"Going South..." A Book Review

Several weeks ago I mentioned that I had received a couple of  "unexpected blessings" here totally out of the blue...and of course the first one you are all pretty aware of by now, in the little "personality" of Lily Grace. Her adventures have kept me so busy ever since her arrival that I barely had time to think about the second "unexpected blessing", which did arrive and has also been a great joy to me.  

However the second gift was in the form of a book, and due to so  many "adventures" in life in addition to those with Lily Grace, I was having a hard time sitting down and spending any time reading. But once I finally did, I was so glad I did.  Here is the book I am referring to:

I first learned about this book HERE, on Marcia's blog entitled "Marcia Moston, On a Write Journey Following God".  When she shared a bit about her latest book on her blog post, I was intrigued by it and truly wanted to read more.  Well, for some reason, after Marcia read my comment on her post, she decided to send me a copy of her book! I was so surprised and blessed beyond measure! When I finally made the time to sit down and read the book, I was even more blessed.  

Here is the gist of the story: 

Marcia Moston weaves a warm and fun story of what happens when she stepped away from the original plan to buy a sensible home way down south in South Carolina for her and her husband, (while he was still finishing up his work up north) and ends up with a fixer-upper that needs major renovation...much to her hubby's dismay. Thankfully he was a great sport and dove right in with the positive attitude of making lemonade out of the lemon...but this story goes so much deeper. It is a glimpse into how God also weaves a tangled mess of bad decisions, unexpected life events, sorrows and disappointments into a magnificent tapestry of lives filled with new hopes, restored purpose and fulfilled promises. This book took us so much deeper than what appeared on the surface and I came away with great comfort and hope for how God can work in my own tangled messes of life. Wonderful positive message of hope!

I guess this story really resonated with me because we have made many moves in our lives over the course of our 51+ years of marriage, and sometimes our best laid plans didn't always work out the way we thought they would. I could identify with Marcia's story on several levels...the moving part, the renovations, but also the deeper personal level of how God works in our lives when we make wrong moves, bad decisions, or when things happen in our family's lives beyond our control. I have also experienced disappointments, unexpected "house-guests", and sorrows beyond my ability to cope at times. But, like Marcia shares in her story, God doesn't give up on us because we make mistakes. He often takes our mistakes and turns them into victory and blessing. Her story is one of encouragement and hope, and I can honestly say, that is my story too.

I believe you would also enjoy "Going South with the God of Jacob's and My Mistakes".  Here is a link to it on Amazon.com in case you would like to "check it out" for yourself!

Thank you, Marcia, for sharing your story with me. I truly enjoyed this book...and now I need to go "check out" your other books as well!   

An "Unmerited Favor"

 NEWS UPDATE:  Please see on the sidebar of my blog that there is link to "The Adventures of Lily Grace".  Lily is going to have her own blog and will be sharing her adventures with us as she writes letters to her "Aunt Debbi and Identical Cousin Tracie".  If you enjoyed this, I think you will enjoy Lily's blog. The first episode is pretty much the same as this post, but it will be changing with new excitement and fun with every post. I hope you will come visit Lily Grace at her own new blog! (which is still under construction, so bear with me...)

The other day I mentioned that a blogging friend was sending me an unexpected gift (HERE), and I promised to share it with you when it arrived.

Here she is! I know you are probably wondering why someone would send me such a sweet doll in the mail!  Well, I wondered the same thing at first when my friend said she had found this doll and was going to send it to me.  You see, this dear friend loves dolls much like I do...and she had shared a picture of her doll just like this on her blog. (I am not going to share her name because I wouldn't want to put her on the spot...but she is a very thoughtful and giving person).  I happened to mention that I loved her doll and thought she was so very cute and sweet and fun.  And the next thing I knew, she had found one for me and was sending it! Oh my! I was so surprised and somewhat amazed.  I certainly never intended for her to go out and buy this doll for me...but she wanted to "bless me" with this doll...she said it gave her joy to do so.  And you know what? It gave me such joy to just think about the fact that this cute little doll was on her way to me that I felt much like an expectant mother waiting for her baby to be born! 

