Road Signs on the Path of Life

Psalm 16: 11 "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

One day as I was driving home, I started thinking about the many signs I saw along the highway. Some were green with information such as the names of roads or towns. Some were yellow and had various cautions written on them. There were even some fluorescent orange signs warning of things that needed my immediate attention. That started me thinking about signs the Lord gives us in the Bible that tell us how to plan our journey through this life. The Bible is like an atlas….it has all the information in it to direct us from this life here on earth to our final destination of Heaven.

A few weeks ago my husband and I were traveling over some roads that we hadn't been on in quite some time. We came to a sign that read….DETOUR: ROAD CLOSED. We stopped and read the sign but then kept on going because my husband could see in the distance that a new bridge had been built. He thought that the road was fixed but that the signs had just not been removed yet. So we drove on down the road a good piece. As we rounded a curve we were surprised to see a big blockade across the road saying ROAD CLOSED. My goodness! The sign had been telling the truth all the time! We had wasted time and gas by going this far and now had to turn around and go back. I thought about how many times we as Christians come to a place in our lives where the Lord puts a roadblock in the path of something we have planned. So often we go around the sign only to find we have wasted time and energy when our plans fail and we have to turn around and come back. When God puts a roadblock in our life, it is always for a reason and always for our good.

Another sign I saw was one that read SLOW: DANGEROUS INTERSECTION. How many people do you see that actually slow down by these intersections? Most just read the sign and keep on going. And how many of us do the same thing with the warnings we read in God's Word? There are so very many warnings given us ….especially in the Proverbs. We are warned, "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." Proverbs 1: 10 That can be a very dangerous intersection if we let ourselves be influenced by wicked people. Many a good testimony has been destroyed because of wanting to be like the world instead of the Lord. There are many warning signs in the Bible that need to be taken seriously and not just glanced at as we speed on by down the path of life.

Here in the South, one of the road signs that must be taken seriously is the one that reads CAUTION: BRIDGE MAY ICE OVER IN COLD WEATHER. When we get cold weather and drizzle in the wintertime, sometimes only the bridges get cold enough to ice over. The ice will catch you off-guard if you're just driving down the road and not watching for it. As Christians we sometimes let our hearts get cold and ice over. We may get hurt by a fellow Christian or maybe get bitter over something that has happened to us. We need to read the CAUTION sign and be very careful. If not, we may make a wreck of our lives because of the icy condition of our heart. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4: 23

I am as guilty as the next person of not paying enough attention to either the actual road signs I see every day or the Biblical road signs God gives us on the Path of Life. I want to take them both more seriously in the future for I know they are only there for my benefit. This verse from Psalms would be a good motto for me to remember…."Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119: 105

May God bless you as you travel the Path of Life!

Marilyn

As the Deer

I looked out my kitchen window this afternoon and saw a deer down in the pasture with its head up, seemingly looking straight back at me. Immediately my mind went to one of the choruses that we sing at church, "As the Deer". It has a beautiful haunting melody and some of the words are: "As the deer panteth for the water So my soul longeth after thee You alone are my hearts desire And I long to worship thee ..." [Marth Nystrom] Can we sing that and really mean it from the depths of our soul? Is Christ alone our hearts desire? Do we long to worship Him? I pray we do. I pray that I do! That truly should be the desire of every Christian....to desire to be as close to the Lord as we can possibly get. And the little deer ....one of God's creations.....reminded me today.

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God."
Psalm 42: 1

May God's blessings be upon you!

Marilyn

Spotlight on Kyla Rowland.....Author & Songwriter

Several of my blogger friends have lately written posts about some of the good books they have read so I thought I would do the same today. Last Christmas my youngest son gave me a set of four books written by Kyla Rowland. I have never yet had the privilege of meeting her but after reading her books I feel as if I know her already. She not only writes books but also songs.


Although at the time I didn't know who had written it, Kyla's song "He Will Roll You Over the Tide" was a great comfort to me in a time of great distress in 1980 ......the 'natural'birth of our youngest son.....the same one who gave me these books for a Christmas present.

