Mary's Place

I recently shared a brief story about a young lady in our home town who was fighting cancer. She truly fought an amazing fight and touched so many lives in our area.

Her mother shared a post where she'd made a decision to build a new bedroom for her daughter even though she was nearing the end of her battle - with good reason.

When word spread about her decision to build the room for Mary, volunteers stepped up and it wasn't long before the foundation was laid for the addition to the home. Then walls were framed and it seemed in no time at all they were working on the interior. All the while, Mary was still fighting for her life.

A page for Mary was created on Facebook called "Mary's Place" which I followed like many others to see the progress of Mary's Place and to read posts about Mary.

The place for Mary that was prepared for her here on earth by many human hands, is a beautiful room. Any young lady would absolutely love it!

Unfortunately, Mary never moved into her new bedroom. She lost her battle to cancer right before the room was completed. It's sad that she never got to enjoy it the way everyone would have liked for her to.

But Mary's place was already prepared and waiting for her in heaven.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3 NIV

The beauty of the place God prepared for her, we can only imagine. 💗

In the mourning...

It's been nearly a year since my nephew, Brandon, passed away. A dreadful anniversary to keep. But it's impossible not to. It doesn't seem like a year has gone by.

I know my sister's family has suffered a multitude of negative emotions - shock, sadness, depression, frustration, anger, helplessness, anxiety, grief, loneliness, guilt and regret. I'm sure there are more that I'm unaware of. 😢

Moving on without Brandon has to be the hardest thing. They're still grieving his death every day.

Grief and mourning go hand in hand but I find this definition interesting...

Mourning: the expression of deep sorrow for someone who has died. 

They have deep sorrow because they loved him deeply. They're "in mourning" for Brandon, his life and what his future might have been.

Simply said, they miss him. They miss his smile, the sound of his voice, his laugh, his jokes, his personality and his big hugs. They miss everything about Brandon. I know they'd give anything to reverse what happened and have him back safe and sound.

There's a song that I love called Give Me Jesus. The lyrics include these lines...

In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus. 
When I am alone, give me Jesus
When I come to die, give me Jesus
You can have all this world, just give me Jesus.


When you love Jesus -  you completely relate to this song. There's nothing in this world that comes close to what He is to those who love Him. I know that Brandon loved Him in this way.

The thing is that even death, grief and mourning were suffered by Jesus and He understands the depth of suffering we experience when we lose someone we love deeply.

Jesus wept. John 11:35

If you read the whole story this verse is from you will appreciate this little play on the words of the song...

In the mourning when you rise...

Jesus wept because his dear friend Lazarus died. He mourned and felt the emotions of the loss.

But you will also discover that He allowed His friend to die. He could have gotten there sooner and saved Him but He chose to glorify His Father instead by raising Lazarus from the dead. There was purpose in what He allowed to happen.

I'm confident Brandon is raised to new life in heaven. No doubt. We don't understand why God allows things to happen (or the purposes) but when we place everything in the powerful hands of Jesus Christ, we will rise even in the mourning.

So, when hearts are still broken even after a year and it seems the tears will never end just remember that Jesus wept, too.

Fight Like a GIRL...

I've only been in one real fight in my life that I remember and it was with another girl. I can't even tell you now what that fight was about.

But I know who I was in a fight with. We were best friends and neighbors growing up. Many days we got along great but other days we got into arguments. I'm sure the fight we got into that day started off as an argument and escalated into a physical battle.

What I remember most is that we fought like girls!

She was taller than me and was smacking me on top of the head with both of her hands. No punches were thrown. No black eyes or bloody noses were given.

Usually when someone says that you fight like a girl - it's a bad thing. It means you're NOT a good fighter. You are busy slapping and scratching where a guy would probably duke his opponent in the face.

I have this on my mind because there is someone here in town who knows how to fight! And she does fight like a GIRL but in a good way.

Her name is Mary. She is sixteen years old and has been fighting cancer now for about five years. I don't personally know Mary or her family except through Facebook. I think pretty much everyone in our small town of White House, Tennessee has heard of her by now.

She is our FIGHTER. She has thrown some powerful PUNCHES and makes us all PROUD.

She's impacted me and I know she's impacted hundreds (if not thousands) of others in this area who don't personally know her but have heard of her courageous fight.

The scripture that comes to mind when I think of her is Joshua 1:9.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong, and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. 

She lives out this scripture. She has been so strong and courageous!

She is a beautiful young lady who gives the phrase Fight Like A Girl new meaning.

If you've read any of her mother's precious posts, you know that Mary is a wonderful blessing to her family and friends.

But she is also a great example and an encouragement to those of us who don't know her personally but ONLY know of her fierce battle.

Thank you Mary for showing us that fighting like a girl is not a bad thing at all but it's an awesome thing!

Worth...

My husband and I have a plastic ice cream bucket full of old coins. Both of us collected them when we were young and "somehow" our separate collections became one big 'ole bucket of coins.

I used to work at KFC (back in the day...) and anytime I found an interesting old coin, I'd swap it out with a newer one from my wallet. I have some from the early 1900's. Which I think are super cool!

My husband would argue that those are the coins that he found instead of me. It's a bit of a joke at our house. :)

We can't help but wonder what some of them might be worth today. But whether they are worth much money or not, they are valuable to us because of the history we have collecting them, bickering over them and laughing about who really found and owns the coins.

I've had WORTH on my mind lately.

