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29 years ago tonight, our only daughter Summer came into the world. Those were the days that you didn't know the sex of your baby until the moment they were born. I had prayed for a daughter while I carried her. I sang to her in the womb and she daily listened to her brothers while I carried her. She was our only child born with her daddy present. We didn't even have that choice with our sons.
We felt so blessed that God would give us a daughter after our sons were born. She was an easy child from the time of her birth. She had an amazing imagination and played endless hours with her imaginary friend. She loved to sing from an early age and she brought joy into our lives. We remember she would grab a chair or a box, step up on it and announce with a pretend microphone...."Ok everyone listen...first I'm going to sing and then I'm going to preach!" She loved church and her Sunday School class and sang on our local church tv station with me when she was 4. I believe she was 2-3 the first time she got up and sang at church with a little friend of hers.
Today, on her 29th birthday, I look back and wonder where the years have gone. It seems like only yesterday she was just a little girl and now she's a wonderful wife and mother. She has taught us much since her birth. I could have never dreamed when she was little that she would grow up to live the life of a pastors wife.
Happy Birthday Summer! We pray that God continues to be the center of your life and the love of your heart. We love you and thank God for giving you to us.
I thought I'd pop I was so big and pregnant some 34 years ago! I had begged my doctor for weeks to PLEASE DO SOMETHING to make me have this baby! FINALLY, he agreed to let me come into the hospital on October 21, 1974, start "the drip" and see if labor would ensue. PRAISE GOD IT DID and I was quickly on my way to my second son being born. At 2:18 that afternoon, Butch came screaming into this world!
From the beginning, I knew this child was most definitely different than my firstborn son. This child was much more vocal, loved for me to hold and cuddle him, play with him and chatter. By the time he was 6 months old, I also knew this child was going to have a strong mind of his own! He was such a character. He made us laugh and he delighted in animals and the outdoors. Whereas our firstborn would play endless hours by himself and was more quiet, this little boy loved to be in the middle of whatever was going on and just made us all laugh with his antics! He entertained us with his funny sense of humor and his sweet smile.
On one of his first days of kindergarten, ALREADY the teacher talked to us about how verbal he was in the classroom! One of the children in the room was coughing and he loudly told him..."QUIT THAT BARKING!!" We were told that Butch would need to learn to not be so vocal! I had a feeling then that would be the beginnings of a little boy who liked to talk AND to make people laugh. By the time he was just a very young man, he exhibited a desire to see how everything worked and often took anything and everything apart that he could. He looked just like his grandfather when he was born and was also acting a lot like him too.
You have blessed our lives Butch and taught us much! You are allowing God to direct your path and be LORD of your life. That was and always will be the #1 prayer for you that we ever had. Anything else good that happens to you is by God's mercy, goodness and grace. We love you Butch and continue to pray that you will draw closer and closer to Him as the years go by. Thank you for the laughter you bring to everyone around you and the light that you are for Jesus! You have learned well what is truly important in this life.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SECOND BORN SON! YOU ARE LOVED IMMENSELY.
Today, I simply thank God for "little ones." You know, the wonderful and precious little children of our church. This morning at MOPS, they blessed my heart. They are the future of our church and I am so proud of how well our church invests in their lives. For all the hours of investment, for all the hours of preparation, for all the hours of cleaning up after them, for all the hours of teaching, praying, singing and playing...I thank you ALL who work so hard with them on Sundays and Wednesdays. May God richly bless your efforts.
Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world...red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.
I'm so glad that we love little children at RRC too.
It is amazing and wonderful to me, how generations can pass and yet a character or physical trait can be seen in our children's children. This week, as I was hugging my grandson Butch, who is 10 years old, I looked closely at his hands that I had just been holding. Immediately, I was whisked away in my mind to a time some 40 years ago. There, I could see Butch's great great grandfather, Big Papaw. He was a tall and lanky man (over 6 feet), with eyes of blue and a heart of gold. I loved his smile and his quiet ways. He worked his many acres of land in cotton. Near their tin roof house was a large strawberry patch that I came to love on visits there. Picking strawberries with him was a joy. He and Granny, who was only about
4' 10", lived very simply with a woodstove to heat their home and a feather bed. The toilet was outside in the back yard and was my first ever time to experience an outhouse. They were precious country folk who worked hard, lived simply and loved their family.
One of the things I remember about him was his hands. His fingers were long and thin and calloused. And now, three generations later, I see those hands in my grandson. It is amazing to me and it brings joy to my heart. I suspect as the generations continue these wonderful hands will continue to show themselves and the blood and heritage of those gone on before us will live on. I like that thought. Big Papaw would have liked it too.
