Learning from an 8 year old & somebody come mow my grass

August 13, 2014August 13, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

I was talking with a friend recently. He was telling me his 2 grandsons had come to visit. The grandkids live in North Carolina & my friend is from Alabama. Their dad is in the military. So, they only get a few visits a year. One grandson is 8 years old & the other 5. One afternoon my friend had not gotten home yet. His family went ahead & had supper without him. After eating their meal, the 5 year old started asking his grandmother for dessert. She asked him what he wanted & he said ice cream. As she went to fix him a bowl of ice cream, the 8 year old pulls him to the side & says,

“Don’t ask Grandma for ice cream. You have to wait on Papa to get home. He gives you more.”

With that, the 5 year old calls off the ice cream with Grandma. As soon as my friend comes through the door, the 5 year old is all over him. Hugging & kissing him. Telling him how much he missed him. Then he politely asks,

“Papa, do you think I could have some ice cream?”

Unbeknownst to my friend, he happily agrees. Then, goes off to make 2 sweet boys big bowls of ice cream.

I love that story! It made me think if only we could be as patient with the Lord, we would reap so much more in the end. If I could discipline myself to see the big picture, of what’s to come, I would be more content. When temptations, in this life, come our way, if we could say,

“Nope, I’m passing that by, so that I can have the better things Christ has to offer,”

wouldn’t we all be ahead of the game? Just kick those things we are tempted by to the curb, because something better is coming. It sounds easy enough, but the flesh is weak. Or I know mine is!

Matthew 26:41

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”(NKJV)

Just when I think I have a bad attitude licked, here comes something I let make me worry & fret & get all in a tiz about. If I would just remember, this is the devil trying to break me down. But then, I go to talking when I should keep my mouth shut. I get to passing judgment & getting jealous instead of looking around at all of the blessings I already have. The devil is a smart one. He knows exactly what it takes to get us going. He will try every way he can to trip us up.

II Corinthians 2:11

lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices. (NKJV)

I just need to remember, if I can make it past those obstacles, the Lord can give me more. However, if I choose to give in to temptations, nothing good comes out of it. And I have to remember, sometimes I can learn something from an 8 year old!

I hope you are having a great week. The sun is shining & the grass is growing (especially in my yard. Does anybody want to come mow it??) This is our first full week of school. Hoping everyone is getting back in the swing of things. This Friday Miss Neenee has a fitness test in PE. Please pray she will be able to get those sit ups & planks done like a boss. We have been working on it. Last night we walked 2 miles, with my 80 something year old friend from church. He can out walk me any day. Bless my heart. However, for now I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

Oh & did I tell you I think the devil makes people not use proper road signals? This is exactly how I feel when they do not.

photo credit: simplyscratch, facebook

What is gumption & where do you get it?

July 24, 2014July 24, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

I would like to talk about something today, that some people may not want to hear. Before you stop reading all together, it does not have anything to do with blood, guts, or anything you might have to squint your eyes, just to look at it. This is more personal. You know when we start to get personal, things can get hard. People don’t like to face their short comings.

Since I was very young, I have been of the opinion, that when hard things are presented to me to take responsibility for, if I don’t admit it’s a problem, then it’s not. I don’t try to put the blame on someone else. I just don’t want to acknowledge it. If you don’t admit it, then it’s not really happening, right? My Daddy loves to tell how when I was little & got caught doing something I should not, I would say,

“Let’s just not talk about that.”

Not much has changed. Although, I do try harder to be more responsible, now that I’m older & wiser, ya know. So, let’s all get on our big girl(or boy) pants & open our minds to what I am about to say. If it applies to you, I ask that you think about what you really have going on. And make things right. If it does not apply to you, great! Try to help someone that it might.

There are things that have happened to us in life or will happen to us, that is not pleasant. Things that you would just rather not have to deal with. Problems that come up or untimely issues, that just have a way of surfacing. These are things that need tending to. These things cannot be put off. Like when someone passes away, or you lose your job, or your husband or wife decides they would rather run off & chase a rabbit than be responsible for a family. Maybe someone’s health has failed them. Or your health has failed you. You know, hard stuff. When you are on the receiving end of these tragedies, how you react makes all the difference in the world.