When our family was going through some tough times her song "One Scarred Hand" sung by Gold City encouraged me and helped me over the rocks in the road. The McKamey's singing Kyla's "A Wall of Prayer" was like a fortress to me when our older son was serving in Iraq. I loved the songs but never really knew who the songwriter was. Isn't that the way it happens sometimes? The one who writes the lyrics sometimes gets overlooked.


I'm not sure when it happened but when I found out that a woman named Kyla Rowland had written some of my favorite songs I wanted to find out more about her. And what I have found out through reading these books of hers has been wonderful. She is truly a servant of God.


Her book "Long Journey" tells the story behind each of her forty-three songs. And what stories she has to tell. Some funny. Some sad. Some gut-wrenching. But all about the goodness and glory and redemptive hand of God!


"Girl Talk" explains itself! It's a must read for all girls/women!


"Everyday Life" is an audio CD book. It's great to take with you in the car or maybe do as I do and listen to it with your earbuds at night when you can't go to sleep. Kyla's soothing voice talking about the "God lessons" learned through everyday things helps relax me so that I can go to sleep and get that rest I need.


You may have noticed that there are only three books in the picture I took a few minutes ago in my kitchen. The reason is because I have loaned out the fourth book,"Between Me and the Storm" , to a friend. When one friend brings it back I loan it to another one. They all tell me that they laughed and cried and rejoiced while reading this book. It's the story of Kyla's mother and it's truly a wonderful book!


Kyla also speaks at ladies meetings/retreats all over the country. Check out her schedule here to see if she will be near you anytime soon.


I will be sharing more favorite books with you in the future.


"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."
Psalm 100


May God bless you as you walk with Him!


Marilyn

The Road Home

Just today I told someone that traveling is definitely not one of my favorite things to do! Even so, there have been times when I have traveled long distances to visit friends and loved ones. Sometimes the trip on the way home seemed like it would never end! When we would finally get off the four-lane Interstate about six miles from our house I would begin to breathe a sigh of relief. Then when we got to the dirt road I would feel even better. But when we turned into our beautiful narrow driveway, I knew I was almost home!

I love our driveway. Especially in the summer time. It is very long and winding and green. The trees have grown together overhead and make a canopy of shade most all the way from one end to the other. Right now there are four or five different kinds of wild flowers blooming along the edge of the drive. I love taking an early morning walk there. To me it just shouts Home Sweet Home!


But I am on a spiritual journey of a much larger scale than any earthly trips I have ever taken. When I accepted Christ as my Saviour going on thirty years ago I started on a journey that will end at my heavenly home. Sometimes I am busy, busy, busy doing the Lord's work. It's then I feel like I am zooming down the Interstate. Sometimes I am in a Spirit filled church service. It's then I feel like I'm on the smaller dirt roads and can take it easier. But it's when I'm alone with the Lord reading His Word or talking to Him in prayer that I feel as I do when I'm on my driveway.....I know I'm not far from Home!


Sooner than we all realize we will truly be at home in heaven if we have trusted in Christ's payment for our sin debt. I hope to see you There!


"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
2 Corinthians 5: 1


May God bless you with traveling mercies!


Marilyn

Thirsty

When the weather is nice I like to go outside first thing in the morning and take my coffee, cereal, Bible, devotion book, pen and paper out to the table on the deck in back of our house. I'm not really an outdoor person but this early morning, cool, quiet time out on the deck suits me. It's calm. I can have solitude before the rest of the days gets so hectic.

Almost every morning I see one or two little hummingbirds come to the feeder in the chestnut tree and drink and drink to their hearts content. They love that good sweet sugar water I make and put out there for them. I love to watch them. They're so tiny but so fast. It seems they stay thirsty all the time.

