The attack of the killer pollen

Spring Traditions

This weekend I partook in the time honored tradition of clothes swapping....
Maybe its a southern thing...I'm not really sure...but every spring and every fall...for as long as I can remember...my family has devoted some time to getting all our spring and summer clothes and shoes out of storage, and putting all our fall and winter things away for the season. Its really kind of fun...you find lots of goodies you had forgotten you owned....throw out things you never wore over the winter...and feel almost as if you have been shopping, after all you now have a whole new wardrobe! I used to do this for all my kids every year, weeding through the things they had outgrown or the things that were just too awful to keep another day .... Now my closet is full of lovely bright crisp spring and summer things and my sandals are all prominently displayed in the closet floor and I have a large bag of goodies for Goodwill...I even went through my jewelry!
Now the house and yard are calling...begging to be dusted and scrubbed and mowed and trimmed...and the car...boy does it need washing, as it is coated with a thick layer of pollen....still more spring traditions that I am trying to get to....these things and March madness too?...surely it really is Spring!...Oh yeah, now to get those annuals planted....
What things do you do around your house to mark the arrival of spring?

My friend....

My friend, J, is getting married......
When I met her I was a young minister's wife with 3 kids, she was still a college student...very serious...about her future, her relationship with the Lord, her life...
Together we grew.....she graduated, got her masters...I raised my children and kept my household afloat while my minister husband attempted things in church life that had not been done before ....she became integrally involved in our church family...I became integrally involved in our church family...she embraced the newness and became not only one of my hubby's greatest supporters, but one of our dearest friends...she bought a house...we bought a house...she went through trials...we went through trials.....
she was smart and independent...financially wise...always preparing for her future...always working hard to live her life to the fullest...and always an incredible support to our family...
over the years we have eaten together, cried together, camped together, traveled together....she has taken my children on outings, attended their baseball games and ballet recitals, cheered their victories, ...celebrated their high school graduations and college successes...visited with my son when he was far from home away at school, encouraging them all in every aspect of their lives as if she were an aunt or immediate family, even to opening her home to accommodate my mom as a house mate for 3 yrs...she has traveled to foreign countries, accompanying my hubby and others from the church on many mission trips and even going in his stead on occasion... always supporting us and the work with her time, effort and money...always giving her whole life to her Lord and His house.
Her creativity and energy has abounded over the years, enabling her to share the Lord with so many, saints and unbelievers alike, in amazing ways...
Once upon a time we(my family) found it necessary to move from our home church to a far and distant land with no church fellowship at all. I credit this friend...this dear sister...with my very salvation...her creativity and compassion kept me alive and connected during those lean and barren years...and though she may not know that I know...I do know that she was behind the many kindnesses of those years that kept me afloat spiritually.
It has been 20 years...20 yrs of ups and downs...despair and joy...heartbreak and gladness..and plain old fun that we have shared....more recently our paths have diverged...we see or hear little from each other these days...and that mostly from mutual friends...
but time and space cannot erase the relationship we have forged nor the love we share....
J has always lived her life pure and upright before God and man...struggling as we all do but always turning again and again to Him who is the giver of all good things....
so it was with great joy we rejoiced to hear the news...

I weep that I cannot share it with you... but know always that I love you....We love you...
Go with God into this new adventure called marriage!

My friend, my sister J,.... is getting married!!!

The Harness

Its a lovely sunny 75 today....I spent the morning driving for, oh say 2 hours, back and forth through the countryside to the college campus where my daughter had to register and get her schedule etc...my sun roof was open people, things are blooming everywhere...I felt happy and excited for her...I felt free... like the wind blowing in my open windows...and bright... like the sun....What a lovely morning! the world was ours...and mine specifically....
Then it happened....upon entering my office parking deck.... I had the distinct impression of a harness slipping over my head....

I DON"T WANNA GO TO WORK!!


On a happier note...my daughter is safely enrolled in school...classes begin April 3rd! Yea!
My son is home from tour...I will see him in less than 2 weeks! Yea!...
He has something called a Skype phone?? anyone have a clue what that is??
I spent last nite with my sis as she traveled through GA and I will see her again on Friday as she returns through GA. Yea!







Now as for 24....Just WHO is the leak???

The ramblings of a feverish brain...

