Month: February 2014

Noah’s ark & some complaining

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noah's ark

I have a Bible class at church.  I look so forward to being with these lovelies each week.  They are 1st & 2nd graders.  Oh, the questions they have about God’s word!  It is amazing to look through the eyes of a child.  So, I knew when I was studying to teach them about Noah’s ark, I had better know my stuff.  As I was reading over the story in Genesis, I came across a verse that I immediately identified with.

Genesis 8:

6 So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. 7 Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth.

Sometimes we seem to overlook that raven.  We see pictures about the dove, that comes back with the olive branch.  But the raven has kinda gotten muddled up in the story somehow.  Well, let me tell you.

I think the raven was very significant.

Raven

I feel it’s pain.  Sometimes I feel like all I do is go “to & fro” with unrelenting problems.  Will they ever stop?  Will I be going back & forth forever?  At times, it sure does seem like it.  Whether it’s one of my kids sick with a stomach bug, bills that need to be paid, like yesterday, people who don’t get the concept of a car line at school, those who think more of themselves, than others, people who say harsh words to my loved ones,  my son, who has chosen a destructive path in life, missing my mama, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandparents who have all gone on, life can get pretty crazy, ya know?  With my big family, I am constantly thinking, “What do I need to do next?” because something is always happening with one of us. When the doctor gives you 8 pills to take a day to “cure” your stomach problems, perhaps you may think will this ever end??  Stress can get pretty high every once in awhile.  And then, the hot water line to the washing machine starts to leak.  God bless my son-in-law for being around to fix stuff, when no one else is around!  I think, maybe once winter is over & we can get outside & get some fresh air, maybe things will settle down.  Oh wait, I get POISON IVY about every time I get in the yard.  Do you see where I am going with this?  To and fro, flying around, like Noah’s raven.  Nowhere to rest!  Sometimes, I think the only thing to make it all better is pitchin’ a dyin’ duck dawg fit.  Just gettin’ everybody while I’m at it.  Even the cat.

But then you know what?  Just like the raven, I hit dry land.  I realize I really do have it good.

 
Miss Neenee & Mr. Sweetie Pants playing a game of drop the pompom through the toilet paper roll & catch it.
Miss Neenee & Mr. Sweetie Pants playing a game of drop the pompom through the toilet paper roll & catch it.

Miss Neenee & Mr. Sweetie Pants playing a game of drop the pompom through the toilet paper roll & catch it.

 My Mr. Sweetie Pants grandson lights up our world.  Do you hear me?  Precious & sweet.  Especially when he says,

“Grand, hold me.”

 And stretches those little arms up.  Melts me.  Won’t be long until I have a grandbaby girl!  Of course she will be just as cute.  I have seen the sonogram pictures.  She is going to be a dandy!

Then, I have my kids & my husband who are so good to me.  Dirty dishes loaded in the dishwasher, by someone else than me.  Always a good way to make this mama’s day.  Not to mention, I have some of the kindest, dearest friends in the world.  My church family is exceptionally wonderful.  I have a good job & work with nice people.  I have the best big brother in the world.  My niece & nephew are the cat’s pajamas.  And my brother’s wife, she’s a good one to have on your team, too.  My Daddy is so kind & considerate.  He always makes time for us.  Those kids I have in my Bible class.  I so look forward to seeing them & spending time with them every week.  Some of the stuff they say just tickles me to death.  Blessed is what I am.

I’m so glad you came by to visit today.  You just remember, you are not alone in this world.  Life is a battle.  You may be going into battle, or coming out of one.  If things are going good for you.  Enjoy it.  Because problems rise up, when you least expect it.  The Lord is willing & able to comfort you & give you the peace of mind that nothing else can.  It’s been one more week.  I’m ready to see the weekend!  Come back & see me again soon.  As for me, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

Photo credits:momsgenerations.com, christark.com

 

Nobody likes a tough biscuit-what to do when you are spoken to through a cooking show

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On Saturday I watch 2 shows on Food Network. One is The Pioneer Woman.

The Pioneer Woman & her sweet family

The Pioneer Woman & her sweet family

The other is Trisha Yearwood’s show, Trisha’s Southern Kitchen. I love these 2 ladies on these show. They make food that we eat. They are funny, down to earth, & people I would be friends with in real life. The Pioneer Woman, Mrs. Ree Drummond, & I have a connection.