As I watched the tiny hummingbirds drinking their nectar, I looked down at my Bible and thought...."Do I come out here every morning as thirsty for God's Word as these little fellows are for their food?" I have to admit that my answer would be, "Probably not". It should be a big resounding "Yes!" Maybe some of you find yourself in the same boat as me in that area. I know that I tend to put other things ahead of drinking from the fountain of God's Word every day. I even have problems drinking enough plain ole water in the summer time! That sometimes gets my body dehydrated and makes me feel bad. How much worse it makes me feel when I let my spirit get dehydrated because I don't drink from God's fountain of wisdom often enough!

So, today, I am taking my instructions from my little feathered friends in the back yard and trying to drink a lot of water and also drink an abundance of God's Word.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matthew 5: 6

May God bless you and quench your thirst today!

Marilyn

Sav-A-Life

(A display I made for a Sav-A-Life fund-raiser last fall)

Today I don't have a story or witty illustration or any of those things to bring you. Today my heart is heavy. For those of you who are on my email list you know the reason why. Little three-and-a-half week old Ryder went to heaven last night about midnight to be forever with the ONE who formed him in his mother's womb. He was was born at only 23 weeks and it was actually a miracle that he lived this long. But as King David said when his baby son died, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." (2 Samuel 12: 23) That is the family's comfort now...that Ryder is in the presence of God, never more to know the pain and suffering he endured in his short life here on earth....and that they will see him again when they, too, someday enter into the presence of the Lord. Please continue to lift this family up in your prayers.

Now I have another request! Would you please pray for me and the other workers at the Sav-A-Life pregnancy center? I worked all day Tuesday there and it was the most "oppressive" day I've had in over two years of working there! Not much different as far as the work and the clients I saw but it was different in the way I felt and the sadness and feeling of the devil at work in the lives of the girls I counseled with. T., our Director of Development, told me yesterday that she had gone home Tuesday night and told her husband the same thing! She's worked there 5 months now and she said Tuesday was the worst day she's had. I'm working all day again today. We are real short handed this summer in regard to volunteers. And with F. (our director) gone with her family on a 3-month summer missions trip to the Ukraine again this summer we are getting really behind in getting the clients charts put into the computer. That's what I'll be doing today. I have been doing what I can on the days I normally work as a counselor but when there's clients to see I don't have time to work on the computer. Today there is a counselor there with T. so I should be free to just work on the files.

Please pray that Satan will be bound and that God's mercy and grace will be freely felt and received by those we minister to today.

"The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil." Proverbs 19: 23

May God bless you today my friends!

Marilyn

The God of Our Fathers

(One of the earliest pictures I have of me and my Daddy)

"And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey."Deuteronomy 26: 7-9

In this day and age to have or have had a Godly father is a rare blessing indeed! I'm so thankful that I had a Christian father and father-in-law and that my children have been blessed to have a Christian father in my husband. I look around me and wonder that God has blessed me in such a way when there are so many who may have no idea what it feels like to have a Christian father love and protect them.

"Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men." Psalm 12: 1

As far back as I can remember my Daddy stood for the things of God. He became a Christian at a young age and although he faced early sickness, the Great Depression, became a widower twice, had to bury two of his adult children, and six of his siblings, he still stood firm in his faith that God is in control and knows what is best for us. He totally believed this verse: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8: 28.

My father-in-law was such a delightful man in every way. One reason was his ability to have a good time wherever he was. He had a great sense of humor. He could tell such interesting tales of things he had done as a young man…like the time he wrestled with a bear. True! He really did! He didn't have a dishonest bone in his body and I appreciated every thing he did for me after I became a part of his family. "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:" Proverbs 17: 22a

My husband has had more influence in my Christian life that anyone else ever has. I'm sure that our children could never have had a father more dedicated to the things of the Lord. One of his favorite verses is: "And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me." Hebrews 2: 13

This is the first Father's Day I have ever had without my Daddy. He passed away last August. So in his honor I want to include this poem that he wrote in 1991 when he was eighty years old.

"If You Want To Be Happy"

If you want to be happy and never alone,

Put your trust in Jesus and He will give you a song.

