Wednesday Hodge Podge

Hello to all out there in blogger land and welcome to another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge...add your link to the bottom of Joyce's post by clicking here and then go see what the neighbors are saying. Here are my answers to Joyce's questions for the week~

1. It's National Bike Week...do you own a bicycle? When did you last ride a bike?
I do not have a bicycle and have not since the old Schwinn back in 1963. Bike riding hurts my knees something fierce. 

2. What's something you learned in school that wasn't part of the curriculum?
Poetic styles of Beatles lyrics taught by Thaddeus Trotsky in the 10th grade.  How to get along with everyone when my school was desegregated during my high school years.

3. What's a food you've never tried, but would like to try? What's a food you've tried, and will never try again?  I am a safe eater and do not like internal organs or food that looks like it did when it was breathing.  Saying that though...I would like to try Haggis....in Scotland.  I will never eat beef tongue again....it is nasty.

4. Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Why? Do you think that's a good trend?
More demanding because it is the end of the school year and there is a lot I need to accomplish before Friday, May 24th.

5. Who is your favorite book, movie, or TV show villain?
Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz. I feel triumphant when she melts.

6. How concerned are you about identity theft?
It doesn't keep me up at night, but it's definitely on my radar. I find myself paying close attention to my surroundings when I use a card.

7. I saw this last question on Dawn's blog and asked if I could share. Everybody hop over and say hi, but first answer this...would you rather have an ordinary home in an extraordinary place or an extraordinary home in an ordinary place?
I am with Joyce here.....definitely an ordinary home in an extraordinary place. I'm all about a great location!

8. Insert your own random thought here.  Sometimes songs just really nail me to the wall.  A good friend of mine shared this song with me and I want to share it with you.  The singer reminds me of Josh Groban....but this song, Roads by Chris Mann....is my mantra.....at least for now.  I hope you will click on the link and listen.   Do you have a song that is your theme?  Care to share it with me?

Prayer for Oklahoma

 

Yesterday was a terrible weather day.  I have family and friends who live in the area where the tornado touched down and was very nervous for their safety until I got word that they were all ok.  I could not stay off the news, twitter, or facebook....hoping...waiting.  Yes, my friends and family were ok...but many others were not.  Today I want to just take a few moments and lift up a prayer for the families affected by this devastating tornado.  God Bless You All!

 

God Is Our Refuge

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.

(from Psalm 46)

Crazy Day - Part Deux

Frank and I have no hot water yet....so last night we decided to run to Gedney's for dinner.....forgetting of course that they were closed on Mondays.  That prompted us to run to LaGrange for dinner.  While headed to LaGrange we both saw a man stumble and fall out of the woods.  He did not get up when he fell so we turned around and went back to offer assistance.  By the time we returned to him he had semi-crawled to the edge of the road and appeared to be trying to flag someone down.  We stopped and got him to sit up next to the car.  He had been hit upside the head a number of times and was complaining of a massive headache.  Shortly after we stopped a Georgia Highway Patrol stopped...and then a few minutes later a Sheriff pulled in.  Of course we could not leave the scene because we had to answer questions and the young man was leaning up against my car.  He obviously had been drinking and admitted this to the police officers.  He had been at a State Park nearby and was trying to make it to his cousins house but became disoriented.  Once the ambulance arrived and they loaded him up we were released to go.  As I sat there watching the scenaio unfold I wondered if anyone we knew had passed....seen us stopped wtih not One but TWO police cars and an ambulance and wondered what the Rock Mills UMC preacher and his wife had been up to.  So...now if you saw us.....you know the rest of the story!    We were just being Good Samaritans.  What a crazy day...part deux!

Crazy Day

I think I saw myself coming and going yesterday.  It was Senior Recognition Sunday at our church yesterday.  I love this day because after the service we have a luncheon honoring the graduates and their families.  We only have one graduate this year.....Carissa. 

The beginning of the Crazy Day.  Prepared the food I was taking, rehearsed the special music I was doing, made sure gifts were wrapped.  After church and a brief stint at the luncheon Frank and I hopped in the car and drove an hour to attend another graduation celebration for another one of my sweethearts.....Trina.  She graduated from college.  She is the mother of young Noah, wife of Jeff, DIL of my friend Deborah.  I am extremely proud of her.  It is hard enough to go to college as a teenager, fresh out of high school or community college....but to attempt it with a full time job, a young son, and a husband.....is hard.  I know.....I have done it. 