The most positive way to react is to get you some gumption. If you do not know what gumption is, nor where in the world you would get it, let me tell you about it. My Mama used to say in a bad situation,

“He just needs to get some gumption & go on with it.”

Or she would say,

“He ain’t gonna do it , because he ain’t got the gumption.”

Either way gumption is the same as courage or guts. It could mean having the common sense to do something, too. Now, if you have trouble getting you some gumption, then, I suggest you pray about it & let the Good Lord help you with it. Gumption is necessary in life. We have to have it many times, whether we want to face things & or not. People who do not have gumption are sorry, lowdown, cusses who deserve what they get. Life is like a circle. What comes around goes around. You reap what you sow.

If you have things happen to you, & you don’t get you some gumption & handle it in the right way, then, whatever comes to you comes. I pray one day you will see the error of your way, before it’s too late. A person who may have not had the gumption to do the right thing, in one situation, may take a turn & decide to make things right. You have to give that person the benefit of the doubt. However, when presented with several opportunities to do right & they just won’t, don’t waste your time with those people. It’s Just.Not.Worth.It. I hope you don’t have to deal with others who refuse to get some gumption. If you do, just remember, they may eventually come to their senses. Then, we have to be there to have some gumption, as well.

Gumption is sometimes hard to find. However, if you want gumption bad enough, it will come to you. Pray about it. God will be glad to help. He said so.

John 14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (ESV)

King David found out that not having gumption was a hard thing to live with. When he decided to sleep with another man’s wife & then kill that man, his regrets finally caught up to him.

Psalms 32:3-4For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. ⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. (ESV)

But David did the right thing. He got him some gumption & asked God’s forgiveness.

Psalms 32: 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (ESV)

I am so glad you came by to visit today. Thank you for letting me get that off my chest today. It’s nice when you just lend me your ear like that. I hope it is a beautiful day wherever you are. The humidity has been released, yet again, in full force, here in northeast Mississippi. It’s just like the top was popped & ever so gently pulled back. The humidity just came pouring on out! I hope to be seeing you all again, soon. Until then, I will have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

photo credits: pinterest, adodsons.com,shebrands.com

Why we don’t have to forgive & forget & what we’ve been doing

July 17, 2014July 17, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Well, hello my online peeps! I hope all ya’ll are having a wonderful day. I have been busy doing lots of summer stuff here lately. We had our Super Saturday VBS at our church last Saturday. We have had youth group events, going to the movies, summer devotionals, shaving cream wars, etc.,.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Miss Neenee went bowling with the Girl Scouts & will be going to a movie with them, next week as well. My beautiful niece has been at my house, visiting from a faraway land. My sweet husband has been grilling lots of wonderful stuff. We have a birthday to celebrate this weekend. My grandbabies have been coming by for visits. Of course I have been as accommodating as possible. My daughter in law was telling Mr. Sweetie Pants just last night to quit writing on the kitchen floor with a magic marker. Well, Lord have mercy, that’s what Mr. Clean is for. Mr. Sweetie Pants kinda gets away with a lot at my house. And when I say a lot, I mean everything. Except back talk. We don’t do that at my house. Everything else we can pretty much handle. I have been doing my best to keep up with my 100 days of scripture. With that, my Sunday School lesson & Wednesday night class I have been studying my Bible.

I try to be attentive to what people are saying. Words mean a lot to me. I really take them to heart. I guess that’s why I get so irritated when people use words in a hurtful, disrespectful, or uncaring way. Words can’t be unsaid. And forgetting what someone has said to me or my family is something I work on daily. That’s why when my uncle said this the other day, I took note.

He said, “The Bible teaches forgiveness. It does not teach to forgive & forget. Man said that. Not God, because God knows we are human.”

I had never considered that. So, I did what I normally do, when someone makes an expounding statement, like that, about the Bible. I go look it up. Here is what I found out.

