Thanksgiving thoughts and remember to be thankful for what you don’t have

November 21, 2017November 21, 2017 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Thanksgiving is two days away. As in TWO.DAYS. How many are feeling overwhelmed? I know that guy hangs around my door step a lot. Believe you me, there are times I feel more overwhelmed than anything else. What does this mean? Does it mean I am letting things of the world over take my faith in God? Does it mean I am not trusting in the Lord? Does it mean I have lots of responsibilities and I just keep adding more? Those are some things I want to address today. Because those of you who know me, know I am a fountain of got it together & follow through. Ha. LOL. OTFL. Or whatever hashtag these young’uns use now a days.

With all the things we have going on, cooking for the holidays, taking care of kids, running a household, trying to be the best version of you, health problems, money problems, & basically just problems, it’s no wonder we meet ourselves coming. When we feel like we can’t anymore, remember the Lord says we can:

Philippians 4:6-7 ⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.(NKJV)

Psalm 27:1 ⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.(NKJV)

Psalm 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.(NKJV)

I Peter 5:7 ⁷casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.(NKJV)

The Lord wants to help the hurting & those that are needy, not the got it all togethers. If you are spending time in prayer, then you are have time well spent. Anytime you can have a conversation with the Lord, it’s not time wasted. There’s a beauty in the struggle that we don’t always realize. Within every problem, there is opportunity. Opportunity for change. Opportunity for seeing things a different way. Opportunity for learning. Don’t look at problems as the end of the world. Instead, see them as a lesson learned. See them as the Lord molding us into stronger, better people. Calm waters never make good sailors. Be thankful the Lord wants to equipt us for bigger things. And accept it. We, as people, want to tell God what is best for us. Instead of realizing God’s already got it all handled.

Here are some things that might help you keep it between the ditches:

Pray- Pray small prayers throughout the day. Or plan for prayer. Whether it be at the beginning of your day, at lunch, or when you go to bed. Just make sure you are keeping the conversation going with God. That in itself will help you more than you can ever imagine.
Make lists- I am a list person. If I don’t I get so easily overwhelmed. I have always heard the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. So, I try to break things down as I go. Knowing I am preparing Thanksgiving breakfast & dinner, I start out with a menu. Then, I make a list of what I will need to make everything. I also make a list of what we will need at the meal. I make a list of my groceries. I make a list of what I am going to prepare 1^st, 2^nd , 3^rd. Because that is easier to me than thinking I am responsible for making our Thanksgiving meals perfect & memorable for my dear family. See what I did there? Lists make me sane. The thought of high expectations overwhelm me.
Let people help you- Don’t think you have to do everything by yourself. If someone says, “What can I do to help?” Then by golly, have them something to do. Me & my sweetie handle the main Thanksgiving meal. The girls do the desserts. It just works out.
Read your Bible- What better way to feel peace & a calm about you, than to spend time in God’s Word? Prayer is talking to the Lord. That’s important. But letting God talk to you, through the Bible, is important, too.
Get away-Sometimes just getting away to clear your head makes all the difference in the world. If you can’t take a two week vacation to the Bahamas, you can get up, walk outside, and take a deep breath of fresh air. Changing your scenery by taking a drive or a walk always seems to put things in a better perspective.
Thank the Lord for what you don’t have. Sickness in your family, dealing with children that have lost their way, money problems, hungry mouths to feed and nothing to feed them, your own personal health problems, a car that won’t start, worn out tires, those are lots of terrible things to have to encounter. But what if you don’t have a sick child or your health is pretty good right now? Thanking the Lord for what you have is important. However, thanking Him for what you don’t have is just as crucial to having a thankful spirit.

I hope you all are doing good this TWO DAYS BEFORE THANKSGIVING. I know, I can’t get over it either. We have had some wonderful weather happening here in northeast Mississippi. The leaves are changing and the air is crisp. Just what the doctor ordered! Until next time I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credit- someecards, pinterest,

Stop it with the voodoo doll & I serve a great God

February 11, 2016February 11, 2016 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

So whoever has the voodoo doll of me, can give it a rest at anytime. I will publicly say I apologize for whatever I have done to upset you or cause you any grief. Seriously. Enough.

Normally, I don’t moan & whine on this blog. However, since I am president & CEO of I should be washing clothes.com, I will be putting some information out there to my peeps that love & care about me, THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE I LAST BLOGGED.