I'm not exactly sure what is going on within myself, but I have found myself doing an extreme amount of reminiscing lately. Maybe this is normal for a 55 year SENIOR citizen, I just don't know. Since this is the first time in my life that I've been this age, I don't know what to expect!!! But, fact is, I've done a lot of it. I find my mind wandering back to my childhood and remembering things that I hadn't thought of in a long long time. Maybe it's because my own children are grown and gone and now my life is all about my grandchildren and it's hitting home with me more and more that I'm not getting any younger. Having said all that, I found myself thinking a lot about the many animals I had as a girl and the joy they brought me.
This little guy in this picture was my very best friend in the whole world. I believe my parents got him for me when I was 8 or so for Christmas and I think I was about 10 or 11 in this picture. YEP...THAT'S ME!!! (STOP LAUGHING!!!!!!:) He was my instant best buddy. His name was Whiskers and I adored this dog. I still have the reel to reel recording that they made of me on Christmas morning as they presented me with Whiskers.
When my parents divorced and I had to live with a family I didn't know (long story that I won't go into right now), Whiskers was the only living thing that came along with me to this unknown place. This dog heard all my secrets, listened to all my heartaches and had millions of tears dripped on his little head during that time. Life was a struggle then but Whiskers was my escape, my friend and my confidante.
All my life, I have loved all animals deeply. They have always soothed something deep within me, allowed me to express love for God's wonderful creations that they are and brought me extreme joy. There have been very few times in my life that I have been without a dog and I hope I'll never be without one.
Whiskers was my best friend for the years I had him. I know it sounds ridiculous to some, but I thank God for that four legged friend who helped me get through those sad and scary years of my parents divorce. I loved that dog with my whole heart and always felt he was God's gift to me to help me cope.
Thanks for the memories Whiskers. Of all my four legged friends, you were the best.
Each year when the Fall of the year rolls around, something stirs deep within me. Memories flood my mind of some 39 years ago when I made my first trip to Mississippi. My parents had divorced and my father had remarried and moved to the deep South. I arrived in June or July, not sure which, but this I do remember...on my very first day there, I met Darrel. I remember the day several months later when I knew I loved him. We were driving to see his grandparents. They lived way out in the country. It was a wonderful cool Fall day and we stopped along the way to look at the leaves and colors. I remember drinking in the oranges, browns, yellows and maroons and thinking the trees were some of the most beautiful I'd ever seen. Maybe it was partly the intensity of the moment for me (after all, I am a nature FREAK) and the sights of God's hand at its' most beautiful, but I knew right then that it was not only the colors of Fall I was seeing but the colors of love.
You see, the colors of Fall make those first feelings of love come back to my remembrance with a vengance. The stirrings inside me that the depth of the colors brings about each year, warm my heart with long ago memories that I hold so dear.
The past 37 years of our marriage have seen many struggles, trials, tests and heartache, too numerous to mention. But, as each year passes and Fall approaches once more, God reminds me again of "The Colors of Fall" and the colors of our love. They are rich and deep and I am so thankful.
When I was a mere 2 years old, we lived in a pretty pathetic corner apartment up above a little store in Chicago. We were dirt poor. If I'm remembering correctly, we were given a nickel on Saturday to purchase whatever our little hearts desired from the store downstairs.....or we could save it. Of course, saving it NEVER entered my mind! NOT ONCE! I mean, come on, why would it, when the candy behind the glass counter downstairs was constantly calling my name!!
I waited all week for that precious nickel and once it was in my hand, my little feet couldn't carry me down the stairs fast enough to spend it. The candy was all behind glass and everything, as I remember, was 5 for a penny! Oh man, what a nickel could buy!!:) I loved licorice whips, candy dollars, satellite wafers, marshmallow cones, candy buttons and so much more! YUM! And you got 5...count em...1, 2, 3, 4, 5 for a penny! Man, you'd toddle out of there with a small brown bag FULL of candy and all for a nickel! It was great!
I have been a candy addict all my life! I'm guessing that I came out of the womb asking for chocolate as opposed to milk! My body craves it and it's a must have every day for me. I've been doing Weight Watcher's for a little over a year now and I still make room for candy every day! You'd think at my age the cravings would diminish but not so.
Man, a nickel....a little silver nickel would buy a whole bag of candy back in 1955.
A nickel won't even buy gum in a machine anymore. Sad, isn't it?
Candy and I have been best friends for a long time. I wonder if this friendship will ever end? I don't think so. As a matter of fact, I think I'll go open a bag of the pixy-stix I bought for myself a while ago!!!