William Shakespeare in King Lear made the statement, “Pray you now, forget & forgive.”

In the Bible, the apostle Paul had a big problem with forgiving & forgetting. It all had to do with himself, too. Before Paul became a devout Christian, he persecuted Christians. He never got over that & what he had done to the church. You can tell by how he addresses it all.

I Timothy 1: 12-13 ¹²And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, ¹³although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. (NKJV)

His former life humbled him. He understood that he was a chosen vessel. However, he did not take it lightly. He talked about his past openly.

Acts 22:2²⁰And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death,^[b] and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ (NKJV)

He did not let his past cripple him of his service to the Lord. He did not say, “I’ve done too many bad things, the Lord will never forgive me.” Or “I’m not good enough to serve the Lord.” He made mistakes, but then got him some gumption & did what he was supposed to do. He did not let his past sins hold him back from doing what was right.

The Lord knows we are human. As humans, we make mistakes & are not perfect. For our sakes, we should be willing to put things behind us & move on. Paul finally got to that point,

Philippians 3:13-14 ¹³Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.(NKJV)

God is the only One capable of selective erasing events from His memory. When we receive Christ’s forgiveness, He acts as sin hasn’t happened. We aren’t made up that way. We are commanded to forgive.

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.(NKJV)

Forgetfulness is a much needed discipline of our emotions. Which is hard, because we are stubborn creatures. But let’s be stubborn for the things that matter. Like our faith & family. It’s a good thing to put things in their place & focus on what is to come, rather than where we have been. You have got to have some peace somewhere. Not dwelling on how someone has wronged you is a good way to put things to the side. Then, peace will come.

I am so glad you took time to visit with me today. Our weather has been oddly FANTASTIC. July in Mississippi is normally hot, humid, & unbearable. A big thank you goes out to whoever ordered the awesome weather we had on the 4^th of July. That was stinkin’ wonderful. We were at some of our friends Tuesday night. Just sitting in their backyard enjoying the cool weather. I had on a long sleeved shirt. It was crazy. I’ve so enjoyed you today. But for now, I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

photo credits: Pinterest, someecards

My sweet helper & Someone who needs no help

June 12, 2014June 12, 2014 / kstrick7 / 3 Comments

My little girl loves to help. She especially loves to help me & her Daddy cook. She has become quite the baker. She got cupcake pans, cake pans, and a lot of bakery paraphernalia for Christmas last year. I have to say she has put it to good use. She loves to help her Daddy in food prep for the grilling he does. She has her hands in the muffin mix & can peel boiled eggs like nobody’s business. I love having her around to help me out.

Miss Neenee’s cupcakes before going in the oven.

Do you know there is Somebody who does not need my help? That would be the Lord. You see, He is quite capable of doing whatever He deems necessary, without my input. Sometimes it’s easy to try to compare ourselves to others.

I think, “What should I be doing about this or that?”

You know what? Jesus has it all handled. There are times, I just need to have faith & sit back & let Him have his way. Isn’t that hard, though? When you pray & want a situation, a person, or a relationship, to be like you want it all to be- it may not always come out exactly like you had it envisioned.

So, I get to thinking, “How can I make this better?”

Next, I may do or say something that doesn’t help the situation at all.

Or I may think, “I’m doing all I can do to be a Christian. Why, then, are things going so great for this one over here, that’s well, not?”

Again, I need to remember, the Lord doesn’t need my help. Just because I don’t see Him working behind the scenes, does not mean He is not.

The apostle Peter found out Jesus does not need our help either. He questioned the Lord about the person He had predicted would betray Him. It’s not said why Peter wanted to know who it was. Maybe curiosity was getting the best of him. Or maybe he wanted to help or protect his friend from someone. Jesus let him know right quick that He had it handled.

John 21

²⁰Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” ²¹Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

²²Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

²³Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”

Peter’s attention needed to be focused on following Jesus. The Lord had a much bigger agenda for Peter than worrying about who was going to wrong Him. Jesus was pretty much trying to tell him,

“What business is it of yours?”

