Even Better Than Before: "Soulmate"

In early 2015 I finished writing a novel I called Even Better Than Before. It's a story of a group of old friends reunited at the beach after years of being apart. The main character, Brent Thomas, was a famous singer/songwriter whose life and career had fallen to pieces some 8 years before this gathering. Seeing these old friends marked his return to society as he found redemption in love, friendship and the start of something new in his life. The scene below takes place near the end of the weekend as Brent prepares (after several days of requests) to sing his huge hit song Soulmate for his friends on the balcony of the Betsy B. Enjoy!

Brent stood with his arm around Keri and surveyed the crowd. He would sing one more song. But first he had one more sermon to deliver.

“Craig loves to rag on me about how all women like to believe Soulmate was written just for them. Obviously it was written with someone special in mind.” He smiled down at the beautiful woman standing next to him. “But the truth is at various points in my life it could have been written for any of the ladies here tonight. Kristen, you were my first major crush. Alicia, you were my comfort and confidant in those early days when life seemed so confusing. Ally, you were and always will be my little sister. Cassie, you were a friend I could always count on and someone with whom I could have easily fallen in love. Sharon, you know you will always hold a special place in my heart. Stephanie, you were the girl at camp that everyone dreamed about, and I was no exception. And Nina, I just met you this weekend but you are clearly my buddy Jeff’s soul mate and you fit in here so well. I’m so glad you came. The song Soulmate is about a person without whom you are incomplete- a person you cannot live without. This weekend it has become very clear to me that all of you- men and women alike- are my soul mates. I don’t want to face the future without you guys by my side. My friend Tim and I talked a lot about the parable of Prodigal Son and how that applied to me. Keri and I have talked about it too. Coming home was scary. I didn’t know how you all would react. I did some pretty stupid things. But you haven’t even asked for explanations or excuses. You’ve just welcomed me with open arms. You’ve killed the proverbial fatted calf and thrown the best party ever. And unlike the other son in that story, you are happy that life seems to be ready to give me a second chance. They say it’s during the worst times of your life that you get to see the true colors of the people who say they care for you. And I have. I can honestly say that Keri is the reason I showed up this weekend. But every single one of you is a reason I don’t want to leave. You are truly my soul mates. So if you have ever believed I wrote this song for you, I hope you will keep right on believing. This one’s for all of you.” And with that, Brent Thomas let go of Keri, picked up his guitar and launched into his most famous song.  ~ Carl Jones

I'm 6 Years Old Today!

On August 26th of 2009, just weeks after being inspired by the movie Julie & Julia, I began writing a blog. Writing had always been a passion of mine, and blogging seemed like a good way for me to get some discipline back in my very scattered life. My goal was to post something every day for a year- 365 posts - and then re-evaluate. Initially the purpose was to tell stories about my days in youth ministry, which had ended in 2007. And that is what I did- told stories, remembered people and places and celebrated the love of Jesus in my life. Today we arrive at the 6th birthday of this adventure with some 1900 posts having been shared here. I'm still telling stories and still reminding myself and my readers that life is all about Jesus. And along the way we've shared some remarkable things...

