CAR

Sunday July 9, 2017.  Our little family was back at church, and for the first time in several weeks, Tim and I were both sitting in service together.  We were so happy to be there!  Between traveling and nursery duties, it had been awhile. 

Due to the memorial service for his father that weekend, Pastor Bob was not preaching this week, and had asked a man from our community, Carter Strand, to come and speak.  Carter shared this video:

Afterward Carter spoke about the orphan crisis in Central African Republic, the work of Jonathan's House for Orphans, and some ways that we could get involved if we were interested.  I felt like I was holding on for dear life during most of his talk, thinking "what is happening?!" When we got home, Tim and I sat down to lunch, looked across the table into each other's eyes, and knew/hoped we knew what the other was thinking.

We're adopting.

As surprised as we were, and as much as the timing seemed strange, we both knew without a doubt that this was what God was asking us to do.  Not "someday."  Now.

The topic of adoption has come up casually with us in the past, and we both would say "yeah, someday we'll probably adopt," but I think we assumed we would wait until we felt we were done having biological children before pursuing adoption.  Tim pointed out that we've both heard countless sermons and talks on adoption, but we've never felt so clearly and certainly that God was telling us to do it.  Now.

A couple of weeks later, we met with Carter and spoke with him.  After a few more phone calls and a lot more waiting, we got hooked up with our adoption agency and started their processes in November.  Our first home study visit was in February, and our final home study visit was on Thursday.

 Each adoption story is different and unique, and each country does things differently.  Part of our process involves a trip to the Central African Republic (CAR) to meet the children.  Instead of being matched with an orphan, families adopting from this orphanage are allowed to meet the children and identify who they would like to adopt.  No pressure!  I think it would be so much easier to be matched!

Tim and I made the trip in March.  We traveled "alone" but were assured over and over and over that the Lord went ahead of us, with us, and behind us.  As my new friend, Rachael, prayed over us  "For the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard." Isaiah 52:12b

The preparations for the trip were overwhelming, but we saw God work in countless ways!  We have so many people loving us, supporting us, praying for us, and cheering for us, and we felt that big time while we were there!  Here are some examples of answered prayers:

• Connections with long-time family friends from CAR that helped us get our visas on time
• Many other mom that are adopting or have adopted from JHO that reached out to me, encouraged me, helped me, and prayed for me, particularly when I would feel most like we were doing this alone or feeling anxious
• Smooth flights with no delays, and no lost luggage
• We connected with our host, Samuel, shortly after arriving at the airport
• We did not have to pay excessive taxes on all of the supplies and gifts that were sent with us to the orphange.  A HUGE answer to prayer!
• Safety!  If you check the FBI travel site, they strongly recommend NOT travelling to CAR.  At all.  The UK says not to venture outside of Bangui, the capital.  We were 3 hours north of the capital in an area that is currently stable, but due to the nature of the rebel attacks in the country, this could change at any time.  Not only did we stay safe from rebels, but also injury and illness.  Praise the Lord!
• We prayed many prayers that the Lord would guide us in our decision to adopt.  Early in our adoption journey I was reading in Isaiah, "Your ears will hear a word behind you, 'this is the way, walk in it' whenever you turn to the right or to the left." (Isaiah 30:21)  This has been our prayer!  That we would be walking with the Lord so we can hear His clear directions in our ears when it is time to go one way or the other.  Very quickly after arriving, we realized we would not be able to-- and it would not be best to-- make a decision about who to adopt while we were there.  We needed to come home and have space from that beautiful place to think about it.  While we wanted to bring all 29 children home, we felt comfortable that we did not make a decision while we were there.
• We were worried that we would be a burden to the staff and not have anything to do and be in the way while we were there.  While we probably were a burden to the staff and were in the way, we did find ways to use our gifts to help in small ways.  Tim did wiring at the clinic that is run by the orphanage so that when they receive a generator or--even better-- solar panels, they can have power.  I was able to work with the doctor, explain some of the medicine and supplies we brought, and see potential for future medical mission trips.

While our purpose in travelling was adoption, we quickly realized that adoption is only part of what God is doing in CAR and in us.  We hope to make many, many trips back to encourage the staff, teach them skills, bring supplies, help the community, and help our adopted child(ren) remain connected with their culture.  We don't know what all of this will look like, and most of it needs to wait until our adoption is finalized, but we know that God will finish the work He has started, and we are only a tiny little part of it.