I need to remember that. I need to make sure my focus is on Jesus. Not on who is wronging me, who has a nicer house than me, or who makes more money than me. Jesus was trying to tell Peter & He is trying to tell me to have faith in Him & I won’t have anything to worry about. When the worries & stresses of this ol’ world try to beat us down, we have got to remember Who we have on our side. Even when we don’t realize it, He is working in our lives for good.

I am so glad you came by to visit with me today. We have had rain, rain, and then some more rain. But you know what? I have seen some of the most beautiful rainbows…there’s a blog post for another time! I hope you have a great week. I have to be going for now, because I should be washing clothes.

Lipstick woes & Jesus has a fix for your vices

June 7, 2014June 6, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

I love putting on lipstick. I also like lip gloss. I have one of them on, most all the time. There’s just something about applying lipstick, that is kinda like a sedative. I can be having a bad day at work. But then, take a minute out to re-apply my lipstick & I just get a better perspective. Weird, I know.

I told Miss Neenee the other day,

“Look at this new lipstick I got”

I proudly held up my tube of dollar store lipstick. Then, I started painting my lips.

I said,“ Ya know, I don’t know about the color, though. It kinda makes me think of the lipstick funeral homes put on dead people.”

Without missing a beat, my Miss Neenee says, “Yet you still put it on.”

How many things do we do in life that we know might be wrong or not flattering or not advantageous for us, however, we just keep on keeping on? Like the fat free, sugar free candy I eat. That always makes me lose weight. What?? That candy’s not sugar free?? That explains a lot. Or it really could be anything. Ask an alcoholic. Do they know what they are drinking is not good for them? Sure they do. What about a drug addict? Don’t you figure they know what they are taking is not what they should be doing? I would say a big probably. However, it’s something inside of them that makes them continue on. Even though knowing, nothing good is going to come out of it. Can I add complaining to this list? Lord have mercy, some people complain & have a negative attitude toward any & everything. Gossipers & people who are judgmental know better. They just do it.

When you get tired of doing things, that’s not helping you none, Jesus has a fix for it.

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (KJV)

We can go to Jesus anytime, anywhere. He is the true One who will give us rest from our vices. Only in Him will we have peace & contentment. What are you waiting for?

I am so glad you stopped by to visit with me today. It has been a beautiful day, here in northeast Mississippi. My flowers are growing in the yard. Good times. Come back when you can stay longer. As for me, I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

Lovely flowers given to me by my friend Karen.

Because I’m happy……

June 2, 2014 / kstrick7 / 6 Comments

Faces that make me happy.

How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m just not happy.” Have you ever heard someone say “I’m just not happy because of….” (my husband, my wife, my boyfriend, my girlfriend, my job, my dog, my cat, the president, the boy that mashed my bread, when he was sacking my groceries,) It’s always about putting the blame on someone or something else besides themselves. Or the one that gets me every time,

“God wants me to be happy.”

This is normally followed by a decision to do something that person probably doesn’t need to be doing in the first place. Let me just tell you something. Life is not fair. Life is hard. I went to a graduation recently, where some elementary school students wrote advice to the graduating class. One of the comments was-

“College is tougher than high school, yes, but you are advancing into life and life is harder than college.”

Well one of those babies understood reality better than some adults!

The other day I came across something, I knew to be true. It was just a reminder. It was on a Mental Health Month calendar by Mental Health America. It gave tips on things you could do every day to help you keep your mental health, well, healthy. On day 24 it said,

“Call or email a good friend. Studies have found that the difference between happy individuals & unhappy individuals comes in the form of good relationships.”

Jesus taught about how important relationships are.

Mark 12:31 – And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”(NKJV)

By God’s inspiration the apostle Paul penned these instructions to the church at Rome:

Romans 13:9 – For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”(NKJV)

Sometimes what we think happiness is, really isn’t what happiness is all about after all. You see a lot of times I think we try to put our cause for happiness into something tangible. Money & possessions are one of the big things that comes to mind. Many think if they had more money, a bigger house, a nicer car, more land, that their world would be a brighter, happier place. Those people will never find happiness in those things. Do you know why? Because Jesus wanted us to understand how we treat each other is an important factor to how happy we will be.

