ENCOURAGED IN HEART

I pled for help…and help is what I received! (That and a TON of laughs! HOLY COW are you gals are a hoot and a half!)

Well, the tribe has voted…and, by a landslide #3 won! I returned tonight from our weekend away in the West Virginian mountains very eager to report to bride Stacey your vote. Stacey will order all the bridesmaids dresses in one swoop this February so we can get a 15% discount.

Yes, she was cracking up that I asked for you to vote. But not surprised…she knows the loon that she’s dealing with!

Well, so far, bridesmaid Christina picked the one shouldered dress, but bridesmaid Wendy also picked #3. So I defaulted to the runner up, #1. And, for your viewing “pleasure” (cough, cough…), I contacted the dress designer, got a whole bunch of spanx, and “the couch”. This picture is just for you lovelies that took the time to cast your vote…

Okay, so maybe, just maybe, I took a couple of artistic liberties…

But I did give Stacey fair enough warning. I told her that a real pic will be posted, with her, right here…after her August wedding! And WOW is her dress gorgeous!

So after my dress is shipped to me, poor Bella has the daunting task to help me get “the girls” lined up (and I do mean UP) and the rest of me as flat as humanly possibly.

Spanx…Gods speed to ya.

Which inappropriately (or appropriately) reminds me of an email that I received moments before typing this post. Maya Angelou spoke about growing older and her body changes. She brought up her “girls” and that, “They seem to be in a race to see which will reach her waist, first.”

Dr. Angelou, are you free to shop with Bella and I next month some time?

I’m all distracted this morning. A “major” decision hovers over me…and I just can’t get it together. What I thought was going to be my blog post today, isn’t all because well…like I just wrote, I’m distracted.

Last night I went to a bridal boutique. No, the Finkster and I aren’t getting married again, but my dear friend of over 15 years, Stacey, is. For years, we prayed for Mr. Right and Mr. Right is here! (What’s not to love, he’s an Irish cop from Jersey baby!) Despite being completely biased, he really is a great guy!

Well, Stacey’s being one of those brides. No, not bridezilla…she’s being one of those really easy to get along with brides. She’s letting her bridesmaids pick from a collection, whichever dress style we like. We’ll pick our style out and all be in floor length mocha colored chiffon. Oooohhh, la, la; I feel glamorous just typing “floor length mocha colored chiffon ‘!

I came home and started to download information on the Finkster. I showed him pictures, we talked numbers, boob-age concerns, keyster coverage, and of course “the pooch”, how are “we” going to cover “the pooch”. All I can write is that the Finkster tried ladies, he tried really hard…but the man can handle only so much.

In all fairness, Bella was on the other side of town waiting for pictures and ready to tag Dave out of the ring.

In all fairness to Dave, I have taken to ruthlessly bombarding Bella, Nancy and Mary’s inboxes about this decision…because I know they love me and will tell me the truth.

All I can say is this.

Please, help them. Help them get me off their back and out of their email inboxes with pictures and questions, oh, the questions…they have jobs to work at and children to raise, and laundry to do…but not until the dress gets picked!)

I’m crazed, distracted and letting you know right now…the fate of “the girls” are in your hands. Bella, Nancy and Mary have done the hard part and narrowed it down to three. Would you please vote which bridesmaid dress you like best:

#1, #2, or #3.

1

2

3

On behalf of bride Stacey, my mental health and the quality of life (and emails) for The Finkster, Bella, Nancy and Mary – THANK YOU!

I recently had coffee with a woman that I really love…and admire. She’s humorous, graceful and most intriguingly, Godly. Not a, thump-ya-in-the-back-of-your-head-with-her-Bible-Godly, but a live-out-loud-what-the-Bible-says-Godly. She knows the Bible so well, that her life mirrors the words in the Bible.

She’s a few mile markers further down the road than I am. She has older kids, a longer marriage and more seasoned ministry service (yet I have more gray hair – what is up with that one?!?).

Since I’m a government trained investigator, I can write this with a rather wobbly confidence; I’m not a stalker. (Is that what the Jonas Brothers groupies say too?)

No, I’m no stalker, but a government trained investigator. I’m clinging to the difference between investigator and stalker is where ya got your training. I collected clues and tid-bits to write fact-based reports that were called Reports of Investigation. Since I’m beginning to twitch with that thought…and also been feeling rather list-deficient lately, here’s what my on-going investigation concluded. This gal is the real deal. Know why? Here’s my Report of Investigation in “List Mode”:

1. Her husband is a priority. We were in the middle of a serious (not life changing, but very serious) discussion when her cell phone rang. She quickly said, “I’m sorry, this is my husband and I wouldn’t answer it for anyone else but him.”
2. She’s patient. YEARS of service. And now she’s in YEARS of waiting. She sees God’s purpose in both.
3. She’s wise. She doesn’t speak quickly. Before making two important decision, she said, “I’m going to pray about it.” And then solicited this stalker…um, investigator’s prayer too. Oh yeah, then she went back to #1. She said she won’t go forward without his council.
4. She loves to laugh…and is completely hysterical.
5. She knows the true temperature of the situation but doesn’t let it stop her from doing what she’s supposed to do. (What God tells her to do.)
6. She understands that the most powerful ministry is the ministry that goes on with no formal title. And the gal has had some visible formal titles.
7. She won’t not let her talents be used.
8. She’s not boastful about her talents.
9. Her kids dig her.
10. She’s generous. (The gal bought my coffee…ya think I’m gonna stop stalking her now…I think not!)

What are some traits that you admire most from women that you’ve stalked investigated?

Do you know that today, there is most likely someone investigating you? What do you think their report of investigation would conclude about you?