I could not be more bored..sitting at local tire store.. waiting to have new tires put on my car.. for which are too expensive; enough for a small vacation.. ugh 😑 so here I sit listening to old men folk talk, speaking in run on sentences whilst coughing and laughing and patting each other on the back. Who says we women are the talkers? It’s so interesting to listen in, they are unaware of my eavesdropping and inside jokes in my own head.

I’m not so sure why it takes so long to carry out this task.. my car has been “up there” for over an hour… really long in my opinion, my adult son can change a tire on the side of a busy interstate in a few short minutes so what’s the hold up? They don’t have huge trucks flying by and they don’t have to squat down, my car is eye level! But still they stand and gawk and talk and smile and I’m assuming deciding exactly how long they will make this old lady sit and wait.

I have already picked out a new refrigerator here in the showroom ( yes they sell appliances also, one stop shop) I have decided upon a side by side with freezer in the bottom.. I’m needing a larger refrigerator space FYI.

It has been one hour and ten minutes to be exact and the only salvation is we do have a huge TV ( for sale btw) and now I have Regis and Kelly.. strike that.. Kelly and Ryan! See I am old! Their chatter on this particular day is only irritating me even more… I need my cozy bed and the ability to drift off back to sleep to watch this program, instead I’m sitting straight up in a hard chair with the smell of tire rubber wafting in the air. It’s almost sickening now and it still doesn’t cancel out the BBQ smell still in my hair from cooking super last nite. I have such a life!

I feel like I’m writing from my bunker in the communist country of tires (and appliances!) I know this is not the worst spot I have ever been in and it will be over soon I know.. if not, somebody call the President to get me out.. and oh my they have a doorbell here that rings LOUD only to make me look every time and now my neck hurts… medic stat!!! I act as if I am the only one who has ever been stuck here, I do feel sure that I am the only one who has been this miserable. Could this be my punishment for impatience? Or for my disdain for chores? I struggle with the inability to escape ever since I had a MRI years ago, even a car wash will cause me panic, so this is just one more exercise to get through while adulting. When did I become an adult? You would think I would be used to it, considering I am old. I’m not and I won’t because in my head I am only twenty four or so… skinny and crazy in love with my blond boyfriend( for which married me and I still adore!)

Okay we are at one and a half hours into this hostage event and it looks like rain and I want to go home and I wouldn’t mind some Bacon! I forgot to eat before this event so I’m sure I will be pale and thin when I’m released! Maybe a nice GOFUNDME account could be started in my honor for my obvious PTSD situation, recovery will be slow I’m sure. Please give my best to all who give as well as send prayers for release by Christmas!

Ohhhh boy I just remember there is a Dollar General Store next door.. ok I’ll go there to wander the aisles maybe.. oops wait my vehicle has been lowered down, there is hope! I wish they would vacuum it out like the oil change place, it’s the little customer service things that make life better, but I won’t hold my breath.

Think of me kindly as I hold the fort.. it’s done!!!

via The Harsh Truth of Motherhood!

This Mothers Day I have felt inspired to share some thoughts about life in fray!
Given that I am the mother of 4 special, beautiful children…actually now grown-ups and now and Mamaw to one precocious little 3 year old, a real life princess….. I feel I have all rights and privileges to be honest…with all due respect to all of them this is The Harsh Truth of Motherhood!

 
Truth 1– God IS with us WE WILL not fail!……WE WILL wash your face and hands, WE WILL watch you walk all the way into the school, WE WILL check you’re your friends to just make sure…WE WILL take you to church and pray continuously for you, WE WILL make sacrifice’s for your well being (and remind you of it when you are older)and WE WILL give you the last piece of pie but mostly WE WILL always love you…every minute of every hour of every day…for the rest of your life!

 
Truth 2-We are a chosen generation!…Every generation of Mothers are given direction from God to protect YOU! It is our mission in life (a sickness some may say!), We are equipped and certified to not let one lock of your hair come to harm, we are all knowing and all seeing and what we don’t see we can sense danger lurking, we are more capable than the Navy Seals …we ARE the boss of you whether you like it or not! We love you NO MATTER WHAT!

