I Saw it on Facebook

While I am sure that all the people in your life appreciates every little thing you do, perhaps, like mine, they seldom if ever give any indication that they do.

Sometimes it is actually hilarious, like the old joke about the little four year old boy who had never spoken a word.  One morning, his mother served him his breakfast and his toast was burnt.  He began complaining, whining and cursing.  Whole strings of words and sentences.  His parents were shocked and thrilled.  He could talk!  When the excitement calmed down, they asked him, "Son, why have you never spoken before?"  He said plainly, "Up until this morning, everything has been fine."

Other times, when you are tired or sick or feeling overloaded it can be downright depressing.  You can begin to feel used or bitter or resentful.  And that can in turn make you feel guilty or petty...after all the people and the home you do these things for, you care about very deeply.

Many years ago, when I was going through feeling that way because it was up to me to feed all the animals that we had at the time, God heard my complaints.  And he reminded me that in reality those animals were His, not Pete's.  "Do it for Me, and I will see and I will remember.", His Holy Spirit seemed to say to me.

Then several years ago, I was going through another down spell of feeling totally unappreciated.  I was moping, crying and complaining.  Once again, God seemed to say, "There, there now.  I know and I see.  You are doing the best you can and I appreciate it.  The very fact that they can take you for granted, proves you are doing a good job."

I'm not going to say it never upsets me when they ignore the things I've done and point out what I haven't done.  But nowadays, when it starts to turn my thoughts dark, I know inside that they'd be lost if I wasn't here doing what I do.  How hard life would seem.  And I thank God I'm still here and around to do those things for them.  And I pray he'll let me be here and able for many years to come.

Peek-a-boo

Last weekend, Baby Ruth spent the night with Mawmaw and PawPaw so the kids could go out for the evening.  I had picked her up on my way home from work and we had all had a good evening together.  We'd ate pizza, built blocks, read books, played Cookie Jam, watched a Disney movie.  Baby Ruth had her bath and was in her little zip up footie pajamas.  Snug as a bug, cute as pie.

It was now a little after nine and I'm watching Blue Bloods.  Bug is reading.  PawPaw is in bed and Baby Ruth is playing quietly on the floor of the living room.  She has an old baby towel she is playing with.  At one point she stands up, puts it over her head and engages me in a round of peek-a-boo.  Then Aunt Bug takes a turn.  We have several rounds of the standard "Where is so & so?" - "There she is!" peek-a-boo.

Now Baby Ruth does it again, only this time when I say, "Where is Hazil?", we hear a deep, throaty growl come out from under the towel.  I think, "Oh, she's using her imagination and changing the game.  Mawmaw will play along with her."  

So, I say, "Bug, did you hear that?!  What is it?!" very theatrically.  Then Bug responds with, "Yes, I don't know what it is."  And I go on with "Oh, my, what could it be?!  I'm scared."  

Next thing I know, Hazil Ruth, standing in front of me, throws the towel back and with a trembling lip, and in a low whispery voice says, "Mawmaw, I scared."

My heart melts and breaks at the same time.  I throw my arms open and she runs into them.  I scoop her up in my lap and she nestles her head on my shoulder.  We stay like that about 10 minutes and the poor little thing is out like a light.  I go lay her down by PawPaw were nothing can hurt her or scare her. 

Never knew Bug and My's acting was so convincing.  

I Saw it on Facebook...

A couple of weeks back I did a post that originated from something I saw on Facebook.  I intend to make this a regular feature for the near future here at Life & Faith in Caneyhead.  Today's entry was inspired by the following:

There is a world of truth here!  Monday thru Friday, I come in from work, hit the bedroom kicking my shoes off, then on to the bathroom to toss my clothes in the dirty hamper and I don a gown.  I wear my gown for the rest of the evening.  Cook in it.  Eat in it.  Go outside in it.  (A benefit of being in the woods).

