Yesterday the coolest thing happened! It's been one of those weeks where all these crazy "coincidences" keep happening. Our Father really is amazing. Let me begin at the beginning, about 5 years ago, when I was in seminary I had an incredible ch. history professor who made history come alive to me. I absolutely fell in love with ch history. Part of the love affair was with the books we used for the class by Justo Gonzalez. I guess I just borrowed the books from a friend or the library to save money and so I didn't have the books once the class was over. Well, ever since then I've thought to myself that I should try to find those books to buy them. Trust me, they really are interesting! :) But...knowing me, I never got around to ordering them or remembering exactly what the authors name was, etc. And for some crazy, random reason I thought about those books yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work. And I had one of those fleeting thoughts/prayers that wisps through your mind just like a leaf. It's in and out before you know it. Well I just kind of said to the Father that it would be great to have those books, but I can't really buy them now because I really need to save my money so that I can go to Turkey later this year, and I just asked if He wanted to provide for me to get those books then He could. That was it - end of thought! As it turns out, when I got to my desk yesterday morning there was a thankyou card sitting on my desk with a gift card to our new bookstore. I was delighted, although I wasn't even thinking about my thought from earlier in the morning. When I finally pulled myself away from my desk about 3:15 in the afternoon, I went to peruse the bookstore and chatting with the saleslady about how hard it would be to pick out what to get. I wanted it to be something fun, something special, just the right thing. I even looked for a church history section, but didn't see one (the bookstore is kind of small), so I just kept looking. I looked at fiction books (but I hate to spend money on fiction!), I looked at music, I looked at gift stuff, I looked at all the other books, and nothing was grabbing me, ya know? And then the bookstore manager came in and I was really feeling the pressure to find something - today! And plus, I really needed to get back to my desk...Well, then I had the thought, "Ask the manager if they have any Christian books." And because I'm such a dufus I almost didn't because I just didn't want to, and didn't want them to feel bad if they didn't have any. Well, sometimes I learn to listen to His voice and so I went ahead and asked her. And she said, " Well, we just have these two books right here." And BEHOLD, there was the two-volume set of the books I've been looking for all this time -the church history books by Gonzalez. I yelled, "These are the books!" And of course, the price was absolutely perfect for me to get both of the books and a teeny bit left over to get a Mother's Day card! Whoopppeee! I was so excited to tell the ladies about my crazy story! Isn't that the coolest thing? Wow, sometimes He is just so very nice to us, just because. I love that about Him, don't you? As I was curled up in bed last night I began reading the first chapter, and I'm already into it.
Anywho, OH....I did go to a fabulous tea party last week for my dear friend who is graduating from high school. It was at the swankiest hotel in Houston and oh-so-girly. We had tea and scones and tea sandwiches and fruit tartlets. Oh my, it was delightful. And did I forget to mention Charles who told us all about the Devonshire clotted cream that they have flown in from England 5 days a week. I'm telling ya, it was a top notch high tea.
