i dont even know where to begin here. ive been without words since about 6:30 thursday evening.
something kinda…big happened then.
let me back up a bit first. many of you know that i dont sleep well. a lot because of brents incessant snoring, which youve heard before. you’re welcome 
another reason is that i just simply am not comfortable. daily i wake with pain. i have lupus so this isnt a big surprise to me. my joints are often inflamed and throbbing. my muscles frequently scream at me. its my normal. not terrible…just there. but its always been much worse in the mornings.
this last weekend while we were on the oregon coast for brian and jenni’s vow renewal we stayed in a fantabulous beach house. we all arrived and picked out our rooms. brent and i snagged the bottom floor room that was closest to the bathroom. score!
fast forward >>>> i went to bed. i woke up. i didnt hurt.
at. all.
fast forward to the second night…. repeat.
the bed we slept in was nothing short of glorious i tell you!
the bed i sleep in every night at home… not glorious. not good. not…just…not.
so why do i tell you all of this? well, brian clayville spearheaded a “rest well” for the hodges thingy-thing.
and what happened next? thursday night at 6pm brian, jenni, david and diane goodwin show up at my door with a brand new kingsize bed!!!
I. KNOW!!!
what did i do? i was shocked. speechless. eventually cried. kept asking, “what?”. im still in shock.
to everyone responsible… gitz, laura and stephen, david and diane goodwin, brian and jenni clayville, joshua and ryanne white, nicole wick, mark and cathi stegall, alece and crystal ~
thank you. and dangit…thank you is just way too small to express what im feeling. seriously…it feels so strange that this was done for us. for us. its just, i dont know. i cant stand that im incapable of finding the right words. im sorry for that. just know that i am beyond thankful. i love you all and hope i can repay you in some way, some how.
wow.
and now….i sleep….
awwww. =] u are blessed my friend. good night. sweet dreams!
i so love the thought of you sleeping better and having less pain.
and i so love YOU.
although "i love you" is "just way too small to express what im feeling."
rest well, my friend.
im resting. a lot. i may have to incorporate naps into my days…. cathi would be so proud!
How fantastic! Oh, that must have been so much fun to plan behind your back!
Sooo… what's the magic matress?
Here's my contribution….
And if tonight my soul may find her peace
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created.
~D.H. Lawrence
Awesome Jen
ya know…i didnt even look to see what kind of mattress it is. all i saw was that it was ONE SHAPE…not multiple levels of dips and edges.
aahhhhh……
=)
You made me cry. At the boarding gate. With strangers everywhere.
You and Brent deserve all things good. You deserve not to hurt everyday. You deserve rest. Not because we deserve things bit because of all you do for others.
If you only knew exactly how much I love you.
Rest well.
Ditto. And Jenni, thank you for inviting me to be a part of it.
"Not because we deserve things"
and thats what makes this that much more of a jaw dropping moment….
love you!
Makes me smile:) from one who never knew
one could be without pain, like my mom and Aunt(she has lupus)
Isn’t that sad, I am so used to seeing someone in pain like it is a normal
everyday thing? Whoa.
I am glad you got to rest well.
Ang
friends are fabulous…so glad that you get to sleep well now
What Jenni said…
i wish i could hug you.
Wow…this is fantastic. Rest well.
Wow! That is so wonderful!! Enjoy your rest…and your friends.
Proverbs 11:25 (New Living Translation)
25 The generous will prosper;
those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
Be refreshed.
Tam,
I have never "met" you and Brent, but I feel like I know you from this blog. I rejoice with you that you have friends like this. I pray a lot, and your family is always in my prayers, but I didn't know you had lupus, so I will include that. God Bless, sleep well
thank you so much!
and i am sleeping very well these days. still in that unbelief state.
I have goosebumps! What a community of true love! Guess you better get that pot roast going today!!
POTROAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am soooo glad that you have such amazing friends. Gave me the gigglecries. Y’all are amazing.
