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.

Now that she’s in 6th grade & have mercy….

September 8, 2015September 8, 2015 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

It always amazes me how much I learn by having kids around me. Just this week me & my Miss Neenee have had some pretty good conversations. You know she is in 6^th grade, this time around. The kids are stuck in the preteen years. They don’t know whether to play with dolls or be boy crazy. Some of them are both. They are also so very silly. There is a little girl, that’s just come to school this year. They have named her, “Bacon”. Miss Neenee talks about Bacon all the time. Everyday Bacon says something or does something new. It’s always something goofy or weird or obnoxious. You know YOUR PRETEEN YEARS in a nutshell. Any the whoo, one day Miss Neenee & I was talking about school this year. I asked her about some of the kids from school. Some that just so tee-totally got on her last nerve last year. (Which is funny, because she was probably getting on their nerves just as bad.) She said that they really didn’t bother her so much this year. She said it was all good with them. I told her perhaps they grew up some over the summer.

She replied, “No, I did.”

What a grown up thing to say! Sometimes we get so up in arms about how other people act, that we forget to look at ourselves. My Papa Clyde always said, to have friends, you had to first be a friend, yourself. I think that lesson has hit home for my Miss Neenee. She is becoming a mature little lady. I wish I could be as understanding & compassionate as she is.

Proverbs 18:24 A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.(NKJV)

Maybe she is learning the world is not all about her needs, but the needs of others. Hopefully, she is growing to have the heart of a servant. To be kind & tenderhearted, like the apostle Paul talked about

Ephesians 4:32

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.(NKJV)

Relationships are important. I am glad to learn from my 6^th grader that love, forgiveness, & mercy can come through from any age. And speaking of mercy, we talked about the unmerciful servant in my Wednesday night class, this week. I asked the class what they thought unmerciful meant. One little girl said she knew exactly what it meant. She said when she played basketball with her brother & his friends they just kept trying to beat her down & not let her have the ball. She said that was very unmerciful. These kids tickle me to death. We had promotion Sunday a couple of weeks when the school year started back. This is when the kids move classes, since they are advancing in grades at school. I MAY or may not have a couple of kids that do NOT want to advance out of my 1^st & 2^nd grade class. We just have so much fun in there. If one of the elders is reading this, I sternly told the kids they had to move up next Wednesday night, no exceptions. Then, I gave them a bunch of candy.

Hope you are having a wonderful week. Summer is back. If you haven’t heard. It’s just weather in Mississippi. Hot, cold, air conditioner, heater, all in one day. You just never know. I hope you had a great long weekend. We did. Lots of food, family, friends, & fellowship. Until next time I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

My favorite quote of the week. Don’t worry about saving your money. You don’t need a penny to do this-

Making the decision to be kind & I need a new microwave

October 15, 2014October 14, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Decisions, decisions. We all have to make them. Sometimes decisions can be hard. Evidently it was for the sky this morning. It could not decide if it was going to storm or if the sun was going to shine.

If you look closely, you can see the sun was trying to shine. But, we were driving right into some ugly looking clouds. Strange, I know. With the sky being so indecisive this morning, it made me think about a story, my Daddy has always told about my Papa Clyde. There was a time, he had a chance to make a life altering decision. You will be very surprised at what he did.

My Papa Clyde was a sharecropper. He & my Mama Boyce had 10 children. They obviously had to make the most of their earnings. However, they were always willing to share what they had with others. One time my Papa Clyde started to notice the fuel in his farm tank was running low. He would get more fuel added in, then before he could turn around, the level was back down. He had an idea of what was going on. So, he waited & after dark, he took his post out by the fuel tank. Before long, one of his neighbors wandered up the dirt path, with a gas can & hose. Papa Clyde sat there & watched as the guy started to siphon fuel out. When the time was right, Papa Clyde walked up to the man. The man was obviously startled. The man immediately started apologizing to my grandfather. My grandfather said,

”Look you are going to have to stop this.”

The man regrettably agreed,

“I know Mr. Clyde, I am so sorry. I won’t steal no more of your gas again.”

Papa Clyde looked sorta puzzled & said,

“I mean yer gonna hafta quit siphonin’ this out. You could get hurt doin’ that.”

The man didn’t know what to think. Papa Clyde said,

“Looky here. This is the spout. Let me see yer can.”

With that, Papa Clyde took his gas can & showed him how to operate the fuel tank. After he filled up his can, he handed it back to the man & said,

“Now that you know how to get it out, just help yourself, anytime you need it.”

Needless to say, Papa Clyde did not have any problems with this man stealing gas again. Ever.

I have told that story to several different people. I have had some say,

“I would have shot anybody trying to steal from me.”

My grandfather did not choose that. That day he decided kindness was the best medicine. It puts me in mind of how Elisha, in II Kings 6: 8-23, handled the Syrians.

The Syrians were a bad bunch of people. They were trying to go to war against Israel. Elisha would have none of it. He had an idea. First off, when the Syrians surrounded the city, he asked the Lord to blind them.

II Kings 6:

¹⁸So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.(NKJV)

Next, he led the army to Samaria. v.19

Once there, Elisha asked the Lord to make them see again. When the soldiers regained their sight, the king of Israel asked Elisha could he kill them.

²¹Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”(NKJV)

However, Elisha has another plan. Elisha chooses kindness. He told the king to make a great feast for them. After that, Elisha sent them back home. Do you know what happened after that? They never darkened Israel’s door step again.

²³Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel. (NKJV)

Don’t you imagine it took some courage for Elisha & my Papa Clyde to stand up to people who were wronging them? I would think it would take a level of maturity, that is not seen often enough, & a love for your fellow man to react in kindness. I have to admit, I am not sure I would have reacted in love & kindness in either of those situations. However, with these 2 wonderful examples I have, I hope to be reminded of their mercy, kindness, & forgiveness, when someone treats me without regard. You have heard

“a little bit of kindness goes a long way.”

Well, today, my friend, you have seen where it did.

I am so glad you came by to visit with me today & listen to me ramble about making wise decisions. I hope you are having a wonderful week. Mine will get better when I get a new microwave. Mine has tore plumb up! We have missed the clock on it more than anything. My husband has threatened to sit his alarm clock on top of it. Until I get to shop for a microwave, (which will be more decisions for me) I should be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credits: bowtierecords.BlogSpot.com,vendio.com,pinterest