At the International Christian Retail Show, my friends at WinePress Publishing kept saying, "Make sure you look for those God moments." We may hear of such things, but it doesn't compare to when it actually happens! I shared part of this with those who followed my adventures at the Show. Here's the full story.

Sunday afternoon Beverly and I attended a reception and dinner for WinePress authors. After the meal, our speaker was Cecil Murphey, an experienced author who guided us rookies in the "what-to-do's" at the Show. But what caught my attention was the mention of his work on encouraging caregivers.

Ciloa resulted in part from years of watching my mother care for my dad who had ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Few understood how to help caregivers back then. On our website, we now have Care for the Caregiver, encouragement intended for all caregivers as well as their families and friends. I thought Mr. Murphey might be a good resource, but with so many crowded around, there wasn't time to speak with him.

Tuesday morning as my book signing approached, I couldn't get Cecil Murphey out of my mind. Beverly and I sat on a bench and talked about how we needed to find a way to meet this guy. Then as we stood to leave, I turned around and was stunned to see him and his co-author Twila Belk just a few feet away looking for a place to rest. I motioned them over and quickly introduced myself.

Being gracious, he asked about my book, but I had something more important to discuss. As I described our site, his face lit up. He assured me he wanted to talk more about and asked where we were from. When I mentioned Lawrenceville, Ga., there was a twinkle in his eye. "Is that close to...uh...Tucker?" I nodded. "I live in Tucker," he laughed. Cecil Murphey lives only 10 miles from my house!

Tuesday afternoon my one-hour book signing turned into an hour and 50 minutes as people continued to come by. Then we grabbed some lunch and headed to Cecil and Twila's book signing. I had no idea what their book was about, but it seemed the polite thing to do. Cecil and Twila happily signed a book for each of us. It's title is...get this...Because You Care, Spiritual Encouragement for Caregivers.

Tuesday evening we had dinner with our friend Janet Eckles, a great author and speaker. She gave me a lot of information on networking and promotion. Then she said that above all, I needed to connect with one particular guy. He's written 128 books, won all kinds of awards, and even had movies made from his books. A very special, caring man, he goes out of his way to help others become better authors. Janet was certain it was very important that I meet him. His name is Cecil Murphey.

Sometimes we go looking for God moments. Sometimes they come looking for us. And maybe that's the lesson here. Certainly we should be alert and ready, but in the end, these precious times are not what we create. They are created by the One who...well...is the Creator. When we truly seek and follow Him, God brings us to a person, place, even an event, and says, "Here's something special from me to you."

Oh, I almost forgot...

Thursday morning we were at last on our way home. It had been an amazing, God-filled 5 days, more so than I could ever have imagined. As I drove along, Beverly picked up Cecil and Twila's new book. "Oh my." She began to read Twila's entry:

"You'll need to see a specialist," Dr. Wright said.

He spoke the words I didn't want to hear. A specialist meant Steve's condition was serious.

"Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis," the physician said as the final of three possible diagnoses.

"You mean Lou Gehrig's disease?" *