HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Tomorrow is Mother's Day! I was blessed with THE greatest mother of all time! She is not only my mother but my friend. I truly enjoy spending time with her. We love to go shopping and out to eat. She is a strong christian woman with great values and beliefs. If all children had her for a mother the world be a better place. She is the greatest Nanny to my boys and they love her. Happy Mother's Day Mom, I love you! 

My mom on her wedding day

Not only am I blessed with the world's greatest mother I was also blessed with the best set of Grandmothers and Great Grandmother.

My Grandmother & my boys

My Mammaw

My Granny

When I married my husband God blessed me with a wonderful christian Mother-In-Law who I love dearly. 

My Mother In Law

                                      

Me & My Mom

Me & my sister who is also a wonderful Mom! 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Sundays

I just love Sundays! Especially beautiful & sunny Sundays! Sundays, to me, mean "Son"days (as in going to church to worship the Son) and then "Sun"days (as in spend time in the sun)! Today I got to do both! 


Today was Homecoming at our church and it was a wonderful time. Saw old and new faces and enjoyed a great message and great food! 


I also got to do one of my other favorite things today too! 

Dad and I rode on his Harley and enjoyed the beautiful countryside of East Texas. Stopped and visited with his cousin and had a nice time. One of the best ways to experience God's creation is on a motorcycle. You feel the wind in your hair, smell the fragrant honeysuckle (or cow poop, lol) and feel like you are flying. I hope you were able to enjoy your "Son"day too!  

Top 25 Household Hints & Tips

Here are my favorite household hints and tips. Some are weird, some are wacky, but they work! 


1. I think I mentioned this in a previous post but it's worth saying again. Baking soda! Cleans stove tops quick and easy! It's non abrasive so it won't scratch the surface. Baking soda is great for an odor eliminator. We have all heard of putting a box in the fridge. It is also great for litter boxes and carpets. 


2. Lemon juice. Put a bowl of water with some lemon juice in the microwave and warm for about a minute. Let sit. The steam softens up any messes and they will wipe right off. 


3. Put a wooden spoon on top of a pot of whatever you are boiling to keep the pot from boiling over. I do this all of the time! 


4. Put a slice of bread in with the brown sugar to keep from hardening. 


5. When I brown ground meat instead of pouring the left over grease in the trash I pour it in a bowl of water. After it hardens you can skim it off the top and then toss. I also use empty cans for this too.


6. Place a marshmallow in the bottom of an ice cream cone to keep it from leaking.


7. To cover up nail holes in your wall you can put a dab of white toothpaste in the hole. Covers it up like a charm! 


8. Speaking of white toothpaste, you can clean scratched up cd's with a coffee filter and white toothpaste. Not sure how this works but I do know it does!


9. Put an Alka-Seltzer tablet in the toilet for a sparkling clean shine.


10. Use peanut butter to get those stubborn sticky labels off of jars.


11. If you find yourself with a flea problem in your home sprinkle some yeast all over the carpet and let sit, then vacuum.


12. Put glue on splinters for easy removal! 


13. The saying is true! Ants will not cross a chalk line! It works!


14. When cutting onions put a lighted and blown out match between your teeth and there will be no more tears.


15. When cooking a meal to freeze line your baking dish with foil for easy removal when you thaw it out. 


16. Here's a cooking tip for ya~ when browning ground meat separate in freezer bags. It is great for taco nights or for a quick casserole.


17. Line the bottom of your stove with foil for easy clean up.


18. Line your cookie sheets for foil for more easy clean up.


19. Over salt a meal? Use sugar!


20. Homemade cleaner: 1 part water 1 part vinegar. This makes a great glass cleaner and it won't streak. 


21. Puffy eyes? Put a spoon in the fridge and then place on your eyes to remove the puffiness.


22. Weird but true! Put a wad of chewed tobacco on a bee sting.


23. Put extra trash bags in the bottom of the trash can before putting another bag in. When it's time to empty trash you have another bag ready.


24. Pants getting tight? Use a rubber band to give you some more room! 


25. Keep baby wipes in the car! Great for messes, spills and even some quick cleaning. 

Funny Pet Peeve

Have you ever been to Wal-mart or out to eat and someone is on their cell phone talking LOUD? It takes the focus off of any conversation you may have been having. Not sure if the person actually realizes how loud they are, or if they are doing it on purpose. I guess it's more rude than funny, but sometimes you gotta laugh! It's really annoying at restaurants. It would be more polite if the person would get up and go outside to talk on the phone, or at least talk with an inside voice. 


