Hello Again

I spoke to friend today who encouraged me to take up blogging again. It's been awhile since I have done it so I may be a bit rusty and my phasing may chug along instead of being smooth and steady.  So I apologize in advance and warn you not to expect anything pithy right out of the gate. 

Life has brought about some changes and the first one that comes to my mind is learning how to adapt to getting older, especially learning how to adapt to a spinal surgery.  I cannot do some of the physical things I could do before but I still try to push myself to do it and then I pay the price. It really isn't worth it which means I have to say, "I can't do that." THAT is HARD to do. Asking for assistance can bring about feelings of laziness, weakness and irritation. Mix those feelings together and you have the recipe for one Crabby Patty and that is the last thing I want to be. 

Another change is learning different ways of managing stress. There were several things converging on me a few years back and dealing with chronic bad pain on top of it all squeezed the situation until something popped. That something was me. I popped and the hospital thought it was a TIA. I left the hospital with a brand new stutter that only presents when I am tired, have a migraine, or have to deal with physical stress in some way. An example of this happened when I was at a friend's home and the oven mitts caught fire while laying near a hot burner. I pulled the mitts off and caught a big whiff of the burning material. I tried to get the attention of the host but I stuttered so badly that he had no idea what I was saying - I finally just pointed to the mitts and he saw what was wrong. Once the stench abated, my speech settled down and things were ok.

So, that's a change I'm dealing with now. 

There are a few more changes but I would rather not spend all night writing, so I'll save some for another time. In the meantime......remember this:  God's mercy is great and it's new every morning.  

C ~

Cookies and Beads

'If you give a mouse a cookie . . . he'll need a glass of milk.' That's how the story begins with the rest of the story based on if you give him a glass of milk then he'll need _____.

Well, I have discovered that when you try to fix a bracelet you'll need to find a store. When you buy the rings to fix the bracelet, you find that there are all sorts of cute rings, strings of beads, and classes that you can take to do it.

Two classes later, a pretty green case with tools, a new magazine, spool of wire and beads and suddenly I'm elbow deep in "beading." Tim has been laughing at me (in a good way - not in a "your nuts" way) and sat down today and "ooohed and ahhhhed" over all of my purchases. I secretly think he wants to take a class too.

I have much more to say on this subject but I'll wait until later. I need to go . . . the beads are calling.

My new bracelet - it's a medic-alert bracelet. Fun to make and fun to wear.

Cha Cha Cha

Happy Birthday to me, cha cha cha.

Yes, this picture is of my mom and dad bringing me home from the hospital. I was the first girl. My dad was one of 3 boys, my uncle had 2 boys, so I think they all thought I was going to be one too. It was a happy day in the McCullough household until they realized that their little girl had a very active bladder. My dad thought he had polio from hanging up all the diapers on the laundry line. :)

I guess one has to excel at something. (wink)

July's Birthday Girls

The summer brings so much fun and excitement. Part of that fun is celebrating birthdays and there are two little girls who are one year older this month. Kristen's daughter, Little Allison Margaret, turned one year old last Saturday. Nana made her a little butterbean dolly and a blanket to go with it.

Brandon's daughter, Kyra Jean, turned three on Monday. Nana made her a little butterbean dolly and a blanket to go with it too. I didn't get to spend the day with Kyra but I did send a picture of T-Fish and I with the gift so maybe she will know who we are.

Here are two pictures of the little birthday girls.

Kyra Jean - 3years old

Allison Margaret - 1 year old

My Affections

I have been reading some devotional classics and came across a few thoughts by Jonathon Edwards (1703-1758). In the excerpts from ‘Religious Affections’ he mentioned how “the work of religion has been compared to the doing of exercise”. Metaphors like ‘running the race,’ ‘wrestling with God,’ ‘striving for the great prize,’ and ‘fight the good fight’ are often used in describing the exercises we engage in.” He went on to say how “babes in Christ” aren’t used to exercising their faith. But the spirit of God gives us the strength to overcome these weaknesses.

“Our inclination is to be inactive unless we are influenced by some affection: love or hatred, desire or hope, fear etc. These affections are the “spring of action,” the things that set us moving in our lives. If we were to take away these affections, the world would be motionless and dead. There would be no activity.”

I thought about this quite a bit over the past couple of day. What are my “affections?” What motivates me to get up and do things? Without “religious affection” would I do the things I do? Would I be a believer in Christ? Would I have built my life’s foundation on the belief that he was the son of God, lived a sinless life, died a cruel death, rose again 3 days later, and now lives? Would I have a hope of a life beyond this one and spend it with Jesus and with God? If I didn’t have a religious “affection,” would I lie, cheat, steal, rob banks, rip the tags off of mattresses? Would I curse? Cheat on my taxes? How would my life be different if I didn’t have a religious affection, or a belief in God?

Would I be the person I am today?

What about my children?

How would things be different?

For Some Time Now

For some time now I’ve been thinking about my devotional times on my deck. I miss them.

For some time now I’ve been thinking about my devotional times on the back porch in grandma’s glider spending early morning time with God and my cup of coffee.

For some time now, since I’ve moved to Texas, I’ve missed my devotional time with God. It’s because it is either too hot to sit outside in the morning or I don’t have a peaceful place for contemplation or I don’t feel like journaling, or I have trouble concentrating on my prayers etc. etc. etc.

I need my time with God like I need my time with Tim, my parents, my sisters, my children, my grandchildren, my friends, and my Facebook friends. I need to be connected, I need to share my life with him, my burdens, my joys, my sufferings. I am neglecting my relationship to the one who created relationships – how sad is that?

So, I grabbed a devotional book, my bible, my journal and my favorite cup of coffee and spent time with God today. I will be sharing some of the thoughts and conversations with you over time but for now – I’m just excited about starting my day off saying “Good Morning” to the one who created me.

Family of the Heart

I wanted to post these two pictures of my Indiana family. I may not be family by blood or by law but we are still family in our hearts. They are my children's grandparents and we share many, many wonderful memories.

This is one of the best pictures I've seen of them! The photographer took a beautiful picture and I just had to share it with you.

This picture is of Dick, Margaret and Darren's family and Dana's family. Dean is missing as are Kristen and Brandon and their families. Another fabulous picture of everyone.

What a wonderful family.