Thankful Thursday~ Celebrating Those That Celebrate Us

This Thankful Thursday is so late getting to you because I just returned last night from Branson, Missouri, where I attended the American Association of Christian Counselors’ national meeting as well as the International Christian Coaching Association’s conference.

I will be honest this post is full of some amazing things that happened and it is also a bit of a read.  Sometimes you just need to say what you need to say so I pray as you read it you are blessed and encouraged and you see the hand of God working not only in my life but yours!

It is unbelievable how in one week I have so much to be thankful for on this Thankful Thursday.  I am rejoicing that God orders our steps, and lights the way even when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.  He will make our path smooth eventually and open doors for us too.

So today on this Thankful Thursday,  I wanted to celebrate the doors that God opened on this trip and celebrate the friends and family that love us just the way we are.  My dear friend Beth  traveled with me to the conference so I wouldn’t be alone and I am forever grateful.  She was a trooper.  Our schedule was intense to say the least. We were up at the crack of dawn and our heads didn’t hit the bed until midnight.  Oh to be young again.

I also must give a shout out to the men in our lives who love us and especially Winters and Woody for saying “Girls, what are you waiting for, get in the car and go!”

I learned an unbelievable amount about Life Coaching in order for me to move forward in helping empower, equip and encourage women of God up to the age of  101!  I am so excited about what God is doing in my life and in Winters’ in the area of speaking and writing.  It is great to be working as a team!  I am renewed since spending time with my dear friends, family and amazing new colleagues.

I have always known I had some pretty incredible friends but I was reminded of it again this week.  It is rare to find those that will stick beside you closer than a brother.  I am so blessed to have friends all over the country that I can call on at moment’s notice and they will stand in the gap for me.  If you do not have those kind of women in your life, I pray God will begin to open the doors for you to develop them.  I believe they are critical in our development and growth as women and believers in Christ.

I met so many amazing speakers, writers, teachers and executive and life coaches.  I know my enthusiasm can be a bit overwhelming at times, but I hope the zebra dress made it clear I was just a normal gal and only a huge fan – not a stalker.    Beth and I closed down the exhibit hall two nights in a row. I am sure that does not surprise any of you that know Beth or me.  This conference inspired me with a renewed sense of vision, clarity and passion.  And we all know that is how God works.

Beth and I stayed with my friend Ceann and had a blast. We hung out with her in Ozark right outside Branson. We had a perfect time. We crammed in as much as we could from food to shopping to talking until the wee hours of the night.  We even ordered Ceann new business cards to help promote her business and her amazing gift to make slip covers, heirloom bear and pillows that will make your house stand out among the rest.  Ceann and I met in Nebraska soon after Seth was born and we were friends at first sight.

After the meeting, we headed to Tulsa so I could catch up with some of  my amazing friends – “The Sacred Few” – as I like to refer to them.  They are the women that walk life’s journey with you.  They hold your hand when you need them too. They pray at a moment notice and they love you no matter how foolish you may have been.  They are there for you any time, any where and any place.  Most of all they are willing to lend an ear or give Godly wisdom to help you along the road of life.

These  women know your history  and love your story; the good, the bad and yes, even the ugly.  They love you all the same.  You can count on these freinds to listen to your “sad story” over and over until you have come to terms with that baggage and then they will help you carry it until you can let it go for good.

Some of my dear Oklahoma friends, Anna, Debra and Brenda welcomed my traveling buddy Beth as though they had known her forever.  I wasn’t surprised; that is what The Sacred Few do.  We had lunch and it was a perfectly day marked on the calendar forever.  You gotta love women who can meet for lunch at 11:00 and end at 5:00.

Friendship is good for the heart, the mind and the soul.
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We stayed with my dearest friend Carol, a longstanding member of the Sacred Few, and had great conversation, food and Beth got to see a DVD of when Debra and I competed in Miss Oklahoma.  Celebrating the beauty of friendships that endure time and distance.  Beth saw my childhood home, my dad’s veterinary hospital where I spent many days helping him, where I attended Graduate School and the house my parents bought that was the beginning of the end.  I was able to share my history with her and it was so special.

My brother was in Tulsa for the week and working to carry on my father’s veterinary practice and legacy by maintaining affordable quality health care for animals on Route 66.   I am so proud of him and I know my parents are too, especially my Dad.

I saw my Dad’s brother, Uncle Buddy, whom I had not seen in 12 years.  He sounds literally just like my sweet Daddy and to get to hug him was like going home to a place so familiar you hoped it could last forever.

Beth and I had lunch with Sue, one of my mom’s closest friends and her prayer partner for years. Sue and her daughter are both members of my Sacred Few.  How special is that!

And to top the trip off I was blessed to see Winters’ mom.  That would be mom #2. We laughed, I cried as I usually do, we shared stories and prayed together – which blessed both of us.  There are no real words to describe that special time with her.

Before I left  on this trip I told our friend and counselor, I believed this trip to be definitive for me.  I think  he was afraid I was putting a lot of high expectations on just one meeting and urged me to just be open.  It was great wisdom, but I still believed in my heart it would be definitive.  I was open to anything and it was indeed definite.

On this Thankful Thursday I want to celebrate God’s amazing gift of relationships.  God is good sweet sisters, He loves you and He wants every good and wonderful thing for you and this week proved it hands down. He orders our steps and make our path smooth.  He blesses us through friends and family in the good times and the bad.  He is glorified bo mattered the circumstance if we trust in Him.  Even in our sorrow and suffering He can be lifted up and even in our complete surrender to Him.  Sometimes relationships get broken, but God is faithful. Those relationships can be restored. I have seen it happen over and over in my life and in the lives of others. He is faithful.

So on this Thankful Thursday I pray that you will celebrate the moments, days or weeks in your life where God ordered your steps and blessed you beyond your wildest expectations.  Moments that were indeed definitive.

To my Sacred Few, my friends and family I am a better women because I know you.  Thank you for standing beside me and guarding my back. You are indeed friends and mentors for life!

Revelation 3:7  What doors He opens no man can shut and what doors He shuts no man can open.”

Ephesians 2:10  For we are God’s own handiwork recreated in Christ Jesus (born anew)

that we may do good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us,

that we should walk in them and He made ready for us.

(Amplified Reversion) My Friend Debra’s favorite version

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron so does one friend sharpen another