If you want to be happy, repent of your sins.

Put your trust in Jesus and let Him come in.

He will wash away your sins, and give you a new start.

He will always be with you through thick and thin.

He will stay by your side until the end.

And when you get to heaven, in that beautiful place,

He will say to our Father, "His sins are all lost,

For I paid for them when I died on the cross."

Then you will fall on your face

And thank Him for His wonderful grace.

And you will live forever in that wonderful place.

If you're reading this and are able to get in touch with your Father today, please do! Let him know what he means to you. He may be your best friend and your hero. Or he may not have been the best father. Whatever the case, if possible, give him the honor that is due him simply because he wears the name "Father".

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." Exodus 20: 12

May God bless you today…..

Marilyn

"Old Glory"

What's so special about June 14? It's national Flag Day! Ruth Apperson Rous wrote a beautiful poem called "I Am the Flag". Here is the last line: "God grant that I may spend eternity in my 'land of the free and the home of the brave' and that I shall ever be known as 'Old Glory', the flag of the United Stated of America." Wow! I have chill bumps on my arms just typing those words!

July 4, 1776. Our great country came into being with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. June 14, 1777. The flag with thirteen stars and thirteen stripes...one star and stripe for each original colony...became the Official Flag of the United States. By the year 1831 the number of stars on the flag had already been increased to 24. It was during this year that Shipmaster Captain Stephen Driver was presented a beautiful new flag for his ship. As the banner opened to the ocean breeze for the first time, he exclaimed, "Old Glory!" The story goes that after he retired from the sea and moved to Nashville, TN, he flew his treasured "Old Glory" at his home for all to admire. However, when TN seceded from the Union, Rebel soldiers wanted to destroy his flag. They never were able to find it although they searched his home repeatedly. When Union forces finally captured Nashville they raised the American flag over the capital. This flag was small compared to the "Old Glory" that Capt. Driver owned and the Union soldiers began to ask him if it still existed. The Captain....I can imagine with a sly smile on his lips....went home and began to tear apart the quilt on his bed. Between the quilt-top and the batting there it was ...his beloved original "Old Glory". He lovingly carried his treasure to the capitol where it flew in honor. That was the beginning of the nickname "Old Glory" by which our American flag is so fondly called.

Every time I look at our Stars and Stripes I fill with many emotions....pride, happiness, gratitude...the list could go on and on. What a privilege I have had to grow up here in these United States of America! I can worship God. I can travel freely. I can attend public meetings. I can speak my opinion. I can write my convictions. I can own property. I can vote. Many other liberties are mine simply because I was born in the United States of America as a free citizen.

I was "born again" into the Family of God when I accepted Christ as my personal Saviour. As the banner of His love opened over my life for the first time, I exclaimed, "Oh Glory!" ("He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." Song of Solomon 2: 4) It's been almost thirty years now that I have been flying His Banner of Love in my life. The devil has tried many times to destroy this banner but could not find it through he has repeatedly searched for it. It's hiding place is in my heart. It's my prayer that I may always keep my eyes on the Banner of God's Love and His Salvation so that I may go forward to meet the enemy with courage and not fear. ("We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners..." Psalm 20: 5a)

It is with much gratitude that I want to say "Thank You" to all the American solders who have served our country in order to keep this great land free! Their banner is "Old Glory" and it encourages them to go forward and meet the enemy with valor.

And with even more gratitude I want to say "Thank You" to Jesus Christ for placing his Banner of Love over an old sinner like me! Because of this, I am free! ("And ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free." John 8: 32) "OH, GLORY!"

May God bless you today....