 
Truth 3-You are His workmanship!…You are fearfully and wonderfully created, You are never a mistake or in the way; a bother or too much trouble, You are the cutest Pup in the litter and the sweetest baby girl in the world, Every temper tantrum reminds us to ask for grace and realize how God feels. We may not always like what you do or the choices you make.. but we will always love you…..unconditionally forever!

Truth 4-Jesus Saves….Jesus died of you, intercedes for you, waits for you and works all things together for your good. He will catch you when you fall even when us Moms aren’t there to catch you. No one will be more involved with the blessings of your lives than Jesus, He loves deeper and more than even us Moms, He died for you, you are important to Him….He loves you even more than we do.
As Women, we are called to a great mission, we are nurturers and caretakers and helpmates and visionaries; we were the first ones at the tomb of Jesus, He trusted us to tell the men HE WAS ALIVE!
The harsh truth of Motherhood is… we wouldn’t have it any other way!
You need us, we need You…we are here for a purpose,
God is with us…we will not fail!

GOD IS WITH HER SHE WILL NOT FAIL Psalm 46:5

Thank you!

On this Mothers Day I have one question?—What does a Mother really want?
Now, whether you are a Mother by way of birth or adoption, or the Mother who is the best Aunt or Sister who stood in the Gap for those who needed them, all are valuable to us and to God.
So what do we really want?…as Mothers and Women?
Its not the fancy gifts or special dinners….(although don’t stop those, they are great so lets don’t go crazy here!)
But what she really wants to be is …EXTRAORDINARILY, OBVIOUSLY……. GREAT AT THIS MOTHERING THING, the real life, day-to-day-woman-to-woman truth….

She wants to be MORE!
More patient, more calm, more caring…..More Christ-like!
Less hiding our tears and regrets when we just cant make sense of it all, less feeling overwhelmed and anxious that we are not measuring up.
Most of us would give our last piece of chocolate….maybe?….to be able to do it all over again, if we were to be honest…Realizing that most of the drama WE caused because our “precious angels” would not cooperate, was not really what was needed at the time…but in the heat of the battle it was MOMentous!

If you are a woman or know a woman, then you will agree Drama follows! ..now …Hush Men! ….its the 3year olds to the teen years that are the root of the problem!…..Lord help us all!

What we desire is more time to get it more right and less wrong.
More time to be spontaneous, to let the chores go and just play….we really just want them to remember the GOOD!
What every Mother and Woman wants is a truckload of GRACE.
Grace that buries her fears that her faith wasn’t enough….to realize we are always sufficient—-because God always gives us HIS SUFFICIENT GRACE.
We don’t have to fear if we were enough for our children…husbands….parents..or even puppies!…because we all have a FATHER who is there to catch us when we fall.

–All of us are sons or daughters…We all had Mothers
And we honor GOD for the women who gave us life.

–For Mothers brave and strong, compassionate; full of wisdom and grace
We give GOD thanks for you
–For Mothers vulnerable, worried and frustrated…
We encourage and pray for you
–For those who gave birth to their first child this year or their 4th
We celebrate with you
–For those who have lost one of their precious babies…
young or old …..Who have broken hearts……..
We mourn with you
–For those struggling to raise children……thru the snares and pressures of life
We reach out to you
–And for those who are empty nesters….we feel your loss…..
but encourage You in the new life you have….finally….peaceful, quiet, joyful…..shhhhh!..dont tell them you are having such a fun life!

–For all the women who do not have children but help the rest of us to lead and teach and Guide these wee ones…….
We thank you.
–For those Mothers who have felt the disappointment of distance and heart ache of the children who go and never look back…….we sit with you and hold your hand
–For those Moms who are step mothers…figuring it out as you go, we walk with you through these complex paths
–To those who for whatever reason, placed children up for adoption, we commend your selfless heart
And for those Mothers who adopted…..PRAISE GOD YOU WHERE THERE!

And for those of us who hold our Mothers memories…..for Moms who will never know us again as we hold her hand and tell her goodbye and thank her for loving us…….we feel your loss.

