Please welcome today’s special guest, author Christy Barritt! I think you’ll enjoy Christy’s story of how she met her husband. Great advice here for trusting God’s timing and leaning on His wisdom.
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I always like to joke that my husband and I would have never gotten together if our church hadn’t split. The church split was a tragedy, but our relationship was a blessing that came out of it--the one positive in the midst of a lot of ugliness.
Here’s what happened…
Scott had begun attending the church where I grew up while I was 12 hours away at college. When I’d come home for breaks, the college-age and singles would often get together for socials. I knew Scott, a special education teacher and youth leader, from those events. I’d always enjoyed being around him and thought he was funny and handsome.
After graduating, I took a job at a Christian publishing house located in the same city as my college. I remember coming home for the holidays and going to a church Christmas party where I told everyone about the man I’d started dating. He’d flown in his private plane to go on a date with me, then took me to his parents’ home and picked apples for me from their orchard. I’d been ultra impressed and starry-eyed over him. Then Scott said, “Christy, if you move back here, I’ll pick you apples. They’ll be right from the grocery store, but I’ll still pick them for you.” Everyone laughed.
The pilot and I broke up, and not long after, my church split. When I came home for Easter that year, I didn’t see a lot of people whom I normally caught up with during trips back. That afternoon after church, I began calling people I’d missed to see how they were doing. Scott was one of the people. After chatting a few minutes he asked if I’d like to get together to chat. I said sure and we met at an ice cream shop.
It was the first time we’d ever done anything one on one. We talked non-stop. Then we went to a movie. Then we sat in his car and talked until two in the morning, even though I had to leave for Cincinnati at 5 a.m.—three hours later! We just clicked.
We began emailing and he asked if he could come see me over Memorial Day. I said yes, of course. While he visited, I had the bright idea to go to Natural Bridge, Kentucky. I really thought I knew how to get there and declared we didn’t need a map. We got totally lost. When Scott didn’t get upset, I knew he was the one for me. I’m an “enjoy the journey” kind of girl.
Six months later, we became engaged and six months after that, we married. We’ve been married almost eight years now and have a beautiful little boy together.
You know, it’s true what they say: when you know, you know. The timing of when I met Scott was perfect also. My two prior relationships had opened my eyes to what I needed in a mate. I dated one man whom I was physically attracted to but he lacked spiritually. Then I dated missionary who was such a strong Christian man, but I wasn’t attracted to him physically. I realized I needed someone who had both of those qualities. Scott fit the bill. I’m just sorry that it took a church split to make us realize that!
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Suspicious Minds (releasing in May): Rock and roll may never die, but the King is definitely dead . . . again.
In this smart and suspenseful sequel to Hazardous Duty, crime-scene cleaner Gabby St. Claire finds herself stuck doing mold remediation to pay the bills. But her first day on the job, she uncovers an unexpected surprise in the crawlspace of a dilapidated home: Elvis, dead as a doornail and still wearing his blue suede shoes. How could she possibly keep her nose out of a case like this?
The erstwhile Elvis turns out to be Darnell Evans, a down-on-his-luck impersonator whose luck just got a lot worse, and there is no shortage of suspects. When his widow begs her to help, Gabby decides to take on the case of who-killed-the-King. In the meantime her would-be rival, Chad Davis, is turning into one hunka hunka burnin’ love and starting to dish out some serious TLC, which is the last thing Gabby needs right now.Tired of running from God and from her responsibilities, Gabby decides to shape up her life, but when the ersatz Elvis killer catches on to her investigation, will she survive long enough to be able to?
About the author: Christy Barritt is an author, freelance writer and speaker who lives in Virginia. She’s married to her Prince Charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious—but only when she’s not trying to be. Christy’s a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover who’s known for spontaneously bursting into song ,and a road trip aficionado. She’s only won one contest in her life—and her prize was kissing a pig. Needless to say, she doesn’t enter contests anymore. Her current claim to fame is showing off her mother, who looks just like former First Lady Barbara Bush. When Christy’s not working or spending time with her family, she enjoys singing, playing the guitar, and exploring small, unsuspecting towns where people have no idea how accident prone she is. You can find Christy on the Web at these links:
www.christybarritt.com
www.willwrite4food.com
www.myspace.com/christybarritt
www.shoutlife.com/christybarritt
Or email Christy at: cebarritt@yahoo.com
Thanks, Christy! I really enjoyed your real life love story. Your new book sounds terrific--hunka hunka? That caught my eye.
Great job as always, Myra!
Posted by: Carla | February 22, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Hey! Christy baby, how are you????
I can't wait to get my hands on Suspicious Minds. I loved Hazardous Duty.
Gabby can toss out Elvis jokes while running for her life better than anyone. And the whole concept, a crime scene cleaner solving crimes is so sweet...in a murder victim kind of way of course.
Christy is the queen of great concepts.
And the cover ends up being a great match with Hazardous Duty.
I loved your love story, too. And little Eli is such a sweetie. Are you coming to ACFW in Minneapolis by any chance this year?
Posted by: Mary Connealy | February 22, 2008 at 11:27 AM
Christy, I love your story! I'm looking forward to your new book even though it might seem a tad familiar to me.
Posted by: Cara Slaughter | February 22, 2008 at 11:41 AM
I've been to Natural Bridge, KY and can see how you got lost! LOL
I enjoyed your dating and falling in love, Christy. Thanks for sharing.
Missy
Posted by: Missy Tippens | February 22, 2008 at 01:16 PM
Thanks so much for being my guest today, Christy! I look forward to getting to know you better!
Posted by: Myra | February 22, 2008 at 06:10 PM
I didn't get a chance to read Hazardous Duty but I'll be on the lookout for Suspicious Minds because it sounds like a really fun book.
And I love your story. Any guy who doesn't complain about getting lost or try to take over ranks high in my book!
Posted by: PatriciaW | February 26, 2008 at 02:53 PM