Adventures In Babysitting!!!!

I am sitting here in the quiet this morning, sipping my cup of coffee, and thinking about kids! I know some of your would say, why kids that early in the morning, and alone time? Well, day before yesterday 2 beautiful young ladies came to have lunch with me who have been part of my life for almost 20 years now. Brittanie, and Lauren, sisters, only a year apart in age. To see them all grown up, and to think back to the first time I saw Brittanie I realize the big bright smile she had has not changed, as she was only 9 months old when she crawled into my life. Lauren was born 9 months later, and thus began the adventures with these 2 wonderful young ladies. My adventures do not start with them, but since they are still part of my life, I have to begin writing about babysitting as we called it with them. I will say this, if I could have had 2 babies who were as sweet, and good natured as they were, I think I would still be babysitting. I don't remember either of them really crying, they were happy babies, just as they are happy young women now. I do know the bond with them grew over the years. I had the honor to keep them while their Mom and Dad worked 5 days a week until they started to school. Then in the summers they stayed with me, and even as they grew up into teenagers they would come over and help me in the summer some days. You know I can't remember ever single thing about the kids I kept, but I am hoping to recall some of the stories that make me still smile today, and some that make me cry when I think of them. I am so honored to be loved still today by these beautiful, sweet girls. To see them drive up in their own car, just to see me, wow, I can get all teared up thinking of how blessed I am to have them in my life. My adventures in babysitting started many years before these 2 girls were born, it actually started when Toby, my youngest was just a few months old. We needed to be a two income family as most of the families in our area did, so instead of seeing our kids pulled away from home we decided that keeping kids in our home would be the thing for me to do. I had kept kids when I was in Jr. High School, right on up through High School. I love children, always have and always will! As I begin to write this, I realize that this will not be a one time entry here, it will take a long, long time to tell as many adventures as I can remember. Because I was blessed to have kids be part of my life, well not just my own, but other peoples for over twenty two years. Some people thought I was insane, I just knew I loved them, and wanted to also be where I thought I should be, and that was at home with my two boys. It started out with a friend of mines two kids. At the time Sandra and William both worked in the cotton mill and worked what we called the swing shift, which meant I keep the kids at different times of the day, plus different days of the week. In fact they spent many nights in our home. I laugh when I think back to getting paid fifty cents an hour for babysitting, and I was actually making good money back then. Danielle was actually born five days before my Scotty. When you put Danielle, the head strong child she was, and still is with two of her own, together with Scotty who was as mischievous as any child could ever be, you never knew what they would do. They played for hours, then they fought for hours. Toby, and Shawn were very near in age also. I can see those two little boys playing and smiling. Every time you ask Shawn what he wanted to eat he would quickly tell you corn, but he said it like connn! He had a big bright smile, and such big blue eyes, and the prettiest blonde hair, totally opposite of my Toby. Toby had big brown eyes, and dark, dark hair, with a few freckles across his nose. I remember them pretending for one of them to be a little dog, and the other would have this little leash that they placed in their little hands, running through the house smiling and pretending to bark. I also remember one special Christmas with the kids when we had them on a Saturday and decided to take them to the Christmas Parade in Quitman. They were good kids, and all stood there waving and happy. They were all so excited to see Santa Claus at the end of the parade. Well, when we got back into the car to head home little Shawn, who was maybe three at the time, looked at me and David, and ask, " Why Santa Claus not throw no candy for?" I can still hear the way he said that today. We were trying to explain to him why we thought, and that we would get some candy at home, but laughing so hard we could not talk. He looked at both of us with real concern over Santa not doing this. We stopped got him some candy connn, as he would call it, on the way home, and still laugh today when we see him all grown up about that day. I will continue my adventures another day, but now I have to start getting my day ready for Thanksgiving with family. This has made me really smile this morning, remembering! I thank God for my memory and hope to write all my stories of twenty two years. God bless all today!

Missing My Mommy And Daddy!

For some reason I am sitting here really missing my parents this Thanksgiving. Not that I don't always miss them, but this year I would love to go home again. The house is not there anymore, and even if it was without Mommy and Daddy it would not be home. David has lost his Dad, but his Mom is still here, and I thank God for that. She is always there for me, and I really appreciate that. I have a good Step-Mom too, but that is not like having my parents. I am 55 in December, but sometimes I feel like I am that little girl wanting to hurry home. You know when you had a bad day at school, or just a bad day anywhere. I could always get off the bus in the afternoons, and Daddy was waiting to talk about my day. Mommy worked in the evenings so she was there in the mornings to do laundry, cook, and sew for me and herself. Even after I was married they both were always there to hear about my day. When we lived in Stonewall and Toby was little, Daddy came over ever morning to bring him a biscuit and sausage that Mommy would send him. Then in the afternoons when Scotty w0uld come home from school they usually came over for about an hour. At that time David was working the 2nd shift in the cotton mill. M0mmy got sick, and didn't work much longer after Toby was born. She didn't get out as much either, but when she did, it was to my house to talk and spend time with my boys. Mommy left us at only 64 years old. Even though it has been a long time, I can smell Mommy's dressing, and pecan pies baking. Wow, I miss going home! I do not think it matters how old you are, or how long a parent has been gone to Heaven you miss that bond, that time together, that person you could talk to about anything who loved you no matter what. Daddy has been gone almost 2 years now. I want to call him everyday. I always talked to him 2 times a day. First thing in the mornings when I got up, and then usually right after lunch, and some days even more. Daddy was home bound for almost the last 2 years of his life. I remember the last Christmas before he died in Feb. He came to my house, but could not walk to the car without having to sit down to catch his breathe. He almost fell leaving that day, and I knew that would be the last time he came to see me. I didn't go see Daddy like I wish I had, even though we talked everyday as I said. I wish I could go back and spend more time just sitting and talking to him. Life goes on, and I am so blessed as I have said so many times with my loving husband, sons, and my daughter-in-law, along with the most wonderful 3 granddaughters in the world. We will spend tomorrow with David's family at the camp house we have been going to for many, many years. Our family is blessed we have not lost a single family member this past year, and there are many new additions too. There are some who are going through divorce including one of mine, and that is hard for us, but still we are so blessed with a loving family. The loss of David's Dad was very hard last Thanksgiving, and we will miss him this year too. We have been blessed with guys who are back from the war, and we owe them a lot. The only other family member that David's family has lost was Dee. She was very young in her 30's. She fell and hit her head, and triggered the gene that causing Lou G. Disease. This was very hard for all the family, and so very sad. He daughter is all grown up now, and such a reflection of the wonderful person Dee was. I look forward every year to spending time with her. Well, as I end this and get some sleep, I will enjoy my Thanksgiving with so much Thanks to God for everything in my life. He has truly blessed me this past year. I hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow, and if you are lucky and have your parents, hug them so tight, telling them how much you love them and are thankful for them still being part of your life.

