Mr Nester and I have a few things in common, with one of them being neighbors out in Laurel Fork, Virginia.

Tonight was the latest fundraiser in support of the community, and both Linda and I were able to partake. I even managed to steal a few minutes with the man of the hour ( actually 2, 5-7), highlighting the second thing we have in common, an ability to work a room.

The third thing on the list of connections is that Brad took the time to submit a section for our next book 📖 and for that, I’m incredibly grateful.

They will be offering 🫴 dinner up until 7 pm unless they run out sooner.

Thank you to Brad, his stand-in bride and the rest of the folks that worked to make sure the event was a success !

Thank you to Brenda for sending me the nudge …..

This morning 🌄 concludes a 3 – year journey of making sure that at least one feels good post 📫 was created on our site  every day. The site has been a tool 🔧 in our toolbox 🧰 of hope for nearly 20 years now, but not taking a day off for three straight years has been a challenge for sure. There has been a carrot 🥕 on the end of a stick motivator for sure.

We will take this one back five months ago, early March (10th to be exact). West Virginia Tech University Baseball ⚾️ hosted doubleheader that day, but it was being played in Charleston at Go-Mart Park instead of Beckley. The drive home afterward is 2 hours, 52 minutes ➕️ stops and that night 🌙 I just couldn’t drag myself all the way home.

Spending the night in Wytheville, set a new record for the closest hotel 🏨 to my house, and it is relevant to the story because I would have needed my wallet to check into the hotel.

The wallet above is the same wallet I had in high school,a  somewhat hard to believe fact, but true, just the same.

The next morning, I woke up and drove to Hillsville to meet Travis Osborne over at the Middle School 🏫 where he was painting the dugouts. There was a quick stop ✋️ at Omega Office to pick something up from Ron Cochran, and afterward, it was back to Laurel Fork to pick up Linda for an appointment in Galax.

I switched cars 🚗 at the house, and we were off again. After her appointment was done, the final stop was at Carroll County High School to meet Shawn Montgomery and Jon Delp at track practice.

  It was somewhere during this bonkers of a couple of days that I misplaced my wallet. There were 14 things inside, along with some cash 💸. Two of the items were irreplaceable to me, and the search began. After a few days, I headed out to the Galax DMV to get a replacement driver’s license so I could remain a legal driver.

Not one charge had occurred on any of the four credit cards, fueling the idea that I had just misplaced it at the house, and it would eventually turn up.

Fast forward the story to this past Monday morning when we were at the North Carolina Rest Area down near Statesville. We were on our way to Lake Norman for Costco and a few other nearby errands when the phone rang at 10:11 am. Exactly 5 months had passed since I last held my wallet, and Mr Horton from Lowe’s in Galax was calling  to inform me that the store had my billfold and I was welcome to come by and pick it up. He also mentioned Tammy Quesenberry in the story, assuming that someone reached out to her in hopes of contacting me.

Once we were done with our errands, the next stop ✋️ was Lowe’s. There was my nearly 50 year old wallet with ALL 14 items still inside ➕️ the cash 💸💰.

One of the two items that I could not replace is the photo of Jesus that my late brother Tom had given me decades ago. You can see 👀 it in the photo above.

Five months later, the wallet was back in my possession with everything still inside. 24 hours later, I’m still wrestling with the fact that it happened in the manor that it did.

God has a plan 🙏 and sometimes the plan will make clear sense. Other times, like this one, you just have to trust that there was a reason.

I’m trying to wake ⏰️ up every single day and find a way to try and make someone else smile. Somedays are easy, and others are a bit of a struggle, but the challenge is part of my vision of God’s plan for my life.

Here are some takeaways :

1. Good things will come to those who wait.
2. God has a plan for you, and it doesn’t always have to make sense.
3. Do unto others……
4. It really helps to know Tammy Quesenberry……….

Welcome 🙏 to Wednesday, August 12th, which concludes the third trip around the Sun 🌞!!!