I couldn't be...no way...how did that happen?

Okay, so I went to bed last night in my 40's, this morning I woke up not in my 40's anymore,and it happened...I began to unravel just a little bit!!

 I kissed my husband goodbye,  he told me  that I might want to go by McDonald's and get my Senior Citizen's coffee, I thought, "Hmmph, in a little less than 10 months, he's gonna get it!!!!!!" So, I head to work, contemplating the new decade of my life that I just
woke up in. I thought, "Coffee is for old folks, I'll stop and get a Dr. Pepper at the gas station. I'll just show him." I promptly get out of the car, go inside, pay for my gas and "cool" Dr. pepper, and ooops... I did it! Something I haven't done in at least 20 years. I locked not only my keys but my phone AND my keys in the car at the gas pump! How is that for embarrasing? I had to go in and ask to borrow their phone, and admit to the man I love more than anything that I had a very big "Senior moment".  Of course he rescued me, he always does, but when he unlocked the door, he said, "I'm just not quite sure how that happened." I didn't answer, but when I got home, He told me that it wouldn't have happened if I'd gotten my Sr. coffee!! Ahhhhh!! Not nice! 

But, then I got to thinking, I found this purse I really liked at a store that offers a 50+ discount...this getting older might not be a bad thing after all.

Tomorrow, I will activate my AARP card, go shopping and enjoy being 50 which is the new 40, or 30 or whatever. 

Good night, friends.  I am going to find my keys and my phone and put them in a safe place!!!!! I may even get a free coffee on my way to work...I'll go through the drive through and that way nothing gets locked in the car!!!

Sleep tight!

The chapel

One of the extreme privileges I have had the last 5 years is to work less that 75 feet from one of the most beautiful chapels in the vicinity.  It is not the main sanctuary of this beautiful church, but it is a quiet, holy place tucked away from the noise, and business of life.

It is a place of respite for those who are in need of comfort, who are devastated, whose lives are forever altered, for those who are struggling, searching, questioning, or for those of us who may sometimes just need a "time out"!

God does not disappoint.  He meets each person there, He tenderly loves, quietly listens, reveals Himself in ways only He can do, and He holds us in his arms, or lets us recline against His chest, feel His heartbeat and know that He is in control....a shelter in the storm, a rest for the weary and an "attitude adjuster" for those in need of a "time out"!

Thank you, Lord

Fathers and Daughters, Fathers and Sons

Today is Father's Day.  What a bittersweet day.  I only had daddy for 17 years, but somehow daddy knew that he had to pack a lot in those few short years.  I am so grateful for all the life lessons he gave me in that short amount of time. I learned things that are the very thread of who I am.  I learned what it is like to have a Godly father,  who showed me the love of the most perfect father, and for that I will always be thankful. There is a place in my heart, that only a daddy can fill.

But the blessings don't end there.  My husband is a remarkable father.  He loves his children with his whole heart and always puts them first. As our sons are now adults, I truly see the imprint he has left on each of their lives.  He is not only their father, but he is their closest ally. There is a place in their hearts that only a Father can fill.

Then, there is my son Josh.  What a father he is.  I see the same look in his eyes when he is with his sweet daughter that I have seen before, first with daddy, then with his daddy.  She loves her daddy with her whole heart and he loves her just as much. Her heart has a place that is just for her daddy!

We may live in an imperfect world. Because we are human we do things that are not always right, we make mistakes and sometimes we are just wrong.  But one of the most perfect types of love we have in this world, is the love of a Godly father.

Thank you God, for the examples of fatherly love in my life.  Praise to You this Father's day

"Two months"

Two months....A small facebook post, two words only, but what a great amount of meaning those two words hold!

Andrew, our oldest twin and his financee both posted those words this week.  Wow! less than two months and our family increases yet again! 

What a wonderful thought! Another joyous time is coming. They are so excited and so are we...More wedding preparations, more excitement and joy for a new home and union God is creating. 

We are blessed beyond measure....First each other, then sons, now Daughters in law and a grandbaby.... one day more!  It is hard sometimes to take it all in. 

Thank you Lord for all of your blessings...wrapped in gnome hats, porch swings, pretty dresses and fancy tuxes and the faces of friends, family and loved ones.  You are amazing!

Let the Summer of 2011 continue....