Jesus did not say,“ Love thy house.” He said, “Love thy neighbor.”

It’s these sins of the heart that get a person every time. Greed, pride, & jealousy- people with those qualities will never see the kingdom of heaven. (Galatians 5:21)

So, what do you do? Remember what our purpose is in this ol’ world. (To seek and save the lost.) First we have to understand & obey the gospel. Next we have to study the Bible & grow ourselves in faith. We are then able to go tell others the Good news about Jesus & what He’s done for us. If you do these things, kind friend, you will learn happiness that you never knew existed. You will be more worried about helping people, than hurting them. The desires of your heart will turn to what Jesus wants you to do. Remember that happiness is an inside job. If you change what’s inside your heart, everything else will fall into place.

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit with me today. I love it when you stop in. We have had some glorious weather, here in northeast Mississippi (sign me up for some more of that!). Just the right weather to sit out on my deck. I hope you have a great week. As for me, I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

More faces that make me happy.

Why you should stop putting things off & will someone come hang up these clothes?

May 19, 2014May 14, 2014 / kstrick7 / 1 Comment

Those who know me know, I am a first class put-ter off-er. I put stuff off until the last minute quite often. Like right now, I have a said amount of clothes (that belong to my husband) folded mind you, sitting on a chest in my bedroom. They are clothes he wore last week, this week, back at Christmas (wait, those are in the floor of the closet). I need to hang those clothes up & put them away. But you know what? I have more important & fun stuff to do at the moment. Like making a dress for my brand spankin’ new granddaughter. Or watching t.v. or surfing the internet for ideas on how to repaint my bedroom suit or having a nutritional snack of peanut butter or Nutella out of the jar or counting the times Miss Neenee asks can we go to the One Direction concert. You know things that distract me from doing what I need to. What are the consequences if I don’t put that laundry up? My husband has to look for matching socks? Pttthhh! He don’t care to do that. Well, for a short period of time anyway. But I won’t stop the world with my pile of clothes or cause anyone to epically fail in life because of my unorganization, so some things just get put off.

However, there are a few things in life we should not put off. Why? Because time goes on & we miss the opportunity. Those things happen, ya know? There is no telling how many great & terrific chances I have missed because I put stuff off. One Sunday at church, Bro. Brad preached about several things we should never put off.

1. Be quick to take action. We should discipline ourselves, because often times we wait too long to take action. We make excuses why we can’t do something. However, you don’t have to know everything to do something positive in life.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.(NKJV)

2. Don’t wait too long to be kind to others. Make kindness a part of your everyday life. Let your first reaction to any situation be kindness. The giver the apostle Paul speaks of in this passage is not only regarding of our monetary offering, but a giving of ourselves, as well.

II Corinthians 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (NKJV)

3. Be the best parent you can. We have our children, in our homes, for such a short time. They are born & before you turn around, they are in school. Then, graduating & having kids of their own. Take time now to make a difference in their lives. Teach them right from wrong. Don’t think you will address this or that later. Do it now or you may miss your chance.

Ephesians 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.(NKJV)

4. Read & study your Bible. We often make the promise to ourselves, “I am going to be a better Bible student.” Today is the day! You can’t grow your faith without spending time in God’s Word. Blessings will pour on you, when you spend time with God. Don’t rob yourself of that.

II Timothy 2:10 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (KJV)

5. Realize today is the day to make things right. Don’t put off making things right with God. We are not promised another day or minute. Don’t meet our Savior unprepared.

II Corinthians 6: 1-2 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ²For He says:“In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

I am so glad you came by to visit with me today. You know what? I think I may put those clothes up today. Maybe. If the sun in not shining & I can’t sit out on the deck. I will definitely put them up. Lawdy chile, I have got to quit my lyin’. I ain’t foolin’ with that today! Maybe if you aren’t doing anything, you would like to come hang these clothes up for me? No? I can’t say I blame you. I hope you have a great week. As for me, I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

photo credit: your ecards, soulspringroups.blogspot.com

What’s your prayer life like?

