Things My Mom Taught Me. . .

Our mothers are our first friends, so to speak, and they are our first teachers.  What did your mom teach you?  My mom taught me that you always share what you have with others.  I remember my mom sharing what ever we got out of our garden with all of our neighbors.  We usually end up taking ours to Church and passing out cucumbers and zucchini as people make their way to their cars.  I love our Church family.  My Mom also taught me about respect and that you respect your elders.  Mom also worked very hard in our Church and she taught me to do the same.  Mom was over our nursery for many, many years and spent her own money to buy juice and cookies for the kids every Sunday.   Mom did not just teach by words she taught us by doing.  I learned more by watching my Mom than I could have learned had I taken a home economic class in school.  My Mom lead us by example,  I can only hope that my kids learn as much from me as I have from my Mom.
One thing my Mom was notorious for was making sure anyone that visited her house had plenty to eat.  I will never forget my roommate in college and I meeting mom and dad at the State Fair and the first thing out of my mom's mouth was; "how are ya and have you eat?"  She always fixed a ton of food to take to the Fair.  She was always prepared to feed the multitudes.  We usually spent several days there showing and of course they would catch a football game too.   Mom always made sure you had plenty to eat if you were around her.  She wanted everyone to be comfortable too.
Mom always worked in the yard, she mowed her own grass and plowed her garden and worked her gardens.  When I was in high school she had two gardens, one at the house and one at the barn.  I know I got my love of gardening from her.  I am thankful that my hubby's family was similar to mine.  He got his love of gardening from his dad.  
There are two things that I did not get from my mom.  Mom is very strong and can handle anything thrown her way.  I am not nearly as strong as mom, I think all of her strength went to my sister.  I am also not nearly as good at whipping up a meal as mom.  I remember my dad always came home for lunch every day and occasionally he may call at the last minute and say; "hey, I am bringing Bill with me for lunch today."  Mom could whip up a five star meal in the drop of a hat and it would feed whomever dad brought home.  I do not have that talent.
I am so blessed to have been raised by such a strong mom that taught me so much and she may not even realize how much she has taught me.  I would not be the woman I am today if it were not for the example that was set by my Mom and my sister.  I am truly blessed to have these two beautiful women in my life.  This black and white picture is of my Mom before she and my Dad were married.  The other is of my sister and my Mom at one of Big T's football games.

Interesting Conversations with Big T

Big T gets in the car after school on Friday and starts telling me about these monsters that came and did a presentation at school.  He was so excited  and said they were doing the full show at a local church Friday and Saturday night and he wanted to go.  I said sure we can do that, he never elaborated about the "monsters" again.  I thought it was some sort of puppet show. 
Nothing was said again about the "monsters" until Saturday.   Big T pulled out the brochure that was sent home with him from school about the program.  They were monstrous alright, monstrous body builders and extreme athletes with a message.  They are called Faith Force, they go around to the local schools and perform, now they can't talk about God at school but they talk about choices you make.  We went to the Saturday evening program and it was great.  They gave their testimony and talked about how God had changed their lives.  They use their abilities to reach out to young people and witness to them.  This is an awesome ministry if you ever have a chance to see them I would. 
It was a moving service and at the end they gave an invocation.   They prayed and asked if anyone did not have God in their heart and wanted him there to repeat the prayer.  Then they asked whoever had prayed the prayer with them to come forward, many went down front.  As Big T and I were leaving he asked what that was at the end with the prayer.  I told him that was for people who did not know God or have a relationship with him.  Big T said, " mom I prayed that prayer I just didn't go down front."  I told him that was ok because I prayed the prayer too.   I told him I had been baptized and so had he and that he had asked God to come into his heart before and it was ok if he did not go down front.  I also reminded him that we pray together every night and that is having a relationship with God.  Big T then said, " mom I pray every night  too after I have gone to bed."  I did not know that.   Trying not to just blubber all over everything,  I told him that prayer is a conversation with God.  I told him that it is great to be able to talk with God and that is a relationship with him.
I hope that my kids will always go to God in prayer especially when they feel like there's nobody else they can talk to.  If my hubby and I have done nothing else we have been diligent in praying for and with our kids.  I hope that sticks with them throughout their lives. 

