Just Another Manic Monday (or, The Stuff that Matters)

There's really no other way to describe the day. It started out with the pure fun of taking my 13-year-old daughter to school. Neither one of us is a big a.m. talker, but we really enjoy that time that's just us. And, every day that she still enjoys being with me and being family is a gift.

Next, I found out that a good friend had passed away. Vanessa Whitwell was a key member of the staff at Fellowship Church and in the absolute prime of life. 34 years old, she had a headache come on last Thursday, slipped into a coma, and graduated to be with Christ last night. No one packed more God-honoring living into 34 years than she did, and I know she's with Christ face to face. But, I can't imagine her husband Andy and what he's experiencing right now.

I also know she was such a rare gift she was to Ed & Lisa: a loyal friend. Vanessa did more to move the Kingdom of God forward than most people even consider doing. All of us who knew her, and those who knew her so much better than I did, were incredibly blessed by her life.

THEN...I got to have lunch with the lead pastors of our church for our monthly roundtable. Just getting to work with these people and laugh, lead, serve, dream, and strategize with them is one of the greatest blessings and privileges I've ever had. It's such a unique mix of talents, passions, personalities, and backgrounds. But it works. Big time.

THEN...I got to meet two of the finest young men I've ever been around. Jack and Joey are brothers who are raising money to buy instruments for the kids at the Pan de Vida women & children's shelter in Mexico. They came up with the idea to sell t-shirts to raise money, and they've already amassed $1200 for their troubles! They had to order a second printing of the t-shirts! What a privilege to visit with them and their CFO/Chauffeur (mom, Jennifer) and to affirm what God's doing through them and in them.

So, the circumstances of this Monday were truly manic. But God was real and palpable in all of them. To him be the glory.