Have you noticed some unfamiliar faces hanging around Morning Coffee in the last few days? Well, actually, they are very familiar. They are my friends, fellow writers, and long-time Morning Coffee readers.
You also may have noticed I’ve been posting less over the last few months. I never intended for my Morning Coffee break (no pun intended) to last this long. But I am snowed under! I’ve been wanting to go back to posting five days a week. But I just can’t . . . yet.
So I’ve called in reinforcements. They are Judi, Jean, TJ, Alyssa, and Jeanette. I adore them – each and every one! And they’ve agreed to help me out for a little while. I know you’ll love them as much as I do, especially once you read their posts. They are “the bomb”! (Do people still say “the bomb”?)
Below, I have briefly introduced each of them. Honestly, I can’t do any of them justice here. I hope you’ll check out their blogs, and get to know them like I do. (If you click on their names below, you’ll find links to their blogs.) In the meantime, here is a song I’d like to dedicate to them, and to all of you who have offered your love, friendship and prayers to me. This is for you! (click here.)
Judi: I met Judi at a writer’s conference in 2007. Her warm smile and sense of humor initially gave me the impression of a carefree, happy-go-lucky personality – but don’t let her fool you. Beneath that winning smile is a deep thinker, a philosopher. If I had to describe Judi in one word, I think it would be genuine. She is real. She has a passion for crossing outside of Christian circles and telling the world that God loves them!
Jean: I can’t remember who visited whose blog first. Jean and I have never met face to face, but her Conversations with God have showed me her heart, and more importantly, God’s heart. Over the months, I have developed a deep and genuine respect for Jean as a Christian and as a writer. I can’t wait to give her a real, live, in-the-flesh hug one of these days! But until then, I keep feeling hugged by her – and God – every morning, as I read her conversations.
TJ: I met TJ at a writer’s conference (same one where I met Judi) and immediately fell in love! First of all, TJ is gorgeous. Oh, not just a little bit. She is stunningly beautiful. We’re talking Barbie here, only with a brain to go with the package. But as I’ve gotten to know TJ, I’ve decided that she is my hero. She loves her family with all her heart. She is passionate about them, and her calling in life seems to be making them feel loved and important. But she doesn’t reserve her loving generosity for her family only. Anyone who meets her feels loved and important, because that’s just the way TJ is.
Jeanette: I’ve never met Jeanette face-to-face, either. But at some point, we started visiting one another’s blogs, and I feel like I’ve met my long lost sister. She and I share so many common views and experiences, yet our upbringings could not have been more different! You see, Jeanette was brought up in Liberia, where her parents were missionaries. Her mother actually translated the Bible, one word at a time, into the Liberian language! When I go to Jeanette’s blog, I feel like a kid at story time, watching those flannel-graph pictures come to life. She has a way of writing, a way of telling, that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I know you’ll love her like I do!
Alyssa: Alyssa and I were introduced by TJ at another writer’s conference. To read Alyssa’s credentials, one might be tempted to feel intimidated. She is a lawyer. She teaches a class to law students a couple of nights a week. She is tall, slim, has silky, wavy, dark hair, and yes, she is beau-ti-ful. But all you have to do is meet her, and you know there is nothing false in this woman. She is gentle, kind, thoughtful . . . the kind of person you just want to sit by at lunch every single day in the cafeteria, or every morning at the coffee shop. And that sweet nature shows up in her writing. I know you will be blessed by her, as is everyone who knows her.
Please feel free to comment, and join me in giving each of them a warm welcome. (Insert applause here. 😉 ) Thanks, friends!
Renae,
You are incredibly kind! It’s an honor to be included among this list of greats! Your godliness brings amazing women into your path because YOU are one amazing woman! I will gladly claim a seat next to you every chance I get: (1) to soak up your wisdom and (2) to see what other great people God brings into your path.
Much love,
Alyssa
Thank you, Alyssa! I think we have a mutual admiration society starting here . . .
Love you, girl.
