18 ways....

.....18 ways to quick start start a day.....

5 --USPS cards
3 --text messages
2 --email messages
2 --on-line cards
1 --singing card
1 --surprise google message *
1 --bag w/ cheesestraws & poundcake
1 --yummy cupcake *
1 --tray of lemon squares
1/2 --salted caramel
1/2 --handcrafted chocolate heart

18 ways to remind one to number her days and be "grateful for each day the good Lord gives." (Daddy aka Grandaddy Brud) (Psalms 90:12)

* Google --"How do it know?"

** my fave white cupcake with buttercream frosting--design by Molly in a "Dotsy" liner 

Second Day!

When man works, man works; when man prays, God works. (Angus Buchan)

He certainly did that for sweet Lucy today as she  was reassigned to the preschool just around the corner from her home.......and went shopping with Daddy for the new school uniform.

Answered prayer that blessed her grandmother's heart----God's best in His timing.

FIRST DAYS!

A joyful heart is good medicine...(Proverbs 17:22) For a grandmother that includes first day of school pix from pre-school to 8th grade.

Pre-school Lucy

Pre-K Andrew

1st Grade John Parker

2nd Grade Owen

l-r 8th Grade Nathan, 4th Grade Caleb, 6th Grade Noah

INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY

Today's the day......guess where I am headed today? To the Collierville Library for a writers' conference.

.........and the  Mid-South Book Festival begins tomorrow. Body wearying fun for a bibliophile!

Be still my heart......the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. (Ecclesiastes 12:12)

Buzz Words

Mrs. Eleanor Morgan. Even typing the name brings back the 9th grade "dread" of the science class spring project assignment.*
Thankfully my Uncle Pete came to my rescue, all the way from Clarksville, TN---helping me do a "Beekeeping" display. I don't remember too much about the process except that Uncle Pete made me wear big gloves and it was hard to take pictures with my "Brownie" camera with those gloves on. Visually, I only remember the green and white box type hives at the far end of his back yard on willow Heights. It's the auditory memory that stays with me. 

Apiary audio.
That hum. From a the hum-m-m of a single AWOL bee or the hive buzz which sounded like rushing water to me to the incredibly LOUD buzz,  of a new swarm that Uncle Pete retrieved from a nearby playground.
Think buzz saw!
Irritating and aggravating, not soothing.

All of that to say, lately my "nighttime "head feels as if it's caught in said beehive.
Anxious thoughts buzz in my head. Surely Psalm 94:19 is etched somewhere in the furrowed lines of my forehead. Yet, the BUZZING continues, usually between 2 and 4 am.

Obviously, I have a life lesson that I have yet to learn-----so the struggle continues.

As Carolyn Weber noted in her latest book,  holy is the day, settling into a horizontal position, was enough for my body to "snap into memory mode." (p. 39) Her imagined happenings of mishaps or crime that could rob her of a loved one or that she could be dying from "some unknown, unnamed ailment gnawing at her from the insides" settles in once she is prone. (p.40)

I hope to finish this book quickly to see if she has new ideas or verses for me to use as appropriate "buzz" words.

*Thanks to Uncle Pete's tutelage, I received a blue ribbon.

International Inspiration

Ukraine speaks my heart---may the Lord bless us that we might bless others.

This sign from one of my Ukraine ladies says it well. It's what they are doing as they "give" out of their own need/lack to bless the their countrymen. Refuges from their own land who have been displaced by the fighting. (James 1:17)

Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow.......from one Ukrainain to another.

T.R.U.T.H.

These days there are many definitions for the word truth. People tend to hide truth or bend truth to suit their own needs. (Think more opinion than truth or possibly void of real truth) Most Urban Dictionary definitions of truth were profane, including lewd words for bodily functions or vodka injections, except for one contributor, Matt-the-Jesus-Follower. Truth stares us in the face but we look away, terrified to make eye contact with something that judges our actions and lives.

Vines' Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words offered the Greek, αλήθεια, using truth objectively as a noun. A noun which signifies the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of matter. What you see on the outside is a true reflection of it's basis.

The truth of God is the reality of who He is---whose existence is a verity.

So.....as I prepare to teach truth, I need to simplify and just go back to Him, the One who is Truth, to supply the understanding I need. (John 14:6)
As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. (Daniel 9:13)

T.R.U.T.H. My simple definition,
a pithy acronym that suits me.

T eaches

R ighteous
U nderstanding
T hrough

H im 

HOLD FAST

In the midst of a "tough" diagnosis of a dear friend, I have had to hold unswervingly to the truths of God's word. The Word of Life is always needful, especially during such hard times. 

I need to hold fast....to God's truth, to His goodness, to Him......and to friends who are also holding fast. Fellowship is held fast by the shared hope from the One who is our hope as we comfort one another.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; (Hebrews 10:23)

But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; (1 Thessalonians 5:22)

Hold fast to it for the sake of your holiness. “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth (John 17:17)

And if I'm struggling to remember, God has a creative way of reminding me----right before my eyes!

PRIME Connectivity

Life is all about connections. These days connection seems to be more virtual than the face to face relational kind.

Digital linking has a way of intruding on my connecting time with with the Lord. 

Awakened this week by the "bing" of my iPhone, I decided that I would not even "look" at the message until after my time with the Him.

I decided that I would NOT connect with the outside world until I had my time of inner connection with the Lord.

I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. (Proverbs 8:17)

This week I chose not to awaken to others until I awakened to the One who awakens my soul and is my PRIMARY connection!

Signposts of Character

Crab Crossing ought NOT to be a legitimate sign in my home.

Why is it that we too often show our own worst selves among those we love most?

Billy Sunday, the fiery 20th C evangelist, said it well, "Home is the place we love best and grumble the most."

A woman of God's manner of life should be one of faith, longsuffering, love and perseverance. (2 Timothy 3:10) A worthy life. Not a crabby one!

Did I mention gratitude? Thankfulness is a "given" for a walk worthy of the Lord and another prescriptive component of said life. (Colossians 3:15) Thankful hearts are void of all hints of crabbiness.

No crabbing.....or being crabby by any other name---complaining, belly aching, carping, backbiting or bemoaning. Not allowed. At home or abroad.

Women of godly character allow the Lord to control their tongue so they can put a BIG X on "crabby"words wherever they are, especially at home.