A Beautiful Day

Good afternoon Lovely people.     I hope and pray that where ever you are on this planet, that you are having a beautiful day and that you recognize this is a day that Lord has made and He made it just for us!!!     Yes and Amen!!!!

I haven't done anything overly special today.    I planted seeds in my latest GreenStalk.   An upright planter with 4 tiers to fill full of wonderful veggies.    I just pray Gods blessings over my feeble efforts and I know if anything grows, it's because He heard my prayers.     I assure you I know nothing about gardening.    hahaha      But I do know that God is faithful. 

I worked on my yogurt that I started last night in Instant Pot.    I put it in the fridge to get it cooled down and now I have it in my flour sack cloth lined strainer basket, draining the whey from it to make greek yogurt.   It will be delicious!!!

I made a grocery order from Kroger and had that delivered a couple hours ago.    I have that out of the way till I make my Aldi order later on this week.     There's thing's I prefer from Kroger and things I prefer from Aldi.

I've been on face book quite a bit today responding to Happy Birthday wishes today.      While I'm not crazy about big celebrations, I do enjoy the quick responses and well wishes from family, friends, acquaintances and friends of family members and their well wishes.    That brings lots of joy.    Sharing old pictures and funny pictures and reminiscing of days gone by and a simpler time.

As I reflect on the years I've been on this planet, I have a lot to be thankful for.   And I am most thankful and grateful to God for every day of my life thus far and look with great anticipation to the days ahead.    I have no idea what they will bring.    I imagine there will be joy in the days ahead.    No doubt, there will be lots of fun and laughter.    I can just imagine, too, that there will pain and heart ache in the days ahead.     I have no idea what lay ahead.    One thing I do know for sure, God is already there!!!     He is working ahead of me.     He is designing my steps.     He is my plan keeper.    I don't know what the plans are, but He does.     So with that in my mind, I can face each day as they come and know that nothing is a surprise to God.

The days and times in which we live are unsettling to say the least.    As I struggle with all of it, my mind and heart easily slips from today to yester-year and thoughts of home, family, friends, brothers, parents, grandparents, home places, cousins, aunts and uncles and all those things oh so familiar, but some are long gone.   Those are things that make it home, no matter where you are.

I can pull out the picture albums and go right back to that little kid.     Quiet, shy, reserved, an observer,  hard, serious, a thinker, awkward, goofy, silly, but also someone who felt and still feels things deeply.  While this is going to sound silly and childish, when one of my seedlings in my little garden doesn't make it, I wonder what I done to kill it.     And that makes me sad.      In reality, it shouldn't, but it does.

So you can certainly understand why the events of the recent past are so unsettling.     I was reared to have respect for certain things.  Other people, people in authority, even titles of people deserved respect.     I didn't talk back to the elders around me.     If I done something that merited a spanking, I got it.     There wasn't anyone that would or could stop my Momma from dispensing correction, when correction was due.   You know what????     I am so thankful for that!!!!!    I'm so thankful that my Momma loved me and my 5 brothers enough to discipline us!!!      I truly am!!!      It breaks my heart to see people that I know who have not had one second of correction in their lives.     I really hate to say it, but what we see today is no discipline producing no discipline     That is such a hard thing to say, but it is truth.   

The Bible clearly states in several places and not necessarily in my words, but correction is a good thing and when correction is spared the child is spoiled.     That is true.     While I can't give you an example of Momma spanking me, I know she did.     I also know she spanked my brothers.    She spanked the children she kept while their parents worked.     If someone didn't want their child spanked, they found another babysitter.     My Momma would spank your child when necessary or you got another babysitter.   End of story.    hahaha   

I remember we would go to visit neighbors and friends back when we was all little.     When we was all in the car, my Momma would lay the law down to us about behaving.   She might even tell us before we got in the car, but she always TOLD us before hand.   More than likely, while visiting, she would never say a word, but she had a look and we all knew that LOOK.  When we had received that look, we knew we was in trouble when we got home, most of the time there wasn't a discussion.    We knew why we got the look, we was just praying she would forget that she had to use the look.     She never did.    We knew we would get our hide tanned and we did.     Fortunately for us, we were quick and easy learners.    It didn't happen often, but it did happen a time or two.    To the best of my knowledge, no one we ever visited when we was all young ever dreaded seeing us come to their house.     I don't reckon we ever had any critical words from neighbors, family and friends.    That is something that I'm proud of today!!!     But I can tell you there were some that came to our house and we dreaded to see them coming and was thrilled to see them leaving. 