Dear Renae,
I’m honored, too. I’ve been asking the Lord for opportunities to write for Him. So, when you asked me to contribute occasionally to Morning Coffee I was thrilled. Still am. I feel a kinship to you. Hey! We ARE sisters, aren’t we?
Now I’m praying for the Lord to orchestrate an opportunity for me to meet you and these other godly women face-to-face.
Thank you for trusting me enough to let me be part of this incredible group of thinking Christian women.
Grace and Peace,
Jean
Helo friends.
Jeanette i know and her dear sis too.
Hi Jean! Oh, wouldn’t it be great to have a Morning Coffee retreat, for all the readers and writers? How cool would that be? Hmmmm . . . we may have to think about that . . .
Thank you, again, for agreeing to help me out.
And Amrita, I think it was through your blog that I met Jeanette! Thanks for introducing us!
R – ditto to Alyssa on the kindness! Makes my WEEK to read your generous words. I’ve always been a “words of affirmation” girl, but for some reason as the years go by, those words mean even more. 🙂 Have been thinking about you and your dear family all week with your aunt’s funeral and reality of her absence setting in. Love you, friend, thanks again for the kind (generous!!) intro, and I’m honored to be included on Morning Coffee.
I just call it like I see it, TJ! 😉 Love you so much, friend.
Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. Yes, it comes in waves.
I don’t know why – I just had the Beetles song run through my mind: “Come on, people, get together…try to love one another right now!”
The cool thing is: Here are five women and countless other readers who don’t have to try.
And why?
‘Cause we got a Papa and His Son and Their Spirit to infuse us with love for each other every day!
That’s how strangers who’ve never even met (in our case, Renae and I only spent max – 15 min. – at the conference) love one another like sisters.
Renae, it’s an honor to be writing for you.
It’s an honor and treasure to be your friend.
Postscript: I love the way Jean thinks and prays: for an opportunity to get together and meet face to face.
And I love even more Renae’s thought: Let’s make this a Morning Coffee retreat for our readers!!!
Women of Faith…move over…we’re comin’ thru!
Well, I have a prayer of my own to add and I hope it’s not too brass: I pray that you, Renae, continue to be so busy and successful in your writing career that you never have time to get back to 5 posts a week.
Whee-hoo! Let’s hear it for a Morning Coffee team of writers and speakers!
Love,
Judi “Jlo”
Judi, you are so funny. You always make me laugh. Hey, I’m totally in favor of a Morning Coffee Team!
I love that we are all so different, yet the same. I had an e-mail from Emily this morning (another MC reader). She said her pastor often asks, “How many churches are in *name of town*? Only one.” There is only one church in this world. Isn’t that a great thought?
Great plans, Judi. For now, though, I’m just trying to get through Christmas with my head above water. LOL
Love you all so much!
Christmas!!!
Girl, you are ahead of your time…
I’m lookin’ at getting through the weekend! Ha!
Jlo
I’ve been busy gallivanting on a train and missing all the fun over here! Thanks for the beautiful introductions, Renae! You are such an encourager to me, and getting to know you through the chat on my blog and by reading your wonderful devotionals has truly been the joy of my year. The Lord knew I needed a blessing, and so He sent you across my path!
I have to be honest, everyone… I have never thought of myself as a writer, and so when Renae came up with this idea and invited me to join, well, I just can’t tell you how surprised I was! When that wore off a little bit, I felt overwhelmed with the honor of being a part of this, and that hasn’t worn off at all!
I’m loving learning about each of you, and I’m all for that get-together, too, so just let me know when it is! My dad always had many more ideas for things he wanted to do than he could ever fit into his lifetime (and he knew it) so he would say, “I’ll get that done in the first year of the millennium!” So, girls, if not before, let’s get together in the first year of the millennium!
Welcome back from your trip, Jeanette! All your “gallivanting” sounds fun! And believe me, the honor is ALL mine. Truly, it is.
Okay girls. (Not just writers. ALL of you reading this.) We need to start planning.
Sorry guys. We love you, too. But no boys allowed.