Before my friend put the doll in the mail, she took a series of pictures of her "seeing the sights" around her town so that she would have some adventures to tell us about when she arrived here. My friend prepared her with as much information as she knew to give her about our home and where we live  and what to expect...but of course she would have to wait until she got here to see it all for herself.

Well, when I told my hubby that we were about to have a new little member added to our family, I was afraid he might think I'd slipped a cog or something...but do you know what that sweet man said? "Well we'd better come up with a name for her!" Oh my! He was absolutely right! We couldn't name her the same thing that her identical twin was named...(whom we decided would be an identical twin cousin, much like the Patty Duke show...remember them? Well, if you don't you must be much younger (or older) than I am).   However, we both agreed that we would wait until she arrived to decide on her name...much like we did with our three sons.  We tossed different names around, but didn't make a final decision until we saw them face to face. (Of course, when they were coming along we never knew whether or not they were a boy or a girl until they were born. That's how long ago THAT was!)  And that is what we decided we would do with this new little friend. 

So today was THE day. I had actually been out to breakfast with a dear friend from church, who just happens to be named "Pamela"!! I invited her in to see our house and to visit a little more, when the mail-lady pulled up in front of our house and started honking her horn! I ran outside and saw that she had this package, and I knew then that our new little friend had arrived!

Here I am feverishly trying to extricate the sweet little dolly from her box. They sure do make packaging so difficult these days... 

Finally she was free and able to "breathe" some fresh air!  

Thankfully, my friend Pamela is a "Kindred Spirit" and totally loved the doll as much as I did. I think she would have liked to have taken her home with her...but that wasn't going to happen...

This cute little girl with her flowers in her hair and tie dyed t-shirt and long lace coat, boots and guitar with a karaoke machine and a microphone was going to stay here with us and liven this old place up a bit! LOL.

And so we started right away with trying to come up with a name...and we all agreed we would just wait a while and a name would come to us.  While we were examining all of her little special gifts and things that came with her, I heard my hubby say something from his chair where he was sitting and trying not to act like he was too interested...I heard him say, "I think her name should be "Lily".  

My friend Pamela and I looked at each other and agreed! "Lily" was a lovely name for this "flower child"!   It suited her perfectly. Also, my hubby went on to say that his paternal grandmother's name was "Lillian", and so "Lily" would be short for "Lillian".  I then added the middle name of Grace. Lillian Grace. Grace because she is an "unexpected blessing".  "Unmerited favor" is the biblical definition for "Grace".  And Lily is just that...an "unexpected gift", an undeserved favor...from a very special friend!

And so please meet the newest member of our family:

"Lily"...or "Lillian Grace".

The first thing Lily wanted to see was "the big pond".

She was pretty amazed at how big it was and hopes to see some geese or ducks tomorrow. They weren't out there this afternoon.

Next she watched me write a note to our dear friend who sent her to us, letting her know that she had arrived safely!

Then Lily wanted to meet her new "family" here, and they were all quite excited to meet her as well. They had a little tea party for her and even brought some cake. Lily played some songs on her guitar for them and they all sang together. As you can see, Lily is quite the modern young lady compared to the rest of this group. She will definitely be a fun and lively new addition to the "family".

Later in the evening our "big kids" came over for pizza:

And they were very "happy" to meet Lily.  

We decided that she kind of takes after "Aunt Sherrie" a bit. 

It's nice that our family members are all good sports and like to humor me with my dolls and toys and things...

And so that is the story of "Lily Grace"...

and it is to be continued, you can rest assured of that. I think she will be taking me out for a lot of new adventures! I don't believe she will be content to just sit at home and have tea parties!

So until next time...why not be an unexpected blessing to someone else today...

Let us be givers of "unmerited grace" to others who may be in need of a lift to their spirits.

God is teaching me a lot about this lately.

Thank You, Lord.

(And thank you to my very special friend...you know who you are!)