And on weekends...i stay in a gown 99% of the time.  Don't bother with makeup, bras or shoes.  If I must go to a store, I'll slip my old shoes on and some ratty stretch pants and a t-shirt.  The only things that will get me in makeup, my bra and regular clothes on the weekend are:

1.  Church services.

2.  Pete takes me somewhere other than immediate family.

3.  Someone wants to take me out to eat.

And there you have it.  Another strange factoid about Barbara In Caneyhead. 

Fathoms of Fall

Fall.  For most of my life fall has far and away been my  most favorite time of year.  Even though I suffer greatly from all the ragweed that blooms.  I love the chill in the air, the smell of leaves, the crunch of them under your feet.  The wind makes me feel alive. 

Around here, fall means time to get ready for deer season for many folks.  I have hunted and enjoyed it.  I have hunted and been nothing but miserable.  When we lived on the side of the highway and I worked answering phones all day for Fuller Oil, I loved escaping to deer camp on the weekends.  For the solitude.  No phone.  No electricity.  Just family and friends who'd stop by for coffee or a game of 42.  Coal oil lamps and fires to warm us and cook over.  Now that we live right next to the Baygall, I feel no need to "get away" somewhere.  I am away, as soon as I get home. 

And then there is Halloween.  In my childhood, Halloween was one of the happiest times of the year.  Even in my teens.  But by the time I had Bubba, things were changing and now I really don't care a flip for it.  Why you ask?

When I was a child, nine out of ten homes on any street would have their porch light on and give out candy.  You could trick-or-treat in your own neighborhood.  On foot, on bikes, whatever.  It seemed everyone did it from toddler to junior high.  On a warm Halloween, there'd be water balloon fights in the dark.

Our little church would have a Halloween on the sidewalk in front of the Sunday School building.  There'd be booths with actual creepy, scary stuff.  Stick your hand in this bowl and feel the eye balls (peeled grapes).  Or in this one and feel the intestines (cold pasta).  

Churches, family or friends would often have a party that included roasting wieners, making smores, dunking for apples, and hay rides.  Nothing like a hay ride.  Out in the night under the stars.  Adventurous for the little ones, romantic for the pre-teens.

Occasionally the hayride would go down Bragg Road. The trees close in on either side of you as you drive down this dirt road.  Part of the era of the railroad.  The story that was told to us as we traveled the road, was that in a tragic accident, an engineer lost his head and the Bragg Light that appears, is him carrying his gas lantern, searching for his head.

In my later teens, me and friend Michele would dress up for Halloween and cruise Silsbee.  One year we were gypsies.  Another one we wore togas.  We had a blast. 

In college at SFA, one year me and my roommate dressed up as hookers and went to a Rusty Wier concert at a little club by campus. 

When Pete & I married, I'd buy candy and turn our light on.  The first year we had quite a few.  Then next year less and then less.  By the time Bubba was born in 1989, almost no one turned on their porch light anymore.  Due to dwindling numbers of treaters and a trend to pile the kids in cars and descend upon residential cul-de-sacs in mass.  Churches opted for the more politically correct "fall festival" which was fun, but no where near the same.  It was harder and harder to get a group together for a good party.  And many adults seem to have taken over Halloween for themselves. 

Our church does a "Trunk or Treat" for Halloween now.  I've been to help,  Pete and his friend Robert take turns being a head on a table.  One year I dressed as the wicked queen off of Snow White.  Left my dentures out and tried to offer the children a fake apple.  

But other than that, I'm overall pretty down on Halloween.  Disappointed it's not the same.  But even as I type this, I think perhaps it's time we try to recreate some of the past for   Hannah Bug and her friends and Baby Ruth.   

The idea for this entry came from the BESociety October 2014 Blogging Challenge.

What is fall to you?  

I Saw it on Facebook...

This is the first of posts in a new series I plan to use titled "I Saw it on Facebook."  In these posts I will display what I saw on Facebook and then expound upon it.  Sometimes it may be a rant, sometimes a memory and other times humorous thoughts.  Tonight, I give you this: 

That sums me up rather well.  I have strong feelings about music and strong attachments and repulsions to it.  My taste ranges from Etta James to Hank Williams, Sr.  From Magic! to the Andrews Sisters.  From Gary Stewart to Cookie and the Cupcakes.  From 38 Special to Frankie Valley.  All I ask of music is that I like the music, that the song touch me in some way, and I enjoy listening to the artist on that song.  There are very few people or groups I could listen to a whole album of.  A few off the top of my head:  George Strait, CCR, or the Eagles.