As kids, we was always so happy when some of our cousins came to visit.     Didn't matter if they lived up the road or in other states, we was so excited to see them all.     They were taught to behave like we were.   I love all the memories that was made back then.    Time has passed and some of my cousins are no longer with us and that breaks my heart.    With the passage of time, as of right now on this day, my Momma is the last one living of her generation.     Daddy is gone and all my Aunts and Uncles on both sides of my family are now gone.    That is such a lonely thought, that my Momma is the last one standing.    I pray she has many more healthy years left in her.    I believe she does.     But I also know she is lonely.    While she still has lots of friends, there's just something different about family and she feels it.

My Momma worked harder than any other mother I know of anywhere.     She done without, so we could have school clothes.     She was always last on the list for anything.     Didn't make any difference what it was, she came last.     She put herself there.    She put herself last.     She has no regrets for anything she done for us.     She was always on our side.    She always wanted to see her children succeed.     She helped her children succeed. 

My Daddy worked all his life.    He was gone before sun up and home around 5 pm every day, just like clock work.    He provided for his family.     He taught his children about work and gave us all a work ethic that none can compare.    He worked.   That was his job.     He set an example.     That too, was his job.    He never called in sick.     He worked.     It's not easy providing for a household of 8.    If you think it is, go try it.     See how hard it is.     We took no government handouts.     They were available.    We took no government handouts.     No free lunches.     Nada.     Zilch.     He worked.    He set an example.     That's what some men done back then.   They worked.    They set an example.

Fast forward to today.     What are Momma's and Daddy's doing?     Rioting, killing, stealing, spitting on police officers, breaking things that's not theirs, collecting welfare, tearing down, destroying, taking, cursing, standing in hand out lines, being belligerent, hurting others, killing babies, screaming inequality.     They too are setting an example. 

Oh Lord God take control of this nation!!!    Please put a burden and desire in the hearts of ALL parents to do right by their children.     Please help them and all of us to see the error of our ways that comes from turning a deaf ear.     I pray that you put a miraculous end to the hate filled hearts.   I know you can Lord!!!    I know you can.     I feel the call of angels from heavens shore because I don't feel like I'm at home down here anymore.      I don't know that I can say that this ever felt like home, but it certainly feels less and less like home.    I am so thankful for the days behind me.    All of them, even the bad days and there have been plenty of bad days.     Every day I've lived to this day has helped make me the person I am today.     So, yes, I'm thankful for the days behind me.     I do look with great anticipation to the days ahead.     The days behind me showed me that God was there, so I know He will be in my days ahead.     I pray He will give me what is necessary to make it thru each day till He calls me home or till He calls us all home.     With His faithfulness in the past, I know He will be faithful in the future and that He is already there, making a way.    He is the Way Maker!!! 
So, today, I reminisce of days gone by and I look to the unknown days ahead.    But I do it all knowing that God has seen every day of my life to this day and He will be my guide and companion thru the days ahead.    He will count all my joys and laughs and happiness.    He will also catch and count all the tears that slip down cheeks.    Just as He has done in the past, so will He do in the days ahead.    My God is faithful!!   Me, not so much!!      But my God is!!!

I don't know what you think of today's blog.    This was just something I needed to write down for me and decided to share it with y'all.    I hope you all know my God and have a personal relationship with Him.    That would be a wonderful birthday present, just knowing that someone seen the God that I serve as someone they wanted to serve too.     Jesus made the way for us to be in relationship with God.    Jesus saved my soul.     Jesus made me whole.     He can do the same for you.    Acknowledge your sin, repent of your sin, ask Jesus to come into your life.   He will.   Then you will be in right relationship with God thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

I love you all.   As much I love all of you, just know that God loves you so much more than I ever could.     I pray you have a beautiful rest of the evening, a wonderful rest filled night and if you are blessed to wake in the morning, I pray you will give God glory for it!!!   hugs and love, patty