Ok...when I was 10 or 11, my aunt Diane got me started on the Christy Miller series of books by Robin Jones Gunn. She got me the first four books in the series for part of my Christmas that year, and I read them all that night after we got home, refusing to go to bed until I had finished them all. As soon as stores were open the day after Christmas, I had Mama calling to order the rest of the series for me! Those went into the Sierra Jensen series, Todd and Christy The College Years, and now she is writing the Katie Weldon series (yes, I am just as excited about them now as I was that first Christmas Eve when I got my hands on book one! :) ). The characters have grown, matured and changed as I have, and I have thoroughly enjoyed growing with them! :) (I'm going to stop now, so you all won't think me completely crazy...lol)
Anyway, in these books, when something significant happens, they always put their hand on the person's forehead, and give the blessing, "May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you." I fell in love with it the first time I ever read it, and had no idea it was a Bible verse!
So, fast forward to last year when we got to the end of our very first service at The Lord's Vineyard. I was already very impressed with the church, but that was only our first time going, and we hadn't gone anywhere else yet to compare, so I was still open to checking out other options. Anyway, Pastor Wes came to the end of the service and said, "Can I bless you?" to the congregation. Now I didn't know what in the world he was talking about, but everybody was smiling and blessings are supposed to be good, so I was going with it. Then he opened his mouth and said, "May the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you..." And everyone said, "Peace!"
At this point, I knew this was my church! But as I looked at Pastor Wes, I just couldn't picture him sitting in his living room, in a big overstuffed chair, cuddled up reading the Christy Miller series and falling in love with this blessing as I had! :) So I went home and googled it and found it in Numbers 6:24-26! :)
Last week, I had to go to our local Christian bookstore to pick up a book to send to a friend. Anyway, as I was there, I decided to just do a little browsing, as I had never really looked anywhere but at the book section before! I walked around the first corner of the "knick knack" section, and there, right in the middle of the wall, with about 30 other framed things around it was the plaque in the picture above! :) And as clearly as I saw that plaque, I could see it hanging above a crib in my future nursery! :) It came home with me that day! And it is now hanging above my dresser! A daily reminder of the promise God intended with that blessing, and a daily reminder of a church full of people that love me back home! :)
I love you all! :)
Anyway, in these books, when something significant happens, they always put their hand on the person's forehead, and give the blessing, "May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you." I fell in love with it the first time I ever read it, and had no idea it was a Bible verse!
So, fast forward to last year when we got to the end of our very first service at The Lord's Vineyard. I was already very impressed with the church, but that was only our first time going, and we hadn't gone anywhere else yet to compare, so I was still open to checking out other options. Anyway, Pastor Wes came to the end of the service and said, "Can I bless you?" to the congregation. Now I didn't know what in the world he was talking about, but everybody was smiling and blessings are supposed to be good, so I was going with it. Then he opened his mouth and said, "May the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you..." And everyone said, "Peace!"
At this point, I knew this was my church! But as I looked at Pastor Wes, I just couldn't picture him sitting in his living room, in a big overstuffed chair, cuddled up reading the Christy Miller series and falling in love with this blessing as I had! :) So I went home and googled it and found it in Numbers 6:24-26! :)
Last week, I had to go to our local Christian bookstore to pick up a book to send to a friend. Anyway, as I was there, I decided to just do a little browsing, as I had never really looked anywhere but at the book section before! I walked around the first corner of the "knick knack" section, and there, right in the middle of the wall, with about 30 other framed things around it was the plaque in the picture above! :) And as clearly as I saw that plaque, I could see it hanging above a crib in my future nursery! :) It came home with me that day! And it is now hanging above my dresser! A daily reminder of the promise God intended with that blessing, and a daily reminder of a church full of people that love me back home! :)
I love you all! :)