• We have relived the great adventure of my life, the 28 years I spent in student ministry. We traveled back to Centre Friends Meeting (1978-79), New Garden Friends Meeting (1979-1983), New England Yearly Meeting of Friends (1985-1986), Springfield Friends Meeting (1986-1994), First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee (1994-2000), Union Church of Hinsdale (200-2001), Wesley Memorial UMC of Tampa (2001-2005) and Trinity UMC of Waycross (2005-2007). Telling the old stories has been a blast; hearing from readers at every one of those stops along my journey has been simply the best! I've also been able to share a a little of the wisdom I accumulated over the years with a new generation of youth pastors, making new friends along the way. It's all been a blessing!
• You've been here to watch my family change and experience life. You've been a part of our birthdays, anniversaries, accomplishments and struggles. You encouraged and loved me when I could "Cross the Bridge" after my probation was terminated in 2014, and wept with us when Disney banned me a few months later. You were there when Will graduated high school, when I was diagnosed with diabetes and became 7 Toe Jones and when Marilyn's dad passed away. Most recently you shared with us as our beloved Conner Dog passed away and Will moved into his new college apartment. The pages of this blog have been filled with emotion. Thank you for being here for us.
• This has been a place to celebrate friendship, from my very oldest friends right up through the wonderful people I have met via Twitter. I have said here before that one of the reasons I have survived the pitfalls of life is that I have the best friends in the world. That has not changed.
• Many of you offered love and support when I shared the stories of my own fall from grace and the aftermath of that sin. There were people who advised against sharing those tales, saying some readers would be disappointed and others would run away. And that did happen. But the love, grace and mercy shown by those who stayed let me know that telling those stories was the right thing to do. Thanks to so many of you for showing me what it looks like to encounter Jesus with skin.
• You have grown with me. In the earliest days of this blog I was ecstatic to have 1200 page views in a month. In July of 2015 there were 21,000. Each of the 6 posts in my Beach Boys countdown got more than 1200 hits eventually. The excepts from my novel, Even Better Than Before, were widely read as was my series on the justice system. While still on the small end of big-time blogging, knowing more people are reading is exciting for me. And the number of folks tuning in every Tuesday to read my thoughts about the #NarrowRoad continues to astonish me- and to remind me that my ministry is a long way from being finished. Truth be known, I would love to preach again somewhere along the road...
• We have prayed together. You have prayed for me and I have prayed for you. We have lifted up those who are hurting, those who are sick and those who have suffered loss. We have celebrated great achievements and prayed for new parents and their children. The Saturday Shouts Outs have long been a place to share prayer requests, and that will continue as we move forward. Being bound together in Christ's love means being bound together in prayer. This blog has always attempted to celebrate that.
• You have allowed me to approach this blog the same way I have always tried to approach life and ministry- wholistically. That's not really a word, but it is a mindset. It means recognizing that all of life ties together. We tend to make boxes for God, boxes for family, boxes for culture and so forth, when in fact life is one giant box. And God made the box! Remember, "all good things come from God," not just the things we talk about in church! I've shared about music and movies, about politics and religion, about faith and doubt and about silly, ridiculous things- and you guys have accepted it all. Even my rants didn't cause too many of you to run away screaming! Most bloggers are niche writers, focusing on one major topic. My topic has been life, and my belief that all of life is about Jesus. Thank you for giving me that freedom for these 6 years.

We head into year #7 with my life in a bit of an uproar. Will is at college, Conner is gone and dear friends are battling insidious diseases. I am at a bit of a loss of what to with myself, and that includes what direction this blog will go next. But it will go forward simply because I need it to. I need the outlet, the discipline and to keep my creative juices flowing. So thank you for sticking with me. It's been a wild ride- and I have no reason to believe it won't keep getting wilder! Let's meet back here again tomorrow and start a new year together. And as a bit of a tease, how about this news- on Friday there will be a new inductee into my Hall of Fame for the first time in over a year. Curious? That's the idea. Always leave 'em wanting more, right?  Much love to you all!

Because of Jesus,

Don't Ruin the Chili

Once upon a time there was a guy who was a pretty good cook (Ok, he was an average cook. OK- so it was me! Now let me finish the story!!!). On one very special high holy day (Super Bowl Sunday) he decided to make his world famous (shut up and keep reading!) chili for a group of his friends. He slaved over a hot stove for hours (always wanted to say that about myself) creating a masterpiece. Upon tasting the finished product he quietly (OK, technically I screamed it) proclaimed it the world's greatest pot of chili- that he had ever made! As his friends arrived he could barely contain his enthusiasm over his culinary creation. Several of his friends were excellent cooks in their own right and began to  ask him what ingredients he had used to create the chili. He listed them, and soon the suggestions began to flow- with none of them having actually tasted his masterpiece. But since they were better cooks than he, our hero listened. One said add some garlic- and he did. Another suggested adding can of tomato paste for thickness. And he did. Another said that it didn't sound spicy enough, that perhaps in needed some tabasco sauce. So in it went. By the time he finished "fixing" the chili based on the expert advice he received, it tasted noting like his original creation. They seemed to like it, but he no longer did. All of the fun he and all of the passion he put into making the chili had been rendered moot because he didn't believe in himself enough and didn't trust his creation. His friends knew more about cooking than he did, but in this case, what he had made was already perfect. Too many cooks ruined the chili!

