Little Do We Know

I want to share this story before I forget the details. This happened to one of my daughter's friends. I'll call her Nancy (not her real name) because already I don't remember her name........see how quickly I forget details.

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Okay, so Nancy recently had a baby. Like so many of us she was dealing with added weight and not feeling too good about herself. When the doctor released her, she eagerly joined a gym.

Naturally it was hard on her to make herself join-in with all the so-called "skinny" girls who'd been working out for some time. But, Nancy was determined to get back into shape.

On day one at the gym, in comes a beautiful, knock-down, gorgeous, skinny girl. 'Oh great', she thought, 'just what I need.'

Well, guess who seemed to be right next to whatever piece of equipment Nancy was on at any given moment? Miss Knock Down Skinny Gorgeous Girl!

Here's a beautiful, gorgeous girl working out next to someone who's feeling fat, frumpy, and all the after effects some feel following pregnancy.

Nancy kept going from equipment to equipment. So did 'gorgeous girl.'

When finished with her work-out, Nancy decided to go into the sauna. Finally, she thought she'd get away from Miss Knock Down Skinny Gorgeous Girl!

Not so.......here she came. Ughhhhhh!

Why is it there always has to be those beauties that ya feel don't belong in a gym? Why can't they bask in their beauty at home and let us FATTIES bounce along in peace?

Okay, so into the sauna MKDGSG girl comes.......but then, she suddenly goes back out.





Back in she comes............................BALD!




You guessed it, Nancy suddenly felt such sorrow and remore like never before. How could she have felt such horrible feelings towards another human being. Beautiful, gorgeous, skinny but.........
Oh My Goodness!!!!

This girl began talking with Nancy. Seems she had a rare, life threatening cancer that was not responding to the chemo. Nothing was working; not the chemo before, nor the chemo before that. Not the pills. Nothing! The doctors had given her no hope at recovery.

This girl said she decided to work-out like crazy, spending hours and hours at the gym. Maybe it would strengthen her.....maybe a miracle would happen........maybe all the hard work would 'kill' this rare cancer.

Nancy sat there talking with her for quite some time. She found out this girl had several young children which left her mortified at the fact of not being there much longer as their mommy. She said she felt she was probably pretty well off, financially, but knew even money was of no value when no cure was at hand.

So..................Nancy, like many of us, learned a good lesson that day. Little do we know what someone is going through by looking at them on the outside. We DO NOT know and should not be hasty at jumping to conclusions! Yet, we do it anyway!

I don't know this girls' name but I want to ask you to pray for her.

And pray for us, all of us, as we learn to see others not by looking at them from the outside. Ask GOD to show us what we need to know. Ask HIM to help us to love one another......really love them, as He loves us...............unconditionally!

There's a children's song which sticks in my mind

'Beloved, let us love one another.
love one another,
For love is of God
and everyone that loveth is born of God
and knoweth God.
He that loveth not, knoweth not God
for God is love,
God is love.
Beloved
Beloved
let us love one another
First John 4: 7 and 8........

You may not know the tune for this song but those who do, Sing on!!!!

And for all of us........... Let's begin today practicing what we know is true!
His WORD

1John 4:7&8
BELOVED LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER!


God bless you today! :)

Celebrating pink and blue

I had to do it!!!! When I saw this pink and blue "background"......had to change everything.

Some might say I'd grow tired of those colors. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? I don't think so.

Last weekend I went to Tenn. and shopped for BLUE with my daughter in law. (only 3 months to go!!!!!) Woooooohooooo!

This weekend (well, Saturday only) I get to go to Texas and shop for PINK with my daughter. (only 4 months to go!!!!) Yeeeeeehawwwwww!

I promise, my whole life won't be about PINK and BLUE, but for right now......I've lovin' it.

We've waited a LONG time for these yungins' so bare with me. :)


GOD BLESS YOU!

I love a good fall, part 1

Okay, here's what happened.............

While outside taking the picture of my Fall decorations, I tripped and fell flat on my face. My camera went flying and so did I!!!!! ( note to neighbors: I apologize for such an awful sight!)

It's been one week since taking that picture. My leg is now badly bruised and UGLY! (no, I didn't want to include a new picture.....don't ya think this one is enough!)

I didn't share the "fall" picture with the others in the next blog because I didn't think they looked very good together. (---the good, the bad and then........THE U G L Y!!!!)

So, here it is in all it's splendor! (as in SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS????) lol


YICKS!!!!!

I love a good Fall!

I love Fall! I love the colors, the smells, the weather, the leaves falling all around. I love everything about Fall. I guess it's probably one of my favorite seasons.





