People Amaze Me!

Sitting in the cutest little coffee shop in Newport News waiting for Brenda to get home and detoxing from a day of flying and driving. Yummy decaf & a slice of carrot cake sure help. I flew in to Raleigh, NC because it was about $200 cheaper than Norfolk and I rented a car anyway, so why not save & drive a little? Both flights were awesome. Talked almost 3 hours with this precious Catholic guy who works in DC with HUD. We talked about his wife and 4 kids and our gratefulness for what an incredible country we live in. Even better, we spent a great while talking about our mutual love for the Lord and how He has turned tragedy into triumph in our lives. This guy had a life changing experience when he lost his brother suddenly a few years ago. His brother was a godly man who lived with integrity and served the Lord faithfully and it was hard for my new friend to understand why God allows such heartache to happen to His own. This struggle took him down the path of discovering God's grace! How inspiring! He brought something up I've never really thought about. He's in the middle of writing an interesting book about politicians and their dogs (with a spiritual twist!) and asked me if I'd ever thought about writing my story. Well I hadn't. I mean isn't blogging enough?! :) I've been pondering it all afternoon. I have no idea about dangling participles and proper writing (OBviously:) but he encouraged me to just sit and write out the ways in which God has been faithful, because my story is one that screams of God's redemptive power!! I'm not sure I'll ever take the plunge, but I was so encouraged to hear that God's work in my life is a story he would be interested in reading. What a compliment!! The conversation on my second flight was equally riveting! A retired Marine sat next to me who works with Hope for the Warriors at Camp Lejeune which is an organization that works with wounded military men and women. Boy did I have a lot to learn from him! On top of being a Marine for 30 years, married to a woman (he gushed about!) for almost that many years, and now devoting his free time to wounded warriors, he's run 53 marathons! 53!! That's close to 1,400 miles!! His goal is to run one in every state! (made me think of you Brad:) What a phenomenal life. I love plane rides. Our world is full of fascinating people! Can't wait to see everyone at Military Ministry Headquarters this week then enjoy a beautiful wedding between two incredible people this weekend! Could this week start any better I tell ya?!