So where are we right now?  As I said, our last home study visit was on Thursday.  When our home study report is finished and reviewed and approved by all required parties, we will submit our dossier.  That is actually when our adoption process starts.  At this time, in CAR, it is averaging about 1 year from when the dossier is submitted to when the child comes home, if there are no major complications (and there have been families with major complications).  When we submit our dossier and are approved by the US to adopt internationally, we can find out which of the children at the orphanage are officially adoptable, and we hope to make a decision at that time.  Until then, we prefer not to discuss "what types of kids" we are thinking about.  We will announce who we are adopting when we are allowed to.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed and supported us so far.  You have blessed us more that you will ever understand!  The Lord has made His presence known to us in the process so many times, particularly with an encouraging word from a friend-- new or old-- just when we needed it the most.

My words are inadequate to share what God is doing, but Rachael's daughter in CAR said it best...

"Only God knows the end of the story."

31 Things I've Learned in 31 Years

Hey Kids!  First, of all, I finally got around to changing the blog title.  Since we're no longer DINKs (dual income, no kids), I had to come up with something else.  Real Life with the Taylors seemed like the obvious choice.

Secondly, I recently turned 31. (I'm cringing as I confess my age.)  I thought I would share with you 31 little tidbits I've picked up throughout my life.  In no particular order, here we go...

1. God is good, all the time.  All the time, God is good.
2. If you try to walk three dogs at one time by yourself, you're probably going to end up wearing poop.
   
3. It's not for us to plan our families.  I've seen teenagers striving to be the best parents they can with what they've got.  I know single women who have been called to foster care and adoption.  I know couples that would be great parents that can't have kids.  I know couples that would be great parents that don't want kids.  And I think we all know some people that we don't think should have kids that do...If everything worked out the way it "should" life would be boring, and we wouldn't think we needed God.
4. If someone's in respiratory distress the priority nursing intervention is to place them in High Fowler's position.  That's fancy medical speak for sit them up.
5. You will be amazed at what you can do when you simply have to do it.  It's impressive what you can get through when the only way through is through.
6. It's God who grows things.
   
7. People who love drama say that they hate drama.  
8. Dairy + grains = a complete protein.  Legumes + grains = a complete protein.
9. You can't do it all.  And that's ok.
10. Ravenclaw is my Hogwarts house.
11. Vampires have a compulsion to count.  Related: sometimes Tim laughs like The Count after he counts.
12. Onesies can be pulled down to be removed, they don't have to go back up over the head.  Life.  Changing.
13. It is just as easy to put on a nice shirt and decent pants (or at least jeans) as it is to put on an old t-shirt and yoga pants.  Getting dressed in real clothes feels better and is more motivating that wearing pajamas/ "workout" clothes all day.  (Says the girl wearing yoga pants...)
14. Dancing with the Stars is the best reality show on television!  Related: I love the Argentine tango.  Definitely my favorite dance.
15. Life is short and there are no guarantees.  Treat people like they will die tomorrow.  Live like it's your last day.
16. I am rich. Definitely by worldwide standards, and probably even by American standards.
17. For some reason that I still don't understand, God has put all of the best people in MY life.  I don't understand why, and I don't deserve it, but that is God's grace-filled nature!
18. Calcium constipates.  Magnesium is a laxative.  You're welcome.
19. A lot of the things that drove you crazy about your mom when you were younger, you will thank her for when you are older, if you have the chance.  You might not have the chance, so thank her now and tell her you love her.
    
20. If your deep freeze is making funny noises and you just bought a quarter of beef,check into that situation IMMEDIATELY.  Do NOT say to yourself, "Self, I have five tests in 3 days, I don't have time to worry about a freezer."  Because when you are done with all your tests and think you can relax, you find yourself with a bloody mess, crying as you throw your precious ribeyes into a crock pot.
    
21. Don't gossip.  Just don't.  If you would be embarrassed for them to hear you say it, don't say it.  We all hate that awkward moment when we find out they were just coming down the hall and heard everything.
22. Related: venting never works.  It doesn't make you feel better, it just makes you more frustrated as you focus on your anger and think up EVEN MORE reasons to be angry.  Try this instead: give them the benefit of a doubt.  Also, count your blessings!
23. If you are feeling grumpy and/or angry, drink a big glass of water, eat a healthy snack, and take a nap.  If you're still angry when you wake up, take a walk.  If you're still angry, then maybe you're really angry.  But sometimes hormones can get confusing, so maybe wait 'til those die down, too.
24. My dad knows a lot of stuff. A lot.  Of stuff.
25. When we were babies dad would hold us all during dinner.  He would also talk in a Swedish Chef voice when he changed our diapers.  Which is funny because it's funny, but also because he is 100% Swedish and a really good cook.
26. Sometimes the things you think you believe strongly in you change your mind about.  I used to think it was okay to heat water in the microwave to make a cup of tea.  Tim felt that water must be boiled in a kettle.  I now always use the kettle and he uses the microwave.  My, how people change...
    