Music brings back memories to me unlike anything except perhaps for smell.  That's why next April I plan to do my Challenge entries based on the theme "Musical Memories".  

April is a long way off.  So until then, if you want to see if your taste and mine meet anywhere, you can check out my Spotify playlists. 

So what is your favorite type of music?  An artist you can't get enough of?  

Pondering: They don't make 'em like that anymore.

I've never made any secret of the fact that my mind runs off in unusual tangents at times.  And sometimes purely for my amusement.  I view this as pondering.  Looking at something from a new or skewed perspective.  

Today at work, our production manager had come thru the office and for some reason it seemed appropriate to comment that "they don't make 'em like that anymore."

There is where my mental tailspin started.  I thought, who makes 'em?  Well, God of course!  Then I imagined God in Heaven conversing with one of his angels.  The angel asking how about making one similar that?  And God saying we don't make 'em like that any more.  That's model 958675246123.  It was discontinued in 1946.  What was tenacity was perceived as stubbornness.  Concern was misconstrued as being hard nosed.  The humor ran entirely too dry for the masses to understand.  Folks were insulted instead of amused.  It's a shame though.  I liked that model. That model served his nation.  That model didn't give a fig about political correctness.  If he truly liked someone, he'd bend over backwards to help them.  He also never asked anyone to do anything he wasn't willing to do himself. Yep, there was some really good qualities packed in that model, but no one would understand it today.  

What sort of things do you ponder? 

Have you known any model #958675246123's in your time? 

Swept Away By Summer

I abandoned the road trip.  Had good intentions to keep up those regular posts that the A to Z Challenge got me to making.  But then, summer came on in all it's glory.  Caneyhead became rich and green.  There were so many evenings outside.  Dips in the pool to enjoy. Bubba and his little family making regular visits to our house.  Times reading with Baby Ruth or watching movies with her.  

There was a "get away" weekend for my sister and two of my nieces at Edna's river camp.  So great to visit and catch up and even be silly together.

The annual trip to Artesian Springs with the church was another enjoyable, happy day.  Tucked away in the woods of East Texas near Newton.  

Life just too rich and mellow and easy to put aside to come and visit and read and write.  Now September is around the corner, and I know that as we turn that corner, the days will shorten, eventually it will be too cool to swim and the soft glow of the computer screen will beckon me back.  But for now, I'm drinking the last dregs of a splendid summer from life's cup. 

Become a VFW Advocate Today

Do you have a heart for Veterans?  Did a family member serve, or are they serving now?  A friend or a neighbor?  Maybe, you personally don't know anyone who served or has served.  But do you like sleeping safe at night?  Do you think those that secure that privilege for you deserve the best our country can give them?  

Then, please, go today and get involved in the VFW Action Corps!  It costs nothing.  You can see the issues they face through their eyes and contact our leaders on their behalf.  You can spread the word on issues through Twitter and Facebook and other social media.  

Two issues currently ripped from the headlines is that of the Marine Andrew Tahmooressi, who is currently locked in a Mexican jail for getting lost on the Interstate with all of his worldly goods in his truck, including some guns.  

And there is the issue of Senate bill S.2450 to improve the quality of health care for veterans.  Have you not seen the insanely long wait times in the news?!  This bill will help to remedy that.

You can choose which issues to join in on.  Veterans have done so much for us, can't we at least do this for them?! 

Roadtrip - May

This year, for the first time, I'm participating in the Post AtoZ Road Trip.  Basically, it's just committing to continuing to visit the blogs that participated in the challenge and to make posts about your "trip" visiting those blogs.

Being a Southerner, it just seemed good manners to start my trip off by stopping by to visit each of our AtoZ Hosts.  Some I had visited before, some I actually follow and others were new experiences for me. 

