TARA BARTHEL VISITS HANNA CITY, IL...I guess if you are going for an amazing news headline, that is ours. Now for the photo to accompany it. Whoops! Your absent-minded photographer was not as alert as she thought on the day of the seminar! I took the camera with me to the church, I looked at Tara's photos of her family, we talked about blogs, etc. Do you think that even once, it crossed my mind to take a picture? NO, not even one time! When I got home, much later that evening, after a nap, I remembered my ditz-headedness. So there will be no photos of the event...no not even ONE. That is how I know that I was even more dazed than I realized from my trip. So Megan, of Halfpint House, you don't ever have to feel inferior around me:) (Actually, I can give you about 50,000 reasons why you wouldn't have to, but we won't even go there.)
I'm looking forward to talking more to our ladies tomorrow, but the ones I talked to on Wednesday...or have heard from...have been so encouraged by Tara's talk on the Four G's of Biblical Conflict Resolution. (See the Peacemaker pamphlet from Peacemaker Ministries.) One lady from a nearby church told me she was so grateful we had told her about Tara. (We put an ad in the local paper that goes to a lot of the small towns around here.) Another older lady who was once a member of our church, wrote me a letter to thank us for having Tara. This is not to glorify Tara, but to glorify the Lord. The message of the gospel that was presented by Tara with the emphasis on God's grace, love and mercy is one that is not heard around here much. I don't believe that these christians would ever say that they are working their way to heaven, but the many live as if their salvation rests functionally on their performance and they get so disheartened. This presentation reminding us of how much God has forgiven us in Christ, how we are to forgive others, not motivated by guilt, but because of the grace that has been shown to us was like putting salve on wounded hearts. Her personal illustrations and honesty touched people where they live. I know God was there and trust that it was the beginning of a special work he will do in all of our hearts...starting with me. We are grateful to both Tara and her friend for the sacrifice of most of the day (plus preparation) that it took for her to be with us. It meant a lot.