If you are looking for good news, you will find it here!

May 16, 2018May 16, 2018 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

I have some good news for you today. If you have been going through some rough and troubled times, don’t worry. They won’t last forever.

I have a sign, in my office at work, that says:

Everything in life is temporary. So if things are going good, enjoy it because it won’t last forever. And if things are going bad, don’t worry. It can’t last forever either.

This is a wonderful reminder of God’s care for us. In Psalms 130, the psalmist seems to be in a dark place. It seems he filled with desperation & is searching for relief. It seems he is pleading to the Lord.

Psalms 130:1 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;
²Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications. (NKJV)

Have you ever been in such a state of mind that you just pray and beg the Lord for some sort of answer? I know I have. There have been times in my life that have seemed pretty bleak. Trusting in the Lord was the best thing I could ever do. Sometimes it’s hard to see how things are going to end up. But when you put your faith in God, things just tend to have a way of working themselves out. Even when things are in the Lord’s timing and not mine.

Psalms 130:5-6

⁵I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
⁶My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. (NKJV)

So if you are waiting in the darkness of problems and struggles, just know daylight’s a coming! You can have the reassurance the Lord will take care of you. His love and mercy is with us always.

Psalms 118:29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (NKJV)

Y’all. My daughter fried chicken and made homemade French fries last night. I’m not sure how you are raising your kids, but if they can’t whoop out some from scratch buttermilk biscuits at the age of 13 or 14, you are doing it all wrong. Maybe we just got really lucky with this gifted little cook of ours. But Lord have mercy, it’s the devil on a waist line. This weekend, she made a double decker, from scratch, cookie cake for my oldest daughter’s birthday. It was chocolate chip with homemade chocolate cream cheese icing. Now let’s get this straight, I’m not telling you all of this to make you jealous or to get her married off. I am just wanting you to know there is hope in our future of youngun’s that’s coming up. Because you know what? She has the nerve of trying to go to high school in August. That’s a lot to put a mama’s heart through. Excuse me while I hush up my cryin’.

I hope you have had a good week so far. During the cold months, here in northeast Mississippi, I made statements such as, “You won’t hear me complain one time when it gets hotter than blue blazes outside. I’m not saying a word.” So that’s what I am doing right now. Not saying a word about it being humid as all get out & melting you down to a puddle, just by walking outside. And if I have checked my calendar correctly, it is May. So, Not. A. Word. Until next time I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

My favorite love story & I sure hope I get some chocolate for Valentine’s Day

February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Valentine’s Day is just right around the corner. Do you have plans? I know lots of people celebrate their love this time of the year. I think that’s great. However, showing your love for someone should be all about how you live every day. Because you never know when the other person may be gone. Which brings me to one of my most favorite love stories of all. The one about my Mama & Daddy. I will try my best to not let this be drawn out. I will also ask your patience as I squall like a baby the whole time I am telling this.

As most of you know, my mother passed away in 2002 from complications of Multiple Sclerosis. Leading up to that, I have to tell you, she was so sick. My Daddy had some choices to make. He could either stay around & try to take care of her the best he could or he could tuck tail & run as fast as he could. Well, he hung around.

Up until her sickness, they had been that couple. You know the ones. The ones that had it all together. The ones that people went to for help. The ones that were always there to support others. The ones that loved everybody. They were “the preacher & his wife”. Don’t get me wrong. Just like any couple, they had their problems. But in the end, they were right there for each other.

My Daddy got the job as caregiver far too early. When Mama was hurting & sick & tired of it all & she would call him to her bedside to pray for her, she would say,

“Just pray. Pray for me to go.” Well, good grief. Most people would have fell apart right there at such a request.

My Daddy has always been the positive one. He would say,

“You shouldn’t say that. Just think of all the treasures you are laying up in heaven.”

Confused at where he was going with this, she replied,

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“Well, “ Daddy explained. “you being sick, has been a blessing to others. Just look at all the good deeds people have done because of you. Our friends & family are here all the time, bringing food, paying visits, calling to see if you need anything. You are helping people to store up treasures in heaven.”

With that, she said, “Then store you up some treasures in heaven & go get me a bowl of ice cream.”

Daddy would get her ready for church, pick her up, put her in the van, & push her in sitting in a wheelchair. Some Sundays when Daddy finally made it to church with Mama, he would be exhausted. But he never complained. He worked 3 jobs so that he could make enough to pay for Mama’s medical expenses.