Spending A Day Alone!

Yesterday morning when I got ready to head to Jackson I realized Keely was not able to go with me after all. I was not excited about going by myself at first, but my day turned out to be so wonderful. You know I went to the Dr. first, and had a good report there, and when someone is with me I am always worrying if they are tired of waiting for me. That was not something I had to do yesterday. I was totally relaxed through out the entire visit there. When I left there I had to run over to North Park and exchange something for Toby. Here again I was not pressured to satisfy anyone but me. I think for so long I can not enjoy myself when others go with me because I am always concerned about people waiting for me. After I left there I headed over to Flowood to eat at my favorite place Logan's Steak House. I meet a very nice lady there, and we share a bond of being Christian friends. I enjoyed eating at my pace and spending some time talking with Bev. I can not get over how much more relaxed I can be. You know I am not a person who likes to be alone. I love people, love to go shopping with someone, but I actually had the most relaxing day. I shopped where I wanted to, and took as long as I wanted. I drove home thinking wow, what a day! You know sometimes being alone is not bad at all. Time to think and only do the things I like to do. I will do that more often!

This Cold!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRR

It has been over a week and I can not seem to shake this cold. I had the shot, then I have taken the antibiotic, but still I feel kinda rough. I know by now I have blown out much of my brains, or so it seems! I stayed in the bed most of the day again, hoping to feel better by tomorrow. I have to make a trip to Jackson, and Keely is going with me. We thought we would do some shopping, or at least looking, then head to Logan's for lunch. I meet a very nice lady who works there, and she is a Christian too. It is amazing to sit and talk to her about God. I hated not going to church today, but I am so enjoying the Bible Study I am doing which I got at the Extraordinary Woman's conference. It is about discovering God's Dream for my life. I know I am 54 years old, and will soon be 55, but I feel like God has so much for me in the next years. I wasted a few years of my life doing things I should not have done, and talking to people I should not have talked to. The only thing I can do now is allow God to use me, stop running and allow him to use me where he needs me. I am praying that he will lead me right to the place he needs me. Which I know he will, he is an on time God, and his plans for me and you are always perfect. I have worked with kids or I did for over 22 years. In fact a couple of the girls I kept from the time they were born until they started to school are coming down to see me Tuesday. They will never know how much that means to me, to have there love for such a long time, and they are both in college now. I had the chance to laugh, cry, and love hundreds of kids in that time. Kids will always be part of my life, my 3 granddaughters are filling that void right now, and I pray that God will always keep them close to me. I worked with youth of a couple of years and taught a teen girls Sunday School class. I do not know if God is going to send me to work them again or maybe kids again. Either will be good, or you know any place he sends me will be amazing. To live the dream God has for my life, I only need a willing heart. That is what I am praying about, and why I am so ready to get rid of this cold. I know it is holding me back, but I will remember that God's timing is always right on time. I have been watching Christmas shows all day. I love Christmas, all the things about it. I love the decorating, the lights, the gifts, and laughter, and most of all I love the celebration of Jesus birth. I am going to get all my Christmas things out this week, and I want to put my beautiful Nativity in a place that all will focus on that. It is so important to me as a Grandmother to show my kids the importance of his birth, and that we must never forget to read our Bible and worship him first of all at Christmas time. God I pray you will show me just what to do to make this Christmas extra special for my family, with Jesus at the center of it all. I will pray that this cold is much better in the morning, and Keely and I will have an awesome day together. I want to spend some special time with her. She takes 3 shots a week for her Rheumatoid Arthritis. I pray that God will take care of her, and heal her body in a special way. I know that God has a purpose for everything in our life, including her having this. His plans for us are God, and I know he will use this, and her in a great way. I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I pray you take the time to look at all the blessings God has given you this past year. May your coming year be filled with God's blessings and his amazing love. Big hugsssssssss for all!!

Funny Dog Story!

