Mrs. Michigan and Other Noble Pursuits

So here I am posing with the lovely and talented Mrs. Michigan - tiara, sash, and all! (The beautiful girl to her left is my friend Crystal, who I was blessed to stay with over the weekend.) One thing that I found out about pagentry is that the women who enter them are fiercely competitive. I always thought they were just pretty, freakishly tall and skinny girls with an assortment of interesting talents - but apparently the will to win is key.

In all honesty, I enjoyed hearing Laura Loveberry (the crowned one) share her heart for women and passion for the love of Christ to be shared. When she got into the story of how she went from fun-loving cheerleader to "big Bible toting Jesus Freak" (which she had specifically prayed not to become), the room was riveted. I love seeing how God has gifted each person so uniquely, with their own story and passion.

While the conference was great, the highlight was getting to visit my friend, and bring my son along to play with Crystal's oldest boy. I remember when Crystal (above) got married and her sister gave the perfect toast when she said that Corey was getting Betty Crocker, Martha Stewart and Elle McPherson all rolled into one. Now, after peering out into their backyard (read: farm) where chickens roam, baby goats play, and all sorts of foods grow, I see that he also got the wife from Green Acres as well.

The only problem we ran into was that my 7 year old is used to mostly prepackaged food bought from a grocery store (preferably Aldi). So when he was offered their variety of truly whole wheat bread, goat's milk or raw cow's milk, he basically chose not to eat for a day. He had agreed to mac and cheese, then decided no. He was offered other food, which didn't appeal to him. Finally he asked for an apple and water, thinking he couldn't go wrong there. He ate the apple, but then after taking one sip of water he blurted out, "What is wrong with this water?" Corey explained that it comes from a well in the ground. Gabe wanted to know where our water comes from, so Corey explained that process. Then Corey offered to mix the water with grape juice to make it taste better. Gabe took a drink and then said, "It still tastes like dirt."

We will be working on graciousness and how to be a guest in someone's home this week.

Thankfully, Corey told me the whole story with a smirk on his face. I'm glad he found my son mildly entertaining. On the way home I was talking to Gabe about his pickyness when he said, "But they have good apples!" It was Michigan, I'm glad they can't mess up apples.

Getting back to the conference - my part went better than I expected. I went in prepared for these women to be shocked and maybe even put off by my idea of this God of Romance. What amazed me was that in my first seminar everyone had tears in their eyes as I spoke of God's passionate love for them. They were ready and eager to hear it. And then I was encouraged when several women came up to tell me how it impacted them. But I was overwhelmed when two women from the later sessions, who have been on this journey for some time, came up to me with a gleam of hope and excitement in their eyes and said, "I've never thought of God's love like that."

I was humbled and speechless and overwhelmed. God was clearly doing something so much bigger than me. I felt honored to be a part of God speaking to their hearts and pray now that this knowledge goes deep into their souls. I am thrilled that God is still alive and active, his word sharper than a two-edged sword, dividing joints and marrow, and able to make an aging woman blush because of the passion of His love for her. Amazing.