Grandma's Cutting Board

My dad's a saver.  He saves everything.  Everything!  He's undeniably sentimental.

Not me.  I save next-to-nothing.  I figure if I haven't used it in six months, I must not really need it. So, I either give it another home (via either a yard sale or a donation) or toss it in the trash.  As far as things go, I'm undeniably unsentimental.

During a trip to Ohio to visit my parents last summer, my dad (the saver) re-introduced me to things he's saved over the years.

Before the trip, I couldn't understand the reasoning behind his saving efforts.  During the trip, the reasoning became clear.

Sweet memories!

Of all the things my dad safely stored away for memory's sake, the one that brought back the sweetest memories for me was my grandmother's old cutting board.

Many of my fondest memories growing up include days spent in Grandma's kitchen on the farm (the same farm my dad grew up on) while she seemingly effortlessly prepared home-made breads, pies, cookies, and entire meals from scratch.  Without written recipes.  She knew them all by heart.

Grandma's heart went into her baking.  Most often, she could be found in her farmhouse kitchen cooking up something delicious for her loved ones.  As clear as day, I can see her in my mind's eye with her cutting board and rolling pin, and apple pies cooling in the window.  She even hand-picked the apples right from the apple trees in her own apple orchard.

I brought Grandma's cutting board back home to North Carolina with me.  Though I'm not at all fond of cooking or baking, I use Grandma's cutting board nearly every day.  So every day I'm reminded of my Grandma's love.

I'm saving her cutting board.  Forever.  Guess I'm sentimental after all.

... I brought home her rolling pin, too.

Psalm 145: 4

One generation commends

your works to another.

They tell of your mighty acts.

An Easter Story

I'm not at all a fan of shopping.  It seems I'm never able to dredge up precisely what I'm seeking.  Regrettably, I leave the stores empty-handed.  This week's dismal shopping treks were no exception.

I'd simply wanted to purchase a few Easter storybooks for my grandkids.  The game plan was an 'in-and-out of the Christian bookstore in a jiffy' sort of plan.  I'd thought my strategy would work like a charm, since Easter is just around the corner.

I thought wrong.

Left empty-handed.  Again!

Oh, there were plenty of Easter storybooks alright.  Cute ones.  Some even hinted at the true meaning of Easter.  But, none told the whole story.  Not one.

Disappointed!

I wanted to share the whole story with my grandkids.  I wanted to share it in storybook form.  In Paul Harvey-like manner, I wanted to tell my grandchildren, 'And now you know the rest of the story.'  

Determined not to let my disappointment get the best of me, and just as determined that this Easter my grandkids' hands and minds will grasp the whole Easter story, I'll create my own Easter storybook for them.  After all, I already know the rest of the story.  It never changes.

The rest of the story?  Jesus didn't have to die.  He chose to die.  He defeated Satan and sin when He died and rose again.  This is why Jesus is the only way to God.  The only way to be assured that we'll go to Heaven to live with Jesus forever after our earthly lives are over, is if we ask Jesus for forgiveness of our sins and accept Him as our Savior.

P.S.  I don't like shopping anyways.  So, it's a win-win.

Hope

There's light at the tunnel's end?

HOPE so.

Believing in HOPE

Didn't ask to go through it.  Never dreamed of going through it.

Too dark.  Too long.  Too exhausting.

Not a hint of light.  Not even a glimmer.  Not yet anyways. 

Still ... refusing to lose HOPE.

Still ... believing in HOPE.

'At least there's HOPE.' 
(said someone dear to my heart, whose heart is HOPEFUL.)

No light yet.  But it's there.
Just haven't reached it yet.  It's coming.

I KNOW so!

HOPE is:

• not a notion, but a confidence
• not a wish, but a promise
• not a guess, but a belief
• not an assumption, but an assurance

I am confident of Jesus' promise that if I believe, I am assured of HOPE.

1 Peter 3:15

'... Always be prepared to give an answer

to everyone who asks you

to give the reason for the hope that you have.'

Romans 8:24 & 25

'... But hope that is seen is no hope at all.

Who hopes for what they already have?

But if we hope for what we do not yet have,

we wait for it patiently.'

Micah 7:7

'As for me, I watch in hope for the Lord.

I wait for God my Savior.

My God will hear me.'

Have You Ever Hugged An Angel?

There's nothing quite like an angel's hug.
My angel's name is Lindsey.

Have you ever hugged an angel?
It was my honor the other day.

There's nothing on earth quite like it.
It takes my breath away.

I hold my angel so tight, so close. 
Its not-at-all easy to let go.

I'm 'Grandma' to an angel.
And oh, how I love her so.

Though I softly whisper, 'I love you.'
I'm fairly certain she cannot hear.

But, I am certain she gets my message.
You see, I feel God's presence near.

