Trivia, Porkchops and Applesauce, and Twitter

A week ago our church Lifegroup attended a trivia night at St. Joseph School in Josephville, Missouri to help raise funds for the dance team.

The evening was riddled with questions that stumped, as well as rounds that we aced like ‘famous cars in movies’ and ‘Oscar-winning motion pictures’.  The last round was titled ‘Potpourri’ – a collection of diverse items or subjects.

The final question was fill in the blank – Porkchops and _____________.  The answer, applesauce was provided by friend and tablemate, Jeanne. I quickly scribbled down the answer and raised my hand for the runners to pick up the answer sheet.

A fun night was had by all.  Although we didn’t win, we faired pretty well – 65 out of 100.

The next morning, I received a social media email saying I had a new twitter follower. Guess what I found out? My new friend authored a cookbook titled Porkchops and Applesauce. I thought the coincidence was a little strange, until I opened my refrigerator and realized I had porkchops defrosting for Sunday night dinner!

Coincidence? Maybe….

God Thing?  Definitely.

My intuition told me I needed to connect with this woman. Immediately, I sent her a direct message on twitter and recapped the events from the last 12 hours.

Her name is Cynthia Briggs, and her book, Porkchops and Applesauce, strengthens family values through cooking. And in the scheme of life, I’ve connected with a fellow writer and made a new acquaintance.

Cynthia’s offered to send me her cookbook.  I can’t wait to receive it, and try recipes from the book.

My photo is a from a published restaurant review at McGurk’s Public House.  I would’ve have posted the pics of my porkchops, but they were sooooo good, hubby and I gobbled them up, before we gave it a second thought.

What’s your favorite food to savor with porkchops?

Chance Meeting?

Recently, I attended a local networking group meeting on Thursday.   A year had passed since my first visit to observe the group.

Call it intuition or a gut feeling, but I sensed a palpable reason drawing me to the meeting.

I arrived late and took a seat. I noticed the group had grown.  I was impressed.

Each member commanded the floor and spoke of business referrals.

As the meeting ended, it took on a decidedly personal feel.  One gentlemen offered free beverages at his diner and others talked about local fundraisers.

Although my reason for attending had been to acquire information about the group, network and market myself – I felt a deeper connection to one woman who spoke about her uncle recently diagnosed with an invasive cancer.  She asked if anyone had information on this subject to please talk to her before she left the meeting.

Coincidentally, my cousin Alan was struggling through this same issue with his girlfiend.  Diagnosed a few months ago, she was currently undergoing chemotherapy.

After the meeting, I approached her.  (We’ll call her Sarah).

I introduced myself again, and suggested she get in touch with my cousin.  I remembered Alan’s number was saved on my cell phone.

“I’ll just give him a quick call.”

As I dialed Alan’s number, I silently prayed for solace and comfort for Sarah.

“Hello,” a soothing voice answered.

“Hey Alan, it’s your cousin, Sheree.”

“I thought it might be you.  What’s up?”

I explained my reason for the call, and Alan requested “I put her on the phone.”

Sarah spoke with him for more than twenty minutes, jotting information on her notepad.  During this time, I occupied my mind studying the beautiful paintings, photography and watercolors scattered about the meeting room wall, and examining my new business cards.

Normally, I’m very impatient waiting for someone, but today my patience came from a higher source.

After the conversation, Sarah handed the phone back to me.  I bid Alan goodbye, and thanked him for chatting with her.

With a smile of relief on Sarah’s face, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me.

“Alan said to give you a big hug.”

Sarah admitted her spirits were lifted by her conversation with Alan.

“He shouldn’t be alive,” she said, recounting numerous close calls of losing his life.  “He’s a fighter.  If it wasn’t for his faith, he wouldn’t have made it through.”

After I left the meeting room, I’d realized that my networking today resulted in the best referral I could have ever given – my cousin, Alan.  His words of encouragement allowed Sarah to handle shattering news with calmness and confidence.

And I am certain this connection wasn’t a coincidence.  It came through God’s grace and almighty power.