He got up every morning & made her breakfast before he set out on his 1^st job. Not something frozen, warmed up. Homemade biscuits, scrambled eggs, sawmill gravy, bacon, country ham, or sausage & fresh brewed coffee.

Daddy learned, from Mama, how to make the best biscuits in the world. He would be in the kitchen hollerin’ how much of what needed to go in the bowl. And she would be telling him, from the bedroom, how to make a well out of the flour & put the liquid ingredients in the middle of the bowl. That’s how my Daddy learned how to make the buttermilk biscuits, I would put them up against any granny’s out there. They. Are. That. Good.

When she finally had to go in the nursing home, he went to see her EVERY day. She had fresh flowers in her room, from him, at all times. On Daddy’s request, the manager at the local Hardee’s would make sure Mama had a smoked sausage & biscuit, day or night. If anything was wrong or amiss, it was my Daddy’s name my Mama was calling. When you ask Daddy how he did it all, he will kindly tell you he didn’t have to do it. He got to do it. Mama & Daddy loved each other before she got sick. But their real love story came after she got sick. That’s when the rubber met the road, so to speak. When the cream rose to the top. That’s when it really counted. It was a true, Godly love they had.

The one God said was between a man & woman.

My Daddy stepped up, out of love & honor, for my Mama. And she let him. That’s my favorite love story.

Lord have mercy, I am an emotional wreck after all that. But it’s ok. I wanted to share it with you all. Now that I’ve bawled my eyes out, I should feel better. I hope you have a beautiful Valentine’s Day. One with chocolate & the like. I should be getting some chocolate. When I say should be, I mean hope someone gets me some because, if I don’t receive any, I will be purchasing some. Just for the comradery of it all. Here’s wishing you chocolate kisses & Russell Stover heart shaped candy boxes filled with chocolates this Valentine’s Day. Until I get my own Valentine’s candy, I will be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credits: http://www.mydiaryyourstory.blogspot.com,www.raleigh.corpcaterers.com, http://www.diyready.com

Chocolate Revelation

May 20, 2012 / kstrick7 / 2 Comments

I don’t know about y’all, but my Mama could cook. She made not only wonderful meals, but she made fantastic desserts. One that she used to make us was a chocolate eclair dessert. I thought I would attempt to make one for my family. So, I got all the ingredients together & set out to fix it like Mama would. There was, however, a certain ingredient, that I had not used before. It was Baker’s unsweetened chocolate bars. When it got to the part to melt those babies up, I was gettin’ all happy & excited. I had a big ‘ol smile on my face. Just smelling the chocolatey goodness brought thoughts of yumminess to my mind. I’m not sure what kind of cooks y’all are, but I like to take a “taste” of whatever I cook. You know, just to make sure everything’s going alright. I stuck the tip of my finger in the bowl full of chocolate. Then, I could not wait to have a taste. But when I did, I could not get that strong chocolate out of my mouth quick enough. It was awful! It had no sugar whatsoever in it. It was bitter & nasty! The claims that the label of the box had of “unsweetened chocolate”. They really meant that.

That incident got me to thinking about what Jesus tell us about sin. Just as I had realized about the chocolate, I thought, will I stand before Christ in judgment & say the same thing, “Wow, He really meant that?” There are several sins pointed out directly in

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are :adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, v. 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, v. 21envy, murders, drunkeness, revelries and the like: of which I tell you beforehand just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I know that we understand adultery & fornication are wrong. But do you mean lashing out at people in anger is a sin? I know we understand killing someone is not right. But do you mean being jealous is catagorized on the same list of sins? What is the other thing the apostle Paul says about a person who makes these things parts of their lives? Verse 21 in Galatians 5 says they will not go to heaven. So, what does that mean for me? I have to keep my heart in check at all times. Knowing that when I stand before God on the day of judgment, I will be accountable for these kinds of sins. Let’s make sure we are watching our actions, controlling our mouths, and keeping our lives acceptable in the Lord. Otherwise, we may have that awful taste of sin in our lives before we know it. There are consequences to all of our decisions we make. Whether they be good or bad. Always knowing that when God says thou shalt not……He really means that.

The culprit-when it says “unsweetened”, they really mean that.