How fortunate we are to have seasons. With each season comes something different to look forward. With fall we have cooler weather to enjoy. With winter maybe snow that might fall. Spring brings lots of rain and flowers blooming. Summer gives us warm, sometimes HOT, weather and carefree days.



What a great plan God had in mind when HE gave us seasons. Such is our lives with seasons: some good, some not so good. But change just the same. Ours to enjoy and grow in the seasons of our lives.



In this Fall season, look around to see if there's not something you too can enjoy. Be thankful it's no longer HOT! Be thankful for the trees as they put on their brilliant colors. BE THANKFUL!





The picture below has this verse in it:



He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their season; He provides you with plenty of food and fills your heart with joy.
Acts 14:17 (NIV)

May you find joy today!

So, here's a few of my my Fall decorations . I have more Fall things around the house but I think you get the picture.

Happy Fall, ya'll. ;)

Our Story

My friend, Valerie, at http://www.valeriechris.blogspot.com/ tagged me to tell the story of how my husband and I met. So, here goes......

It was long, long ago, in a far away place........

No, really.....David and I met through mutual friends. He was not from our little town but had come here to live with, and work for, his uncle Harvey.

It was my first year out of high school, his fourth year out.

About the mutual friends......I didn't know it when we first met, but I was dating one of his good friends. (O M Goodness, NOooooooooo!) Yep, so here goes~~~~~~~~~

One winter Saturday my friend, Marita, and I were on our way to the National Guard Armory to have lunch with her boyfriend and my boyfriend at the time. Slight problem, though. The roads were icy, and when I say icy I do mean i c y!!!! After we slid all over town and realized we could not begin to make the 30 mile trip to the armory, we settled on staying in town and eating at a local restaurant.

Walking into the restaurant we spotted her boyfriend with this guy, both in their army fatigues. Seems they couldn't make it to guard duty and settled on dropping in for a bite to eat.

We spent the day, riding around town....I mean sliding around town, doing donuts and having a blast, driving like fools on I C E! And I feel in love with someone I didn't know before that day.

At the end of the day he told me he wouldn't see me anymore until I broke up with my boyfriend, his good friend. And the rest is history............(not too romantic but hey, it's lasted 37+ years).

But, it gets better.

We decided on an Oct. 10th wedding. The colors were to be pale yellow and salmon. The bridesmaids dresses were finished. The songs were chosen. The invitations were in the mail. Everything was taken care of and ready to go .

On the evening of August 29th, after attending my third wedding shower,

I made a decision.....................................

'Hey, mom, I've decided I don't want to get married!'

(Hey, daddy always told me not to JUMP into anything.......He was okay with my decision......I'm feeling a load off my shoulders,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, why the piercing look???????)

Okie dokie! Things were, let's say, not too good around my house!!!!! You might say, things were just plain ice cold.

I was hitting the pavement taking wedding gifts back and forth. My wedding book has cute little x marks next to: "gifts received" with the words: returned or/did not want (as in, the giver told me to keep the gift.) But, one gift-giver stands out in my mind.

As I walked up to the house, to return the gift that person had given, I overheard the lady say to the person on the other end of the line: 'listen, honey,let me call you back, yes, it's Judy at the door. You know, David's fiance. Yeh, yeh, ......called it off.......don't know. Yeh, I'll call you back and let ya know what happened." (helloooooooooooo, I can hear you, lady!) First thing out of her mouth as I handed her the gift she'd given us; "Honey, what on earth happened." (okay, then, I'll tell ya quickly so you can get back on the phone.......)

And, so it went, kinda like that with every stinkin' gift! What a mess!

Needless to say, David was not speaking to me nor did he much like me. But my mother decided what a wonderful thing it would be to invite him and his whole family to our house for David's birthday (Oct.2)............(yes, ma'am, that sounds like a fun evening??????) IT WAS NOT A FUN EVENING! (And no, it was not a good idea, mother).

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Two months later..........

It's Christmas. David shows up at my house with a gift, something his cousin, Phyllis loved to wear: JUNGLE GARDENIA (omg is that a strong perfume or what???? and sticky too!!! ugggg!!!!!)

But, it was good to see him. And I guess you'd say, the perfume did the trick because on Jan. 23rd we got married in a simple little ceremony with his cousin Phyllis and her husband, Jerry standing in as our witnesses. No big wedding! Nothing but simplicity. Married on a Saturday, back to work on Monday.

Did I mention it's been 37 years? That's THIRTY SEVEN YEARS without wedding pictures or a fancy honeymoon. But it worked. I love him more today than on that day in January of 1971.