Well it took an entire work week but ... I'm finally a full blown SICK!...I called out at Chicos last nite and spent the evening on the couch in front of a movie...BTW...Crash is very intriguing and brilliantly done...I have several more movies lined up for my viewing pleasure...seeing as how I called out again for tomorrow at Chicos...can't imagine going to work with this cough and sniffly nose...not to mention I can't talk...at all... ugh!

Spent most of today resting and reading and possibly getting in some photo collage work later...its nice and quiet at my house...Jadabear's daddy surprised her...and the rest of us by showing up with his mom(we weren't surprised by her...we knew Maimaw was coming) to pick J up for a week long spring break visit....she was ecstatic and he almost cried when he saw her...they have really been missing each other since my daughter's move here to ATL...I'm so glad they will get some time together...maybe he's growing up a bit, that boy..ya know? :)

Here's another spring teaser for all you folks living in less than warmish climates (although its turned out quite chilly here the last couple of days) still, its not cool enough to freeze...

.... some picks of what "snow" looks like in my yard.....:)

My Turn

I love the "My Turn" essays in Newsweek...this one is particularly touching

Fuzzy

I don't feel great today...my head is fuzzy and I want my bed....I think I have a cold coming on....thats what comes of giving multiple Eskimo kisses to a 3 yr old fresh from daycare...or of sleeping with the windows open and pollen blowing about....

Do you believe Martha stabbed Charles?!?! Though I pride myself on seeing these things coming...I didn't...and isn't little Rickey Schroeder looking cute?? :)

I'm wearing an awesome new top today and will be sporting my new Chicos's deals all week....now to get a tan going.....I know, I'm not making much sense here..... I told you I was a little fuzzy....I'm gonna go now...there is some important work somewhere demanding my attention...I think....

My momma loves me!

Yesterday she made peanut butter cookies...my favorites!

The day before that she ironed my shirt....and raked leaves in our yard

The day before that she made dinner for my family while I worked my second job.....

The day before that she played with the grandk and put her to bed while my daughter was at work even though I had said I would.... she knew i was tired.

My mom is an amazing woman...she always has been...

At a very young age she sought out the Lord and His House though she did not come from a religious family...she went to church with neighbors and friends, trying various denominations when even her siblings declined to accompany her...she has always had His mark upon her.

She went it alone as an ill equipped single mother when I was 10, raising 3 daughters on a pittance and by the grace of God. Somehow we all got raised, hardly ever being aware of how hard she worked or struggled to make that happen, but always knowing how much she depended on her Lord. We, her children, grew to share that dependence.

As a mature woman of God she found that she could no longer stomach church the way it had "always been done" and left the church of my youth to seek a deeper more real walk with her Lord.

As an adult woman nearing retirement age she uprooted herself, left her secure job of 25+ yrs, all her friends and family and the only life she had ever known to move from Alabama to Pennsylvania to be a support to her daughters and grand kids, undertaking a move that encompassed far more than mere mileage...
it was financially dangerous
culturally shocking
socially isolating from family and friends...
A courageous act that none of her peer family members could understand nor would they ever consider to attempt.

At the age of 70 she fulfilled a lifelong dream and traveled by plane (a biggie:)) to Ireland.

In my lifetime, she has always been a woman exhibiting strong faith and a quiet yet steady spirit though I realize now that these qualities were hard won and paid for with a high price. She is always prepared to speak a word in season...always ready to lend a helping hand or offer a gift of kindness....her many talents are put to work regularly to bless others.
She has stepped out in faith again and again in every aspect of her life...proving to me and to anyone with eyes to see that she is a true pioneer, brave beyond words...seeking out her Lord, following His lead no matter the cost and being an amazing blessing to all who are fortunate to know her.
I am incredibly blessed to have her as my mom and to have her in my home.

I love you Momma!

Thank you, Lord, for March!

March means...

5 weeks.... of paychecks...yay!

Sunshine and 70 degrees with slightly less that soft breezes

Daffodils and tulip trees






Daylight Savings Time

My son coming home from tour

My daughter starting school and a new life

A trip to Philly

March Madness

Spring perfume








Khaki pants, pink sweaters and new shoes..:)

Chosen

Phl.1:29 For you have been given ....
the privilege of trusting in Christ

Thank you, Lord...

Fun things...

