I'm working almost nightly to update my 12-week devotional book for first semester college women. I read this one tonight for the first time in awhile and was reminded how much I love this story. I'm not nearly talented enough to convey what happened to me in these few seconds, but I've tried to come close...
Your Guardian Angel
An amazing thing happened to me several years ago. My friend, LeAnn, was serving as a short-term missionary in Guinea, West Africa, and I was fortunate to get to spend three weeks with her there. I could write volumes about the culture, the food, and the people, but I am anxious to tell you about what happened to me in the market one day.
Guineans go to the open-air market every day to purchase the day’s food. It’s a fabulous, busy place full of wonderful sights and smells. To this day, the scent of pineapples takes my mind straight to the markets in Guinea. LeAnn and I were wandering around a market one day looking at all the fabrics, the fruits and vegetables and enjoying a rare cool morning. I found something interesting and turned to ask LeAnn how much it would cost. She was gone. I had lost track of her in the rows of merchandise. I could not speak a single word of the local languages. LeAnn was my only means of communication in this world. My heart sank into my stomach. In a split second all I could imagine was that I was lost in this place where I couldn’t speak with any of these people and that LeAnn would never find me. I think it's the only time in my life when I've experienced debilitating panic.
It seemed like a lifetime, but only a few minutes later LeAnn appeared with one of the Guinean market ladies. I was so relieved that I almost started to cry! The market lady had seen the look of shock on my face when I realized LeAnn was not with me. This kind woman knew she couldn’t speak my language, so instead of trying to calm me she just ran off to find LeAnn and bring her back to me. What an amazing feeling to find out that while I was almost paralyzed with fear and my mind was racing through one escape plan after another, someone was already on the move to make things right for me.
See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way
and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
Exodus 23:20 (NIV)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wow... What happened to 2011?
Fellow Snobs... I've been an absentee blogger for so long! I had such great intentions, but somewhere around February of 2011 I completely fell off the blog bandwagon. What happened? Well, this is what happened...
Yep, I met Eric White and fell head over heels in love! I think we might have started planning our wedding around the second or third date. :) I abandoned all blogging (and almost all reading) for wedding magazines and catering sites!!
We got engaged on the observation deck of Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama on June 3, 2011. Eric had the proposal running across a sign in Southside below us. See...
(Vulcan statue)
"Lori Barstow, I love you, will you marry me?"
YES!!!
Finally, the big day came! December 3, 2011. It was a magical, spiritual, wonderful day. I got to marry the love of my life and I got to have lots of friends and family there to celebrate!
We went on a honeymoon cruise...
... and we're finally settling down into real life.
This Book Snob has a lot of reading to catch up on and I'm looking forward to it. Several friends and I are going to attempt to read through War and Peace this year. I think most of us are both excited about the adventure AND skeptical about our ability to understand it - not to mention stick to it long enough to finish. I'm about 60 pages in and already fairly lost as to what is happening. I'm going to forge ahead and see if it comes together for me at some point.
I'm also working on updating and republishing my devotional for college women...
Precious Stones and Alabaster: Gifts of Advice for Christian Women Starting College. www.PreciousStonesBook.com
I'm excited about the possibility of doing a format for e-readers like Kindle and Nook.
The year ahead has some great possibilities for reading snobby books and having lots to talk about.
I hope your 2012 is off to a great start and that you're starting it off with a great book.
Read on!
Yep, I met Eric White and fell head over heels in love! I think we might have started planning our wedding around the second or third date. :) I abandoned all blogging (and almost all reading) for wedding magazines and catering sites!!
We got engaged on the observation deck of Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama on June 3, 2011. Eric had the proposal running across a sign in Southside below us. See...
(Vulcan statue)
"Lori Barstow, I love you, will you marry me?"
YES!!!
Finally, the big day came! December 3, 2011. It was a magical, spiritual, wonderful day. I got to marry the love of my life and I got to have lots of friends and family there to celebrate!
We went on a honeymoon cruise...
... and we're finally settling down into real life.
This Book Snob has a lot of reading to catch up on and I'm looking forward to it. Several friends and I are going to attempt to read through War and Peace this year. I think most of us are both excited about the adventure AND skeptical about our ability to understand it - not to mention stick to it long enough to finish. I'm about 60 pages in and already fairly lost as to what is happening. I'm going to forge ahead and see if it comes together for me at some point.
I'm also working on updating and republishing my devotional for college women...
Precious Stones and Alabaster: Gifts of Advice for Christian Women Starting College. www.PreciousStonesBook.com
I'm excited about the possibility of doing a format for e-readers like Kindle and Nook.
The year ahead has some great possibilities for reading snobby books and having lots to talk about.
I hope your 2012 is off to a great start and that you're starting it off with a great book.
Read on!
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