Marilyn

Where I Found Him Today....The Continuing Saga of 'Illusions'

Have you been where I have been? I'm sure most, if not all, of you have. And where might that place be? The place of failing to do the right thing that you knew you should do as a Christian. Yesterday I did something that smote my heart with regret the minute I did it. I cried out to God and told Him I was so sorry....and that I wanted to get control of that "besetting sin" once and for all. You know what yours is. It's probably not the same as mine. But they're all sin and they all plague us to no end. Whether it's our temper, our appetite, our tongue......or whether it goes deeper into some type of addiction.....we all have something that keeps rearing it's ugly head. Especially when I am trying so hard to stay in God's Word and practice what it says there I find the devil comes along and works extra hard to pull down all that the Lord is doing.

I thought about a conversation I had with someone not long ago. She had come to me for counseling about family problems and confided that she had trouble with a recurring sin in her life. Something that was really causing havoc and permanent damage to both her and her children. She said that she had been a Christian for a long time but that she just could not seem to get victory over this particular sin. With every intention of honesty and helpfulness I said to her..."You CAN overcome this with God's help! The God I serve is bigger than this thing that has you bound!" And I believe that with all my heart. And yet.....and yet, when Satan comes along and tempts me with something that to some might seem small.....I fall flat on my face and give in! Where is that big God I claim to serve? He's right where He always is and as big as ever! I'm just not trusting Him and staying "focused" on Him as I should.

As I did my Bible study this morning I told the Lord how sorry I was that I didn't take my own advice and had taken my eyes off Him and taken Him off the throne of my heart. In a few minutes B. came out with his glass of cranberry juice to join me on the deck in the cool of the morning. The first thing he said was, "Where's your little bird?" I immediately said, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN???" (If you have been reading my blog for very long you will know which little bird he was talking about. The one that my friend gave me after my "Illusions" post. She gave it to me so that I would not be deceived anymore when I looked at the sand rock which only had the illusion of being a bird.)
B. just shrugged his shoulders and pointed over to the railing where the sand rock was sitting all alone. I couldn't believe my eyes! I had been out there a good twenty minutes eating breakfast and doing my Bible study and had not even noticed he was gone! It's a wonder that a fly or a mosquito didn't fly into my mouth I stood there with it wide open for so long! I could not believe the little bird was gone. What could have happened to him? He's made of way too heavy material to just blow off! I got out of my chair and looked over the railing onto the ground and there he lay on his side! B. said maybe a live bird knocked him off. I think maybe a squirrel. SOMETHING did anyway! Because I know he didn't fly down there by himself!

And then I thought about what I had told that girl not long ago....."My God is bigger than that!" ...when talking about her getting victory over her sin. Maybe I said it unknowingly in a self-righteous way. Maybe not. I just know it has come back to haunt me. I thought about how I had taken God down from the high place in my heart. He is too heavy to just fall off or be blown off.....I had to have moved him. I went down and picked up my little bird, wiped the grass off and set him back in his rightful place next to the sand rock. Now there will be another thing I will be thinking of when I look out my window and see him. I will remember that my God IS bigger than whatever it is that tempts me but that I MUST keep Him in His rightful place in my heart and mind.

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us," Hebrews 12: 1

May God bless you today.....

Marilyn

Hard Headed

I enjoyed being able to have breakfast and my Bible study out on the deck this morning. It was so nice and cool thanks to a shower of rain we got during the night. As I sat there eating my Cheerios (trying to get that cholesterol down you know!), drinking my hot green tea, and doing a Bible study on how God's grace will help us to be able to take up our cross daily and follow Him, I was treated to a drum duo by a couple of red-headed-woodpeckers. One would beat out his tune on the light pole....the other would answer him from the edge of the woods. It brought to mind the saying I have heard so many times growing up...."You're as hard-headed as a Peckerwood!" I started thinking about how true it is in my own life....and maybe it is in yours, too. I get set in my own way about things. I think I know what to do and how to do it. And sometimes God comes along and changes my plans. I don't always take to changed plans gracefully....even if the instructions come from God Himself! That's not how it should be. We should never let our heads.....nor our hearts....get so hard that we can not follow the gentle nudge of God.