Holy Week. . .

Dear hubby and I are usually readers during Holy Week for our Church services but this year we are not reading.  The kidos have a lot going on this week with school and baseball.  I decided I didn't want them to miss out on what we normally hear at Church so I have been reading out of our Holy Week Reader instead of doing our normal devotions.  Our Reader goes day by day during the week leading up to the Resurrection.  Most people know the story of how Jesus was crucified but to actually read it or hear it read is a very emotional experience.  I cry every time, I know, that is no big shock.  
This is our last week of Lent and I am using this as a week of reflection on my relationship with the Lord.  I know I have fallen way short of his expectations of me.  I have been reading a lot on forgiveness and I think that is where he is leading me.  I think forgiveness is probably one of the hardest things.   It is important to remember that when you forgive you are not telling that person what they did was ok.  You are releasing them to God.  He is our final judge.  You also release yourself from the ill feelings and hatred that can eat away at you.  Just remember that God forgives all, you need only ask.

Daily Devotions. . .

I was reading the daily devotions with the boys one night before bed and this particular one talked about improper touching.   As I was reading this I was thinking to myself, do I really want to broach this subject with my boys now.  We have talked about the fact that nobody should touch their body.   What we had not talked about was that they should not touch anyone else either.  I always thought I was glad I did not have girls because this was one issue I did not want to have to deal with.  You always think of girls being victims but boys can be victims too.  As a mother I want to protect my children from everything; from bicycle injuries, bullies, drugs, and all things evil.  I have said numerous times that God has a plan and he puts things in our path sometimes to help us and sometimes to slow us down.  I feel like this particular devotion was in his plan.  I believe this because I had gotten off schedule with their devotions and I was catching up.  This devotion made me have that talk I had been avoiding.  We had a good conversation about how to behave and that they can tell their Dad and I anything.  I know that God is watching over our family and I am so thankful for that.   I know that he sends things to me when I need them and that is comforting.  I know that he is leading me so that I may lead my children.

Tough week. . .

Dear hubby has been out of town this week.  It has been hard on everyone, all the way down to the dog.  He comes home tonight, cannot wait to see him.  I know there are families that have spouses that travel more frequently than mine, and I sympathize with them.  I am so thankful that he only travels a couple of times a year.  My kids have really stepped up to help out around the house and I am so proud of them.  They have helped with the meals and taking care of the dog and each other.  They have gotten up early to get ready for school so that we are not late.  This morning on the way to school I was saying my prayer with Jack and I just broke down.  I don't know if it is because dear hubby is coming home and I miss him so or if I am just worried about Jack.  Luckily my kids are used to me crying at times and I think they understand that Mom is emotional about things, especially them.  I love my kids and I worry about them so much in this mean world. Some days I think my kids are too innocent and kind for this hateful world.  I told Jack I was worried about he and his brother and all the meanness out there.  Jack replied, we are stronger than you think Mom.  He is growing up so fast and I am proud of the young man he is becoming but I am still worried.

Super Bowl. . .

What a great game!!  Spent time with family, celebrated birthdays, enjoyed good food, and some cool commercials.  We celebrated January and February birthdays with the family.  My sweet Thomas turns 10 this month and well, we won't tell how old Mommy and Memaw are turning but we celebrated those too.
How crazy for the power to go out at the Super Dome?  I said I bet it was some crazed 49ers fan sticking their finger in a light socket.   So glad Ray Lewis was able to go out with a bang and I love that he wears Psalms 91 on his under shirt.  I also loved what he said in the post game interview.  How cool to have someone in that spot light to talk about God and everyone else on the team and how they all worked together to win.  The NBA could really take a lesson from all that.  I don't know if anyone really caught what Ray Lewis said when he was on the stage holding that trophy.  He said, "if God is with you no one can be against you."   I love that and it is one of my favorite weapons of warfare from Psalms.

Growing boys. . .

My boys are growing up so fast.  It seems like yesterday they were teetering around barely talking and now they do not stop.  They have been going through a bad phase where they are fighting all the time and constantly picking at each other.  I have talked to them till I am blue in the face about how they treat each other.  My spill to them is, there are plenty of people out there that want to be mean to you, we need to be good to each other.  I have been preaching this for quite a while .