While on the subject of talking loud, I have another pet peeve, lol! I have seen people in stores or wherever, be talking to their child or someone else and you can tell they know they are talking loud and want you to hear. Haven't really figured out why. It's kinda like they are showing off. I don't know, I just know it is very annoying. Anyone else know what I am talking about? 

Don't Give Your Power Away

I realize that this won't apply in every situation or everyone's circumstance. I know that every situation is different and in some instances you are taking your power back. This post is about situations other than those! 


A lot of times we let hard feelings get in our way and we make decisions based on those feelings. In the process we lose friendships, churches, and anything else you can insert here. We tend to give our power away to others without even realizing we are doing it. We tend to think that we have the power, but in fact we are handing it over to someone else. 


For example, in friendship we can let grudges or hurt feelings dictate how we are going to treat someone. Even when, or if, we will ever talk to them again. It's in this situation where we seem to think we are holding all of the cards, but in fact we aren't. We think since we are choosing to not talk to them anymore and to hold onto that grudge that we have all the power. It's in that moment you are giving away your power to that person when you let them decide when and how you will act. True friendship is hard enough to find so we should hold onto it with both hands. 


Another area where I have seen this all too often is in some churches. Just today I heard that in a survey about every 5 years or so a 1/3 of the membership will leave a church. Some areas it is as low as 2 years. That is pretty astonishing. It is so easy to get feelings hurt and then leave. Once again, you are giving your power away to whomever hurt you. You are allowing them to decide where you go to church and where you don't. In this mornings devotional at church, which my awesome Dad leads, he spoke of how no one is perfect and how you will never find a perfect church. If you do find a perfect church, do not join it because then it will become imperfect! 


This applies to places you shop and even places you eat. You might tell yourself that Joe Bob works there so I will never shop there! Or, Mary Jane is a waitress at that restaurant so we will never eat there again. Joe Bob and Mary Jane don't know how lucky they are, you just gave them your power! You may think it is extreme, but when you look at it you can see what I mean. Too many times we let the actions of others dictate how we act. 


Think about situations you are in. Who really has the power? Are you giving your power away and may not even know it? 


In Luke 18:27 it says, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  Whatever situation you feel is impossible, with God it isn't. You know what better way to "get back" at your enemy? Pray for them.


Question Of The Week: Are you giving your power away? 

Love Is A Choice, Not A Feeling

Have you ever stopped to really think about that statement? Let's read it again. Love is a choice, not a feeling. Kind of goes against what most people think, doesn't it? When it all comes down to it you make a choice to love.

Everyone is not lovable all of the time. You won't even like someone all of the time. It seems in todays society people who are engaged to be married go into it with the attitude that if it doesn't work out no harm no foul, we can just get a divorce. A divorce always cost less than the wedding. I find that thought process very sad, but unfortunately true. Too bad the engaged don't spend as much time, money and effort on the marriage as they do the wedding.

When you first meet someone and fall in love there are butterflies in your stomach and you live in la la land for awhile. Then you get married and real life sneaks up on you, and you find yourself being caught off guard. The honeymoon will end, no doubt, but your love and commitment to each other doesn't have too. When the going gets tough, the tough doesn't need to get going. I firmly believe that when you enter marriage you should be in it for the long haul. Just as you say in your vows, for better or for worse. Far too often as soon as "the worse" comes so does the end. As Dr. Phil once said, "It may not have been right to marry, but now that you are married, make it right". 

When I think about what makes a marriage last 40, 50 and even 60 years it all comes down to a choice that was made. My Grandparents were married 59 years before my Granddaddy died. Now I don't know this for a fact because we have never discussed it, but I am inclined to think it wasn't always roses. I am sure there were tough times. Times that now days someone would leave. Their strong marriage just proves to me the testament of their love and their commitment to each other and the choice they made to love one another.

I actually think that comfortable feeling that you grow into with each other is a good thing. I also think you should never take each other for granted. We are all human and we all will make mistakes. We don't have to let those mistakes define who we are. We are not those mistakes. If we are blessed enough to have a forgiving spouse who is willing to give out a second chance then we need to hold on to them for dear life. You could say they are God's second chance for us.

I personally believe that once you have made that commitment and choice to love everything else will fall into place. I also believe our attitude towards things make a big difference. Just as we make a choice to love we also choose the attitude that we will embrace. With God at the center of your marriage you can't help but succeed.