Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  It has been a minute since I've done a Friday Favorites post, because life has been new and different and more than a little busy.  After a very long season of not doing much and not knowing why or knowing when and if that would ever change, I can say that things have definitely changed, and days go by before I'm able to sit down and write on this blog.  I'll write about all of this later on, though.  In the meantime, I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals, and her friends Erika and Narci, for this blog post. 

I'll start with last week, because I feel like there were things that happened that I never mentioned on the blog. 

Every August, a local church here in Memphis has what is called Awesome August.  Bellevue has been doing this for fourteen years now, I just heard the pastor of that church Steve Gaines say that last week.  Missy and I have been going for a couple of years, though, and this year was our third year.  Each August, their first guest is always Jim Cymbala.  He is the pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle church in NYC.  Todd and I got to attend a service there when we were there almost three years ago, and I've heard him speak three times since.  He is an amazing preacher.  If you ever get the chance, listen to some of his sermons.  You can tell right off that prayer and worship are his heart.  I love that about him.  This year, though, he brought along with him the Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers, and it was phenomenal!  Teresa came with us this year, and we all left with full hearts.  Also, it turns out this was her birthday kick-off celebration.  This night will always be a favorite memory. 

This time last week, one of my favorite couples ever celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary!  This is my in-love's, Wiley and Phyllis.  We threw them a party to celebrate, and I know they loved seeing old friends and family who meant so much to them over the years.  It was a great day, and I think it all turned out beautifully, thanks to my husband, mom, and sister, who helped me tremendously.  Seriously, they were life savers that day to me. 

This was the one decent picture of human beings I took on my phone.  It seems appropriate, though, since Sherri is one of my favorite people of all time.  She doesn't live here anymore, and she lost her husband recently, so it was really good to get to hug her neck.  We used to sing in choir together, but the connection goes way back to when Todd used to babysit her (now adults) twins. 

This picture is one of my new favorites.  On Sunday we went to TWO church services.  Part of ours, and then this one at our old church, where my in-love's still attend.  This precious lady, Mrs. Joanna Coscia, taught all of our sons their first grade year of Sunday school.  She is in her nineties now, and her husband is nearing his one hundredth birthday, and they STILL attend church faithfully every week.  I mean, is that not an example to us all, or what?  It shows that if we keep our priorities right, we can drag our lazy selves out of bed and out the door and get to a church service. 

For anyone who doesn't know, my sons are (left to right) Noah (16), Drew (19), Graham (20), and Jonah (16).  Aren't they handsome?  I sure think so. 

As if the weekend wasn't crazy enough, we also had a big birthday celebration Sunday night with our Sweet T, as we lovingly call her.  She was celebrating number fifty, and in honor of her special day, her best friend Mylinda drove in from Miami to help celebrate.  This was all a huge surprise to T, and I know she is probably still processing it all.  We picked her up at four and spent a night in downtown Memphis.

We started the night off by going to The Peabody to watch the ducks, which even I have never done.  We were thrilled when a gentleman who works at the hotel told us we could go up to the rooftop for a few minutes, since we had friends here from out of town, even though there was a sign that said it was closed due to a private party.  Missy went up and asked him...I don't know that I would have thought to ask that, since there was a sign out.  The Lord just led her to do that, though, to make the night more memorable and special. 

After this we walked around a bit and window shopped their gift shop, then we walked to dinner.  In a thousand degree heat and almost died.  Not really.  We had dinner at The Majestic Grille and had the greatest time sitting and getting to know each other.  It was so fun meeting Mylinda, after hearing so much about her.  We are all so much alike!  Isn't that neat, how the Lord does that?  He connects the hearts of His people together. 

After dinner we drove to Graceland and then to The Guest House, which is the new hotel by Graceland.  We had thirty free minutes of parking, so we took advantage and went inside to look around.  And use the little girl's room.  (Hello, midlife.)  We laughed about that.  It was such a fun night, and I know this will always be in the bank of favorite memories in my mind.  (And on this blog.)  I posted more pictures from that night in a previous post...you can scroll down to see more, if you're interested. 

I was supposed to work at the church on Monday, but I woke up feeling terrible, so I stayed home.  I did have to leave to get groceries, though, and then later on I met a young lady for coffee before she heads back to college.  On Tuesday I was home most of the day, then left to have lunch with a really sweet new friend from our church, then I was back home and made a yummy dinner. 

Wednesday was church night and I spent that afternoon catching up and finishing my bible study homework.  It was a glorious morning spent with the Lord, and I needed that time with Him.  I always pray and read my bible everyday, but on this particular day, it was good, quality time, which you know is my favorite.

This was me, with all my stuff laid out on the table.  These times are always my favorite.  I feel so privileged to be able to study the word of God, and I love when He starts connecting dots within His word.  He did that for me that day, and He prompted me to reach out to one of the girls I used to help lead, and we made plans to get together that night after church. 

I did go in to work for a bit at church yesterday.  I have to do some computer training, so I started that and learned a lot and then actually did some productive things.  After that I came home and ate lunch and did some more things for Amy who I help at church, then I wrote an article submission, and by the time I finished all that, it was time to get changed for a night out.  This was the second year the company my husband and his dad own got invited to something called Sight Night, which is put on by the World Cataract Foundation.  This night is a huge fundraiser for them, and then we see a production put on at Theatre Memphis. 

It was this one, which I loved so much more than last year's Newsies, though that was good, too.  It was a fun night, even if I did come home hungry and way past my bedtime. 

Yesterday, an article I wrote for an online magazine got published, and I feel so honored to be able to write like this.  I think yesterday was my favorite day of the week, and seeing the article I wrote featured was so affirming to me, along with really sweet comments people made when I shared it on FB.  I plan on writing some more for them, the lady who I was communicating with asked me to, so that was what I was writing yesterday afternoon.  If you want to read the article, you can click here, which will take you to Tirzah Magazine. 

One other thing I wanted to share is the sermon my pastor preached on Sunday.  It was about spiritual warfare, which you know is one of my favorite topics to hear sermons about.  If you'd like to listen, and I encourage you do that, you can go here to watch. 

I'll leave you with this, which was one of my favorite passages of the week in my new testament reading.  I am currently reading in the new testament with my church family, and just on Wednesday, we started in Galatians.  If you're interested in doing that with me, now is a great time to jump in and read alongside us. 

Well, I need to do some laundry, clean up a bit and vacuum before my daddy comes over in a couple of hours.  I pray you have a wonderful, restful weekend!  I am looking forward to one, in light of how crazy last weekend was.  Also, if you'll say a prayer for my older two sons today, Graham and Drew, I would appreciate it so much.  They're traveling to Hot Springs in Arkansas tonight to spend the weekend with a good friend.  They'll come back late late Sunday night, so keep that in mind when you pray.  I am a mama still, even to mostly grown sons, but the worry never really stops. 

Thanks!  And thanks for reading.  Love to all.