The winter landscape of ice and cold and gray skies can mirror our own thoughts and emotions. We can wallow in the cold, complain at the deep chill, bemoan the grayness and bleakness of the long winter days.

But we cannot abide there long. We are children of the Light. Inside us glows the life giving Spirit, warmer than sub-zero temperatures, brighter than dark stormy blizzard skies, and unquenchable.

Today I will let your Spirit shine through my life. I will love as You love, I will do my best to be a bringer of Light to my world.

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8: 12

Fill me with your Light!

If you have lived at all, you have known failure, loss, and disappointment. You have felt the sting of hopes broken, and dreams dashed upon the rocks of sin and missed opportunities.

If it were not for the grace so freely given, the mercy and salvation of our loving and forgiving God, no growth could happen. If not for Him there would be no hope, but....there is hope in Jesus Christ, and forgiveness, and mercy, and love.

Fill us up, Father God. Create new and pure hearts within us. Thanks be to God. Amen.

When I was a little girl, my great-grandmother thought I could play the piano. She loved to call out her favorite hymns and warble along while I plunked them out on the old upright dinosaur that graced the "parlor" of my grandma's house. She would sit and rock herself back and forth to the rhythm of the old familiar tunes and I would sweat bullets and bite my lip and try not to disappoint her too much. She rarely complained, and seemed to enjoy the company. Sometimes she would tell me how much better I sounded than the last time...God bless her.

Women who were born shortly after the end of the Civil war, as she was, usually had few options. Pretty much they had to marry, and she did, twice. Her first husband died while out west panning for gold. She was brokenhearted, but soon married a widower who had a parcel of children of his own. My grandmother was the oldest girl of that second marriage.


My great-grandma was a midwife, and she had played the piano and organ in several small churches, so how she ever tolerated the discordant mess that I was filling the air with, I'll never know. My father lived with her in his late teens, and he often went along on her "deliveries" to keep the men folk occupied while she and the mama to be did the real work.

The really cool thing is, I'll see her again. I just wonder if she'll be rocking and singing along to her favorite hymns. I had better start practicing.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3: 5-6

Words to live by:

"Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. "

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Roams 12:17, 18,20,21

Okay, today is the day. I'm cranking up the stereo, diving into wrapping, and by gosh, I am gonna have fun while I do it!

This was the song I used to sing to my little people, long grown now. Guess what? I still feel this way about them, and the new generation of little people...I'm smitten!

"Look at that face just look at it!
Look at that fabulous face of yours,
I knew first look I took at it,
This was the face that the world adores,
Look at those eyes,
As wise and as deep as the sea,
Look at that nose,
It shows what a nose should be!
As for your smile, it's lyrical
Friendly and warm as a summer day,
Your face is just a miracle,
Where could I ever find words to say
The way that it makes me happy,
Whatever the time or place,
I will find in no book,
What I find when I look at that face!"

SOME DAY

Some day I will buy all Christmas presents by Thanksgiving.

Some day I will bake three hundred different types of Christmas cookies.

Some day all my closets will be neatly organized and I will know the location of every item in my house because I'll have all the items listed with descriptions and locations on a wonderful computer disc and also possess a hard copy, just in case.

Some day I really am gonna be skinny...really, I mean it this time.

Some day I will be a whole bunch smarter and I'll ???

Some day I'll...

Some day I'll....

Oh wow, I'm fifty-seven. Maybe I'd better get cracking.

And just how am I spending all my time? Well, there are these little people who I adore, we play office and school and I take Spanish and Algebra lessons from the thirteen year old and pray God will help me hang on to what is left of my brain long enough to keep up with her a little bit, and sometimes we go bowling and play badminton. And I listen to Pixie read me Junie B. Jones books, and we laugh and snort and giggle a lot.

And there are those little K people who love to paint and bake cookies and play games, especially hide and seek with Pepaw, and ask lots and lots and lots of questions...especially "Wheels," who now urgently needs to go bowling again so she can improve her score. There are Lego structures to build and pictures to draw and crafts to make and Bible stories to talk about and Webkinz for goodness sake.

And there is this big old guy who hangs around here loving me, and making me laugh and taking me places and smiling at me and hugging me...he is very distracting.

And of course there are my parents and my sisters and brother and their kids, and Charlie's mom and his sisters and brother and their kids and the farm, and the buildings on the farm falling down, and the firewood to cut and haul.

And my church, and my job, and all the books I'm reading, and laughing and loving, and praying, and living...that's it.

When will I just stop wasting my time and get organized???

God of mercy and love, watch over my family, where ever they may be. Keep them safe and warm, but most of all hold them in your heart and fill their lives with the blessings of your peace and joy. Amen.

Just a note about the next to the last post. Those thoughts were prompted by getting "button-holed" in the drive way by someone who felt the need to tell me where I would be spending eternity...in essence in a far, far place, and most certainly not with him in a good place.

"Wonder Woman," a.k.a "Bright Eyes" wants to be know as "Wheezer." Wow, should we even go there?

There are those who share our belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world who profess to know which among us will see God's face, and those others who will be lost and face eternal separation from God. I am not one of those.

I cannot step into God's place and call out names of those who must step to right or the left. I rest assured on God's grace, mercy, and love. I make no claim to such wisdom and run in the opposite direction of what appears to be "judgement."

Does God give us such discernment? If so, it was not given to me. For that I am eternally grateful. I am happy to leave those choices to a loving and merciful God.

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM AN OLD MOM

Motherhood is a terminal illness. You die with their names on your lips and their joys and sorrows filling your heart.