I am sure most of you know what it is like to have a dog get into the garbage. The big thing to prevent this when the kids were small was to make sure they had closed the gate to the back yard. Most of us, well I would say all of us have forgotten to close that gate at one time or another. I know for some reason we had a lot more bags of garbage that night, and that could be from the fact we forgot to put it out on the day the truck came by. We lived within the city limits of Stonewall, but as far as dogs, they didn't know they were in the city limits, and were not suppose to be running around with a lease. In fact here in Small Town Mississippi I really don't think that is a law there. David and I, and the boys had settled in our beds for a good night sleep, which started off like that, but quickly changed into quite an adventure in the back yard. First of all there were quite a few dogs back there having fun tearing into the garbage looking for any bits of food left for them. If they had realized they were at our house they would have known there was nothing left! We opened the back door and began to yell at all the dogs which took off running through, yes that open gate. In the back by the fence we kept seeing something popping up from behind the monkey grass. Now this monkey grass was not normal height. It was at least 2 ft. tall. We turned the light on, and what we saw was quite amazing, there was a vanilla wafer box popping up from in the monkey grass. It would pop up over there, and then over here, and then back again. Now you may be wondering just how that vanilla wafer box was running around popping up in the monkey grass. Well it was actually stuck on the head of a dog. He could not get it off, and was quite upset running around. We could not help but stand there and laugh each time the box popped up. David being the kind soul he is knew he must come to this dog rescue, even though he and his little friends had made one big mess in our backyard. The next scene is one I will never forget, there is the dog with the vanilla wafer box stuck on his head running frantically through the monkey grass, and David in his underwear in pursuit. The little dog was quick and upset for sure, so he was not about to stand still for David to take the box off. So for what seemed like minutes, and in fact I am sure it was quite a few, David chased the vanilla wafer box head dog until he finally caught up with him, and grabbed the box off his head. As soon as the little dog got his bearings he first snapped at David which sent him running towards the house with that vanilla wafer box in hand. The little dog found his way to the gate, and David found his way to the gate to close it. By then we were all laughing so hard that I was hoping I would not wet my pants!! We knew the mess we had to clean up the next morning, but we would dream now of vanilla wafer box headed dogs for many nights to come. It is nice to have adventures even in the middle of the night with your family. These are the memories to cherish, even though I think David has a fear of vanilla wafer boxes now!

Its Cold In Mississippi!!!

Brrrrrrrr, cold in small town Mississippi. I do not really mind the cold, because I have this wonderful warm home to be in. I have my fireplace going, which makes it extra warm. I love to sit here and watch the flames dancing like they are trying to tell me something. I am afraid of fire, but love to watch it. I wonder if that is what every person thinks? The warmth that that fire puts out is so comforting, but in one split second if you touch it, it can be quite harming. In fact it can be so harmful it leaves a lifetime of scars. I think about the elderly people today who may only have a little gas heater to keep them warm on this cold Mississippi nights. I pray someone is checking on them! God keeps the little birds safe during this time,and all the other little creatures in the woods. It is amazing to me how he can keep a little bird from freezing when temperatures fall down into the low 20's. That is just it, you know. Our God is amazing, totally. His love is for all creation, and when I think about that, I realize how we must be careful to respect and take care of our beautiful world he gave us. Every time I write it comes to Jesus, you know why? It is because everything about me, and you is Jesus. Everything!!! I pray that all of you stay warm on these cold Mississippi nights and days, and I pray that the warmth in your heart is what I feel in mine, that is the love of Jesus.

Thanksgiving Time Again!!

It is such a joy to me to sit and think about the past year and all the blessings that God has given me. My family are still all here, we have not lost a single member this year. Of course thinking about that makes me think about losing my Dad a few years ago. Even though Mom has been gone a long, long time, sometimes it seems very new. I miss them both very much, but wow what thanks I give to God for the Christian parents I had. I do not take for granted the wonderful home I had to grow up in for sure. My health is better than it has been in many years now. Even though I did loss the use of my right foot back in Feb. of this year, I have a brace on my shoe and I am able to walk and do more than I did for the better part of over 10 years now. I just passed my 2 year anniversary since I had the Gastric By-Pass. I have now lost 205 lbs. I look back and it is totally a new life that God has given me. I praise him for the success of the surgery, because I know it was his strength that has taken me this far. I also know without his strength I would gain weight, and I am praying for his guidance each day in this. In everything give thanks to God, that is what the Bible tells us. It can be kinda hard at times, because some things have gone on in my family that are tough this past year. I do know that with the things that are not so good, God is at work, and all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord. We will be fine, because God is in control, and I will always be thankful he is. I sure can not handle these things or fix them. None of my family has done without anything they have needed this past year. That is a blessing from God, and I give him thanks for that. In all of this, the most important thing I have to be thankful for is my Lord Jesus, my Saviour. I really love this personal relationship I have with him, and I love the growing I am doing through his word the Bible, and prayer time. In all the turmoil in my family, I feel closer to Jesus than I have in a very long time. That is the joy in my Thanksgiving. The joy is Jesus!! I do not want to close without thanking God for my family. David my husband who works so hard for me, and loves me so much. For Scotty, my oldest son, who is always here to fix things for me, and takes such good care of his wife Chere, Keely his oldest, and Maggie. I am thankful for Toby, who has been through so much this year. He keeps his faith in God, and knows God has bigger, and better plans for this life. He is a wonderful father to Aubrie his little girl, and I am so thankful for how both of my boys are as Fathers. In all of this Jesus has been there for me and my family, it is an amazing love he gives to all of us. Thank you Jesus!!

How Things Can Change Overnight!

I had the best day yesterday! I had taken a shot for my cold, and was feeling so much better yesterday. When I woke up this morning I felt horrible, and have had a really bad day. I hurt all over, I am so stopped up all over again. I am not sure if I should go back to the Dr. or what. I am taking the meds he gave me, and hopefully in the morning it will all be better. You know I hate to complain, but when you don't have anyone to talk to, I am glad this blog is here for me to unload upon. I like to let David know if I am not going to cook, because then he has the opportunity to get himself something before he heads home to the country. I can tell in his voice how much he is either angry or just agravited that I do not have his supper cooked. I wonder at times if that is all I am good for, you know to just have the food prepared. When he works all day I know he is tired and needs his meal, and not very often does he have to worry about what to eat when he gets home, but today is one of those days when I feel horrible and don't even care if I eat anything. Well, this is what I needed to do, that is vent about not cooking. I think I am rendered with guilt for not cooking, and why is that? Am I not allowed to be sick? I know life has been turned upside down, and I am not able to get the things done I need to. Now this cold has hit, or whatever it is, and then there is money problems as well. I know David is as overwhelmed as I am, and for that it bothers me. I love him, and care so much, I do not like for him to be upset. Help me Lord to deal with the guilt and being sick, Help to realize I do not have to please everyone all the time. That is the hardest thing for me! If I do not keep everyone happy, then what??? Well, I am off to bed, I feel horrible, and I have let my feelings out. At least I can do that right, maybe!

