"It is well, it is well with my soul....."

Who ever thought that when I left home this morning I would be gone until 4:00 pm?!? My first stop was at Grumpy's to pick up my fresh baked rolls which were expected to be ready for me at 9:00. Sadly, the regular rolls took second place to the fresh baked garlic rolls for their spaghetti special on the menu today so I ended up waiting until nearly 9:30 for them. Talk about fresh! The waitress cautioned me to not close the lid because the rolls were so hot, they would sweat inside the container. Oh, if only I'd had some butter-----they might be gone before I got to Bible study, but oh, the stomach ache which would follow!
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We had a full house for Bible study, the subject matter which was again inspiring and frightening at the same time. Making the comparisons with the past and the present, watching the same mistakes being made, power and arrogance before the fall.....good stuff! Pastor Hoyer told us about the funeral he was conducting this afternoon for a former boyfriend of his daughter's who died of a drug overdose. He asked for prayers for the family and friends, and that the Holy Spirit would work in the hearts of those attending, to lead them to the saving faith. I decided I would stay for the funeral................

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The service folder used, folded by another lady and me, was originally purchased by the church secretary for her own funeral sometime down the road, had the words from the hymn "When Peace Like a River" printed on the front. It was lovely, and hopefully healing for the mourners. I was thinking about my nephew, Tommy, whose funeral was also today, wondering if the church where his service was held was as full as this one. Sadly, I will guess not. "It is well, it is well with my soul."

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I only got home a few minutes ago from a lovely dinner and visit with Kathy B. She came here after school and we left together to stop at Great Hang Ups to say 'hi' to Dee and Julia. Kathy met Dee this past weekend at a women's retreat. After spending some time chatting, Julia excused herself to go down to see Carol, the massage therapist. Carol told me yesterday that business has really picked up since CHRISTmas, and we speculated that people have the results of stress affecting their bones and muscles these days. I hope that Julia feels the healing hands, as Judy R. mentioned to me today in facebook!

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Kathy and I had dinner at Koko's, her first visit, and Hung cooked for us. It was great having our "lady time" and just as we were about to leave, I noticed someone I knew coming in. Sure enough----it was Lonnie and Renee from church! I've seen them at Koko's before so it was not totally surprising but who was with them? It was Janet! And Karen!!! I had just posted an "old" posting about these two ladies today before leaving for Koko's and here they were! I finally got to meet Karen's husband, Bob, plus another couple who are friends of Lonnie and Renee's. It is Lonnie's 65th birthday, hence, the group outing!

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Karen was just beside herself seeing me, saying she has been pestering Janet ever since they arrived in town today about when she would see me. I mean it, and Kathy heard it, too, she is President of my fan club or something. Karen said she has told so many people in MI about me, about my house, and such. My head is just huge after spending 30 minutes with these ladies, and tomorrow the fun continues! They are coming over so Bob can see my home and the view, and then we are going to lunch. The group asked me to join them for an outing at The Landing but I had to decline as I've been gone so much the past couple days that I am behind in a bunch of things. Tomorrow night is cropping at church so I really need to not be tearing up Jacksonville with this rowdy group! What an incredible, emotional day it was!

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Wish I could have seen Justin in between Bible study and the funeral, but he was working on a rough draft of a paper for literature class. As Pastor admonished us, remember to not leave people with harsh words or actions that you will regret, because you never know if those are the last ones you get to say to your loved ones....Remember to tell people you love them, too, so "I LOVE YOU", and you know who you are!