27. Generally speaking, when in London, if you are going one stop down on the Tube, it is faster just to walk.  
28. Just when you think you've hit your maximum number of friendships you can maintain, God gives you more friends.  When you think you can't possibly love any more people, He expands your heart and gives you the love to love them.  It's really quite amazing, actually.
29. You have to be doing what you're doing because it's what God has called you to do.  It can't be because of other people.  Your work besties will come and go.  Bosses change.  Your purpose has to be bigger than that.
30. Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park are great places to finish off your list of license plates!
31. Even though I'm a broken, screwed-up mess, God makes something beautiful out of my life.  Christ has saved me!  It doesn't get any better than that.

I'm still alive and Baby's still kickin'

Hi Friends!  It's been over two months since I last checked in, but I wanted to stop by and let you know we're still here.  It feels like life might start to slow down a bit, but then... we're having a baby.  So maybe not.

Here are some updates, if you're interested,

Nursing School

School is winding down!  I just have 45 hours of clinical scheduled (no more classes) before I'm done on December 11th!  Done with the LPN program, that is.  I'm not really letting myself feel like I'm "done" because I still need to take boards, then start the RN program in June.  But the break will be much appreciated!  Two weeks ago it felt like school was trying to kill me, but I've slept some sleep since then, and I'm feeling better about life.

I'm continuing to work as an nurse aide at the hospital, scheduled for 1 or 2 12 hour shifts per week, so that is good experience and reminds me of why I'm doing what I'm doing.  I work with some really great nurses.  Also, I super-appreciate how flexible they are with my school schedule.

In other news, God unexpectedly blessed me with two scholarships!  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

House

Egress window installation

"How's the basement coming?"  Well kids, it's coming!  We removed another wall, and had an egress window installed.  Tim is steadily working on re-arranging/ re-plumbing the maze of various ducts and pipes that are hanging from the joists.

My family, all in one place!

My whole family came a couple of weekends ago, and Dad and Tim took down two dead trees on the west side of our house, while my mom and sisters (and Sapphire) had a lovely baby shower for me.  We now have a lot more firewood...and sunlight streaming through our windows. :)  Thanks, Dad (and everybody else).

We had our hardwood floors refinished as well.  No, we did not do this ourselves!  We're not that crazy.  We're happy with the results, and preparing for the procedure to be done involved a LOT of cleaning, pitching, and re-arranging, that we're still recovering from.

Tico guarding All The Things we stored on the porch while the floors were refinished

Baby

"How are you feeling?" Pregnant.  Most of the time good, but sometimes baby likes to roll over and kick me in the diaphragm, which is not so pleasant.  Tying my shoes is quite a chore, but one I'm still able to accomplish.  

"Are you ready?" HECK NO, Techno!  Is anyone every really ready to have a baby?  But besides that, I have no bags packed for the hospital, no clothes washed for baby, and the nursery hasn't even been started.  Am I stressed about this?  It depends on the moment, but my stress is exacerbated by innocent questions from well-meaning people.  I can tell myself that everything is going to get done and be ok, but when someone asks me "so do you have the nursery all ready" and then gives me That Look when I say "Nope, we haven't even started it yet..." I tend to become filled with self-doubt and feel like I'm a mess that will never have my act together.  Which I am, but I'm ok with that... most of the time.

"Boy" votes won at the baby shower

As I said, I had an adorable baby shower in early November, and I have another one coming up in a couple of weeks, so we do have some baby essentials... they're just all stacked neatly, still in their packaging, in the dining room.

So many baby things...

Dogs

Toby has officially gone to live with Sapphire, and for the most part, things are going well.  We've been to visit him, and he's come to visit us, and we're all happy to see each other when we do.  I think Jynx misses him the most.  It looks like he's going to spend Christmas Eve with us, so that will be nice!

I think Jynx and Tico have figured out that something's going to be happening, and they're not quite sure how they feel about it.  I hope everyone gets along once Baby shows up...

