A Short Sweet Trip...Very, Very Sweet!

We went to Colorado for a quick trip. Madelyn celebrated her 8th birthday by opening gifts and a meal at Olive Garden, her favorite restaurant.

Here we are playing king, queen, princess and prince.

How many of you remember the 1982 movie "Savannah Smiles"?

I remember taking my children to see it at the theatre. Deanna found a copy, and we all watched it together. Talk about nostalgic! Darren was about 8 years old when we first saw it--Madelyn's age now. I was about 34--a year older than Darren is now! I couldn't have told you the story before we started watching, but, every scene was familiar. It's a very sweet story of a little blonde girl with huge brown eyes who runs away from home because her rich parents don't give her enough attention. She ends up in the company of two criminals who she immediately wraps around her little finger. As always, Darren ended up in a hilarious wrestling match with the kids all over him. As I lay there on the couch watching the movie I had seen 26 years before with my 11, 8, and 6 year old children, and seeing my son enjoy his son and daughter, I thought, "It just doesn't get any better than this."


At night, PawPaw slept in Hayden's bottom bunk and Madelyn slept in the room with me. As we lay in bed each night, Madelyn and I continued a tradition she started on the last visit--we asked each other questions. The ingenuity of her questions amazed me, such as "What was your favorite age, and why?" "What was your mother like?" When I commented that she is the only person who asks me such questions, she said, "That's just how girls are!"

TRUST

Matthew 7:11 "If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him."

If we love our children enough to bless them with good things, how much more does God love them and desire good for them?

Lord, I will trust you with the well-being of my children and grandchildren!

"I will open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there won't be room enough to receive." Mal. 3:10

HAPPY 101TH BIRTHDAY!

Hattie Rogers Broadus is 101 years old today! This picture was taken in 2002.

My grandmother Winnie Chatman Mizell, who died in 1982 at age 76, was her first cousin and friend. When MawMaw Winnie was in a nursing home in Gulfport, Hattie, who was older than she, would ride her bike to visit.

When my parents moved to Gulfport after their marriage, Hattie helped them move many times from apartment to apartment, as they didn't have a car. After Daddy died in 1992, Hattie welcomed me into her home where I stayed as we took care of getting Daddy's house ready to sell. Staying there made me feel "mothered" or "grandmothered" again. She's an amazingly strong Christian woman with an incredibly positive attitude in life.

Read the story she told me about surviving smallpox on myspirituallegacy.blogspot.com
P.S. I had written this post in February 18, 2008--Hattie's 101th birthday. On April 15, 2009, Hattie went to be with Jesus. About a week before, Ralph and I visited with her. She had been asking her minister why she was still here. She held my hand and said these most precious words to me: "I'm so glad we still love each other.".

Making Mention of You

Romans 1:9“For God is my witness…that without ceasing, I make mention of you always in my prayers.” Sometimes I find myself thinking that I haven't REALLY prayed for someone if I don't spend a lot of time doing it. The Bible says to "pray without ceasing." How is that possible? Paul told the Romans that he "makes mention" of them without ceasing. As we go about our work, we can "pray without ceasing" by making mention of those we love as they come to mind. We can ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind those who are in our heart to pray for. and make mention of them throughout the day.

A Treasure in Heaven

Joel Stockstill's young wife died last night. My heart is broken even though didn't know her. I remember Joel as a school boy. When I heard he was married, I remember thinking that his young wife must have had to consider his medical problems and deal with fear that she would lose him. It brings home that we just never know how many years we are given on the earth or who will go to heaven first.

I hurt for Larry and Melanie, too, because, not only did they lose a precious daughter, they also have to watch their son suffer. I pray for Amy's parents as well.

I certainly don't understand. I don't believe that the devil can do anything that God does not allow. The Bible says that it was ordained before the foundation of the world how many years each person will live--Psalm 139:16 "In Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me when as yet there was not one of them." On the other hand, we are told to fight the devil--he comes to steal, kill and destroy, and we know God does heal physical bodies. How it all fits together--I don't know. I don't quess anyone does. I do know that I need to learn more and more to live my life in light of eternity.

I remember hearing that when a person goes before us to heaven, they become a "treasure in heaven" waiting for us.

We've Moved!

We've been in our new house for a month now and are gradually getting things in order. When we were in the apartment, I wrote about how I missed the wind chimes that hung on the back of my two other houses. Well, look here...and, in this one month, we've had lots of weather changes--from 80 degrees to freezing and back again several times. I've often heard the sound of the chimes, and, not only do they tell me the weather's changing, they also whisper, "You're home!"

And, look who's hiding out in her cozy spot. Our house came with a dog! We bought my daughter's house, and Brittany, my son-in-law's hunting dog and the boys' pet, stayed behind. Their new house isn't set up for a dog yet, so we have joint custody. Brittany loves to run the three acres here, pointing at squirrels and birds, that is, in sunny weather. When I hear the tinkling of the wind chimes, the next sound I expect to hear is her scratching nervously at the door. She's terrified of thunder and bad weather--post-traumatic stress as a result of the house fire she survived two years ago. As you can see, she has it made when I'm home on cold, rainy afternoons.

This is our house. Living in the country has a different feel. Of course, I go to "town" a few times a week--it has always aggravated me when people say they go to "town" when "town" is one interstate exit away!

I had hoped the picture wouldn't show that the dormers haven't yet been painted, but it does. Nonetheless, we're making progress!

January's Over!

January has always been my least favorite month. The after-Christmas letdown blues hit. Christmas bills flood in. Days are short, cold and dreary. As a young mother, I thought we'd never get back outdoors! One child would get sick and pass it around to the others. One year it was the flu. The next, chicken pox grounded us for weeks. When I was a teacher, January meant indoor recesses with crazed four year olds. During my paralegal years, I rushed out of the office at five o'clock, hoping to reach the downtown parking lot before darkness fell. It seemed I never saw daylight.

But January has redeemed itself for me! Last January 25, our youngest grandchild was born, making January the most exciting month of 2007. This year we celebrated his first birthday. I'm still glad January is over. In the South, that means that spring is near, but January looks much brighter to me now. Happy Birthday, Rylan! Thanks for redeeming January for me!