So yesterday Thomas came running upstairs to tell me something and Jack was in the kitchen.  When Thomas rounded the corner Jack jumped out and scared him.  Thomas immediately started crying and turned his back on Jack.  Jack put his arms around his brother and told him he was sorry and that he loved him.  I did not tell him to do that, he did it on his own.  Thomas immediately stood up and said, "that's ok".  Normally this would have gone on forever with crying and fighting on both sides.  Instead they both went downstairs and played for the rest of the evening.  It is amazing how powerful "I'm sorry and I love you" are. I am so thankful that I was privy to this moment.  

to close for comfort. . .

I had my wake up call this morning.  While taking the kids to school this morning we were just about hit by an SUV.  I am thankful the Lord was with us and watching out for us because the person driving the other car was not even looking.  If we had been hit it would have hit the passenger side, where the kids were.  I am so thankful my little blackberry is short.  That and the Lord above is the only reason we were not hit.   This was a two way stop right of way issue.  Anyone out there a cop or have knowledge of the traffic law, I would love to hear your thoughts. 
I am still a little shaken.  I am worried about the kids too.  I asked them if they were ok and they said they were.   I know that sometimes things like this linger with kids and then sometimes they don't think a thing about it.    I am hoping these two don't think about it again.  I hate it when things like this happen, obviously it lingers with me and I will worry about this for months.   I worry about the fact that Jack will get his permit in 2 and a half years  and his license in 3years.  This is a bad intersection right above our house that my kids will pass through  many times a day once they have their license.   I know I am a worry wart.  That's my job, I'm  a Mom!

Dave Ramsey class update

Finished the Dave Ramsey class and loved it.  I highly recommend it to everyone.  Dave is a very accomplished man and a good speaker.  He is not afraid to tell of his mistakes in the hopes that others do not fall into the same traps.  He has gone from millionaire to bankruptcy to millionaire on more than one occasion.   I realized I had made many mistakes myself when it comes to money.  My favorite quote from Dave is, "live like no one else, so later you can live and give like no one else." 
I am a big believer in giving to the Church and other reputable charities.   My dear hubby and I have always  given, since we were married.  There were times in the early part of our marriage that we struggled to make the ends meet but, we never changed our giving.  I firmly believe that we are where we are today because we give.  I guess that is why I like Daves' philosophy so much.  He wants to help people grow their wealth so that they can share their wealth with those in need.  Imagine what our world would be like if nobody was in debt and could share what they had with others.  WOW!!  How cool that would be.  I have been a fan of Dave's for many years but, was only able to take his class this year.   I will tell a tale on myself today, in all my years I have never balanced my checkbook.  I know, how dumb is that?  I am very proud to say that I now balance my checkbook and I do a zero based budget every month before the month begins.  Thank you Dave!!  Those little steps just give you so much power over your money.  The budget allows you to tell your money where to go, instead of saying at the end of the month, where did all my money go.   With the help of Daves' class and Craig our teacher we have no credit card debt and are paying like crazy  on the car and next is the house.  We are on our way to being debt FREE!!!!!!  Check out Dave's website       www.daveramsey.com   Just a little tip from frugal me, you can check his books out at the library and you can also pick them up at the used book store sometimes.   The first Dave book I bought was from the used book store.  Here are some of his titles that I like:  The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace Revisited, and The Complete Guide to Money.

As Thanksgiving is fast approaching. . .

As Thanksgiving is fast approaching, we are getting ready for our Thanksgiving eve Lovefeast at Church.  I am so proud of my boys.  Jack will be reading scripture during the service and they both will be ushers for the service.  I am so proud because they have taken a keen interest in our Church and the Lord this year.  This is something I have been praying for since the beginning of the year.  It is part of "The Power of  a Praying Parent."  I am truly thankful that I am able to see them grow in their faith. 
They are also participating in our Christmas program.  Jack is a Sheppard named Grumble.  HA HA HA!!  you can guess how his character is going to act.  Thomas on the other hand has chosen not to have a speaking part.  Thomas will be singing with the choir.  He really does have a great voice. 
You all know I will be in a puddle.