Happy New Year

Look! What I found!

My Prayer for my family!

Dear Santa,

This has been a good year for us. We had many good blessings to thank God for. We have learned to negotiate the conflict of having so many adults living under one roof. We are still attempting to catch up with the financial blows of past years, but we have taken a good chunk out of the debt that we had clouded over us. We got to visit NY and see some family, after 10 years of being away. This did alot to boost my morale. I still have a long list of wants, even though I haven't really been nice for the whole year. I hope you will show mercy to me, even though, I don't deserve it. I am grateful for the blessings and the tokens that my children give, but I wish they would look at the list, a bit more. Thanks for being there to send a letter of wants to. Yours Truly, Jayne

All my sisters and brothers rolled down the hill but me!

Everyday we went to Rochdale, it was my job to take care of baby Abdul. The mountains loomed around us and I was too old to do the things the little ones did. I missed the feeling of freedom of rolling down the hills that seemed so fun, but still so far below me.

I almost made you miss such a beautiful feeling, as well. I was concerned about the health risks. I didn't want all that dirt in your hair and Emily's asthma scares and the look of it, etc. But you girls weren't deterred in the least. I said don't do what those other children are doing, rolling down the hill, at the ice cream social at the Family Conference and there you were rolling with your ice cream in your hands and hair and eyes. I was embarrassed, but laughingly. I could understand completely, but still very angry that you didn't listen. Does your mother really know what's best in those situations? What if we were to have to take Em to the hospital with an asthma attack? We didn't though. She laughed and had no other repercussions of those dirty and soiled interactions. We all laughed and even the babies, who were Enoch and Evie got completely filthy of ice cream and dirt and grass, so that I had to miss the evening session washing all that filth off of you guys! Wasn't that fun?

I miss it, everyday for the grown people that you guys have become. I go to work and I tell every little child that I see, don't miss any hill you can roll down. Don't think that you are too grown to do that? Don't think that the responsibility is yours to sit by the baby children while everyone else is rolling. You Roll! And you know what? They do!

Yesterday was a beautiful 70 degree day and I went outside and William put his sneakers on the minute I said, let's roll!

Celebrating serving my family!

Today!

Is a bunch of thoughts projected to my Elyseee! You know that don't you, Elyse. Even though the rest of the children have access to it, it is mainly for Elyse. They each have their own blogs, which are accessible through the links on the sidebar which are marquees with their names on them. I have a fictional blog link, "Don't Beg!" and a devotional blog, "Devotional thoughts".

All these expressions of love, sent to my children and any who may traverse this way on the internet are dedicated to encouraging and informing my dear ones of my current thoughts, for whatever value they may present.

Today, really today, Tuesday, December 19, 2017 is a beautiful, sunny day and I am thinking about the pleasure of serving my family for the benefit of helping them enjoy the Christmas Holiday!

I feel a part of a wonderful "Maternity" of unsung elfish women, whose silent service of washing and vacuuming and clearing up stuff and shopping, etc. make Christ clear to their loved ones. The others can bring the sermons and send the presents and write the stories about the wonder of Christmas, but the joy of finding the joy of giving yourself in service to your loved ones, is a gift in itself.

Today, I am celebrating the people whose joyous expressions have become part of my motivating portions of serving my family. I do pray that their encouragements and sweet spirited, motivations always find you and give you a glimpse of what you are doing, Elyse!

Irma Bombeck, Helpful Hints from Heloise, Martha Stewart, Paula Deen, Patti Labelle, cooks and cleaning women, that I have watched in hotels and offices, where we have been and now Ree Drummond has come into that sphere of personal motivators.

I will talk about the last one first and if you have any questions about the others, which I have pointed out to you, from time to time, just ask.

Come and Get It!

Her sweet face on the cover of that book speaks volumes. Is that the spirit that you invite your family to come to the holidays?

Home is where the heart is and Home is the grounding place that protects your family from the lightning of the world's burnings. How can you make it that?

