I have a beautiful new palm tree in our dining room, thanks to my friend Barbara. She needed to get the plant out of their living room to make room for some medical equipment, and knowing how much I love houseplants, Barbara thought of me. Ken loaded the palm tree up for me, and I am so honored to adopt it. Barbara’s husband is going through some health struggles, so I am using this tree as a reminder to pray for Gary and Barbara each time I look at its beauty.
Barbara messaged me again after I’d brought the palm tree home and told me she had a little something more for me if I could stop by the house. Ha! A couple days later, I came home with a treasure trove.
Everything in the bag Barbara sent home with me was exactly the kind of thing I would have purchased at a primo garage sale! This really blessed me, especially since garage sale season has been over for a while in our area.
The “Reading is a Hoot” pillow and the sturdy blue chair found homes in the little playhouse under our stairway. The grandkids will love these additions and they’re the perfect colors to match the decor our daughters chose when they remodeled the play space for us shortly after we moved here.
Barbara also included a cutting from her beautiful Easter cactus. Thank you so much, Barbara!
I met this sweet couple two years ago when I stayed in their charming Airbnb in Cape Girardeau, Missouri for a week’s worth of days, finishing my novel Bridges. They have opened their home to so many, and they share Christ’s love with everyone who stays. I know they would appreciate your prayers for healing and grace.
Along with praying for my friends, how can I pray for you today? My prayer list has grown long recently, and I can’t add anything more to it long-term, but I would love to pray today and tomorrow for any prayer requests you leave in the comments. It is such a privilege to be able to make our needs known before the God of the universe and know that He hears our prayers!
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Oh my goodness! What a sweet couple! What a blessing from God. Love meeting others like this along our journey. I would love prayers for my fasting blood sugars! I have PCOS and they’ve been out of wack since baby #2- well everything has let’s be honest lol but I’m coming up on one year PP and just haven’t felt right since birth. Praying for a quick fix and not the future of diabetes! Would love to pray for you as well if you would like to share in a reply! I’ve always wanted to become a writer and this blog inspires me every day. Keep being awesome!!!!
Oh, I am praying for you, Anna! You have a lot on your plate! May God comfort you and heal you and set everything right in your body, mind, and soul. And I hope you keep chasing that dream of being a writer! So glad you’ve found inspiration here on Inspired by Life…and Fiction!
Sooo many treasures in this post and in your life, dear friend. Same as you are to me and so many others. And what a jewel Barbara is! Praying for her and her husband right now. And an idea… Maybe we should incorporate garage sale-ing into our next Paris meet up! 🙂
Well, you KNOW I love that idea, Tammy! And it will be the season soon! It’s a date! Miss you!
To me this is another example of how God works in mysterious ways. You stayed in the England’s BnB and became friends. Now, in sharing with us, your fans, you’ve given The Englands many prayer partners. I’m praying for them and that God will continue to bless you for writing Christian fiction. Please pray for my husband and me as we leave our Alabama home of 45 years and move to Texas to be near our family. We know we need to be near them as we get even more into our “ senior” years!
Oh, that’s a BIG move, Harriet. We did that almost four years ago now and while the move itself was hard, we are SO very happy we did it! I know you will be too, even as you miss the things you’re leaving behind in Alabama. I’ve found that memories are a great comfort and it is wonderful to live in an era when friends are a phone call or Zoom meeting away! I’m praying for you and trusting that God will sooth the way for you and that He has wonderful things in store for you in your new home!
That’s a sweet memory. I really like the blue chair and the adorable play space beneath your steps. Looks like your daughters inherited your decorating genes!
Thanks, Kelly. I think maybe my daughters’ style has influenced me more than the other way around! They are rock stars!
What a wonderful couple. Sending prayers to God today for them.
We’re praying for our brother-in-law Bob, who is having heart surgery tomorrow for valve problems. Could be a repair or replacement.
The more prayers the better the outcome can be.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for your prayers for Gary and Barbara! And Lord, we ask that you would guide the hands of the surgeon and nurses who will be involved in Bob’s surgery tomorrow. May he find answers and healing for the valve problems and may he know that You have touched him both physically and spiritually as he goes through these trials. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
After I saw your post on Facebook recently about this couple, Deb, I began praying for them—and will continue!
What wonderful treasures your sweet friend gave you (and of course we know friendship is the best treasure of all!). 🙂
My prayer request today is that the aphasia dementia my sweet older sister Nancy has been diagnosed with would not progress rapidly. 🙁 She was severely ill (in the hospital) from Covid in 2020, then her husband died from Covid, and then her oldest son lost his battle with ALS. It took a major toll on my precious sister. She was a wonderful, caring nurse for decades, and always doing for others, so it’s hard seeing her dealing with this—but her sweet spirit and cheerful smile lives on, which is a blessing. (Sorry this comment is so long, but thank you for praying!). Hugs, Patti Jo
Oh, Patti Jo! I am so sorry! What a burden your dear sister has carried for so long! And because you are her sister, I know that burden is heavy for you too. I will pray for you and your sister and all her family. May the Lord lift the burden soon and yes, I pray that her condition will not progress and that if it is God’s will that he would remove this affliction from her. My heart goes out to you all.
Sweet friends are such a blessing in our lives! Gif bless you as you continue to write these wonderful stories! Praying for your sweet friends a they face their own challenges!
Thank you so much for praying, Leica. I agree that friendship is one of God’s greatest blessings!