I was outside the other night and just kept thinking..."Thank you God for a wonderful week of VBS. Thank you Lord for these children." And, this beautiful sky was right beside me. He said, "It was my absolute pleasure."



I had asked you to pray for a little boy named Christian during VBS. Let me tell you about our Tuesday.

Our VBS is from 9-noon. He was not picked up that day and it was getting to be about 12:10. I was getting worried so I asked this precious 5 yr old little boy if we could call his mom. Now, let me tell you, this darling guy has NEVER been in our church before. I don't know them at all. They didn't come with any other kids. He was a true visitor to our church.

During the this time, Christian was so calm and so sweet. I kept thinking...there was no way my boys would have been so calm at this age if they were the last ones to be picked up. Anyway, we called his sister (he never mentioned mom) and she said "Oh, I'm so sorry. I have been at the Dr. all morning and the paperwork took too long and I'm just now getting my prescription. I'll be right there."

That was fine by me. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't in a car wreck or something and needed some help. Well, it got to be 12:50 and still no sister. So, I called again. I felt bad for calling again, but I did. Our town isn't that big so I was concerned that it was taking that long. She answered her cell phone and started apologizing again and again. She said..."I see the church now. I'm just 2 seconds away. I'll be right there."

Ok. I was just so glad that she was fine because at this point, you start thinking all sorts of crazy things.

She pulled in. She jumped out of the car and quickly met me at the door. She apologized 101 times and then looked at me dead in the eyes, all 17 years old of herself, and said...

"I have cancer. I had my 1st treatment today and it took so much longer than I thought."

My heart melted. I looked at that precious girl and asked what type of cancer she had and she has cancer that comes from HPV. I'm not up on my latest medical info so its either cervical or uterine cancer. She is so young to be going through this. We don't know where the momma is...they never said. Christian told us his daddy died. We don't know if this was recent or awhile ago. They don't have much at all. You can just tell. Their address is in a 'not so good' part of town. My heart kept melting. Is she doing all of this by herself???

I told her I would pray for her and that I would be anxious to see Christian again on Wednesday. That is when she asked me if our church had a shuttle service. Big gulp in my throat. The answer is "No, I'm so sorry. We don't." She told me that she had to get some work done on her car and she couldn't get him to the church. Big gulp in my throat again. I so badly wanted to say...."I'll pick him up. I'll come get him."

I hugged Christian goodbye and said "I'll see you Thursday!"

Oh Lord. Please take care of that family. They need so much Lord. They need so many things. I pray that Christian is safe and ok and will be able to come again on Thursday. I need to see those sad, but hopeful eyes one more time.

Well, he just would not leave my mind on Wednesday since I didn't see him. I just begged God to bring that darling boy back on Thursday.

After I had my morning devotional and prayer with the leaders on the last morning, I was standing out in the lobby area of the church and who do you think comes walking in??? Yes, he did. He was sleepy and half groggy, but my little Christian was here!! Thank you Jesus!!

His sister doesn't look at you much and seems uncomfortable and shy, but she took him upstairs where he needed to be. Then, our day began. And, Christian had one more day to be loved on and fed with the word of Jesus and His love.

The end of our day rolled around and we had all finished up in the gym with some pie throwing fun. The group that collected the most food items, for a ministry that feeds hungry children, was able to throw pies in the faces of two of our interns. How fun is that???!!! Not me....them!! :)

I saw Christian having fun, smiling, and taking every aspect of it in. His sister was there with her boyfriend watching too. She would smile every now and then. It came time to leave and I found Christian and hugged on him and told him I'm soooooo glad you came to VBS this year. He just grinned back and said nothing. I wished him luck in kindergarten and that was it.

The sister told me that her treatment is once a week. I told her that I would be praying for her. I don't know how she felt about that, but it was the honest truth. They walked out of our church and I knew right then that I may never see that child again. My heart melted again.

He had shown me all his "super powers" on Tuesday afternoon and I got to see the heart of a typical 5 yr old little boy. Everything about Christian is typical in being a 5 yr old, but everything about Christian is not typical in being a 5 yr old.

I'm not sure where his mom is. I'm not sure how recently his dad died. I'm not sure about anything in his home life. I just know that this sister needed a place for her brother to go for a few days and she chose our church. My heart melted. We could be so many things for them this week and it was a true joy and honor to meet that precious boy and his sister.

I'll always be praying for them. They are forever in my heart. It goes to show that you never know what is going on in a families home and in their lives. Whether you have known them for 5 minutes or 5 years, we should love them all the same. No judging. Nothing but love.

I'm mentally worn out after the week. So, I think I'll take a little trip North. Maybe go see this woman....

Yep. You guessed it!!! I'm heading to Louisville KY with some favorite gal pals and even meeting a couple of fellow Siestas!!! How cool is this??? Time for me to soak it all up!

God is everything to me. He taught me so much this week. Stay with Him girls. Stay in His word! I hope you have a fabulous weekend. I'm praying for you!

Hugs and blessings~