The Richness of Friends

Ecclesiates 4:10 says:

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

How true, how true! The older I get, the more I treasure my friends...those who love me, speak truth to me, lead me to the cross in difficult times, spend time with me when possible, pray me through when trials come and rejoice with me in victories. Truly, a man must show himself friendly to have a friend and I thank God for those who have shown themselves friendly to me and loved me.
Because of all of you, my life is blessed. Even today as I sat across from my dear friend, in my mind, I recounted the joy she brings to my heart and life. Inside, I thought of how fortunate I am to call her friend. She enriches my life, as do all my friends and I'm so thankful that when I fall down, I have friends who will pick me up! GLORY TO GOD ALMIGHTY FOR HIS MANY GIFTS (FRIENDS) TO ME!

STEP RIGHT UP....See the new Macclenny Exhibit!!!

Yep, right here in Macclenny, there's a new exhibit to be seen AND it's free of charge! Now normally, when you hear the words "STEP RIGHT UP" they are immediately followed by the following statement..."GET YOUR TICKETS RIGHT HERE!" But no, not so in this case! This exhibit is free of charge and open to anyone....right here in our very own Macclenny, you can view a million tadpoles in one place at one time! Yep, right here in my "pool" in my backyard. What once was the scene of grandchildren splashing and playing, squirting water back and forth, handstands to see who can keep their legs straighter, and the ever popular pulling each other off the raft game, is now extinct! No longer do I hear the sound of laughter but instead, I can look into my pool and see tadpoles, too numerous to count, swimming and splashing their teeny tiny tails at me!
HOW COULD THEY? HOW DARE THEY? In the midst of Hurricane Fay, newcomers arrived at my house and decided since the water was everywhere and PLENTIFUL, why not just take up residence in the pool? These little creatures are adorable when viewed in small numbers in a ditch, creek or lake.....but NOT IN MY POOL!
Now the task begins of first draining some of the inches and inches of rainwater from the pool (it nearly overflowed from all the rain), then cleaning out and ridding my pool of all these little buggers. The kids have asked everyday, "Yaya, when can we swim again???" It's gonna take a LOT of chlorine and good old arm strength to clean the pool out before any human being swimming can begin again and by that time, it'll be fall by my standards!!!!!
Ah well.....in the meantime, the tadpoles are growing and looking me straight in the eye as I tell them their days are numbered! I think they know I'm after them.
All creatures great and small.......I know, I know.....He made them all. Really, I don't hate them, I just wish they hadn't chosen my pool to set up their tadpole exhibit!

The Next Generation

Every single day, I find myself thinking about and praying about "the next generation." After all, "the next generation" includes my family, so why wouldn't I be concerned about them? Johnny has been hammering us about "The Next Generation Initiative" lately. He's been laying out for us the desperate situation of our young society and the role we MUST play in their lives if we are to see "the next generation" be sold out for Jesus. Every single day of my life, I am surrounded by "the next generation"....my grandchildren. There are also many young people at church, they are all around us, watching us, listening to us and modeling after us. We must not think for a minute that they won't remember the stand that we took for Jesus and how we lived our lives. I am constantly reminded as I teach our
7th grade Sunday School class that these kids don't miss a thing and they don't forget anything either!
My heart remains burdened for this generation. We MUST do whatever it takes to reach out to them, mentor them, model before them, spend time with them and invest in their lives. Time is short. It's time to stop fooling ourselves that we have plenty of time....we simply don't. NOW is the time to invest in the life of a youth...now, while the sun remains in the sky....now. Tomorrow could be too late. OH Father....help us in our selfishness...help us to reach out and be a light to this "next generation" while there is still time.

Lord, I want to YEARN for YOU....

THIS is my desire...this song is my heart....and hope that soon my son and daughter will share it together with me at church...


Holy design
this place in time
that i might seek and find my God
my God

Lord i want to yearn for You
i want to burn with passion
over You and only You
Lord i want to yearn

Your joy is mine
yet why am i fine
with all my singing and bringing grain
in light of Him

i want to yearn for You
i want to burn with passion
over You and only You
Lord i want to yearn for You
Over You and only You

oh You give life and breath
through You we live and move
That's why i sing

Lord i want to yearn for You
i want to burn with passion
over You and only You
Lord i want to yearn for You
i want to burn with passion
over You and only You
Lord i want to yearn

A TREASURE in my mailbox

Who in this world doesn't enjoy going to their mailbox??? OK...wait a minute....maybe there are many out there....OK....maybe millions out there, who DON'T enjoy going to their mailbox because of bills etc. BUT...this is one woman who LOVES going to my mailbox everyday to see what treasure might await me there. Somewhere in the deep weird recesses of my mind, I always just knew that out there in that box one day I would find some long lost check for millions of dollars and I could already picture myself racing around like a lunatic trying to decide what to do with it first! I guess as I got older and the bubble finally burst and I realized there wasn't ever going to be a million dollar check in that tiny metal box ever...not ever...I gave up the dream and settled for the joy that junk mail served me, as well as an occasional card from a well-wisher. Letters are so few and far between anymore what with emailing that a real, old-timey, paper and pen letter brings me the greatest of joy and serenity. What a novel idea that someone would take the time to pick up a pen and accompany that with a piece of paper and write a hand-written note to someone. How novel! (Yes, there's a bit of sarcasm there in case you hadn't noticed!)