On Monday last week, I was at watching Miss Neenee at basketball practice when my aunt called me & said I needed to go see about my dad. He was at a funeral home visitation, for a classmate, & started acting strange. To make a long story short, he was & is still having mini strokes. He also has a blood clot in his heart.
Some good information to know about Medicare is, unless you are actively in the midst of a major medical situation (having strokes is not considered major, go figure), you have a short 3 night stay in the hospital. Then you are, O-U-T spells out goes he, on your bum. No exceptions.
We found out this delightful Medicare will allow you to go to “rehab” & stay. Which “rehab” is a fancy word for nursing home. They could call it the “most wonderful & magical place on the planet”, it’s still a nursing home. So, Daddy is currently in “rehab” for therapy.
My daughter had her baby! Yay babies! He is just a little bundle of joy. He is as sweet as can be. His big sister LOVES to hold him. Hopefully, we won’t find him in the washing machine, per her usual of putting things she loves in there.
We got to keep my baby grandgirl whilst her mama went to have the baby. #funtimes, #canttelleverythingthathappened, #grandkidsarethebest, #grandshouseiswhereitsat
Got confirmation, someone at my house, is having surgery very soon. Not saying who it is, but he’s not looking forward to it. 😦
I have the BEST family in the world. They all have gone out of their way to help us out, with Daddy & my daughter. It’s a true blessing to have such a close knit family.
Much to my dismay, I have had to miss some work. I also have some of the BEST co-workers in the world. They took care of everything while I took care of my family. Didn’t have to worry about ne’er a thing. Insert GOOD FEELING here.
There was a bomb threat, in the school district, where my daughter goes to school. They got out early that day. Thank the Lord she got home safe & sound & no one was hurt. Nonsense. Pure nonsense.
Last night, in a whirlwind of getting ready for bed, I put some cream on my face. I thought it was some I had used before. However, I didn’t recall all the tingling it was doing. I finally got it all rubbed off & today, I look like I have chicken pox. (Or at least that’s what our custodian, at work, told me I looked like.) Painful & burning. All day today. While I am typing, it is burning. That cream was promptly thrown in the garbage. Not a fan of the “burn” cream.

So, one may wonder, “What kind of mental state is a person in, after a week of unusual happenings?” All I can think is at the end of the day God is in control. Job 2:10 says Shall we indeed accept good from God & shall we not accept adversity? I have so many blessings in my life. Daily blessings. I can’t forget that, while I have these other unfortunate things happening. I am so thankful for our new grandson. I am thankful for the knowledgeable doctors & nurses that attend to my Daddy. I am thankful for all the friends & family that have called, texted, visited, messaged me, & just plain ol’ been there for us. When I think of those things I think of the amazing & remarkable love of the Lord. He has come right in & made things that seem bleak look hopeful. For all these things I am humbled & I so treasure the great God I serve.

I hope you all have had a good week. If not, remember, daylight’s coming. It can’t stay dark forever. Until next time, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

Birthday wisdom & various photobombs & selfies

April 30, 2015April 30, 2015 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

It was my birthday. My Daddy called to say he wanted to take me out. Well, you don’t have to tell me twice. We selected a restaurant. Then me & some of my other peeps met up with him. You should know everything we do revolves around eating. I don’t know if that’s a Southern thing or we just like to make sure we are doing our part to keep farmers in business.

There was this girl who was supposed to be taking birthday snapshots. However, sometimes she was taking pictures of herself. Which is ok. Because she is really pretty.

Then, there was this cutie. I don’t know what she was doing. Just entertaining herself with selfies I suppose.

Pure

Entertainment

There were some pictures of me & my honey by the lake. Hey, who is that standing on the picnic table?? What’s the big idea??

Here is another picture of us. Wait, do you see the little girl sticking out from behind my honey? She’s waving. This is what happens when you have silly kids. You will never have another good picture again.

That is unless you can get them both in the picture at the same time. Don’t they look like angels?

Then here we are again. Still trying to get a good picture. Not that ya’ll care, but the wind was blowing like a tornado was coming through. My hair was everywhere.

Here’s this guy again. Miss Neenee says she loves him a lot.

Pretty sure he loves them a lot, too.

He is always in the mood to give advice. I was telling EA that night that I had found a way for her to save her money & have $2 million by the time she retired. In which Daddy advised her:

“Don’t save your money. When you get that age, you won’t feel like doing anything. Do everything you want to do, while you are young. While you can. Anyways, $2 million dollars won’t be that much by the time you retire anyway.”

I think he was trying to get across to her this:

James 4:14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Life is short at best. We should make sure we take care of our problems the best we can & be ready always. I also think he was trying to make sure she understood money & earthly possessions are not important. They will all deteriorate in time.

Matthew 6:19- 21 says

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Daddy has always made it clear what the Bible says about what is important. I’m glad he takes the time to tell my kids about these life lessons. Pretty thankful for my Daddy. We laugh a lot when we are together. Sometimes so much it’s hard to get our picture. And by the way, this is one of my favorites right now:

I hope you have had a great week. It humbles me to know how blessed beyond measure I am. Count your blessings. They are everywhere! Until next time, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

Do you want a piece of me? & what a wonderful life it is…..