I'm working at the pregnancy center today. If you would, please say a prayer for the clients that we see there. A lot of these young ladies have hardened their hearts to the things of God. My goal and aim is to help to soften their hearts so that they will be able to hear, understand, and do the will of God in their young lives.

I don't want to be a "Hard-headed Peckerwood" when it comes to things of the Lord. How about you?

"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Hebrews 3: 12-13

May God bless you today.......

Marilyn

Movin On Up !

Well, I just keep movin' on up, ya'll.....in age that is! Yesterday was my birthday and now at 55 I can start racking up those "Senior" discounts at the fast food places! Yea!

I am enjoying getting older...I think. ha I just feel blessed every time my birthday rolls around that God has given me one more year of life to live with my family and friends. And this is the time of the year that I am always in awe of all the wonderful.....can I say that again?.....wonderful....friends that God has brought into my life. I received phone calls, text messages, voice mails, emails, e-cards, cards in the mail and gifts from my friends and my family. I feel overwhelmed by their (your) love and kindness.

Friends! What a comfort it gives me just saying the word! Time seems to travel so swiftly in my life nowadays and with each passing year friends become more and more precious to me. I have met some of the most wonderful people who ever lived on this earth during my lifetime and I am thankful to be able to call many of them my friends.

Some of my friends are my peers...some of them are much older....some are young enough to be my children....some live nearby....some have moved to other states or countries....some I only know through emails or blogs....yet each one has contributed to making me what I am today. I try to take some little part of each of my friends' lives....whether it be a spiritual insight, a humorous story, a word of wisdom, or just the way they have of making me feel at home....and I try and put that part of my friend inside my heart and mind so that we ultimately blend our lives and can feel "at home" when we're together.

I know that friends are only with us for a limited amount of time here on earth. But we have a "friend that sticketh closer than a brother" and He is the Lord Jesus Christ. If you and I are not only friends but we're Christian friends, then we can be friends forever as we spend eternity together with the Lord.

I read a quote by an unknown author that said this: "Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our heart. And we are never, ever the same."

To all my friends who may be reading this today I want to say that truly you have left footprints on my heart and I will NEVER be the same person that I was before I met you!

Thank you for being my friend!

God bless you.....

Marilyn

Country Cuisine

Huckleberry Pie and Polk Salad ....does that get your salivary glands going when you read that? Maybe and maybe not since you may have never heard of either one! A lot depends on if you're from the city or the country. If you're from the city, then maybe you don't even know what I'm talking about! Late May and early June is the time of year for both of the above....polk salad and huckleberries. Since we live out on a farm, we partake of both. Actually WE don't but my husband does! He picks them and I cook them. I did taste the pie and it was really good. The polk salad I have tasted but definitely do not like and do not eat.

I was raised in town....not really what some would call a city.....but most all of our food came from the grocery store. I do remember my Mama being thrilled to get the occasional "mess" of polk salad each spring from a friend or family member who lived in the country. I don't recall ever even hearing about huckleberries until B. and I got married. He introduced me to all kinds of strange foods and eating customs! Not long after we were married I was introduced to the annual "hog-killing" at my in-laws house. Talk about something that will gross-out a city-slicker! I had always gotten my ham, sausage and bacon at the neighborhood grocery store and didn't actually even want to know where it all came from! Being the only one that day who had never participated in such a thing, I was given the job of helping to cut up the belly fat of the hog which jiggled and wiggled til I thought it would never get cut up! Just the thought of it even now makes me cringe! The fat would be put in a big black three-legged pot set up outside over an open fire. Then came the job that B.'s daddy was the best at....cooking off the lard and making "cracklings". He also made the best cured ham I ever ate. Seems a paradox that after being raised on pork neither me nor my husband can eat it now without getting sick. Go figure!

I have not always been easily persuaded to cook a lot of the things B. insisted I cook.....for instance: making homemade "souse meat" from cooking the head of a pig and then taking all the meat off the bones (tedious job I tell you!) and then mixing with all kinds of spices....or cooking a beaver....which, not surprisingly, tasted a lot like sawdust he said....I didn't taste it nor the souse meat! I may cook unusual dishes for him but that doesn't mean I eat it!

