beautiful – living by faith

I have this group of girlfriends that I’ve come to know and love over the past year. The Lord brought them into my life when I needed life-giving friendships and encouragement more than ever before. These women represent the true heart of God. They are transparent, they are open, they are love, and they are full of joy. We laugh, we cry, and we have fun. And what is most unique about this group…every single woman WANTS to be there for the rest. When someone’s child is getting baptized, we’re there, yelling and clapping the loudest, taking video or taking pictures. When someone is going through a hard time, we’re there, praying and comforting and texting to check on them. When I’m struggling or having a hard time with something, they’re all there, not with judgment and condemnation, but with love and support and encouragement. These are the women that I want to walk beside and share life with.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing these women into my life with their beautiful souls, love, laughter and hearts of gold.

I didn’t want this Christmas season to pass or this year to end without expressing my deepest gratitude for the gift they are to me.

To Shana, thank you for welcoming me to your group, for leading our group with your insightfulness into God’s Word, and allowing me to be me (even the crazy note-taking part of me!).

To Kristel, thank you for opening your home each week to all of us and not only allowing us to be open and transparent, but also by checking on us throughout the week or even weeks later to see how things are going.

To Tanya, thank you for the amazing prayer warrior that you are. Your prayers are so full of the Spirit, it’s as if angels sing every time you pray!

To Stacia, thank you for your strength. I don’t even know your full story yet, but to hear how you encourage everyone in the group, despite what you may be going through yourself, your strength in the Lord amazes me all the time.

To Maddie, thank you for bringing youthfulness to our group. I love that our group spans many ages and seasons of life. You have wisdom beyond your years and I’m so happy to have you as a dear friend.

To Lacy, thank you for inviting me to the group. I know that meeting you when I was a youth leader was God-appointed and I’ll forever be thankful for you and the friendship we’ve developed over this past year.

To Mary Ann, thank you for your smile. I love being around you; you are always so happy and full of joy. There’s always laughter when you’re around and I love that about you so much!

To Natali, thank you for being genuine. You don’t ever hesitate to share the good or the bad, the struggles and the victories. I learn so much by listening to you, and I also love hearing what you’re reading about in the Bible. You help me to see being transparent is a good thing when you’re with the right group of women.

To Kristina, thank you for all you’ve done for me inside and outside of the group. I love watching you with your girls and your family. You have a beautiful spirit about you. Not only am I blessed to know you, but I know your family is as well.

To Jennifer, thank you for your words of encouragement. You have a way of offering just the right words when someone is struggling. You’re not ashamed to draw from your past to share God’s love with everyone around you.

To Patricia, thank you for sharing God’s Light to every person you meet. You have a unique business and gift and I love hearing about the women you encounter and how you help them and heal them.

I think God for each one of you. Thank you for your beautiful friendship!

Proverbs 27:9 (NLT), “The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.”

1 John 4:7 (NLT), “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.”

Today, June 20 is my Mom’s birthday. She’s…well, let’s just say that when you look at her, you won’t believe she has a daughter that’s 39 (which is me)!! She looks great!!! And a quick Happy Birthday shout-out to her twin sister, my Aunt Sharon!

My mom and I have had the typical relationship that you’d find with most mothers & daughters; the kind where we didn’t always agree or didn’t quite see eye-to-eye on everything. But the one thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older…I’m a lot more like her than I’ll probably ever want to admit! 🙂

I can say that I owe my music ability to my mom. I tried the sports thing, which would’ve been pleasing to my dad, but I let my sister handle the athletic ability in the family. I have a picture of my mom & me sitting at a piano in my grandmother’s house. I’m not sure of my age in the picture, but I would guess I was age 4 or 5. My mom started me out with piano lessons from the 1^st grade and I took them through my 6^th grade year. In 6^th grade, I joined the band and have been forever known as the band nerd. Music has been a part of my life ever since then and that all came from my mom.

She is the most talented pianist that I have ever seen or heard! She used to partner with us during my band years for the solo portion of the solo and ensemble competition. I had the privilege of practicing with my accompanist any time I wanted. The others often practiced with her for the first time at the competition. But she’s such a great player that she could sit down at any piano and read the music for the first time and sound wonderful. If that player didn’t win, it certainly wasn’t because of her!!

Aside from her incredible piano talent, she can also sing. She and my dad used to be in the choir in college and also toured with their church on choir trips. I, however, did not inherit the singing gene like I did the music gene. Oh well, it’s still fun to listen to her sing harmony when I stand next to her in church.

My mom is smart and beautiful. I know I don’t say it very often and probably don’t show it as much as I should, but I love her very much. God blessed me with an incredible woman for a mother. My husband and I recently went through a tragedy; one my mother had never experienced. But that didn’t stop her…she made herself available to me for whatever I needed to cope with the loss we suffered. I’ve felt a lot closer to her since all of that happened. I might even refer to my mom as a Super Woman!

Mom, I hope you have a wonderful birthday today!! Sorry I can’t spend it with you in person, but I’ll see you in a few weeks. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! I love you!!!

Here are some pictures of us throughout the years…