Just showin' my age~

I actually told one of my frenz, "___, kiss my grits!" She is one of my much younger frenz so she looked at me like I was crazy! And for the life of me I could not remember the name of the show this quote came from. I did remember~

Who said it: Flo, the waitress

Who she said it to: Mel, the cook and cafe owner

So with a little bit of investigating I found out it was from the '80's sitcom, Alice. Let me tell you I was shocked that my friend was clueless about the origin of my quote but not as shocked as she was when I said it...hand on hip, butt bobbin', gum chompin' with a squeaky high pitched tone.

Precious~

A nurse on the pediatric ward, before listening to the little ones chests, would plug the stethoscope into their ears and let them listen to their own hearts. Their eyes would always light up with awe, but she never got a response equal to four-year old David's comment.

Gently she tucked the stethoscope into his ears and placed the disk over his heart. "Listen", she said..........."What do you suppose that is?"

He drew his eyebrows together in a puzzled line and looked up as if lost in the mystery of the strange tap - tap - tapping deep in his chest. Then his face broke out in a wondrous grin and he asked, "Is that Jesus knocking?"

Lord, You are Good!

Yesterday, Christmas Eve, Kent and I decided to burn a brush pile! While burning we picked up pecans from the tree nearby. It was a beautiful and calm day. I like monotony when it's been in short supply.

Some kids that once lived in Goree were visiting relatives and they couldn't resist all the commotion. Their grandmother, who has gone on to be with the Lord, was once our neighbor. As a matter of fact, her house was just yards from this burning brush pile. The little boy even commented that he was afraid that someone was trying to burn down his Nanee's house.

Anytime we see these kids we end up reminiscing about the good ole days with their grandma. I chimed in with a hearty, "Well, one of the things I loved most about her was that she was a Christian and worked with the kids in VBS and Sunday School." I don't know how or why, but the conversation evolved into me telling the kids about my couch story. They were amazed and the youngest, the boy, asked how to get Jesus in his heart. After telling him, he didn't ask to pray but I know that a seed was planted. ~A seed...I pondered and gazed at the pecan in my hand.~

The little boy sauntered over to help Kent stoke the fire and low-n-behold the rake uncovered a horny toad. Oh my, these men saved that toad from the fire! I said, "You see how good God is?"

They asked, "Why? What do you mean? "

I said, "God just gave you a couch story!"

"Uh?", they spouted.

I stated, "Jesus saves us from the fires of hell just like you saved that horny toad from the fire. Now you have a 'fire' story to tell everyone you meet just like I tell a couch story to everyone I meet."

Hangin' in there...

Well, it was a wild one. Some holidaze are just that way.

Dad is tucked neatly away in a treatment center for substance abuse, as of Friday. An hour late, I might add, since Granny and I got lost on the way. But, he had a good attitude and really wants help.

Saturday morning dawned and it was a rush to get to Nana's for Christmas with the Trainham's. My cornbread flopped and my contacts didn't wanna work, thus the 'glasses' picture. And I was smooth out of tissue paper for a gift bag, but wrapping paper sufficed just fine. (Could put that on tip of the week sometime, I guess). Thank you God for taking care of us in ways we'll never know.

Church Party

I Ain't Gettin' Nuttin For Christmas~

"I ain't gettin' nuttin' for Christmas. Mommy and Daddy are mad. I ain't gettin' nuttin' for Christmas. Cuz I ain't been nuttin' but bad!"

I don't have the inside or outside of the house decorated this year. I don't have even one gift under the tree. And...

I opened two of my gifts today!!! Two precious children asked Jesus into their hearts at FWFriends! This my frenz brightened my bah-humbug day, year and season!

So, If I get nuttin' for Christmas it's a-okay with me cuz today truly was the greatest gift of all!

Truth or Consequences...

Wow, we played truth, truth and more truth on Monday at the Kidmo Christmas party.