Anyway...today I made my daily trek to the mailbox and what lay in the darkness inside brought the greatest of joy to my heart! Right there, on the top of the stack was a strange looking envelope. Immediately my eyes scoured the envelope for who the sender was or any other information I could find. And then, I saw it.......
INDIA!!! WHAT????.....A LETTER FROM INDIA!!!!! WHO IN THE WORLD WOULD BE WRITING ME FROM INDIA???? Quickly, but carefully, my finger slip open the sealed envelope to see what was hidden inside. I stopped in the yard, layed the rest of the mail on the car and stopped dead in my tracks as I read...
"Hello and Greetings from Orissa in the state of India. I am Willson John Nag and I thank you so much for loving Christmas gift you send to me." OH MY GOSH....THE CHRISTMAS SHOEBOX DARREL AND I SENT........IT WAS A LETTER FROM A YOUNG MAN WHO HAD GOTTEN OUR SHOEBOX ALL THE WAY IN INDIA!!!! I nearly cried as I read the rest of his broken English as he did his best to share his heart with us. He said he prays for us and keeps our picture in the middle of his family! He thanks us for the gifts and asks us to pray for him.

My heart soared from Macclenny, Florida, all the way to Orissa, India! This is the first time that anyone responded from all the shoeboxes we've sent! To think that in a far away land a young boy wanted to reach out to us and thank us for our kindness blesses the socks right off my feet and the red dyed hair right off my scalp!!

Today, I found a treasure in my mailbox and I'll never be the same. This treasure took months to arrive and traveled oceans to get here, just so someone could say a simple "thank you." Now that my friends, is what we wait for all our lives and that, my friends truly IS a TREASURE that money can't buy. Who needs millions when a treasure like this arrives in your mailbox? Not me my friend. THIS treasure will last a lifetime....the other would have been spent within the week!

Thanks God...thanks for the "thank you" I received today....for the pen and paper "thank you" that changed my life and brought great joy to my whole family. You are a good, good God. You are certainly an incredible God. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the treasure you lavished on me today. My heart is full.

Down Under

No...I haven't been in Australia this week, as the title might make you think...rather, I have been "down under" the covers in my bed for 2 days! Yes, I know, I know, not nearly as exciting as the possibilities of wonderful stories from Australia, but it is what it is.

Being "down under" the covers for two days has given me many hours for pondering and I LOVE pondering. My mind seems to love wandering, pondering, thinking and contemplating. Don't know if that's a fault or a blessing within me but it's life for me.

Sooooooo, laying in bed for two days I heard so many wonderful things that made me deeply appreciate my life right now. Sounds can be so precious when you are "down under" and separated from the rest of the family. As I lay there, I listened intently to the sounds of my home, my family. Easton's giggles and footsteps up and down the hallway...Ty's baby footsteps and his constant repetition of "what is that?" Precious. Darrel's voice as he checked on my needs. The front door opening and closing as family came in and out. Summer's laugh. The squeals from the boys when Dale came home. The phone ringing as my daughter-in-law called to check on me. The sound of the dining room chairs scraping across the floor as the kids gathered at the table to eat.(I was dying inside to be in there beside them too)

As I lay "down under" and pondered the "sounds" of my life right now, I rejoiced inside at what God has so generously blessed me with. Family. Family. Family. I am rich in the Lord God Almighty! I will never be a millionaire in the eyes of the world but I possess the richest, sweetest, most wonderful gifts known to man...FAMILY. I am rich beyond measure and thankful for this time of being "down under" that I have had. What a sweet time to just lay back and listen to the sounds of God's gifts to me.

Thank you God, oh thank you God for my life, my family and the rich life you have blessed me with. I am a rich woman, rich indeed, and for my life, I am forever grateful.

He's Champion Again!

I'm beginning to get a complex and wish I hadn't taught Easton (who's 4 years old) how to play UNO!!! Once again today, he's the champion for the day after winning 3 out of 5 games with me! YIKES!!! I don't know how he does it but he does it well, that's for sure. He loves card games. He sat for probably 45 minutes the other day as our game of WAR went on and on and on and on and on! Oh yeah...he won that too! His momma is teaching him to play checkers so I guess he'll be beating me on that game too before long! It's tough to be beat by a 4 year old. Ahhh well...it's only going to get worse as he gets older so I suppose I might as well accept the fact that he's already nearly as smart as me and just get on with life! Bah humbug!