What A Great Day!!

My day started out very early this morning by picking up Aubrie at 7:30 and heading to the Cracker Barrel for our weekly breakfast outing. She loves to rock in the chairs even though today it was too cold for that. We just said hi to the rocking chairs, which made me laugh and headed off to the grocery store. There she made friends with everyone she meet, as she does every where we go. We went to Winn Dixie to get some pound cakes for the benefit they were having for the little girl here in Enterprise who has leukemia. We dropped them off at the Bridge Street Grill and visiting Chere where she is working, at the Hairport. I am very proud of her, she loves being a hair dresser and is doing a wonderful job. Everyone is working hard there to do Candace's clients. She is the Mother of Macie the little girl who is sick. I am truly impressed with our little community because they came together and have raised over $10,000.o0 for her. God is so good, and with all the prayers for Macie I know she will be fine. It breaks my heart to know this little girl will have to go through all of this, she is only 5 years old, but God will take care of her. After leaving the Hairport we headed to the elementary school for Maggie's program for Grandparents day. They were so cute singing so many Thanksgiving songs. We all went and had lunch with the kids together, which Aubrie loves to go to school with Maggie. I took Maggie and Riley, her little cousin who calls me Mamaw Jeffery, and headed to the Dollar General for our annual fun time of buying a few toys for their treat. They are so adorable running around looking for things. After that we came home where they spent some time opening their things, and playing. We got Aubrie down for a little nap, and when we got her up we headed to the Citizens National Bank where Toby works for the ceremony starting the Christmas season and the Salvation Angel tree. The program was very good, with children singing Christmas caroles, and verses being read from the Bible. This year there are 1300 families who have qualified for help. My Grandchildren and I are going to choose our Angel from the tree next week. I want them to understand there are children who do not have the Christmas they do. We who have so much take it all for granted, our meals, a warm house to sleep in, warm clothes to wear, and even the hugs we get from family. I want us to realize how blessed we are, and pray for these families along with helping some child have a better Christmas. You know this day was very busy, but rewarding. No one can take away my memories of this day. No one can take away the joy I felt when my little 21 month old Aubrie told the people at the Cracker Barrel about baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. No one can take away how proud I was of Maggie singing her little heart out for me today. I missed Keely, my oldest today, she did not get to spend time with me today. I am hoping to have some time with her this weekend or first of the week. She just turned 12 and has Rheumatoid Arthritis. She has been such a brave girl, and my heart is broken for her, but you know I have faith in my Jesus, he has told me to totally trust him in everything, and I love the peace I feel from trusting him completely. I hope I do not ever allow the devil to steal my joy and peace again, even though he is constantly trying. I am resisting him,only through strength which comes from my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I thank him for that strength, and praise him for being the Alpha, and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is love, that is the best way to even think about my Jesus. I pray all who read knows this peace, and the LOVE of Jesus!!

God Is All You Need (copied) wanted to share this with you!

God Is All You Need

“My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 MSG
Ever try to divide your time and attention evenly and fairly among family, friends, deadlines, expectations, work demands and church obligations? Life gets difficult real fast. But you can manage it, and you can be set apart by understanding this one principle: God is enough. Understand it. And apply it to your life and you suddenly move from the mundane to the unimaginable and from the uncertain to the certain. You don’t blend in anymore because you now live differently. It’s no longer about you.
When things are falling apart around you, God is enough. When illness invades your life or that of a loved one, God is enough. When you feel you’ve lost your way, God is enough. When life is out of control, God is enough.
Focusing on God’s sufficiency is the most important step toward capturing God’s dream for you. Remember, the journey isn’t about capturing the dream; the journey is about knowing the God who placed the dream in you to begin with. If you focus on the dream and not God, your focus is misplaced and you’ll get lost and stumble. But if you focus on God first, He will provide what you need to grasp the dream
Know that God loves you and that He is enough to see you through. God has always been changing the world, one woman at a time.

God's Timing!

I have been thinking about God's timing a lot this past week and weekend. When I allow my faith in him to grow, and see how my prayers are being answered, I realized how he has always been right on time with everything in my life. Mona sings a song at church that I love to hear, it talks about when he raised Lazarus from the grave, and that when God is 3 days late, he is still an on time God. How many times have I and you thought I guess he is not going to answer my prayer, when he does and you realize it is the perfect time for this? I remember praying for 7 years when Scotty was in Elementary school thinking when will we know why school is so hard for him, and wondering can my child just be that hard headed? When we finally got the school to recognize that he had Attention Deficient Disorder with Distractability, he was in the 7th grade. We had fought with the school system for years, they were saying he just doesn't care, he is not trying. We kept praying and when God answered our prayer, it was when there was someone in the school system who actually cared and was willing to give him the help he needed. He graduated, and even went to college for a while. He is now a driller trainee with Rowan oil. Scotty was old enough to learn to adapt when he was in the 7th grade, and God has led him to where he is today. I remember another time we needed $100.00 for me to have a test I needed. We did not know how we would get it, but we prayed. The day before I was to go for the test, this precious lady, Bess Ann, knocked on our door. She said God told her to come by and bring this to us that morning. Well, when we opened the card, there was a $100.00 check in it. Now who says my God is not right on time? God has always know Toby would go through what he is experiencing, when he sent the people with the real estate lady to look at the house he needed to get sold. They were not even in the area to see his house, but God lead them to it. They wanted it right away. Toby knew the amount it needed to appraise for, and with the market like it is he was concerned, but we all prayed. It came back right where it needed to be, and they will close on the house Thursday. As I had stated in another writing we lost our little Buster Saturday night. Well, we have a very spoiled Basset Hound outside who has always had Buster to be with. God knew that dog would be miserable, and he did not take Buster until Toby had moved his dog Nick here to keep Bo company. Now that is my God with his perfect timing for our life in even the most simple ways. You know I could sit here and write about time after time that God answered our prayers right on time. Once after I had an accident and was unable to work, we had not payed any of our bills that month and was praying for God to show us a way. David had come home for lunch and had started back when he came right back. This man had backed out and something in his truck had scraped our van all the way down one side. He followed the man to his insurance company, the agent there looked at the van, and wrote David a check that day for over a $1000.00. Now again who says my God does not answer prayers right on time? We were able to pay all our bills for that month. Who cared about a scratch down the van that was not even easy to see, God had provided a way for us. I thank him for all his timing in my life. I want to take the time to realize that he will do as the Bible says, he has plans for me, and you, and they are good. He will allow those plans to happen at the right time, as long as we have faith in him. I pray that all who read this will think about God's timing in their life, and just know if you have not had the answer to your prayer, keep praying, God has the timing perfect!

