AN ANSWER

I wish I could tell you, my faithful blog readers, that I always know the answer.  News flash--I don't.  I always have said that any answer to any problem, concern, or daily life choice is in the B-I-B-L-E.  Do I always find that answer the first time I look?  Uh, duh, no.  Either I don't look hard enough or the Lord wants to teach me the searching technique.

Either way, I was blessed this morning in my early devotion to find a much sought after answer.  One of my little Sunday School class munchkins gave me a devotion book for Christmas that I have really enjoyed.  It always lists about three scriptures of reference for that devotion.  This morning the second scripture came from Exodus.  I mean, really, how often do folks really read Exodus?

I have been searching for some good comforting peace about some surgery I have coming up.  This morning I found some in this scripture.  It was too good to not share.  Exodus.  Imagine.  The scripture is regarding Moses as he seeks.   Exodus 33: 12, 14, 17 reads like this:

"And Moses said unto the Lord, See, though sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me.  Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name: and thou hast also found grace in my sight,

And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name."

Wow.  I love any of that scripture where it talks about grace and the Lord knowing me by name.  Grace.  Comfort.  Peace.

Consider that a while....

JUNE 21

Okay, so it's not "normal" for me to do two posts in one day.  I thought I would not acknowledge this date, June 21, but I just don't have it in me to let it go by without SOMETHING.  The Girl asked me this afternoon if I had forgotten what this day was and I had not, just tried to not mention.  But, oh well, I have to acknowledge.

June 21, 1991 was the day The Girl was diagnosed with Type I diabetes.  Yes, 26 years ago.  26!  In thinking of my earlier post today, I guess The Girl's story is a story worth telling.  And more than that, 26 years of living with a disease for which there is no cure is something to shout about with gratefulness.  Yes, years of tears and fears, but now days of joy and thankfulness.  And yes, still hope that a cure will be found in The Girl's lifetime.

So a shout out LOUD to The Girl for her success for living with this disease.  It's as The Pastor said just this past Sunday, the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.  So a shout out loud for her working to keep a control.  Let those times of not keeping control fall away from the thoughts and let's just celebrate the success!

To The Girl--we are so full of pride for you and all you have become--with or without diabetes.  Yay! 

EVERYBODY'S GOT ONE

Yep, for sure.  Everybody's got one.  Got what, you ask?  A story.  Everybody's got a story.  That story most likely has many chapters of various sorts.  This blog actually tells a few of my stories.  For example,  you may visit some of my chapters in "Prayers and Pianos" (10/15/13), "34 Years" (6/29/13),  "Pride" (3/20/12), and "Revival" (7/5/12).  There are more in this blog, these are just a few.  We all have stories that define us.

I've been going to several funerals lately, one last week and two coming up this week.  At the one last week, one of the vocal selections was a song titled "Thank You".  The song talks about dreaming of heaven and seeing folks there who offer thanks to you for "gifts" you had given to them while on earth.  Now I don't know how heaven is going to work and it really doesn't matter to me as long as I'm there with Jesus, you know?  I will say, though, that this song has always, every time I have heard it, really makes me ponder my own life and I wonder if I have REALLY given to the Lord all the times I should.  Of course the answer is a no.  Do any of us ever really give to the Lord all the times we should?  I find a bit of regret in my own life every time I hear the song while at the same time giving thanks for those who have given so very much to the Lord and to others.

That got me to thinking about my story.  I'm writing MY story every day that I live. Some chapters of my story are pretty, some are painful, some are happy, some are not so much happy.  Some chapters are filled with victories, some filled with defeats.  No matter my story tells, it is mine and I know that life can pour out some rough stuff and tears but I know also that there is joy that comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).  I have learned that though some times are hard, the joy in the journey remains.

I wanted to put out this blog post to offer some food for thought for you, my faithful readers, about your own story.  The grammar might not always be grammatically correct, the spelling might be off a bit, and maybe the handwriting or typing not top notch, but the story, oh the story, is so important.

One of the best sermons I have heard that I totally remember years and years later is one by a former pastor of mine.  His text was "This is MY story" and he proceeded to tell the story of his life--abbreviated of course as no one really wants long, long sermons.  😉 That day and every day I think of it since, I am blessed.   It made me think much about my own story.