This is a true and factual account of "our story". Isn't it a hoot???? It's funny now but back then, not so funny to a few.......(as in David and my mother!)

We laugh about my indecisiveness......(still have trouble ordering food for fear it might not be as good as say something else on the menu!!) But, I'm doing better as I get older (finally some might say......)

But ya know, maybe if we had gotten married on that day in October, we might not be together today! I think I had to be away from him to know that I loved him. Sure it was a mess but it made me realize when I'd get angry at him for some reason or other......................'Judy, you had your chance and you went back to him! You went back a second time so think about it ole girl! Why did you go back?' And that's what rolled around in my head when we'd have an argument.

(...................or was it my mother's piercing eyes????????????????)

One final note: Remember the original date was October 10th? Know why I can never forget that date?????????????????????

We used every stinkin' napkin with:

Judy and David

October 10, 1970

GEE THANKS MOM, Because for years and years.......IT WAS NOT A JOY EATING AT YOUR TABLE!!!!!

The napkins are finally........g o n e !!!! Amen. :)

Call out to Jesus

To all of you who were affected by hurricane Ike, my prayers go out to you and your family. We don't understand the tragedies in our lives and maybe never will.

While in the midst of whatever it is we're dealing with, we may feel alone and forgotten. But know this, GOD is still there. He's still in the business of performing miracles. He's still there for us to call upon. HE STILL LOVES US and knows when we're hurting. He cares for us.

Call out to Jesus. He has "big shoulders" to lean on. Let Him wrap you in His arms and love on you.

Remember:

• He is not the author of confusion....1Corinthians 14:33.

Be strong.

• Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whitersoever thou goest ... Joshua 1:9

Trust Him.

• I will say of the Lord, HE is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust... Ps. 91:2

Have peace knowing:

• The Lord will fight for you.....Exodus 14:4

Go to Him!

• Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need....Hebrews 4:16

Call out to Jesus! He's listening for you.

And know that you are in our prayers!

God bless you today.

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And to my cousins in Houston, Conroe and Brenham, Texas.....we were so happy to finally get word that you are okay.

Praise. Don't whine!

Today I was doing day 5 of my Bible study, "Discerning The Voice of God" by Priscilla Shirer. The last page titled, THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE, asks the question: 'What immediate steps would you take to respond to obedience?' At the end of my answer I wrote these words:

praise instead of whine!

Really, isn't that what I usually do when I pray? 'Lord,I need you to take care of this or that; I need........; I need........; Lord will you do..............?' How about stopping all the whining and praising Him? What about telling Him how wonderful He is instead rehearsing all the needs I have?

I had two teeth removed on Tuesday by an oral surgeon and I've been whining to God ever since. Yes I hurt, but there's more things going on in the world worse than the silly pain in my mouth. ( 'Pity party for one, please.') I'm thinking those in Galveston, Houston and the surrounding areas wish they had such a problem as TEETH!!!!! (honestly, Judy!)

How refreshing when finishing my Bible study, today, to be thinking of Him instead of ME! So, I closed my book and decided to sit at the piano (something I've not done all week because.....well you know, I had my"pity party" to attend). So, I'm playing away, praising God with song when I look at the picture above my piano and see these words:

May the light of God surround us, the love of God enfold us, may the power of God protect us and the presence of God hold us.

FROM THE RISING OF THE SUN TO THE GOING DOWN OF THE SAME, THE LORD'S NAME IS TO BE PRAISED. Psalm 113:3

Whewwwwwwwwwwww.......that picture has been hanging in the exact same place for almost a year. Today, however, I believe God wanted to speak to me through those words. PRAISE HIM!!!! His name is to be praised!

After reading those words I decided to go around the house and see all the words of praise I had placed in each room. His promises are right there for me to see every day but have I overlooked them? Have I taken His words for granted? Have I forgotten to stop and PRAISE Him? Have I decided to sit and practice whining, instead?

Here are a few examples of His promises around my house.

A favorite picture from the '50 with a verse from a daily praise.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

In my daughter's "old room"
I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me. Phil. 4:13

I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. 11John 1:4

I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me. Phil. 4:13

Another one in my son's "old room" Ps. 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord! He shall give you the desires of your heart

One of my favorite verses

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

His promises are true! Wait on them. Acts 1:4


How wonderful He is! How marvelous is His name! How beautiful in all the earth is He!

I will praise Him!

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God bless you today!

Judy

Baby #2 is a....................

Well..............it's a

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, those cute clothes are a keeper! We're so excited.

Poor Tiff, when she called yesterday I had a mouth full of gauze and under the effects of pain medication as I'd had two teeth extracted earlier in the day. She couldn't understand a word I was saying so her dad took the phone. Today I got to congratulate her for real.

