Mystery Bag Party... Again

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic is of our Special Guest for this month... Charlotte Guffin! There may or may not be a new picture of her in the next day or so, but if not, Charlotte is the cute little blonde in the all black outfit!

The Gallery Pics are from the Mystery Bag Party which was held this past Saturday. The six girls who won the contest had a favorable response, so on my 400th post in May, I will have yet another Mystery Bag Party (Number Three). Keep posted, and maybe you can come along for the ride! (Details of the party can be found below.)

SPECIAL GUEST... Charlotte Guffin - Charlotte is a wonderful, talented woman in our church. She is the mother of FOUR beautiful children (Abbie, Gracie, Graham and Zac... A to Z). She has one of the most magnificent voices you will ever hear, and you should run, not walk, if you ever have the opportunity to hear her sing. It is truly amazing.

Scripture pours out of her mouth in her every day speech. It is effortless. You are with Charlotte for only a few seconds before you realize she is in love with the Lord, but also that she is very, very real... not intimidating at all. We'll hopefully learn a little more about her this week during the interview process. Shall we?

1. If your life was made into a movie, would it be considered (mainly) a comedy, drama, action/adventure or a romantic chick flick?

If my life were a movie, it would definitely be a comedy/drama/action/adventure! I do think my relationship with the Lord is a romance, but I don't think that is what the question is talking about. (There is no wrong way to answer this question, so I love how you describe your relationship with God. Your "movie" has it all!)

2. If you could have one physical attribute changed, what would it be?

If I could change one physical attribute it would be to make my derrière smaller. Much smaller. (And all the moms out there said... "AMEN!")

Did I mention we had some technical difficulties last week? Well, because of the said difficulties, the Special Guest section is super small today... but that just gives you more to look forward to tomorrow! Part Two with Charlotte continues on Tuesday with more, more, more info!

Weekend in Review

The Faulkners had a very good weekend I am proud to report. We spent time with friends (old and new) and family. We made some very good memories. And we had fun.

Friday night, Roxie and Mike cheered on the school basketball teams as they went for the championships. Josh and Austin played X-Box without interruption. And when Mikie returned from the basketball game, Roxie and I curled up on the couch to watch the Miss America Pre-Show while the guys went for hamburgers and "bonding."

Saturday, of course, I hosted the Mystery Bag Party (the details are still below). Josh spent the day and evening with friends, Roxie had a friend over and Austin and Melia had a date. Mikie and I just hung around. (So different from last weekend when we were in our little cabin on top of the mountain. Heavy, heavy sigh.)

Sunday was spent at church and with family for a special Sunday lunch. Except for Austin having to go back to school a little earlier than normal for Praise Team Practice Sunday night (not the norm), it was a good, good day.

I hope your weekend went well. Nothing makes a Monday sweeter than a good weekend prior to starting a new week.

Topic of the Week - Answered Prayer - I misspoke Friday when I said none of the stories would be about my answered prayer. I changed my mind a little, and I'm starting this Topic with an answered prayer we received during the worst of Josh's illness. I've told the story before, but it will serve well as an introduction to the other stories which will be shared this week.

This is an excerpt taken from the third installment of Josh's Journey.

During this entire time of little of no sleep, confusion and despair, a name kept coming to my mind. I had not told many people what was going on with Joshua, because to be honest, we didn't know ourselves. But Jenny's name was in my mind constantly. I didn't really understand why. Jenny and I had been church friends for years and her son was Josh's age. They had gone to each other's birthday parties growing up, and Jenny and I had done things socially, but not on a regular basis. However, her name above all the other people I knew stayed in my mind.

I didn't talk to her because it was so close to Christmas, and I didn't want to burden her with such a heavy problem, but the thought persisted... and I continually pushed it away.

The day after we had seen our doctor, Josh was mildly sedated and Mom and I tried to take him to a restaurant. It was miserable. He couldn't stop jerking, praying and crying, so we were getting our food to take home. Jenny walked up to our table and spoke to us. She looked at Josh questioningly, and then back at me. She squeezed my arm and we said our good-byes.

