Purple hull peas & teaching kids about Jesus

August 4, 2016August 3, 2016 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

I don’t know about y’all, but my most favorite part of summer is all the fresh fruits & vegetables. We had our little container garden on our back deck. It’s certainly, a do again. I like having the fresh cucumbers & tomatoes. And the fresh herbs have simply made our grilling out of this world. My uncle called me the other day & said,

“Do you want these purple hull peas, I just picked out of the garden?”

Why yes, I reckon I do. These are the peas that are grown in the same ground my grandparents had their garden. So, it kinda tugs at my heartstrings. These are also the same peas Miss Neenee told me about Sunday night,

“Mama, I was hungry, when we were at church. All I could think about was eating peas & cornbread, when we got home.”

I’m not saying we are properly raising our daughter, however, I just don’t know of anything else you could take away from that. Raising a proper Mississippian takes a little time and effort, and having a palate for southern cooking doesn’t hurt either. Because we LOVE to eat. And Miss Neenee does, too. Thank the Lord.

We had one of the people from Lads to Leaders come speak to us at church Sunday. If you are wondering what Lads to Leaders is, it’s the largest training tool the church has for our youth. However, I guess that’s not really right. Adults can participate, as well. But it’s mostly youth driven. Bro. Roy Johnson talked about doing all we can to keep our kids in church. He said statistics show that at a young age children make up their minds about the Lord, Bible, & church. And a lot of it has to do with who is responsible for their upbringing. I’m not talking about the parents that don’t take their kids to church. I’m talking about the parents that have the kids at church. Sometimes the ones who darken the door every service. Those kids, that decide,

”This is not for me.”

And by the time they get old enough for car keys, they are gone from the church. Or when they are finally old enough to move out, from mama & daddy’s house, that is all of their church going. Those kids, are the ones, that may have not seen mama & daddy love the church like they should have. Those are the ones, that may have always been present, but on the car ride home heard about how it was too cold in the auditorium or too hot. Or how long the preacher made the sermon, or did you see what kind of dress so & so had on? Or did you notice those kids running around, babies crying, or the BIG one- Mr. Brown that sits way up front in the church building, doesn’t speak to Mr. Smith who sits all the way in the back corner of the other side, because when he was little his grandfather & the other guy’s grandfather had a disagreement. We think. They don’t really know about what or who. But they can’t speak or look at each other, anyhow. Y’all. This really hit me hard, because I know all about this stuff. My Daddy was the preacher, when we were growing up. We heard everybody’s business. But you know what? My Daddy & Mama loved the church & taught us kids to love the church.

And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou riseth up. Deuteronomy 11:19 (KJV)

That’s what I want to teach to my kids & grandkids. I want my family to go to heaven. However, I can’t expect my kids& grandkids to learn about the Lord, love the church, & want to be a part of something, that I don’t whole heartedly believe in. You have heard the old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Believe me that doesn’t work here. I just pray the Lord will see fit to help me be a good example to my kids, grandkids, & family. I don’t ever want to be the reason to make anyone stumble. Some may believe wealth & success comes from the world, jobs, what you own. I would think you should feel the richest & happiest in the world if your family were faithful Christians. Nothing beats that.

It’s August. As in August. Summer is on the downhill stretch. And if you ask me how many of my summer goals I met, well, not many. I don’t like to point fingers, but this thing called a broke foot didn’t help the cause much. Now, don’t start gettin’ all worried. I am fine. It’s just a ridiculous inconvenience. That’s all. I hope you have had a great summer, minus the broken bones. I have to be going now, because I should be washing clothes.

Lessons from a 6 year old & warm weather where are you?

March 2, 2015March 2, 2015 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

There are times you just have to know there is good still in the world. As much as we hear of the horrible things going on, we must be confident there is good going on, too.

I was lucky enough to have 2 little girls, from my Bible Class, to sit beside me Sunday night at church. They had notebooks & were drawing different things. When I say notebooks, I mean we live in a place where these are still in style:

They enlisted me to draw a panda bear & a horse. It was pretty sad. Their pictures were MUCH better than mine. I was hoping the people sitting behind us could not see how truly pathetic my artwork was. I have taken art classes. However, my abilities are CLEARLY stunted when it comes to drawing things. The head of my horse resembled a lizard or dinosaur. I did add a mane & tail. One of my sweet little friends did ask what exactly the tail was. So, we made it a little longer. That helped out a lot. (Not.) They were drawing dogs, cats, & the occasional turtle. Then, I looked down & saw a picture I could not figure out. It was a stick figure with some lines drawn through it. I leaned over & asked the little artist to identify her drawing. She whispered,

“It’s Jesus on the cross.”

Really? I’m not even sure someone could have told me anything more precious right there in that moment. Here I am. Just a sinner, trying to make it through life, trying to make sense of it all, & I have a 6 year old sitting right beside me nailing it with her “what’s on her mind” drawings. She taught me some valuable lessons with her Jesus picture.

If I keep my mind on Jesus, well, that’s all I really need to do. I won’t have time to worry about being offended or getting my feelings hurt or much anything else.
I need to make sure I am living a righteous life everywhere. Especially in front of kids. Obviously, they are watching & listening.
I need to always be kind to children. Kids are wonderful blessings from the Lord. If we mistreat children, we are mistreating a work of God. Nobody wants to do that.
Kids are people, too. They think about things, wonder about things, & love like nobody’s business. We need to do the same.

Jesus loved children. He referenced how we must become as children to go to heaven.

Matthew 18:3 .. “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

This tells me I must be humble, loving, trusting, forgiving & always anxious to learn about what Jesus wants.

I hope you are having a wonderful week. I promise to you right now, if we ever get warm weather again, I will never ever ever complain about it. Well, maybe. I am just ready to go outside and it be warm. I heard the other day, this has been one of the top 10 coldest winters, in the Mid-South, since 1875. Now, you know why I’m so opinionated about the coldness. Southerners are not made for cold weather. Word. Until the weather is hotter than the backside of a cast iron skillet, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credits: http://www.poraora.com, pinterest

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.