Our Friend, Ricky

Hello Friends,
I need to introduce you to Todd and my friend, Ricky. Have I told you about him yet?

Well, Todd and I are blessed to know and have Ricky in our lives. We feel privileged to be apart of his life.

For me, knowing Ricky, is a renewed sense of experiencing God's mercy, grace, and endurance. You see, our friend Ricky is a brilliant, courteous, friendly and God-fearing 19-year-old. He has seen and experienced things in life that I have not and I am thankful God guides his steps.

Todd had the opportunity to originally met Ricky through Urban Youth Impact several years ago. Urban Youth gave Ricky his first birthday cake on his 18th birthday. Ricky has faced being homeless; watch his mother struggle with and recover from the addiction of crack; and see siblings become incarcerated. The sting of drug or alcohol addiction has left their marks on his family heritage.

And to know Ricky today, you see Christ's love and grace. You know God's mercy and you feel Christ's message of hope; hope of salvation and abundance of life.

Ricky is completing school to receive his high school diploma. He then plans to continue school and training to become a firefighter and save lives. He feels God's blessing on his life by walking in God's grace. Ricky is thankful to be alive, to carry his family name and be the first to receive a high school diploma in his immediate family.

Todd and I are so proud of him and his commitment to the Lord. We are excited to see how God will continue to mold and create him to be an even stronger man of God. We are thankful for the opportunities to spend time together.

Ricky has impacted my life with a new sense of humility. I am humbled by how God has blessed me. I have been to restuarants to eat out that Ricky has never been to before. Todd and I are thankful to have taken Ricky to Cheesecake Factory, Cracker Barrel and other restuarants in which he has never eaten . I am humble to have had birthday cakes each year of my life. I am humble to have had family that were in a position to care for me that drugs and alcohol did not become a barrier in my childhood. I am humble by having a home and room of my own all of my life. I am humble... and thankful. I am blessed in my life for many reasons. And I am blessed to have Ricky as a friend.

My friend, Carolyn

So I have a dear friend. Her name is Carolyn. I enjoyed a wonderful evening at her home for small group tonight. She hosted a wonderfully yummy dinner prior to group. It was a fun night that I realized how much I enjoy her company.

I am thankful that we have things in common and even the things that we are really opposite on, (like a preference for milk!) it doesn't get in the way of our friendship.

Tonight she shared with me about her interests in the blogging world, a place that I am still a foreigner. I am so ignorant to the terminology and the capabilities of the Internet and blogs. I enjoy hearing about her interests and especially reading her own blog. If it weren't for her, I would not be "HERE" today... here on my blog that she created for me and showed me the way!

She is a brilliant writer and I enjoy the saga that occurs at times in her life that she chooses to blog. She has even helped to research and write books at her job, which she cherishes and feels privileged to be there, being blessed by God.

You see, it has been a long time since Todd and I have found friends that we can hang out with as couples. Todd and her husband, Jeff, work diligently and wholeheartedly, in the Flight36 ministry together. And it has become a routine for us to attend Saturday night church service together. When Carolyn and Jeff aren't there, we feel like we are missing out a bit, missing our friends. We have a tradition of having dinner together after service. The laughs and fellowship we enjoy help to feed our souls, as well as our tummy. At times it could be the four of us or up to a group of 8. Either way, we manage to enjoy some extra laughs from Jeff or I get some quality chatting time with Carolyn. It always makes to a nice ending to a long week.

I feel fortunate and blessed to have Carolyn as a friend. I am especially blessed to enjoy my best friend's company, Todd's company, with such great friends as Carolyn and Jeff. I would highly recommend such a rich friendship for everyone. It would add years of youthfulness to your life.

We are all looking forward to a spectacular fundraiser event for Flight36 Ministry. We have our Gala December 7 and you are welcome to join us. Go to http://www.flight36.org/ for all the details you would need and to reserve a seat while seating is available!