Being married to a preacher comes with a list of things that you don't have to worry over. One of the things is truthfulness. It would be totally against all that the Bible says a pastor should be if he was a liar. Now, I know this is not always the case and that some pastors do lie. But my husband is not one of those. He has always been very honest with me - brutally at times. Well, I have a revelation for you today -
My husband has been lying to me.
And so have most of my friends.
I'll tell you why...
The alarm clock sounded on Wednesday, March 16, and my first thought was, "I'm 40. Crap."
Not the best attitude, I know.
I awoke to orange cinnamon rolls and sweet boys. After the house was cleared, I spent time in my pj's drinking coffee and watching TV. Then I cranked up Pandora and listened to 80s music. I did a little dancing to get the heart rate up. Adrienne came over and brought me chocolate covered strawberries and chatted for just a bit. After that, the day pretty much went downhill. Stewart and I were to have lunch, but he was so stressed and distracted over church matters at the lunch that it was almost no fun. That night was church, and Stewart had bought a birthday cake to share with everyone who came to Wednesday night supper. But other than all of this, I got no gifts. Not a single one. My husband did not even get me a card. Because I am super mature since I'm 40 now, this really bothered me. I knew it shouldn't, but it did.
Friday, March 18 was going to save my birthday week. I was to spend the entire day with my BFF Diana in Lafayette. That night I was to have dinner with Adrienne, Melinda, and Sandy, and they told me they invited Diana to eat with us. After dinner, we were going to come back to our house and have one of Stewart's now-famous cheesecakes. I was beyond excited about the thought of getting to be with all of my go-to girls in one place and getting to celebrate with them! That would salvage what had been a ho-hum birthday so far.
So Diana came early, we headed to Lafayette. She told me on the way that we were going paint pottery, which is totally out of my comfort zone because you guys know I don't craft. However, I ended up really enjoying it and not stressing over it a bit. Diana and I talked and laughed all day as we always do. We had a great lunch, some fruitful shopping, and then, of course, coffee. We headed home in the pouring rain to change clothes and get ready to meet the other girls.
And then things got weird. Melinda came and picked me up, and Diana followed behind us in her car so she could head back to Shreveport before it got too late. When I got in the car, Melinda, who lives in the neighborhood behind us, handed me a cake pan and said, "Hold this. I need to go back by the Village Green Clubhouse and drop this off to my neighbor who is having a party." Huh? Neighbor having a party? I didn't think Melinda was that close to her neighbors. As we turn in the parking lot, I see many cars and then people standing out in the rain with umbrellas. As we pulled closer, I noticed that one of those people was Adrienne. And my friend Jennifer. And Shea. And a bunch of other people I knew. And then I looked up and saw Stewart. Yep, they got me!
I walked through a whole line of girls all there to wish me a happy birthday! Inside the building, the table was decorated in pink and purple with beautiful spring flowers. Stewart had cooked ALL DAY while I was gone! He had done his out-of-this-world kabobs, twice-baked potatoes, Caesar salad, and garlic bread. There was glorious Diet Coke and of course, enough cheesecake for everyone to have some.
And then there were presents. Sweet gifts from the heart. Hilarious cards that I will have to save forever because they made me cry they were so funny! The best gift of all was from Stewart - a book of pictures of me from just about all 40 years of my life. I cried. Not even going to pretend I didn't.
As the evening went on, the stories of how much scheming and planning had happened for the past several months began to come out. There was an intricate web that had been spun of lies on top of half-truths on top of falsehoods. There had been hidden trips to Hobby Lobby with Melinda and one of the other church secretaries, Katie, for supplies. There had been secret grocery runs. There had been text messages that had to be deleted because of the information they contained. There were set-ups to make things look one way, when actually they were another. And it all worked perfectly. It was literally one of the best days I've ever had. And it was all because my preacher husband lied to me! And if you also lied to me, thank you. Forty was my best birthday ever! I love each and every one of you for lying to me!
My husband has been lying to me.
And so have most of my friends.
I'll tell you why...
The alarm clock sounded on Wednesday, March 16, and my first thought was, "I'm 40. Crap."
Not the best attitude, I know.
I awoke to orange cinnamon rolls and sweet boys. After the house was cleared, I spent time in my pj's drinking coffee and watching TV. Then I cranked up Pandora and listened to 80s music. I did a little dancing to get the heart rate up. Adrienne came over and brought me chocolate covered strawberries and chatted for just a bit. After that, the day pretty much went downhill. Stewart and I were to have lunch, but he was so stressed and distracted over church matters at the lunch that it was almost no fun. That night was church, and Stewart had bought a birthday cake to share with everyone who came to Wednesday night supper. But other than all of this, I got no gifts. Not a single one. My husband did not even get me a card. Because I am super mature since I'm 40 now, this really bothered me. I knew it shouldn't, but it did.
Friday, March 18 was going to save my birthday week. I was to spend the entire day with my BFF Diana in Lafayette. That night I was to have dinner with Adrienne, Melinda, and Sandy, and they told me they invited Diana to eat with us. After dinner, we were going to come back to our house and have one of Stewart's now-famous cheesecakes. I was beyond excited about the thought of getting to be with all of my go-to girls in one place and getting to celebrate with them! That would salvage what had been a ho-hum birthday so far.
So Diana came early, we headed to Lafayette. She told me on the way that we were going paint pottery, which is totally out of my comfort zone because you guys know I don't craft. However, I ended up really enjoying it and not stressing over it a bit. Diana and I talked and laughed all day as we always do. We had a great lunch, some fruitful shopping, and then, of course, coffee. We headed home in the pouring rain to change clothes and get ready to meet the other girls.
And then things got weird. Melinda came and picked me up, and Diana followed behind us in her car so she could head back to Shreveport before it got too late. When I got in the car, Melinda, who lives in the neighborhood behind us, handed me a cake pan and said, "Hold this. I need to go back by the Village Green Clubhouse and drop this off to my neighbor who is having a party." Huh? Neighbor having a party? I didn't think Melinda was that close to her neighbors. As we turn in the parking lot, I see many cars and then people standing out in the rain with umbrellas. As we pulled closer, I noticed that one of those people was Adrienne. And my friend Jennifer. And Shea. And a bunch of other people I knew. And then I looked up and saw Stewart. Yep, they got me!
I walked through a whole line of girls all there to wish me a happy birthday! Inside the building, the table was decorated in pink and purple with beautiful spring flowers. Stewart had cooked ALL DAY while I was gone! He had done his out-of-this-world kabobs, twice-baked potatoes, Caesar salad, and garlic bread. There was glorious Diet Coke and of course, enough cheesecake for everyone to have some.
And then there were presents. Sweet gifts from the heart. Hilarious cards that I will have to save forever because they made me cry they were so funny! The best gift of all was from Stewart - a book of pictures of me from just about all 40 years of my life. I cried. Not even going to pretend I didn't.
As the evening went on, the stories of how much scheming and planning had happened for the past several months began to come out. There was an intricate web that had been spun of lies on top of half-truths on top of falsehoods. There had been hidden trips to Hobby Lobby with Melinda and one of the other church secretaries, Katie, for supplies. There had been secret grocery runs. There had been text messages that had to be deleted because of the information they contained. There were set-ups to make things look one way, when actually they were another. And it all worked perfectly. It was literally one of the best days I've ever had. And it was all because my preacher husband lied to me! And if you also lied to me, thank you. Forty was my best birthday ever! I love each and every one of you for lying to me!
I'm so happy you had a surprise party! I think we all should have one once at least (and I too had one on my 40th involving lying husband and friends). You deserve this lovely sweet blessing ! Praise God.
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