Ask For The Nations

Building Memories

2010-11-28T19:37:00.001-06:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving with these guys. For Demi (in the white shirt), this was his first Thanksgiving in America. Not only did he get to experience Thanksgiving and hear the reason behind the celebration, he too got to experience putting the CHRISTmas tree up and doing some CHRISTmas decorating. Actually, we had planned not to put up a tree this year, but before we knew it, we brought out the tree and and the young men found the lights and within 2 hours, we had gone from being the Grinch to being the Griswolds!

So Much Going On - So Little Time To Blog ...............

2010-10-13T16:16:00.001-05:00

Hanging out with some new converts.

She said this was the longest sales receipt that she had ever seen. I only purchased 180 items. Thanks for your help!

Arlene Allen at Up The Creek prior to our recent Step Into His Presence Conf

Mr CBN & his wife - What a wonderful visit! (And you thought Pat Robertson was Mr CBN)

Stylin - Cecil & Sheryl - some dear friends

3 Weddings in 1 week .............

2010-09-06T12:26:00.001-05:00

Gina & Dewayne

Don't judge a book by it's cover......

2010-09-06T11:08:00.002-05:00

Don't let the tattoos and piercings influence who you think they might be! This couple stayed pure, no sex prior to marriage and no kissing other than a peck on the cheek throughout their 2 years of dating and engagement. They are also responsible for bringing many other young people into the body of Christ. Monday prior to their Thursday noon wedding, they were legally married in a neighboring state but it was important to them to be married in a church wedding and in the eyes of God before they chose to consummate the marriage. This couple is very evangelistic in the gifting and calling and such a blessing to the body of Christ.

Mike & Emily's Wedding

2010-09-06T10:33:00.000-05:00

60th - Nigerian Style

2010-09-06T10:24:00.005-05:00

Dupe looking beautiful as ever!!

The lovely lady in the center was able to pull off a weekend of celebration and thanksgiving, without her husband knowing about it!

We were able to get a moment of the guest of honor's time and pose for a photo.
About 170 people honored him with a dinner. What an occasion! Friends and family flew in from the USA. Greetings came from several countries. Brother Joesph and his family are a true delight and a blessing from the Lord.

A Few Happenings In No Particular Order.....

2010-08-21T20:33:00.000-05:00

Two Dupe's Are Better Than One!

58 lb plus...Tootsie Williams Watermelon, ahhhhh it was so sweet!

Ever had that favorite piece of clothing that you enjoy wearing? Actually, you found yourself wearing it everywhere and for most every occasion. My hubby asked me to stop wearing this blouse so often, so I thought I would put a few new accessory's with it. Thanks to the foam packing from a box, this gave me the creativity ideal to spruce up my outfit! (When the boss was away, I couldn't help but play)

107 Degrees

Why would toilet tissue be a seasonal item?

Placing new flowers & flags on Dad's grave.

Seems likes old times

Beaches of Mississippi

2010-07-22T15:27:00.001-05:00

Daniel On Beaches of Mississippi

Daniel "caught" a fish......

While visiting the John Stennis Space Center, we took the opportunity to check out the beaches of Mississippi Gulf Coast. Due to the oil spill, activities on the beach were slim to none except for the hazmat workers in the green vest. Within a several mile stretch, we saw maybe 15 people playing in the sand along the beach. What should have been a beach bustling with business, was a tragic reality to the businesses and the people who make their living along our coast. Oh BTW, we didn’t see any tar balls or oil. What we did see was several clean up boats on the horizon sweeping our waters for oil. As I stood on the beach and looked out over the waters, my prayer was "Lord, heal our waters".......

John Stennis Space Center

2010-07-22T15:05:00.000-05:00

The John Stennis Space Center is located on the Mississippi Louisiana border in Hancock County. Construction of the 13,500 acres (55 km2). The test area is surrounded by a 125,000 acres acoustical buffer zone. The facility's large concrete and metal test stands were originally used to test-fire the first and second stages of the Saturn V rockets.
Shuttle main engine test site was selected because it was thinly populated and it was possible to create barge access to it — the rocket motors to be tested for Apollo were too large for overland transport. The chosen site also had to be between the Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana, where the rockets were made, and the launch facility at Cape Canaveral in Florida. With the end of the Apollo program, use of the base decreased, with economic impact to the surrounding communities. Over the years other government organizations have moved to the facility, providing a major economic benefit to the communities. Two 250,000 gallon water tanks at the facility, used to test equipment for the Navy, were used to film the underwater sequences in the film Double Jeopardy. The facility was damaged in late August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina but seems to be in full operation now.

Catching Up.......

2010-07-22T14:50:00.001-05:00

Enjoying Girl Time @ Rustys Riverfront Bar and Grill

Vicksbrug MS

9 jars of strawberry figs

Cross Culture and Crossing Generations

Ain't Yo Mamma's Chow Chow

2010-07-21T21:38:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite meals that my Mother in Law would put on the table was called "Chow Chow Meal".

It consisted of homemade chow chow, saltine crackers, mayo, ham, coon cheese (a sharp cheese) and ice tea. I can still image the smell of her house and visualize the image of us sitting at her table enjoying such fine cuisine while engaging in interesting conversation! What sweet memories! Unfortunately, when the Lord called Mom C home, no one had made sure that she had left behind the recipe for her Chow Chow.

Recently Tiff and Jason came to visit and brought us a jar of Louisiana chow chow, it got me to thinking that I should try my hand at making chow chow. I can't make Mamma Courtney's recipe, however, I have affectingly named my version of Chow Chow "Ain't Yo Mamma's Chow Chow"......so 21 pints later, here is my recipe.

Easy Chow Chow

Grind the following ingredients:

1 Gallon Green Tomatoes

1 Gallon Cabbage

8 Large Onions

2 – 6 small hot peppers (diced and seeded)

4 – 6 Bell Peppers

4 Bell Peppers

Put the ingredients listed below in a sauce pan and let it come to a boil for a few minutes. Then pour it over the ground up vegetable ingredients and let all of it cook until good and tender. (Mine cooked about an 1 – 1 ½ hours on medium high , stirring from time to time)

1 ½ pints white vinegar

2 ½ sugar (or splenda)

*1 tsp allspice

*1 tsp dry mustard

*1 tsp turmeric

Pack in hot jars and seal.

