HOW DOES THAT SAYING GO

If Muhammad can't go to the mountain....


Then bring the mountain to Muhammad.

I had told the men children they could not go swimming until we cleaned out the pool. Man child 2 decided to make his own pool.Then he stripped down to his birthday suit and played away.

Hi - we are the Clampetts. This is our cement pond.

Feel free to stay and swim. Dinner is almost ready. Possum stew we killed off our very own back porch.

Ya'll come back now ya here!

(Really - please do come back:)

BIG COUNTRY

My dad loves westerns. No let me restate - my dad L-O-V-E-S westerns. Men children make mention of it when they go visit. He used to work on his quick draw with live weaponry until that unfortunate accident of 2000 we have been sworn to secrecy about occurred. Big Mama mentioned "The Cowboys" today. How many times have seen those little men work those cattle and longed for that little boy not to go after those glasses! Right now as I await HH's golf clothes..uhmm uhmm... excuse me- even saying that choked me up a bit- I am watching Shane. I can not tell you how MANY times we have seen this movie as a family.
"Shane! Come back!"
Besides "The Searchers", which I have seen way too many times --"that'll be the day",one of my dad's favorite movies is "Big Country" with Gregory Peck. It is a long one. I mean LONG! (not to over utilize my caps but the point must be made). In hindsight it is really an awesome movie. One of the key lines goes like this:
"I am not responsible for what people think but only for who I am". Now in my youth I would argue with Pops that was absolutely not true. As I have grown up I see he was right. (Yep - run in and get him Bec- show him where I said/typed for all the world to see he was right:) I am not responsible for what people think. I have no control over that. What I can control is who I am. What kinda of mother am I? What kind of daughter am I? Sister? Friend? Employee? Wife? Am I fulfilling my role in the Body? That is the part I am responsible for. And if I do those things with Christ as my leader, what people think won't matter. Good to remind myself as to what I am responsible for and what I am not. Sorta keeps everything in balance.
Dad also loves "Paint Your Wagon" & "Cat Balou". I know there are funny lines in there but it is too late & I am too tired to look them up. So if you can think of any leave them as comments. What movies did you grow up on?
Have a great Thursday!

EARLY MORNING

HH had to leave early today, so I have been up since about 4:15. We actually got to sleep with no kids coming to join us. I always forget how refreshing that is until it happens. Of course I thought it had been raining cats & dogs. Then I realized that it was HH's sound machine that sis-in-law 1 got him. I was a tad disappointed, although I think I hear some thunder in the distance.
So, I have caught up on some blogs, facebooked & watched today's "Wednesdays with Beth". The girl just flat out brought it today! The blessing of Asher - the happy blessing - heck yeah! You can go here to catch up on the episodes, assuming your computer isn't like mine and tries to freak out when you watch videos. (Side note - just saw Bon Qui QUi on YouTube last night-too funny and sadly too true for this generation).
I was introduced to someone wonderful this weekend. Someone who could change my life. Please give a warm welcome for.... Mr. Bobby Flay! My goodness - the man is a wonder. Between he & Rachel Ray I think my cooking woes are over! Of course, I told HH I needed my own grill. I mean I just could not possibly use one of the four we have outside- they are man sized grills and I need a delicate flower, woman sized grill. You would think he would have jumped on the chance to buy a new grill, but ehhh... not so much. I can't decide if I want to be Rachel Flay or Bobby Ray (which would probably suit my southern upbringing better). Needless to say this summer has boundless opportunities!
Just found a 1938 movie " Three Blind Mice" with Loretta Young & David Niven. Love the classics!
Please keep praying for us to have a tender heart & open ears to what God would have us do & say regarding our previous church family. I say previous only because we have officially left. There is still dialogue and that is where I could get in trouble. I have a small tendency to pop off without thinking. Thank goodness the Lord has given me grace to know to run things by HH BEFORE I say or write them. Please pray that HH & I would have wisdom to speak the truth, as hard is it may be & even sound, and to do it out of hearts of love. That our motives would stay in line with God's will. I think restoration is not an easy process, but one well worth the work.
I am off to deliver some diapers & baby gifts to a sweet friend who just had a baby girl abut 4 weeks ago. I had been staying away due to swine flu- did not want to bring any germs to this sweet new life! Hope you have a great Wednesday!

