This weekend was filled with emotion leading to a slow process of the weekend.  By Saturday night, I was disappointed it was ending.

As soon as we knew about the conference, Sean and I began dreaming about what our involvement outside of attendance could be.  We quickly decided that God had given us a home we could open up to people that needed a place to stay.  That was a no brainer.  As the months passed and conference approached, the people we thought would come, couldn’t, and new friends could.  Our intention was to provide rest, respite, comfort and a break from their daily lives in our home.  We would bless them and serve them however we could.  As with most things with the Lord, when your intention is to pour yourself out, you are the one blessed in the end.

Nothing could be truer than this weekend.

My first guest has been a dear friend from afar.  I learned about this sweet girl during one of the hardest times in her life.  The Lord placed her in my heart unlike most.  I would be burdened to pray for her in the middle of the night or to send her an email randomly.  I trusted her and cared for her without ever knowing her in real life.  When I picked her up at the airport, it was like picking up a little sister.  She just fit.  Courtney is even lovelier in person and her little Zoe is delicious.  Read her blog, her journey and her pursuit of Christ HERE.  You will be blessed.

My second I met via email literally 4 weeks ago.  I don’t know how, but didn’t know her blog or about her until she committed to our last bedroom for the weekend.  Dorothy is well. . .tender and hard core.  She is encouraging, real and exhorting.  Her answers were unpretentious and gracious. She is the momma to 11 kids.  Nope.  Not a typo.  ELEVEN.  Dan Cruver may have thought she was at T4A as a featured blogger.  Really, though, God had her there to be His love in flesh to hurting moms.  Her appointments all weekend were divine.  God put her right where He needed her.  I knew a mom here locally that had been really hurting.  “Somehow” Dorothy found this girl (without hearing about her from me) and spent an entire session encouraging and praying for her.  BUT I got her in my home.    Two things she said in our late night chats that will stick with me were:

1) She asked me what the one thing was that was weighing on my heart that I was afraid to say out loud.  Yeah, she’s an awesome trauma-momma.  And only a trauma-momma would know that trauma-mommas carry HEAVY burdens that are too hard to talk about sometimes. 2) She is respected in her church community.  I can tell.  They know her, her parenting and her discipleship.  But when it came to ministering to her wounded children, she knew it wouldn’t always look pretty to the outside world.  She said, “I am willing to risk my reputation for change in my community.”  Beautiful and challenging.

Dorothy is also a brown belt.  Don’t mess with this slight woman.  She literally can take a huge man down with her thumbs.  After she left Evelyn said, “I think she should go over to the war and give all those guys a beat down.” (don’t get me started on where she learned that language, but I almost got in an accident I was laughing so hard).

Last but not least, Noel blessed my heart.  I didn’t ask her one ministry question but she had a passive teaching to my heart.  She is protective of her family and vulnerable simultaneously which I find encouraging as a private person who blogs.  She is anchoring and calming in every room she’s in. We talked about dog kennels and allergies, hair care and family.

What I loved about her being a featured blogger was her humility.  She always deferred to others with different experiences when a topic arose that she was not familiar with. She was real and authentic.

As I digest more, I will be posting more this week.