*****I cooked my chow chow till it was a consistency that I thought was good and then canned it the traditional way of boiling my lids and putting mixture in hot jars.

Also, I didn’t use the allspice, dry mustard and turmeric. Instead, I used pickling spice and put it in cheesecloth and made a seasoning packet. I boiled it in the vinegar / sugar mixture and continued cooking it in the chow chow mixture.

**Disclaimer - inside of one of those jars of chow chow you will find one of my cheesecloth seasoning packet. Oops!

** Also, I used 4.28 lb onions, 3.67 lbs tomatoes, 10.46 lbs cabbage, 1 1/2 lb green peppers and it made 21 pints.

Happy Anniversary

2010-06-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversary Eric & Juliana

E- Life Small Group

2010-06-28T11:27:00.000-05:00

Even though summer attendance at our small group is down, we continue to enjoy our time of fellowship and studying the Word. Yesterday was what we call "our Wing It Topic Night". So we chose to discuss Pastor's sermon on "Shaking it Off". Taken from the Holy Bible, Acts 28: 1 - 9. In these scriptures Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta and as he was gathering wood to build a fire, he was bite by a venomous snake. It was interesting as we all pulled out our notes and discussed the sermon. One point that I struck me was, "Even though I've not always like what I've been through, but it's made me who I am today." Another one was that "God calls with purpose, we have gifting and all the bad times and good times will work together for the fulfillment of God's purpose." Here is a question to ponder. "Why didn't Paul get upset when he was bite by the snake?" One of the reasons that was brought out in our discussion was that it was not his destination. It was a mere inconvenience. It was only a distraction. (You should have heard Pastor's sermon!)

During the fellowship time, we had a thunderstorm warning issued and we all went outside to see what the weather was doing. As there was no rain, the weather was perfect for a tornado, but soon the weather settled and two rainbows appeared. However, one soon faded and then we were able to see the beginning from the end of the rainbow that remained. I remarked that one end of the rainbow was over River Of Life and the other end of the rainbow ended at Wal Mart. What sweet fellowship we enjoyed with those that attended.

YOUTH CAMP

2010-06-28T10:53:00.000-05:00

This is the gang that we drove to youth camp. As Ed parked one van and walked across the ball field to join me in the second van, he said for a few minutes he was thinking, "wow, this would be fun as he was enjoying the excitement and energy as the young campers were arriving." It reminded him of when we lead teams of youth into many nations. Then he was reminded he had to return to his area of ministry as many folks were counting on him. Reports were that camp was AWESOME. As we drove the kids home on Friday, there was hardly a peep from the behind the driver's seat. They were snoozing on the way! What an incredible experience for these youth!

State Parks

2010-06-25T22:54:00.000-05:00

We had the opportunity to get away a couple days and we were able to go to J P Coleman State Park. It is located on the Mississippi / Tennessee state line, next to the Tennessee River. What a beautiful place to relax. The terrain was quite hilly, and the Tennessee River is perfect for water sports, if you have the water sport toys. We tent camped and the days were hot and sultry, but the nights were cool enough that we slept under sleeping bags.

3 Bald Men With Bellies

2010-06-19T23:47:00.000-05:00

Today we had the opportunity to attend a reunion. It was a family reunion of sorts, but not a biological family reunion. This was a reunion of the old Bailey Ave Church of God (Cleveland Tenn) . Here my wonderful hubby had the opportunity to reconnect with some of his friends from past years. Oh, the stories they were telling on each other! Perhaps that would be a good blog for a future time

Gators, Tators & Peas and Corn

2010-06-19T22:37:00.001-05:00

Proceed with caution! This post as most of my other post, are an English teachers nightmare!

Really the title of this post is a bit misleading. The only reason I used the word "tators" is because it rhymes with gators! We really rode a gator, 4 - wheeled gator....no silly, not the gator you are thinking about. See, since I'm the author of this post, I can write the story the way I want it to go, so here we go! Oh....what an adventure! Soon that adventure turned to work! But this urbanized country girl had forgotten the amount of work that is required to keep a farm up and running! I spent the day with my favorite sister, who come to think of it, is my only blood relative sister... (chuckle that's suppose to be funny) Let's just call her Sa Pud! Now Sara (oops I mean Sa Pud) is the only one in our family that we know that really has a brain. You see, she's had brain surgery! Praise The Lord, she is a-ok without any long term complications! We are blessed to have her as she also is a breast cancer survivor. Oops, back to my "Gators, Tators & Peas and Corn" post, because I'm not in a very serious mood to wax eloquent, I'd rather be waxing an elephant. (you can smile cause it takes less muscle than to frown) but needless to say, she's blessed and we too are blessed to have her around. While I not only got to spend the day with her on the farm, nestled deep in the beautiful green forest, I too had the opportunity to put some fresh veggies in my freezer! No, I didn't get a side of beef. I'll continue to purchase that at Kroger's and no, I didn't get any chickens. I'll take mine either grilled or fried and wait till they are served at the local KFC! (Thanks Pud for feeding the world). Another treat of the day was spending time with my beautiful Mother. As we (Sa Pud, Mom and myself) shelled two 5 gallon buckets of peas, Mom told us some pea shelling stories, one which I will share with you. Back when she was a snotty nose kid, the evangelist would often stay in tents while preaching a revival. Mother told us of how back in the 20's and 30's that they would put straw down on the ground and then stake the tent and end up living in the tent while they conducted revival services. She remembers that tents were pitched in her yard under the china berry tree. That was about the same time that linoleum was coming out. They often referred to the pine straw floor as "pineoleum". Anyway, she told how that one morning that there was something sticky in at the edge of the tent and it was running under the tent. Under further investigation, someone had given the preacher syrup and someone else had shot into the syrup bucket trying to shoot into the tent to harm the evangelist. We talked about how that also this was in the era when the ministers had to wear white shirts and ties and there was no such thing as "iron free" shirts and every thing had to be ironed with a black cast iron, iron that had to be heated in the fire. While we worked, laughed, talked and enjoyed our time together, I was thinking that I must blog this "pineoleum" story. It's stories like this that will die and go to the grave of our love one's. This one was far to good, not to document. So as my sweet Mother would say, "that is the end of my story."