She has a house full of kids & so did I.

She is not ashamed of cooking with butter & sugar & neither am I.

She has a very cute husband & so do I. 

She lives in the country & so do I. 

I think she is the awesome sauce of everything & she doesn’t have a clue I exist.  (That’s not weird at all, right?)

She put the icing on the cake on Saturday’s show. She proclaimed her dislike of bananas. I told my kids, “See there I told you we were kindred spirits!” I do not like bananas. My family, however, does. So, when I make dishes with bananas, I have to ask,

“Well, is it fit to eat?”

Because obviously, I am not doing a taste test on it.

Trisha & her sister Beth

Trisha & her sister Beth

A little later, I was watching Trisha’s show, though, & they said something that spoke to me. She & her sister were making Strawberry Shortcake. One of them said,

“Yeah, you can’t work the dough too much, because it’s like making biscuits. The more you work the dough, the tougher the biscuits. And nobody wants a tough biscuit.”

Kneading that biscuit dough made me think of life’s situations. When you are overthinking what someone said or dealing with a frustrating problem, the more you lull it over & keep it on your mind, it seems the tougher the problem becomes.ROCKING CHAIR

Matthew 6: 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
Meaning worry gets you nowhere. So, why waste your precious time on it?
Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Live each day to the fullest. Spend your time on what is at hand. Most of the things we worry about never happen or happen like we think, anyway.

The more time and energy you give to it, the tougher it gets on your well-being & spirit. Nothing will worry you to a frazzle any quicker than keeping unnecessary things on your mind. Lulling over things just makes things much tougher than they have to be. The outcome is no peace of mind & contentment for you, my friend. Like eating a tough biscuit.

What’s the answer, then?

When you run into a hard situation in life, address it, pray about it, and then move on. Don’t dwell or lull over it. Get your mind on something good.  Think happy thoughts! I need to practice what I preach. Sharing with you about it helps me remember what’s important. It helps remind me I don’t want to be eating tough biscuits all my life. So, that means I need to quit lulling, so much, all together. Hey, I’m trying.

One year for Christmas, my father-in-law gave all of us kids & the grandkids this scripture in a frame. He signed his name to it, so that we could always remember he was passing along some great truths to us.

Philippians 4: 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

I am so glad you came by to visit with me today. You know, we had some snow last week. Yesterday, I talked to a fellow co-worker that put it all into perspective. He said, “I don’t know why everybody runs to the grocery store for bread & milk. Just give it a day or two & it (the snow) will all be gone.” It’s easy to say all this whilst only a few short days later, we are having 60 degree weather. No, I have never heard of anyone dying from not having milk or bread on hand. On the other side of that, I don’t want to be the first one to. Oh the wonderfulness of living in the South! So, what do you do when you are spoken to through a cooking show?  Well, you blog about it silly! I hope you are having a great day wherever you are. As for me, I should be going, because I should be washing clothes.

photo credits: Food Network, Serious Eats, LOL Wall

How to handle a rude person

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lou holtz

Have you ever wondered just what makes people act the way they do? I have ran across my fair share of people, who live in the land of Meanness. I’m talking about taking up residency on Smarty Pants Lane. They are just rude. You know the ones I am talking about. They stay mad as an old wet hen. Everything is a problem. Ne’er a kind word has parted their lips. And nothing has ever been their fault.

Let me give you my remedy to handling a rude person:

1. Consider what is causing them to be this way. Many people who are rude have these things in common: jealousy, envy, bad attitude, lack of self-confidence, false sense of they are better than others, feelings of neglect, or they do not feel loved. Believe it or not insecurity is the driving factor to a lot of hatefulness & rudeness in the world.

2. Once you identify what it might be, see if you can change any of it. Talk to that person & see what their version of the problem is. If it’s an isolated incident, they might not have felt well at the time.  They may have misunderstood something you did or said.  If needed, take responsibility & apologize. We are all human & make mistakes. Maybe it’s something you didn’t do. Some people act out because of things that have happened to them in their lives that leave them feeling some of the ways I listed in #1. Or maybe they have allowed the devil to get ahold of them. Maybe they just have a lack of love & concern for others. You can’t fix people that don’t want to be helped.