Aunt Gladys

 Aunt Gladys was my only aunt on my daddy's side.  I loved her so much.  She was not a "girly girl".  Her idea of fun was to hook up her boat to her trailer, drive to her fish camp on the river and fish.  Just like any other true woman of the South, she could cook a buffet for 20 people every Sunday, make sweet tea like none other, and grow the most amazing azaleas, hydrangeas, and daylillies you have ever seen...she was also at her church everytime the doors were open.  She loved her parents, and siblings with all her heart, and my daddy, her baby brother was crazy about her.  So was I.  Her whole family was crazy about her and never wandered more that a block or two away from her for most of their lives.

She was always smiling or laughing. She told the best stories about her mischevious childhood. I never once heard her complain, and when she hugged you, you knew it because it took you two or three minutes to breathe again.

After Daddy died and I went off to school, I didn't see her nearly as much, but there was never a Christmas, or an occaision that we didn't get a card or a gift. I don't know if I ever told her how much that meant.

She wasnt fancy, but she did everything with her whole heart.  Aunt Gladys always was a sign of constancy and stability to everyone in her life.  She passed away about 4 years ago, now. She was in her late 90's and was graceful even in her leaving. Her life wasn't easy, she was weathered, but to look in her blue eyes, you saw the joy of a child and the love of Jesus.

I believe that in Heaven we will be reunited with those that have gone before us.  I can't wait to see the smile on her face as she hugs me tight and says, "Come on in sug, your daddy and me just caught some fish today, wanna stay for supper? let me get ya some tea!" 

Love you, Aunt Gladys!

American Pickers...where are you?...and by the way, where is the cleaning fairy?

I love the concept of this show.  It's about these two guys who travel across the country  and stop at the homes of random people and ask to dig through their barns or junk sheds.  They find these priceless treasures and offer rock-bottom prices, and then resell the stuff for more.  Depending on the value of the stuff, "rock-bottom" isn't always so bad.

I don't have a barn or a junk house, but I am moving and pitching junk.  I wish they'd show up at my house and find some priceless treasure that I could barter for...It would make this whole packing mess seem like a treasure hunt! Well...a girl can dream, can't she?

The other fun thing about moving is realizing that you are not as neat and clean as you think.  I wish I had a "cleaning fairy" to come and clean under and behind some of my furniture. I mean, really, how often do you pull out your piano, or your refrigerator to clean around it.. Yuck!!!!!

All in all, moving is a reality check.  It tells most people two things...the first is that they are collectors of "stuff" and, the second is that, most of us are a bit messy  in places where no one can see.

I can't wait to get everything clean, and straight, get rid of some junk and start all over again! Come on, Pickers and cleaning fairies...I need you!

"Marking" Babies

I was about  ten or 11 when I went to the Methodist Church across the street from my church with my sister for a concert.  You see, there were two good looking young college boys from Asbury College (before it was Asbury University) who were singing and preaching their way across the Southeast trying to raise tuition money for the next year. Well, as I recall, they sang pretty good and all the girls were laughing at their corny jokes, and crying at their message.  But, there is only one thing they said that night that I will never forget.

They told this story of a Missionary woman in China that had to go to the mountain stream to get water for her family every day.  She was pregnant, and on her way up the mountain she saw it....the biggest, blackest, bear you have ever seen!  She was terrified, she left her wagon and the buckets and ran just as far as she could to the bottom of the mountain and back home to her family.  She calmed down, and everything seemed to be okay, and then, the baby was born.....

There she was, a cute little baby girl, with pretty blue eyes, blonde hair, ten fingers, ten toes, and oh no....it couldn't be...the bear had left it's mark.....she had little "bear" feet!!!!

I know, corniest joke EVER....

but I think there is something to "marking" babies as the old folks say.  When my oldest son was born, we decorated his room with clowns.  Clowns everywhere.  big ones, little ones, seashell clowns, ceramic clowns, clown lamps, clown bedding, well...you get the picture!

I didn't find out till many years later that he is terrified of clowns. Maybe I "marked" him.  Who knows?  My mom ate onions like they were apples when she was pregnant with me? Do I like onions? Never have!

Think about it....Have you been marked?  have you "marked" your child?

I know it is really only an old wives tale, but sometimes, the coincidences are astounding!

We all know we are set apart and marked by Jesus, to be His and do his will, whether it is in bare feet, in a clown ministry or chopping onions when we don't like them

How are you marked?