Grateful Living

The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master.

~Ben Hur Lampman 

Our beloved dog, Freckles, passed away very unexpectedly the week of Thanksgiving.  Needless to say, my family was and still is very shocked and emotional over this loss.  All of us who have lost a pet understand how difficult it can be to grieve this type of  loss.  It's not something that you can "get over" quickly.

Throughout Freckles' brief time with our family, he always tried his best to please us and keep us smiling.  He seemed to know just what to do to lift my spirits when I was feeling down and was a faithful companion when I needed some serious relaxation. He never seemed to hold my lack of know-how against me and he never judged me for my looks first thing in the morning or my mistakes at the end of a long, hard day. 

My Sunday School lesson this past week was titled "God's Thankful People."  The author wrote,"Grateful people give gifts."  As silly as it may sound, as soon as I read that, I immediately thought about Freckles.  He depended on us for everything:  food, water, shelter, exercise, grooming, training, etc.  In return, he displayed his gratefulness by giving to us the gifts in life that really matter:  loyalty, devotion, and love. Giving is a way of showing how much we are thankful. 

It seems funny.  We, as humans, are supposed to be the dog's trainers and masters.  Freckles, however, has taught me a pretty big life lesson.  Is my life a reflection of how truly grateful I am?  What gifts am I offering to God to show my deep appreciation for the good things he has given me? Am I giving my offering as "cheerfully" as I should or do I sometimes give out of guilt?  My time, my service and my worship are all appropriate gifts of thanksgiving to God, but do I sometimes see them as duties or obligations?  After all, think of His love and sacrifice for me! 

I guess Freckles helped me to become more aware of the ordinary pleasures life has to offer and to find contentment in those.  I hope that I can honor his memory by noticing and appreciating each day's gifts and sharing my gifts with others.  And even though he is no longer here shaking, shedding, panting, and banging his tail into everything, I am so honored that he shared four years of his life as a member of my family. For that, I will always feel grateful!

Freckles posing with his trophy won for "Best In Show"

Front-Page News

A Penny For Your Thoughts

The month of September rolled in with a bang for me.  I spent Labor Day weekend with a terrible stomach virus which was followed up by a miserable cold/sinus infection, which was followed by my best friend receiving some devastating news about her health.  Oh yes, and did I mention that I turned 40 in between?

Now that I am starting to feel like I am back in "the land of the living," the hubby and I left for our annual trip to Memphis to attend the Cooper Young Festival.  There's always lots of great music, food, and arts and crafts, along with lots of interesting sights to see:

A man draped in fruits and vegetables - Dinner anyone?

Chairs made out of old skis

Fencing

 

Where would you hang this?

We even found some great Mexican food there.  This  food vendor actually has three restaurant locations around Memphis:  Las Delicias, Las Delicias Bar and Grill, and Las Delicias Tortilleria.  Hands down, they served the BEST guacamole I have ever eaten!  I can't wait to try their food in one of these restaurants.

My favorite artist booth this year was Ornament Home.  I found this really cool hand stamped "Redeemed" Penny ring. 

I copied this picture from the Ornament Home Etsy Shop.

The ring came with this great story that I would like to share:

We are all like pennies…designed beautifully & minted into a shiny work of art. Over time, left to ourselves, we tarnish. Pennies…maybe dropped on the ground, lost & forgotten; maybe damaged, stepped on, dirty or abandoned.

Most of us think a penny is worthless. We may not even spend our energy to bend over & pick one up off the street. Most pennies are forgotten about, staying in the bottom of our purses or pockets & being tossed aside for lack of value.

But I know Someone who goes up & down the streets, searching high & low, looking everywhere for these “worthless” pennies. He finds value in each one. He rejoices, with great excitement when He finds just one! It doesn’t matter where that coin has been, what date is stamped on it, if it’s scratched, stained, or who held it before. When a penny is found by Him, it is no longer lost! He takes that copper coin & stamps REDEEMED on it. He cleans it, polishes it & makes it shine, & then puts that penny in His care.

Some definitions of redemption: 1.To rescue from a dangerous place; 2.When someone pays a debt, so that a prisoner can be free; 3.To get back by paying a price; 4.To have help out of a problem.

See, left to myself, I sin. Sin is what makes me unacceptable in God’s eyes. I’m stained, dirty before Him. But thankfully God doesn’t want me to stay that way. So, He gave me Jesus Christ, his perfect, sinless Son, who sacrificially took my ugly sin on Himself & paid for all sin by being nailed to a tree & dying.

