The heart of it...

My parents always sliced a watermelon when I was young. 

We kids would grab a slice, sit on the porch together and a seed spitting competition would begin! Definitely a happy childhood memory! 

At some point, when I became an adult and paid for my own watermelons, I decided that scooping it out into a dish was my preferred way to eat it. Slices are too messy.

Once, when we were staying with my in-laws, I bought a watermelon and helped myself to some in my usual way. Later on that evening, my father-in-law took the foil off the partially eaten watermelon sitting in the fridge and with great shock at what he uncovered said, "Who took the heart right out of the watermelon?!"

I said, "Umm....me." Suddenly realizing that he was old-school and thought scooping the heart out of it was the WRONG way to eat a watermelon!

He might be right. 😉

The heart is the best part and when it's gone, the rest of the watermelon is not quite the same. It's still good but it gets more distasteful the further you get from the heart and the closer you get to the bitter rind. Then what's left gets thrown out.

Sometimes, we do this same thing in life. We take the best part and leave the rest. I guess it's human nature.

As a woman, I know that this happens to us. We give and give of ourselves until we have nothing left taking care of our homes, families, spouses and working jobs. Then we walk around feeling empty because the heart is gone and that's a tough place to be. Empty, numb and sometimes bitter.

When we get so far from the heart of things, we just want to get the sweetness of life back. We want to get back to the heart of it all.

I'm so glad that God gives the best part instead of taking it.

When we have nothing left and it seems that all the good parts have been scooped out, is when He fills us up again...to overflowing.

He never fails.

Trust Him.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 NIV

Roots

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I get picked on a lot. ❤

It seems that my childhood stories (and some from adulthood) get twisted and used against me.

All in fun, of course!

One of those stories is about roots. It usually comes up something like this...

We are eating a meal and someone complains or makes a comment about something we are eating. Then somehow it turns into a question geared toward me, "Didn't you used to eat roots?"

Then I argue, "No! I did NOT eat roots!"

They all laugh at me. Then I go into the "roots" story explaining that when I was young, my dad was a part time pastor and worked full time in the lead mines. At times, he was either laid off or on strike and had to provide for his large family. One of the things he did during these times was dig ginseng roots. They are interesting looking and worth quite a lot.

When we kids got home from school, he would make us clean buckets of roots with a toothbrush. After they were washed, he laid them on the roof of our house to dry in the sun. Then he sold them. I remember how proud he was once when he got his check and was able to buy groceries!

I have to say that even though it's a joke on me now-a-days, I'm sure this work ethic displayed for me by my dad greatly impacted my life. He found a way to get us through those difficult times.

It's no joke to me that these are my roots. I'm glad they are.

I'm thankful for parents who worked hard and made an honest living as an example for their children. Even if it makes for a funny story later in life ❤

Plant your roots in Christ and let Him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful. Colossians 2:7-9 (CEV)

Maybe we're lame...

I ran away from home once before I was even old enough to be in school yet. My mom made me angry because she wouldn't allow me to wear a blue ruffled dress I'd received and I felt strongly that I should be able to wear it around the house if I wanted to.

So, I went outside and stewed over it.

My oldest sister, Kathy, saw me sitting on the sidewalk and asked what happened. I explained my plight and she said she'd run away with me if I wanted to. I gladly agreed and thought it would be a good way to get even with Mom.

She took me to the creek about a mile down the road where we spent the day skipping rocks and catching tadpoles and crawdads. Finally, I got tired and hungry. She suggested we eat some crawdad tails but I scrunched my nose up at that idea.

"Good," she said, "cause I forgot to bring ketchup!" We laughed and walked back home. Mom never mentioned me running away and I didn't mention the dress again either. ❤

I have to say that I've grown up a bit since then and now it really takes A LOT to make me angry. I generally just shrug my shoulders and am like "Okay...whatever."

But there are a couple of things that I have no patience for and that's a liar and a thief.

Either of those two things will make me very angry. Especially if I know the truth and if the person is a Christian.

What if another Christian's lies tear our world apart?
What if their lies cause months of tears and constant heartache?
What if they never say "I'm sorry..."?
What then?

Shouldn't we be more forgiving and grant grace and mercy as God has done for us?

Yes.

But maybe we are lame. Feeble and weak. Incapable of the depth of forgiveness needed to move past the pain inflicted by fellow Christians. Maybe the problem is our own. Our great expectation of other Christians is completely delusional.

Only by the healing power of God Almighty will we no longer be lame. 

I find this definition interesting...(of a person or animal) unable to walk normally because of an injury or illness affecting the leg or foot. 

Sadly, we can be spiritually injured by other Christians as we journey through this world. But God is our healer. Nothing is impossible for Him.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. John 5 6-9

I love that Jesus saw him lying there, and knew...

He knows we are lame. He knows the areas in our life that need healing. He knows how we got the affliction. He knows how to heal it.

When God does something - it is DONE. ❤

The Nest...

About a month ago, a bird started making a nest underneath the roof that covers the entrance of the business where I work.

I couldn't believe a bird would try to make a nest there because my employer has gone to great efforts to prevent such a thing. I assume they don't want bird droppings all over the concrete outside the front door! 

There are spikes set all along the inside of the roof covering and this is why it was so interesting to see a bird actually make a nest among the spikes. 

I snapped a few pictures of her building the nest and to tell you the truth, almost forgot about it. Until, last week, when I heard birds peeping inside the nest and the mother bird feeding them!

I felt a wonderful feeling inside when I saw that she'd succeeded in building a nest there and that her baby birds were alive and well.