The same kind of thing used to happen when I would attend ministry conferences designed to encourage and uplift those who were giving their lives to various ministries. I heard this fictional conversation happen too many times, including a few times when I was Pastor Bubba and the recipient of the advice. Let's listen in:

Pastor Bubba: We started a program last year where we do an outreach event once a month at the local mall just handing out free slices of pizza and answering questions about church and youth group. We've made lots of connections and our attendance has almost doubled. It's been awesomely rad!
Expert Doug: Yes, we did that same king of thing a few years ago with similar results. But the event didn't really make a difference until we added water balloon cannons, hula dancing lessons and a Spanish speaking donkey. That's when things really took off!

Far too many times the Pastor Bubbas of the world go home from such conversations and begin to implement the changes suggested by "experts" who know next to nothing about the situation or the people that Bubba works with on a daily basis. No matter how much thought, preparation and work we put into something we always seem to be unable to accept that what we have is as good as it can be. We rush to make changes that are not helpful (Spanish speaking donkeys seldom are) because we doubt ourselves and our abilities, or, just as destructively, we are immobilized by perfectionism. If it can't be perfect, why bother? These things infiltrate our lives are cause dysfunction in many of us.

Lately these dual dilemmas have been making me a little crazy in one of my worlds- that of writers. As many of you know I finished writing a novel back in January and since that time a number of new and aspiring writers have had questions for me. Most of the questions begin with the following: "So and So says that I have to do THIS (the THIS varies) or my book won't be any good. I'm just not sure how that fits into what I am trying to do..." My response has become a bit antagonistic. I tell them if it doesn't fit their style, their story and their characters then DON'T FREAKIN' DO IT!!! The experts are not writing your book; YOU are! Writing is not a science, it is an art. There is no list of rules you must adhere to, no absolutes that make your book "right." Technically perfect writing, brilliant editing and the opinions of others are all wonderful things- if you want them. But it is the stories, the characters and most of all the PASSION that make a book great- and those all come from the writer. How did I know when my book was finally finished? When I read it one more time and thought to myself, "Now THAT is what I set out to do!" I had a story to tell and I told it the way I wanted it told. That's writing. If others like it, that's wonderful. And if they don't...sorry, but I just don't care. I listened to critiques and made some changes. There are still things that might be added- by me. But the deal is this- my chili is finished. And you don't get to add stuff...

Too many of us approach our lives wondering if we are good enough and soaking in the opinions and advice of others at an alarming rate. I have writer friends- talented, gifted writer friends- who are seemingly never going to finish projects they are working on because they're never going to think it's good enough. Every opinion, every criticism, every new review from an expert or a friend brings about more changes and another rewrite, sometimes to the point that the original vision for the piece has disappeared completely. Every checklist of ways to "Be A Better Writer" is absorbed like Hemingway himself has spoken to them. There is a great story told about the late Tom Clancy, writer of numerous best selling books. When he was writing The Hunt for Red October he submitted a manuscript in which one of the primary heroic characters was named Jack Ryan. His editors thought the name too bland and pushed Clancy to change it. His response to them was simple and brilliant. "I can't change the name," Clancy retorted,"because the man's name IS Jack Ryan." Jack Ryan went on to become an iconic name in both print and cinema, the featured player in nearly a dozen best sellers. Sometimes an artist, a cook or a youth pastor KNOWS what is right, knows what works and simply needs to say no to any more changes. Sometimes the most important thing is to be done and to be satisfied with your own work. Our work will never be perfect; even God's work has flaws. Just look at me! Just as we are created to be who we are, let our creations be good enough for us. Whatever your gifts are, use them to the best of your ability and don't be overwhelmed by the opinions of others. Especially if they call themselves experts...

So what's the point of this rambling rant that would never make it past a professional editor? Simple. Don't ruin the chili. Have a blessed day and a great weekend!

Because of Jesus,

Giving Birth

Today I will come as close as I ever have to giving birth. Oh sure- I was there when Will was born (C-section) nearly 20 years ago and I saw what Marilyn went through. But this time the baby is all mine. It will be very different for me. The birth will be painless, as the pain has already occurred in the months of writing and rewriting. The event will not be messy, but the project certainly has been, with stops and starts, deleting whole storylines and getting rid of various characters. And no doctor will offer me drugs- but I may need a margarita anyway! After a year of work, today my novel, Even Better Than Before, is done. It has yet to be professionally edited, but the storytelling is done and the manuscript is complete. Nearly 20 of my friends will be e-mailed files today as they have volunteered to read it for me and give their honest reviews. I am excited, nervous and anxious to hear if it's good enough to consider actual publishing. Just like any parent, I want only the best for my baby.

