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...with a new gadget. I've been blogging for over eight years now. That means a lot of entries on this little blog of mine. I've tried to make it easy for anyone to follow and keep up with Caneyhead. In the sidebar, you can follow through:
Twitter
Facebook
Google
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I myself, knowing well that I've done a certain entry in the past, have had a hard time finding it. I've certainly done everything I know to do to try to make exploring Caneyhead easier. On my sidebar I have:
Personal Favorite Posts
Remembering Family Posts
A Google Search box for Caneyhead
My Blog Archive List
In my posts I've often added labels and links. All of this is useful in it's own way, but inadequate in others.
During the A-Z Challenge, I noticed a number of blogs that had thumbnails of other posts similar to the one you just read at the bottom of the post. I thought it was a neat idea, but did not follow up on it.
Then, Holly with Business 2 Blogger sent out an email in which she shared a post by Jessica, about related post plugins. Here I learned about the wonderful, free plugin that allowed these little thumbnails to appear on your blog!
I went to LinkWithin, read their FAQs sheet and gave it a whirl installing it here at Life & Faith in Caneyhead. It was super easy, and suddenly I was finding posts I had written long ago and totally forgotten about!
I share this with you so that you can enjoy exploring more of Caneyhead with ease, and so that if you are like I was, lost in your own blog, seeing these thumbnails and wondering about them, you can add this amazing little feature to your own blog.
In this day of haters, those who would wipe out all things "pertaining" to God just because they themselves are anti-God and those who would strip even the military men and women who serve to protect our Constitutional rights from sharing their faith (freedom of speech people! freedom of religion! - Notice the Constitution says freedom OF religion....not freedom FROM religion!!! It never intended to protect you from ever hearing the name of the Almighty or seeing a manger scene or having someone say "God bless you" when you sneeze. It meant to protect you from the government saying "This is the only way to worship God.")
These haters want to shut us up and put us down. Well, I can't shut up. I have been commission to "go therefore" and share what Christ means to me and what He has done for me. So, you attack and you get unconstitutional laws passed and you think you have shut me up. Because I can't speak out loud anymore.
Ah! But I can pray. I can pray for your depraved soul. I can ask Christ to reveal himself to you in an way you cannot deny. (And He so wants to do that! It is His deepest desire.) You can make laws saying I can't talk to you....but I can still pray for you. You can make laws saying I can't pray out loud. You can make laws saying I can't look like I am praying...but I can still pray for you in my head and my God hears!
Someday down the road you may be able to monitor my thoughts and you might think you can then stop me from praying. But you can't! You never will! Because the Holy Spirit knows my heart and He prays for me when my mouth is silenced, when my thoughts are censored. And He will pray for you when the day comes you'd jam my thought processes. Or when the day comes I am senile. He'll still be praying!!! He'll pray for me until I'm out of this world and with Christ and He'll pray for you as long as you draw breath!
You can't stop us. Now or ever.
Once again I survived the A-Z Challenge. It sounds simple enough in theory, but when real life events smack right up against deadlines to post day after day, simple flies right out the window.
A large part of that is my own life and lifestyle. Being away from home for about 10 hours each day constricts me and narrows my window of opportunity. Refusing to pre-write posts weeks ahead of time further restricts me. And part of it is being stuck on dial-up here in the sticks. All in all...I say it was worth it. But my family might not agree with me. They had late suppers, limited talk time, etc. all because I was committed to something that required my attention every evening for at least an hour, maybe more.
Why was it worth it to me? Because I love to write first and foremost. I have always enjoyed sitting down and putting my thoughts and feelings into words. It used to mean cramped fingers and lots of paper. But, now thanks to computers, just sit down and let your fingers fly, hoping they can keep up with the thoughts that are flowing.
It was also worth it to me, because I was specifically putting down things for my children to read and remember. Hopefully in distant years when I am gone from this earth. Each entry was printed out and given to my sister, Edna, who read them and placed them in a book she is saving for Bug. Bubba already received his book when he married.
But it goes beyond these Challenge entries. I hope my children will eventually find their way to this blog to read. To know more of their mother's beliefs, sense of humor. To have a place to remind them of who she was when memories grow dim and their time with her seems distant.
I was a child, and then a very selfish, self absorbed teen when my own parents were still on this earth. A lot I do know. I know Mama took violin lessons. I know Daddy was union through and through. But so many times I wished I could have known more about their viewpoints: religiously, politically, socially. That I could of had them around long enough to have actual grown up conversation with them.
To the A-Z hosts I have nothing but respect and koodoos for how you run the Challenge and it operates. Thank you for spurring us all on to make more of our writing and connect more with other bloggers.
This years top five posts by page views are:
If you didn't follow along on the Challenge, I hope you'll at least read these five. And I hope you'll also check out other "reflection" posts.
Make no mistake, I wanted very much to participate in the challenge again this year. Especially, more so, since I chose to write from the point of view that I was talking to my children. Sharing, saving and preserving memories, thoughts and feelings with them. But I'm darn lucky if I get 61/2 hours sleep a night. My job, the drive and errands keep me away from home a good ten hours a day. That leaves very little time for blogging, relaxing, cooking, chilling with hubby or Bug and everything else in my world. So, I am incredibly glad it is done. I look so forward to have a little time to sit in a comfy chair instead of a computer desk chair.
This is a stretch. Let's face it, the last of the alphabet is a bummer. But I've a a blast in kitchens with loved ones over the years.
Everything from me helping Sarah make sugar cookies and tea cakes and decorate them for Christmas, to me and my niece Paige stirring up chocolate chip cookies so we could eat half the dough while they baked and even when me, hubby and his cousin Bill simmered venison hash all evening while we shot pool. Each of us going into the kitchen to check it, and each adding our on little twist to it each time. Awesome results!
But of course some of the most precious was when my children were there under foot or "helping" me. When Bubba was still a baby, I'd put him in a bean bag in the corner of the kitchen while I cooked. If he woke I'd sing to him or make animal noises the whole while to keep him happy. We made our own version of a Beach Boy classic "dishy, dishy...oh, baby, now me got to go" that we'd sing while we washed dishes together. Him standing in a kitchen chair pulled up in front of the sink. Later, Bug toddling around begging for a FROZEN french fry or pie of breaded okra!
With both of my children there was lots of grating nuts and cheese with my old circa 1950's Mouli Shredder. Sifting flour and baking powders, cream eggs, butter and sugar. All towards the goal of a yummy desert or a plate of fudge for us all to enjoy. And all the fighting over bowls and spoons and beaters to lick whether it be custard, or meringue or what! And the begging for a small cup (usually the 1/4 cup measure) to be filled with some ingredient left plain for them: pecans, coconut, chocolate chips, cheese, etc.
I suppose if love makes a family, the kitchen makes a home.
