in case you were wondering if the Lord still does crazy things

Ok so if you are a follower of my blog then you are probably a follower of Paige's blog, if not add her immediately. Between our two blogs you have heard of our favorite little book "Vessels and Flowers". I know many of you have inquired about buying it after having us plug it so many times. Many of you have actually been "vesseled and flowered" by one of us and some of you may still be waiting to find out what you are according to the book. Well have I got a story for all of you that has just rocked my world! Let me start from the beginning.

My amazing friend Jade came to Texas back in October and with her she brought this sweet little book which she swore, as any good basket would, that it would change my life. Little did I know she really meant it! On Tuesday night the 13th Jade "vesseled and flowered" me for the first time. I fell in love with this book. I really believe the ladies that wrote it heard from the Lord because every word it said about me was true to a T. I am a basket and a rose. If you know anything about a rose you'll understand when I say “I just knew" I had to share this book with others and so I asked Jade where to get it, to which she replied that copies were hard to find and she wasn't sure how to get them. She mentioned that her church used the book and that's how she found it. She and her friends had searched all over and only managed to scrape up a few copies. I was not ok with the idea that we couldn’t share this book so Jade and I being dreamers start tossing around crazy ideas that maybe we could find the authors and let them know Vessels and Flowers had been revived. We even went as far as to say we would become the next generation, promote it, and make a website if they would let us and maybe even potentially get it republished with new artwork. (I realize this was a little presumptuous of us but hey we were excited and we are baskets. (Little did I know my flower had just predicted a version of what may be to come) So that’s where it all began in my spare bedroom, kind of a joke but hey maybe serious. So shortly after Jade headed back to Nashville, I and my very used copy started promoting. A week or so after Jade left I headed to Tennessee to stay a week with Paige, she had just become a new mom. I had already shared with Jade that this was imperative we "vessel and flower" Paige. So one day while I was in town we shared the book with her and found she was an orchid and a darling golden pouch. Paige will testify that Jesus used this book to completely change the way she does life. She will confirm just as all those that have been "vesseled and flowered", that it has freed her from the bondage of insecurities and comparison. Once Paige was on board the Lord just exploded this thing! We shared the book with her mom, her husband, Anna, and Alice all that same week I believe! Ever since the three of us best friends discovered the book we have probably "vesseled and flowered" at the least two people a week. We started to get such feedback about the book changing lives and such demands to buy the book arose, that our joke about finding the authors became a serious agenda and we found ourselves laughing as we prayed that if the Lord wanted this to be our ministry then we had to find Brenda and Sally. Well the Lord answered and I just had to share. Jade was here in Texas a week or so ago for my birthday and we were discussing our dilemma, that despite all our best efforts we hadn't come into contact with the authors and we were running out of shady garage sale ways to find copies of the book. One of the last things I said to her on the subject before she left was that if the Lord wanted us to continue Vessel and Flowers then he would have to send Sally and Brenda our way. One thing I know about the Lord without a shadow of a doubt is that He has a great sense of humor and that He loves a good challenge. He begs us to hold Him to His word and to be amazed as He continually proves it true. Jade flew home on my birthday April 18th and only a week after Paige's friend Olivia found the vessels and flowers website!!!! Almost simultaneously without me and jade even knowing the website had been found I received a comment on my blog from "the flower lady." At first I thought it was a joke then I realized quickly it was actually one of the authors of the book, come to find out it was Sally! I thought there was no way she had just come across my blog so I assumed Jade had been in contact with her and wanted to surprise me and didn't say anything. But I was wrong. Through a crazy chain of internet promoting and friends of friends sending emails (aka Jesus trying to impress me) Sally had been told to visit my blog because I had been promoting her book and she left a sweet comment inquiring how we found it! This all just transpired in the last few days. Jade, Paige, and I are beside ourselves! I haven't even had a chance to message Sally back yet but I just had to share with you all first because the Lord deserves all Glory in that He is the most exciting, loving, laughing, and adventurous Father! I don't recall whether I have shared yet that the Lord gave Jade and I the same scripture, on separate occasions, for 2010 that declared that this year would be "the year of the Lord's favor."

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lords favor."
Luke 4:18-19, Isaiah 61

He has shown his favor indeed again and again this year! I am incredibly grateful and extremely humbled. Many know my testimony and know that it was only a few months ago I struggled and that Satan had almost convinced me once again that my God was neither exciting or adventurous and that in fact following him would be boring slavery. OHH friends how wrong the enemy is!!

"So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent? There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. THERE ARE THINGS TO DO AND PLACES TO GO! This resurrection life you received from God is not a TIMID, grave-tending life. It's ADVENTUROUSLY expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!
Romans 8:12-16

Our lives weren't meant for boring slavery friends. Our Father is creator and author of everything on this earth that brings you pleasure, from a simple cup of your favorite coffee or tea to the best book, movie, day, or vacation of your life! He had you in mind and he knows what you love this was a gift from him so you would know him as father not as slave driver. His entire goal is that we wake and ask him with excitement and expectation daily "what's next". He knows I love a crazy story, He knows I love surprises, and that I love to laugh! HE knew I would get a kick out of the flower lady finding me in the craziest way possible and most importantly that I would share it with all of you on the web and promote HIM!!!! He is dear to me if you don't know this crazy Lord seek to know him, I guarantee he's already been pursuing you. I'll keep you posted on Vessels and Flowers and in the meantime go order a book off the website  and keep livin' la Vida loca or in some of your cases challenge Christ to help you start living la Vida loca now, better late than never!!