I only wish that I had not been so easily aggravated in the early years of our marriage. It would make me mad when he would ask me to cook something for him that I considered to be bizarre. I would usually cook it but with a terrible attitude. I wish now that I had just considered it as "making memories" because that's what they have become....funny, cherished memories of our early married life.


"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." 1 Timothy 6: 6-8


So.... did I freak some of you out with my honest testimony of our "Country Cuisine"?
I hope not! What are some of the most "unusual" things you have ever cooked? I'd love to hear about them! (And lest you might think that country is the only way I can cook....I make a mean Baklava! )


God bless you....

Marilyn

"Gan-mamma! Gan-mamma!"

Our little two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter spent Saturday afternoon and night with us. She is the liveliest and sweetest thing! I put on a CD of a Southern Gospel group ,The Perry's , while we were in the kitchen fixing supper. When an up-beat song came on, she came to me with outstretched arms and said, "Dance!" She held one of my hands and then instructed me to get hold of one side of my skirt and hold it out to my side while she proceeded to bounce around in front of me "dancing". I think she has seen some kind of ballroom dancing on her Shirley Temple movies or something! ha


She loves to sing and has learned a new song to sing while her Granddaddy pulls her in the wagon all around the farm. It goes...."Bumping up and down in my little red wagon.....having so much fun!" Even though I had sprayed her with something to keep the mosquitoes off they were so bad B. had to bring her in quicker than she wanted. I didn't see any bites so that was good.


When bedtime came I decided to lie on the bed beside her for a little bit until she went to sleep. That "little bit" turned into well over an hour! :) She would take the sheet and cover me up from head to foot and pat it down and then scoot over to the other side of the bed and try to quietly slip onto the floor. It was so funny. I would get her back in bed and tell her it was time to go nite-nite. Finally I asked if she wanted "Gan-mamma" to tell her some stories. Of course I got a "Yes, please!" and an immediately "still as could be" little girl. I told her the first stories that popped into my mind....Goldilocks and the Three Bears....and The Three Little Pigs. It wasn't long then until she turned on her tummy with her knees pulled up under her and was fast asleep. I got up and went and climbed in my own bed near midnight and slept soundly until about 5:00 a.m. when I awoke with a start hearing a little voice "hollering"......"GAN-MAMMA!!!!....GAN-MAMMA!" ( to those of you not from the South, "hollering" means using your voice at its loudest capacity!) I could hear the little pitter-patter of her feet accompanying the loud "Gan-mamma!" Immediately I jumped out of the bed and started answering her with, "Here I am!....Here I am!" I ran into the living room and could see her running from the bathroom (where I had left a small light on) into the hall and back into the bathroom calling for me. Something in my heart just did a flip-flop! I felt I could not get to her fast enough! I wanted to calm her fears and let her know I was there! I scooped her up, wrapped my arms around her and held her tight for a few minutes and told her everything was going to be all right. After comforting her for a few minutes she grew sleepy again. I put her back to bed and she was fine. I got into my bed but couldn't go back to sleep for a while. As I lay there it was like a door was opened in my mind. A comparison that I had never seen before. I thought....."Lord...I think I've just understood a little bit of what You feel when one of Your children is frightened or in need. When I call out to you, 'Abba...Abba...Father!'....I can just imagine you immediately calling to me...'Here I am!...Here I am!'....and running as fast as You can to scoop me up and wrap Your loving arms around me!" What a comforting and eye-opening thought that was!

Psalm 103: 13 "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him."


We must never be afraid to call out to God......to "holler" His Name in the darkness of our time of need. He wants to be there for us even more than I wanted to be there for my grandbaby during her time of need in the predawn hours Sunday morning! We must come to Him with the faith of a little child, knowing that indeed, He is able to take care of whatever has made us fearful.

Mark 10: 14b "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."


May God bless you....

Marilyn