Your sweet face, at the table and over the cookpot, when you can, is a tradition that we never want to lose. Other people can make the food and place it on the table, but there is nothing as filling to the soul as someone that you love planning and creating the menu for your holiday meal and being with you in the midst of it. Is it as you imagined it? Is that the right combination of cinnamon and nutmeg in the apple pie{I am imagining my cousin Lauren's delicious pie}? Is that home to you?

It sure is and it is your job to make that happen for people wherever you are!

This is one year after the horrible attack on my child in Charlotte!

I am grateful that he survived, but still wondering when the criminal element of our city might be subdued. It was swift and wonderful assistance that we received, from law enforcement and from the hospital, but I do hope that no mother ever has to go through that again. They took the car from him and threatened his life and beat him, so sadly.

Thank you Lord for your great deliverance, last year and for the wisdom that we received from the horrible event!

Odd Pals

Laughter is the clearest best medicine for us and our pets, also! Evidently!

Looking for my signet of Cygnets?

I am in the book of Ezra in my devotions and meditating on the relationship between Zerubbabel the signet of God and cygnets, of which I am most fond. This is a similar meditation of my darling Elyse, who often makes Homophones the fond example of a joke to her mother. "Let's go get a Burrito" or go to the Arboretum? Missing you!

It is Always a beautiful sky show on the way home from Chowan!

This time was no different. On the right side of the car was a huge bunch of clouds that looked like the little cartoon character with guns drawn on both sides and as I looked at it it changed into a picture of myself blowing out candles. Totally wierd, I said. I saw a signature on the left side of it saying UNC C. I knew who that was, of course and the way the picture was, I absolutely knew who it was. Uncle, would you leave me to enjoy the moment with my darling daughter. No!

I am writing about it, because when I got home, I found out David Cassidy had died. I know that Uncle was preparing me for the blow. It was somebody, you loved when you were 10 years old. He is on his journey. I am so sorry, Uncle. He is gone and it is a sad loss of someone who entertained us very well. Now, enjoy the moments you have left!

Looking Glass---Am I the Mad Hatter?

I feel so stupid to be 55 years old and just opening LG, by means of movie. I lose my status as being thought of by myself as a well read and well rounded individual. I thought of myself as a person of multitudinous in my fully read books. Of course, my memory is losing more than I have placed into it. I lost so much that now I can't find the file of my informational readings. So, I keep filling the files, in hopes to replenish, before the hole empties the entire tub.

I hear the mother in "How Green" mocking me, "why would one fill a tub with holes in it?" Indeed why do I fill my mind, when I know it has holes? I fill it because it is empty, I retort.

Absalom, was the butterfly in "LG". I know him, I jump up and down to say. I was just reading about him a day ago. Providential? Like Horshack in Kotter, I jump and raise my hand in the class. I know Absalom and I know butterflies, like my best friends. What was Lewis Carroll trying to say?

Fleeting characters in Scripture, are they won to faith or lost? The womans' movement in the Old Testament, was it addressed by the God of Creation? Are women vindicated, is Tamar? That was Absalom's movement. He was the anti-harassment portion of the Kingdom. How far underground did that movement go? Does Jesus care?

Whose battle is that? It is the churches battle and many men have taken it to task, and some to their deaths, as Absalom.

Absalom died, in judgment and David knew why. His sins were brought into his face. It is my fault, he was saying over and over in his griefs. I showed this boy the wrong thing about my life. I showed him that I let the good old boys off the hook too easily. I showed him that his sister was less than to me. Women weren't important to him, but they are to Jesus.

Jesus came to correct the record, as it comes to women. We are not the center of the universe. Our angers and griefs are carried to heaven. Our prayers for our sons are seen by our Lord. Our monuments to their misunderstandings in prayer are considered at the throne of Mercy. How much of ourselves are we willing to spend to grow children into the Kingdom of Heaven? Carroll and His generation had a burden of not letting the Absaloms go to hell, because of their inconsistencies. They built schools to separate the wheat from the chaff and get the wheat into policy-making positions. Scripture was a standard, among other standards to create an Athenian-style debate of hammering out policies. God will not judge us harshly, if we are judging ourselves aright, was the reasoning of these great men of yesteryear.