Then Sings My Soul

2010-06-19T21:26:00.001-05:00

I organized a time for senior adults to come together and sing and worship. What a powerful time of fellowship. Afterwards we enjoyed catfish at a near by catfish house. Our next outing is scheduled for October when we will be making a road trip!

Celebrating 90 Years Young

2010-06-19T21:16:00.001-05:00

A highlight of the month has been having lunch with Sister Thetis as she celebrated her 90th birthday. Pictured below is a photo of her and Pastor. Oh, the tractor? It wasn't a John Deere, but it's pretty, ain't it?

Grands R Great

2010-06-12T16:57:00.000-05:00

This is our beautiful granddaughter! We sure enjoy the time we get to spend with her.

Family Time - Graduation & Birthday Parties

2010-05-23T16:46:00.008-05:00

I graduated "Soon Come Lordy"....the nephew graduated Valedictorian! He's a fine young man and we are proud of him. Taking a look at other photos, you can tell we've had some really great family time! Everything from celebrating birthdays, graduations to hanging out at Sonic for a late night gig! Also we've been enjoying special times with our grand! Grandparenting is fun!

I Wear Purple For Erin

2010-05-16T19:08:00.003-05:00

Erin is my 13 year old cousin who has Cystic Fibrosis. "I Wear Purple For Erin" is one of the on going fundraisers to help defray expense. She is awaiting a double lung transplant in Houston. She and her family are in our daily prayers. You can keep up with her blog @ www.erinknight.blogspot.com.

I guess you just would have had to be there....

2010-05-13T21:32:00.005-05:00

Remember the sitcom "Home Improvements? Remember Mr. Wilson, Tim's neighbor? Every time that Tim would screw up in his everyday life, he would go to Mr. Wilson for advice. As always, Mr. Wilson had the answer, often using a philosophical or historical quotation to make his point. Tim would repeat what Mr.Wilson said to his wife, Jill, or the viewers of Tool Time, but he would often explain his revelation by misquoting Mr. Wilson. In the show, Mr. Wilson never showed his face. You would only see him from eyebrow up accept for only one episode.

The other night our neighbor was going to hand something over the fence to Ed and the funny thought hit me that this was a "Tool Time Tim & Mr. Wilson" moment. Of course, I grabbed my camera and struck a shot of this moment! Check our my photo of Ed and our next door neighbor who we now refer to as "Mr. Wilson"........

There is always room for one more.......

2010-05-10T10:02:00.007-05:00

Mother's Day was a special treat as the boys wanted to honor me and my Mother for Mother's Day. Not only did they have gifts, (which they are gift enough )and flowers, they also provided the food as well. Their hearts are as big as the joy that bring into the lives of many people. They wanted to include others from the church, so we invited a couple single ladies as well as first time visitors! What a glorious way to spend Mothers Day!

....one more photo from the senior adult trip......

2010-05-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

Stone Mountain Georgia

2010-04-26T09:28:00.012-05:00

Just a few photos of a recent Senior Adult Trip to Stone Mountain Georgia! Not only did I get to spend precious time with my Mother, but we hung out at Stone Mountain Park for a day. Also the trip included the Coke Cola museum, the aquarium and also visited the "Gone With The Wind" museum in Mariette and took a trolley ride. The most enjoyable thing was the time I spent with Mom. We laughed allot and spend quality time together. What precious memories!

I thirst for God, the living God - Psalm 42:2 NLT

2010-04-10T21:47:00.011-05:00

Attendance was just under the 400 mark for our ladies spring conf and Godz Girlz conference that was hosted by our church. What a powerful weekend with many people leaving with their lives totally changed! The theme for this years women's ministries is "THIRSTY?" Pictured below are our a few of our Nigerian sisters singing for the offertory, a shot of the one of the services, Lois sporting a tee, Dan and one of the speakers in deep discussion, then me, the WM director and one of the guest speakers (who is Hungarian) posing for a pic!

Sunset on the Rez

2010-03-26T20:33:00.007-05:00

I enjoy coordinating outings and activities for our senior adults. Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather and had a picnic on the rez. One of my favorite things to do is to watch a sun set. Here are a few shots of the sun going down. Just think, I personally have a relationship with the Creator,the Master artist who created such beauty!

The Smell of Spring

2010-03-15T15:05:00.006-05:00

Mr. Bellingrath once said “The Gardens are like a beautiful woman with a different gown for each week of the year.” With the camellia blooms in winter, the azaleas in spring, roses in the summer, chrysanthemums in autumn and our famed Magic Christmas in Lights during the holiday season, Bellingrath Gardens and Home is a 65 acre estate of year-round beauty. (copied from www.bellingrath.org)

What a fun day we had enjoying not only the beautiful garden, but also enjoying being with family! Mom is not confined to a wheelchair. It just helps her not get so tired out and also helps to cover ground faster. Photo: My older brother, my sister (in law), hubby, Mom (seated) Me and my older little sister.

Mixing Generations and Cultures.........

2010-03-06T16:40:00.008-06:00

One of the things I know is that God is faithful in all areas of our lives. Depending on what we are in need of, whether it is spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially or economically, those needs will be met. God used a group of young men to meet the needs of a Grandmother who needed a little extra love and encouragement to make it through times of transition. God used a Grandmother to reassure a younger generation that they can make it through life with the Lord’s help. What special moments of sweet fellowship!

We Always Make Time For Family Time & Rummikub!

2010-02-25T16:40:00.006-06:00

.......and the home of the Brave

2010-02-16T13:07:00.003-06:00

The Southern States - A Winter Wonderland

2010-02-12T13:18:00.011-06:00

Who Dat and more.....

