A look inside: Cyber Friends No More....

.......We have officially met!

Today was the day, "the meeting"

Let me give you a little background:

When I first started blogging, I only knew two fellow bloggers, Angela and Becca. And they would so sweetly and faithfully leave comments on my blog. Then the day came when I commented on Becca's blog, and well I was public domain then. I might as well have put a classified out in the paper! I began to be found by all you lovely ladies who are Becca's friends.

Well, truth be told, I snooped around Sharon's blog before she commented on mine (but never dared to comment). When I first read Sharon's blog it was sisterly love at first paragraph. I read through her whole blog start to finish, and was totally amazed. I had never known a person who was so much like me. My upbringing was so similar to hers, "secular music" banned from our house, going to private school, our competitive nature and love for sports, our love for Ebay, our dislike for doing laundry.......Everything she wrote about, I would think that is totally me!!! I figured out she was some kind of pastor's wife at Court Street, but surely not the Senior Pastor's wife. She's too funny, too down to earth real, and too fashionable! I mean what pastor's wife wears ring watches and plays Bon Jovi on their blogs, and tells friends about "the submarine races"? So I did some investigating on the church's website, and lo and behold....She is the pastor's wife!!! I was floored!

Then the glorious day came, Sharon commented on my blog!!! I was thrilled that I

could now read hers and comment too! And then came today, both of our daughter's playing in the same volleyball league provided the perfect opportunity to finally meet! I was too rushed this morning to worry about what I looked like or what I was going to wear to "our meeting day", but when I saw her, she was everything I dreamed she'd be :) I felt a little insecure as I approached the tall, skinny, beautiful stranger, but as we started talking, and she insisted our girls get a picture together....with a volleyball, I knew, ahh, that's the witty Sharon I know! And she so kindly gave me a chocolate bar (not just any chocolate bar, a Dove dark chocolate bar, my absolute favorite) and a card, which on the cover celebrated my "love for shoes" Chocolate and shoes, yep this girl knows me alright, and now I'm so glad to say I know her too....for real!

Words to Remember

"Christ's followers cannot expect better treatment in the world than their Master had. Let them not promise themselves more honor or pleasure in the world than Christ had. Let each live a life of labor and self-denial as his Master, and make himself a servant of all; let him stoop, and let him toil, and do all the good he can, and then he will be a complete disciple."
~Matthew Henry,
English Pastor 1662-1714

"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess."
~Martin Luther King

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
~Jim Elliot

"I am a missionary, heart and soul. God Himself had an only Son, and He was a missionary and a physician. A poor, poor imitation I am, or wish to be, but in this service I hope to live. In it I wish to die. I still prefer poverty and missions service to riches and ease. This is my choice."
~David Livingstone

"I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same. "
~C.S. Lewis

"I want Thy plan, O God, for my life. May I be happy and contented whether in the homeland or on the foreign field; whether married or alone, in happiness or sorrow, health or sickness, prosperity or adversity - I want Thy plan, O God, for my life."
~Oswald J. Smith

songs with meaning

If you hear one of these songs playing while visiting my blog, here is why it is so special to me:

I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman: I would listen to this song as a young teenager and dream about finding a love like this song describes. Guess what? God gave more then I ever dreamed.

Any Song by Keith Green!!! I first heard Keith Green as a young child and knew all his songs by heart. As a teenager, I loved his music because he is so honest and authentic. I also read his autobiography when I was in my teens. He is one of my all-time heroes! I remember my friends laughing at me when they were in my car, wondering why I would be listening to songs from the 70's. Yes, the music is cheesy, but the lyrics are simply amazing!

How Could I Ask For More by Cindy Morgan: My senior year of high school I was on homecoming court with four other girls, who were all good friends of mine. We all picked this song to be played during our ceremony. I still love this song!

Have I Told You Lately by Rod Stewart: The song Jon and I danced to at our wedding. I smile every time I hear it.

I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me: This song was played at Brian Ditchen's memorial service. Brian was Jon's cousin who he grew up with, and who I went to school with, and he was a dear friend. He passed away in March of 2004 in a tragic plane accident, he was only 28. It shook the core of our faith. The only comfort came from knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, who Brian lived his life for: Jesus Christ. He was a dedicated believer, and we can't wait to see him again. Every time we would hear this song, it touched us deeply, it still does. Heaven has become very real to us.

The Scientist by Coldplay: My younger brother, Ben, sang and played this song on the piano at my brother Jeremy's memorial service. Jeremy passed away suddenly in September of 2004, he was only 31. Once again our faith was shaken (see next song)....

Cry Out To Jesus by Third Day: Whenever I hear this song I am reminded of my brother Jeremy...."To everyone who's lost someone they loved, long before it was their time, you feel like the days you had were not enough, when you said goodbye....cry out to Jesus" I am reminded to turn to God in the midst of my pain and loss, and it's OK to go to Him with my questions

We Will Dance by Steven Curtis Chapman: My current love song. It so beautifully describes mine and Jon's relationship.

I'm Not Cool by Scott Krippane: This is Daniel's song.Not in a mean way. He absolutely loves this song and sings along with it every time. The funny thing is, it describes him perfectly.

She's a Dancer by Phil Keaggy: This is Sarah's song! It so sweetly reminds me of Sarah...."she's a dancer, she loves to dance, she's a singer, she loves to sing, she's a lady, walkin' round in mama's shoes, standin' tall in mama's shoes" Sarah has also been caught singing into the bathroom mirror. And when she was younger she put on many "dance performances" for us in our living room.