Somehow the womans' movement has become an end in itself and not an issue to be reconciled with. Men who are masculine are attacked, for their bias. Femininity is the rule of the day. It is our turn, we say. We must crush masculinity, because that is the enemy! Not so!

Breakfast at Dunkin!

Who knew that the loss of keys could end up giving us a great chance to regroup and talk with our adult son? Small mercies and great providences. Lord willing and the creek rising gives rise to wonderful memories sometimes! Just ask IRMA.

I had a fatted coffee:light with cream{replenishing my blood loss from going to the doctor?:} Enoch had a donut, which I ate also and an egg sandwich on a croissant. Dad talked about an inspiring message he had just heard from Warren Weirsbe and I talked about baby foods and eating styles and En talked about his not being listened to and we all had a wonderful conversation. We were smiling in the picture, at least. We only do this when we are bidden by a false start to the morning and a wonderful son who woke up and took his sister, even though dad couldn't find his keys. All is well?

Behold He Comes! More Faithful than the Cavalry!

Where is God when so many sad things happen?

Help us, O Lord to lift, even these sorrows! in Jesus' Name, Amen.

Without Jesus?

With Irma in the rearview window!

The clouds over the house looked like weary wrung out sponges running home after a very hard workout. As usual, I had to look up at them, when I saw them whipping my grapevines around and threatening to take them out altogether. We saw none of the fury of what we had observed on the internet, from live broadcasting out of Florida about this huge hurricane.

My heart is thanking God for the numerous levels of interconnectedness that assisted in keeping this storm from being the trajedy that it could have been. Learning to value life above possessions and safety over our own comforts from time to time is a wonderful thing that we saw in this storm. Thank God for the meteorologists and the commentators and the local and broader police and firefighter and rescue heroes that made the storm an abundant proof of God's mercy being poured out to us through the hands of one-another. Those on scene and those who traveled from other places to be part of the human shield against calamity and life loss for others, whom they knew and may not have known. Thank God for the opportunity to watch God knitting us together through hard trials. Halleluia, what a Savior!

and my baby is home now!

ablast from the past

Is this five hundred lavender seeds?

I ordered them twice, because of a seed problem where I burned my eyes trying to teach Ezra about seeds and plant repro.  I dropped th packet somewhere and couldn't find it.   Today, I planted my elusive dream of fragrant lavender in my yard.   We will see if five hundred plants come up.  I am not about to count them in this form.

Bye Ezzy, Enjoy NY

Who is 18?

Guess Who's Home Today?

A pretty Pool Day!

Look at the Recompense from God in the earth...

Proverbs 11:31 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

Golden corn delivered to my door, from God. I never tasted anything as good and delicious as that corn. It seemed to have everyday's sunshine in my mouth. "Don't miss it!" The lightning said and the spiders made a frame for it. You can't believe how good God's corn is, when you grow it yourself. Maybe I only got one this time and the okra from years ago was good, but this corn was better, because I learned how hard it is to get somebody's eyes out of the books and into the practicum.

Swords to plowshears? what of it?

God's priority is learning to grow things and not to destroy. This is a very hard lesson for a city girl to learn. The heavenly priorities are a difficult mental exercise to get your head around. When you have tasted the vanquishing of a foe on the court and in fisticuffs and etc.; you don't want to submit your mind to seeds and roots. Roots don't do anything, Lord! I scream it out. Seeds, just seem to sit there and they are so slow to grow. I am longing for the swiftness of an overhead. The venom of a killer shot itches in my shoulders and hands and here I am with these impotent looking seeds in my hand, what should I do with them and where is the vanquish in that? Then 80 or so days pass and here is the corn, fully grown, your first one and the learning to receive positive adrenaline from something other than watching your opponent duck when they hit that lob. Why? Because those are God's priorities. Taking captivity captive in our hearts and minds for the Glory of God. Help, Lord!