2010-02-08T10:19:00.005-06:00

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints on their win at the 44th Superbowl!Even though a Manning was playing on the Colts team,I had to support the neighbors in the Superbowl. Congrats Who Dat! 31-17

On a side note, last week I took the boyz to a livestock show at the Dixie National Rodeo.After walking around a while, we stopped in the capitol for them to take a look at our capitol building. The legislature session had dismissed for the night and the lawmakers were leaving, we met the Lt Governor coming down the steps. He stopped and introduced himself to us and welcomed us to the Capitol. For some reason I have photos of the boys with livestock, but didn't ask to make a photo of the boyz and the Lt Gov. They boyz were so excited to have met him, that they had to call their home country and tell their family that they had met the Vice President of Mississippi!

Global Warming Here & There - We Had Snow Too!

2010-02-01T13:17:00.009-06:00

The first picture was made outside of Budapest Hungary. The second photo shows my nephew cleaning the snow from in windshield (bug screen) in Nashville. The third photo shows a photo of a friends, neighbors house somewhere in Oklahoma. The fourth photo shows the snow that we got this past weekend! Be sure and look closely, I don't want you to miss it!

Gluten Free, Allergy Free, Sugar Free & Totally Fat Free

2010-01-26T12:14:00.007-06:00

The beautiful cake was gluten free, allergy free, sugar free and totally fat free! Had I been dieting, I could have eaten a piece and made up for in another area. However fasting while celebrating a birthday doesn't mix, well at least if you have a sweet tooth like me! At this point, I'm just taking an opportunity to blog about the creativity of my dear sister that I call "Sa Pud"......Thanks Sis for your love, support and friendship! Oh, the monkey candle? That's another story for another time!

The roses were a gift from "the boyz" and the beautiful salad bar was designed by Teresa at one of our recent church eatn' meetn's........That Teresa has a flair I admire!

January 11th Sunset

2010-01-12T15:16:00.002-06:00

Sunsets - Just one of the finer things in life.

Ridin' Pigs & Horses

2010-01-02T12:58:00.004-06:00

Check out the farm gear! Being a farm girl, you would think that I own shoes that I could wear on the farm. Well with us starting over, this is one thing that I haven't even thought about acquiring much less needing, until this past New Years Eve! The girls showed up in new shoes and I knew with heavy rains the day before, that shoes would be ruined. We had a choice, go buy shoes at the dollar store or use bags! Bags were the choice attire for the occasions! (I chose to wear a pair of socks with crocks and throw the socks away.) Not only did we get to spend some time with a amazing family on their farm, but those that chose to, got to ride a pig. You asked, "how do you ride a pig?" It looked easy. Grab a pig by the ears and hang on for the ride! Actually, I don't know who squilled the loudest, the pigs or the girls!

Yet Another CHRISTmas Celebration

2009-12-26T17:03:00.014-06:00

Hanging out with Ed doing guy stuff in the garage, cooking a CHRISTmas meal, playing several games of cards, laughing, making CHRISTmas candy,building memories, enjoying the beautiful weather from our patio, telling the meaning of CHRISTmas, answering questions about CHRISTmas, opening gifts and sharing time together made our CHRISTmas time special. They were not expecting CHRISTmas gifts but each received a NIV Bible, either a MSU or Ole Miss (don't let it be said that I spent $$$ on Ole Miss shirts), each received a cap donated by Brother Elton plus there were other small gifts for the each of them. Baby Glory received her first baby doll.

On Sunday night someone treated them to a night of bowling and then we went to a house to play wii (bowling & golf) and ate pizza. We all had allot of fun! For a fuzzy ah moment, on Saturday I asked Daniel if he wanted to watch a movie? He said, "no, I want to be with you." My heart melted once again!

Family Time

2009-12-25T19:46:00.006-06:00

I'm not for sure how many hours we logged playing Rummikub! (This game is also called Rummy-o) What fun to share with family! The gingerbread house was made by Marion Grace and was too beautiful to cut! Looks like Nolan is pointing a thumb @ Courtney! Isn't Austin cute? Sure wish I could sit that!

Merry CHRISTmas

2009-12-22T10:22:00.001-06:00

CHRISTmas in Canton

2009-12-22T10:08:00.008-06:00

Canton Mississippi is a quaint little town that has had the honor of having had several movies filmed around the town square. Willie Morris the author of many writings and know for his movie "My Dog Skip," is among some of the well known people that called Canton home. Mississippi native John Grisham also had a couple movies filmed in Canton. Last night we had the opportunity to spend time with some friends from Seattle, a couple Africans and nine from Burma. Excitement was high as we walked the town square and watched people and looked at the little city that is outlined in lights.

Random Happenings

2009-12-17T11:46:00.006-06:00

Explanation of photos:
Al has officially retired and he's showing off his new ride to Albert. (sorry about the shadow in the photo) Syble & her sweet Mother at a recent banquet, A Kodak moment for Tobi as he stands outside of a post office while on his 2 week visit to the USA. The last photo is of my Mother and my Auntie. Auntie is homebound and I recently got to visit her over the Thanksgiving holidays.

The Night It Snowed In Mississippi

2009-12-04T23:07:00.002-06:00

The perfect end to the staff CHRISTmas party was that I boogie boarded with James down the side of a hill! Thanks James for being such a fun kid!

2009-12-04T22:46:00.001-06:00

Before the staff CHRISTmas party, we made a stop and surprised Rehmas with a birthday cake! Wonder if he has ever seen snow before?

A Glimpse of our Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T22:42:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T12:14:00.004-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Ed is cooking a turkey (on the gas grill), another friend is frying a turkey, someone else is bringing a ham, I've cooked southern cornbread dressing, broc-cheese-rice casserole, sweet tator casserole, onion toasted tators baking in the oven, cold slaw (with a new twist), stuffed eggs, jello salad, store bought rolls, a cake baked, homemade cheese cake, de-caf spelenda sweeten tea, de-caf coffee and now awaiting for the world to arrive! This is our first Thanksgiving in our new home and we are so excited to be able to share our holiday with those whom have never celebrated an American Thanksgiving. Also we've invited friends from the church who are from other parts of the USA. I think we are expecting about 20 in all! Happy Thanksgiving!