Olivia by Phil Keaggy: Obviously Olivia's song! I've sang this song to her since she was a tiny newborn. She knows the words and sings along now. Whenever I put this song on, she stops what she's doing and gets a big smile on her face, and says "my song!"

Beautiful by Bethany Dillon: OK I'm 32 now. And sometimes when I look in the mirror, the depression creeps in. I don't look like I did ten years ago, I don't see a beautiful young woman looking back at me. And that can get you down sometimes. This song reminds me that true beauty is who I am in God's eyes. I could be perfect in every way on the outside and yet not be beautiful in the eyes of God, and when it's all said and done, my life would have been lived only for myself. I want to be beautiful in God's eyes, I want Him to look inside my heart and smile, and most importantly, be pleased.

Who Am I?, The Voice of Truth, and Praise You In The Storm by Casting Crowns: All three of these songs are very special to Jon. These are three of his all-time favorites. These songs brought him close to God when he was going through a hard time in his life.

I Am by Nicole Nordeman: The first time I heard this song was at a Women of Faith conference. She played it live on the piano. It was so beautiful and moved me so deeply. God is truly my "I Am", He has been my one firm anchor through every season of my life.

19 comments:

Sharon said...: Oh my goodness! I can't decide if I'm either flattered by your compliments, embarrassed by my "un-pastor's wife like" behavior, or frightened by your uncanny memory for every detail in my blog! You are so funny! But now that we've officially reached the "spill our guts" level of friendship, I'll just let you know that, I, too read your blog from start to finish one day and was blown away by our similarities! I think I had a friend-crush! : ) I was out with Becca and I asked her, "Tell me about this LizzyG girl! I like her!"

So there you have it~it's all out in the open now: we were once both stalkers and now we're friends, brought together by the world wide web and volleyball! You can't top that!; October 6, 2007 at 6:07 PM
Rachel said...: Ohhh. That's so great. I'm happy that the two of you were able to meet face to face.
Now I'm going to have to go check Sharon's blog too! (Sorry Sharon...I'll try not to stalk); October 6, 2007 at 7:41 PM
Rachel said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; October 6, 2007 at 7:45 PM
Julie said...: Yea! Glad you two finally met up with each other :) Sounds like it was a fun day!; October 6, 2007 at 10:47 PM
Stefanie said...: That was a really cool post!

I've known Becca for 11 years now, as we married brothers...and Sharon almost as long, because she and Becca were already friends back then:). They are both unbelievable ladies - I look up to them both for multiple reasons.

I have to say, that when I read YOUR blog for the first time, I was thinking that you were a real likable person and possibly a kindred spirit too. Sharon said she asked Becca to "Tell me about this LizzyG girl!"...I was going to do the same thing next time I saw Becca. I think our cousin Jill is thinking the same thing too.

Blog Friendship is a great cure to lonely days at home!

PSS- Looked up Garland on a baby namesite and my own name, Stefanie, came up meaning, "crowned or a garland". Still in the name game process, but how cool is that?; October 6, 2007 at 11:48 PM
Glory Laine said...: Ummm, YOU'RE WELCOME!
So glad you two found one another.; October 7, 2007 at 12:31 AM
Lindsay said...: How fun! I just met one of my best blogger friends a couple of weeks ago - it was wonderful!!
I swear that "blog land" is a gift from God for us moms!
Enjoy the friendship you've started!; October 7, 2007 at 7:34 AM
Sharon said...: Here's a funny thing: later in the day yesterday, I attended a wedding where the bride and groom met on eHarmony.com! It was a cyber day!; October 7, 2007 at 1:33 PM
Michelle said...: so jealous... I am looking forward to our "meeting!" :-); October 7, 2007 at 2:32 PM
February Jill said...: Lizzy!
I don't even know you but any time you want to get together and watch Can't Buy Me Love, I am there! I know Becca loves it too. Can't beat Patrick Dempsey going through adolescence!; October 7, 2007 at 4:49 PM
AngieG said...: I love this. It's so cool!; October 7, 2007 at 4:57 PM
Sharon said...: Here's my thoughts after reading your comments on Jill's blog:

My two favorite 80's quotes:

"Does anyone have change for a $20?" (Reply) "Oh, Sorry! I don't have anything smaller than a $50!"

and..

"He went from, like, totally geek to totally chic!"

Ok. Movie and latte night at Becca's. Soon.; October 8, 2007 at 12:27 AM
LizzyG said...: correction Sharon..."He went from totally geek to totally SHEEK"; October 8, 2007 at 12:33 AM
LizzyG said...: or are you pronouncing chic as sheek? Maybe I corrected you in haste.

Once again, our friend-crush continues, I believe "night owls" is yet another common bond:); October 8, 2007 at 12:36 AM
Sharon said...: Yes, "chic" is phonetically "sheek!" I took French in high school. You didn't take Spanish, did you????; October 8, 2007 at 9:56 AM
LizzyG said...: si senorita. estudio espanol en escuela para cuatro anos.

I sense a disturbance in our "friend-crush" :); October 8, 2007 at 10:17 AM
Sharon said...: Je ne parle pas d'espagnol, mais vous êtes toujours mon ami!; October 8, 2007 at 12:39 PM
LizzyG said...: Mon dieu! Merci vraiment mon ami.; October 8, 2007 at 1:58 PM
Angela said...: Okay so I am so glad that you guys met and sad that I live here and can't hang with you guys more often!
Don't you dare have a movie night until I come to town. Rebecca and I must of watched Can't Buy Me love a million times when we were growing up!; October 9, 2007 at 10:43 AM