One of my favorite gospel songs is "Blessed Assurance" and if you are familiar it goes "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine".  The chorus goes like this:

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

I encourage you, as I will do also, to keep on writing that story.  It needs to be read daily by others and used by you for encouragement.  So yes.....consider writing on......

HOLDING ON

The Grandbaby took her first steps last week.  Yes, two or three steps and that was all.  Yes, she can stand alone, rise from a floor sitting position without help, and even stand while waving her arms....but, no more steps alone.  She is insistent that someone hold her hands while she trots along.   It's is virtually impossible to pry her hands loose from mine.  She holds fast and strong.

A bit of her newfound temper showed itself the other day when The Great Aunt tried to entice her to walk her way alone.  The Grandbaby was having none of that.  She was even in the mindset of getting The Great Aunt's mind off of seeing her walk by giving huge hugs instead.  Oh, how quickly these little ones learn the "art"!

I'm often like The Grandbaby.  I often need hands to hold through the journey of life.  Hands that comfort, hands that guide, hands that just give support, or hands that love.  And just like all of our family is to The Sweet Grandbaby,  the Lord is right there ready to hold on tightly or catch me when I stumble while walking.  He stays THAT close, just like we do to The Grandbaby.

I am preparing for more surgery in a couple of weeks or so and have had quite a problem not dreading it.  Really, does anyone ever look forward to surgery?  I find that the Lord is helping me as I ask Him to by giving me these comforting thoughts of His presence and His control.  How blessed I am that I, like The Grandbaby, will have someone right there walking with me and holding my hand through my journey.  Yes, I know how to walk alone, but like The Grandbaby, I'd much rather hold hands while my feet move.

So I will hold on....you hold tightly, too!

TWO LITTLE WORDS

"What if".  Two little words that are a huge dish of food for thought.  "What if".  Of course my faithful blog readers will know that some life experience has prompted this thought with me.  And that would be the truth.

Last week The Husband and The Brother-in-Law took a fishing trip to Louisiana.  They were gone several days and had huge success fishing.  Here's a picture of only one day's successful catch.

No, I had no huge events while The Husband was away.  (I did say goodbye to my aunt as she moved up to glory before they left and her service was while they were gone.)   They arrived back home Sunday very early afternoon and the vacuum sealing began.  The Husband also brought back some bags of fresh shrimp so yes, we will be eating healthier for a while.  Blessed is the word that comes to mind.  The Husband put the fish in the garage freezer as it is the freezer we have that is oldest, biggest, and emptiest.  (Is emptiest a word?  Guess it is now.)

On Monday I got on my mind that I should make my Chicken Noodle Casserole and freeze it in two different pans for a couple of folks who were having surgery and could use it in the next week or so.  As I age, I'm trying to improve my organizational skills.  What if I became organized?  Wow.  A miracle in the making.  So I made the casseroles, cooled them, and packed them for the freezer.  I headed out toward the garage freezer to put them in and noticed some liquid red strawberry juice on the fish packs.  Insert big red flag here.  It seems the freezer was not freezing properly.  What if I had NOT done that good deed of making the casseroles to freeze?  Can you imagine the LOSS as I would not have known the freezer had become faulty.  My heart sank.  Granted some of the fish was hardening and it was all cold but those old colonoscopy popsicles in the door were mushy and some strawberries were beginning to thaw.  And yes, it was too late to go shopping for a freezer.  You might say why not call a repair man but the freezer was pretty old.  

As many of you know if you read regularly, one of my most used quotes is "No good deed goes unpunished" and I usually prove it's truth.  This time, however, I can say for sure that it's not always true.  Thankfully.

The Husband and I worked diligently to revamp the items in the carport freezer as well as the refrigerator freezer in the house enough to get the fish goods in there and frozen.  What a mess!   But, what if we hadn't found it?

I just get sick thinking of it.  Then I remember that feeling to make those casseroles which allowed me to know about the fault of the freezer and AVOID a loss.  Knowing me, I'm betting you think I think a higher power directed those thoughts?  Of course I do!  😊😊😊😊

I now have a new working cold freezer in the garage at a ridiculously cheap sale price so life is normal again.  Plus I had to do some cleaning out of the old to make room for the new so the freezers are better for the problem as well.