Her party was at El Rauncho Grande in Alexander City.....and hour away.....but that was ok....because after running in on this party.....we had a preconference meeting at Trinity UMC ...ten minutes from the restaurant.  We would be there from 2 until after four.  Annual Conference for the North Alabama Conference is June 2-4 at Birmingham Southern(That is going to be part of my crazy week.....upcoming......vacation, conference, wedding...no they are not in the same day.....they are in three different states).  What do I have to say to what I know as my Crazy Life sometimes....."Bring It On!"

Happy 11th Anniversary

Today, 11 years ago, my beautiful daughter came down the aisle and became the wife of Brian Jones, her high school sweetheart.  It was a blessed day because not only did she marry the man of her dreams, she married her best friend.  I first had Brian as a student when he was in the ninth grade and thought he was amazing.  I knew in my heart that he was the kind of young man I wanted Kat to date/marry.  Two years later when he was in the 11th grade and she was a ninth grader they met.  He went home and dreamed he married Mrs. Harrell's (last name at the time) daughter.  In October of her 9th grade year the two of us went to Six Flags with her friend Jill and her mom.....and Jill's brother Jeff and his good friend, Brian!  That was the beginning of this Cinderella story.  They were in the band together, Brian graduated and went off to college.....Kat graduated and went off to college......and one sunny day at the Shakepeare Festival Park in Montgomery....Brian planned a wonderful picnic, took his guitar, sang her a song, and asked her to be his wife.  She said yes.  Now here we are 11 years later and their life is taking a new turn.  In January they will be starting phase two of their lives together as missionaries in Moldova....and their lives continue to be blessed by God.  They are an amazing couple with an amazing love story.  Happy Anniversary to two people I love to the moon and bacK.

Life With Brian and Kat

My favorite shots of them are when they look at each other.  There is so much love in their eyes.  When you meet them.....and walk away....you have been blessed.....fully.  Happy Anniversary and wishing you both many more....with love.

"By My Side"

Don't you get ahead of me

and I won't leave you behind

if you get unhappy

show me a sign


there's no love like lost love

no pain like a broken heart

there's no love like you and me

and no loss like us apart


promises promise is

only a word

and when softly spoken

is never heard

 

and a heart

is not a stone

and is fragile

when alone

by my side

by my side

won't you be by my side

by my side

by my side

won't you be by my side

my care for you

is from the ground up to the sky

it's over under up above

down below and to the side

no use in pretending

no use in saving face

my love is never ending

you are my saving grace

by my side

by my side

won't you be by my side

by my side

by my side

won't you be by my side

Five Minute Friday - Song

I can take a deep breath. I made it. It’s Friday.  One more week of school.  Graduation is May 24th.  I am so glad to have Five Minute Friday to chill to this morning.  Thank you Lisa-Jo for letting me have a place to freewrite/brainstorm/write/release.

Got five minutes? Let’s write. Let’s write in shades of real and brave and unscripted.
Let’s just write and not worry if it’s just right or not.
Because:
“Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.” ~E. B. White

1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Be generous and leave an encouraging comment for the person who linked up before you. That’s the best part about this community.
And if you don’t have a blog, feel free to leave your five minutes of writing as a comment. And we’ll love on you there.
Today’s prompt is one of my favorite words:

Song….