I am generally an optimist and someone who embraces a good challenge. Writing this novel has been a wonderful experience; sharing it with others is pushing the limits even for me. I have many doubts. But today that is exactly what will happen, and over the course of this weekend and the weeks that follow I will impatiently await word from the "doctors" on the "health" of my baby. So please, if you are so inclined, say a prayer for my peace of mind. Pray for my patience, which needs help on the best of days. And if you would like to join the list of readers, shoot me an e-mail at Youthguy07@aol.com and I'll send you the file. No editing or proofreading required, just honest opinions on the storyline and the characters. It could be just the ticket you need to a little indoor entertainment on this holiday weekend. And if not, computer files are remarkably easy to delete. :)  

My 60,000 word baby goes out into the world today. It's time to celebrate! And maybe worry just a little bit. Have a blessed weekend, my friends!

Because of Jesus,

A Day...Off?

I'm taking today off from writing this blog, but it's not a day off from writing. This Hump Day finds me juggling three other projects. I am finishing up a Bible study I was asked to help with that is due in tomorrow. I am writing my monthly post for the WDW Fan Zone website, which is due Friday. And I am finishing the final edits on my novel, Even Better Than Before, which I hope to email rough copies of this weekend to some friends who have volunteered to preview & review it for me (let me know if you are interested in being added to that list). So I'm slacking on this post, but it's hardly a day off! Have a blessed day, and say a little prayer for me if you get a minute. I need all the help I can get!!!

Because of Jesus,

"Even Better Than Before" - An Excerpt

For the past month or so one question has dominated my conversations with old friends. It's not "What does it feel like to be free to travel?" or "Are you still pissed at Disney World?" It's not even "How's life with just 7 toes?" The question that seems to be on the minds of everyone I chat with these days is this - "How's that novel coming along?"

The answer is not simple. I have written over 50,000 words, which is enough for a complete novel. but most of that poured out of me in June. I have rewritten probably 20,000 of those words as ideas have changed and characters and details are tweaked and refined. The ending has been a challenge, deciding if there will be great reality and some pain or a total Disney-like happy ending for the main characters to reflect a preferred future of my own. But the bottom line is the novel is coming along nicely. I don't really expect it to ever be published, but I do hope to share it with anyone who wants to read it. Someday.

Although it is saved under the code name MGB, the working title of the book is Even Better Than Before.The storyline centers around a group of old friends reuniting for the first time in a number of years in their old stomping ground of North Myrtle Beach. Many of the characters are based on the friends with whom I shared so many marvelous adventures and relationships in the days of my youth. Though none of the characters are based totally on any one person and many of the circumstances, personality traits (and flaws) and details are radically different, some (like the one in the excerpt below) will be easily recognized by my old friends. Others had to be a mixture of various people or the novel would have far too many characters to remember. It is a tale of friendship, conflict, music, grace, redemption and romance. My hope is that it is a reminder of how much impact a small group of friends can have on each others' lives. And it is also a story of "What if?" With a little different timing and a few twists of fate, all of our lives could be different. What if life came with do-overs? Writing fiction lets me explore that in ways reality won't allow. 

So here's an excerpt to prove to you I have indeed been up to something these past few months! It is not the very beginning of the novel, but it comes very early on before everyone arrives at the beach. I hope this will wet your appetite for more. Let me know what you think. 

