"Tuesdays Treasure".... a little late...

I know, I was supposed to do this on Tuesday but as I have said in my previous post - its been such a busy week for me! Blogging is something important to me but some times life just doesn't allow it on a daily basis...

Today Mariah is my "Tuesdays Treasure".... She is a true treasure! Mariah is my best friend, Heather's daughter. Heather and I have been friends for a very long time. We grew up in the same small town and went to school together. The other day we were talking and we calculated... it has been 20 years! Hard to believe.

Mariah's name is actually Mariah Lea and she is named after ME! Yes, I say that with honor because it is an honor to be not only a part of her life, but for her to have a name after me. This is something that I will always treasure! I won't go into alot of detail because I could actually write a book. I think it would mainly be about Heather and I. How our friendship came about, how we have laughed, cried, learned, and have been blessed all of these years! Believe me, it will be a future blog for Tuesday Treasure!

I was there the day Mariah was born and in the room with several family and friends. I will never forget the look on Rich's face. He was so proud! It was on February 19th to be exact! She was beautiful from the very begining of her life, just as she is today. Those baby blues ..... she still has them! She looks so much like her mommy yet she is so athletic and loves sports.... just like her daddy! Mariah loves soccer! It's her favorite sport and she is so good at it! Mariah enjoys basketball, riding her bike, playing school, being with her friends, singing and has even takens some piano lessons! Mariah is kind, eager to learn, compassionate, makes friends easily and has a huge heart! Mariah is also a big sister to Madison. I will have to write about Madison another time... she is a character! This is a picture of the two of them!

While all of those things are wonderful there is still one thing that stands out! One thing that makes my heart smile...... her love for Jesus and her love for others! Mariah loves Jesus with all her heart. Even at such a young age she undertands her salvation and what it means to not only say you are a Christian, but to live a Christian life. This is something I wish all children could experience at such a young age. She loves going to church, learning about Jesus, and singing praises to Him.

Here is a little story to tell you..........Heather and Rich had gotten a puppy once and Mariah was in love him. They hadn't had him very lnog and one day he had gotten out of the back yard. Mariah was heart broken.... she wanted to pray that he'd come back. She has such great faith that she and her mommy prayed he'd come back. Her daddy , Rich went looking for him, they put it on the radio and sure enough .......... the puppy was found! Mariah believed and she had hope! If only we as adults had that childlike faith to believe God would answer our prayers..... even if they weren't how we wanted them answered. I believe some times he does, knowing what we need and what is best for us. We just don't like it when it isn't our will!

Mariah, I love you and I am so proud you are a part of my life! Jeremy & I pray for you and will always be your friend. We hope that as you live and grow that your journey will be sweet. We hope that you will always put Jesus first and live for him --- you already have a wonderful start. Always know we are here for you, cheering you on, lifting you up to the Lord. You will forever hold a very special place in my heart. I pray that some day God will bless Jeremy & I with a daughter and she will be so many of the things that you are. I love you, Mariah Lea....

Please pray for Michelle...

I know it is Friday and some of you won't even blog much over the weekend but for those of you who will I'd like to ask you to pray for my friend Michelle and her daughter Shelby. As some of you know, she has started a blog and has shared some of the events that have taken place in her life lately. She hasn't been blogging very long but most of her entries talk about her life -- with her teenage daughter. I do not have children as this time but my heart breaks for her! I know she is going thru alot of different emotions right now and I don't know what else I can do but pray. I know that is the best thing!

Michelle called me this morning to learn more of some of the struggles Shelby is facing. I won't go into any detail because it isn't my place but I am asking you, please agree with me and pray with me. Since my phone call this morning my stomach has been in knots and I am very concerned. I know this is a trial, I know the enemy is only out to destroy. Amanda talked about it in her blog entry yesterday... the devils tactics... I am sick of them. I am tired of the enemy trying to destroy us! I have no idea what Michelle is going thru but she is my friend and I am going to be here for her. We've been friends for 21 years and we have been thru alot together.... I've never seen her having to go thru something that has caused such pain... I am praying for the Lord to intervene and I am believing he will. She is seeking him, I know she is.. I am praying for wisdom and guidance.

Thank you for your prayers! Michelle is a good mom and I am proud of her! If you're a mom then you know what is like when one of your children are hurting - thank you for helping me pray. Jesus, you know the situation and only you know the answer - give Michelle wisdom to know what to do and what to say.... Lord, I give this to you completely.. help me to be a friend, to love, support, encourage and always in prayerfulness. Amen!

Thank you friends for your prayers!

~My friend, Michelle

Michelle & her husband, Eric

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share my friend, Michelle with you... Michelle just started blogging and she created her first blog entry tonight! This is something out of her comfort zone so please, if you have a chance stop by and say Hello to her. I know she will be glad that you did...
You can visit her at: http://michelles-mayhem.blogspot.com/

Michelle and I have been friends ... well... since the fifth grade! We both grew up in the same town and went to school together from our middle school years on! She and I share a special friendship that is like no other! We are a lot alike , yet a lot different! One thing is true - we have been thru a lot together! In the span of our friendship we have had our ups and downs. At times it was a bad thing, but today we will both tell you it is actually a blessing! I won't go into detail about all of that, but I would like to share with you that we both grew in the Lord and have become Godly women today. I thank God that he allowed us to reunite and now we are better friends than we could have ever imagined!

I said all of that to say this... While I was thinking of posting this, I had just read a comment that was left on another blog... one about the past.. if you could be who you were or change things was some sort of what it was speaking of... it really got me to thinking... You see, I believe we all have times in our lives that we have to grow. Some times growing pains hurt... you may not always like decisions you made, regret things you said or did, wish you could have another chance, but you see... its all part of our journey! It makes us who we are. God allows us to broken (and even allows broken friendships)... he continues to mold us into what HE wants us to be! We each have a story to tell and because of what we have lived and where we have come from we can each reach someone!

Thank you Lord for molding me, for never giving up on who I am today and who one day I will be! Thank you for my family and for my friends... thank you for Michelle... I love her and I pray you will bless her as she seeks your will in her life. Most importantly I pray that you will give her wisdom as she raises her daughter! I thank you that you saw fit to bless us once again with the blessing of a friendship that will last forever! I know God that in you I can always find the inspiration to be the friend you have called me to be! Friendship is a calling Lord and I believe that! Help me to love those who feel unloved, encourage those who are discouraged and most of all .. always point them to you!