I know the plans I have for you

              In the last month the details and plans of my life have changed dramatically. I found out I didn`t get accepted into nursing school which although I didn`t expect 100% to get in, was still a shock. I have really competitive grades and scores and much more experience than most all applicants I`m sure and yet I was not chosen. This is round three of God saying "no" to nursing school. The first two times He gave me the final choice, but this time, He made this choice without my say in it. I completely believe that his hand is over my life and if he didn`t allow me to get accepted, he has a reason for it. What is even more proof of his sovereignty is that apparently the school of nursing had my email address incorrect so I received the e-mail much later than I should have. Why is this proof? Because had I received that e-mail a month ago, even three weeks ago, I probably would have freaked out with the unknown. Instead I have seen his hands piecing together puzzle piece at a time the plan He has for me. The quote above is silly and one I have heard many women use and normally just laughed at. But recently its truth has gained some of my attention. I want to be that woman, who wakes up ready to take on the world, only by the grace and strength of God, for His glory.

            Change number 1: last year the Lord brought a sweet German woman into my life while I was working in a rehab facility. She quickly became like family to me talking german and always talking to me about my love life at the time. She was a constant encourager and joy bringer in a time where I was really fighting to feel loved by anyone, including God. She also introduced me to one of her best friends, a German doctor, whom I also treated in rehab and then ended up spending 3 months caring for in Germany, as many of you already know. So what a role this special woman has already had in the last year of my life.

Fritzi first learning to ride a horse at 41 years old.

            When I returned home from Germany in January I found out she had been placed in a nursing home and had become deeply depressed. Depression had been a struggle of hers for years, after losing her only son in his 40s. And yet never had I seen or heard her act like this since I had known her. Anytime I called or visited tears were there and the sound of coughing as she tried to swallow her grief.

        

            By March I had set it in my mind to get her home. I began researching and talking with those in charge of her affairs and friends of hers involved with her care. I soon realized those responsibilities were all going to be passed onto me, and I didn`t really know what I was getting myself into. I know am her legal agent both medically and financially and she is coming home on May 13th! I don`t know what the Lord is doing but I know that for some reason he has dropped this life and this responsibility into my lap and I am joyfully accepting his gift. I love the Saturday nights I spend drinking Hugos and laughing with Fritzi and Nikki. She has a way of livening up a room like no one I`ve met before. Her laughter is contagious again, like it was when I met her last year. I am so grateful to be able to see her come home and spend her dying days in her home of 38 years. Fritzi doesn`t believe in God, but a couple of weeks ago she said she started praying... praying she can come home and die at home. These are the conversations, the moments that make all the phone calls and running here and there and organizing worth it. Beyond worth it. I want this woman to simply know how loved and cared for she is. That she has a special place on this earth and that God has her here for a reason.

            Change number 2: in the middle of all this change I was randomly invited by a sweet friend to attend a Mary Kay facial with her that she had won a bridal show in Roanoke. She is getting married in October and I am a bridesmaid. I am so honored and SO excited. I haven`t known her long but we have had so much fun together and share lots of similarities in our work and experiences.

            I hadn`t tried Mary Kay before and I had never had a facial. We were both laughing talking about it before saying we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but since it was free, who cares. Little did I know I would leave that night with an appointment to meet the national sales director of Mary Kay for coffee and start my very own Mary Kay business! How random? I know!! And yet again God just plopped this opportunity right into my lap and I am joyfully taking it! I know Mary Kay is just a make-up company, but after that night I realized it was much more than that....

          What sold me on Mary Kay?

1. The emphasis that night on what it means to be beautiful. Where does beauty come from? A beautiful woman to Mary Kay is one who puts God first, her family second, and her career third. The emphasis on caring for the whole person. Putting on some cover up to cover that acne or  blemish doesn`t remove the fact that they stem from not taking care of yourself both outwardly and inwardly. Stress levels, guilt and unforgiveness, lack or exercise and poor eating habits... these are the root and make-up is not the solution.
2. Saving money on make-up...duh. Not only do I get free products but I am saving so much by how these products are designed. After having a facial given by experts I know what I should be wearing for my skin tones and I won`t keep buying a bunch of random stuff trying to test them out. Also they have the most amazing eye-shadow and blush holder because it is magnetic! Hard to explain on a blog but if you want to see one... email or call me! They hold each individual eye shadow by magnet so when you run out of one you just buy that one, not the whole set again. If you are applying eye shadow right, then you know you normally have to buy 3 or 4 new ones for only one color that is being used to the end! It`s about time there is a solution for this. 
3. I can work from home??? Mary Kay is an AMAZING opportunity for any of you single mothers, college students, or random like me caring for a 92 year old and trying to have a social life! I realized God plopped this into my life as a perfect way to save money and be able to still care for Fritzi and have a social life. 
4. Mary Kay is international! Mary Kay is in GERMANY. That is really all they had to say to sell my heart! No but really, this stems from my life goal to support missions either physically or monetarily as well as spiritually through my prayers. My goal is within 6 months to be giving 50% of my Mary Kay earnings to Cure Internationals Zambian hospital to provide children with life changing surgery, so that they can reach the age of realizing what true beauty is. 

       So after reading this you probably already had heard I had started Mary Kay but you probably had no idea why or how. So now you know and if you still think I am crazy, that`s fine. But honestly God is crazy and when we are willing, he often leads us into unexpected places.