Thanksgiving

Due to my work schedule, we were unable to travel for Thanksgiving, which was kind of a bummer, since we can't travel for Christmas either.  However, we were blessed to be able to celebrate with close friends, and we're still working through the piles of leftovers. It actually wound up being the most relaxing Thanksgiving weekend I can remember.  Since I was going to be working, I allowed myself to just sit and rest the day before and after my shift.  Thanks to leftovers, cooking was unnecessary.  Plus, I was way behind on sleeping, so I let myself sleep when I wanted to.

Other Happenings

Me & Lisa, after our excursion to The Moving Target

At the end of October we got away for a weekend to Chicagoland for Tim's cousin's wedding.  On the way I got to visit with Lisa, which (as always) was a much-needed, therapeutic laugh-fest.  We had a great time visiting with Tim's family as well, who were kind enough to shower us with baby gifts.

Family time! #BTTJDNMA

When we got home, my cousin Ariel and her husband Jan came to visit for a few days. (Remember when Kelly and I went to visit them in Germany?  Yeah, good times.)  They've moved to the states for now, and were finishing up a Grand Tour of the western part of the nation before settling down to real life and adulting.  Their visit was a lot of fun, and a huge blessing.  

Ariel & Jan (when they lived in Germany-- I forgot to get a picture this time around)

So now we just need to get a Christmas tree, do our Christmas shopping, send Christmas gifts, get ready for a baby (how do you even do that?!), and see when Baby decides to show up.  I'll probably do a fair amount of Christmas baking in there, too.

How are you doing?  Are you ready for what's around the corner?  Two years ago, going to England was just around the corner for me.  Last year, nursing school was just around the corner.  Now, parenthood (aka Permanent Life Change) is peeking at me from the new year.  I can't imagine what I'll be anticipating this time next year, but whatever it is, I'm sure it's God's best for me.

So...that happened

Well friends, summer has come and gone.  I started back to school this week, there is a distinct coolness in the air, and I'm ready for apples and all things pumpkin.  It's been a good summer, but it's been a whirlwind.  I didn't mean to take the summer off from blogging, but... things happen.  Let's catch up a bit, shall we?

Summer "started" the last week of May with a trip to Hilton Head with my family.  We stayed in a house in Sea Pines, rode bikes, went to the beach, enjoyed our private pool, played games, got sunburned, read books, and cooked and ate and cooked and ate and cooked at ate.  So. Much. Food.  Long story short: it was good times, and I want to go back.

We also took some breezy family photos on the beach in which we aren't sure when to smile because the camera was on a timer so we look fake and posed.  So that happened.

National Sibling Day

Hello Friends!  Long time no see. If I were here to apologize I would be offering you all kinds of excuses such as nursing school, work, nursing school, dogs, nursing school, husband, nursing school, and (of course) Dancing with the Stars.  But I don't need to apologize, so I won't.  Thank you for understanding.

The real reason I have gathered you here today is that apparently, it is National Sibling Day.  I don't know if that's true or not, but if social media can be trusted, it absolutely is.  And social media can always be trusted, amIright?

I figured I would take this opportunity to give a bit of a shout-out to my sibs.

Happy Thursday!

As you may (or may not) know, today is Christmas Spirit Day!   If you don't know what that is, that's ok... I'll explain another day.  In the mean time, please humbly accept my tidings of comfort and joy.

Bullet points seem to be the only way to get a lot of unrelated thoughts out of my brain, so here we go!

• I'm so glad we're done working on the basement for awhile, so I don't have to write about it for awhile.  Back to sharing whatever strikes my fancy!
• Tomorrow is Friday.  This should be exciting, but I go straight from class to work until 10:15, so that's kind of a bummer...
• I saw this article on the Facebook and I really really liked it.  If you want to know what it's like to be The Sort of Pretty Girl, Ophelia explains it really well.
• Ever since I read this post by Joy the Baker, I have been craving a really big pastry. Really Steph?  Out of that whole post, the huge pastry is what sticks with you? Well... yeah.  Also, I want to bake these someday soon.
• You've heard of Apparently Kid, right? Kid Snippets did a tribute, and it's fantastic.  Whenever you need to laugh and lighten up, Kid Snippets are the way to go.

•  I was reading in my sociology book about a concept called status inconsistency (or discrepancy).  This is where people have a mismatch among their statuses, like a 14 year old college student.  I read this and I thought to myself, "this is my life."  I'm not really a "normal" college student, but college is my life.  I'm kind of an adult but not really. It's hard to figure out where to fit it.  Then my friends, Tina and Kari, shared this with me and it was such an encouragement.  Thanks, ladies!  I'm realizing that by not fitting in, I can connect better with others who don't fit in. 