Tonight at church, a man came forward who blessed my heart. He had recently been led to our church by a local eye doctor who knew he just needed to talk to someone. She had the love and foresight to call our church and ask for one of our pastors. This precious man was at the end of his rope and simply needed Jesus in his life. Our pastor talked to him and he made the most important decision of his life when he decided to follow Christ and give his life to Him. The joy on his face was priceless and in my mind, I could hear the angels rejoicing over his decision. Heaven was cheering him on and we were the lucky ones to have been able to receive him into our fellowship.
Now it is our responsibility to encourage him, love him, pray for him and be an example before him. I feel so honored to be a part of a fellowship who loves deeply, cares immensely and prays diligently.
This man's salvation and presence at our church touched me tremendously. It reminded me of the fragileness of life, the great needs of people all around us, of our purpose in this life and the power of the Cross of Christ. This man was at a crossroads. I'm so thankful that he turned to Jesus and I'm so thankful that there's power in the truth of the Word of God.
My Heart is FULL!
Well, it took me 4 1/2 months to do it, but I finally did it last night! What, you say??? Well, I made turning a "senior citizen" 100% official by going to our church monthly VIP dinner. You or your spouse must be 55 or older to attend these events. VIP stands for "Vintage Impacted People" and that is now me!
Man, it felt weird! I am so used to spending a lot of time with youth, not seniors! When I walked in I felt as though I wasn't supposed to be there. You know, like how you would feel if you went to a party uninvited. Oh, I was welcome, of course, but I felt amazingly weird!
Of course, within minutes, I was fine and was enjoying the atmosphere and conversation and the food! It was great. We had a wonderful time but I sat listening to the singing wondering, once again, how could I possibly be old enough to be part of the VIP group???? It was only yesterday that I was thrown a 30th surprise birthday party, the only one ever thrown for me. Now, I have children older than that! I looked around the room at the 40 something or so people and thought about the wisdom sitting in that room. I was sort of in awe as I sat there.
This December, for the first time at our annual VIP Christmas dinner, Darrel and I will "sit" at a table instead of "serving" one. Now THAT is going to be REALLY WEIRD! I guess it's another chapter in my life but it's going to take me some time to get used to it! Some days I'm thrilled to have the turned the page into this new chapter and others, I wish I could turn back the clock.
Ah well....it is what it is so I might as well embrace it.
Wonder where my AARP card is???
As I was leaving our fair booth tonight, Darrel called my cell. Naturally, he was just wondering when I would be home, wanted to caution me to "be careful" but mostly, just wanted to tell me that "he'd leave the front light on for me."
Inside, I felt warmed, loved, expected, anticipated and cared about. How sweet of him to want me to know that he wanted to "light the way" for me. His words comforted me and when I drove into the driveway, the light illuminated the door and gave me clear guidance but before I could open the door, he was there greeting me.
I know for some of you, this might be a stretch to parallel what this meant to me, but this is how my mind works. As Darrel greeted me at the door, I thought about Jesus. How HE makes me feel, is the same, even MUCH BETTER, than how this incident made me feel.
As good as Darrel makes me feel when he exhibits these feelings towards me, Jesus exhibits these feelings towards me every single moment of every single day. HE loves me deeply, HE anticipates my coming home to HIM, HE cares about me and most definitely, HE lights my way every step of every day. When the darkness surrounds me, HIS light is there to guide my way. Always HE is there anticipating hearing my voice and coming back into HIS presence. I am warmed by the LIGHT of HIS love.
How grateful I am that Jesus ALWAYS leaves the light on and waits for me to be in HIS presence again. My, isn't that good to know?
Early this morning, decked out in my robe, (only because I was late getting up this morning) Darrel and I sat out front in Sum/Dale's rocking chairs. I was waiting for Butch to get here with the kids and Darrel just sat down next to me working on last minute laptop stuff before he headed out for the day. BUT...there was a few passing minutes there that we enjoyed a delightful conversation about life and dreams and our hopes for the future. As our economy is failing more daily, Darrel and I discussed our future, our finances and our continued dreams in spite of it all. Our conversation lasted a mere 10 minutes or so but it was wonderful. As we sat sharing together, I thought about how quickly life passes us by and how seldom we have, or should I say take, these wonderful opportunities. My last blog before this one was about our oldest son turning 36. When I think about the fact that 36 entire years have passed since his birth, I realize clearly how quickly life and the living of it, is fleeting. James 4:14 tells us that life is but a vapor quickly fading away. Isn't it sad that it appears that we do not ever seem to fully understand this fact until we get older? I cherish every moment now so much more than I did when I was younger. Life is STILL good, despite the economy, despite things falling down around us. Life is STILL good...not because of anything that man has done but because of everything GOD HIMSELF has done and IS DOING.
