Hero of the Week: AJ Paris

Years ago, I had a Xanga site. Do you remember those? I attempted a regular feature, Hero of the Week. Let's just say I didn't stick with it, and 2 out of the 5 hero posts were the same person. Oh well!

I've been thinking of adding a Hero of the Week post to this blog. It will feature normal people doing normal things with God's grace. 

Hero of the Week originated at my elementary school, Homewood Elementary. We were the Homewood Heroes (our mascot was a heroic tiger). Each class had a Hero of the Week, and each week's hero had a small bulletin board in the hall that featured photos and/or memorabilia the student selected so other students could get to know him/her better. It was super cool, and I always loved it when it was my turn to be Hero of the Week.

I saw a picture of my cousin, AJ, on Facebook today, and I felt prompted to start my Hero of the Week series. I think she's an excellent first hero.

Here are some things I think are heroic about AJ:

• She loves the Lord and rests in His grace, trusting He will guide her, grow her, and give her everything she needs.
• She loves her husband, Jason, and she supports him at home and in his role as a youth minister.
• She is a wonderful mother, clearly fulfilling her calling by the Lord.
• She is one of the only people I know who is doing what she said in college she wanted to do with her life.
• She isn't ashamed of the fact that some of the earliest plays she wrote were with me on our greatgrandmother's front porch.
• She created a video with me to submit to Oprah. Even though we never mailed it in, it's awesome, and she's awesome for doing that with me.

AJ, thanks for being heroic in your everyday life. Thanks for trusting the Lord and being an example of a godly wife and mom to the rest of us. Thanks for being one of my dearest friends over the last 31 years (hope you don't mind that I just called you out on being 31). I love you!