ARE YOU READY FOR AN AMAZING STORY…???

ALL IS MAGIC (MIRACLE)…

IF I SAY ‘YES’, IT WOULD HAVE TO MEAN A GOOD TIME.  YOU KNOW I ALWAYS WANTED TO DO SOMETHING SPECIAL LIKE THIS AND TAKE MY MOM ON A TRIP. THE IDEA ‘SHE’ HAD PROPOSED FOR ME SEEMED LIKE A FUN ‘IDEA’.

‘SHE’, BEING MRS. BARBARA SMITH - HAD INVITED ME TO GO ON MICHAEL’S CARIBBEAN CRUISE FOR THE SUMMER OF 2008. THINK ABOUT IT; A CRUISE, NICE WEATHER (BESIDES THE HURRICANE WE WERE RUNNING FROM),WITH TWO OF MY DEAREST “FAMILY” PEOPLE I LOVE – PAUL & BARBARA SMITH, GREAT MUSIC WITH MICHAEL AND AMY GRANT, MELINDA DOOLITTLE (AMONG OTHERS), COMEDIANS, GREAT TEACHING, AND ON AND ON. IT JUST SOUNDED TOO GOOD AND I KNEW IT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN WITH SOME ‘BIG’ SURPRISES I HAD UP MY SLEAVE FOR MY MOM.

YOU SEE…MY MOM KNEW WE WERE GOING ON A CRUISE IN THE CARIBBEAN, YET SHE HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THE ‘BIG’ SURPRISES. WELL, AMONG THE SURPRISES WERE MEETING UP WITH HER FRIENDS PAUL & BARBARA, GETTING TO HEAR TWO OF HER FAVORITE SINGERS – MICHAEL W. SMITH & AMY GRANT; AND THEN GETTING TO DO SOMETHING SHE HAD NEVER DONE AND ALWAYS WANTED TO DO HER WHOLE LIFE – GO ON A CRUISE.  WELL, THOSE WEREN’T ALL THE SURPRISES AND ONE OF THEM ACTUALLY TURNED OUT MAGICAL. HERE IS HOW EVERYTHING “WENT SOUTH”.

YES, IT WENT “SOUTH” FOR SURE!!! MY MOM DROVE FROM MISSISSIPPI TO NASHVILLE, TN; AND WE FLEW OUT THE DAY BEFORE THE CRUISE HEADED “SOUTH” TO MIAMI. WE HAD MADE RESERVATIONS AT THE HYATT REGENCY IN CORAL GABLES, FL (NEAR MIAMI). WE ARRIVED AT THE MIAMI AIRPORT AND TOOK A TAXI TO THE HOTEL (UNDERSTANDING MY MOM STILL HAD NO IDEA OF THE “BIG SURPRISES”). WE CHECKED IN, WENT TO OUR ROOMS, LOOKED OVER AND THROUGH EVERYTHING IN THE ROOM (LIKE MOST EVERYBODY GOOFY DOES WHEN THEY GET TO A HOTEL) AND WERE VERY EXCITED. WELL, I EVEN WENT TO THE FITNESS ROOM AND SOMEHOW ENDED UP AT THE POOL ON THE 4^TH FLOOR (NOT QUITE SURE HOW THAT HAPPENED FOR A SINGLE GUY 39 YEARS OLD). I MET SOME NEAT PEOPLE AT THE POOL AND EVEN TALKED WITH ONE LADY AT THE POOL THAT WAS VERY ATTRACTIVE. SHE SPOKE SPANISH & ENGLISH, AND THAT WAS A LOT OF FUN AND INTERESTING TO SAY THE LEAST. SHE WAS SO PRETTY I LEFT THERE PRAYING FOR HER (AND ME J). WELL, THE NEXT DAY CAME AND MY MOM STILL HAD NO IDEA EXCEPT WE WERE HEADED TO THE CRUISE SHIP. ON THE WAY IN THE TAXI, I HANDED HER AN ENVELOPE – AND IN THAT ENVELOPE IT HAD THE INFORMATION THAT HER FRIENDS PAUL & BARBARA WOULD BE A PART OF THE CRUISE. WELL, MY MOM WAS SO EXCITED. MY MOM IS SO FUNNY AND SWEET AND SHE IS LIKE A LITTLE KID AT CHRISTMAS. WITH THE LITTLEST SURPRISES IN LIFE, SHE GETS SO HAPPY…AND SHE WAS. THEN I HANDED HER ANOTHER ENVELOPE THAT CONTAINED THE NAME BADGES FOR THE MICHEAL W. SMITH CRUISE. OH MY GOODNESS, SHE LOOKED AT ME, LOOKED AT THEM, LOOKED AT ME, LOOKED AT THEM, AND SAID ‘ARE YOU SERIOUS?’ SHE WAS SO HAPPY AND COULDN’T WAIT TO GET TO THE SHIP. ON TOP OF THAT, I WAS SO HAPPY TO GIVE BACK TO A MOTHER WHO HAD LOVED ME ALL MY LIFE.