He Is Gone Now!!

Well, Buster died last night. He would cry every time he tried to move, so David and I knew we must let him go. He lie on the end of our bed, knowing we were there for him until he took his last little breath. I know in my heart it was time, and was able to let him go very easy. David had a much harder time than me, but he always does. Plus he had to be the one to bury the little guy. He was 133 by dog years, now I know he was really tired. Nineteen years is a long time to have a little dog as part of your family, so this was really hard, and going to continue to be. I have missed his little bark for years now, even though he did get one out ever now and then. I take this time to say goodbye to my little one, and my little buddy. I thank you for the times you made me laugh, times you protected me in your way. I thank you for your love, and I pray you are running and playing with your buddy Doogie again. You were the best dog, and pet anyone could ever had hoped for. Goodbye Buster!!

Ok, Who Gave Me This Cold???

I do not like to have a cold! I really do not know of anyone who does, do you? Today we drove 10 hrs. up above Tupelo and back to pick up my step-mom. The scenery on the Natchez Trace was just beautiful with all the fall colors, and the wind blowing the leaves across the road in front of us. I can enjoy riding and looking around most of the time, but having a head that felt like it was going to burst at any moment, well, let's just say I wanted to be home in my bed. You can be perfectly well when you go to bed, then wake up all stopped up and miserable the next morning. There has never been anything that really helps a cold. It will run it's course for about 10 to 12 days, and when you think about that many days, you want to be like an old bear, and just grrrrrrrrrrrr. To me nothing is more miserable than not being able to breathe without your mouth open wide, and your tongue just hanging out all dry. When I picture myself looking like that, I do not want to laugh, I want to put a sack over my head, but that would make it harder to breathe, don't you think? When I do get a cold, I try to look back and see where my hand washing and touching of things in public places could have led to this. I think I could be one of those people who are afraid to touch things and wash their hands all the time, if I knew I would never have a cold again. Laughing at myself about that! I also have wondered how one nose, and such a small sinus cavity could contain so much mucus, as it is called. I just usually call it gook!! I have really felt like my brain was leaking at times, and from my forgetfulness lately, you know it might really be! I am sure most of you reading this are just extremely happy to hear about all my snot, and such, but just as anything else in my life, God will take care of this too. There is nothing I can not ask him, no time that I can not talk to him, and no where that he is not waiting to listen to me or you. That is the one of the wondrous joys of a personal relationship with Jesus, everything about me is important to him. What a wonderful savior and friend I have in Jesus! Well, I will take my over flowing snot head and get me something warm to drink, and another Kleenex. I hope all of you have a nose full too!! I am just kidding about that. Gob bless each of you, and remember to attend your church tomorrow, and give God his time.

What A Day!!!

OK, sometimes the day does not start out like you would want it to. Right now we are facing having to put our little Rat Terrier dog, Buster down. He is 19 years old, which I thought he was 21, but I was wrong. He is old though, and very tired. Every now and then he has some fight left in him, and he will growl and bark at the other dogs. He can not see much at all, and I do not think he hears anything. I remember the day we got him. He was the one who ran around the most when the man let the little puppies out. When we brought him home he would not go off the patio for a long time to do his business because he was in one of those pens that had cement floors. I had this little basket made of cloth, and he would curl up in that to sleep. He was the cutest little puppy! For years he sit beside me all cuddled up when I was home. That typical black and white terrier, with the cropped tail, and the annoying bark. When Robyn and Glenn lived next door to us, anytime Glenn went into the back yard, Buster barked and drove him crazy. He become very much a watch dog for us. Anytime a car drove up, he let us know, and if you came in the house, and he did not know you, look out, he was going to act like he would eat you up. He never bite anyone, even though poor Glenn got his ankles snapped at a time or two. Well, when I got up this morning, Buster could not walk, just as he couldn't last night. I was afraid I would have to make some kind of decision alone today, but believe it around noon, he was walking better,and barking. I know it will not be long before we have to make a decision or he will pass on from our family. The kids grew up with him, other kids rubbed his soft ears as they fell asleep, others knew his fierce bark, and others were scared totally of him. We know him as our faithful loving little Buster, who has shown us more love than any other dog we have ever had. You know it is never easy to give up a pet, even if you have had them just a few years, but Buster he has been such a part of our home, and family for way more years than we ever dreamed he would be. Wow, how blessed we all are to have the wonderful pets in our lives! They give love unconditionally like kids do to us. If you have a special pet in your life you know exactly what I am talking about. But please remember those little dogs, or cats, or whatever you choose to have as a pet, they have feelings, don't kick them, or yell at them. Treat them like you would want to be treated!!

He Is Showing Me Again!!