The Whippet Stop - The Whippet Grill

2009-11-22T21:04:00.008-06:00

No matter where you roam, there is no place as special as home! I’m not sure that Clara is on the map, but it’s sure mapped in the hearts of many. Before consolidation, the school educated many young minds and was a base line for many of our lives. The likes of Mrs. Hardee, Coach & Mrs. Hutto, Mrs. Flanagan, Mrs. Irma, Coach Gray, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Bivins, Mrs. Henderson, Miss Jones and my own sister who was my biology teacher, spent their time mentoring us and preparing us for the future. That night in May when I marched across the football field, I didn’t realize the importance of my foundational years at Clara. Little did I know that God would take a kid like me and send me literally around the world and into almost 30 countries to carry the good news to the suffering and to comfort the broken hearted.

This past weekend, in the mix of a busy life, I took a few minutes to step back in time to revisit “downtown” Clara. As we sat eating a delicious chicken on a stick at The Whippet Stop, enjoying the ambiance of the memorabilia from those years spent at Clara, my mind drifted back to the time that I gave Mrs. Hardee a Zero candy bar. With math being my weak subject, I kept making zeros on her Algebra pop quiz. When CHRISTmas rolled around, I bought a Zero candy bar and wrapped and gave it to Mrs. Hardee with a note that said, “Now you see what it’s like to get a zero.” Even after I married, she would remind me that I was the kid that had given her a zero!

Even though our paths have taken us different ways, I am thankful for my small town rural education that was the forerunner to the future that God saw within me. However, I wish that I had paid a little more attention in some of my classes, especially in English. Short hand would have been useful had I been a little more attentive, but chapter 48 in Biology held my attention quite well!

Many of us attended college; some even went to medical school and became doctors as well as other medical professionals while others continued their education in different fields. Some stayed on the home front to be a part of politics, some became proprietor of their own businesses, some joined the military, became educators, airline pilots, Mommies & Daddy’s and good citizens of our rural small town. A few had their lives snuffed out at premature age. Clara with its one flashing stop light, a bank that was robbed by someone on a bicycle (when I was kid), holds a special place in the hearts of many!

So if you have a few minutes, take time to stop in and visit Alton and Brenda at The Whippet Stop. Enjoy a chicken on a stick and instead of purchasing your gasoline in the big city, fill up with a tank of gas and support the local boys. You won’t be disappointed to experience the warmth of our small rural Whippet Stop!

Family Time

2009-11-18T13:59:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday we invited the family to our house to celebrate Dan's birthday. Even though the visit was short, we had good family time. In the photo you can see that the family enjoyed our patio.

Thanks Veterans

2009-11-11T08:31:00.007-06:00

Tom Brokaw referred to him as being part of the Greatest Generation. He was an ordinary man whose highest rank was Corporal. He served in the U.S. Army 7th Division and was awarded 2 bronze stars for heroic service. He served in 4 major invasions as part of the 184th Infantry, Co M, fought on the Pacific Islands. His first invasions was Kiska, Aleutian Islands. The 2nd invasion was Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. The 3rd Invasion was Leyte Island, Philippine Islands and the 4th was at Okinawa. I knew this Corporal as Daddy. Rest in peace my heroic Daddy. Your baby girl loves you! Daddy 1921-2009.

Santa's of the World

2009-11-06T21:44:00.002-06:00

Ump-teen years ago when we sold or gave away our belongings to respond to the call as overseas missionaries, one of the things that I really didn't want to let go of was my "Santa's of the world". However................ we had to let them go. Now these Santa's were of no material value. Matter fact, most of them came from the dollar store.......... The other day as a girlfriend was cleaning out her garage for a rummage sale, she offered me a box of "Santa's of the world". I began to cry cause I knew that everything that I've given up twice, that God has given back to me in greater measure. These Santa's of the world are a bit upscale from ones from the dollar store! They are better than the original one's that I had owned.... Hey guys, it's just stuff.....we can always get more stuff......and if God says go, I'm willing to give it all up again! Until them.........

The Wonders of Miracle Grow

2009-10-25T21:11:00.005-05:00

Not only do we get to pray together, but

we get to enjoy some pretty incredible fellowship with this missionary family! As you can see, they too enjoy a good laugh and know know to relax and be real! Oh, by the way, note my hair color........it's natural! I've been tempted to color my hair using a color similar to Hungarian red! My only hesitation is that once you start coloring........it's like shaving the legs......you have to continue.....

Born To Farm

2009-10-18T15:00:00.010-05:00

2009 Fall Flower & Garden Fest
Living The 2009 Fall Flower & Garden Fest was held Friday and Saturday, October 16 & 17, at the Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs, Mississippi. Crystal Springs is about 25 miles south of Jackson.This is the largest home gardening show in the Southeast. About 6,000 people braved the windy conditions to view the two-day event. In addition to free parking and admission, there were beautiful gardens, seminars, wagon tours and even a place to shop!

Good Fishing

2009-10-12T16:52:00.004-05:00

Photos of the rez and the river that is near our

home. We hear there is some good fishing! The

busy life doesn't allow much time for such, but
it's always a joy to view the beautiful water as we drive by!

Pondering The Right Caption.......

2009-10-06T18:32:00.002-05:00

Daniel - Crossing the Mighty Mississippi

2009-10-04T14:46:00.008-05:00

I had the opportunity to spend the day with Daniel

and show him around our beautiful green state. We had

fun going through the military park @ Vicksburg and seeing the sites of the river city.

It is said.........

2009-09-25T21:30:00.003-05:00

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I couldn't help but snap this photo of two sisters. What is family for?

Nuttin' Like Cabin Hopping!

2009-09-12T21:43:00.004-05:00

The Women's Retreat was AWESOME! Lives were changed, needs were met, several women received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tongues. God once again showed up and showed out! Ain't it GREAT serving the Creator of the earth and of all living things!

Sheri Hawley was the guest speaker and she fed us anointed words mixed with some of her wonderful sense of humor! Pastor Darron and the ROL Praise and Worship team ministered under an incredible and powerful anointing!

