#TeamBolton Hits the Stage

Today was an awesome day.  After ten months of 'life as we've known it' and not really being able to commit to singing at church, #TeamBolton ministered a special selection today.  Many of you may remember footage that was circulating on Facebook of a young lady running one of the most important races of her life and midway through the race, she trips and falls, but immediately gets up and within the last moment wins the race.  As I watched the strength, will and perseverance of this young runner unfold, I was deeply moved by the song that accompanied the piece. 

I've been on the schedule to do a special selection at church for a few months now.  Quentin and I had planned to do another song, but when I let Quentin listen to this song, we knew we wanted to do it together.  We have only sung together one other time, which was last year for Christmas (I'll post that if I can find it).  God has been so faithful to us. Despite what it looked like, felt like or what the 'forcast' was, God covered us in his love.  There were many times I listened to this song and was reminded of a blog post by Rasheeda Matthews (Better Part of Me) that outlined the magnitude of peace and comfort that can only come from being wrapped in God's love.   It was so awesome to be able to minister this song.

Singing is 'relatively' new in our lives.  I sang in a teen choir once and after singing a solo piece where my nerves were heard in every note, I never sang again.  Well....there was the one time I got talked into singing Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's 'All Cried Out' at my 11th Grade Homecoming Dance.  How that happened I don't know, but peer pressure is a beast.  Thankfully there is no video footage of that.  Quentin sang in choirs throughout his childhood, but it had been twenty plus years since either of us had sang anything outside of the shower or in the car with the radio.  About five years ago the desire to sing was so pressing that I decided to join the Adult Choir at my church.  I'll never forget my first rehearsal.  I stood up, introduced myself and told everyone I don't know what I sing, but I have a desire to do so.  Gradually I became more comfortable with singing, but remember in a choir you are one of many voices, so if you're not that great, the hope is that all the other voices mask yours.  The more I became involved the more I enjoyed and look forward to singing.  Whenever I was asked to do more I always said 'I'll try' and over time I gained the confidence to do a quick part and even a solo or two.  Quentin joined shortly thereafter and it became something we both really loved doing and being a part of. Quentin gets his pretty earnestly, my father-in-love has a beautiful voice and my mother-in-love sings too.  To my knowledge, neither of my parents sang publicly, but they love music and can carry a tune. 

So here we are....Thank you Lord for taking me out of the shower and placing the desire in me to do more.  Thank you Minister Cottman, for recognizing abilities neither of us knew we had and challenging us to do more.  I never imagined myself singing in any place by myself or without 20 other people with me.  We've grown so much.  Thank you Faith and Family Church for always warmly receiving and supporting us.  Thank you to our children, our biggest supporters and cheerleaders.  They sit through our rehearsals times and by the time we actually sing, they know the words, have thrown in some sort of praise dance and lots of hearty claps. Thank you to my Fashion Stylist, Mireya who encouraged me to wear a 'pretty black dress' and who selected the shoes for me to wear and lastly, thank you to our daughter Paris who really wanted to be at church today.   She fell in love with this song the moment she heard it too and asked that I please, please, please have someone record it.

God's love never fails and it reigns forever in our lives, so remember to 'Stay in the Race' (Norman Hutchins), 'Don't Stop Believing' (I'm a big Journey fan) and most importantly know that your 'Best and Brightest Days are Ahead of You' (Pastor Calvin Duncan).  God put a song in our hearts to share. We're not the best singers in the world, but we have a true desire to worship God and to touch the hearts of people through song.  Enjoy Hillsong's 'Forever Reign' ministered by #TeamBolton!

Lights, Camera and Love in Action

#TeamBolton has been featured in Mexico Restuarant commericals, Real Simple Magazine and selected for the launch of 'Momtourage' by iVillage. None of those features compare or have the heart and compassion behind the NBC Channel -12 On Your Side 'Act of Kindness' segment.

I shared last week how our friend, Frazelle Hampton nominated us for this reward. We had no idea what the completed piece would entail, but we tuned in at 5pm and watched everything from new laws on concussions, house fire disputes and the plague of ragweed that is affecting so many people right now. At the end of the 'First News' segment we watched our blessing unfold. We are so humbled by the outpouring of love, support and prayers by so many. People we know, many we don't know, but God knows and he has heard our prayers and is working this out on our behalf. Mireya's health is increasing everyday. We've seen more life and spirit in her than we have for months. That in itself is a blessing beyond words. It's incredible to see illness fading and life reemerging. Life is so precious. It's so easy to say those words, but to live them adds depth and a meaning that is indescribable.

