So tired.....

The gnome hat has faded, it has a little tear, and I had a hook all picked out for it, but we have just one more trip this summer. 

The pile of boxes is diminishing, the dog has arrived, Almost all of the children have been to check out our new home, and I have almost found my way to Bruno's and back. 

No internet at home yet, but that's okay, I get to go to McDonalds and check my email and have a Strawberry lemonade....life is good.

Miss my friends at home......ready to meet new friends....but thanking God for a little "down time".

So for now, I am listening to the radio a lot, tinking of you all and unpacking boxes...

Stitching up the gnome hat and getting ready for a new day...

Love, from Fairhope

Mama Hamil"gnome"

Twenty Four years ago today.....

I was holding the most awesome little boy with blonde hair and big blue eyes and I fell head over heels in love...he was my son.

Well, of course he was his daddy's son, too but at that moment, the world stopped turning and there were only two people in that room.  This gorgeous child, and an ill-prepared woman whom he would depend on to meet all of his needs.

If I ever needed God's wisdom and grace it was in that moment...and he delivered.

Did I feel inadequate...you bet, was I scared? terrified, but alone, no way.  God gives us children to be blessings to us, to care for and to love.  He let me know that as long as his father and I provided love and guidance, and entrusted this child back to Him, that he would do the rest.  .."train up a child."

It has been a wonderful 24 years, you are an awesome man, a great husband and a spectacular father. We are amazed daily by your wisdom, love and integrity. 

Thank you for calling me Mom.  I love you! Happy, Happy Birthday, JOSHUA!

I can't find it......Where is it?

Okay, I put it down somewhere, I know it's here...Ahhh, there it is, the little red gnome hat ready for travel once again.  I thought I taped it up in a box somewhere but I didn't.  Let me put it on one more time.

So, today is the day.  The day we have been working towards for quite awhile.  The day that we leave the safety and love and feeling of home and family we have in the Wiregrass for parts unknown. Putting "home" in the rearview mirror is always hard...But getting the opportunity to call somewhere else "home" and to serve somewhere else will be a blessing too.

So, off go the Hamil"gnomes" again....by the time this summer is over, our odometer will read 200,000 miles, our hearts will be full, but hopefully we will have a hook in the kitchen to rest the pointy red hats on for awhile.  A little dust on them won't be a bad thing.

But for now, hats on, reporting for duty, ready to serve.....for the promise of a new day!

From somewhere in South Alabama.....signing off for a day or two....Mama Hamil"gnome"

Doors

There are all kinds of doors. Solid ones, ornate doors with beautiful windows, revolving doors, swinging doors, automatic doors, french doors and I'm sure plenty more that I haven't thought of. 

Been thinking about doors lately.  They either keep or allow things or people in, or let them out.  Or they can even keep people our things out. I think our hearts function a lot like doors in many ways.

 If someone approaches our heart we have the choice to let them in or leave them outside. Everytime you let someone in, you take a risk.  You give them access to your emotions, your feelings and the very heart of who you are. You take that risk to let them see you at your best, your worst and everything in between. 
However, you also take a risk by not letting someone in your heart. You may miss out on a blessing.  The blessing of encouragement, love, frienship, and the joy of living life together.

A huge part of how we give access has to do with who is in the house when we make that decision.  You may decide that you have enough people with access to your heart, you may decide that you don't want to take a risk again.  But, I promise you this, if the One who loves us more than anything is in your house when the knock comes, you won't mind giving access to others. After all, it didn't go so bad when you let Him in, did it?

I have chosen to live my life like a french door.  I try to be inviting, letting people in as they approach.
Have I gotten hurt? Yes. but that is a part of the journey.  But I have someone in my living room, to bandage the wounds, love me completely, and to keep me from putting up the ugly, solid, uninviting door. Have I been blessed beyond measure by those whom I have given access?   In more ways than I have words for!

Don't be afraid to give access....don't be afraid to let someone in....Sometimes, people have to leave, but the things they leave behind are part of the decor that is the home of your heart..

"Then Christ will make His home in your hearts, as you trust in Him, your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." Ephesians 3:17

What kind of door are you?

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