Note to self: Wine Tour Party Buses are not your friend. Happy Birthday, Ashley!
Moving on.

Do you ever have times where your life motto could be “If it ain’t broke it will be tomorrow”?

I just came back in from attempting to mow the lawn. I filled the little gas tank, revved the engine, heard an actual “poof” and saw a tuft of smoke blow out the side . I was not expecting a magic show in the backyard, and calling the fire department seemed undesirable, so I rolled the lawnmower back to its resting place and let the grass do its thang.

This comes after a week of discord with and serious worry over a close friend, which still is not resolved. Also, at some point on Saturday night Bentley’s litter box became unavailable because the lid fell and he pooped behind his water dish and peed in MY corner of the sectional. The microfiber, unzippable sectional. Where I lay.

Now it’s not his fault, but apparently when cats pee somewhere it becomes their “turf” and after I scrubbed and deodorized said crime scene, Bentley put on his bandana, started snapping and jazz walking, and made a return performance to reclaim his territory. Perfect.

It’s been a ship week. Take that how you want. I’m struggling with stuff, my friends are hurting, and somehow in the midst of this I’m supposed to figure out how to speak Portugese.

In the midst, though, I have been closer to God than I’ve been in awhile. I’m praying a ton, and more sensitive to the darkness that I need to keep out of my life (music, television, people). Some things and people just exhaust you..they suck the life out and your flame gets a little weaker. I don’t need any of that.

Last night, Ashley and our friend Alison came over. We drank some Blackberry wine from Belize,  talked about how amazing Jesus is, and then cackled together as we scrunched side by side and watched a comedy special on Netflix. White women do love pinterest and dead leaves!

Somewhere between the encouragement in Christ’s faithfulness and the edgy stand-up, I was filled up again. These women brought life, and when they stood to leave (one of them with an odd wet stain on her shirt..hey, I warned them!), I rejoiced in the fact that I have people who truly make me more whole. Spending time with them refreshed my soul. Seriously.

Believers, this is world is gonna try to suck the life out of you. When you are seeking Jesus, life is still going to be hard, in fact it may get so hard you’ll wonder if you haven’t pissed someone off somewhere.

Our comfort and peace is found in Jesus and in each other. The body of Christ. I heard a Les Brown quote recently that stated

“80% of people in this world don’t care about your problems. The other 20% are glad it’s you.”

While this quote made me snort with laughter, I disagree. I agree more with the Sophie Hudson quote from her book “Giddy Up, Eunice”:

“When the Holy Spirit and one woman recognizes the Holy Spirit and another, safe places become sacred spaces.”

My Jesus friends are some of the most faithful and loving (and real and flawed) people I could ever hope to have in my corner. I have people and they love me and care when I’m down.

That’s the beauty of the church. Our circumstances and outside influences may be trying, but with confidence we can stand against them. Together.

We are not alone.

We are not defeated.

Pumpkin spice latte.

We are Jesus girls, and our bad weeks don’t get to win.

Ang