Time Well Spent

Each day we are given 24 hours (or "gifts", if you will) and we get to decide how to spend those hours (gifts.) Now I realize for many many people who have jobs, you don't have a lot of choice, you HAVE to go to work and can't simply just decide to stay home, but for the remainder of those hours (gifts) left in the day, you get to choose how to spend them.
VERY VERY early this morning, Darrel woke up with what appeared to be food poisoning. He was in pretty bad shape all night long. Unfortunately, it was to be THIS morning that I was to go pick up my granddaughter Natalie, in Jax, to have what we call "Yaya & Natalie Day" together. At 7:00 a.m., I felt sick inside knowing that Darrel was so sick and that I didn't need to leave him to take off to get Nat. I had to call my daughter-in-law and tell her I wouldn't be there as planned this morning and I just hated it as I knew Nat would be so disappointed. Thankfully, as the morning wore on, Darrel began to at least be able to talk coherently and felt well enough that by early afternoon, I could leave him. I called my daughter-in-law and told her that I WOULD be able to come get Nat, at least for a few hours, and that I was on the way.
THe older I get, the more I realize what the phrase "time well spent" really means. THIS was one of those times. Each day we have the choice how we will spend those hours (gifts) and I'm so glad that I was able to go get my granddaughter and enjoy a few hours at the mall with her along with her favorite Teryaki Chicken in the food court! She had a ball and didn't really mind at all if we only got a few hours together, she was just glad Yaya had come at all. Isn't that really what "time well spent" really means....that no matter how short or long the "time" is, it's just that we spend it wisely, doing things that matter and that will last. Today mattered to her and I'm so glad I didn't have to let her down. Also had the opportunity to see my handsome grandson Bradlie, (who has gorgeous hair by the way!!!) who enters high school this year. Remember Brad..."choose your friends wisely!!!" He says he's not nervous about high school but I think he's fibbing a bit.
Anyway...today was a good day and those feelings of dis....connection are beginning to slowly go away. It feels good inside to know that I used my gifts of time wisely today, doing something that counted. Thank you God for the 24 gifts you give us every day. Thank you for grandchildren and the opportunities to sow seeds of YOU into their lives.

DIS..........CONNECTED

Well, I'm finally back online after 5 days of being inadvertently "dis..........connected" from our comcast cable/internet by an unassuming neighbor mowing his grass! I'm sure he never even knew what he'd done but after 4 days of getting the runaround from Comcast, it was finally repaired and we're back online.
It has felt rather weird not having internet access. I've felt totally cut off from the world. OK....I know that sounds pretty pathetic, but my laptop affords me my news, emails from family and my blog. My blog satisfies my inner need to share feelings....deep AND surfacy....good AND bad.....stupid AND intelligent.....funny AND not so funny.....important AND totally non-important! I just love bloggin and I've missed being able to put my thoughts out here in the wide expanse of the web world. I'm tickled pink not to be "dis.....connected" any longer!
BUT......I continue to emotionally feel a bit "dis......connected" here at home. Don't know if I can describe it nor if anyone really cares to read my pathetic sorrowful thoughts.....so here's your opportunity to shut down your computer and read no further. Stop NOW if you don't want to read my whining and pathetic selfish feelings. OK....I gave you your chance.....
Being gone 23 days is a long time to be away from family and friends. Life goes one, with or without you. I think I really realized this fact for the first time in my 55 years of living. Whether I'm here or not....life WILL go on. (I promise I'm really not on the pity party train or anything, just thinking out loud and sharing what I feel). Somehow, we all love feeling greatly needed, especially us grandmothers. We really DO want to care for our grandchildren. We may AND do get tired sometimes, but we want to be a part of their lives and feel like our presence matters greatly and that who we are as a person is an addition that our family appreciates. I was scared to death all the while I was gone that Ty wouldn't remember who I was since he's only 1. It hurt my heart every day while I was away that he'd forget me. Thank goodness, he didn't, but if I'd never come back, he surely would have and his life would have gone on just fine without me.
I feel rather dis.......connected still since I've been home, almost as though I'm not sure where I'm supposed to be or how I fit into the big puzzle of things. I know I sound crazy, but what can I say??? I guess I just realized for the first time that my family missed me but life went on as usual while I was gone and no one was any worse because of my absence. Guess it hurts just a little in the flesh to think that we are easily replaced and life goes on without us being around. We all want to think that we are of MAJOR importance in the lives of our children and grandchildren and that they can't do without us!! I'm feeling this in other areas of my life also and realizing that the world won't stop spinning if I back out of certain things. Other people will step up and fill my spot and life will go on. They'll miss me for a season and then I'll be forgotten. Maybe this is all part of hitting 55 and realizing that my best years for health etc are more than likely behind me. I'll never be that veterinarian that I wanted to be and I'll probably never be able to travel the world like I hoped. Life is passing me by and YES, it's all good and all, but I'm realizing I'm easily replaced and it's tough.
So, that's it......I'm dis......connected still and wondering when I'll feel normal again. I hope it's soon.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Saying goodbye is never easy...never. Memories fill my heart, laughter rings in my ears and sweet moments too numerous to count flood my mind. In 7 hours, I'll board my plane and head home. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Thanks Trish and Bob for all the memories, time spent, money spent, laughter, deep conversation of life and the things of God, problems that we solved and those that we have agreed to pray over, dinners out, dinners in, exercising together, hiking in the woods, Yosemite, CYRUS!!!!, breakfasts that were served to me, canasta every morning (I'll never be queen again!!!), watching movies at night, time with Mer and her family, catching lizards with Taz & Nico, dancing with Gabrielle and Kali, making jewelry, beadfairs, shopping and lunches out, crusing with the top down in the JAGUAR!!!, sitting on the deck watching the hand of God all around us, pedicures, going to church together, concerts and everything else in between.....THANK YOU BOTH from the bottom of my cholesterol filled heart. I love you both dearly and shall cherish these many many memories for a lifetime. Remember, life is good and is what we choose to make it. Thanks for making the past 23 days wonderful. I'll miss you terribly. Godspeed until I see you again. I love you.