Thank you to our families, our friends, our church family, friends of friends who have reached out to be a blessing, who have prayed and stood in this gap for us as we've gone through one of the toughest things we had to endure. In every obstacle, challenge and circumstance God has shown himself mighty and true to his word. Has it been a struggle at times? Absolutely, but he's given us a peace and a hope to keep pressing. I've said this many times before God continues to show us how much he loves us through the love, support and generosity of others. We stand in awe of his goodness and say 'thank you'. No longer feeling undeserving, but knowing that God can do all things and that he will use people to fulfill what needs to be done. We've had to learn to be better 'receivers'. We're humbled and grateful for it all.

If your not in the Central Virginia area, I've included a link to this incredible instance where love, support and community met last week. It was a wonderful surprise and we thank 'Michael & Son Services' for partnering with NBC 12 and their sponsorship of such a wonderful program. Thank you to Sabrina Squire and Matt Boyce (the Producer), you captured and presented this piece beautifully. Family battles major illness & other challenges - NBC12 News, Weather Sports, Traffic, and Programming Guide for Richmond, VA |

A #TeamBolton Facebook page has also been created. 'Like' the page and join the community to remain connected via FB. The donation page has also been a true blessing to us. Thank you to our friends for maintaining this site on our behalf and to those that have been positioned to be a blessing to us through this site. www.gofundme.com/mireyas-miracle.

Love and blessings to you all.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

Today I felt better than Gomer Pyle ever did. My husband and I had a meeting this afternoon at our church with someone who wanted to be a blessing to us. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out who or what it would be. I had fixed in my mind that perhaps it was a representative from Costen Floors. Costen Floors was partnering with our church to be a blessing in facilitating getting our floors redone to provide a safer and more feasible environment for Mireya. Those plans have been sidelined for now, due to the potential risk to her health, but in my mind I thought perhaps it was in some way connected to them.

Imagine our surprise as we entered the sanctuary for our meeting and a group of people shouted 'Surprise'. I didn't know what to think. I started to pan the room and saw a unfamiliar face with a camera and as I continued to the right I saw a very familiar face, Ms. Sabrina Squire. I heard 'You've been selected as this week's Act of Kindness recipient'. I have no idea what my face looked like as this is all unfolding, but I was seriously in a state of shock. Our friend, Frazelle Hampton nominated us for this reward. The premise for the 'Act of Kindness' segment is what we've talked about all throughout this journey...being a blessing to someone. Frazelle was given $300 to Pay It Forward to help someone or an organization in need and she chose #TeamBolton. I will admit that once Frazelle started talking it sounded like the teacher on Charlie Brown, 'Venus and Quentin...whomp a whomp a whomp whomp'. I was fading in the moment and overcome with emotion. Everyone knows I'm very easily moved to tears and today was no exception. We were so touched and so honored. There was something about that camera zooming in that caused me to fight within myself to rise above the emotions, because I could have stood there and bawled my eyes out. I had a Oprah moment and thought it would not be cute to have the 'ugly cry' on tv, at least not the full on version. So we'll all prepare for possibly an abbreviated glimpse of what shock, amazement, surprise and gratitude looks like all rolled in one.

My heart was so full. I couldn't stop smiling at the goodness and favor of God. Sabrina and Matt (the Producer) were awesome. I thought it was really cool that they'd spent some time reading the blog to become acquainted with our journey. I think it lended itself to really being able to identify with how special today was for us. We love our family, our church family, and our friends for your continued love, support and prayers. At Faith and Family Church we love on purpose. We understand the importance of standing in the gap when and where there is a need. We know how vital it is not only to be an anchor for one another, but if we need to jump in the boat and row, we realize that 'together' we can accomplish the task at hand and get there faster. What a blessing!!! God answers prayers.

Details are lacking because I really don't know what the final spot will look like, but we had a great time laughing, crying and sharing. I loved watching Sabrina's journalistic flavor skip through the piece and her ability to make us all feel the heart behind this awesome initiative of community and Paying It Forward. I cannot wait to see the segment air next week. Please tune in Tuesday, August 16th at 5:00pm to NBC's Channel 12 - On Your Side and 'Acts of Kindness'.

Romans 12:13 Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality (NIV)