Arrivals

The calendar said late May, and it was a perfect day to be driving a ragtop to North Myrtle Beach. Craig Stevens was cruising down Highway 9, his 6’3” frame packed into his classic forest green MGB, top down and the Beach Boys blasting from the stereo. His thinning blonde hair was covered by a baseball cap to prevent sunburn, and those blue eyes that had caused many a young lady to swoon back in the day were covered by a new pair of Oakley’s his sister had given him for his birthday. As he cruised along his mind was spinning. This was all very familiar to him - Memorial Day weekend at Myrtle Beach with his favorite people. It was a trip they had taken so many times before, but this was the first time in nearly 15 years. A lifetime seemed to have passed in the interim. Craig and his wife Nancy had 3 children and 2 dogs. He had spent nearly 20 years as a financial planner and in the process had built quite a comfortable life for his family by being safe, practical and quite often, he admitted to himself, boring. As Do It Again began blaring from the speakers and he felt his foot give the accelerator a tap, he smiled at that thought. This weekend might be many things for many people, but it was hard to see how boring could possibly be among them. It certainly wouldn’t be for him. Craig needed this weekend. He had instigated the planning and was arriving early to be the welcoming committee. Nancy was coming later with his sister and brother-in-law, Allyson and Zach Hinkley. Time with old friends was very important to Craig. The old gang was reuniting and renting the big beach house that had been home to so many memorable moments. It was time to get on with the business of making new memories. The sun, the surf, the sand and some cold beers would help. Old friends would help more. But the thing that had Craig most excited was that at long last he would be there. His best friend. It had been 8 years since they were together, and it felt like an eternity. The Beach Boys sang his feelings. "Well I've been thinking 'bout all the places we surfed and danced and all the faces we've missed so let's get back together and do it again!" He gunned the gas, patted his MG on the dashboard and let out an extremely unsophisticated whoop. “Take me to the Betsy B, Moneypenny” he shouted at his car as they entered Horry County, South Carolina. Funny how at age 45 the word 'Horry" still made him giggle…

Dreaming Big and Running with Endurance

I am honored today to feature a guest post from one of my favorite writers, Teresa Reep Tysinger (at left). To be completely honest she is not just one of my favorite writers- she is one of my favorite people!  Teresa is sharing today about dreaming, and about one of her dreams. I urge you to share in her dream (as I have) by clicking the link at the bottom of the post and doing something amazing and tangible- GIVE! Join me and be part of her Dream Team. I'm not promising anything, but there may be t-shirts! And thank you, Teresa, for being willing to share from the heart. Always.

Hope is a foundational concept in the Christian faith. In fact, I’d argue that aside from grace, it’s the defining concept. We have hope for salvation because we trust in the promises of God’s love for us. We are renewed with strength as we wait on his plans to be made known. So what do we do in the meantime, as those full of hope?  We dream.

Throughout the course of history, “dreamers” have often been tagged as foolish, nonsensical, time-wasters. Undoubtedly there’s some merit to that. Dreaming is easy. Doing is hard. Doing takes planning, gumption, patience, and a willingness to fail (sometimes several times) before succeeding.  But while dreaming may be comparably easy, let’s not forget that dreaming is birthed from hope. Inventors dream up an invention hoping for added convenience. Artists dream of new ways to use various mediums in hope for creating beauty. Humanitarians dream of repurposing excess resources in hopes of bringing relief to hunger and poverty. 

These might be lofty examples of dreamers – inventors, artists, humanitarians. But I believe each of our individual dreams (i.e. ideas, brainstorms, and ambitions) are a product of the spiritual gifts God has distributed among us. At the most honest level, we dream of doing the greatest with our own talents, and leave those with talents we don’t possess to figure the rest out. What are your dreams?

One of my dreams has been to use my writing to express joy, hope, and grace to others. Since a young girl, I’ve found these things within the pages of countless books. As I’ve grown, however, the dream was packed away in a box deep in the recesses of my mind, covered up by demands of school, relationships, motherhood, career, etc.  I accepted that there’d be time for that particular dream down the road. One day. I hoped.

Have you ever noticed God’s tendency to make things more complicated than necessary? Weaving together expanses of time, involving numerous people in varying degrees, detouring to expose unexpected opportunities. But an intricately woven tapestry is far more interesting, memorable – and most importantly stronger – than a simple, loosely stitched piece of fabric constructed swiftly and haphazardly.

I’m so thankful to see God in the midst of weaving together my dream of becoming an author. A friend/co-worker urged me to consider participating in National Novel Writer’s Month back last November, through which you commit to writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Crazy, right? But the dreamer in me perked up. I channeled my inner gumption and willingness to fail and committed. I traded my precious evening couch time for the glow of the computer monitor late into the night. I painstakingly ignored my lack of confidence that anyone would want to read it. I was tired. I was weary. I doubted along the way. But I was also excited, hopeful, and felt alive. I trusted God to use my words to craft a story of grace and redemption that would mean something to at least one person who needed it.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.  (Hebrews 12.1)

 Imagine my surprise when in less than 30 days, I had done it. It was hard. I wanted to quit – many times.  Now, thanks to the urging of supportive family and friends, I’ve found an editor I want to work with toward to road to publication. She’s the first one I checked out and it felt like an instant match. But God’s not done weaving. I’m taking another uncomfortable leap and asking anyone interested to join what I’ve affectionately named the “Dream Team,” and donate funds to cover the cost of a professional edit of the manuscript.