Signs of Spring...in our very own yard!!





A shopping trip to Chicos....

Just love that song I Will Lift my Eyes so I had to pick up this

And for icing on the cake...we had a sleepover!!! yep that's pancakes...and my giant glass of sweet tea ... :)

Hope your weekend was (as Jada would say)...."a blast"!

Forgetting

I have to admit it… I think I am getting forgetful….

Memory has always been one of my strong points…you know I was the kid in school who never studied until the night before…remembering the info just long enough to get a good grade on the test…. forgetting meant bad grades and that was a bad thing….:)

Trivia has been a part of my life for forever...I have always had the talent to remember miscellaneous and random pieces of information that might prove useful later…I file tidbits away in my brain to be pulled out when needed and have found this talent to be quite helpful when putting projects together, scheduling events or dealing with unexpected incidents. Its good to know that a certain doctor has a class on Tues mornings or that bank deposits give us $500 availability immediately, unless we use our old ATM card which only gives us $100.…forgetting can mean the difference in having grocery money on Sat. or knowing how to reach the physician of your choice in an emergency.

I rarely tend to remember non useful information…my brain seems to hold on to what may be pertinent info first. I couldn’t tell you who won the World Series in any given year or who won American Idol when….

But I can tell you the due dates for payments on each of my credit cards...whether or not they can be paid online, whether or not the payment will post same day and if it has to be made before a certain time to do so….I don’t really stay on top of the birthdays of my nieces and nephews but if its something that will effect my household, I’m on it…doctor’s appointments, haircuts times, the cheapest place to buy gas or which supermarket has the best deal on meat or produce…yep, that’s the kind of things I’m really good at remembering…Forgetting is bad, it is often very inconvenient and can even have dire consequences….as I have learned the hard way I assure you…

Then there is the forgetting that involves significant moments in my life…moments that are frozen in my mind’s eye by great emotional impact… perhaps joyful, romantic, or spiritual, maybe painful or frightening…some are one of a kind in nature….

Many, I have made a conscious effort to hold on to by virtue of photographs or video, cards or mementos…others I would give anything to remove from my memory but they are seemingly seared there forever unless God grant me release. Would to God that I could forget some things and though my memory has always been reliable…some memories I would be much happier to erase completely as if they had never happened at all…but then that’s not how it works, is it? We don’t get to pick and choose what we remember and what we forget...or do we??

These days there is a different kind of forgetfulness that I am learning…

As we all know…it is good, even God to forgive and forget…to let wrongs done us fade into the past and be forgotten, God helping us to be free from the pain of such wounds to the point that we rarely even remember them anymore…and when we do look back on them we see only His mercy and grace in bringing us through. This is an honorable aim…high and noble yet requiring a depth of healing that it often takes years to arrive at….all the while leaving us helpless prisoners to our memories, suffering along, and waiting for God to do something….

The forgetfulness I am seeing lately encompasses painful memories, of course, but more than that… in thinking on “Phl 3:13 I have been impressed that it encourages us to forget those things which are behind. It doesn’t specify only the “bad things” lest we forget that even the "good things" can enslave…it simply says to forget and not only to forget...but there is another piece to the puzzle…to reach forward...not only to reach but to stretch, to strain forward…to the things which are ahead…to press…toward Christ…It implies a conscious effort to forget…and in the forgetting to move forward.

Perhaps there is action then that can be taken on our part …Perhaps this is a
God secret that we can make our own.....Perhaps the forgetting cannot happen unless the reaching forward is embraced.

Sometimes it seems that we are frozen in time by our past experiences, our memories…held hostage by all that was.…the good as well as the not so good…but I am finding, by His grace, that if I so choose...and apparently it is His timing that is allowing me that choice...then little by little I can forget...not as in completely obliterate it from my mind, that is not how we were created, but I am enabled, in the reaching, to forget what is behind that was painful...to forget what is behind that was beautiful …to forget those moments that changed my life forever…forget in a positive way, to no longer be held hostage, no longer imprisoned…but an active participant in my freedom….reaching and straining forward to what is ahead in Christ…

Pressing into Him and into my future in Him, I can be free from the past, even the good past…. forgetting to the point that all that remains of those memories is mercy and grace…and somewhere in the process…peace…

Perhaps forgetfulness isn’t such a bad thing after all.