"Girls Day Out"

I don't get to do this very often. We had our Girls Day out - Kelly, Anna and myself. Started as early as we could this a.m. Kelly had her to do list and I think we got all but one of the items taken care of.

Our first stop was PayLess to get Anna some sandals for the summer. Once that task was taken care of, we had fun trying on sun glasses. Here are my Beauty Queens.

Now every girl needs a new bathing suit for the summer and The Children's Place was having a sale and any girl knows you do not pass up a sale. So while Kelly was picking out a swimsuit for Anna, Anna was busy making friends in the store and of course trying on a few items herself.

Her new friend - they just had to try the hats.

And more sun glasses - - -

We had promised Anna some time at the Fun Factory after trying on clothes. She enjoys hitting the big button with that huge mallet to "feed the dog". Let's see - $4 get 16 tokens gets 67 tickets gets one candy bracelet and a giggle stick.

Last stop on the list was for Kelly to go to Belk's. Anna and I decided to stop at the Mall Playground. It is a neat little area with stuff for kids to climb on, slide down and do kid stuff on while Mamas shop. 

We ended our day playing some board games that we had bought: Candy Land and Memory. 

Grandad was due some time too. So he and Anna went on the 4-wheeler to feed turkeys and fish for catfish with some hot dogs. 

I think that was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

They Don't Miss a Thing

Kelly and Anna are with us for their spring break this week. I always learn so much and am amused and amazed by the wisdom of a child.

I think I have shared that when Anna gets up she always comes to our room and tells us "Gran, it is morning time." So, Saturday when she got up, she comes in our room at 6:45 a.m. to tell me that she is hungry and time to get up. I coaxed her to get in the bed with me by telling her we needed to watch the clock and when it got to be 7 0 0 we could get up. By the way, we have one of those projection clocks so that you can lay in bed and look at the time on the ceiling. She proceeded to read what she saw. "A M" I said "Very good, that stands for morning." She says, "No Gran. A is for Anna and M is for Mama." So glad she corrected me on that. I have been wrong about that for too many years.

This morning in she comes again and whispers in my ear "Gran it's morning time." I told her that it wasn't time to get up yet. She says, "Yes, Gran. The clock says 7 0 1" and you know what. It did. Oh my, Oh my. Thinking I don't need to be working with her on her numbers either.

They Don't Miss A Thing!

For Such a Time as This

Prevenient Grace.  It has been with me from birth. It is God wooing me unto Him. I make choices every day. Some of them are good and others not so good. I believe that He places people and situations in my life so that He might have me at the exact time and the right place to follow His destiny (plan) for me. Not all of my choices have gotten me to those people or places at the time He needed me.

I can sit back and not do as He asks. The job will still get done because it is part of His plan. He will find someone else to do it and I will miss my blessing and part of my destiny He has planned for me.

Decisions, decisions, decisions every day. I am always at a crossroad. What do I do? Do I make a decision for God or for me? I must remember that failure to make a decision is a decision.

" . . . for such a time as this." This is probably one of the most well known scriptures in the Bible and it comes from Esther 4:14. She was faced with a life or death decision. God placed her as Queen of Persia "for such a time as this" and she recognized it.

What is God saying to me - here and now? " . . . for such a time as this" I don't want to miss out on being a part of His plans.

Mountains out of Mole Hills

Ever done that - made mountains out of mole hills. I have. How does it happen? It often occurs when I over react to situations. Why do I do that? I think it is usually due to stress. I find myself in a situation where dealing with it is just too overwhelming. I am confused as to what the right decision is. There are too many variables or I don't have enough information to made a wise decision. So what do I do in a situation like that? I tend to want to remove myself from it if I can. I don't want to deal with a bad situation. I don't the know if the situation is worth fighting over or for. How about you?

As I studied Esther this week, she is confronted with having to make a decision as whether she will approach King Xerxes on behalf of her people. All this time she has been asked to hide the fact that she is a Jew and now it is all about to blow up in her face. All she has really had to deal with in the palace were those things that dealt with the smooth flow of the daily operations. Her world was about to explode. A mountain was definitely being made out of a mole hill.

Decisions have to be made. Some of my mole hills are definitely worth defending. Are yours?

A Quick Fix

Your child is hurt. A dear friend is struggling. No peace at work. A spiritual desert in the heart. I see it. What do I do? My nature is to want to fix it. When? Right Now! Quickly!

The question is how do I fix it? I am not usually a patient person so I want a quick fix. What I have learned is that a quick fix does not get to the root of the problem. It is like putting a bandage on a wound that needs stitches. It may stop the bleeding until you get to the hospital but it is not going to bring healing.

It is like Esther wanting to give Mordecai new clothes to put on to replace the sackcloth. She thought that would fix the crisis. But the crisis ran much deeper than appearances.

Sometimes I had rather fix it than hear it. Why? Selfishness. I don't feel competent. I also am doing them an injustice to fix it. Growth occurs through struggles. I am not saying that I should walk away. What does a crisis situation require? Sharing in their pain, their hurt. Listening, Loving - so that we might spread our wings and soar together to new heights.

That's not a fix - that's healing!

Return to Me

Return to me - For my heart wants you only - Hurry home, hurry home - Won't you, please, hurry home to my heart?

Even though these lyrics are to a song that Dean Martin sang, they ring so true to the scripture from Joel 2:12 "Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."

In our bible study Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman, I could easily relate to being caught up in the world and all that goes on and lose my identity. So did the Jews who had decided to stay in Persia even after Cyrus ended their Babylonian captivity. They were comfortable. Too comfortable.

If I am not careful the same can happen to me. I don't even know I am in a boiling pot because the heat has been turned up slowly - so slowly that I adjust to the gradual increase. I read something this morning that said "If Satan came to you in a little red suit with a pitchfork and announced himself as the devil, you would not believe a word he said. But he is cunning and disguises himself as an angel of light". (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Complacency is not obvious. It will cause me to not be watchful. And that my friend is dangerous.

"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and he relents from sending calamity." Joel 2:13

It's Quiet

Maybe too quiet. We just returned from meeting our daughter and son-in-law in Perry to return our precious granddaughter to them. What a wonderful time we had with her here. There was never a dull moment. My day began each morning with the pitter patter of little feet coming into our room and her announcing "It's morning time!" I love that. There is no better way to start the day.

Now that we are back home - walking through the back door - it seemed very still. I am going to miss my little alarm clock in the morning.

Ain't Nothing Like 'Em

We have had our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter, Anna, with us for the past few days. It is always a joy to have her spend some time with us. Grandkids will truly help you put life in perspective. What in the world can be more important than digging in the dirt and making sand castles in the driveway? Life is so simple for her. We have played kickball, swung her in her horse-shaped tire swing named Chester, fed the birds, climbed trees, made sure there was water in their bird bath and that was all before lunch.

What fun it has been. Last night as I was putting her to bed she was a little homesick so I changed the subject and started talking about our plans for the next day. She immediately forgot she was homesick and started getting all excited about our plans for fishing with hotdogs and going to the movies. I decided to sit with her just a little longer to make sure she was okay and with the innocence of a child she said: "Gran, how do you think I can go to sleep with you sitting there watching me?" I loved it. I promptly got up and left her to go to sleep. Can't wait to see what wisdom she shares tomorrow.

Ain't nothing like 'em. You gotta love them!