Variations on a Melody

It is a blessing to have friends that love you. It is an even more extraordinary blessing to have friends who all love each other.

I lived with the same girls through most of college and our dearest friends all lived together for much of that time as well. And when I say lived I mean lived.  These women were, and still are, like family.

When we moved into our 2 bedroom apartment junior year we decided to cram all the beds into one of the bedrooms, and instead of splitting up groceries we opened a joint checking account with four debit cards. This, for some, might sound like a recipe for disaster. But we somehow made it work beautifully for us. We were knit together.

I am never very sure why these strong bonds were so seamlessly formed. We were...and still are...such very unique women. Yet for all of our obvious differences we are what Anne Shirley calls "kindred spirits."

We sing the same melody, but each plays it out in varying ways. A distinct interpretation of a shared tune, the theme always holding us in harmony.

My sis and best friends the night before my wedding.

Life kept moving and it was impossible for all of us to always be near one another. The reunions are few, but precious. And no matter the time elapsed, it is as if I only saw them yesterday. Some people are just like home. With them seated around a table, many now with husbands, boyfriends, and babies at their sides, my heart is full with the perfect symphony.

Last week I got to hear it once again.

On Saturday I stood in a church pew and watched one of my lovely friends walk toward the man who is now her husband. As she walked the organist played "Simple Gifts" and all I could think of was what a gift she was to me. What a gift all the girls seated next to me have been.

It was difficult for me to see her face during the ceremony seated as close as we were. The face I saw most clearly was that of her fiancé. I began to wonder if tradition did this intentionally, seated friends of the bride and groom on those respective sides of the sanctuary not so that they were aligned with their loved one, but so that they could best see the face of the one who was now loving them.

Zoltan and Rebecca

Zoe stared at her with such loyalty, such sincerity and such heart. No friend could wish anything more for her friend on her wedding day, to be gazed at with utter devotion. I knew he loved her, which was the greatest gift to me, because of how much I love her.

I am truly thankful for my friends.  I consider them one of my great treasures, something to be cherished.  They are not my right, but my privilege. I honestly don't know how I would do life without them.

On a May day in 2005 I stood in our empty apartment. It was quiet and cleaned out, all of our possessions packed up and stored for the summer. I went to the bedroom to grab my suitcase and as I paused between the tiny bare boned bunk beds my eyes filled with tears.

I set my bag on the floor, raised my hands and tilted my head toward the ceiling.  Right there, all alone, I sang the doxology.

It was the only appropriate way I knew to thank Him.

In that unusual emptiness of the room I felt extraordinarily full.  I still feel full to this day.

This is my dear friend, Melody, which makes the title of this post even more fitting.

Because It's November

Things have been sparse around the blog lately. I am well and good. Its just that I fell into a pile of ornaments.

That's an exaggeration, but I'm a writer. We do that. I didn't really fall in, but it feels like it.

November is always the busiest time of year for nonprofits and retailers. We happen to be BOTH.

Pearl Ministries has a special seasonal fundraiser called Ornaments4Orphans which I somehow happen to be in charge of this year. Over the last two weeks we have been sending out thousands of ornaments to our 2011 coordinators.

The way Ornaments4Orphans works is that we enlist individuals, churches, schools, businesses, etc. to put up a Christmas tree. We send them a box of handmade, fair trade African Christmas ornaments which they sell for $10 per ornament throughout the holiday season. The proceeds all benefit our work with children in Uganda! So simple! So fun!

We've been busy shipping out ornament boxes to California, Ohio, Texas, Mississippi,Gerogia and lots of local folks here in Alabama. This is a lot of work, but it is also very exciting as we have the potential to raise funds for our ministry.

And in case you were wondering, it isn't too late to become a coordinator. We still have lots of ornaments to send out. The only cost to you is your time. You can set up a tree in your church foyer, office lobby, school cafeteria, or home Christmas party. We've even had many people sell them door to door. Instead of a lemonade stand why not let your kids do an Ornaments4Orphans stand?

The ornaments are truly beautiful and it all benefits a great cause. You can view the ornaments at www.ornaments4orphans.org. You can buy them online as well! We'll also have some new varieties of ornaments going up on the web store soon! Plus there are some fantastic nativities.

Alright, that's the end of my heartfelt infomercial. I really love my kids and really love Ornaments4Orphans!

Ornaments4Orphans isn't the only thing keeping me busy, though. I'm still running our child sponsorship program, trying to get our fun 12 Days of Christmas fundraiser ready to publish and helping out with various events as they come our way.

In my last post I mentioned Christmas Village which is a massive 5 day craft market we participate in each year. KANZI is also opening two local kiosks this month. Our kiosk at the Brookwood Mall in Birmingham opened last Tuesday and the kiosk only the Galleria is also slated to open soon.

If you live in the Birmingham area we hope you'll come do some Christmas shopping with us and tell your friends to do so as well. You can also shop KANZI online at www.KanziCraft.com.

This season is a tough one with so much to manage and accomplish. Please keep us in your prayers. We pray by December 31st we'll see God provide a tremendous abundance from our labors.