This is an email I wrote on New Years Eve… yes… a couple months old, but the spirit of it has not changed.

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(January 1st, 2009)
The family came over today, nanna, papaw, uncle john, and aunt fannie. lots of fun. we all sat around the table eating pinto beans, cornbread, and hoppin john… (which nobody knew about it but me, but its a black eyed pea dish) Found out the tradition behind black eyed peas… they were commonly eaten by slaves because they were extremely cheap… so it became a tradition on New Years to eat black eyed peas to represent humility.
anyway… while eating, we reminisced, and laughed about many things that happened this year. it was beautiful being with them. i am so blessed. the sun was setting… a beautiful pink, orange, into purple, and we were laughing.

earlier tonight i was laying in bed… and literally was overcome with emotion… this doesn’t happen to me often. but i started crying… how could our God give us so much grace? so much love? that God would allow us the privilege to come into fellowship with God. I realized that i am i LOVE with God. absolutely. everything in my spirit desires. You would think that I realized this often, but I don’t. Not often enough.
And it was so incredibly refreshing to cry before God. To actually feel something… passion.