Thank God for His blessings!!!!

1 Samuel 1:27,28

Baby Plaid

I had to share this picture with you because tomorrow hopefully, we'll find out what baby #2 is (remember several posts back I told you it will be a girl????) If the little darlin' cooperates and takes a revealing picture, we'll know for sure "she's" a girl. ;-)

Oh yeah, back to my picture..... Several weeks ago I was in Texas and found a wonderful baby shop. They were having 60%-70% off on all clothes so of course I HAD to buy this outfit along with three or four more. At that price, who could resist........SOMEBODY will have a girl, I thought to myself, as I made my purchases.

So, last weekend when the kids were coming in I took all the clothes I'd purchased for my "to -be -delivered" grandchildren and hid them out of sight. Out the door Tiffany and I went, shopping in and around OKC at the cutest children's shops. Now, here comes the neatest thing.

We were going through all the darling little clothes when I heard her say: "oh mom, look at this cute outfit." OMGoodness.......there it was, the very same exact outfit as above! Now remember I got it on sale, at a bargain price I might add. At this store they had it marked $59.00!!!!!! I'm not bragging but............I paid a whopping $19.00!!!!! How's that for a bargain?

See, I told you I couldn't resist.

I kept my mouth shut about having that little "cutey puttotee" outfit at home and said something like, "yeah, it's okay." (needless to say I was having heart palpitations right then and there!!!!)

What's really weird is how many times she and I buy the same something or other without knowing the other had made the same purchase. We've done that with jackets, household items, note cards, and almost with a sofa. (hmmmmmm, is she her mother???) Rather funny I'd say.

Tomorrow, after I receive that call telling us indeed our little grand baby is a GIRL, that little outfit, along with several more, will be in the mail to Tiff and my SIL. Oh how I wish I could be there when she opens that package and sees these little outfits!!! I hope she remembers pointing that one out to me but I'll have to let her know I already had it in my possession.

Did I tell you how long I've waited to start shopping for grandchildren??????? Welp, sisters, I've got a list a mile long of all the stores I need to check out. No longer do I need to shop for antiques; got enough of those. No more household stuff is needed; doesn't interest me now.

NOPE..............it's children's clothing stores for me!

Look out world, I'm on a mission. I do believe this is going to be the best shopping of all!

Oh yeah, here's another plaid outfit. Also, a bargain. YEAH!


God bless you today. :)

Rocks in my head, song in....

Okay, I have a problem. Maybe ,some of you have this problem too.

People can be talking to me, or I might be listening to someone on television speaking, when suddenly..............I might hear:

(examples:)

• "did you ever........." blah, blah, blah!!! But I hear, "did you ever have to make up your mind?"

• "blah, blah, blah, lonesome..." I hear, "are you lonesome tonight?"

• "I need to take this key....blah, blah, blah" I hear, "I got a brand new pair of roller skates you got a brand new key."

• "....we have our land...blah, blah, blah" I hear, "This land is your land, this land is..."

or maybe "This land is mine, God gave this land...."

Do you see the problem? It's maddening, I tell you, maddening! There is always a song in my head (or is that........"with a song in my heart") ??????? They just keep coming, one song after another. There's never an end to it.

There have been times when I'd break out in song! Say a word and POW....another song!

Sometimes it can be funny but usually, it's distracting because I might miss the rest of what someone is saying for hearing "a song" rolling around in my little brain.

So, what's a mother to do? (There it goes again, wasn't that a commercial??? Commercials are rollin'around in there too. OMGoodness!!!!!)

Well, I'm going to laugh about it. I've been doing it this long, gotten by with it, so why change now. But for those who stand before me, uttering words, please know that in the midst of what you're saying.................

"there's a song in my. ...... HEAD."

Laughter: the Bible says is a good medicine!...........

"... spoon full of sugar, makes the medicine go......." lol

Thank you Lord for the "rocks in my head" cause it will keep me laughing.

And it goes on

and on

and on

and...................................................

God bless you today! :)

Happy Birthday, Tiff

Happy Birthday, Tiffany! I can not believe you are 35 today. Where did the time go? It seems the years has flown by and I've been "out of touch" so to speak. :) Am I stuck in a time-warp? Oh, goodness, I hope not.

I thank God for you, dear daughter. Have the years always been sunshine and roses? Of course not. But, as in all things, we grow in Him when we face each stage of our lives. Without the "seasons" of our lives we would become complacent and dull. The seasons take us on to new and exciting paths.