April 9, 2014April 9, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

My Daddy always says this.

Sunday at church, our associate minister preached. When he first started his sermon, I was sorta taken back. He posed this question:

“What would you do if you were told you couldn’t pray?”

Well, this did not sit well with me. I love to pray. It is comforting to me to know there is Someone that I can trust to take care of me anytime, all the time. To even consider for a split second that prayer would not be an option, well, that makes me feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest. Kinda like the times, growing up, when it would come up a cloud. My Mama Boyce would rush around gettin’ me & my brother to the storm house. Papa Clyde would come on down the hill & hunker down with us. Weepin’ & gnashin’ of teeth & a state a panic set in, I’m tellin’ you.
But before I could get into too big of a tiz, Bro. Andrew said what he wanted us to do is think about our current prayer life. Be thankful for it & take inventory on how to make it better. As I jotted down his points, I was thinking, I have a pretty good prayer life. However, I did realize I needed to work on some things.

1. Make time to talk to God, like a good friend. You wouldn’t go days, weeks, or months without talking to your best friend. Set some time aside to talk to God. Just you & Him. No interruptions. Seriously, it can be done. I have really gone back to my bathroom, in my closet, with the lights off & sat & prayed.

(Matthew 14:23) And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.(KJV)

2. Realize Who you are talking to. We have an avenue of prayer with the One that put 248 muscles in a caterpillars head. Currently, it has been said there are 100-200 billion galaxies. Not stars, vast groups of stars. The human body & how it functions is amazing in itself. However, an animal’s body works a lot of the same way. We were given the gift of a soul. We can reason, think creatively, & through Christ’s blood, be saved from our sins. We have the promise of heaven. The One who created all of this, is Who we are allowed to talk to anytime we get ready. Pretty mind blowing, huh? Kinda humbles you, doesn’t it?

(I Chronicle 29:11) Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all

3. Know Who God is not. God is not a genie. You can’t just ask & ask & ask & expect to receive, receive, receive right then & there every time. God has your best interest at heart. Things will happen on His time, not yours. Be thankful. You don’t have to go at God with a list of demands all the time. God is not Someone to be mocked. You can’t walk with God & hold hands with the devil. You have to take God seriously. You can’t straddle the fence. God is not Someone you only visit when you are in trouble. What if God were only there for you part of the time? You have to have a full time relationship with God. That’s what He has for you.

(Galatians 6:7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

I need to make time to clear my mind to talk to God. I need to remember Who God is. I don’t need to forget Who God is not either! Since my “One Word” for 2014 is Pray, I do need to make sure I am practicing making my prayer life better & better.
Thank you for taking time to stop by today. It is bright & sunny in Northeast MS today. I hope it hangs around a bit. I hope you have a great rest of the week. Shortly, I will be mailing in my registration for our town’s 10k run. I have never done a 10k, only 5ks. So ya’ll be prayin’ for me! But for now, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

Credits: Parts of this were taken from our lesson Sunday. Thank you, Andrew for letting me use this!

photo credits: therighttrackkc.blogspot, pinterest

How I talk Mississippi & how the Lord won souls

April 2, 2014April 2, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

I have a strong Southern accent. Sometimes in my job, people who are not from the South, have a hard time understanding what I am saying. Even when they are standing right in front of me! I had a nice gentleman call into work today. He was asking to speak to my manager. He wanted to know what his name was. I told him & he said,

“His last name is Hawk?”

I laughed & thought, “Oh, here we go again.”

I corrected him & spelled out my boss’s last name.

The man said,

“I get you. I should have known that’s what you were saying. I speak Mississippi, too.”

When he said that, we both laughed & I was more at ease. Right then & there we had a connection. He automatically scored some points with me by being able to relate to me & my kind.