July 31, 2014 / kstrick7 / 2 Comments

As I get older, my life gets more full & blessed. I am so thankful for the people in my life. I am so glad our family is close knit & loving. Even though my daughter is married, with a baby & my middle daughter has a busy life, we still can’t hardly go to town without calling each other to see if the other one wants to go. Just the other day, I asked my 10 year old daughter if she ever felt like I didn’t give her enough attention. You know I got these grandbabies, now, that we just gush over. Then, the older girls, my 2 sons, my daughter in law, my sweet husband & I try to keep up with my Daddy, as well. I work full time, teach a Bible class at church, try to keep a house, cook, clean (sorta) & sometimes, after all that, I feel like she may get a little left behind. But when I asked her if she felt left out, she looked at me in utter surprise.

She said,

“No, I love my life. I couldn’t imagine it any other way.”

Whew,nailed it.

Isn’t that what we all strive with our kids? We just want them to feel safe, loved, & well, happy. Now, ask her how happy she is when she can’t keep Mr. Sweetie Pants out of her room messing with all her stuff & you may get another answer!

Nonetheless, with my big family, something is always going on. Ne’er a dull moment. My oldest daughter got her degree in May (Yay!) She has gone to work for a school district. They had a 2 day kindergarten camp with the kids to get them ready for the school year. She said there was one little boy that was a mess. On the first day, he kept asking her,

“Miss K.K. do you want a piece of me?”

She kindly reassured him, she did not.

On Tuesday she finally had to get on to him. She said,

“If you don’t stop doing that, you are going to have to come stand beside me & hold my hand. Do you want to have to come hold my hand?”

He sweetly replied, “Maybe.”

Looks like she will have her hands full & heart full by the end of the school year!

I am so proud of my daughter & her love of children. Her grandmother loved children, too.

Jesus had encounters with children.

Matthew 19:13

Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. (NKJV)

Jesus knew the value of children.

Matthew 19:14

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (NKJV)

We should be ever mindful of these little fellows. They have an innocence & trustful, loving, heart just like we should have. Those are the kinds of things that will get us a 1^st class ticket to be with Jesus.

I am so glad you came by today. I hope your week has been full of good days. If you have not had the grandest of days I want to share this quote I saw this week:

You were born for a purpose,

You are here for a purpose.

When live knocks you down,

Remember your purpose.- Billy Cox

Now, go out & make it a great day! As for me, I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

Hats off to some of the greatest Dads

June 16, 2013 / kstrick7 / 2 Comments

photo credit: Queen of the snot princess blog

Did not want to miss the chance to say Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing Dads out there. (You know who you are!) My choices for best Dads all around are: My Daddy, My husband, My brother, My father-in-law & My son.

Me & my sweet Daddy

I can quite honestly say, I was blessed with one of the best Daddys EVER. He is a Godly man. I don’t have to really say anything else about him. If you have a Godly father on Earth, you know everything else just falls into place. However, I will brag a little. He is the person I always go to for advice. Being a Godly man, he always dishes out Godly instruction. He is a rock that I lean on. He is truly a wonderful human being. If there is a finer man out there, well, I’m not going to say you are a liar. But, if you know how loving, generous, and down right funny my Daddy is, well, I guess I would choose my words wisely. That is if you think somebody can pull all of that off better than him. Just sayin…’ I’m kinda partial to him. (When I say partial, I mean I’m real convinced I’m right about this one.)

Me & my sweetie

My husband is the bomb.com (Do people say that anymore? Because he really is.) He is master griller at our hacienda. Thursday night grilled goes on all year round. We always have something that makes you want to slap yo’ mama good on Thursday night. He cherishes the ones he loves. He is loyal as the dickens. I’m not real sure what we would do without him. (And don’t plan on finding out.)

My brother-who I affectionately refer to as “Bud”

My brother is the younger version of my Dad. He is rooted deeply in his love & beliefs. He is kind. He is important. He is smart. (Did I just sound like one of the characters from “The Help”?) Oh well, it’s true, he is all those things. He loves his family. He is a terrific cook. I just don’t know if there is anyone better, that you can call a brother.

My father-in-law was a a Master Sergeant for the U.S. Army for 23 years.

My father in law left this walk of life to be with the Lord in 2011. I can say when he passed away, it was just like my own Dad had died. That’s the kind of relationship we had. He was such a terrific Christian man. He loved church & his family. He would do anything for anybody. People loved him. He made such a mark on my life. I won’t ever forget how loving, gracious, and faithful he was to God & to his family. I loved him just like I loved my Dad. And the thing about it is, he loved me right back. To top it off, he was a Master Sergeant for the U.S. Army for 23 years, a ROTC teacher, & an elder at church. He was such a precious, precious soul. I am beyond blessed to have been close to him.

Mr. Sweetie Pants & his Dad

My son has the tenderest heart. His little boy is so crazy about him. I know I could call him day or night & he would come help me. He’s just like that. He has been a Dad for less than 2 years. However, people could take some lessons from him on how to love your kids. Because he does love my grandson to pieces!

I hope all you remarkable Dad’s out there have a memorable Father’s Day. If your Dad is still living, please be sure to talk or go see him today, give him a big hug & kiss & let him know he means the world to you. I know he would treasure that. As for me, I have to go, because I should be washing clothes.

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4