And on this day we celebrate our Mothers—don’t forget—we are daughters, sisters and women created in the image of GOD that give not just life…but abundant life. WE are caregivers, teachers, prophets…preachers…and leaders! Women who fight and struggle and pray and believe; who have HOPE and Faith and the courage to face off any demons that would attempt to overtake their families….
THEY ..DON’T ..WANT.. TO.. MESS.. WITH.. US!!!!!!!

For all the Moms and Women in their wide variety and many forms
WE GIVE THANKS AND PRAISE TO GOD
Happy Mothers Day, y’all!

Life has a way of turning out so different than we can ever imagine. Thirty six years ago I would have never thought I would be the woman I am now… back then I met a man who knew everything about me, who loved me unconditionally and gave me a hope. He met me in a far off land and used a gentle servant, a fisherman of sorts to cast a net and I jumped right in.

This fisherman was a Pastor then, my new husbands Pastor, a mystery to me since I had never been around one or actually knew one. He was sorta scary in a way only because I had been taught to respect people who were In leadership. When I heard his testimony I was overwhelmed by the real ness of his life. He was normal like me. That was impressive to a person who struggled with father figures considering I wasn’t in a good father daughter situation, but he was kind to me… and he seemed to pay special attention to my husband. During the few months that we would only go to a Sunday School class then leave (sneak) out the side door, this Pastor was there telling us bye! Not weird I guess but after that time… after we both found our hearts in love with Jesus, I never one time saw him at that door.. greeting people. Coincidence? Nope… it was for us…..the Lord new we needed the guilt! And he also really cared. Bonus!

Then in later years, he took us under his wing, showed us what becoming a fisherman was all about, the sacrifices, the loneliness; as well as the rush when Jesus just shows up! It is a “magnificent obsession”….to steal a old movie title about this very life, and no one lived it in front of us like our Pastor. He was the real deal and through him I was taught the Bible, he was dedicated and anointed.

He preached nearly a year or more (whew!) on the book of Hebrews, to take line by line and break it down so this young Christian can understand it all. A sermon on the book of Revelation is the one that brought me to my knees and accept Jesus; one on Jacob the deceiver pulled me to the altar to receive the precious Holy Spirit. He helped us find our way in ministry, encouraging us, setting us forth and valued our judgement making us leaders, my husband was wise above his years and our Pastor saw it. He prayed for us, and loved us and even when the pressures of ministry took all his time and he had to really listen to the Lord to know when to be where.. he showed up. My first child was an emergency C-section… and he was there… which was scary because that felt like we were in a lot of danger! All of or special times early in our married life he walked with us through them.. he was God’s hand extended to us… an ordinary couple trying to figure out life then eventually called into ministry. He knew what we were in for and he equipped us the best he could, if we weren’t ready it wasn’t his fault.

So today, on this wonderful day of homecoming our beloved Pastor has gained his reward, he fought the good fight, he put his trust in his Lord to take him at the exact time that was his time, he left this world with no regrets, even in death he showed us how to live. It’s been many years since I have seen him, but the last time I did I thanked him for all he did for us, for loving us through our early stages and for being a Pastor of great compassion. He just smiled and said , thanks. He accepted the call to be a fisher of men, as the Apostle Paul did and we were the blessed fish. Thank you to his family for sharing him, no one knows like we do what kind of sacrifice that is. Pastor, you made a difference….you were important… you done good! This lame attempt is a tribute to you. Thank you Sir!

On a side note.. I have never seen anyone eat really HOT (spicy hot!) Mexican food like you.. impressive!

Rest In Peace Hugh T Statum

Maranatha!

Today I woke up from a crazy dream, yes it was ridiculous but it also was so annoying I can’t stop thinking about it. So maybe I can release it and let it go through telling it!

Ok here goes, I was somewhere not sure but like a public place and I see Pat Boone (ridiculous right!) but I go up to him and ask for his autograph (tacky I know but I’m a autograph hound, I once got Bob Hopes… score!) So I was asking him apologizing at the same time and frantically looking for clean paper when this woman runs up and says to Pat Boone…”please Now Man of God come now and pray for my son!” So he picks me up (ok I was like baby size(a dream remember)) then after he was struggling (thanks ….Pat Boone knows I’m fat!lol) I said ..I can walk, then we are at a Funeral Home. Then we sit at a table… quietly!

