Follow-Up Article

Hey all!! It's absolutely beautiful outside! I actually need a sweater! (Fall is my favorite season so cold, sweater weather on a late summer morning is absolutely a gift!)

If you couldn't attend Maddiepalooza, grab a cup of tea and check out this article on Patch.

Bailey prefers lattes in the summer, but tea is good too. Photo: Shelbie Downer

Reflections on Maddiepalooza

I've had a few days to reflect on Maddiepalooza and I am still in awe of everyone who worked so hard to pull it together and everyone who came out to support me as I prepare for this next part of my journey.

This fundraiser was pulled together in just three short weeks. With the persistence of my mother, two local newspapers got involved to do stories on it. My friend, Lisa, recruited bands to play. They both found people to donate food, drinks, decorations, and to help set up and clean up.

People donated items for a raffle and for an auction - and they weren't small prizes either. My friend and mentor, Vance, donated a week at his time share. The auction raised $600 - amazing, I think, because no one knew beforehand that this auction was taking place. I think that's amazing, that people were willing to put forth that much money on the spot... because they wanted to support me! :)

And the people who were there - there were so many surprises! My very first pastor, Michael, and his wife came up from New Jersey. It was so good seeing him after ten years! My mentor and former interim pastor, Matt, came by with his wife, Allison. Matt joined Trees of the Field to sing a few songs. And of course, Vance and my current pastor, Deborah, were there. It was so great to have so many people I admire there to support me.

My family, friends, and church family were all represented too! Most of the girls from my youth choir came with their families, the members of youth group who hadn't already left for school were there as well. Many other church families, family friends, and some of my friends from work came as well.

I am just blown away by how much love and support everyone has shown me. I talked a little bit about how everyone giving just a little bit ends up being a whole lot, and that with that, I can go on to show that same kind of overflowing love to others. I just can't get over it, this overflowing love of God that I get to experience all the time.

Thank you to everyone who came out, who supports/prays/thinks of me as I continue on this path that God has called me to. I love you all!

Taste and See!

I've been baking pretty much non-stop. I want to make at least 100 cupcakes, some brownies, and other desserts for my palooza tomorrow. I'm not normally a baker, or a cook, in any capacity... but I can find my way around a kitchen when I need to.

I decided that I wanted to dye the cupcakes to match my school's colors - navy blue and purple. So I dyed the yellow cake batter blue and purple and mixed them together in the cupcake tins like a marble cake. And... ta da?

Spot on if you're colorblind.

Okay, well, that didn't work. What happened? How did the blue and purple cupcakes turn into toxic pond green and earthworm brown?

I don't have any scientific-sounding reasons, but the best I can guess is that - like paint or nail polish - the batter looks darker than it will when it "dries" (in this case, bakes).

And this got me thinking... Things look different after they've had a chance to dry; after we've had a chance to work through our problems, taken some time to step back and look at the whole wall instead of inside a paint can - or, perhaps, a tray of cupcakes instead of a thick bowl of batter. It's almost like Seurat's paintings... If you look up close at A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte, all you see is flecks of color... You have to step back and take it in. When it's concentrated, like when cake batter or paint is concentrated, it's not the same.

Life is the same way. When we're dealing with something, whether it's money problems, bumps in a relationship, health scares, or just general stress, we have to step back, give it a little bit of time, and see it more clearly. Maybe it looks a little murky now, but if we give it time to process, we'll see a clearer picture, a lighter shade of paint, a green and brown cupcake. We'll be able to see things more clearly, for what they are. We know that God will help us through anything, but sometimes what we need most is to get out of that close up view and let God handle it.

Maybe after that, we'll be able to see that, yes, things will all work out:

Blue and purple cupcakes!

Taste and see that the Lord is good!

from Psalm 34:8