Jesus loves his little children.
And He loves my angel very much.

When my angel is wrapped in my arms.
We both feel Jesus' heavenly touch.

Please keep Lindsey, and all of us who love her so much, in your prayers.
Lindsey has Tay Sachs disease.  She's 10 years old.

House Bill 695 - Family, Faith, and Freedom Protection Act 2013

We've got rights!

Constitutional rights.
Conscience rights.
Civil rights.
Freedom rights.
Human rights.
Legal rights.
Moral rights.
Religious rights.

And, our rights are at stake.

Here's a brief summary of what's included in House Bill 695 - The Family, Faith and Freedom Protection Act of 2013:


Speak up for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die.
  Proverbs 31:8

It prohibits the use of foreign law, such as Sharia law, from being applied in family court actions in North Carolina, if such action violates a person’s fundamental constitutional rights.

It expands conscience rights for people employed in the medical field who have moral or religious objections to participating in any procedure that may lead to an abortion.

It prohibits coverage for abortion in health plans offered through health care exchanges under 'ObamaCare.'

It prohibits city and county governments from providing abortion coverage beyond what is provided by the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees.

It bars sex-selective abortions – abortions performed simply because of the unborn child’s gender.

It requires that any time a surgical or chemical abortion is performed the doctor must be physically present for the full procedure.

To prevent Gosnell type violations in abortion clinics, the bill mandates that the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services produce regulations that ensure such clinics are similar to surgical ambulatory centers.

This is an historic moment in North Carolina history.

Contact Governor Pat McCrory.  Ask him to sign HB695 into law.

Protect your rights. 

 

Left Unsaid

 

Speak up for the unborn.  Be their voice.

I've heard it said that some things are better left unsaid.
I'm not entirely convinced.

I mean, if I kept my mouth shut ...

• My family might not fully understand the depth of my love for them.
• My friends might not fully understand how much their friendship means to me.
• And, my neighbors might not fully understand my actions.

I'm quite aware that our mouths carry the potential of causing trouble.  In those instances, troublemakers should give consideration to the closed-mouth option.

Even greater, is my awareness that if we don't use our mouths for good - no good can come from that.

When I think my thoughts are important, I share them.  Verbally.

That being said, I have a thought to share.  I believe its important.  I believe its useful.  And I believe if its left unsaid, innocent people will die. 

Really.

So, I speak up, speak out, and speak with intention.

I 'speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.'

I speak for the unborn.  I am their voice. 

I believe if the unborn children could talk, they'd tell their moms to choose life.  Better said ... they'd beg, plead, and cry out for their lives - to the top of their lungs.

Of that, I am entirely convinced.

Treadmilling

That's what I'm sayin'.

I'm on my gazillionth diet and exercise plan.

A 'gazillion' might be a bit of a stretch, but I'm quite certain it's somewhere in that general vicinity.

Actually, it's more of an exercise plan than a diet plan.  At least at this early stage in the game.

It just seems a little premature to incorporate a diet along with the exercise when Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas cookies are looming just around the corner ... patiently waiting to be devoured by yours truly.

Encouraging its employees to stay fit, the company I work for has a fitness center.  Admirable I suppose since we are, after all, a group of facilities whose purpose is promoting and/or restoring health. 

At this stage in the game, I feel I most appropriately fit in the health restoration category.

Not wanting to blow my personal health restoration plan altogether, I'll wait 'til January - like everyone else and their brother - to focus on the (ugh!) diet part of my overall health program.

For now, fitness is my goal.

The fellow who runs the employees' fitness center decided it'd be a cool idea to organize a fitness contest, duly named the turkey trot since we're approaching Thanksgiving. 

Contestants are required to work out in the fitness center at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week, for the next 8 weeks.  At the end of the 8 weeks, the turkey-trotters' names are put into a pot from which one winner is chosen.  The prize?  A free one-year membership to the gym.

This is week 4.

I haven't lost weight yet. 

I can't honestly say that I have that winning feeling yet.

And I'd be lying through my teeth if I said my participation in the contest is enjoyable.  Nope.  Not even a 'ride in the park.'  Not by a long shot.  But I must say, I do feel I've done this body good at the end of each workout.

On a positive note - I'll be celebrating my 55th birthday in January.  And since I'd like to think I have at least another 30 good years left, I suppose its in my best interest to keep moving ... and not toward the cookie jar.

Gone are the days of eating whatever I want, whenever I want, while doing absolutely nothing in particular - and still fitting into those cute jeans.  Gone!

On the flip side, these days I'm reading while walking on the treadmill and watching television while hula-hooping.

Multi-tasking at its finest?

My elders always told me this day was coming.

All I've gotta say is, this better pay off ... big time.  Or someone's gonna have to relocate that cookie jar.