The parents were discussing the sons arrangements while the sick son sat there as well as Pat Boone and me! Soooo I jump up and loudly say…HEY!….”what are you doing?..you ask the Man of God to come and pray yet you continue to talk death! Don’t you know that he is sitting here wasting his time and the power of God can heal your son!!!!” They just stared.

I was angry and loud and saying everything that my preacherman husband has ever said and taught me which is the Word of God…yet I’m not a preacher… I don’t do that…but boy oh boy it got all over me! So I had to step in! That boy sick, sad and they just continue on like it’s just what you do.

Now I know that some are healed here and some in heaven and I know that faith is hard but why take the first step then stop? This is the time when we at least try… we take the step toward the altar but then just leave still carrying the baggage. I’m as guilty as the next one. But I believe and will believe till I am gone that my Lord wants freedom for me and mine.

Then… I woke up.. ugh dreams are so annoying! But I realized… my preacherman does this Sunday and Wednesday over and over and telling us how to live, to believe and we sit there and soak it up and say “wow that man can preach” and it stays there. We are given the opportunity to be partakers of the spoil if we just would be, He shares that with us if we would take it boldly and walk in the victory of Jesus suffering. What are we so scared of… we are worthy not because of us but because of Him!

Yes Yes Yes Lord! Help me to walk in the power and boldness of your Holy Spirit…. and give Pat Boone a shout out… I don’t know where he came from, it musta been the pizza last nite!

Walk in Power y’all!

There are many normal days that come and go with little or no earth shattering events. Day after day the world turns and we very rarely even notice who we pass by. We are eighteen days into a new year, 2018 is wide open and yet today I am confronted with life and death within hours of each other.

The book of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 tells us ….

To every thing there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time of war, and a time of peace.

I am especially impressed today concerning…A time to be born, a time to die. Today I visited a beautiful baby girl that was born this morning then tonight I visited a saint of God, a follower of Christ, a beautiful woman who lived a good long life who now has received her reward. The beginning of one life and the “ending” of another seems profound to my inquisitive mind.

I am not in any way questioning God, I get the process, each of us is given one life to live but it seems unusual when this “swap” occurs within hours of each other. It makes me wonder if it’s not a sort of swap out….it would make sense in my feeble logic. I do think the Lord has a system, he knows what’s going on at any given time. He’s tricky that way… like how your Mom always knows what you did before you tell her… God and our Mom are on the same wave length, so aggravating!… until you get to be the Mom.. then it’s fun!

Life is amazing, new babies give us hope for a future but so does the death of a follower of Christ, the future is greater than any world we could ever imagine and the profound vision of that future can be seen in the face of those newborn babies…..So much promise of a long life. God is more than we can imagine and it is an honor to be trusted with helping with both births and deaths. After having my own brood of four, overwhelmed with the blessing and pressure to be a good mother… or at least not kill them on accident, it wasn’t until my granddaughter was born and I was up close and personal to the blessed event, did I comprehend the magic of it all. That passage to life and the passage from death to new life are equally astonishing. The latter I haven’t experienced as of yet obvious by my typing…but the face of the ones that have passed are always peaceful.

Recently, Kathie Lee Gifford wrote a song about Jesus that is about her husband Frank Gifford. She noted that when he passed he was looking up as if he saw the Lord coming for him, she said he seemed happy looking up toward heaven. When I heard her story I was touched then the next Sunday my preacherman preached about the martyr Stephen and when he was stoned to death he was looking up toward heaven…..

Acts 7:54-60 (NKJV)

54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

I nearly fell out of my pew!!Kathie Lee was right….it was real the way she felt Frank looked! The song she wrote was beautiful and it is comforting knowing that heaven is something to look forward to, unlike those sweet babies who have to squirm and squeeze through that impossible pathway to life.. then they get prodded and bathed and swaddled(well that’s fun) and shots and other horrible wallowing just to survive this thing called life!

