Three Special Blessings

Right now it is 6:45 and I am blogging from the lobby of my hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. Yesterday I was in a hotel closer to the airport, but now I am closer to the conference center. Yesterday was a day I will not soon forget. God dealt with me in such gentle ways, soothed my heart after my "scissors incident", and had three VERY special surprises in store for me.
Blessing #1: As I checked out of my hotel yesterday, the front desk host asked me about my stay. I told her how I had to wait 45 minutes for the airport shuttle to pick me up (when they told me they would be there in 10), only to have them drive right past me (which resulted in another LONG wait). I also told her about having no kleenex or toilet paper in the room and when I called the front desk to have some sent up, they never came. I finally went to the front desk and picked it up myself. The host apologized and asked if I would be their guest for lunch - a FREE voucher to spend 25 dollars for lunch! I had THE BEST $8.00 lump crab bisque and a delicious $12.00 salad...way better than a stop at McDonald's!!!!
Blessing #2: As I drove to my new hotel location, trying hard to focus on every word my GPS lady was telling me (and praying I would NOT hear the dreaded "recalculating" phrase!), I got a phone call from Elise. She called to tell me that she was accepted into Trinity Christian College.
There is a whole story behind this phone call, but all I'll say right now is that I am thankful for this answer to prayer and so very proud of Elise for making what I know was a very difficult decision for her.
Blessing #3: I am sitting at table 27, surrounded by 600 hundred strangers that all have the same desire I have about a speaking ministry. I began chatting with "Charlie" from Illinois and mentioned how I had prayed about being placed in an evaluation group (and even asked my blog readers to pray about this!), but never got the magic email that said I cleared the waiting list. She asked me lots of questions, and then excused herself. The next thing I knew, one of the Proverbs 31 women was on her haunches, next to my chair and explaining, "Charlie just told me about you and she has graciously asked if you could take her place in an evaluation group." Instant TEARS!!!! Not cute tears either! Nope, these were ugly tears where my nose was running as fast as my mascara and my eyes puffed up!!! Definitely not cute! But oh, how thankful I was!! Twenty minutes later, there I was, in front of a group of peer evaluators, sharing my testimony. Today I will do a longer talk, and this one will be a teaching talk using scripture and applying it to a specific situation from my life. Can't wait!!!!
Time to get ready for this new day, but I just wanted to thank those of you that prayed for me and I wanted to share with you the unique way that God answered that prayer. And to shout out, PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!! Hugs!