Sharon Brown, Part 1 of 2

My connection with Sharon Brown (not to be confused THIS SHARON) has been a series of God Moments and another wonderful reminder of His perfect orchestration. We met several years ago while I was serving as a leader for the Alpha Course. The highlight of the 12-week course is a weekend retreat. A retreat that happened to fall on my annual craft fair date.

A big, BIG deal for my scrapbooking business. Those spots are difficult to come by so when you find one, it's important to hang onto it!

After praying about the conflict for several days, a name kept popping into my head: Sharon Brown. Mind you, I didn't even know Sharon Brown! We'd met the year before at the craft fair - she, a new Creative Memories Consultant from a neighboring city, had stopped by my booth to pick up ideas. Six months later, we bumped into each other at a coffee shop - after seeing the business logo on my van, she approached me having completely forgotten our connection at the craft fair. Weeks later while in conversation with a customer I was asked, "Have you ever met a CM consultant named 'Sharon Brown'?"

I was sure God wanted me to give the spot to Sharon Brown.

After finding her contact information online, I sent Sharon an email explaining the situation. I told her that I'd been praying about it was sure she was supposed to have the spot. She'd sent a note back and shared a bit about herself, including connections to Alpha and love of Beth Moore Bible studies. (It turns out our children even attended the same school!) The emails led to a phone call where we discovered yet another surprising connection - we'd both battled eating disorders as young women.

Simply amazing.

Sharon and I lost touch for a period of time but were reconnected after I received an email from someone at church. A woman was interested in starting up a Bible study and I was asked to coach the new leader. Any ideas as to who that "new leader" happened to be? You guessed it... Sharon Brown! She and her family were now attending our church.

I have been blessed beyond measure by our friendship and wonder what would have happened had I ignored God's prompting? It would have been so easy to dismiss, so easy to just stay in my comfort zone, so easy to walk away from that Alpha weekend. It makes me think of the thousands of other opportunities I've let slip by... what did God have in store that I was too afraid to grasp? When I recall moments like these, I am reminded that God has a plan for my life. It is His plan, not mine, and I want to actively engage it.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Sharon Brown, Part 2 of 2

Shortly after Sharon and her family began attending church at Hosanna!, they were heading home after a Sunday service. Sharon's 4th grade son was messing around with his seatbelt and had somehow managed to get it twisted around his neck. She glanced back and quickly realized he was in trouble. Her husband pulled the car over and tried to release his son but the seatbelt kept locking, making it impossible for the boy to breathe. People pulled over to help but despite the number of men or crowbars involved, they could not free Sharon's child. He was unconscious and blood was coming out of his mouth. In utter desperation, Sharon sat on her knees in the middle of the street - her arms raised, begging God for help.

At that moment, a man (who happened to be a pastor at another church) stopped to help. He'd carried around a pocketknife all his life but was forced to dispose of it at the airport on a recent trip. Just a week or so earlier, he'd felt prompted to finally replace the knife. This pastor arrived at just the right moment, with just the right tool, to save Sharon's son. The boy was hospitalized for several days - though he had two horrible black eyes, amazingly there were no signs of brain damage. Her son is in 6th grade now, alive and well.

Shortly after the accident, I remember standing behind Sharon's family during worship as this song was played:

We Will Remember - Tommy Walker

We will remember, we will remember
We will remember the works of Your hands
We will stop and give you praise
For great is Thy faithfulness

You’re our creator, our life sustainer
Deliverer, our comfort, our joy
Throughout the ages You’ve been our shelter
Our peace in the midst of the storm

With signs and wonders You’ve shown Your power
With precious blood You showed us Your grace
You’ve been our helper, our liberator
The giver of life with no end

[Chorus]

When we walk through life’s darkest valleys
We will look back at all You have done
And we will shout, our God is good
And He is the faithful One

Bridge
Hallelujah, hallelujah
To the one from whom all blessings flow
Hallelujah, hallelujah
To the one whose glory has been shown

[Chorus]

I still remember the day You saved me
The day I heard You call out my name
You said You loved me and would never leave me
And I’ve never been the same

[Chorus]

(inspired by Neh. 9:16, Ps. 77:11, 12)

Sharon's arms were raised high as she sang those words. It was such a powerful thing to witness you couldn't help but cry. It had me thinking of the many people surrounding her at church that day. Perhaps there were even a few who thought her a little weird and freaky for worshipping in such an expressive way.

Little did they know.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Psalm 95:6-7

Albums on Parade

My favorite albums as of late are PicFolio-style... I shared the advantages of this type of album in August (click HERE for the original post). In addition to the larger slide-in style pages, I am also quite fond of the 8x8 PicFolio. Last December, I used the 8x8 Winter Wonderland Quick Kit to create a December Daily album. (Ali Edwards was the inspiration behind this idea.) The goal was to create an album that captured the spirit of the holiday season.

Ali was also the inspiration behind another 8x8 album project... a Week in the Life. This album was my first experience mixing both traditional and digital scrapbook pages. (I used an 8x8 coverset and the new side slide-in page sleeves.)

The idea for this album was to capture the routine of an average week in your life (I also focused on the little treasures in my day).

I'd have to say my most-valued album is what I call my miracle album. This is the place where I keep all of my most meaningful stories. My Sharon Brown story is one example I've shared here before and Angela B.'s story. This album is mainly journaling.

In addition to my God Moments and miracle stories, this album includes my favorite songs (along with the lyrics) and how they speak to me. Too, for every family I've met through Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep and the other special album projects I have worked on, I create a page as a reminder of our brief connection. This album for my children and their children and the children that follow; I want them to know God and the impact He has had on our family.

How about you? Do you have a special scrapbook album or page spread? If so, create a post about it on your own blog and link it to this one using the Mr. Linky feature below.