It's almost time....the clock is ticking! "Bee My Guest" has almost come to total fruition. I am BEYOND excited about this series...words just can't express how thrilled that I am to have such an INCREDIBLE group of some real women of faith to call on to be a part of this special time. I am SO glad that all of the coordination of this project has already been done. As a matter of fact, I'm ECSTATIC that it's been done, since I'm writing this post as I recuperate from surgery yesterday! I had to undergo a laparoscopy for endometriosis yesterday morning (Thanks to all of you who have been praying!). I'm not going to fib to you and say that it was a walk in the park...it was actually excruciating. But, to God be the glory, I came through it fine and now have the task of just recuperating from the procedure. I'll have to tell you, I have a wonderful physician and I have had the constant support of my sweet husband and family. I am so thankful for that, more than I could ever express. Actually, I cannot imagine being by myself and not having that support, which gives me a new perspective on those having to go through surgeries and procedures without anyone, BUT, that is another entire blog post itself, so I'll file that one for now.
Back to "Bee My Guest".....
So, as you know, my friend Beth White will be the first guest author on Tuesday, August 4th (that's just 3 days away folks!).
There will be a great giveaway on Tuesday, so make sure and leave an encouraging comment for my dear friend and you'll be entered into a drawing to receive a personally autographed copy (to whomever you would like Beth to autograph to) of her newest book, "Tour de Force". If you would like to read my introduction of Beth and her background, you can read my last post about it here.
If you read that last post, then please forgive me for getting some of my dates out of order! I gave you the introduction for another dear sister, Joy Lockwood, who will be posting also, but to make a correction, that post will be up on Tuesday, August 18th. Joy's post will be about the experiences, joys and challenges of being the wife of a (travelling) Christian artist (Chris Lockwood of 33Miles). SO....On Tuesday, August 11th, the guest author will be another precious friend, Heather (Fath) Messick . Heather and I have known each other since about 1990, when we met and sang together in choir at Mobile College (now known as University of Mobile). Heather and her husband Mark have got three BEAUTIFUL little ladies at their house. Their third and most recent child, Victoria, was born on March 10, 2008. She was born with Down's Syndrome and some serious very heart defects as well. Heather will be posting about her experiences as not only a mother, but the mother of a special needs child. Mark and Heather went through some incredibly scary times with the birth of Victoria and her subsequent heart surgery. But in ALL of those times, as Heather will tell you, GOD WAS THERE. He was not only there, but HE CREATED VICTORIA! He formed her. He thought of her. He dreamed about her. He sent her to this earth! Hallelujah!! What a Savior! And when you see this little angel of a girl, you'll shout "Hallelujah" as well....you can't help but shout it when you see that INCREDIBLE smile of hers.
Just to give you a sneak peek, if you will go to this link, you can watch a video that was put together by a friend of ours (Dave Simpson). The video is set to the music that Heather wrote, praising God for Victoria's life. Heather penned a song called "She is God's Child" after Victoria was born. DISCLAIMER FROM THE AUTHOR: YOU MUST GET KLEENEX BEFORE YOU LISTEN TO THE MUSIC AND WATCH THIS VIDEO. Not only did she write it, but you will hear Heather singing it as well. Heather has an incredible gift from the Lord with the voice that she has been given. She uses that voice to constantly praise her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So, for now, I will let you listen. Please come back for a visit on Tuesday, but make sure and make it back for Heather's post on the next Tuesday, August 11th. I will also be holding a very special giveaway for her post, as I will be for doing for all of them. Heather produced a CD called "Wonder", which will be one of the giveaways from the day of her post. I will also be giving away another copy of "Believe", one of our church CD's (Jason Breland and the First Baptist North Mobile Worship Choir), on which, Heather is featured singing the title cut, "Believe". And, if that were not enough, I will be giving away a very special "surprise" gift that will be specifically in honor of little Victoria and all that she means to her parents and to those of us in the church. Her story has touched MANY lives since her glorious entry on March 10, 2008. She is not only the love of her parents' lives, but that of her big sisters, Elyssa and Natalie also!
SO....look at how much you have to look forward to here at A Pair of Bartletts! I know that you are going to be SO blessed by these special ladies. So, mark your calendars! Grab your Starbucks and join us for some very special times!
((Hugs)) to you
