As Promised

Okay, a strange photo op....

Shell and I after Friday night's conference went back to the hotel room and split a bottle of wine.  In the midst of that, Shell needed a cigarette and it was a bit of a problem because the hotel was non-smoking, we were on the seventh floor and we were both in our pajamas. She wanted me to come down with her but I refused to put on a bra, so I threw on a Women of Faith fleece top over my very obviously pajama bottoms.  Shell did throw her bra back on beneath an over sized Betty Boop night shirt and pj pants.  Now, the first night we got there we realized our hotel was right across the street from a very busy nightclub where people actually stood in line to get inside, so of course, they were lined up there Friday night as well.

So we are standing out in the front of the hotel in our jammies and me in a fleece jacket in ninety degree weather and this cute guy in his mid-twenties comes across the street and asks to take our picture.  We have had a bottle of wine, so we laugh and agree and then he hugs us both and goes back across the street. 

Wonder what the caption for that picture would say?

Mandisa!  Amazing!  Did not think I would enjoy her music, though I did think she had amazing talent on American Idol, but I more than enjoyed her...I loved her!  She told the story about Simon Cowell and her idol experience, filling in some small not known to me details.  Mandisa had wanted to audition for AI for years but her fear of Simon ridiculing her for her weight held her back.  She admits to being a food addict due to child molestation and being raped as a teen, but she has recently lost about 80 pounds and is still working on it.  Finally, she talked herself into auditioning despite her fear of Simon and after her audition, Simon praised her; told her she had a beautiful face and voice and she was all he'd hoped she'd be when she walked in the room.  Not one comment about her weight and she was over the moon.

Fast forward to the premier of the show that season and Mandisa had organized a party of her friends as the season premier just happened to be her city.  So there she was amongst all her friends when Simon praised her...and does anyone remember what he said AFTER she left the room?

"We're going to need a bigger stage."

Mandisa heard that behind her back comment for the first time, along with her friends...and millions of viewers.

Now do you remember what happened next?  The next time Mandisa came face to face with Simon, she bravely and honestly told him that she knew what he'd said about her and as Jesus had forgiven her sins, that she, in turn, forgave Simon for what he'd said.  Simon stated he was humbled and that he felt about two inches high but for Mandisa the best part was that they aired the entire confrontation, including the name of Jesus on National television.

Itching, nose picking and stretching.

Now this is probably mean, especially considering it was from two girls who had just come from a Christian women's conference, but I am a sinner and thankfully forgiven and I'm sorry but it was really funny.  We were riding the metro home and we have about 12-ish stops between our starting and ending point.  About halfway through, this girl got on the metro in a not very nice blue shirt and a pair of plaid shorts.  She carried a backpack, wore hiking books and her hair was braided down her back.  She immediately pulled out a book that I could not see the title of and began to read
(I always love knowing what people are reading).  My first impression was that maybe she had been hiking in DC or something.  But after a few stops, Shell called my attention to the fact that this girl would read for a few seconds and then scratch something....her hair, her nose, her leg, her arm, her face, something.  Not scratch it hard, but more like it was a minor irritation.  BUT IT WAS Continuous.  Shell and I were so amused we started counting the number of times she was scratching.  Somewhere near the number of 50, her finger shot up her nose to dig around and we almost killed ourselves giggling.  Somewhere in the midst of this a young couple sitting across from Miss Itchy, caught onto what was going on and they were amused.  Suddenly Miss Itch got up and it seemed she was going to move back a row as it had just become empty.  Well, she sort of stretched out on the floor as the train is moving, with her hands on the seat, her legs stretched out and her rear end up in the air, pretty much in the face of cute couple guy.  There were now four of us on the train trying to contain laughter.  Sometimes Miss Itch would do a combination move....like lightly scratch chin, nose, run hand through hair to itch back of head and of course, this counted as three itches in our tally.  When we got off the train, in a matter of 5 stops, she had itched 105 times.  Yeah, okay, she may have had a real problem like a nervous tick, but it certainly caused our train ride to fly by and besides, God gave me my sense of humor!

The rest of the conference was great and Shell and I are all signed up for next year.  It is so spiritually uplifting and honestly, I so rarely get that kind of uplift from church.  These speakers know how to grab you, make you laugh, make you cry and know how to make the gospel alive for us TODAY.  They tell personal stories that demonstrates what God is doing in their lives, through both the good and the bad and it is all just so good.  I wish most pastors would meet with these gals for tips on sermons and delivery.  They know how to keep it relevant and it is amazing. 

I just always feel so reminded when I leave there of how loved I am, of how the God of the universe loves me right where I am all the time.  I felt so filled from the weekend that today when we took the boat out for Aaron's birthday with most of the youth kids, as I sat there in the front of the boat, looking at the green trees, the blue sky, the cliffs along the side and the reflection it all made in the water, I leaned my head back and just said "Thank you, God."

He is so amazing.