Next, it seemed only right to return the visits to Life & Faith in Caneyhead that the Challenge brought to me.  Since I don't know who visited, unless they commented, that means I dropped in on everyone who left a comment here at Caneyhead.

You know how sometimes you start a trip with an itinerary and then some sight or a particular road sparks your curiosity and suddenly you've abandoned your plan and turned off into a new adventure?  Well, that's exactly what happened to me!  Arlynda Lea surprised me by featuring Caneyhead on her Sites to See #2 list!  Evidently, she is wife to Jerry of the Crackerhead Chronicles.

Once I went to her list, I just couldn't resist the urge to turn down every little side road on that list and check them out.  I suggest you do the same.  

And don't forget the many ways you can road trip, too, over at The A to Z Challenge Blog.  You can visit Challenge participants, those with less than 100 followers, other roadtripers, reflection posts or the co-hosts.

As for blogs and posts that interested me, I tweet those.  So you can click my Twitter bird in the sidebar or find many cross posted to the Life & Faith in Caneyhead page on Facebook.  

Happy journeys!  And don't forget to check the air in your tires.

M. J. Joachim’s Writing Tips: Totally Random A - Z Challenge Survey #1

M.J. is one of the hosts of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge and is conducting the first of several surveys about the challenge.   Go here and read his post:



M. J. Joachim’s Writing Tips: Totally Random A - Z Challenge Survey #1: by M. J. Joachim Because I think you guys are awesome, and I want to know what you think about when it comes to all things A - Z. Please sha...


Now for my responses:


1. What is the first shape that comes to mind when you think of the AtoZ Challenge?  A circle.  Because it is a circle of bloggers sharing posts, ideas, visits, comments, etc.


2. What is the first color(s) you think of, when you think of the AtoZ Challenge?  This color.   Because it was the color in our .jpeg for this year, 2014.


3. Why do you like visiting the A to Z Blog?  I like to visit the blog to see what new thing the co-hosts might be up to and to use the linky lists to visit other blogs.


4. If you could change anything about the A to Z Challenge, what would it be?  Since it has grown so large, I'd like to see the linky list divided by blog type.  And for blog type to be manditory.  Otherwise, change nothing.


5.  What is your favorite thing about the A to Z Challenge?  In all honesty, more traffic to my blog.  Which means more folks seeing my posts and more comments left.  And more people following Caneyhead on one platform or another.


Bonus Question:  What is your favorite letter of the alphabet and why?  B of course!  For Barbara. 


If you A to Z'd this year, join in and take the survey yourself! 

Bee Hive Jive

Someone bought the two story house down the road from us not too long ago.  And one day, on my way home ,I saw them moving in bee hives.  I thought that was wonderful, as ever since Hurricane Rita came through, we've have less  and less bees around.  Once was, if you set a canned drink down outside, at least one or two bees were going to hover it.  And if it was a Dr. Pepper, you could count on one crawling up inside if you didn't cover the opening when you weren't sipping.  For quite some time it has been that you could eat or drink most anything outside and never see a honey bee. While that may be convenient, it's not good for nature or gardens.  

As April came round, we began working on the pool to get ready to enjoy it once more.  Just as we had the water crystal clear and was primed and pumped for an approaching warm weekend we discover a couple hundred bees ringing the side of our pool!  This distressed me greatly, as much as I enjoy having the pool and as happy as I was to see bees back.  Would we have to do all our swimming in the late evening and night to avoid them?  

I shouldn't have worried or stressed over it.  Pete looked the situation over and thought it through.  He said, "They aren't coming for water.  They are coming for the thin layer of pollen that is accumulating around the side of the pool at the waters edge.  Armed with a  cloth and a spray bottle of chlorine bleach, Pete would dampen the cloth with the bleach and scrub the vinyl from the waters surface to the top of the pool.  Once again no more than three or five bees hummed near the pool.  Perfect solution for us and the bees. 

  

Stuck in the Middle With You

Last month, one of our cats, Bunny  -   (Yeah, strange name for a cat.  But first she belonged to Baby Ruth, and she had been adamant that the cat be named Bunny.) - who was expecting kittens by my precious Tom Kitty, decided during a rainstorm to have her kittens in the dirty clothes hamper in Pete & mine's bathroom.  Due to the in-climate weather, we allowed her to proceed with this.  