After midnight me and Jennifer, a fellow missionary, decided to venture out and go cabin hopping! Of course we felt it was our duty to check out the cabins to see who had the best snacks and who was having the most fun! There was a six way tie! However, the group of ladies gathered in the cafeteria-torian seemed to have a creative edge on the rest of the cabins! There is something to be said about adult women dressed in the pj's, holding Winnie the Pooh and stuffed bears, dancing to the music of the old fast, foot stomping hymns!

AAAhhhhhh ......It's so much fun being a believer in Jesus Christ and living the life of a Christian!

Erin - My Make A Wish Cuz

2009-09-01T14:42:00.005-05:00

So where did she chose to go? To California to meet a movie star. Oh, which movie star? Hummmm I'll have to get back to you on that one!

Erin and her sister Casey are sweet girls. But would we expect any less since they are related to me? Casey & Erin - YOU ROCK !

Crape Myrtle Trees

2009-08-25T16:25:00.004-05:00

The photo of the moss covered crape myrtle was made near my Dad's grave. The crape myrtle's are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L this year! Above you will see my favorite color crape myrtle variety that I hope to grow in my yard!

In Loving Memory of Daddy

2009-08-22T18:12:00.007-05:00

From Carrie

I am the oldest grandchild, and I had Grandmother and Granddaddy all to
myself until my baby sister came along 5 1/2 years later. Granddaddy used
to look at me and say, "You were the first one to make me a Granddaddy." I
have many fond memories of Granddaddy, but in all of my 35 years, the best
gift I received from him was Saturday afternoon, and I almost missed it.
On Saturday morning, I took the train from Atlanta to come home. I was
scheduled to arrive at the Laurel train station at 4 p.m. During the course of
my trip, I kept in touch with my sister, who was at the nursing home with
Granddaddy. He was not responsive, and his blood pressure was dropping
rapidly. I began to get very anxious, questioning my decision about taking
the train, and waiting until Saturday morning to come home. What if I didn't
make it in time? We were approaching Birmingham, and the conductor
announced that they were stopping the train and that we were to get off the
train but leave our luggage. I went from anxious to very disturbed. I
immediately called my husband back in Atlanta and asked him to reserve me
a rental car from the Birmingham airport. I told him I didn't know where we
were going to be let off the train, but that I would get off the train and figure
out how to get to the airport. I couldn't wait around to see when the train
would resume its journey.
We got off the train in front of the Irondale Alabama police station, not
knowing what was going on. I grabbed all of my luggage and told the
conductor that my grandfather was dying and I was finding another way
home. I called a cab company and told them that I was at the police station
and needed to get to the Birmingham airport ASAP and then waited.
Looking back, I can see why a cab didn't rush to pick up a slightly hysterical
woman who said she was at the police station and needed to get to the
airport ASAP.
As I was waiting, I was very frustrated, asking, "Why God, does this have to
happen today? I need to get home." A lady came up to me and asked me
why the train was stopped. I told her we didn't know and then told her that I
had gotten all of my luggage off the train and was trying to get to the airport
to get a rental car to get home to Mississippi before my grandfather died.
She told me she was taking me to the airport. Thanks to this good
Samaritan, I got to the airport, got a rental car, and arrived at the nursing
home around 3:15 p.m.
When I arrived, I saw my family surrounding Granddaddy, and I saw
Grandmother and Granddaddy's pastor and friends surrounding the family.
Over the next 90 minutes or so, we recalled stories from several decades
about Granddaddy's role as a husband, father, grandfather, servant, and
friend. We laughed and we cried. Friends came and went. As it got closer
to his passing, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace envelop the room. We
talked about how his inadequate physical body would no longer constrain
him. We talked about how he would be reunited with those who had gone
before him, and we talked about the hope of being reunited with him in the
future.
When Granddaddy died, I looked at my watch. It was around 4:40 p.m. I
immediately said a prayer of thanks, because I had my answer to my cry of
frustration earlier in the day of "Why God does this have to happen today?"
Had the train stayed on schedule and not been evacuated, I would have
continued my trip, arrived in Laurel no earlier than 4 p.m., and probably
would not have made it to the nursing home in time. But it seems that
Someone with greater understanding and power than I was in control.
During times like this, we often talk about what was important to a person
during his life. But there is no greater testament or witness to those things
than the activities that surround them as they pass from this earth.
Granddaddy's faith and his loved ones were the most important things to
him, and he lived his life every day as evidence of this, up to the last breath.
When I walked out of his room, I was sad, I was physically and emotionally
exhausted, but I was renewed and revived in my commitment to my faith
and my family. I thank God for the gift that Granddaddy gave me Saturday -
- it was as if, on his way out, he sprinkled some fertilizer on the seeds he
planted and cultivated in me so long ago to remind me of what's most
important in this life and beyond.

Daddy

2009-08-16T13:40:00.001-05:00

AT 4:38 pm ON SATURDAY, DADDY WENT HOME TO BE WITH JESUS.

Time With Samuel

2009-08-12T20:55:00.003-05:00

All in one day,
Samuel holds the whole world in his hands and eats Sushi for the first time!

Mel's Graduated Again!

2009-08-10T19:51:00.002-05:00

The Blessing of The Shelves

2009-07-28T11:50:00.003-05:00

As we walked between the cheese and the yogurt pushing our shopping cart, a fellow shopper remarked about the shelves that we had in our c art. We stopped to talk with him and he offered us his Rubbermaid shelves from his garage. He went on to say that he had sold his house 9 days after it went on the market and he was moving to the Gulf Coast. Come to find out, not only were we neighbors, but we also had more in common than the shelves. What a wonderful time of fellowship!
A set of shelves cost about $40+ a unit and we needed several units to line our storage room. He blessed us with about 6 units of shelves. Oh the blue boxes? Those are our earthly belongings that we had from years ago.
This is just one of God’s blessings in our lives. We have many other testimonies of His faithfulness.

More Bar-B-Que

2009-07-26T19:13:00.006-05:00

We were invited to our neighbors house for a bar-b-que! Tyron out did himself on the bar-b-que!

Self-Explanatory?

2009-07-18T14:04:00.003-05:00

Is it necessary to advertise who really lives in this community?