It's amazing how refreshing, comforting and joyfilled a simple 10 minute conversation can be. Through it, God reminded me how fleeting life is and how each moment, whether shared in wonderful conversation sitting in a rocking chair, or shared in pain and strife, should be lived as our last. Life is a vapor...quickly fading away. It's our choice how we live it. Thank you God for a few moments in time when problems slipped away and conversation was sweet.
About 50 minutes from now, 36 years ago tonight, my firstborn son made his way into the world. I was young, scared and had not a clue about giving birth or having a baby for that matter. Those were the days that husbands were not allowed in the labor and delivery rooms and so, I labored alone with a nurse, and gave birth without Darrel close by.
The instant I layed my eyes on my little baby boy, I was in love. I was smitten as though I had never known love before. He was an easy baby and filled my young heart with joy. I learned much in those early years and made many mistakes as I went.
Today, Darrel and I celebrated DJ's 36th birthday together with him. As I hugged him goodbye, I couldn't help but cry. Where have the years gone? I would give much to have him back on my knee or in my arms, but those days are gone.
Happy Birthday my firstborn son.....I miss those days so many years ago when I held you in my arms, played Leggos with you and took you to the park. May God direct your path over the next 36 years of your life and may HIS arms be the ones you rest in and find comfort in all the rest of the days of your life.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR SON!
YIKES....they're here....I've finally got them......my Grandma's wrinkly hands! I remember as a little girl looking at my Grandmother's hands a lot. It wasn't that I simply sat and stared at her hands, it was just that her hands were ALWAYS busy and since I watched her and followed her around a lot, I noticed those precious hands. Those dear hands ironed, cooked, did the dishes and helped me button all those buttons when I was just a wee one. What I always remembered about her was those wonderful hands full of wrinkles! I don't mean that in a cruel way, it was just an observation as a child. I remember looking at her hands and wondering about all the things those hands had done in her life.
Now, here I am, just as of this morning, realizing that my hands are beginning to look like my Grandma's hands. For a moment, it made me feel old and a bit sad and then I realized it was a good thing. I thought, you know, if my hands could accomplish even a portion of blessings that my Grandmother's hands ministered to me, then it was an honor to have wrinkly hands like Grandma's.
Every single day I want my hands to be used to minister peace, blessings, comfort, encouragement and love, just as my dear Grandmother's did. NOW is the best time in my life with my grandchildren all around me and with so many in our church and community to use my hands to bless.
Lord, use my hands for your glory and let them be instruments of your peace....just like Grandma's were to me. After all Lord, there's lots of little hands in my life that are holding on to them.
Even Dorothy knew that truth...there is no place like home, is there? We can travel the world over, enjoy every moment and tuck the memories we made away in our minds, but in the end, HOME is where we want to be. At the end of the day, HOME beckons us to its' door. At the moment our foot steps through our front door, we are at peace, we are comforted, we are home. All is well with us when we come home. When we close the front door, trouble seems to cease. After all, everything is familiar there, our own bed, our own pillow, our own kitchen, our own space that we live, breathe and have our being in. Home...ohhhh, it feels so good and there's just no place like it.
Wednesday, one of our own came HOME. How wonderful to walk in to church Wednesday night and see our Kaitlin back with us. I have no doubt that her coming HOME brought peace and joy to her heart. I know her homecoming brought joy to mine.
Life takes us on many journeys. We travel far and wide for education, for leisure travel, and for business, but always...when we are HOME, we are at peace and all is right with us and the world.
Welcome HOME Kaitlin...welcome HOME. There's no place like HOME and we're glad you're here.
TRUTH....this single word seems to stir up trouble in many circles. I know, I have witnessed it personally amongst people.
I shall never truly and compeletly understand why it is that the majority of people really do not want to hear TRUTH. I am not speaking, for the most part, about biblical truth, I am talking about TRUTH in general. No matter how kind, considerate and gentle, many people refuse to listen to the truth and will actually get angered when it is spoken to them. Just a week ago, I simply spoke a TRUTH to somone, in a sweet but honest way, and if looks could have killed, I would have been dead. Then came the turn of their body and the silence.
Ah well....I pity them. What I spoke was TRUTH. It was not meant to hurt, discourage or put down, it was simply a TRUTH spoken in love from one adult to another and yet, it was not received well. I have a difficult time understanding and accepting the fact that millions of people across this great land refuse to ever do any better or act any better than what they do. When they are lovingly corrected and TRUTH is spoken to them, it is rejected the majority of the time. Do they not want to grow? Do they think they are perfect or do they simply just abhor the idea that anyone would have the nerve to speak to them about their speech/actions?
I'm baffled but I'll not stop speaking TRUTH.