Wonderfully, Jesus didn’t stay in death. He was raised back to life! Because I know & trust this & turned from sin, I am redeemed & forgiven. I really deserve to have to pay the price for my own sin, but no matter what I do, I can’t. Jesus willingly paid it for me with His blood payment. He loves me. He is the real definition of redemption. He “rescued me from a dangerous place” & “paid the debt so I could get out of the prison” of sin and escape the death penalty. This is great news! So, I want to live a life shiny & clean for Him, joyfully aware & thankful for what He did for me. He gave me new life! What a gift!-  copied from www.etsy.com/shop/Ornamenthome

Needless to say, this penny looks a lot different than the other coins that I carry around in my purse.  It makes me wonder, do I look different from non-believers?  Am I shining like a "newly minted' penny for Him?  I certainly am going to try!

Isaiah 43:1-4

Titus 2:12-14

Psalm 107:1-2

Psalm 49:15

Humility Shoes

Now that the month of August is FINALLY over, it seems as though we have settled into a familiar school year routine.  We are all back in school.  David is a senior at Ole Miss and Collin is in the 7th grade.  We have already had two Jr. High football games (out-of-town) that resulted in one win and one loss, Open House, and school pictures.  ...And not to mention HOMEWORK - lots of it!

Go Mustangs!

I have been thinking a lot about change throughout this past month.  There have been a lot of transitions taking place that I was not expecting to find quite so overwhelming, both personally and professionally.  It all started with a pair of shoes.  Collin and I had completed our back to school shopping, with the exception of a new pair of sneakers.  He had found a pair that he really wanted , but I told him he would need to wait on the new shoes and could make do with his "frat cleats" and sneakers we had bought at the beginning of the summer.  Well, I don't know how your kids are, but when that boy gets an idea in his mind he will not let you rest! I really wanted to get him those shoes, but needed some sort of "financial blessing." After all, what parent doesn't want to provide everything he or she possibly can for a child?  One night as we were eating supper,  we were watching the news.  (Yes, the TV was on during supper. - I know bad parent award!)  The reporter was interviewing this African woman that had been suffering with her children because of the famine there.  She and her children had walked 5 DAYS just so that they could find food, water, and shelter.  Not only that, she had brought another young boy with her that she had found on the way that had been orphaned due to the famine.  I just broke down in tears!  Inconsolably!  My kids looked at me like I was crazy!  I cannot describe to you how that moment changed me from the inside-out.  I had been worrying about something so trivial, like, am I a terrible parent because my child has to go back to school without a new pair of shoes? And, there, on the other side of the world, people are just hoping they will live to see another day!  I felt so guilty that I have been blessed, while others suffer and have so little. 

ABC News Famine Relief Report

My mom gave me this devotional book for teachers.  I opened it up to "Accepting God's Abundance."  The author writes about the tenth chapter of John, in which we are reminded of the abundance that can be ours through Christ.  Jesus was not referring to material possessions or financial wealth.   His is a spiritual richness that extends beyond the boundaries of this world and is available to all that seek it and claim it.

God's riches are beyond anything we could ask

or even dare to imagine!

If my life gets gooey and stale, I have no excuse.

~Barbara Johnson 

I pray that all of those suffering in Africa will have all of their physical needs met.  I pray that they will hear the message of  God's abundance.  I pray that I will seek more spiritual riches and less worldly riches and material possessions.

Well, here's the shoe update.  The "financial blessing" came through. The shoes were ordered and delivered to our door on Tuesday.  I hope Collin learned a little about patience and worldliness from having to wait on these shoes.  I know I certainly did. I am so thankful for these shoes!  They have proven to be a spiritual life changer for me!  Who would have thought that?

The Shoes

How to donate to famine relief:

Doctors Without Borders

UNICEF

Save the Children

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

My family and I have fallen in love with the beaches of Florida.  After visiting Anna Maria Island in 2009 and New Port Richey in 2010, we decided to drive a little farther south this year to Cape Coral, Florida.  It was absolutely paradise.

We drove ALL THE WAY TO TAMPA and stayed there the first two nights.  (Yes, we all survived that 14 hour drive!)  We went to the aquarium and went sightseeing around Ybor City.

This is as close to a shark as I ever hope to get!

Can you find the sea turtle?

We drove on down to Cape Coral on day 3 and spent the remainder of our vacation there.  We rented a beautiful house with a BOAT that we had all to ourselves!  After so much "togetherness" it was nice to have a little more space to spread out.

