This past weekend I accompanied my husband, Joe, to his 35th high school reunion in Searcy, Arkansas, where we had a fabulous time! In addition to meeting some of his high school buddies, I got to renew old friendships with some of my college buddies from Harding University in the process. A photo booth was set up and, of course, we made full use of it!
Pictured to the left with
me is my sweet, sweet friend from college, Gloria Allen Woods. I remember meeting
Gloria on a road trip where eight of us (if memory serves) crammed
into a truck with a camper on the back (I was in the camper portion with my BFF
Polly) and took off to see friends in St. Louis. Gloria had just started dating a guy
name Jeff Woods at the time, and I tell you, it was love at first sight for those two. The
way they looked at each other…with such complete adoration. As they dated and became closer, then eventually became engaged, the Christ-centeredness of their
relationship really made an impression on me. But earlier this year brought tragedy...
Gloria lost her precious
husband, Jeff (age 53) very suddenly this past May, and their four children lost their father. It's beyond
heartbreaking… Yet Gloria's faith and love for the Lord, her unwavering
steadfast belief that God is sovereign even in the midst of such tragedy, is
encouraging beyond words. It was wonderful to see Gloria again and to renew
that friendship after almost 30 years. I love you, sweet sister, and was totally serious when I said I hope I get Home before you do. I want to watch Jeff's eyes light up when he sees you again.
Heather from MO, United States
Heather, congrats, girl! Contact me here with your address, and I'll get your autographed book in the mail. Thanks to everyone who left a comment last week.
And to all… If To Whisper Her Name is on your list of things to get, be sure to take advantage of the pre-order ebook price of only $4.99 which ends soon. If you'd like to read an excerpt of To Whisper Her Name, here are the first three chapters. Hope you enjoy!
In closing, I'm sharing a glimpse of fall in Colorado. (Thanks, Delmar Schroeder of Greeley for sharing this with me.)
I love everything about fall. The colors, the changing of the leaves, the crispness of the air, and everything pumpkin! Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin scones… I even tried to order a little pumpkin pie from McDonald's the other night but they didn't have any ready. Has anyone tried those yet? Are they good? (Please tell me "No" so I won't still keep wanting one!)
What's your favorite fall thing?
Much love,
Tammy
Where I'll be this weekend, and where I'm hoping we meet. Click the links for details.
Friday - Southern Festival of Books
Saturday - West Virginia Book Festival (with Lynn Austin and Julie Klassen)
I'm with you on loving fall, Tammy---my VERY favorite season! McDonald's has little pumpkin pies? I had NO idea...YUM! Will have to watch for them. ~ So glad you and Joe enjoyed his reunion, and those photos of you and Gloria are so cute! How sad about her loss, but what a blessing she has such a strong faith to carry her. I feel certain the Lord will use her to minister to other women going through similar situations. ~ On a personal note, just received word a dear friend I grew up with lost his battle with pancreatic cancer...so sad. (His sister is my BFF Kathy). ~ Heaven will certainly hold a joyous reunion for us one day!!! ~ Thanks again for sharing, and have fun at the West Virginia Festival!! Love, Patti Jo
ReplyDeleteFall: I love the cool, crisp feel in the air, the blue, blue skies, and the black-eyed (or brown-eyed) Susans growing wild along the side of road. I've already taken lots of pictures that I will post on my bungalow retreat blog in a couple weeks. I look forward to photographing these happy, yellow flowers every fall. They make me smile.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and I tried (without success) to figure out a way to attend the West Virginia Book Festival. You, Lynn Austin, and Julie Klassen are three of our most favorite authors. And to think you'll all be together in one spot.
Hey gals! Great to hop on and see you here today!
ReplyDeletePatti Jo, I'm praying for your friend's family. So sorry to hear that, and will look forward to meeting him when we get Home. Enjoy that GA fall for me.
And Teri, wish I was seeing you there this weekend, lady! Maybe some day soon! Thanks for those kind words, buddy.
Those photo booth pics cracked me up. You are such a ham! I love her expression as she looks at you in the last one.
ReplyDeleteBut my heart ached as I read what she went through. So thankful that God is carrying her through this hard journey.
When I was in college my good friends lost their dad to cancer who was 51 at the time. He and his wife were such huge influences on so many of my youth group in high school and into college. I knew he died young, but it was really sobering to reach this age and realize just how young he really was. Life really is just a blink!
As for fall, would you please get all the pumpkin stuff eaten and out of here so we can get on to the next phase, like peppermint mochas?! I'm not a pumpkin fan but I love the flavors that start popping up for the holidays!
And we actually had some bonafide sweater weather this past weekend when it got down to 50 and stayed pretty chilly. For two days. We'll be 90 by the end of the week!
Amen, Linda. Life goes by so fast. And getting even faster with the years! Much love, lady! And stay warm. Or cool, later this week.
ReplyDeleteNever mind Fall Tam. It's Spring(or meant to be) over here and we're expecting SNOW. Can you believe it? Almost mid October and snow in the Southern Hemisphere? Have we changed seasons or what?!
ReplyDeleteGreat that you enjoyed your hubby's re union and that you caught up with your sweet friend.What a brave lady she is to face challenges without her precious man and so young at that! I'm certain you won't lose contact with her now. Your pics show a real affinity with each other.
Thank you for sharing that bond and closeness with us, that means so much to you both.
Fall is indeed my most favorite season. I've decked the house with ceramic pumpkins and fall leaves. The front doors have fall wreaths and this weekend I plan to get my mums. My geraniums are still in full bloom, so that's why the delay. I love the cool crisp air and to watch the geese flying south. And I also love the smell of firewood burning in folk's fireplaces in the evenings (that's one disadvantage of having a gas fireplace...no woodsy scent). It's a great time of the year! I like pumpkin bread, pumpkin doughnuts and pumpkin spice tea! And my Pumpkin spice candles! So there ya go! Just call me "Punkin", I won't mind. :-) Have a great time in West Virginny, relax, laugh and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteOh! I am praying for your friend Gloria. So glad you were there to be a comfort to her. I am sure your time with her at the reunion was a blessing for her. :-)
ReplyDelete