• Another term from sociology is resocialization, which means learning new norms, behaviors, etc. to adapt to a new situation in life.  I have done this several times this year: adapting to unemployment, adapting to life on the other side of the pond, adapting to being back home, going to school, and a new job.  For a girl who's not crazy about change, it's been rough.  But I think I've turned a corner and I'm finally starting to feel settled.
• I had a great time celebrating this girl's birthday with her and other friends.  Love you, Mindy!

• Dancing With the Stars, Season 19 is in full swing! I'm loving it, and having a hard time picking a favorite.  I would list
  about 8 couples as my favorites, so we'll need to wait a few week and see how things develop before I weigh in.
• I've been missing England a lot lately.  I'm not sure why, but I think of it often and at random times.  Maybe we'll be revisiting London on the blog here soon.  Maybe not... I make no guarantees.

• The dogburts are as crazy and sassy as ever.  I think they're starting to get settled into a routine a little more, for which I am grateful.

Warning: this dog may contain gluten

• 
  Tim was in Alaska earlier this week.  The people he was working with said Alaska has about 2 weeks of fall, and he was there right in the middle of it.  His pictures are fantastic!

I think that's all for now. What have you been up to?

The Basement: Week 4- The End of the Brute Force Era

In the past week, we've made a lot of progress getting rid of the old slab.  Let's take a look, shall we?

Here's where we were last week:

And here is where we are currently (no visible progress has been made yet this week).

The Basement: Week 3- Unearthing the Chamber of Secrets

Sorry I'm  a little late on my weekly update.  "Day late and a dollar short" seems to be my MO lately.  I blame my basement...

I left you with a  bit of a teaser last time, so let's start there.

In the large room of our basement was a floor drain that was perpetually backing up.  The concrete we were removing in that area was very very soft--almost like clumpy sand-- because it was so wet.  As we uncovered the pipe leading away from the drain, we found our issue.

Sapphire's Books: A Guest Post

Hi Steph's readers!  This is Sapphire filling in while Stephanie readjusts to life on this side of the pond.

Here is a picture of me in case we haven't met

Home Sweet Home

I'm home.

Monday night I had almost convinced myself that I would never make it. That I would spend the rest of my life in O'Hare airport. (Maybe I'm being a little melodramatic).  But I did, finally...eventually...make it home.

I won't bore you with the details of my journey, but I will say this: It could have been so much worse!  I'm one of the lucky blessed ones.  I wasn't travelling with children.  I wasn't travelling with anyone! And I didn't spend the night in an airport the night before. And I have amazing, AMAZING friends that I don't even deserve.  Special thanks go to:

Lisa: Thank you for being the sunshine in an otherwise really crappy day!  Thank you for saving me from spending the night in the airport.  It was so fun to see you (as always).  God knew we needed to spend some time together... I'm just sorry so many other people were inconvenienced in order to make it happen.  Also, the fact that my trip was bookended with laughter with you is not lost on me.  I love symmetry!

Mindy: Thank you for driving all the way to the airport to pick me up, even though I never showed up.  Thanks for your flexibility and patience.  You're so fantastic.

Sapphire: Thanks for picking me up!  Thanks for not telling me I was a dork while I was doing my phone interview in the car on the way back.  You're such a good friend.

Mindy & Shelby: (Yes, I have two Mindy's in my life.  I don't get confused, but other people do). Thank you for making an attempt to surprise me at the airport!  You're so sweet!  Sorry I stood you up...

So now I'm home.  And it is SO GOOD to be home.  It is overwhelming, and it is an adjustment, but it is good.  I'm constantly torn between "I have so many people I want to see and catch up with" and "I don't want to talk to anyone and I just want to hide in my house forever."  But I can't hide forever... there is yeast to buy so I can bake bread.  Because (let's be honest) what's the point of hiding in your house if you can't bake bread?

Sapphire and I jump started the truck yesterday and I went out to run errands.  THE ORANGE TRUCK IS BACK ON THE ROAD! Driving felt SO GOOD!

Many have asked how the dogburts handled it when I came home.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was kind of hoping for balloons and confetti cannons, or at least a lot of happy barks, jumping, and kisses.  They came out the door, looked at me for one confused second, then were like "Oh... hey Mom."  It was like I had just stepped out to get groceries.  Slightly anti-climatic.

But!  They did have a Mother's Day card for me!

I'm Coming Home

Welp. 

It's time. 

I've said my good-byes to London, I have a few more thing to buy/pack, one more sleep in this bed, then I head to Heathrow, to Chicago, to my dogs.