A couple of nights later, Pete hears the dogs raising a ruckus and goes outside to see they had a large possum treed.  Due to our chickens and fruit trees, he considers this a varmint and shoots the possum.  Upon inspection, he discovers it had four wee ones in her pouch.  Since these were little and cute, they were not considered varmints, only orphans.  So, he brought them into the house in a bucket with straw and decided they needed the dark of our bedroom closet to rest in. 

Later we were laying there in our bed.  The bathroom is on our left and the closet is on our right.  Suddenly, the kittens start mewing for their mama.  They are awake and want to eat, but Bunny is out feeding her own self.  It wasn't long until we started to hear these odd, loud sucking sounds from the closet.  Apparently the little possums were missing their  own mama.  We lay there a few minutes listening to this symphony of hungry little animals, and a song starts to play in my head.

I turn to Pete and say, "Kittens to the left of me, possums to the right - here I am, stuck in the middle with you."

If you want to hear the song that was in my head, you can listen here:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ukstws19D4

In Honor of Mother's Day

The Allbritton Girls

Top:  Aunt Billie, Aunt Catherine  Botton:  Aunt Norma,  Jesse Ruth ( My Mother)

Taken in Arkansas at Aunt Norma's House in the 70's.

Reflections on the April A to Z Challenge 2014

Reflecting upon this latest A to Z Challenge, I'm satisfied with how it went and disappointed all at the same time.  

I'll start with what I am disappointed in this time around, as I'd rather end this entry on a positive note.

Once again circumstances prevented me from getting all my posts done ahead of time and this in turn limited my time to explore, read and comment upon other blogs.

I made the choice to post entries that let readers get to know me better, but I wish I'd have stuck to a story telling theme as I did in the past two years as that is my strong suit.  Visitors didn't get to see me at my best.

Somewhere along the way, and I don't know when exactly, my link disappeared off the AtoZ Challenge linky list!  I have no idea why.  I left a comment inquiring, but received no reply.

Now, on to the reasons I'm satisfied with this year's Challenge.

I met several of my personal goals for this year!  One was to have one hundred followers on my blog, which I now have 102!  Another was to get over 50 on my Facebook page, and as of today I have 58.  And though I set no goals for it, I also picked up several new email subscribers!  Also found my twitter followers increase and picked up a couple of new people on Pinterest.   A great big THANK YOU to everyone who begun in some way to connect with me here at Caneyhead!

I did manage to get the 1st week's posts and the last week's posts done the weekend before.

I found a few new blogs that I think I'm going to love following. I was looking specifically for blogs whose writers seemed to have a quirky sense of humor similar to my own.

This year I actually was able to get in on a Twitter chat when I was on lunch break at work.  I enjoyed that.

The hosts, as aways, are proficient, courteous, helpful and inspiring.  Thank you all!

I have already made a regular post since the end of the Challenge, so perhaps this year I will actually stay engaged in blogging.

To surmise,  I enjoyed this year's Challenge and have every intention of being in on next years'. Even have a couple of ideas in my head for a theme, sticking more to a storytelling vein. 

The Challenge may be over, but you can still visit the blogs through the Survivor tag on my sidebar.  With over 2000 blogs involved, you are sure to find something you enjoy.

Baby Ruth Called

The other evening, I had just stepped outside to check on Pete.  He had been burning some cedar branches he had trimmed off our large tree by the porch.  While I was out, I got a call.

When I came back in, Bug told me I had a call.  Said she didn't want to get up and lose her place in her book to answer it.  I go over and listen to the voice mail.  I hear a funny little racket and then I hear:  "Mawmaw.  I call mawmaw.  I call mawmaw.  I call mawmaw...."  Over and over she said it until the message cut her off.  

So, I dialed the number.  Candy Girl answered.  I told her I had gotten a call from her cell phone.  She said she hadn't called.  I told her it was Baby Ruth.  