I like the verses about the kingdom being taken by violence. I can relate to that. Don't give me a bunch of seeds to deal with. I will grow. God put those verses in the Bible just to lure me in. Once you get into the battle and you see the peace-loving nature of God and battle of beating up your own passions and proclivities, you may want to let go, but you can't.

Lately I have been seeing a volleyball game in the clouds. Go figure.

Missing Air Bud!

It is just a year, since we said goodbye to this stalwart soldier of the Hackers Delights. Still, as we enter a season of Wimbledon, it seems there is a silence. There is a muffle to our voices as we struggle on court to find our voice without him.

He seems to be standing next to God, commentating the match of our lives. He is showing us how a hacker can make it to heaven, after all of this stumbling and stuttering on the court. After we beat up ourselves and our opponents, make sure that you know that God is not your opponent, his life said. Enter every match with the knowledge of your humility next to the Most High.

As a commentator, if you were a hacker, he said, “You can do this!” It really isn’t as hard as it looks. If you were a seasoned pro, he said, You ain’t so much! Tomorrow, you could be watching from the bleachers. He humbled us all, with every comment. We miss him so much as we jump to try to explain the encouragement and motivation we received from his unorthodox ways. We can’t even talk about it. We just try so hard to make the applications to the world as we live out our own lives and hear his happy voice egging us from the sidelines onto the courts of our responsibility. He knocks us down a few pegs and he lifts us up a few, when we need it! Missing you, Bud!

the Blessing of a participatory democracy {if I had a hammer...}

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord?

Oh how fleeting the seeing of the Lord in politics can be? We weep and worry that it couldn't possibly be good, to have such negativity in elections. Learning to use words, instead of fists and weapons is a growing process. Our forefathers have left us a heritage of possibility for such things. We discuss and we make policy. We argue and we blow off steam, here and there. Some election cycles are worse than others. But the more participants the greater the value of the outcome. Who has the anvil and who has the anvil and who is stoking the flames of the fire to go to another level of right self-governing. I love it when I see the young people taking up a political stance, even when I don't agree with them. We are hammering out the useless thought processes and hammering in a useful degree of policy that will get us to agree and grow to betterment. Democracy is alive and many people, each having their tool in hand will batter our arms into the plowshears, as we pray to that end! Jesus is Lord and He has a purpose, even in adversity. He has a purpose of usefulness, to build His Church that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it! Amen.

Glorious Unfolding! Happy Belated Flag Day!

34 years ago today we started this journey together...

I got a nice miniature rose bush as a remembrance. Thank you, Ben dear.

Graduating High School, Congrats Ethy!

Ethan's Graduation!

The Eight grade Graduate Ezra Charles-Anthony Walker

Until God's Love Broke Through!

What can I do, But Praise Him 2 grads this year?

Congrats to Evie she won the Doug Eubanks award!

What are we adding to our faith?

Spoiled on Dogma!

I have to tell you how you missed it, our Easter, Mother/Daughter Retreat.

We opened Boice on "Knowing God". Emily also had to miss it, for her work schedule. It is funny how life batters your faith and your practice of walking with God. God steps aside and lets you fill your life with all of your wants, when you have a treasure trove of truths that you've been raised on. Then you realize that somewhere in that overfilled closet, your 10 Commandment song is resting and waiting to be dusted off and kissed as a reminder of the reality of your riches in Christ. Where is it? I remember it says something about...love and obey and coveting and industriousness. What was that song again? "La, La, what's the name of that song?"

Then, we wonder why this empty feeling is in our souls. It is Easter again. I know my sins are gone. I know that my Savior loves me. I know that I am a Christian, but am I cherishing the treasure of Christ that I was reared with.

I was born on the Bayou, so to speak and I own all of the fish in the sea, with my Savior, but I go to the store to buy a ham sandwich. Why not crawfish and potatoes that are in your pantry on the Bayou? Well, blessed Pastor Boice, rest his soul, taught us to fish in the bayou and stop picking up porkchops at the store for a much extra charge. I was blessed and I hope that Evie was too.