Home Sweet Home (for a week)

Isn't the mailbox cute?

We saw lots of dolphins - some right off of our deck and even several manatees. They were just a little too quick for the camera and me.  We were greeted each time we left/arrived at the house by these little burrowing owls:

I think the kids would agree that the highlight of the trip was touring the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers. (Ha!Ha!)  Seriously, this tour was really quite interesting.  Whenever I think of Thomas Edison I think of the light bulb, but he was such a very, very smart man. He only attended formal school for three months, and yet went on to obtain 1,093 patents.  He is credited with numerous inventions, including a stock ticker, a mechanical vote recorder, recorded music, and motion pictures, to name just a few. Wow!  I think I may have a crush on this guy!

Thomas Edison

Edison's Lab

Since all of the flooring and furnishings in his home were the originals, we had to wear these "coverlets" over our shoes.

A desk in Edison's Winter Estate

The Dining Room

Edison and Me Under a Banyan Tree

So, on to the beach.  I spent a lot of time looking for shells.  The shells were everywhere!

Sally sells seashells by the seashore!

We spent a lot of time on the boat!

The boys went out fishing one morning with a guide named Captain Gary.

It's hard to tell, but this is a shark that David caught.

This is Collin's trout that he caught.

Collin did a lot of swimming and some snorkeling.  He was so excited when he found this starfish!

You can see how pretty the water is.

...And look who was waiting for us at home:

Freckles & Mia

 I missed them so much while we were gone.  I think they are happy we are back now, too!

It was a terrific vacation!  I was able to get plenty of rest and relaxation.  I am now revived and ready to face a new school year that begins in 2 days -  I think!  YIKES!

 

Where has the summer gone?

Well, it seems my summer is winding down this week.  School starts back for me on Monday.  ~Sigh!~ Part of me is sort of ready to get back into a routine, but the other part of me will miss these lazy days of summer.

  I  have completed several craft projects that I have really been dying to do:

Chicken Wire+Fabric+Old Picture Frame=New Earring Holder

Old Bulletin Board+Fabric+Ribbon=New Necklace Holder

Old Chair+Old Cushion+Spray Paint+New Fabric=New Chair and Cushion 

I have also worked in the kitchen on several recipes.  I follow a great blog called Seeking Love First.  Each week on her blog she posts a Menu Plan for the week with links for the recipes.  I've tried several of her Crock Pot Recipes, so that  I am not heating up my kitchen too much with the oven.  She chooses quite a variety of pretty simple recipes with only a few ingredients. So far I have tried:  Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Slow Roasted Pork, Oven Roasted Green Beans,Garlic Oven Fries, Self Frosting Nutella Cupcakes.  All of them have been delicious. Tonight we are having Apricot and French Dressing Crockpot Chicken Over Brown Rice. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Collin returned from CONVO, a retreat held at Seashore Assembly down on the coast.  My prayer is that he came back recharged to live passionately as a disciple for Jesus Christ. However, the first thing he said to me when he got off of the bus was,  "Hey Mama!  I dressed up like a girl." I haven't quite gotten all of the details about how that fit into the worship and fellowship of the retreat, but I know he had a great time!  I found a picture of him on Facebook!  Doesn't he look pretty?

Photo courtesy of Gracie via Facebook

While Collin was "enjoying" himself at camp, my hubby and I made a quick getaway to Memphis.  We made a return trip to what has become our new favorite Mexican restaurant: 

It was absolutely delicious!  It was packed with locals, so you know it has to be a pretty popular place.

...And how is this for portion size?  You will not leave here hungry!

Tacos

 

Chimichanga

 

Wow!  Yummy!

The hubby and I decided to try one of the juices that they serve.  (It seemed like the "local" thing to do.)  I had the cantaloupe and he chose the tamarind.  We decided to get ours to go.  That juice was so refreshing to drink on such a hot day!  I still crave that cantaloupe juice and will definitely order it again!

As August is getting closer, I am getting so excited to see the movie, "The Help."  It opens in theaters on August 10th. Most of the movie was filmed in my hometown. I was an extra in the movie. 

That was such a fun day!  I loved every minute of that 14 hour day! My hair was teased so huge and stiff, that I had to wash it four times!  I hope I can catch just a glimpse of myself on the "big screen," however, I did notice that the blur in the background of this picture of "Skeeter" is my arm/profile.

Look carefully to the left. - You may need a magnifying glass!

 

Well, I guess that's all for now!  Enjoy these last days of your summer vacay!  I know I am planning to!