Candy Girl put Baby Ruth on the phone.  I said "Hi, did you call Mawmaw?"  And we talked.  I understood enough to know she was baking cookies with mommy for her daddy.  

Baby Ruth turned two this month.  She talks so big for such a little girl.  Here she is all decked out for Easter before Sunday morning service.

Z is for Zeta, as in Greek Sororities

How's that for a reach to get where you want to go? I attended Stephen F. Austin State University in beautiful, historic Nacogdoches, TX from the fall of 1979 until summer of 1981. I was about three hours short of being a “Junior” when I decided to leave college and go to work if I found a good job. I did and I left.

But while I was at SFA, the first year, during Greek Week, I decided to pledge Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority, Gamma Theta Chapter. Admittedly, I was not the type of person who was into things “Greek” in general. I found much of the Greek culture to be snobbish and against the individuality I cherished. So, I was surprised and impressed when I stumbled upon a sorority who's primary purpose was to unite individuals in sisterhood for service. This appealed to me.

Pledging was silly, fun and hard work. In many ways we were like other Greeks. We had a Big Sisters and Little Sisters, a Brother Fraternity we'd team up with on projects and for socializing. My chosen activity was our adopted grandmother, Mrs. June Summers. Visiting her. Taking her to plays. Taking her to bingo at the Masons Hall. I'm not sure who benefited the most from that relationship, what with me being grandparent-less long before that time.

As a group we had many varied activities. The hardest one was cleaning the stadium after football games. Whew! Who knew how messy folks could be in the stands!

Our group was hit by tragedy while I was there. One of our most beloved sisters, Penny, died in a car accident. It was a hard time. But we bonded together and made the trip to Houston for her funeral.

I stayed semi in touch after I left college. Then those I knew graduated and moved on. Received the newsletter for many years. Always planned to go back and visit during pledge week so the pledges could get me to sign their pledge books and earn points. But I never did. Always seemed like life had me busy or bound to home.

Perhaps one year soon me and Bug will make the trip. Give her the chance to see SFA and allow me to encourage some up and coming Gamma Thetas.

“Gather sisters round and sing.

To these bond we'll ever cling.

For we know we'll always pass the test,

of being the best of all the rest.

We're G-a-m, Gam, m-a, Gamma,

S-i-g, Sig, ma, Sigma

G-a-m, Gam, m-a, Gamma Sigma!”

Were you ever Greek?

Yarn

Yarn can be a tall tale, a story. Daddy was an awesome storyteller. That's where I got my storytelling ability. Daddy always told his verbally. I almost always write mine. If you are visiting my blog for the first time, I urge you to read at least one of my “storytelling” entries. They are so much better than these entries about me. Any of those under “Remembering Family” in my sidebar. Or most anything from the previous two years A-Z Challenges. Or for a funny one, try: Yes, That's My Purse.

Yarn is also fibers you can knit or crochet with. I have never tried knitting. I can crochet a granny square. That's it. That's all. Mama taught me to crochet, to embroidery, to sew. And when I was younger I did it all. What I did do, I did very well. But to me it felt like work, not pleasure. So, I haven't done any of that since Bug was maybe three years old. Now she's about to be fifteen this summer. Maybe when I'm “old” and retired I'll do that stuff. Who knows.

What are your view on Yarn? Either kind.  

XOXO

X's and O's. Or hugs and kisses. In general, I love hugs and kisses! I grew up in an affectionate family. But I have my boundaries.

Kisses (X) are reserved for family. Kisses are on the cheek, unless it's Pete.

On a small child, back of the neck kisses are wonderful!

Hugs (O) I'll share with almost anyone. I usually hug all of Bubba and Bugs friends. At church, I like to hug many of the people I talk to there or greet. (Our church is big on hugs!) To me, it helps us all feel like family...which we are in the Lord.

Where do you draw your boundaries on hugs (O) and kisses (X)? 

Western

My daddy always wore a Stetson.  In the summer it was straw and breathable.  In the winter it was a grey felt one.  The prior years hat would be for work.  The newer one for dress.  He was not a cowboy.  He never wore jeans that I ever saw.  But he was a man and he lived here in Texas.  It was an acceptable and the preferred style for many of his age.


