Saturday, April 12, 2008

WE'RE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS, FOLKS.....


8 DAYS.....YIPEE! We have been in celebration mode all week. Even when we are eating lunch at our restaurant, McAlister's Deli, we will toast our baby girl with a glass of SWEET TEA! Yesterday, Chantelle and I hung out. It was a fun day with BEAUTIFUL weather. Last night, we received such an amazing blessing. It was our third week meeting with our small group. We have 8 couples that are trying to simply live a life that glorifies God. We invited several other people with special guests from the Vision House. The Vision House is a faith-based recovery program especially for women. Four women shared their testimonies how Jesus Christ has changed their lives. Their words touched me to the core. I know how drugs have affected my very own family. Drugs and alcohol have no stereotype of who it will/ can effect. My cousin, Mark Lawson, has battled drug and alcohol abuse for years. Many of you may remember nearly 3 years ago when Mark nearly died, as he had a brain tumor. The doctor removed part of his skull and placed it in his stomach for a month. The brain tumor was drained and the doctor descriibed the smell as a foul odor. His brain literally had a rotten spot in it from meth use. By the grace of God, Mark's life was spared. He has struggled since with abuse, but he's now been clean for 3 months. He is 33 years old, and just got his own home. My Aunt Barb and Mom went 2 days this week and cleaned, hung curtains and showed Mark love by tidying up his house. Mark has a strong testimony how he knows he is a child of God, and he's now in church and trying to live a Christian life. I can't write this without mentioning Mark's older brother, Roger, who passed away in January 2001. He was 29-years-old and died in a car wreck after doing a drug delivery. Speculation was that he was being chased. Roger was a child of God, that got mixed up with the wrong crowd, and addicted to a horrible substance. Last night's experience just made me realize how we must watch our children so closely because the enemy is out there!

I'm headed to Tallapoosa, MO, today to see my nephews and niece. Have a blessed weekend!

1 comment:

Susie said...

Love your group of friends, real to the core with a big heart for God! Thank you my friend for sharing your families struggles, none of us our perfect, we all have our stuff. But through Christ, we are FREE! Luv ya, Susie