David is doing it again. Showing me how much he loves me. He hasn't said another word about my mess up. That is him! Sometimes I wish he would yell at me or something, but he says I love you so much all I can do is forgive you. You know that it is like God's love, except God's love is perfect. God's love sent his only son to the cross to die for all our sins. God's love forgives us when we disappointment him, and it comforts us when we are afraid, or hurt. God's love is the beginning and the end, it has always been and will always be. Just think of how you feel about your child, or your spouse, think about that love. Then try to imagine God, who made us, provides for us, died for us, and is preparing a place in Heaven for us where we will never hurt again, never be sad, never have a need for anything. I am amazed at that love, overwhelmed in fact. God will never leave me. I know without a doubt that God sent David to me. My life changed so much when I meet him, and we married. I was running in circles doing that pleasing thing with people, but doing it all in the wrong way. Going to the wrong places, seeing all the wrong people. God sent me a man to love me, to care for me, and show me that I am someone to be loved. If only I had opened my eyes and seen that I was loved by God, just as he loves everyone. Please people look at the miracle of the seasons, the miracle of birth, and the miracles we see all around us. Realize that God is real, and sent his Son to die for you too. He came to give us life, and the Bible says more abundantly.That means a life full of joy, with sorrows, but with joy always returning. That is why I know what a blessed woman I am, not only did Jesus die for me, forgive me of my sins, and saved me. He has a place prepared for me with eternal life. He has also given me an earthly man who loves me, forgives me, and continues to show his love for me even when I mess up so bad. Thank you Lord Jesus for my salvation. Thank you for my David. Thank you for my life!!

Making The Same Mistake Over, and Over!!

I am having a hard time this morning, I messed up our checkbook, and David is very angry, and upset with me. I do not blame him at all. I know how hard he works for me, and I did not think about that when I didn't keep up with everything, and caused a problem. I have a spending problem, I know I do. The said thing is this, why do I do that? I know my joy is in the Lord, I don't need things to make me happy, but I have always done this. I also know I am a woman who thinks she has to please everyone, and that is the main problem. God is who I should please, and by doing so, I would treat everyone as they should be treated anyway. The answer to this problem is found in God, as is everything else. The thing I have not done is listen to him about money for a long, long time. I am afraid if I don't learn from God now about money, it will put a distance between David and I. Other than God, David is the only person who has shown me love like no other. I always felt like I had to please Mom and Dad, and every friend I have had in my life. David has loved me unconditional. He loved me through all the mistakes I have made in our marriage with money. He has loved me through all the times I was not pleasant to be around. He has loved me when I was very much over weight, and not in good health.He has loved me when I spent so much time wrapped up in the computer world. Why Lord do I keep hurting him? Please guide me to stop causing pain for David, and for him feeling like he is working so hard for nothing. I want to give this all to you God, I do not have the answer, or the way to help myself. I know that you can help me, you can tell me how to conquer this problem I have. I spend money at times, in fact a lot of times, trying to make others happy, and thinking if I don't, they wont love me. That is a lie from the devil himself. I do not like myself when I do this, when I hurt the one person who loves me the most, by trying to please others. I think about Sheila, who I thought was my friend for a long, long time. When I lost weight, she did not feel comfortable with me, and you know it did not matter what I had bought for her over the years, and anything. That shows that none of that matters. It is your heart that matters. It is what we do for God that matters. When will I get that through my thick brain or heart or whereever it needs to be? I actually hate money right now. I hate the problems it causes for me. It is the misuse of it that causes it, I realize that. Lord I need your advice, I need your help, and I ask you Lord Jesus to help me. Help me know how to get us out of this mess I have created. David does not deserve this at all. Lord I ask you to forgive me for hurting him, for disappointing you again about money, and for guidance. I ask you to take this problem I have, take it completely, forever, I do not want it back, I want to leave it at the cross with you. Lord you have guided me through other problems in my life, please show me the way with this one forever. I do not want money, pleasing others, and worldly things to control me like this anymore.I do not want this to rob me of my joy, my joy in my heart that I feel from you. Lord I ask this in your Holy name, Amen

Children of the World!

Let me share with you the most touching part of this conference I went to. A group of children from the Children of the World International Children's Choir came to sing for us. There are 3 groups of kids who travel the United States for 10 months each year sharing their Love of God in their hearts. The kids are from several different countries who are socially and economically deprived. Many of the kids have lost their parents due to preventable diseases, and tribal warfare. Some of the kids parents simply cannot afford to take care of their children. These kids have hope, and it is in the Lord Jesus. They travel to raise awareness of the plight of homeless and orphaned children all over the world. The goal of Children of the World is to generate compassion and inspire individuals to get involved in the World Helps Child Sponsorship Program. Our hearts were touched and forever changed after seeing these special kids. The smiles on all their faces when they sang about Jesus was truly a blessing to me. I wanted to hug each one of them and bring them home with me. We, in America, need to open our eyes and see the blessings God has given us. How many of you who are reading this were homeless? How many were without the love of a parent? How many of you go to bed hungry, or ever have? I know God has totally blessed me with Christians parents, always a warm, loving home, and I have never ever been hungry in my life. I thank God there are people out there who care enough, and will take the stand to try and change the lives of children who do not the needs in their lives. If you are interested in learning more, please go to www.worldhelp.net. May God continue to touch people's hearts to help these children all over the world.

Second Day of Conference!