But those two little words....what if...can surely pack a punch.

What if I used every available minute in my day wisely?

What if I ALWAYS knew what I wanted to cook for dinner ahead of time?  (Another miracle that would be.)

What if my daily attitude was always positive?

What if I found the good in folks rather than the bad?  All the time.

What if I worry less?  Uh....

What if I dressed and looked really put together all the time?  I would be boring and uncomfortable.

What if I trusted the Lord more?  My life would be happier.

The list is endless.  And yes, as I type, my mind flies to other thoughts which I think will be more appropriate for other blog posts so I'll hold on to them.  Maybe I can remember them when I'm ready to write again.

So consider....until next time......

HANGING BY A THREAD

I spent yesterday at home.  Always when I have a day at home, I have great expectations for great accomplishments.  I actually felt like I succeeded yesterday.  At 10:15 a.m. I looked at the clock and thought, "Is it not lunchtime yet?"  I had put on a pot of beans for supper, cleaned out the refrigerator, been to my office and back, pondered writing a letter to the county commissioners about the horrid traffic issue they have created in our once-rural area, washed the car (which I had not physically done in about 5 years...that's why God made car washes), cleaned out both fireplace inserts, did three loads of laundry, washed outdoor porch chairs and washed front porch windows and doors.  Uh huh....me.  I did all that by 10:15 a.m.  After that, I took a shower and just enjoyed watching The Grandbaby for a couple of hours while The Girl went to the store.  Holding a sweet sleeping baby is beautiful rest for the weary.

While I was cleaning off the front porch, I noted many spider webs and a small wasp nest that was uninhabited.  I got my broom and intended to knock it down.  After many tries, I was unsuccessful even though I disabled it.  On closer observation, I noted it was hanging by a very small "thread" from the porch ceiling.  I got my camera to do a close up of it and got this picture....

I left it there just as it was but did google later to see how those little wasps make such a strong nest.  All my faithful blog readers will remember I did not score good grades in Science so Google helps.  Google said that wasps get wood from various places to put in their mouth with their saliva and their saliva kinds of gels the wood making it paperish.  (You should google yourself and read the whole thing.)   They find a nesting spot and put that mouth concoction on the spot and it hardens into this STRONG base.  Isn't that amazing?  I mean really.  The wasp is fairly small and it's mouth has to be very small and imagine the effort to make such a strong thread.  If the base is not secured, the nest will fall.  This nest on my porch did NOT fall even with lots of hard sweeping.  Granted by that time, my energy sweeping level had dwindled but I did try.   The picture is a close up....look at that narrow strong thread.

Of course these little natural things get me thinking about my spiritual things.  I hope my base or foundation is strong like these nests are.  I hope that I build with the kind of base that will endure through all kinds of adversities.

I never would have attempted to knock down this nest had wasps been in it.  You and I know how angry wasps can get when disturbed and the painful damage they can do.  That reminds me to be diligent in guarding my heart against danger and to stand firm when the enemy comes.

So with all that said to give you not a Bible lesson, but food for thought, when feel like you are hanging by a thread, be sure your thread is strong!

JUST A LITTLE THING

Last weekend my immediate family all went on various trips and I stayed home alone.  Now don't go feeling all sorry for me.  I was fine and actually fairly excited to have uninterrupted time to do some cleaning that had been needing to be done.  I will admit I had a long list and only marked off about a fourth of it but I stayed busy.  I didn't cook except for making a gluten free pasta salad for myself and a Marie Calendar's teriyaki chicken meal.  Well, I did make myself breakfast but how hard is it to warm some Canadian bacon, pour some egg whites from a carton into a pan, and pull a gluten free bagel out of the freezer and pop in the toaster?   Not very hard.

The Husband actually made the statement before he left that he hoped nothing bad occurred while he was gone.  I do have a reputation for that happening.  One year, the refrigerator died.  I bought him a new one while he was gone as the repair was excessive.  And how can my faithful blog readers forget two or three years ago when I was sequestered in my house because of a dangerous criminal that was in my neighborhood and tracked to my yard?  That was a really bad one and could have turned out wrong.  You may read that in my post of "SAFE" on June 25, 2014.