Making Her Debut

2009-07-09T14:41:00.003-05:00

So people want to know what I'm doing now days? This is part of my responsiblies. Since JuJu has gotten married, I have taken her place in the office and now on the big screen! Even through I can't really fill her shoes, you will see that I am giving it a try! Watch and enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiHM9jyHud8

A Tip To Stay Cool

2009-07-08T16:37:00.005-05:00

Cory has found a creative way to stay cool - bobbing for water! This guys talent never ceases to amaze me!

Leatha's Bar-B-Que

2009-06-30T12:05:00.006-05:00

I had fun taking some of the senior adults (and a few from the younger generation) to the Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby. Afterwards, we ate a Leatha's Bar-B-Que which has been rated in the top #3 according to the food network. Also this Bar-B-Que has been written up in several leading magazines which are proudly displayed in the dining hall. When in Hattiesburg MS, check it out! It will keep you going back for more!

Eric & Juliana Tied The Knot

2009-06-30T09:44:00.009-05:00

The wedding was elegant and very tasteful. My heart was touched when Eric lead Juliana in communion while Ed and Chrystal sung "The Prayer". What a beautiful moment! The bride is gorgeous and the groom is handsome! Congratulations to a wonderful couple! I are proud of you!

More Photos From Gatlingburg TN

2009-06-23T12:16:00.005-05:00

It Was Cooler In The Mountains

2009-06-19T20:15:00.005-05:00

VBS - Crocodile Dock

2009-06-13T23:01:00.009-05:00

Ed played Pharaoh and the grumpy old man that lives in the shack. He reeks with talent!

Dupe & I were the teachers....She's a great lady to work with! That is sweet Eden holding up the cross that she made for our Thursday night class. She is a great little women of God!

A Wedding

2009-06-13T22:54:00.005-05:00

And this is where the preacher said, "Who gives this girl to be wed to this man?" And after a long silent pause, the bride turns around and says, "DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!". Note the look on her face!

Enjoying The Patio

2009-06-11T09:31:00.001-05:00

Ed & Pam hanging loose in the hot summer heat!

Wanna Share a Twinkie?

2009-06-04T15:24:00.002-05:00

"It is better to eat Twinkies with good friends than to eat broccoli alone!"
Just couldn't help but passing along these words of wisdom!

Receptions, Bridal Shower & Birthday Party

2009-06-02T10:47:00.014-05:00

JuJu at her bridal shower. I'm going to miss this WOG (WOMAN OF GOD)! That's her beau (Eric) sneaking a peck on the cheek!

The weekend was filled with receptions (yes, more than 1), a bridal shower and also having fun celebrating one of the grands birthday. In the immediate above photo, Brother Davis (seated - dark shirt) is retiring after 23 years as the District Superintendent of the MS Assemblies of God. To the right, Raymond and Sindyhave accepted a new position in West Texas, after 18 years serving as the Youth & CE Director. Bro Derek presented them with farewell gifts at a noon luncheon. Their replacements have BIG SHOES to fill!

Playing With The Grands

2009-06-02T10:40:00.008-05:00

Interesting Figures

2009-06-01T11:53:00.003-05:00

The question was asked, "Is religion an important part of your daily life?"
Here is the findings.

Most Religious States
Mississippi 85% of residents / YES
Alabama 82 %
South Carolina 80%
Tennessee 79%
Arkansas, Louisiana 78%

Least religious states
Vermont 42% of residents / YES
New Hampshire 46%
Maine, Massachusetts 48%
Alaska 51%
Washington52%

Info copied from TPE, May 31, 2009 edition

Camp Meeting @ The River

2009-05-25T22:15:00.007-05:00

Presently we are having Camp Meeting with Big Mo Ministries, ministering nightly! WOW !One minute Big Mo is making you laugh and in the next split second you are grasping a nugget from the Word! Today it was cool to hang out with he, his wife and son. What sweet fellowship!

Celebrating Mom's Birthday

2009-05-18T16:09:00.008-05:00

With the Great Neice & Nephew & a couple of the Great Great's.

Mom With some of her neices & nephews

With the Senator (below)
With Cuz Floyd

Looking Around The Hometown

2009-05-04T16:25:00.004-05:00

While looking around the hometown this past weekend, I had the opportunity to see "The Century Plant". It rarely blooms, but when it does, the long thingie with a cyme of big yellow flowers can reach up to 25 feet. The plant dies after flowering, but produces suckers from the base, which continue it's growth. The average lifespan is around 28 years.

Class Reunion Photo

2009-05-04T16:09:00.006-05:00

12 out of 50 graduates attended our class reunion. Steve and his bride drove the longest distance to be at the reunion. I drove 3 hours and the rest of the group live in and around our hometown. It was a night full of old stories and lots of laughter!

There is Not a Victory Without A Conflict

2009-04-29T10:06:00.004-05:00

(JuJu (L) & Kim (R) I first met Kim about 6 weeks ago. The first thing I noticed about her
was her beautiful Hungarian red hair! (No she is not Hungarian - just the color of her hair is very Hungarian) Of course, my thoughts drifted back to fond memories of being surrounded by women who had this same hair color. So I took a photo of she and JuJu and titled it "Two Beautiful Ladies". (I will blog about JuJu in a later blog.)

Until yesterday, since our initial meeting, I had met Kim only on one other occasion. That was at a recent Women's Conf. It was nice to see a familiar face in the crowd and also a hair color that once again took me back to pleasant thoughts of life in Hungary.

Kim seems abit self conscious about her scares, but they are not disfiguring at all. You see, she is a cancer survivor. Many years ago she was first diagnosed with a cancer in the area of her chin. The day this photo was made she had received a good report from her doctor. Yesterday, she and her husband Jim came by the office. Kim had not received such a good report and they are wanting to pull her teeth.

Please pray that she will not have to have her teeth pulled and that the bone structure will heal and be healthy and that she can live cancer free. She is a wife, Mother of two, pastor's wife, encourager, friend to many..... as the list could go on and on.

In talking with she and her husband, he mention that "there is not a victory without a conflict." As I am writing this, I am thinking about Jeremiah 29:11 that God has plans to prosper Kim and Jim . He has plans that include hope and a future. Thank God for His hope!