When we got home, the thought to call Jenny was prevalent. I dialed her number. While Mom watched Josh, I sat in the floor of my bathroom and told her everything that was going on. She listened carefully, and instead of just saying, "I'm so sorry," she said the most unbelievable thing to me. "Belinda, you need to call Laura. She works at Children's in the Psychiatric Ward and she'll know every child psychiatrist in Birmingham."

I thanked her and hung up the phone. I casually knew Laura. She was a wonderful, warm person with a beautiful little girl I spoke to on Sunday mornings. I immediately called her. I once again poured out everything that had happened. She listened without any interruptions. When I was finished, I'll never forget what she told me. "Belinda, I know exactly who you should go to. He's a wonderful doctor, and he will be able to help Joshua. I used to work with him several years ago at Children's. I'm going to call him right now, and I'll call you back. I love you. This is going to be okay."

She hung up and I continued to sit in the floor limp, unable to move or think. Within five minutes, the phone rang and it was Laura. She gave me the doctor's name and number and said he would like to talk to me. I asked her how long she had been working at Children's, and she said she had not been there for years and years. The doctor I was about to call had just recently started a private practice. "He's going to be able to help Joshua," she again reassured me.

I called the doctor's office and spoke with his wife, who was a pharmacist and his office manager. She was very kind. After a few minutes of talking to me, she spoke with her husband and he got on the phone with me. He asked me several questions, and then told me he was going to send me a questionnaire to fill out, and his wife was going to set up our appointment. That same week.

I called Jenny back and told her what had happened. And then I asked her, "Laura hasn't worked at Children's Hospital for a number of years. What made you think of her?"

"I don't know. It was just stuck in my head she had worked there. I didn't know she was working somewhere else."

"Are you and Laura best friends?"

"No. We're friends, but we don't talk all the time. I don't know why that was stuck in my head."

I hung up the phone. I knew exactly why it was "stuck in her head." I knew now why Jenny's name had been "stuck in my head" since Josh had gotten sick. I've said it the past two days, and I'll say it again... God WASN'T surprised and caught off guard by any of this. We didn't know it then, but Josh's Journey had begun, and we were just along for the ride. We could do things our way... or we could turn to God and do things His way. But you know me... there were many more control struggles ahead of me between Josh's Heavenly Father and Josh's earthly mother.

Was I surprised God answered my simple prayers, "Please help us, God." I'm sorry to say I was very surprised. Thrilled... but surprised. This was the first of many prayers answered "yes," "no," and "not yet" over the next four years, but I have other stories to share which are just as amazing and uplifting and wonderful.

How wonderful to know on a Monday morning we serve a God who daily answers prayers... in spite of our surprise!

Mystery Bag Party

As I have said above, this is the easiest party EVER to put together. The following is a "How To Guide" to throwing your own Mystery Bag Party. (This was originally posted last October, but I've revised it to go with the Mystery Bag Party I hosted this past Saturday.)

First, make a list of as many friends as you can think of (old and new) and put the names into a bowl. Draw six names and send them the following invitation:

YOU ARE INVITED TO A
MYSTERY BAG PARTY

Your name was drawn from a total of 25 names! You and five other women are invited to the First Annual Mystery Bag Party!

NOTE - As you know, the Second Mystery Bag Party was a contest on A Simple Life.

1. We will leave the church parking lot (meet in front of the Family Life Center) at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, January 30, 2010.

2. You will need to bring $12. (THIS WAS THEIR LUNCH MONEY.)

3. You will need to wear a solid colored shirt or blouse... no patterns, but any solid color will do just fine. (THIS INSTRUCTION KEPT US FROM CLASHING DURING THE PICTURE TAKING PORTION OF OUR PARTY.)

4. If for any reason you cannot attend the Party, you will need to let Belinda know as soon as possible so another name can be drawn to take your place.