I grew up watching "shoot 'em ups" with Daddy.  Every western ever broadcast over one of the networks.  In fact, my first true love was a rodeo cowboy named Stoney Burk, who Jack Lord played before his role in the original Hawaii 5-0.

My middle sister, Sarah, married into a family that had long run cattle on the south side of town, in the woods and underbrush.  Funny, then I marry into the family that had run cattle in the woods and underbrush north of town.  

In my younger to mid growing up years, both of my sisters and their husbands were involved in a group of trailriders.  I remember Sarah taking me on one with them.  With Edna, we went to the local rodeo arena.  Everything there from bull riding, to barrel racing.  The best hamburgers!  

For many years, the group of riders on horseback was always the largest group in any parade, second only maybe to the high school marching band.  Pete and Hank and then Pete and his Emmy rode in many.

Now the group that is into all of that is seems to be shrinking.  The old hands and cowboys are dieing off.  

In our house now, we still watch anything Western that comes on TV.  In fact, Pete is watching Rawhide right now.

Do you like westerns?  

Values

Suppose you could say I have simple, old-fashioned, Christian values for the most part.  Here's some of what I believe, live and hold to:

God is real and alive.  

There is only one True God and not everyone is talking about him when they talk about God. 

Marriage = One man + One Woman + God

Homosexuality is a sin, more matter how you slice it.  But so is lying, stealing, adultery, murder, etc. 

The husband should do whatever he can to support and care for his family.  And the wife should support him in that.

The wife should care for the home and children.  And the husband should support her in that.

We owe all who serve our country in the military our gratitude, respect and thanks.

You should do anything you can that is legal and not against God to support your family before asking for or accepting a handout from family or the government.

If you give you word on something, whether in business, to a child, or what, you should do everything you can to stick to that word.

You should pick up after yourself no matter where you are.

Children should never be first.  God should be first, then your spouse, then the children.

Sunday should be a day for God, rest and fellowship.

It's rude to be on a phone or a device in the presence of a real person unless absolutely necessary.

Cheating = Stealing

If you say it, mean it.  If not, keep your mouth shut.

I could go on and on and on. But I think you get the idea.

What are your values?

Umbrellas

I admit I have a longstanding love/hate relationship with umbrellas.  

Here is why I love them:  when it there is rain falling straight down and you are in wide open spaces they keep you dry.

Here is why I hate them:

No matter how many you own, one will never be handy where and when you need it.

When the wind blows it is hard to hold them steady over you with one hand.

When the rain comes in at a slant, 2/3rds of your body is getting wet anyway.

Getting into or out of a vehicle with an umbrella is hard.

If you have other things to carry, it's almost impossible to juggle an umbrella too.

If you need to navigate a small passage way (like the chain link gate at work with the three rows of barbed wire on top) the umbrella will never fit.

Small, large, expensive or cheap they all end up with a little broken rib at some point.

So I have abandoned umbrellas.  In the winter I have a wonderful, ugly yellow ski jacket that turns water and keeps everything from the knee up dry.  In summer I just get wet:  who cares!  With the humidity in Texas, I already look a fright anyway.  

With all the advancements mankind has made in the past hundred years, you'd think someone would have come up with something better than an umbrella.  Like a little personal force field app you could activate from you cell phone?   Come on geek squad, get to it!

Testimony

ESTIMONY

I've left bits and pieces of my testimony all over this blog and all over the web. No, I haven't been on the witness stand in a courtroom. I'm speaking of my Christian Testimony. Here is the full story in a Reader's Digest Condensed version.

I was raised in a Christian home. Sunday school and church on Sundays (at least). Rainbows and Vacation Bible School in the summer. Prayer before the meals. The only curse words I had ever heard were damn and hell. On both sides of the extended family, family gatherings for holidays were large, noisy occasions of good food, games, pictures, stories and talk....all without any alcohol.

I loved to read my Bible every day and study my Sunday school lesson. Why? Honestly, more because I was a good student than any other reason. And we had little offering envelopes with check boxes on the outside with things like: read Bible, studied lesson, giving, staying for church, brought a guest, etc. I liked checking as many boxes as possible. And the thought of lying or cheating about it never occurred to me. Basically, I was a “good” girl.

