Friday Favorites, 9.9.22.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for this favorite weekly blog post. How has your week been? 

Mine has been good, personally and in spite of great tragedy amidst our city. May I be honest though? Twice this week, our city has made national news and not in a good way. The first time is because there was a woman who was kidnapped a week ago today, then murdered and found days later. She was an heiress and though they're saying this is a random and one time thing, so many of us have questions and concerns. I keep praying that the truth will come to light, even if it's how they say it went down. She was a young wife and mom to two little boys...and I cannot imagine the heartbreak her family feels and I have prayed for them countless times this week. Unfortunately, we have many murders each year in our city and most of them don't even make local news, much less national news. It bothers me that all those other crimes like we hear of go unmentioned and this one gained national attention...isn't all life precious, in the sight of God? I ask rhetorically, because yes, all life is precious in His sight, no matter age, race, gender or financial status. In my mind, it doesn't make sense to elevate one such case and not all the others. 

The other horrifying thing that happened here this week is that on Wednesday, for over five hours, we had an active shooter who was driving all over the place shooting people. He kept hijacking cars and changing vehicles, then he would move on to his next victim. He shot seven people and four of them died. He was all over the city and everything that was open near where he was, was put on lockdown mode and shut and locked their doors...restaurants, the Redbirds baseball stadium...my Drew was at work downtown at a restaurant when all of this went on and he heard gunfire a few blocks over from where he was. He was texting me nonstop and I talked with him as he drove home when they were finally released for the night. All of this is heartbreaking...and friends, it's not a city or a race problem, it's a SIN problem. I saw this on Facebook yesterday and agree wholeheartedly. 

Is this not true? A friend of mine who pastors a church in the heart of Memphis shared this on Facebook yesterday:

"If sinners like you and I are sad or mad over human evil, imagine how grieved and angry God is over human sin considering He's perfectly holy and that He's the One we're ultimately sinning against. His solution to evil is not to destroy all the evil in this world all the time (as much as we in our human brain sometimes wants Him to do that). I don't want that because He'd have to start with destroying me and my evil heart. But rather, His solution to evil is the Lake of Fire. Vengeance is the Lord's and He will repay. You see, sinners are having their day right now. But rest assured the Lord will have His day. I say this with grief and sadness in my heart. There's no joy in the perishing of souls, just sadness and tears. So, whether you're an active shooter of simply sexual immoral, reject Jesus no longer, dear friend. Follow Him before His day comes. The Lord's day is God's solution to evil. Death itself will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, and evil will be no more."

Joyce Peterson is a news anchor in Memphis and you should Google this statement with her name and watch the video. She broke down mid-sentence and it's so moving to see her so vulnerable and raw.

My point in all of this is to say that all of sin is heartbreaking. We need Jesus to be near! And He is, for those of us who know Him. Do you? If that is ever a question you want to pursue, please reach out to me! I am always available by email. You can reach me at allboys@gmail.com.

And then, as we all know by now...the beloved Queen of England died. A favorite author of mine posted this snippet from her Christmas message from 2014 and I thought I'd share it here:

"For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, He stretched out His hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ's examples has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none." 

Maybe I'll meet her in Heaven someday. Maybe I won't care, since Jesus will be One I'm there for, to see and worship on the throne. On a much lighter note and in honor of her death, I share this favorite memory from a couple years ago with my best friend.

Please excuse the blur of the first picture...it cracks me up, though! This is the closest I ever got to seeing her. 

Such things to look back on are good for my soul in the midst of darkness throughout the week. I didn't mean to go on and on, but I couldn't write this post in good conscience without acknowledging some of the evil that has taken place near us this week. I'll share a few more favorites from this week. 

Funny memes like this are always my favorite! We all need laughter. I promptly texted it to my best friend.

Being at church is one of my favorite places to be. I love to serve there and to be able to attend Bible study and to lead a small group. What a privilege that is! I don't take it lightly.

One of my favorite pictures of Drew messing around with an air compressor hose at my husband's shop...he has always been crazy! I laugh so hard just looking at this. 

One day this week I mentioned a favorite thing to do at night when I'm bored and don't want to be on social media...I scroll and pin on Pinterest. 

This favorite jar of pens always sits nearby when I'm having my quiet time in the mornings. I am such a school supply nerd! I still get so happy when I browse this aisle at Target. 

I also mentioned this already this week, but this view going into work on the days when I work is a favorite. I love this park area of our square and I like to sit and enjoy it on the days when it's nice outside. I haven't done that in a long time, but I plan on doing that with Dad on one of our Fridays when the weather changes. I can't wait to see them start to decorate! Once they start putting the pumpkins out, it's like our own little Stars Hollow. If you know, you know.

Lastly, I leave you with a favorite reminder.

I'd love to hear something good for your week. Please share some bright spots for me! Meanwhile, here are the links from this week's blog posts.

weekending and Prime Purchases combo post

Currently

Thankful Thursday

Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!