I've enjoyed each stage of your life. You've given us joy! I can't imagine not having you in our lives to fill each day with something new. We've laughed together, cried together and shared some pretty wonderful times. Who could ever forget all the fun vacations we've taken? Rodeo Drive? (remember your embarrassment at being in Nana's pick-up? FUNNY!) : Hawaii ?(where you and your dad stayed in the room to watch "Gomer Pyle" instead of walking on the beach...so sad!) : Washington D.C.? (could we have had any more blisters from all the walking? I was determined that we see everything before we were off to Dollywood ....really, Dollywood after D.C.!!!! weird, hugh? :) : Florida? (did we really drive the motor home on the beach? ) So many fun times. We've been blessed, dear child.

So, today I reflect on your life with much love and thankfulness for the pleasure of being your mom. I could not be more excited than to know that in a few months you, too, will have the wonderful blessing of becoming a "mom." You're going to be a terrific little mother to your children, Tiffany. For that, I thank God.

Knowing you will be raising your children in a home where God's love abides assures me that you and your husband, David, will seek Him in every aspect of parenthood. What peace comes from knowing His hand will be guiding you.

3 months old. Too cute!

This is the sweetest note of all. You were in preschool and told the teacher you did not have to take a nap. Mrs. Laughlin told you if you brought a note from you mother telling her you would be leaving early, she would let you stay up. Well, being 4 years old you thought you could write your own note and tell her it was from your mother! Hmmmmmm, I wonder why she didn't "buy it." lol

Those precious dog ears! What a little sweetheart. ;)

Tee ball, softball, basketball, pom squad. What fun we had watching you compete.

I could not find the actual picture but found this newspaper clipping where we published our birthday wishes to you. (were you amused? I hope so)

This note makes me laugh!! Okay, now that you're going to become a mother, I hope this note does not come back to haunt you. :) Oh those teenage years! God bless us all, we lived through them and still love one another.

College days!

Nana, you and uncle Jerry at your apartment .

And this is what your dad and I looked like as a young couple, waiting for our little one. (what on earth is with my hair....yicks)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIFFANY! I'm proud to be your mom! I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

I love you. :)

God bless you today.

We Are Family

Kandace, Travis, David, me, Tiffany, David

My friend, Valerie, took this picture of me and my family after church Sunday. It's not often we get together in a picture as I'm usually the photographer. Thank you, Val, for asking if we wanted our picture taken. I'm so glad I had my little camera in my purse.

My daughter in law and daughter before leaving for church.

engagement pics

Tiffany & Travis as small children

Family! How important one's family should be.

I thank God for my husband who has taken such good care of us from day one of our marriage. Very few times has he missed a day of work. He's dependable; he's a good worker; he's honest; he's caring; he's a wonderful husband; he's a terrific father; he's a child of God. I've learned so much from him in the 37 years we've been married. He understood the meaning of FAITH when I didn't have a clue of what it really meant to depend upon God.

From the time he was 5 years old his mother was battling breast cancer. His father's job took him away from the family for long periods of time, leaving his mother to care for three small children (my husband being the youngest.) He saw his mother dealing with the hardships of sickness, money being tight, handling all the activities of children, and suffering alone with her illness. He SAW faith in action and understood what it meant to lean on God. Through trials and tribulation this lady was an example of the "gifts of the spirit": love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

I thank God for my family! My mother who had my sister 10 years before having my brother and then me, 3 years later, was the rock of our family. At the age of 38, she was dealing with a husband who suffered a life changing heart attack. Their plans were suddenly changed as he continued to have heart attacks and could no longer work. Out of necessity, she took a job to help with the finances. Our lives were not the same. My daddy struggled with the effects of having a weak heart while mother struggled with juggling a job and caring for children. She too set an example of what it meant to lean on God.

My brother, me, daddy and mother.

As I look at my children and see them starting their families I pray that I've given them a glimpse of what it means to depend on God. Although we've been blessed as to not have any life altering situation that changed the course of our lives, I pray that they've seen their dad and me seeking to know God's truths through our examples. My desire is for them to know Him; lean on Him; seek Him; love Him; depend on Him.

Family. They come in all different sizes but we all come from a family! What a wonderful plan God had for us here on earth. Maybe your family is not what you'd desire but it's what you have. Period! Thank God for them.

We also have our "family of God" our brothers and sisters in Christ. As in our "flesh and blood" family, some easy to love, others not so easy. But they are our family just the same!

Reach out to your family today. Tell them you love them. Let them know that you thank God for them. Pray for them. Ask God to bless them. Pray for the very best for them.

Ephesians 3:14-21 NIV "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

God's blessing to you today!