YES, THE CRUISE WAS AMAZING AND MY MOM AND I HAD A GREAT TIME, MEETING SOME NEAT AND LIFELONG FRIENDS LIKE JERROD & JENNIFER BYRNE FROM WICHITA, KS; AND FRANK & JULIE BELL FROM OLATHA, KS, VISITING THE ISLANDS, SMITTYOKE, GROWING IN THE LORD, LAUGHING AT LIFE, ENJOYING LIFE IN ITS SIMPLICITY, GAZING AT GODS CREATION UNDER THE STARRY SKIES, AND VISITING NEAT PEOPLE AND PLACES AT EACH CARRIBEAN STOP ALONG THE WAY. IT WAS A GREAT TIME AND ‘IDEA’ BY MRS. BARBARA (AND BY THE WAY – ISN’T SHE AND PAUL JUST AMAZING). WELCOME TO SERVANT HEARTSVILLE. OK, LETS DOCK THIS STORY…

DID I SAY ‘BIG’ SURPRISE? WELL, I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE GIVING SURPRISES ON THIS TRIP, BUT I WASN’T. FUNNY HOW GOD WORKS IN LIFE THROUGH OBEDIENCE AND THERE IS NO SURPRISE TOO BIG FOR GOD?

YOU SEE I HAD BEEN SINGLE FOR 39 YEARS OF MY LIFE. I HAVE ALWAYS FELT THAT GOD WOULD LINK ME UP WITH MY SOUL MATE – THE BRIDE I ALWAYS DREAMED ONE DAY WOULD BE MY BEST FRIEND, LOVE ME FOR ME, BE A SPIRITUAL BLESSING, AND HAVE A SERVANTS HEART AS GOD TEACHES US TO HAVE.

WELL, DO YOU REMEMBER THE BEAUTIFUL LADY BACK AT THE HYATT REGENCY SWIMMING POOL ON THE 4^TH FLOOR IN CORAL GABLES, FL, WHO I PRAYED FOR...OR I THINK I DID (MAYBE MY PRAYER WAS FOR HIM TO PERFORM A MAGICAL MIRACLE AND HAVE HER POP UP ON THE CRUISE SHIP)? YOU SEE, SHE HAD BEEN AT THIS HOTEL FOR AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CONFERENCE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR A FEW DAYS AND THIS WAS HER LAST DAY THERE. SHE WAS GETTING SOME RELAXING TIME AT THE POOL BEFORE SHE LEFT TO GO BACK BECAUSE HER CONFERENCE HAD WRAPPED UP AROUND NOON. WHEN I SAY GO BACK; I MEAN TO “SOUTH” AMERICA. SHE WAS FROM MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA, “SOUTH” AMERICA.

ONCE I GOT BACK FROM THE CRUISE, WE TALKED EVERY NIGHT FOR THE NEXT YEAR. WE ALSO ROTATED ONE OF US PRAYING TOGETHER EVERY NIGHT FOR THE NEXT YEAR. I MET LINA MARIA LONDONO ON JULY 18, 2008. I MARRIED LINA LONDONO TINSLEY ON JULY 18, 2009, WE STILL ROTATE EVERY NIGHT PRAYING, AND ANOTHER PRAYER HAS BEEN ANSWERED AS WE ARE EXPECTING OUR FIRST CHILD IN MARCH, 2011.

GOD IS A GREAT GOD WITH A FUNNY PERSONALITY. SOMETIMES WHEN WE MAY THINK HE IS NOT TOO FUNNY AT THE MOMENT, HE HAS SOMETHING GREAT AHEAD IF WE STAY OBEDIENT. A SHIP IS MADE TO BE A SEA, NOT AT THE DOCK OF THE BAY. HE REQUIRES US TO LEAVE THE COMFORT OF OUR PORT AND TRUST HIM IN THE SUNSHINE AND THROUGH THE STORMS. HE WANTS EVERYDAY COMMITMENT, EVERYDAY OBEDIENCE, AND NOT EXPECTING EVERYDAY PERFECTION.  TO MRS. BARBARA AND MR. PAUL, I SAY THANK YOU FOR THE ‘IDEA’, FOR LOVING ME ENOUGH TO SEND ME AWAY FROM THE PORT SO GOD COULD BLESS MY LIFE WITH A ‘BIG’ SURPRISE. SHE IS WORTH THE WAIT AND GOD MAY BE SAYING THE SAME THING TO YOU IF YOU HAVEN’T GIVEN YOUR HEART OR ALL TO HIM YET. HAPPY CRUISING AND ALL IS MAGIC IN NASHVILLE, TN. BY THE WAY, I SAID ‘YES’ …AND SO DID SHE.

KIRK & LINA TINSLEY