When I was eleven (5^th grade) some friends and I from church went to see the Billy Graham movie “The Restless Ones” at another church. A couple of my friends got all emotional and cried. I didn't get emotional. But I did realize then and there that being a good girl that went to church all the time would not get me into Heaven. That more was required. That I had to admit even a good girl did things that were wrong according to God (sin) and that I needed to ask Him to forgive me, accept Jesus' death on the cross for me and ask Him to save me. And that it had to be public. So, I went forward publicly. 

When it was all over, I told Mama and Daddy about it at home. They called our pastor, who came over one day soon and spoke with me. Made sure I had it right and understood it. And he also spoke with Daddy. Who ended up crying and accepting Christ right there in our house. So I had the privilege of being Baptized with my Daddy on a cold December night. (Bug had that same privilege forty years later in a different church on a warm summer day, with her father!)

So, as far as I knew, I was right with God and on track. I attended church camp in the summers. Continued with Sunday school and church. Like so many teens, I sampled my share of doing some “wrong” things. But I had lines I would not cross. As I became an older teen, I fell into the “it doesn't say that exactly in the Bible” way of justifying some attitudes and actions. I read devotions. I prayed fairly regularly. Still thought I knew all that was needed to know to live the Christian life.

Fast-forward a few years. Mama and Daddy are gone. I'm grown. It literally hurts too much to sit in church and not have Mama there. Not hear her alto when we sung hymns. I go less and less. I go out dancing more and more. I'm not a “bad” person. I don't hurt anybody. But I don't really help anybody either.

I meet Pete, fall in love and marry. Something down inside of me says “I want God in this.” I get out my Bible and read to Pete the Bible's definition of love in I Corinthians and what the Bible says about the husband loving the wife as Christ did the church. About the wife honoring and respecting her husband. I tell him I want us to go to church. He's agreeable. But, every weekend, something comes up. Time rolls on and we never go. And I'm too newly married and been out of my church long enough that I don't go without him.

In May of 1989 I had Little Pete. Being a mother meant to me acting a certain way. Being sober. Being at home, not running the roads. Teaching them Jesus loves me and things like that. But Pete had no interest in going to church. And I still didn't know how to go without him.

Then we had the 1^st Gulf war and Tienanmen Square. And I'm upset about the world for my child's sake. And I'm so quick to get angry and tear peoples heads off verbally. I'm functioning, but I'm not really happy. And one blessed day I decided to get down my old Living Bible mother had given me as a teen. And I started reading, right at the beginning. And I literally could not put it down. I did “thirst for it like the deer pants for water.” I spent many an hour on and off all through the days at the old dinning room table, reading, praying & weeping. About the time I finished Revelation, I received a little card in the mail from a lady named Susan at my church. (The one I hadn't attended in about 8 years.) She was the Sunday School teacher for my current age group and she wanted to invite me to come.

Praise God! I didn't feel scared to go by myself anymore. The next Sunday I got myself and Bubba ready without Pete and went to Sunday School and church. There were many new faces, but also quite a few I recognized. And my dear friend Cookie just swept along side me and treated me like I'd never been gone a day.

I started going regularly, soon after that. The Holy Spirit led me to go forward and publicly rededicate my life to the Lord. Soon I was taking every class available to me. I helped in Vacation Bible School and begun to teach Children's Church. But the best thing ever was when I did a course by Henry Blackaby called “ExperiencingGod”. Through that, for the first time, I could look back through my life and see Jesus footprints all along the way. For the first time ever I understood what it meant to not only know Christ as Savior, but to allow Him to be Lord of your life. How to listen for the Holy Spirit. How to see where God is working and join Him there.

Thank God for that! I've been privileged to since play roles in His work. And He made me strong enough to stand the trials that were soon to be headed my way. Now, 20+ years later, I don't walk the walk perfectly each day, but I know who I am in Christ and I have the tools I need to face today and tomorrow.

Do you?