For life, not four years...

One of the best things I did in college was join a sorority. These were my group of women that allowed me to just be. They loved all of me from day one. (Even with those caterpillar eyebrows.) And I am so grateful for them.

They encouraged me.
They challenged me.
They cried with me.
They were silly with me.

They played hookie with me.
They sang karaoke with me.
They hugged me.
They brought me food.
They helped me study.

They laughed with me.
They laughed at me.
They "celebrated" with me.

Lots. There was lots and lots of "celebrating" at 3202.

And they still do. We all do.

Three years ago I wrote about my pledge sister, Kim and her son Cason.

In those three years, Cason has endured more surgeries, illnesses and set backs. He has also powered through, grown stronger, and been braver than most adults I know. Kim has shown such strength and courage as his mom and advocate. She has been a witness of grace and faith throughout it all and shown me and many others what it truly means to be a warrior.

But, even warriors need rest.

And people noticed that it was time for Kim to take hers. Last week, I was able to witness yet again what this sisterhood means to me. Two more of my DZ sisters sent a message to many of us on FB with an idea to send Kim and her husband, Sean, on a Valentine's getaway. In a matter of days we surpassed our goal and were able to do so much more than that.

Because sisterhood is forever.

I'm not writing this to pat ourselves on the back for a good deed. I'm sharing this because we all need rest at one time or the other. So, I'm challenging you to give that rest to someone you love.

Call your bestie and tell her to get a manicure while you watch her kids.
Bring your neighbor dessert.
Get a tee time for your husband just because.
Help your mom clean out a closet.
Buy a stranger coffee.
Tell that mom that is always stressed that she's doing a great job.

Notice people.
Encourage people.
Help people.

We may not all be in the same sorority, but we are all in the same race of doing our best. Of trying hard. Of making ends meet.

Kim, I am so thankful that Katie and Chrissy not only noticed, but encouraged us all to take action. I pray that those hours of rest revived your strength and helped you breath.

We love you. We pray for you. We pray with you.

In the flame.

Soulful Sunday...

Every now and then I am called to really just relay a message. Maybe not a big message. Maybe not the most powerful message. Maybe not even an eloquent message. But a message nonetheless. 

And here they are... 

What? You don't see the message in these beautiful new washer/dryers? 

Look closer. 

I see an amazing, overwhelming, beautiful answered prayer. 

Well, three actually. 

Last week our dryer broke, and like most things - we weren't really "prepared" for that to happen. No one likes repair of any kind, right? And no one likes to spend money on things that they "need", right? We surely weren't looking forward to it. 

After a long debate and a few pro/con sessions, we decided to just bite the bullet and buy a new dryer. We read tons of reviews, talked to the nice folks at Lowe's, and made a decision. We settled on a dryer right in the middle of "bottom line" and "holy cow it texts you when the cycle is done". (that last part is true y'all). And we weren't really happy about it. Ryan was going to make the purchase on Thursday. And then Wednesday rolls around and I get a text from our awesome neighbor with a picture of these beauties asking if we were interested. 

Long story short, her sister worked for someone that was moving and didn't want to bring these with them and was selling the entire set for a steal. Seriously. All of this for less than the price of the actual pedestals. We clearly said YES!!! The only catch was we had to get them from San Antonio. 

And here is the message...

Small prayers - {BIG} answers. 

1. While it sounds silly, this just proves that no prayer is too small. What a tiny prayer in the grand scheme of life, "Dear God, help us figure out this dryer situation. Help us make a smart choice." And His answer was HUGE. 

2. I've already gone on and on and on about the blessing of our new neighbors. But, they are awesome. 

3. We continuously pray to be surrounded by good people in our lives.  On a whim, I posted on FB that we needed help getting these to CS. Within 5 minutes a sweet sorority sister sent me a text and said she would be happy to do it. Isn't that amazing? We haven't seen each other in 4 years and still she was willing to take time and effort and money out of her schedule to help us. 

Answered prayers indeed. 

So the next time you're thinking, "that's silly - I don't need to pray about that" just do it. You will be amazed at His response.