Karen Kingsbury writes Christian novels, and I have read the Redemption series, or I will say I am in the process of reading it. It is about the Baxters, and Karen says her husband thinks she will become of her characters one day. What she wanted to teach us as women is that the story we are writing with our lives is real! How will our family and the other people in our lives read our story? We must as women slow down, enjoy the people while they are still part of our life. Learn to love the characters God has put in our life. We must also remember we have an enemy, which is Satan. He seeks to destroy the story we are writing with our lives. We must also remember there is a hero in our story, that is Jesus Christ. Think about who are the characters in your story, who your life story is writing about, andwho it is for. We all have hope through Jesus, and we are all heading to a happy ending if you have Jesus in your heart as your Lord and Savior. We need to be like children look beyond the clouds and see the sunshine. Remember that we only have one chance to write our life story, What will yours read? Also remember it is never too late to renew your life story in Jesus Christ. Our next speaker was Angela Thomas, who was a single Mom for 7 and a half years, and has a book out about being a single mom which I would advise any single Mom to read. She told us in a million years we could never imagine how much more God has for us. Have you tasted that the Lord is good? Just think about your life as a Christian, and you will realize that you have tasted how good God is. Read about the story of Peter, how once he got it, that is understood Jesus, he had a passion for Christ. Read in 1st Peter all about his story. No matter what season we are in, the Lord is always bringing us to the next place in growing up in our salvation. When life gives you what you never think you will have to go through, Jesus comes to get you, he gets the broken one, redeems and heals. He sent Jesus to do that for us. Angela Thomas wrote another book entitled Do You Think I am Beautiful?, it tells us that we are God's beautiful creation.As a woman we are his beautiful princess and he always wants us to be that. Sin separates us from God, but if we confess, and ask forgiveness for our sins, he will forgive us, and bring us back to his fellowship. Do we really see? Do we even try to really see how much God loves us? Put everything in Jesus hands, ask him to use you to further his kingdom. We must strive to be a true Jesus Woman! I learned so much about who I need to be, and I am discovering God's dream for me. Ms. Thelma Wells was our next speaker, who is better known as Mama T. She wrote a wonderful book entitled God Is Not Through With Me Yet, and I thank God he is not through with me for sure. She told about how her Mother gave her up, and her Grandmother didn't like her at all. When her Mother would take her to her Grandmothers, she would put it in the closet for the entire day, with no food or water. She had gone to church with her Great Grandmother and learned hymns. So she sat there in the closet singing praises to God. She is still singing praises to God today, at the age of 68. Process is a word God clearly spoke to her about. Her phrase was, Process is Progress on the way to Success! She has not had a easy life, not at all, as you can see from the way she was treated as a child. She told us no matter what we are going through, we have to learn to sing in the closets in our life. Sometimes in the progress we wonder what is going on, but God is taking care of us through it all. We need to learn to forgive who hurts us, give it up, and give it to Jesus. We can think anything we want, God gives us us a choice, the way we live determines how high we can fly. We are all special, and need to eliminate negatives in our life. Listen to praise music, it will help you accomplish eliminating the negative. Always have an attitude of gratitude. Always pray with a sincere heart to God. God wants our praise, he wants us to study his word, and wants us to talk to him. What we do for Christ is all that will last, nothing in this world will. When we stand before God we will not be judged for our sins, if you are saved, but we will be judged for our works for God. We should never do things to glorify ourselves, it is all to Glorify God. I want to be all I can for God, he has a Dream for me, and through his word, and my prayer time I will realize that dream, and fulfill his plan for me. I ask this Lord in your Holy name. I want to encourage all who read this to never give up, or give in, Trust God with everything.

EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN!!

I was privileged to attend a conference in Jackson this past Friday night and all day Saturday. The name of it was Extraordinary Women, Discovering God's Dream was the theme.Living God's dream starts with a willing heart. When I or you draw near to God, he draws near to us. God has a dream for all of us, me, my husband, my children, my grandchildren, everyone in the world. He created us, we are his Princesses, each woman in the world. We went to First Baptist Church in Jackson which was built in the 1800's and has a capacity of 3000 people. There were 3000 women in the Sanctuary, with 300 overflow in another area watching it on the big screen. Do you have any idea how it sounds for 3000 women to be talking at one time? It was amazing to hear all the excitement as we waiting for the conference to begin. I was extremely excited because the first speaker was my favorite Christian comedian Chondra Pierce. She had all 3000 of us laughing. She came out singing Heat Wave, with her own words about menopause, not like any of us know about that! I still have my Heat Wave at times. She told us one of the best things for us as women to do is wear PJ's and eat all day. I know I love to do that, I just try not to graze on food all day. She was very funny talking about wearing leather, and having a hot flash, told us only way to get those pants off would have them surgically removed. I am laughing now thinking about her telling all of the stories. She was the daughter of a Preacher, and the middle child. She explains as being the middle child you get blamed for everything, and then left out of a lot. She had us laughing saying that she was a Pentecostal Preachers daughter which meant hair up, and skirt down. She also said first born are control freaks, and the baby of the family is a whiner, which I am afraid I can see in myself. She told us no one has an excuse not to find a place to worship God in America, there are all types of religions, which she called washers and flickers. Let me explain! Washers are like Baptist who believe in immersion for Baptismal, and Flickers are like the Methodist she said, who are afraid of getting their hair wet, and they just flick a little water on you. Since there were people of all denominations we all had a good laugh again. She told us about a dark time in her life when she went through depression, and she has written a book entitled Laughing In The Dark, which I would recommend to anyone who is suffering from depression. She taught us about always being honest about how you are really feeling whether it is to someone, or most important to God. We must learn to focus on others, and think about what is happening in their lives, and not just about ourselves. She lives today remembering to remind herself: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, to the change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. It was so refreshing to laugh about things, and remember that God gave us that laughter.She sang a song to close her time with us, and some of the words I wrote down and would like to share with you: It's all in God's hands. Realize that God truly loves me. God loves me, and he is with me, he will see me through. You are not alone. God loves me. She really poured her heart out in that song! Al Denson was out worship leader and he lead us in many praise songs. I could feel the presence of the Lord and see his love in the faces of women all over the sanctuary. He sang a song Take me to the Cross. It was about a little girl who's Father had always taken her to church. He told her if she ever got lost to find her way to the cross. In the song she does get lost, and tells the people who find her, just take me to the church with the big cross on top, and her Daddy is there waiting for her. It was such a beautiful song. We must all remember this line from the song, Daddy taught me about the cross, where Jesus died for all the lost people. Avalon, a very good Christian musical group gave a great concert to close the evening Friday night. I love their song Testify His Love. It goes like this, As long as I shall live I will testify his love. That is what we are here for, God made us to tell others about him, and to show with how we live as Christians that he loves us so much. In fact one of the praise songs says I am amazed by you Lord. How you love me, how deep? how wide? how great? is your love for me! I sit here writing this thinking about my Lord and Savior and how amazed I am he loves me. I know how unworthy I am, and how much of a miracle it is that God loved even me enough to send Jesus it suffer and die for me on that cross. I want all to know that there is room at the cross for everyone, he shed his blood for all.

