Sharing with the Ladies of Fairfield Christian and Lakeview Wesleyan

Oh my dear people.

This week has been an interesting one. I've spoken four times in four days. (Don't confuse talking, which I actually never stop doing with speaking, which requires organization and professionalism.

Ryan and I knew, going into this week, that it was going to be absolute insanity. We immersed ourselves in Thieves oils and Halls Defense and vitamins and everything else, but wouldn't you just know it, when Monday arrived, Ryan felt sick, and I had to call out for extra prayers, because the whole thing just reeked of Satan's stupid schemes. He did feel better as the day went on, thankfully, but I didn't know that until I'd already had about a two hour panic attack that he wouldn't be able to go with me to my first event of the week.

So Monday night we actually got to stay here in town for my event! I spoke at Fairfield Christian Church for a women's dinner they held at the church.

On the way, we had to pick up a prop I needed for another talk later in the week, so we had to take the truck. This is what it looks like when you take a lot of stuff in a little truck:

As you can see, Ryan was feeling better and was able to come with me! I was so thankful, because I needed him there!

That evening, I shared a talk called "Stone Altars," and they had worked the whole theme of their decor around that!

I even had a little corner for my books!

Know what else I had that night? A surprise guest!

True story: my mom had never heard me speak, other than at her church! The lady who reached out to invite me to come and speak happens to know my parents, so she surprised me by inviting Mom! It was good to have her there!

(There were a handful of other people I knew, including one of my high school classmates and her mom!)

Ryan was so kind to take some pictures for me while I spoke. He was kind to take one of himself, too! LOL!

LOVED that little room! It was so cute! And I loved all the stone props they used for decorating!

Here's a fun thing, too! A woman came up to me after the night was over and said "I'm not sure if you remember me, but..." and for some reason, I immediately could see it in her face! She was my student teacher in Kindergarten! I asked for a picture with her, and she agreed. When I posted it to Facebook, one of my high school classmates was so kind to dig through our old yearbooks (ours are buried in storage) to find our pictures from back in 1983! Check this out!!

She was so kind and encouraging, and I appreciated her! :)

By the time we got home that night, I was exhausted to the point of feeling sick, but we had to rehearse a talk for later in the week, so we were up late.

And then Tuesday morning, I had to get up and on the road as soon as I took my kiddo to school, so I could speak to the ladies Bible study at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion! Ryan had to work, so he wasn't able to go with me (boo!) but I had fun with this group. There were probably 25 or so in attendance, and they were so kind to me.

After I spoke, they all passed around a microphone to share prayer requests and praises, and so many offered kind words to me about what I shared with them. (My talk that day was called Pouring In, Pouring Out. I've done it several times before and it's one of my favorites.)

Since Ryan wasn't there to man the camera, I have no photos from speaking, but here's the church and my car selfie when I was done!

When I left there, I had to get some coffee, because I had a raging headache, and that just happened to put me across the street from my beloved Cato. It seemed rude, really, not to stop in and shop, since I was right there. Know what I mean?

It was a good and productive trip. You'll see more of the outcome tomorrow. LOL!

And so went the first two events of the week! I'm so grateful for God's grace and strength. I always rely on Him heavily when I speak, and He was so faithful!