Friendship Week: Troubleshooting-10 Reasons You Might Not Have Friends

Here we go!  The last post for Friendship week.  If you missed any, you can catch up here:

• Friendship Week
• What I Learned from my Mom
• Making Friends 101
• Real Life with Stephanie

READER DISCRETION WARNING:
If yesterday's reality check on friendships was too much for you, today is going to be really hard.  Things are about to get personal.  Consider yourself warned.

After all of this talk about friends, I hope you have a little more perspective on your friendships.  However, if you feel like you have tried most of the tricks listed in Making Friends 101 and you still feel a little friendless, its time to take the next step in self-examination.

Maybe it's you.

It very well may not be you.  In all likelihood it is a combination of you and them.  But you can't change them, and you can change you.  So let's talk about you.  Here are 10 reasons you might not have friends:

Friendship Week: Real Life with...Stephanie

Hi Everybody!  If you're just joining us, it's Friendship Week here on Dinkin' Around.  Catch up on the first 3 installments here:

• Friendship Week
• What I Learned from my Mom
• Making Friends 101

Today is the Real Life with the Taylors episode for Friendship Week.  So basically, its Real Life with Stephanie.

Real life moment: these pictures have nothing to do with the blog post.  Also, I'm sorry they're out of focus.

Friendships can be hard.  Any really good friendship is werk.  But it is worth the hard work!  "The hard is what makes it great." (Jimmy Dugan in A League of Thier Own) 

Let's take some time to talk about some challenges we all may face when managing friendships.

Friendship Week: Making Friends 101

If you missed out earlier in the week, we're having friendship week here, on Dinkin' Around. You can catch up on the first two parts of the series here and here.  Welcome!

The first step in having healthy friendships, is to have friends.  Duh.  Sometimes making friends can be hard, though.  Sure, kindergarten was overwhelming, trying to figure out who to play with at recess, but by the time you graduate from college, you think you've got this down.  Making friends is so easy!  Why did I have so much trouble before?  And then you graduate and enter the dreaded Real World, and find that everything you learned about making friends in college is worthless, because college is not real life.  You don't live with a bunch of girls in the same stage of life.  You have a job and surviving to do, and maybe all of the "young adults" you know are married or --even worse-- have kids!  Then you maybe think you're starting to make a friend, but it's just not the same as your college friends.

You know what I'm talking about, right?  Or am I maybe just projecting my experiences on to you?

There are probably a million people more qualified than I am to tell you how to make friends.  But since I love giving unsolicited advice, I'm going to try to keep it to 10 tips on making friends.  Don't expect any insight on "vibes" or maybe even "chemistry."  My personality is definitely more Sheldon than Penny (actually, according to a "personality quiz" I just took, I'm Amy Farrah Fowler), so I don't usually pick up on vibes, and I'm really bad about sending them.  Most of these are going to be obvious.  All of them have worked for me at one time or another.

Friendship Week: What I Learned from my Mom

If you missed the announcement yesterday, we're having Friendship Week here on Dinkin' Around. Welcome!

Some people have told me that I make a good friend.  If this is indeed true, I need to give credit where credit is due:

1.)  Since I am saved by grace and occupied by the Holy Spirit, it is the fruits and gifting of the Spirit inside of me that enable me to be a good friend.  We know that when I display friendship, it is only God working through me, because left to my own devices, I would be living in a fort built with blankets and coloring and not talking to anyone.

2.)  My mamma raised me well.

Mom taught me lots (and lots and lots) of things, but friendship was a REALLY BIG DEAL to her, and it still is.  I'll try to hit the highlights for you.

Friendship Week!

Looking back on the last year and a half (ish), I see that one area in which I have really grown is friendships.  I have developed many new friendships, grown several that I already had, and learned a lot about what friendship is and can be.

I want to be clear that this has all been a gift from God, and not anything I have done.  Well, at least not initially.  God forced good people into my life that I can't avoid that have befriended me and taught me so much about friendship.  I am not a very good initiator (or at least I wasn't) so He gave me initiators-- friends who pursued me faithfully and didn't give up on me.  Please realize, I wasn't trying to avoid them, I am just a naturally shy person that tends to be unsure when it comes to new relationships.  Meeting new people is not an exciting thing for me.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and give a shout out to two friends in particular that have helped me.  Other friends: PLEASE know that you have helped me too, and you mean a lot to me.  The beauty of friends is each one brings something different to our lives, and these friends really helped me in the friendship department.