Taking Life One Day At A Time!

This is what I did today, I slept till 8, then got up, ate a biscuit with cheese in it, that my husband cooked for me, then I got my shower, dressed, and headed to Jackson for a Doctor's appointment. Seems like most days are busy lately. I like mornings to just make me some coffee, sit, sip on it, and talk to God. I need to learn to get up earlier so I can do that everyday. I found myself saying my morning prayer in the shower. I love to write my prayers, it keeps me focused on everything I need to talk to my God about. It has been very hard lately because I had some surgery on my right hand. Typing seems to be easier for me right now. We stopped in Forrest looking for me a winter coat today. I did not find anything I liked there or in Jackson. As I talked to the Doctor today I realized I have not been taking care of myself as I should. My protein was way too low, and one of my vitamin A's. It is very important to keep a good eye on my blood work now that I am 2 years our from my gastric bypass. I was really afraid I had gained some weight but I actually had lost another 8 lbs from the last time I saw my Fibro Dr. I went straight to the Smoothie King and got me a Gladiator which contains 45 grams of protein, and I am suppose to have at least 60 to 80 grams a day. I know I have to really work harder at taking time to eat more meat, and not run in the kitchen and get junk food. When I am in Jackson I am so thankful to know I am coming back home to the country. I could not handle that many people all the time. lol The ride over there and back was really nice today. The sky was bright blue with very few clouds, and the colors of fall were oranges, reds, yellows, and browns. I feel so alive when I take all that nature has to offer! I could think of so many things I need to do at home, but I was reminded by Jesus that I can only live one day at a time, as my Mom so strongly believed and lived by. One day, one minute, one moment, what more do we need? Just thank God for each one of them, and make them count for Him. I am so thankful to have Jesus in my heart, as my Lord and Savior. He is in charge of my days, my minutes, my moments. I would never want to be, I know I would miss them all up. Oh I could be, I could not ask him to guide my day, but I know he knows what is best for me, and I will do all I can to follow him in faith each day he gives me here. Things in America could change, and not for the good. The person in charge on our country does not have the values God has given us to live by, through his word in the Bible, but God controls everything. So as Christians we have to place our faith totally in him, as we should all the time. God gives me each day, so why would I want to trust anyone but him? We got home kinda late, and yes I admit I was very tired. I didn't get to Wed. night service, and I know I missed a blessing. I love to go to church, and learn more, and more about God. You know that is the joy of Christ, no matter how old we get, we never stop learning from his word. I have learned that I must first ready my Bible, then pray, that way God can lead me to pray the right way. I cooked some small steaks on the grill, and we sat down, thanked God for the food, and the day. I now will end my day by reading my Bible and spending some quiet time in prayer with my Heavenly Father. I encourage all who take the time to read my blog to do the same. He has some wonderful to tell you and me!!

Looking Forward to the Rest of the Year!

It is my favorite time of year again. The coolness in the air makes me feel more alive. I love to swim, and love the fun of boating and all in the summer, but when Autumn gets here, the leaves change to their beautiful colors, and three of my favorite holidays come. I was driving through Stonewall the other night when they had Trick or Treating. They had it on Thursday, because football on Friday night is a big deal in this small town in Mississippi. It brought back lots of memories of Halloweens when I was a small girl there walking the sidewalk with my friends, and having so much fun. The sweet thing about a small town is everyone makes it fun for the little kids. There were people taking kids in trailers with hay pulled by trucks and 4-wheelers. The little boys with Spider man suits, of course Batman, and my favorite little cowboys. I even saw a few ghost, and vampires. Little girls with Tinkerbell costumes, Cinderella, and witches. I think I had every one of those costumes when I was small too. I know my two oldest Grandchildren had enough candy to last them the rest of the year, and then some. Now it is time to think about Thanksgiving here. We go to a camp house out in the middle of the woods with all of David's family. There are two lakes there with canoes, and paddle boats. A building with ping pong tables, and lots of hiking trails. Last year it was raining so we all stayed in the big room with a fire, and played games and talked. The funny thing is this, and I have noticed this at family reunions too. You go to see all of your family that you don't see usually but once a year, but when time to eat, and really the majority of all the time you are sitting and talking with your immediate family, the ones you see all the time. I find that really funny, and wonder why we all do that. I know even though tough times have come for my family, we have so much to be thankful for this year, as always. I hope everyone will look beyond their situation and see the entire picture, and realize the blessings we have had this past year. Right after Thanksgiving I get excited to start decorating the house for Christmas. I love it!!! As I open up the box with all my ornaments and place each one on the tree, I remember how I got each one. Some date back to the year David and I got married, while others tell of my kids when they were small. I always place a new one for each child, and Grandchild on my tree each year. In fact I really need to decorate two trees this year. I like to use the traditional colors of red and green because to me that is Christmas. The one thing I love so much is this really beautiful Nativity scene I bought a couple of years ago. I try to always help my kids to see that the real reason we have Christmas is to celebrate Jesus Birthday. To think that our Lord and Savior was born in a stable, which like I tell my Grandchildren it was a barn. He came to this world for us! Well, I could write about Christmas all night, as it is my favorite holiday. Each morning I have been sitting in the dark by the fireplace, drinking a cup of coffee, and remembering I am loved by an amazing family. I am blessed beyond words for having them. I hope you are enjoying this time of the year as I am. Just please take time to make a list of everything you have to be thankful for this year. Maybe share it with your family, or ask them to make one too!! God bless all of you.