I am sure many churches across the country have a special meeting for the ladies of their church either on a weekly or monthly basis. Our church holds a Ladies Bible Fellowship (LBF) once a month. I know in past posts I have mentioned on and off about different gifts I've received from my Secret Prayer Sister (SPS).
You might be wondering what is a Secret Prayer Sister? Is it a secret group of ladies? Is there some kind of initiation to get into the group? No, to both questions. This is how it works.
During the course of the evening the ladies can participate in the SPS exchange. A basket goes around the room and we drop in a form that has our name on it and any prayer requests or concerns we would like to have prayer for. There are three requirements if you decide to participate: 1) You must pray for the lady 2) you must contact her, without giving yourself away and 3)you must reveal yourself to her at the next LBF.
You can imagine my surprise when I received a place setting for four of silverware. Initially, I thought who would give their SPS silverware? As you might imagine, I found it to be an interesting choice for a gift. I mean, come on...it is not like I just got married.
But, this story gets even better....on Friday late afternoon, Vicki asked if I had heard from my SPS. I said, "Oh yes, I've heard from her. As a matter of fact, I got the most unusual gift." She proceeded to ask me all about it. I obliged and blah, blah, blahed all about how weird this gift was. I also told her that I had also received some delicious banana bread in a tray that looked much like the one I had received from another SPS some time ago.
After I left Publications I headed home and began to tell Steve about our conversation. It didn't take long for me to stop and get this gut wrenching feeling, that maybe, just maybe...my SPS was Vicki.
Saturday morning came and Steve and I headed over to church for a Memorial Service. (One of our members had passed away after battling cancer, and PTL, is now in the arms of her beloved Savior.) Once we got into the church building I found Vicki and we sat together. I leaned over to her and said, "You know, by chance, you are not my SPS are you?" She looked at me as casually as she could and said, "why, yes I am".
Are you with me? Do you feel the sinking feeling in my stomach? I turned a few shades red and then instantly apologized if I had offended her or come across less than thankful. Vicki, on the other hand, thought the whole thing was a hoot. I am so glad she has a sense of humor.
As always she is such a blessing to me (whether she is my SPS or not). Vicki has truly learned the skill of listening. When we were together over the holidays I had made a comment about how I didn't have enough silverware when it comes to hosting a larger group of people.
So the gist of this story is...if you get Vicki for a SPS, watch out...not only is she a good listener, but she can pull the wool over you eyes too!
Thanks for riding with me to the airport to pick up Carolyn, for the silverware (really :)), for the yummy banana bread and for the book I just received (I can't wait to read it). You truly know how to minister to a friend.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Closing the Doors
We are filled with many emotions as we move into the new year. After four and a half years of being in the Candy Bouquet business, Steve and I closed the doors of our store on December 31st. This decision did not come lightly and took much time and prayer.
With the economy the way it is and not knowing for sure "when" the economy will begin to recover, coupled with the fact that our contract was coming up for renewal in September 2010, we decided to take a step of faith and shut the doors early.
I say a step of faith because the decision left us with commitments we still needed to honour such as a monthly rent, franchise fees and other leasing fees.
Amazingly enough, I am here to tell you that God is still on the throne! Sometimes we make decisions we don't always understand, but know we are doing what we are suppose to be doing.
In the last two weeks, God has moved mountains. First of all, although the place we rent out has not been rented, we have seen four people show interest in the space (please pray that we can get the space rented by the end of this month). This is awesome because there has been a space for rent right next store that has been available to rent for over seven months. See God's hand working?
As far as the franchise fees go all I had to do was write the company and tell them I was closing my doors. Now, I don't have to pay the franchise fees! Yeah!
We also had a lease with Crystal Springs, which is a bottled-water company. Check this out scenario.
I called them last month to find out when my lease ended. They told me not until March 2011, 2011! So, I figured I would move the bottled-water unit to my house and use it there until the lease was up. Well, this past week, I called them to make the transfer.
This is how our conversation went while I was on the phone with the representative:
Me: "Is there any possible way I can get out of my lease?
Representative: "No, then she said, Well, the only way you can get out of the lease is if you pay a termination fee."
Me: "How much is the termination fee?",
Representative: "$100".
Me: "How much is my average monthly bill?"
Representative: "Between $20-$30". (Can you do the math?)
Me: "Cancel my service, I'll pay the termination fee."
Representative: (As she begins to put in the request, she states), "Oh, your termination fee is only $50".
Praise the Lord! Amen! God is so good.
Isn't it wonderful how the Lord orchestrates everything in our lives!
So you may be wondering what in the world I am going to do with myself. Don't worry, I already have my time divided up. I am working part-time for a RE Agent in the mornings and will be spending two to three days, in the afternoon, out in the print shop at church.
Steve is still spending much of his time working for ITT Tech in Everett and still tutoring students on the side.
Overall, we are so excited to see how the Lord is going to use us and what he has in store for us this year. Come on 2010!
With the economy the way it is and not knowing for sure "when" the economy will begin to recover, coupled with the fact that our contract was coming up for renewal in September 2010, we decided to take a step of faith and shut the doors early.
I say a step of faith because the decision left us with commitments we still needed to honour such as a monthly rent, franchise fees and other leasing fees.
Amazingly enough, I am here to tell you that God is still on the throne! Sometimes we make decisions we don't always understand, but know we are doing what we are suppose to be doing.
In the last two weeks, God has moved mountains. First of all, although the place we rent out has not been rented, we have seen four people show interest in the space (please pray that we can get the space rented by the end of this month). This is awesome because there has been a space for rent right next store that has been available to rent for over seven months. See God's hand working?
As far as the franchise fees go all I had to do was write the company and tell them I was closing my doors. Now, I don't have to pay the franchise fees! Yeah!
We also had a lease with Crystal Springs, which is a bottled-water company. Check this out scenario.
I called them last month to find out when my lease ended. They told me not until March 2011, 2011! So, I figured I would move the bottled-water unit to my house and use it there until the lease was up. Well, this past week, I called them to make the transfer.
This is how our conversation went while I was on the phone with the representative:
Me: "Is there any possible way I can get out of my lease?
Representative: "No, then she said, Well, the only way you can get out of the lease is if you pay a termination fee."
Me: "How much is the termination fee?",
Representative: "$100".
Me: "How much is my average monthly bill?"
Representative: "Between $20-$30". (Can you do the math?)
Me: "Cancel my service, I'll pay the termination fee."
Representative: (As she begins to put in the request, she states), "Oh, your termination fee is only $50".
Praise the Lord! Amen! God is so good.
Isn't it wonderful how the Lord orchestrates everything in our lives!
So you may be wondering what in the world I am going to do with myself. Don't worry, I already have my time divided up. I am working part-time for a RE Agent in the mornings and will be spending two to three days, in the afternoon, out in the print shop at church.
Steve is still spending much of his time working for ITT Tech in Everett and still tutoring students on the side.
Overall, we are so excited to see how the Lord is going to use us and what he has in store for us this year. Come on 2010!
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