Recent Family Get Together

2009-04-27T14:14:00.003-05:00

Celebrating Sa & Al's birthdays

LLS sure has good taste in car's and in selecting a hubby!

Quote Worth Re-Quoting

2009-04-22T20:14:00.006-05:00

Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (that is, He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, prompt-to-do-it) giver.... And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance. 2nd Corinthians 9:7-8, Amp. Some people say you need to "give till it hurts." Don't you believe it. God doesn't want gifts given in pain. He wants gifts given in joy! In fact, those are the only kinds of gifts that please Him. (copied)
I would rather believe for everything and get half;
than believe for nothing and get it all - JM 2007

We Survived!

2009-04-18T18:05:00.007-05:00

The annual ladies conference was a BIG success! MANY worked behind the scenes and God blessed with a POWERFUL conference. Attendance was around 300+....... Even though the main speaker cancelled, (the day before the conference began) God had another powerful plan! God used Pastor Judy to speak a Word for the hour! It was a POWERFUL weekend! To God be the glory! And to all of those who helped........THANKS!

Rednecks For A Night

2009-04-07T21:04:00.008-05:00

Last Friday night we took time to mix a little fun with all of the work that has been going on. We were invited to a "Redneck Night". Actually, we won the "cutest" dressed redneck couple! My double decker John Deere hat with some bling-bling was the envy of the night! Also my "red neck jury" (jewelry) made from the box of safety pens from Wal-Mart was the Sax 5th (you know dat fan-ce stoe up air in New York City) of redneck fashion! My handsome hubby was looking handsome as ever wearing his " camel hump tie". You know the tie that has to go over your hump (belly)! To get the full effect of his outfit, you would have to see his "Beat Four Mr. Blue aka "duh disguise!" It was a fun night with many laughs......duh............

Kelly From Transylvania

2009-03-29T09:52:00.002-05:00

Guess who I am friends with? Kelly from Transylvania! How cool is that? Who would have ever thought that I would have met someone in my neck of the woods from Transylvania? Kelly is beautiful and the creative type. She's fun to talk to! I look forward to spending more time with her. Oh, did I happen to mention that she is from Transylvania Louisiana not Transylvania Romania? Wonder when I will meet someone from Paris or Hell? By the way, that would be Paris Missouri or Hell Michigan!

Tornado's in Mississippi

2009-03-26T09:24:00.007-05:00

Photo: What is left of a home in Magee Mississippi

The civil defense alarms awaken us at 12:45 AM and we took shelter in our hall. Thank the Lord we are OK! To the north of us by only a few miles, roofs are off of homes. These homes were hit by 100 mph straight winds. However, tornado's touched down in Magee and our daughter said that they are fine, but many homes are damaged and many people are being treated at a hospital. One Baptist church was destroyed. We thank the Lord for His protection! (Mary Jill travled through this town on Sunday)

Reunited

2009-03-25T14:50:00.005-05:00

Reunited for fun and fellowship! We packed our short visit with hugs, laughs, tears, rejoicing, homemade cheesecake, Blue Bell Ice Cream, power naps, shopping therapy, Barnes & Nobles coffee shop therapy as well as a time of prayer! We decided that Mary Jill would make a great southerner!

My World Was ROCKED

2009-03-15T15:49:00.007-05:00

For the past 2 Sunday's I've had a couple speaking engagements. This past Sunday I was the guest missionary in our children's church! I am always blessed in Praise and Worship. God has blessed ROL with a powerful P & W pastor and team. I wanted to stay in the grown up service to be a part of PW, but felt that since I was speaking in the children's church service, that I needed to go ahead to children's church. I was SO GLAD I did! MY WORLD WAS ROCKED! In their praise and worship time, I was trying to be a "cool grandma" by jumping around showing off a little energy. But when the 3rd song began, the spirit of intercession came on me as well as the kids. There was such pure worship sounding forth that I knew it was God moving in the house! I couldn't help but grab my camera and make a couple photos of some of the kids on their face before God.

Dedication Of Our Home

2009-03-14T15:57:00.007-05:00

This was a powerful time of prayer and fellowship as a group of

our brothers and sisters came over and dedicated our home and honored us with fellowship and gifts.

Get Motivated Seminar

2009-03-11T11:16:00.010-05:00

16,000 + people attended "Get Motivated" in downtown Jackson.

We (a group of us from church) went to serve in various areas. Not knowing anything about the organization, come to find out, it is owned and operated by Christians. While some worked the sales tables, other's worked the information booth, Ed and Pastor drove the golf carts that shuttled Zig Zigler, Dr Robert Schuler, former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Archi Manning, Tamra Low and others from one place to the other. A group of 5 of us spent our day in the Power Room where we were interceding for this conference.

Get Motivated is a business seminar that is used to sharpen business skills, ignite motivation and accelerate effectiveness! This was a powerful jam packed two days that we were happy to be a part!

1952 Super A International Tractor

2009-03-02T13:46:00.002-06:00

My brother in law restored this 1952 FarmAll. He has worked on it about 3 - 31/2 months. Unfortunately we didn't take a "before" picture when rusty and brown. New parts include muffler, seat, carburator, starter, and two front tires. The red paint is International Red paint. The right rear tire is dry-rotted and split and is still to be replaced. The old/new parts were ordered from a restoration supply company. Yeah Albert!

A Southern Snow

2009-03-01T14:50:00.006-06:00

"They" said it was going to snow! Now we all know who "they" are. For once, "they" were correct! Sure enough here in the deep south.......it snowed!

2 Beauties - A Beautiful Flag & A Sunset

2009-02-11T13:51:00.012-06:00

(Photo made by Kevin @ MSU Drill Field)

Hanging Out With The 20's.........

2009-02-09T14:47:00.010-06:00

As we are making our rounds to all of the e-life groups, we had fun hanging out with the twenty-something year old's! After E-Life we all made our way to our favorite Mexican restaurant. Someone got the bright idea to tell the Amigos that it was Josh's birthday. To say the least, Josh is a good sport! Thanks to Dusty, this moment was captured on camera!

Dad's 89th Birthday

2009-02-09T14:31:00.007-06:00

Family Photos of Dad's 89th Birthday Party