GO

I am a writer, singer, listener, and lover of songs.  Songs can lift me up (Testify to Love and Wagon Wheel I will rock on during my hour drive home each day), songs can make me cry (Walking Her Home, It Is Well, and Take My Hand Precious Lord - because they remind me of my parents) (Roads, In My Daughter's Eyes, and You Raise Me Up - because they are so powerful and just overcome me),  they can make me laugh (455 Rocket reminds me of Amanda's speedy driving....and makes me laugh.  Mighty Quinn - Kat and I call each other so we can share that song when it comes on.  I will miss that when she moves to Moldova in January).  Songs fill my heart at church sometimes and speak to me more than the message does.  I love singing songs.  Sometimes on my way to and from work I will pump up the volume and belt out songs all the way there.  It makes the drive go by so much faster.  On warm afternoons coming home I will roll down all my windows, pump up the volume, and sing to my hearts content.  When Amanda and I sit down and work on songs my heart is light.  There is nothing like the melodious harmony she shares with me.  Our hearts seem to just bust out of us and go soaring into the sky when we sing.....at least that is how it feels to me.  I love working on new songs with her, writing new songs with her, pulling out some good oldies and belting them out.  I love when we sing our songs with other people.....but you know...with Amanda....I could sing with just her and be happy.  She is the harmony to my song.  Harmony is my favorite part of a song.  I would rather sing that than lead any day.  Amanda has a powerful lead voice and it is so exciting to push our voices to the limits on any given song.  Songs are my life.  I wish I lived in a musical and could just bust out in song whenever the score tells me too.....oh wait....I do do that.  Poor Frank!   When we came home from South Carolina a couple of weeks ago....Marcie and Frank were subjected to church and a concert in the car.  I sang for probably 2 hours.  Frank gets it all the time....this was Marcie's first experience.  Wonder if she will ever ride with me again?  I hope so.  I love an audience when it comes to a song!

STOP

The Color Of Hope

About the Book:  Hope shines brightest when all seems lost.  Stephanie London led a life of comfort and ease in St. Louis before feeling inexplicably drawn back to her father’s roots in the tiny Southern town of Hope Springs. Charlotte Willoughby has lived there all her life and longs to make a new life somewhere else. Stephanie doesn’t know exactly what she’s doing there—or how to occupy her time. And Charlotte doesn’t understand why, despite her overbearing family and reminders of her failed engagement, she’s suddenly led to stay.  Despite its small-town charm, Hope Springs itself is at a crossroads. After a failed reconciliation attempt by two well-meaning pastors, the town is split along racial and cultural lines, with little hope for redemption.  When a terrible tragedy puts Hope Springs on the national radar, the entire town is tested, and both Stephanie and Charlotte feel their lives unraveling. In the midst of heartache, though, they’ll discover the true color of hope . . .

About The Author(In Her Own Words):  "My life is marked by one big bright neon line down the center, showing a clear before and after. For twenty-seven years, I lived without Christ, and everything was colored by the things of this world. Growing up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, raised by divorced parents, black, female, college and law school-educated—all of it and more informed my opinions, decisions, attitudes, and actions.
All of it gave me a ground-level perspective.  But in my mid-20s, God, in His lovingkindness, began to draw me—by dragging me halfway across the country from the D.C. area to Madison, Wisconsin. Away from friends, family, and the diversity I’d always known, I was miserable. I cried out to God . . . the God I’d heard about in Catholic grade school. Didn’t they say He could perform miracles? Then surely He could get me out of there!  God did perform a miracle, but not in the way I sought. He didn’t get me out of Madison. He changed me forever in Madison. He saved me, raised me, and seated me in heavenly places. Suddenly I had an aerial view. The bright neon line was drawn, and my “after” would begin.  But I didn’t understand any of that at first. I had no idea God would change everything about my world. With broad brushstrokes, He began to paint over my perspective as I grew to know Him and His Word. We did eventually leave Madison. We moved to Dallas, then St. Louis, where we’ve lived for ten years. But as the seasons of our lives shift, that same “coloring” process continues.  I haven’t had a single day yet where something about my perspective didn’t need adjusting. As a wife of nineteen years and mom of two teens, I don’t have to look far to find a challenge, struggle, or worry. Add the other hats I wear and, well, you can probably identify.  But no matter the issue, when I color my perspective in Christ, things change. I find hope, peace, and joy. I find eternal wisdom. I find truth."
 My Thoughts On The Book:  The Color of Hope picks up where Hope Springs left off. I fell in love with Hope Springs  from page one and was so happy to be reviewing another one of Kim Cash Tate's books. the author deals with real life issues in her books in a fictional manner. In this set of books she deals with racial issues, romance and bullying.  Tate is a powerful user of words as she lets you get inside the skin of her characters.  By the time you have finished reading it is as if you are family, or at least old friends.  I highly recommend reading this book! You do not need to read Hope Springs before this book unless you are really interested in getting to know the families better, but I recommend it too. I look forward to reading many more books by Kim Cash Tate.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Book Sneeze. Thomas Nelson's review program for bloggers, Blogging for Books. I was not required to write a positive review. All they asked for was an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.