MEMORIAL WEEKEND

And what a weekend it has been. Here is the play by play.
Friday night - Our women's meeting at church. My mom-in-law & sister-in-law totally rocked the decorations! We had an awesome time. Great food and fellowship. I brought a little message. Then I told them I was stepping down from Women's ministry- GASP-what? Can I say the Lord God showed up and gave us more grace than we could handle. It was a very successful evening! (More on the stepping down part later)
Saturday - never left the house. MC 2 did not even get on more than his underwear until about 6pm. We were lazy. Honestly I can't remember if we went anywhere?? So if we came to your house & I forgot- so sorry- it has been a bit of a roller coaster weekend.
Sunday - church (way more to come on that). Naps. Sister-in-law #2's house for burgers and swimming! Good stuff.
** Just remembered Friday night - UFC 99 (I think that was the number). We did not go anywhere, they came to us. Had a great time with new & old friends. Men children (including nephew number something another cuz there is a bunch of them) stayed up WAY too late. I had to put them to sleep one at a time and cousin was the last man standing! After 1am before they were all asleep!
Monday - family and friends BBQ at our casa. Just got up from naps. MC 2 playing in the pool, MC 1 still snoozing, HH mowing.
Church - we have gone to the same church for the past 10-11 years. Our church has been through a LOT. 2 big church splits, a few mini splits. And we have stayed through them all. So when I tell you that on Sunday we left, please know it was no small deal. It was HUGE. I think for me the best way to answer why is a conflict of vision. No anger. No malice. Just a disagreement on the means required for the end. The pastor and his wife are precious to me. I love them dearly and that will never change. The associate pastor and his wife are some of my oldest friends. So to walk away from that was heartbreaking for us all. I know they felt like we kicked them in the gut because that is how I felt. I have cried and prayed and cried and cried and prayed some more. I will say I did get a peace about the decision. However, I am hopeful & praying for reconciliation - which is exactly I told them. So I am excited to see how and when God is going to restore us. Maybe we will be brought back together. Maybe not. I pray we will remain friends, a thought I know is very hard for them right now. I think we want the same end- to see the unsaved saved and all of us growing in our walk with the Lord and becoming better disciples- however we may need to travel different paths to that end. Only God knows. And I rest in the assurance that He knows. As long as my heart is tender to His leading and His word this will all work to His glory- and I believe we all want that!
So as you can tell - it has been an emotional weekend for us. But I think it pales in comparison to the emotions so many feel, remembering their loved ones who have or are serving in our Armed Forces. So on the Memorial Day I say thank you to all of you and your families for protecting the freedoms not only of my generation but generations before me & ones to come. Your service & dedication is the living proof of John 15:13. We are humbled and honored by your service and we thank you.

THE TWO SEASONS OF LIFE

The summer months are hard for HH. As told here, he spent some time stalking a mole. (Oh goodness, the first time I typed, I put mol. LOL. Of course you will only LOL if you are a chemistry geek like me & even know what mol stands for. Moving on). Well, you can now rest assured the mole community is safe. HH has found a new sport to occupy those blistery hot months when a person would die of heat stroke putting on all the clothes that are required to sit in the woods and be quiet. (Detect a note of sarcasm? Yeah, me neither.)
So you are asking - what is this new found hobby? G-O-L-F.
That is right, my man is taking up golf. Outfit and all. He now owns a pair of golf shoes and had the fashion "fore" sight (too funny right- or too punny) to buy shoes that go with everything. (There is no sarcasm there - he really did make his wardrobe more versatile and you know how important fashion is to him). So today he hits the links. Him and his camouflage golf bag. He must stay true to his first love! He wanted to replace the camo bag, but I told him he couldn't hide who he was and needed to stay true to himself! And he looks mighty fine sporting his gear. Now my prayer is he does not get the two seasons (golf & deer) confused cause I am pretty sure the golf crowd will not take it well if he does.
You guys have an awesome Friday!

BODY IMAGE THURSDAY

I really hate the word body image- especially today. I have gained weight. An ugly truth but truth none the less. A fact that has not gone unnoticed by myself AT ALL! I am very aware of the fact. Unlike the CBS stars when I go into "Survivor" mode- losing weight not the issue. I go the other way. No rice & fish for me - bring on the carbs & the chocolate. And I have been surviving the last few months. Ladies, you know how sometimes the man in your life states the obvious before he realizes he should not have stated it? Now sometimes we set them up for the fall but sometimes they jump off that cliff all by themselves. HH jumped big time last night. He started probing about my weight - as we were going to bed. I think I will leave it at that and move on.
I recently had to have a mammogram & sonogram. Praise God for an awesome report. Now before I continue I need to set up a mental picture. You know how we are supposed to be symmetrical - you know - the same on both sides of our body. I am not. Certain anatomical features are larger on my left side than my right. My weight gain has only enhanced the discrepancy. Got the picture. Okay so they call today with the results & I email sis to tell her. Email conversation goes like this:

her - yeah. Praise the Lord. Guess you are just well endowed. But that does not help you much does it.
me - nope. like from Peter Rabbit - Flopsie Lopsie
her - you are only flopsie when you run
me - which according to my weight is N-E-V-E-R! But always lopsie! (first time I wrote it I put butt always lopsie- which is also true) I think I am having a bad body image day!

So we laugh and move on. Then one of my students comes up and says " hey miss, we saw a picture of you from 2000. and so-n-so said man she has gotten fat. We all tried to tell him it was cause you had kids. We saw pics of so-n-so and so-n-so. And you were just a skinny little thang!"

A skinny little thang! Thanks for reminding me. Good thing I know whose image I was created in:

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

Genesis 1:27

NKJV

And I don't think He ever has body image issues!

SHAUN GROVES

Real quick today. Shaun Groves will be in Kilgore June 14th at Crosspointe Fellowship Church. He will be performing & talking during the morning service. Shaun travels on behalf of Compassion International. Any questions - leave a comment here & I will forward it on to the right people (who just happens to be my sis - well done Bec ! well done!)