Enjoy your weekend girl.
Continuing to pray for you all.
'gigglecries' lolol I like that
Love you
of course you do.
I LOVE that they did this for you. Love it. I love how blogging community becomes real community. I love God's church in action.
But most, I love that you are sleeping friend. "he giveth his beloved sleep…" ps 127.2 KJV
Couldn't have said it better myself, Jenny!
this is just another example of online relationships defining realness.
youre right…it is real community. it becomes what we put into it. as with all things in life i suppose.
its beautiful, really.
I am thrilled to see what difference this will make for you guys!
thank you, brian. thank you a billion thank you's.
and sorry you got the super duper bad mattress this weekend. how 'funny' is that….you spearhead this then end up on the evil spare bed.
oops.
love you, family.
apparently the bed worked wonders… cuz neither Tam OR Brent have come downstairs yet.
OH! hahahaha
You guys are much loved. It’s so thrilling to witness that & play a small part in seeing the outworking of this. I love to be part of what church really is.
You deserve all the love, all the peace God gives.
i love you! dang, i love you.
Beautiful!
The thought of you waking in the morning without pain will keep my heart happy for the rest of my life. Not kidding. My heart = happy.
I like you a little.
oh gitz….id trade it all in if that meant you could have it.
i like you all kinds of little. or lots.
This is awesome. Things like this restore my faith in humanity….
And that, my friends, defines LOVE and COMMUNITY! I'm honored to know all of ya!
YEAH Toby! That's the TRUTH!
It also defines the church I should think.
Wow – that is AWESOME!!!!!
yes it is! wow, eh? =)
I'm so …. THRILLED to read that…. I concur… THIS IS REAL COMMUNITY, THIS IS REAL CHURCH! THIS is God's hands and feet in MOTION!!!!
I'm SO THRILLED… I WISH I could have been there to see the look on ur face!
Absolutely right, bajanpoet.
This is the original church, only brought together by modern means.
Tam: I'm so thrilled for you and Brent! Thanks for letting us be part of your world.
I love you and Brent so much. More than you know. I feel so blessed to know you and consider it little sacrifice to return the blessing in such a small way. I'm honored to be able to do it and honored that Brian and Jenni asked. This post made my heart happy.
I love you.
thank you so much for being so generous. my heart is still at bursting point.
WOW! You are blessed to have a bed that you can SLEEP in, but even more blessed to have such a great group of friends.
What incredible friend you have. You are loved by many based on the many who contributed to this gift and the many comments on here. You have clearly given much to so many and to say you deserve this bed in return I suspect would not even begin to describe the impact and value you have had on their lives. I love seeing people doing life together in such a beautiful way.
you made me tear.
leaking eyes have been the norm around here lately. good leaks tho.
Made me cry too! What a wonderful group of friends u have!!!! I hope you have many pain free nites Tam!!
I love that all of these people came together and did this wonderful thing for you guys…. what an amazing group… love you guys, and Tam praying it does the trick on your pain. I'm, uh, just not buying the "sleeping" part…
LOL
Sleep Well Beautiful Lady.
Also remember…If he falls asleep on the couch don't wake him
So happy that you were blessed!!!
Wow, I LOVE this!!
So happy that you can now sleep well. You deserve it.
love you.
yep.
i love you, crystal!
Acts 2:42-47
" 42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
yah. enough said….
*completely a mess here*
oh Tam, tears!! You are loved!
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you are so the best part of my family.
love you!
LIKE!
So awesome!
Aww, that is so wonderful!
Totally late to the comment party since I neglected my blog reading for a long while. But I just wanted to say…I have lupus too. I had no clue you had lupus. What a huge blessing to be given the new bed. I so understand the difference that makes. I'm in constant transition (out of work) these days. And one thing I miss the most is having the comfort of my bed. It truly does make a huge difference when it comes to pain and restful sleep. So awesomely awesome that your friends did that for you. What a blessing!