3. After you have addressed the situation, you have apologized (if necessary), prayed about it, have been kind & tried to help, you should move on. Hopefully, you will resolve what has happened & the world can be wonderful again. However, please remember some people are committed to live in gloom & doom. Once you do everything you can for them, make it a point to distance yourself from their trifilin’ ways. These people create their own environment of hate & discontent. Don’t live there with them.

4. No matter what, Jesus said to treat people like you want to be treated.

Matthew 7:12 So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

He did also want us to stand up for ourselves. He didn’t make us to be cowards or to not stand for right.

Luke 12:39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.

Being bullied is not right. However, I have always heard the people who deserve love & kindness the least, need it the most. Put your feelings to the side & extend kindness to someone who not only does not deserve it, but who you don’t expect kindness in return. A friend of mine’s mama told her the best way to treat those not nice to you, is to kill them with kindness. I would say that’s a good antidote for both the giving & receiving side. Because some people are just hard to be kind to. But that does not dismiss us of our responsibility to treat others as you want to be treated.

Just remember to pray for these people. You never know what lesson the Lord wants you to learn from your trials. Keep your eyes open to learn something from these experiences.   If nothing else, to know how you don’t want to be.

I am tickled to death that you came by to visit with me today. I love it when you drop by. Please know you are loved at this little I should be washing clothes blog. You never have to be rude here! But for now, I do have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

treat others

photo credits: someecards,bitsofpositivity

Happy Valentine’s Day!

/ kstrick7 / 3 Comments

Love is so important.  Not just the kind of love I have for the caramel – vanilla creamer, I put in my coffee.  The love you have for others.  You know, for your family, your friends, your peeps.  People do things in the name of love.  They write songs & poems about love.  They make proclamations of their unfeigning love in the way of spray painted words at the top of water towers.  Love makes you serious.  Love makes you crazy & stupid.  Ahhh, love, there has even been a day set aside to officially show people you love them.  But is love more than words?  Yes, love is action.  You can tell someone you love them, but if you turn around & don’t put some effort into showing them some kind of attention- is that really love?  The ultimate gift of love came to us in the form of the cross.

valentin

 

Can you image God saying, “I love these people I created.”  Then, not putting some action to those words?  God knows loves.

I John 4:8 says He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 

Who would be a better teacher than the originator?  He sent His Son to die on the cross for us, so that we may have remission of sins.  Now that’s love.

I am so glad you stopped by to visit with me today.  I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.  Remember to tell your loved ones
how much they mean to you.  As for me, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

Photo credit: Pinterest

Until God opens the next door for you….

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hallwaypraise

Do you ever get discouraged & want to give up?  Does it just seem like nothing is going right?  No matter how hard you try, you just get in a rut & think,

“How much more can I take?” 

 You may pray about it & wonder where God is.  The devil will always try to make things seem hopeless.  As if there is no way out.  Well, good news!  I am here today to tell you, you don’t have to worry any longer.  God is working for us, even when we don’t realize it.

I want to take a minute to share with you some scripture about a man named David.  In reading Psalms 40, he must have had some problems.  He sure was bending God’s ear about them.  He poured his heart out to God & waited & cried & waited & pleaded & trusted & God heard him.  He said he had more troubles than hair on head!

Psalms 40:12

 For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.

Hold on, now, I think sometimes I get to sounding like David.  My faith may get a little lacking, as well.  Look at what David said God did for him in his trials.

Psalms 40:1

I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.

God is always working behind the scenes for us.  It’s in those moments of waiting, that we learn being faithful is essential.  When God comes through for us, it’s like a load is lifted.  It’s as if everything finally falls into place.  We know it just got real.  We look back and see that God was there all the time.  He was molding us into what He plans for us to be.  We are a work in progress.  Ever changing & developing into a faithful servant for the Lord.  Don’t let the devil try to tell you God doesn’t care.  He does.

Psalms 40:17

 But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

Just like He took care of David, He takes care of us, too. That just makes me happy!  Like sweet tea with my cornbread happy! That’s the kind of God I want to serve.  The One that’s always thinking about me.

Thank you for stopping by to visit with me today.  I love it when you take time to come by.  Take a minute this week to make a phone call, visit, or send a card to someone to encourage them.  You never know if your kind word might make all the difference in their day.  I will see you next time, right now I have to be going because, I should be washing clothes.

photo credit: Kimberly Jones