“I can’t ask people for money for something that’s just a personal dream,” I told my family and friends.

A friend pointed out that might be selfish of me – not giving others the chance to be willingly woven in to this beautiful and intricate tapestry of how God’s working through this dream. A dream that ultimately belongs to him anyway. 

So I created a campaign on PubSlush.com, a crowdfunding site specifically for aspiring writers and publishers. At the time I’m writing this, I’m 10% funded with 27 days to go. It’s scary. But I’m willing to fail. And I’m hopeful. A pretty powerful combination that leaves the door open wide enough to welcome God in to work his magic. The outcome is no longer really important.

What’s your dream? What amazing thing – big or small – might God do through your dreaming while we await the hope of eternal life with him? Working in the lives of your children as they experience you parenting with a servant heart? Integrating into your company’s initiatives a community service component? Building a water well in a small African village? And be on the lookout for people join your Dream Team. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Build your village. Bless others with the opportunity to be part of your tapestry.

Dream big, friends. Endure the race set before you. We are a hopeful people.

** If you’re interested in learning more, or – gasp! – donating to my crowdfunding campaign, please visit my PubSlush page (link http://pubslush.com/books/id/3267). Thank you! **  - Teresa Tysinger

Novel Notes

Many of you of you have been kind enough to enquire as to how my novel writing project is coming along, so I thought I'd give you a quick update. Even without getting much writing done Sunday (Father's Day) or yesterday (all I could think of to write was "I'm HOT!") I have passed the 43,000 word mark on my way to between 50 and 60 thousand. More importantly, I actually LIKE what I have written so far! Usually when I start one of these projects I get to around 20,000 words, re-read what I have written, decide it is all crap and just quit. So a brand new challenge lies ahead of me now- coming up with the right ending and actually finishing this thing! It does finally have a working title, but you don't get to know that just yet. I know- I'm such a tease! :)

I am sure as this process continues I will have many more things to add to this list, but today I would like to share with you 3 things I have learned about myself as I seek to write this book. None of them are mind-blowing or earth shattering, but they are things that smack me in the face every time I sit down to write this particular story. 

1. I am writing fiction, yet so many of the people, places and stories in my novel are very real. I have taken the best (and occasionally the worst) things about many of the people I know and combined them to make interesting characters. The lesson to me has been the reminder that I have lots of wonderful friends and that I have lived a very interesting life. In fact, my life has already been a great adventure! It's fun to get to celebrate that without gloating or naming actual names. OK- who's getting a little nervous now?  
2. I love writing and story telling. It lights me up inside to be able to delve so deeply into the lives of my characters and use my extensive vocabulary to paint pictures. My grammar skills are rusty, but I'm working hard at fixing issues with sentence structure and other such 9th grade English class types of issues. But what I have I really learned about such things is this- I HATE punctuation!!!  As the Waterboy's mama might say, "Punctuation is of de debil!"
3. This is not a "Christian novel." I say that in the same sense many people would say that U2 is not a Christian band, despite the obvious influences their personal beliefs have on their music. This novel is not explicitly about religion, and the characters are often not angelic in their behavior. But this is very much a story about faith. It's a story of failure, grace and redemption. The characters lift each other up and love one another in ways the church would be wise to emulate. It is highly unlikely this book will ever be published, but if it were to be, I am quite certain it is not the kind of thing that would be sold in Christian bookstores. But maybe it should be. Real faith is messy. I am learning both as an author and as a human being that when we share the mess we also share our belief in the One who picks us up when we fall and when we fail.

So there's my update. Thanks to the many of you of have been asking how things are going and have bee praying for this process. I'll try to keep you posted from time to time on my progress. In the meantime, I'm off to Lakeland today to have lunch with Lisa Kraus Spires and her girls. I hope your day is just a s full of adventure as mine!

Because of Jesus,