thanks mom.

for not smothering me.

for letting me make my own decisions.

for raising me in church.

for always telling my i'm beautiful just the way i am.

for encouraging me in all that i do.

for supporting my decision to church plant in san diego.

for taking my phone calls... (every day)

for all of those meals you cooked.

for all of that help with hw

for praying with me in my bed on February 2nd 1997, asking Jesus to "come into my heart"

for taking me to see both sets of grandparents.

for paying for all of those years of silly cheerleading.

for piano lessons.

for only speaking kind words about other people.

for teaching me that love is a choice.

my mom, while spacey at times :) , is such an amazing woman. i am so proud of her and all that she has done. from teaching, to VBS, to singing in the choir, to being a wonderful memommy to my nephews, to sewing, quilting, cooking, baking, to the way she loves my dad, the way she loves her dad, her involvement at church, her kind heart, sweet southern accent, and so much more. she does it all so well and with such a great attitude. thank you mom for taking care of me and for always acknowledging that i am the Lord's.

"If I got any comfort as I set out on my first story, it was that in nearly every story, the protagonist is transformed. He's a jerk at the beginning and nice at the end, or a coward at the beginning and brave at the end. If the character doesn't change, the story hasn't happened yet. And if story is derived from real life, if story is just a condensed version of life, then life itself may be designed to change us, so that we evolve from one kind of person to another." -DM

My mom loves really hard. She and many others have had the privilege to watch a character drastically change. That character's heart is in much better shape than ever before. I know that my mom has prayed and prayed, loved and loved, repeat. Thanks mom for all of that. If it weren't for moms like you maybe we wouldn't see life change like we did in this character's life. The story is so sweet now. Thank you mother dearest. Love you forever, like you for always, as long as I'm living, your baby I'll be :)

ps- it's 1:42am here. i can't sleep. just listened to beulah land. i closed my eyes and could here you singing it :)