Accept it now! It will make your life make more sense and make it easier to deal with the fact that you

(according to Jason Robards in the movie "Parenthood,")
"never cross the finish line, never spike the ball in the end zone."

Common now, we both know you are gonna lie there taking your last breaths worrying about how this dying thing is affecting them...

Hm mm..you are thinking that I am the one with this problem, yes, I can hear your thoughts. Okay, so maybe it is me.

Never mind.

There are days when my feet float above clouds, and there are days when I feel like I cannot see the sky. I try so hard to remember that God is always there, even when the sky seems dark and full of storm clouds.

Lord, give me courage to hold my candle high into the darkness, and to bravely light the way before me knowing that You are there ahead, guiding me along a path You have laid out for me, and that You will never leave me or forsake me.

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from you presence? ...For you created my inmost being..."Psalm 139

"Sweet pea" has a new nickname. I call her "Wheels" because she is always thinking, analyzing, studying, figuring things out in her mind.

"Wonder Woman" no longer wishes to be know as such. There is simply no better nickname for her than "Bright Eyes." No guesses necessary as to whom this refers, right? This change is subject to her approval, of course.

Have a wonderful Monday all my sweetlings; Boo, Pixie, Wheels, Bright Eyes, Princess and Spiderman (who may morph into Ironman at any moment.)

I wonder how many of us spend even one minute on Thanksgiving Day counting our blessings. I worry that more thought is placed upon the menu than on giving thanks. I have too often been guilty of this, and hope to rethink the meaning of the day in this post.


I wonder if I made a list, could I even begin to enumerate with any accuracy the abundance that has been rained down on my life with such grace and mercy? At the risk of forgetting important things, I might try.

My Blessings

When I hold the hand and heart of a man, so very unlike the world's mistaken ideas of what constitutes a "real man," but filled with a noble humility, who loves with his whole heart and life and breath...I am blessed.


When I stand beside a family table and hear my eighty year old father give a heartfelt, loving prayer...I am blessed.


When I put my arms around my dear mama and know she is still here with me and in my home...I am blessed.


When I hear the voices of my siblings on cell phones, and travel far distances to laugh and cry with them, and love their families like my own in all the good days and bad days...I am blessed.


When I see the faces of my children and their spouses, see them as parents and know they are giving it their all...I am blessed.


When my heart leaps with joy when I see the faces of my sweet grandchildren and feel their hugs and kisses...I am blessed.


When I raise my voice in church to sing a hymn of praise to my God...I am blessed.


When I know that no economic crisis, or stock market woe, or bailout or crisis of any kind can change my unchangeable God, or His love for all of His creation...I am blessed.


When I know with all my heart that passions and philosophies and beliefs and words can separate us, but the power of unshakable love will keep us as strong and whole as any fortress built of granite...I am blessed.


Thank you, God, for all of it. Thank you for the joys, the pains, the sorrows and the triumphs. Thank you for the grace that forgives my broken places, and the mercy to hold me up when I fall over and over again. Let every breath I take and every thought I think bring glory and honor to your name, and may I never forget to be eternally grateful. Amen.

I am a great seeker of wisdom. Wisdom differs greatly from knowledge. Knowledge is more easily won, wisdom comes through great trials, soul shaping experiences, and for me, long years of living and striving.

I have learned through pain and loss to treasure those nearest to me. I would give everything I own for one minute with my grandmother. I would just love to hear her voice, place my check against hers, and breathe in her wonderful and unique scent. It is only through my acceptance of the wisdom of Jesus Christ that I know I will sit with her in heaven, hold her hand and hear her laugh. It is our hope, all us "crazy" Christians.

So many words are wasted on mostly unimportant things. I want the words I speak to be like little space traveling vehicles that carry love from my heart to those God has placed in my life. I promised Charlie the day he was born that I would live to be at least eighty-four, because no child should loose his grandmother until he is at least thirty years old. That gives me twenty-seven more years to love. This is the goal of my life, love and love alone. God please give me the strength and the years to accomplish this goal.

In the hills we have a saying,

"Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you."

This week I am feeling a little like the bear is behind me, gaining fast.

I started a new job on Monday. The church I am working for does its weekly worship bulletin on Microsoft Publisher (Vista of course:() I have not used Publisher for at least ten years, so the learning curve seems very steep right now. Besides the fact that I feel "watched" due to being such a newbie, I feel extra dumb to boot. Actually everyone is being wonderful, I just like to be more "on top" of things than I am currently feeling, it'll pass.

Monday was my youngest sister's birthday. Today is my second granddaughter (Pixie's) birthday, tomorrow is my Dad's eightieth birthday, Friday is my niece Jenny's birthday and my cousin and his four very active grand children are coming to stay at our house, and then on Saturday we are all having a huge party for my Dad's birthday. Whew!

Why is it that stuff just comes in big bunches followed by weeks and weeks of ho hum, yawn city?

I just keep remembering that I only have to do things just one at a time. Lord help me to enjoy my life, whether things come up on me in huge waves, or just roll into my life like a soft wave.

Praise God for life, in all its challenges and blessings.

It was inevitable, and yet I am still adjusting to the reality. I got a job! I am officially the new church secretary for Highlands Presbyterian Church. It seemed like such an easy and smooth process, even DD said it seemed like "divine intervention." The Mister got his work hours cut by 20% and I was hired by the church within days.

God is so good, he is good indeed.

Please stop what you are doing and pay heed to the following announcement.

I AM SICK OF POLITICS!

You may now return to your regular programming.