We serve a mighty God and He is there for the whole thing, from life to death and all the cool stuff in between, there are many beginnings and endings and I figure as long as I do all I can to help a few people along the way then maybe I can please God.

Before then there will be a lot of time to dance and mourn and plant; a time to keep silent and a time to speak ( I struggle with those two!) Anyhow I look forward to what comes next and always looking up! Maranatha!

The clock has ticked to the great day of thankfulness…I, like many others have big plans, sleepy eyes and thoughts of our families enjoying a spectacular meal and maybe a football game. The day will be chock full of turkey and dressing, which is my particular favorite, as well as pumpkin pie, but during this time of plenty my memories of childhood dinners and boy cousins tackling each other in the front yard are what give me joy. These memories are the ones that help create new ones with my own kids, new memories that they will live on through their kids. Memories also can be sad, the last time my Mom knew me, at my house for Thanksgiving, the last time we went to my Aunt Nancy’s house for the day, my cousins from far away show up and I just can’t get enough hugs and talking about the old days. Memories are good, they are necessary. Without memories we lose the heart and soul of our lives, it’s how we maneuver this life, a guide to succeed in not going down wrong roads.

Thankfulness is a learned response, my Moms secret recipe chocolate pie made me thankful, her chicken and dumplings made me thankful, really anything she cooked with the exception of Salmon patties made me thankful! So now since all I have of her are memories, they are evermore sweeter than before. Being thankful for our lives and the people who have shaped us is the first step in being grateful and being grateful is our path to acknowledge that there is a bigger thing going on. Realizing that it’s not just all about us and in my heart it’s all about Him, the one who remembered me enough to snag me from the darkness of this world.

To be thankful is easy.. all I have to do is think back and remember the one who died for me…then I can remember my mom and my daddy; my brother and two sisters and my sweet preacherman husband and our four kids plus one little gidget girl that reminds me to give thanks every minute not just today!

Today is a good day, I’m already sorry for all I will eat but not that sorry to skip it. It is my favorite meal good grief! Thank you Pilgrims and Native Americans for having that dinner, you paved the way. That was a good thing…I am thankful to be an American.

I have written many times of my love for fall…it is my favorite season. I think I love it so much is because it is a time of year to slip on a sweater and start wearing socks. I am a flip-flop girl as a rule and I wait till the last possible second to switch to “real” shoes but when it’s time I am ready for it. The comfort of cozy attire is one of those memory sensors that set off my need for cooking and gathering my family around. Nights spent playing games and cards, eating great comfort food and laughing.

This next few months are the best of times, even though it is actually the dying process for all of nature, dying meaning hibernation and not actual death. The splendor of the world during fall, stirs up the artist inside me, the colors and the smells; I wish the world smelled like cinnamon and apples every day. The next best thing is lots and lots of candles which bring a cozy warmth and just waiting for the temps to fall below 80!…. gotta love the South!

Sweater weather, walking in the leaves ( I do go outdoors to get the mail ya know) the smell of fires burning are the calling cards of fall which welcome …drum roll…..turkey and dressing and really is that not the goal? It is for me at least… it is one of my top 3 meals; 1 being lobster and 2 being bacon, because you just can’t beat those. If I’m ever on death row those will be my meals of choice before they “off” me! (Don’t forget the drawn butter… yum)

The next best season is Christmas for which needs no description..it’s fun and hectic and a lame celebration for the birth of the savior of the world!… but it is what it is…. my babies come home, the world is still but just for a moment and we know who is the reason we have life. Then just as quick, it’s over and the new year starts with hope and promise and the dreaded winter is upon us. I have no words.

This is not my favorite time, I broke up with winter long ago…about the time I grew up and had to drive to work in snow, totally puts a downer on such a magical time of year. Adulthood does that to ya, takes a perfectly wonderful time and squishes and conforms it to “fit” into the box of blocking time… tick tick tick tock! Bitter? Nooooooo just realizing that the struggles of life are just like the seasons…. but then comes spring!

Ahhh sweet refreshing spring, we look forward to seeing you in 6 months or so. Wake me up when it gets here!