It seems such a simple, natural thing for a bird to build a nest, lay eggs and mother her babies. But the extraordinary effort she went to to build her nest and provide a safe place for her babies amazed me. I was so proud of this mother bird outside the window at work! lol

Even though she was discouraged to build a nest there, she did it anyway.
Even though it was an unusual place to build a nest, she did it anyway.
Even though the spikes were sorta dangerous, she did it anyway.
Even though we were all staring at her like she was a crazy bird, she did it anyway. HA!

I guess I love this bird.

To be honest, she couldn't have chosen a better place to build a nest. 💗

Look at the birds of the sky: They don't sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they? Matthew 6:26 (HCSB)

Stress TEST

Heart trouble runs in my family. Dad had a heart attack a few years ago. My oldest sister, Kathy, passed away at 49 of a heart attack. Momma has congestive heart failure and a leaky heart valve. I have had an arrhythmia for years along with a leaky valve and high cholesterol.

That being said, you'd think I'd exercise all the time, watch what I eat and be the picture of health. But I'm not. It's REALLY hard to eat healthy all the time. 😏

So, I had a stress test a few years back and passed with flying colors. But the test itself was difficult. By the time I finished, I was sweating, exhausted and ready to go home. No fun at all.

The funny part of this story is not about my heart but about how I think. (Tee Hee) I saw this post on Facebook from one of my friends and instead of thinking of the traditional stress test like the one I had for my heart, I thought she was stressed out that afternoon and being tested.

I said a quick prayer for her once I realized what she meant but had to laugh at myself. I'm such a goofball. 😁

But her post did get me to thinking about how God gives us 'stress tests' to get our attention or show us an area in our life that needs work. It can come in the form of marital stress, work stress, financial stress, etc. Life can be very stressful.

When we are tested, it can seem that the test will never end. 

We become tired of the stress and completely exhausted but that's the exact place we need to be to see what the problem is. God is not in a hurry to make sure we get it right quickly but wants to make sure we understand what He wants us to learn.

Ironically, we get a stress test ordered by our heart doctor when we're having a heart issue so he can figure out what is going on with it.

When God orders the stress test He already knows what is wrong with our heart. The test isn't for Him to see what the problem is but it's for us to see. When we understand the issue, we can change it.

A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12 (HCSB)

Doug and Frankie...

Doug Smith is one of Eddie's best friends. 

They met back in 1993 or so, not long after we moved to Tennessee.

Eddie worked at a brickyard and Doug went to work there, too. They became instant friends and both enjoyed music and fishing.  They soon discovered that the acoustics were great in a railroad boxcar which was one of the places they stowed away on breaks to sing a few songs.

Doug was single at this time and about ten years older than us. We were a young married couple with two small children. Doug moved from Louisiana while we moved from Missouri to Tennessee with music as the common denominator.

I wondered why Doug was single and would have fixed him up with someone if I'd known anyone available because he is a really nice, funny guy who can tell a story like NOBODY I've ever met in my life.  Not to mention, he is a talented singer/songwriter.

We got to know Doug better over the next few years but decided that we wanted to move back home to Missouri. I was homesick and music wasn't going much of anywhere so we sold our house and moved to our little hometown of Potosi, Missouri. We lived there for a couple of years and then packed back up and moved back to Tennessee. (Kinda crazy, I know.)

During the time we were away in Missouri, we discovered that Doug had gotten married. I was shocked by this news. I didn't realize he had a girlfriend! But he did and her name is Frankie.

Here is where I have to make a confession. I'd never met Frankie and I have a vivid imagination. (That's why I like to write fiction...) So I imagined her completely different from who she actually is. I guess there's a jaded part of me who thinks that a middle aged man (almost) would choose someone much younger than him. Would choose a completely different type of person than the person he actually chose to marry - Frankie.

So, when we finally got to meet her, I adored her. She is one of the sweetest, kindest, most gentle spirits I've met in this life so far.

They have become dear friends to us over these past twenty years or so. Always there when needed. When we went through the worst year of our marriage, they were there for us to lean on. Helping out in a way that was desperately needed at the time. 

From fishing trips gone awry to Thanksgiving dinners together, BBQ's, horseback riding, putting up hay, etc... We couldn't ask for better friends then these two have been to our family. We don't have family here but this is about as close as it gets. 

Thank you, Doug and Frankie, for your friendship. It is truly a blessing. 

A friend loves at all times...Proverbs 17:17

On the fence...

I got this text message from my husband the other day.

I studied the picture of his work truck but couldn’t figure out what was concerning to him. 

I looked closer and finally saw what he thought was concerning.  There were two crosses hanging on the fence. 

He told me that when he reached the end of the paved road, he stopped his truck because the rest of the road was gravel and looked to be someone's driveway. That’s where the crosses were hanging on the fence. He wasn’t sure if some people died there or someone buried pets there but something happened at the end of the road. 

It struck me because I thought of being ‘on the fence' when you come to the end of the road of life and that’s NOT a good place to be and is definitely something to be concerned about.

Having been raised in the Primitive Baptist church, this is not something that used to concern me because we were taught that God chose His children before the foundation of the earth and nothing could change that. But as an adult and having grown up spiritually, I have to say that even though we are covered by Grace (thank God!) we are still called to tell others the ‘good news’ about what Jesus did for us on the cross.

There is still a point in one’s life where we make a decision for Christ or decide to follow Jesus or surrender our lives to Him or whatever you want to call it. That is when the relationship begins through Jesus Christ and it is necessary to have the LIFE on earth God intends for us to have and everlasting life in heaven. 

Besides, when you are truly born again – you can NOT shut up about what God has done in your life! It’s second nature to tell others. J

But, just in case you haven’t come to that place on the road of life – don’t wait until you come to the end of the road and find yourself ‘on the fence’ with God.

Seek Him.

Blessed are those who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart. Psalm 119:2 NIV