Calamity, Contentment & Chaos

Quite a mouthful and quite a title, huh? I've had SO much time to pray, think, ponder and ENJOY life since I've been here. As I'm sitting here on my last evening with my sister and brother-in-law I have much to reflect on. Life is made up of seasons in our lives. The season my sister and her husband are in is sweet....retirement. Living the "dream" after working hard all your life with a stable retirement coming in along with smart investments through their life. Life is fairly uncomplicated for the most part, made up of wonderful decisions to make each day about just how they will spend it. Even this morning, on a whim for my last day here, we drove up to Sugar Loaf Mountain (The one you see across from their home) and then did a little hiking. (That's the pictures you'll see here) How fun it was to just take off and go....no committments, no hassles, just easy decision making for yet another perfect day in this area. As absolutely WONDERFUL as it has been here, I'm thankful that some years ago, I finally realized something good, something deep, something immensely powerful in my Christian life. It truly is wonderful when life is full of "contentment" BUT....it has been ALL of the "calamity" and "chaos" in my life that has actually brought me to this place of "contentment!" Let me explain....I have realized and set my faith on things above, not the temporary things, but the eternal. I understand now when Paul talks about trials and tribulations (calamity & chaos) and how they WILL, CAN and DO work together to bring about the perfection of our faith. It is in the walking through those difficult times that brings us to the place that we realize that we can look back with "contentment" and see how God used every single situation for His glory and for the perfecting of our faith. And so, as I say goodbye to my precious sister and brother-in-law tomorrow and thank them and HIM for the "contentment" I've been able to absolutely enjoy while here, I thank Him also for the "calamity and chaos" that has made me who I am in Christ. It's because of the "calamity and chaos" that I can enjoy the "contentment" even more....if you get what I mean?!!! We cannot be content all the time as we wouldn't appreciate "contentment" in and of itself if we were. It's the tough stuff that makes us appreciate those sweet times of calm, peace and joy. We can look back and see how God brought us through.
Calamity, contentment & chaos....it's our choice how we decide to see each and every situation. I chose to be content, even in the midst of the struggles, cause that's where Christ desires for me to be. I thank Jesus for the memories I've made. Saying goodbye is hard but life "is still good." Thank you Lord, for my life, for my breath and for my family at home and here. You are so good to me God and I'm content. How about you?

I Hope I Smell Better Today

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." 2 Corinthians 2:14-15
Yesterday, I opened my big mouth AGAIN (what else is new, right???) and said something stupid to my brother-in-law that I immediately regretted. I meant it to be funny but it didn't sound good coming out of my mouth and immediately I felt bad. I said I didn't mean it, but I felt I'd let him down and I'd let who I have become in Christ go down the tubes. In other words, I'd let my Lord down. My "aroma" wasn't what it should have been for sure. This morning when I awoke, I knew I had to apologize to him for my mouth speaking words of death instead of life. I'm not sure he really understood why I felt it necessary to apologize to him as what I said wasn't even about him, but I knew it was what I needed to do. I let him down, I let myself down and I let the Lord down. Forgive me Lord.
Today, I'm going to make sure that I "smell" better all day long for I am His ambassador "in every place."