You know the kid...the one that has to tell the truth NO MATTER WHAT IT IS! I'm wondering if 'this' type of child has the spiritual gift of prophecy/prophet! See for yourself by the following statements:

1. "Man, Tammie your house is waaaaay cleaner than my Mom's!"

2. "Tammie what's wrong with your Christmas tree? It has gaps and leans."

3. To a friend, "Santa is NOT real, my Mom said so!"

In the end, I tried to redeem the moment. "Ya know so-in-so," I claimed, "Does everybody believe in Santa?"

"No", she stuttered.

And I said, "And so-in-so it's even more tragic that NOT everyone believes in Jesus! But, He's real even though we can't see Him, right? And I don't care if people stop believing in Santa, but I do care if people stop believing in Jesus. Now, quit being a party pooper!"

The Breaks...

Well, lately I've been thinking about family and traditions. Who knows maybe my friend Tara inspired me. I tried something new this year...my hubby, my brother, his wife and my nephew went to Vera where my Dad's side of the family grew up. After a little hunting hike, we tracked down a Christmas tree from the breaks. It's far from straight and has a few gaps, but that's okay because we made some lasting memories.

It's been a funny, not haha, year...my brother was just married in a justice of the peace ceremony to a girl that has his name tatooed across her lower back (I'm not judging, just stating the facts). There is drama between the 'ex' woman and 'new' woman, but somehow it's gonna turn out okay. My nephew, son of the 'ex' woman, did something amazing that brought peace to this whole situation. He had the opportunity at school to buy gifts for the special people in his life...he bought for Mom, Grandma, Grampa, Dad & 'Stepmom'.

Dad and Stepmom opened their gifts tonight and the Stepmom's gift was that globe you see in the slideshow with 'world's greatest mom' plastered on it. Now, how do you explain how Mom's twenty bucks helped buy 'the world's greatest mom' gift for Stepmom? You have two options...burn with anger or accept the fact that your son has a heart as big as Texas. Thank God that Mom chose the latter of the two.

And Peace did come to earth...the Prince of Peace!

...is my two front teeth~~

Yesterday at FWFriends a little girl named Kelsy asked me what I want her to give me for Christmas. I responded, “Kelsy, I don’t need or want a thing.” And her reply, “Do you wanna get me something?” LOL

This morning my QT took me to Genesis 41 where Joseph interpreted the king’s dreams. This prompted me to ask the Lord, “My King, what are your dreams?” And I imagined the Lord's response, “Tammie, I don’t need a thing.”

Even though I am ‘poor’ compared to Him, I still want to fulfill the desires of His heart. Verses 40 thru 42 show how much faith the king had in Joseph…second in command, signet ring, linen clothes, and necklace. Hmmm…my Father gave me those things when I came to my senses in the far country and came home. I already possess all of these, so why haven’t I been using that authority?

Lord, I would like to interpret your dreams like Joseph of Genesis and share them with others. And if I could ask one more thing…

“Can I have a leading role as your dreams ‘play’ out?”

He whispers...I'm running and miss it!

"After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone..." (Matt. 14:23)

"After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land" (Mark 6:46-47).

Jesus withdrew again to a mountain by himself... (John 6:15).

If Jesus' example isn't enough, consider this:

God called Jacob to become Israel when he left everyone in his camp for some time alone (Gen. 32).

Moses encountered God when he was alone, in the burning bush (Ex. 3) and on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19).

God called to Samuel only when he left Eli and was alone (1 Sam. 3).

Elijah couldn't hear God's soft whisper until he was separated from other turmoil (1 Ki. 19).

John received his great Revelation when he was alone on Patmos. (Rev. 1)

Is it time for me to set aside a period of solitude so that I can hear God's voice?

Oh, how I love mornings~

Who needs a beauty mask when you have a "Mittens". Kent came to wake me up for church this morning and Mittens and I apparently wanted 5 more minutes!