Anyways, during the time The Husband was away, I realized the trash compactor wouldn't compact when turned on unless I held the right side together.  The compactor is pretty old and we have determined that when it dies, we will just have a trash drawer so I was expecting it's demise while he was gone just because that's usually what happens.

So on Monday morning before The Husband's return on Monday afternoon, I decided to empty the trash bag in the compactor.  I left the clean bag out with a note that there was no bag.  I was going to babysit The Grandbaby and wanted to use the vacuum cleaner on the inside of the structure when I had the drawer pulled out.  The drawer was obviously in distress and very shaky on that right side.  

After I arrived back home, I got the vacuum cleaner and did the best I could.  Those compactors can get dirty fast and furious.  I noticed something in the left track of the drawer roller.  I tried to vacuum it out and it wouldn't come so I reached and pulled and pulled and it came out.  

Uh huh....an empty generic Splenda envelope.  Well lo and behold, I put the new compactor bag in and the compactor closed on the right side beautifully.  That little piece of paper envelope was keeping the track from operating properly.  With it removed, the compactor works exactly as it should and the drawer is straight.  Huh.

I got to thinking....isn't that how it is with life "things".  We allow the tiniest, smallest of things to clog up our track and mess up our joyful times.  I told myself I was going to be more careful of not only the generic Splenda packs but those little thoughts, actions, and traps of confusion that I tend to fall into--thinking I was getting all messed up when all it takes is a little "removal" of that little thing. Nope, it certainly doesn't take a big thing to mess with you.  I need to learn to hit the trash with these little trashy critters.

As I always wind up realizing when I know it already, God is always there to help me clean things up when they need cleaning up.  Believe me, no matter how hard I try, there's always some mess to clean up.  Know what I mean?  😁

And about that trash compactor, I thought had bit the dust....I'm kind of glad she's still in working order.  I would have missed her in my kitchen!  

Until next time...........

ONE FINE CELEBRATION

Okay so I told you birthday week was last week and I had more to come.  I am hoping I will not wear you out with so many pictures but as one wise person said, "A picture is worth a thousand words."  So here's to thousands of words I can save typing by showing pictures.  :)

This past Saturday was a beautiful sunny, windy day.  Thankfully for us older non-sun worshippers, the wind was blowing and there were tarps and tents in place.  Who cares that decorations were blown over and over and over again?  It hindered not the joy of the day.

The Grandbaby enjoyed a morning nap with The Nana so when noon party time and guests arrived, The Grandbaby was ready to learn to party.  And she did learn well, enjoying her party day to the very end.

Official family members and unofficial family members from Georgia and Alabama came to celebrate.  The party theme was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

The smash cake and the party cake were made by the talented cake baker, The Great Aunt.

What you don't see in this picture is the birthday girl's toes in the icing.  The Photographer was too slow to get that shot.

A happy birthday girl...

...with The Great Uncle and The Great Aunt...

...with The Aunt, the only official aunt....

...with The Cousin...

....with the brand new second cousin....

...with "unofficial" Canton and Auburn families....

Grillmasters....

A happy family of three....

The Great-Grandaddy asks God's blessings on the hot dogs and gives thanks for the bounty of non-food blessings....so, so many are they.

Obviously The Gramma Photographer has not taught The Grandbaby to close her eyes during prayer as The Gramma Photographer has not learned that lesson yet either.

While waiting for the main course, The Grandbaby and her family posed for a picture...."hey"....as The Grandbaby sat in her mama's vintage highchair.

Then she tried on her mama's glasses--without being prompted.  How do babies know these things?

While others ate hamburgers and hot dogs, The Grandbaby had a wonderful peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut like a Mickey Mouse.

The Birthday Girl did save room for the main food attraction.

She did little "smashing" with the smash cake but did discover it's wonderful sugary taste.  Yum...

Then came the presents....yes, she sits like this all the time....

She looks like she could be reading....

Her own baby named same as hers....

...and a gift from The Grandaddy and The Nana...

with plenty of willing pushers around.

There was a drum....

...book reading...

...and bubble machines.

At the day's end, there was lots of posing....

Posing makes one sleepy...

Yes, this WAS the day that the Lord made and we were VERY GLAD in it!