I like this definition I found...

Worth: The value equivalent to that of someone or something under consideration; the level at which someone or something deserves to be valued or rated.

My favorite part is where it says - the level at which someone or something deserves to be valued or rated.

Have you ever considered your own worth? Or have you ever felt worth less than others?

There will be times in life when we feel "less than" or "worth-less" than others. It's human nature. We compare ourselves.

You may not feel valued in a personal relationship. You may not feel valued in your position at work. But you are worth a lot to God.

He cares about the BIG things in your life.
He cares about the SMALL things, too.
Nothing about you is worthless to Him.
He knows you well.
The very hairs of your head are numbered. 💗

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7

Super Salad!

Tonight my husband took me on a date to one of our favorite places. I love the restaurant because of the soup they serve as an appetizer. It's chicken and rice which is delicious. There was no doubt that I wanted the soup to start the meal. :)

My husband and I discussed what we would order while the waitress was getting our drinks. By the time she came back, we both knew we wanted steaks. When she asked what I'd like, I happily answered her, "We both want the same thing! The Club Steak. I'd also like soup and a salad."

"Oh, you get a super salad." She said, "What other side would you like?"

"I get another side? Hmm...Let me see." I looked at the list of sides on the menu and chose spinach because I'm trying to cut my carbohydrates. Even though I'm not a huge fan of spinach.

She left with our orders and I turned to my husband and said, "Well, guess we get extra sides. I'm getting soup, a super salad and spinach with my steak."

He looked at me cock-eyed and said, "super salad?"

"Uh huh...she said I got a super salad."

He laughed and said, "She said soup or salad...not a super salad!"

"What?! I thought I was getting a super salad." The disappointment must have been all over my face because my husband said, "I can tell her not to bring the spinach and you can just get a salad in place of it."

"No!" I responded quickly, "I'll just eat the spinach. I do not want to tell her I thought she offered me a 'Super Salad'..."

We received the yummy soup shortly thereafter and enjoyed it along with a laugh over the super salad incident.

What can I say? I literally thought she offered me a Super Salad.

In my defense, I told her that I wanted a Club Steak, a soup and a salad. So...I can't take ALL the blame for the miscommunication...

I heard her incorrectly or at least that's what I thought she said.

But I was WRONG.

How often do we do this same thing with God? He says one thing and we hear what we want to hear or we do not hear Him correctly.

Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Psalm 34:11


(A day in the life...) lol

Dream Girl

            I followed Dad into the crisp, clear waters of Big River. Gravel crunched beneath my bare feet as we stepped deeper and deeper into the cold river until the spot seemed right and we stopped. I held my breath as cold water numbed the lower half of my body. Dad held a folded up handkerchief in one hand and my shaking hand in the other.

We turned to face fellow members of New Hope Baptist Church standing along the river bank then Dad cleared his throat and spoke, “Brothers and Sisters. We are gathered here today to witness this little child of God follow through with baptism after her decision to follow Jesus. I’m honored to baptize my daughter today before you,” he said to the crowd.

Some sniffled and wiped tears from their eyes but most were smiling in anticipation of the dunking that was about to take place.

            Then he turned and asked me, “Samantha, have you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and is He Lord and Savior of your life?”

            I smiled and nodded as I said, “Yes.”

            “Then in obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Ghost…” He covered my mouth and nose with the folded up handkerchief as he spoke and slowly pushed me beneath the freezing water and said, “Buried with Christ in baptism…” then as he raised me back up out of the water, he finished with, “Raised to walk in the newness of life…”

            Applause broke out along the river bank as I came up out of the water and church members began to sing out of their hymnals a favorite song, “I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus.  No turning back, no turning back…”

            I wiped my face and began to walk out of the water toward the river bank where church members were waiting and Dad followed me out of the river.

“I’m so proud of you, dear.” A sweet older lady wrapped a large white towel around me as I shivered with goosebumps on my arms and legs.

“Thank you Miss Gertrude."

The sound of gravel beneath my feet along with the melodic hymn ingrained themselves into my memory. I was welcomed into the church family with open arms and the warmth of home wrapped itself around my young heart as I stood shivering on the bank of Big River.

Highlighted

My childhood friend received a gift one Christmas from her mother that was very special. Her mother bought Bibles for each of her children. (And I believe there were nine of them!) She went through each Bible and highlighted scriptures that she wanted to bring to her children's attention or were special to her in some way.

My friend told me, later in life when we were adults, that she never appreciated that gift when she was a child from her mom the way that she should have. She didn't recognize the thoughtfulness of it until she was older and how special it really was to receive such a gift.

I have to admit that someone else bringing a scripture to your attention is not as powerful as it is when God, Himself, highlights a scripture for you and brings it to your attention. It will jump off the page and present itself to you as a present straight from God.

The scripture may answer a question you have been pondering or it might pierce your heart. It might actually change what you believe, reveal a hidden truth or bring you great comfort.

I have had my mind blown by God's word in this way many times. It is powerful.

We, too, have received a beautiful gift from our Father but as it was with my friend in her youth, it is sometimes the same with us. We don't appreciate God's word when we are young spiritually but find it's value after we've grown up a bit.

Christmas has come and gone. Presents have been given and received. We have relished in the joy of the most special day of the year and now we are all exhausted! lol

But the gift of God's word is the gift that keeps on giving. We can never get enough. It's where you will find the greatest present of all.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)