In the 2^nd chapter of Acts there were some men that stood before a diverse group of folks. These men had the good news of Jesus to bring to them. However, first they had to win the crowd over. How in the world would they do that? Starting with verse 5:

⁶And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? ⁹Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” (NKJV)

Don’t you know the Lord already knew how receptive people would be to what was happening if they knew the disciples “got” them & who they were? I love feeling a part of something. I think they did, too. It’s just human nature to want to be included. When the crowd of people heard the disciples in their language, don’t you know they must have finally felt the message they were being brought were from qualified people that understood them? Oh yeah, you had the skeptics trying to throw a spoke in the wheel by saying they were drunk. (verse 13) Ain’t there always some of them everywhere you go? Thank goodness God’s plan was carried out flawlessly. After listening to that message, there were baptisms and sins forgiven and people saved in the number of about 3,000 souls! (verse 41) All because they felt like they were listening to people who they were in favor with. Don’t you know that made them feel good? Like chocolate gravy & biscuits good!

I am so glad you came by to visit with me today. The sun is shining on Northeast Mississippi right now. I am loving it! I hope you stop back by soon. As for me, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

If you are Southern, you will completely understand this comic & you will wonder is it supposed to be funny? Because, it seems like this guy is looking for wildlife to me.

photo credits: sweet southern prep, zazzle

Things we tell ourselves & chickens coming home to roost

March 24, 2014March 24, 2014 / kstrick7 / 2 Comments

Back last year, we had a student from Freed Hardeman University come to preach to us. He mentioned in his lesson, that he was learning Latin. He said it had given him a new meaning to how he understood the word of God. After services, I told him if he could explain to me what the apostle Paul was talking about in Romans 7, then & only then would I be impressed. We laughed, because at that time, Romans 7 was a mystery to me. Since then, I have done more study & have read different people’s views & have formed a conclusion about it. One of the verses has actually made more sense to me as of late.

Romans 7: 19 says For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil, that I do not want.

Everybody has a struggle. Whether it’s something that comes along from time to time or a problem we carry around every day. It’s there. Sometimes we try to tell ourselves, no one will ever know. Or it won’t hurt just this one time. Or it’s not hurting anybody but me. One of my favorites, that I tell myself,

“At least it’s not as bad as, insert some other sin here.”

But you know what? It’s still sin, so really put whatever you want there. God doesn’t like it.

It’s just so hard, though. I don’t wake up every day & say, “Well, let’s get to the sinnin’.” But, I am human. There are times I have to really focus & pray about not letting myself fall into a trap of gossiping, judging, being negative, saying hurtful things, keeping my nose in my own business and other various & asundry personality traits that my Mamaw warned me against practicing. My Mamaw was a wonderful Christian woman. She cautioned us about being ugly. She always said of someone who was behaving vicariously without regard of consequences-

Actual picture of chickens roosting for those who don’t know, bless your heart.

“Their chickens will come home to roost.”

Meaning what comes around goes around. You reap what you sow. Mamaw wanted us reaping good, not bad. So she would caution us about puttin’ on the dog. She didn’t want us trying to get above our raisings. She did not want us doing things we ought not. But if we did, she didn’t want us acting like we didn’t do it. She was all about everybody owning up to what they did. She spoke quite frequently to me about how it’s important to have pretty ways.

You know what? Even though I know I shouldn’t do something, whether my Mamaw’s direction is on my mind or the voice inside me saying, “This is not right,” it just happens. All my good efforts fizzle into a pile of well-intentioned intentions. I begin to feel like the apostle Paul- just sort of in a frenzy. I don’t want to act in a way that’s unacceptable to the Lord. But if there’s anybody out there to cut their nose off to spite their face, it’s me. I just have a way, of sometimes, you know, not shuttin’ up. Thank goodness I have a Lord that forgives pitiful people, like me. He’s just awesome like that. I know if I confess my sins, He is faithful & just to forgive my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9) Every. Day.

I am so glad you came by to visit with me today. It doesn’t matter what struggle you have. Take it to Jesus. He will help you. I promise! Your sins will never be too bad for him to forgive. I hope your week is starting out good. It was a sunny day in Mississippi & that’s always a plus! You take care & I will see you again soon. For now, I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

Photo credit: turbokitty.wordpress.com