5. Although the destinations are a Mystery, and the purpose of the party is a Mystery, please do not worry. It will be an enjoyable, relaxing afternoon with friends.

6. We will return to the church parking lot at 2:30 p.m.

Regrets Only: (PUT PHONE NUMBERS HERE)

If someone cannot attend, immediately draw another name and send them an invitation. Continue until you have six people who can attend.

I took the girls to one of my favorite places to eat, The Chocolate Biscuit in Trussville. No one officially knew where we were going, but we had a couple of correct guesses from the back of The Big Gold Van.

When the girls meet, make sure you have a bag in each seat of the van. Each bag contains the exact same thing.

1. Seven envelopes numbered 1 through 7. (Each envelope contains a different question.) The questions I used are listed below, but you can use any kind of conversation starters.

2. A small wrapped gift. (I love candles, so everyone received a candle.)

3. Three or four small pieces of candy in the bottom of the bag. (I used Hershey's Kisses.

4. A little bag containing two muffins for breakfast the next day. (I made sweet potato chocolate chip muffins... two per person.)

No one is allowed to look into their bag until you leave the parking lot. As you're driving, ask everyone to open the envelope marked with a 1. Have someone read the question aloud and everyone answers the question. (Everyone's question number 1 is the same. This is a good way to get to know the girls better, and it keeps the conversation flowing.) A few minutes later, ask everyone to open envelope number 2 which contains another question. Spend a few minutes answering that question. By the time we had answered questions 1, 2 and 3 we had arrived at our destination.

We had a very nice lunch at The Chocolate Biscuit. It was not rushed and it was the first time some of the other girls had been there. Since all the girls did not know each other, we went around the table telling about our families. Remember, everyone has a story, and these remarkable women all had a story to share. There was never a lapse in the conversation at lunch.

After lunch, it was back to the van. The girls were told to open their gifts as we made our way to our second destination... another favorite place of mine. We also answered one or two more envelope questions before we arrived at Yogurt Mountain. With dessert created and paid for, we decided to eat in the Big Gold Van on our way to the final destination. We had a photo shoot (yet another favorite thing of mine to do). Because of inclement weather, I changed the photo shoot location from Aldridge Gardens in Hoover to the lobby of The Wynfrey Hotel.

By this time, it was fun to see the women walking and talking with other women they had only met an hour or so earlier... and we made some fun pictures. (I've shared some of them, but most of them were taken with my dinosaur camera.)

Back to the van for the trip home. On this leg of the trip, the women were asked to open the small bag containing the muffins, and we answered the remaining envelope questions.

Questions for Mystery Bag Party

1. If you could have anyone play you in a movie, who would it be?

2. What is your current obsession? (Believe it or not, this question really helps you know someone much, much better.)

3. If money and family and friends were not an issue, where would you most like to live in the world? (No surprise here. Most women will say the beach. I always say Omaha just to keep things light. Just kidding!)

4. What instantly brings a smile to your face? (This was another very good question. Some answers were funny, some were serious, but all were very telling.)

5. The first person who answers this question about me correctly wins a gift. How old was I when I married Mikie? (This was a fun little question because the person who answered it correctly won a surprise. A gift-wrapped All You Magazine.)

6. What is one thing you want to change about yourself?

7. Name one or two of the top “Ah-Ha” moments in your life.

I hope I haven't made it sound too complicated, because it is NOT. Pick a place to eat. Make the bags. Once you have made the bags, you just use them to keep things going smoothly. It's that simple and that FUN... I promise.

And does this party work? Does it help build friendships with women. I would have to say, "Yes. Yes it does." The first group of women are meeting for dinner this week (our third get-together counting the original party). They even gave themselves a name. (The second group is working on the name thing.)

Try it. I promise you'll like it. (Or you can wait until May. I'll be having another contest and six LUCKY ladies will be attending the Third Mystery Bag Party (with all new destinations).

I hope you have a great Monday. Tomorrow I'll share a recipe and a little more from our friend, Charlotte. Check back in when you get a minute.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda