missing Mom

I bought the ham and potatoes for our Easter dinner.  It seemed rather strange not to be talking to Mom who was the extreme planner.  She usually had Easter planned before Christmas arrived.  This will be our first Easter without Mom and Dad.  I am especially missing Mom today.  It will be hard on us all but we will push through Easter just as we pushed through Christmas with the hope that as time passes the hurt will lessen.  The Masons always get together on Easter and so I will carry on the tradition as Mom had done it.  I actually have had it at my house a few times but Mom was always in charge.  I guess as the matriarch of the family I need to hone my planning skills.  I am just not as efficient as Mom.  We will miss Mom and Dad so much.  I also  appreciate that I had my parents for so many years when many lose their parents at such an early age.  Thank you Lord for all the years I had and help me to cherish those memories and that they might bring joy to my heart instead of the pain that they  now bring.  Time heals all wounds - I wonder if that is true when you lose a loved one? 

SELLING THE 5TH WHEEL

We finally sold our 2002 5th wheel today.  Of course it wasn't without complications.  I was so glad that Brian happened to be at the shop and he helped me through my moments of panic.  We had too many vehicles at the shop so Brian followed me home so I could leave a car and then we planned to go back to the shop.  Well Arliss asked Brian to get the propane tanks for the camper and I was to get the title.  Ok- no problem until I got the title out and there was still a lean listed on the trailer - eek!  We had paid that thing off in November of 2002 and I guess I forgot to get the title updated.   Well panic set in first - which usually happens to me.  I got in the pickup and Brian quietly encouraged me to think about what to do.  I first called the bank and they were willing to give us another lien release  but it would be a 5-7 day wait.  The lady was leaving town with the 5th wheel TODAY!  I suddenly thought of my safety deposit box.  Brian took me to the bank and we got into my box and I was frantically shuffling through papers when Brian handed me the lien release.  whew!  I dodged a bullet with that one.  He was rather amused at the way I panic first and think later.  He did however admit that he sometimes does the same thing.  He then drove me to the tag office where I got my signature notorized and made sure the lien release was all that was needed to get a clear title by the new owner.  Finally back to the shop and I was so thankful Brian had gone through that with me.  I still had to make a trip back home for the new tag that I forgot and oh yes Brian had to bring me back home once for the keys to the camper.  By the time the lady drove out with our camper and I had the check in hand to take to the bank it was 5:30 and I was emotionally exhausted.  Obviously not one of my best days for alertness.  Yea! We are very thankful to have the 5th wheel gone. 

Giving up too soon

Just as I lost hope of ever seeing a day with sunshine and no wind - the Lord gave us this most perfect Saturday.  I walked outside and just stood in amazement as the trees weren't swaying madly in the wind and my hair wasn't on top of my head.  I feel so grateful to the Lord as I desperately needed a day like this to give me the ability to keep hope alive when the next round of wild wind hits which it most certainly will but just like the rainbow at the end of the rain so is the beautiful day at the end of the wild winds of spring.   Shame on me for giving up one day too soon - the Lord willing I won't do that the next time.

The Weather

I have lived in Oklahoma pretty much my whole life and you would think that the wind would not get to me so much - but really - the March winds are now eating up April.  It is blowing 30-40 from the south one day and 30-40 from the north the next.  It is  really starting to get on my nerves.  I know the Bible says that we will have perfect peace if we put our trust in the Lord.  I am failing in this area.  For the life of me I can't get that perfect peace about the wild winds day after day after day - I'm sure I haven't prayed for patience- maybe someone else has and I am having to learn it too - oh NO!  what next.

THE RUN AWAY REMOTE

THE RUN AWAY REMOTE

I know that the days of turning channels and turning the TV on and off by hand are long gone. Now it is the battle of the remotes. I don’t know about you all but we have a special container for our remotes. There are at least 5 or 6 in our living room. Well this story takes place in the bedroom. Every night we turn the TV on in the bedroom while we are getting ready for bed and usually watch it a few minutes before going to sleep. Arliss of course is king of the remote and it stays on the night stand on HIS side of the bed. Well on this night, he reached for the remote and it wasn’t there. He looked on the floor and under the bed and even in the covers but no remote. He started asking me - Did you get MY remote? Did the Grandkids come over today? Did someone come to look at our house today? (We do have our house for sale). I had not touched his remote and no the grandkids were not here and who would come to look at a house and steal a remote. He started looking everywhere- in the mean time - I was now ready for bed and I walked over and actually used the “on” button -amazingly the TV came on. I tried to tell him to forget it for this night but he was on a mission. It just would be awful to have to manually turn off the TV. I got rather tickled at him but he left the bedroom and started the search through the house. Now the remote was found on the table beside his chair. He brings the remote to me thinking I had done it. Well I didn’t do it and to this day no one knows how the remote got there. I will say though that the fact that it was on the table beside HIS chair makes it pretty obvious to me who was the guilty party.
Now for a spiritual application. I know the Lord allows these things in my life to teach me and this was no different. We are a very missionary minded church and we have visiting missionaries all the time. We try to give them our best as we so admire the work for God that they have been called to do. We take up special offerings and send them to missionaries in need. It is all good in itself - but like the remote - it is an easy way to support missions without us having to actually touch it personally. Please don’t misunderstand, I think we need to do all that but it isn’t the end. In Acts 1:8 - It says we are to go to Jerusalem and Samaria and all parts of the world. Well the Jerusalem is our home town. Sometimes God doesn’t want us to just support missions by remote. He wants us to go to that neighbor and tell them about the Lord, or take the new comer list and go knocking on doors. How about handing out tracks or mailing them in our bills. Believe me I am preaching to myself as well.
This world we live in today has everything to make our life easy but at the same time we have become lazy. There is no substitution for hands on visiting with people and sharing the gospel one on one.
Now when you pick up the remote maybe you should try to think if God might have some “hands on” work for you to do instead.

CRAZY SPRING

I am so glad to turn the heat off AGAIN!  One day the a/c is on and the next day the heat - no wonder everyone is sick.  I know that sometimes Spring has a hard time settling in but this year it seems worse.  The March winds forgot to leave and the April showers forgot to come.  I have given up on trying to make my hair look decent as the wind is so wild and my hair just stands on top of my head the minute I step out - hey I just had an idea - I can forget doing my hair and then just blame the wind on how horrible it looks.  I am trying to remain thankful for the sun as last week the clouds covered the sky all week and yet no rain came from those clouds.  I know that the Lord is in control and we will eventually get some rain - hopefully before the whole state burns up but sometimes you wonder what the Lord has in mind.  I don't even pretend to understand the mind of God.  I guess that is why he wants us to have faith in Him since our little minds cannot comprehend the whole picture.  I therefore am deciding today to be THANKFUL FOR - BIG WIND - NO RAIN - AND CHANGING TEMPERATURES.  That's my decision and I am sticking with it - right?

THE INCREDIBLE INEDIBLE LEMON PIE

THE INCREDIBLE INEDIBLE LEMON PIE

　

It hurts me to have to admit to making an inedible pie, but it actually happened. Every month we have different hostesses for our ladies meeting. Well it was my time to be one. My job was to bring the table decorations and the dessert. I decided to make lemon pies. I knew it was time consuming but I wanted to do it. I think probably a little pride thing got in there too. I realized I needed to make the pie crusts on Sunday night so I could make pies early Monday morning. They need to sit for several hours before they are really ready to eat. I got home from church Sunday night and went right to the kitchen to make the crusts before my tired was all over me. As I rolled the crusts out I noticed how soft and pliable they were. I knew it was different but I told myself that I just got everything perfect this time - ha! That joke was on me for sure. I got up Monday morning and made the pies and they looked so beautiful and delicious . I proudly took my 3 pies to the meeting that night and looked forward to each lady eating my pies and I already heard the compliments in my head about how wonderful a pie I could make - again! Ha! The jokes on me! As we were preparing to serve I asked my daughter Lori to please cut the pies as I was doing other things. She got the knife and I looked over and saw her putting her whole body weight into pressing down on that knife. She finally said “Mom - what is wrong with the pie?” What! My perfect pie - wasn’t perfect - how could that be? Well immediately I remembered that I had doubled the recipe and I forgot to double the Crisco. Well if you ever wondered what Crisco does to your pie crust. I can tell you with great confidence that it gives the crust its tender flaky texture. I was so embarrassed. I encouraged the ladies to just eat the filling - which I must say did taste pretty well. I knew the Lord was bringing me up short for my prideful attitude. I also knew that there had to be an article out of this. Oh yes I took the pie home and got so tickled as Arliss took a piece and had his fork and was pushing with all his might to cut off a piece and all the while saying “I think the pie is fine I don’t see anything wrong” as he is groaning in his efforts to actually cut the crust. I had to laugh. That sweet husband actually ate the crust and tried to smile and encourage me that it wasn’t “THAT” bad.
Well now here is the spiritual application. I was thinking about how so many people today try to live a good life. They don’t beat their wives or cheat on their husbands. They take care of their family and give to charity. They are living a good clean life. They are thinking that their good life will prepare them for acceptance in heaven for eternity. I have had people say to me that surely God will see how good a person I am and understand and let me into heaven. Well if that were the criteria for heaven they would be right. God loves us so much and wants us to be in heaven with him but if we forget the one thing that actually gets us to heaven then it is all lost. Matthew 7:22-23 says Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity.
If we don’t know Christ then we can never be in heaven with Him. We live a good life because we know Christ - not because we are trying to work our way into heaven.
It is so sad that so many good intended people forget the one ingredient that will secure their eternity - salvation - trusting Christ as their personal Savior. Remember John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Now I may forget a vital ingredient in something else out there in the future as I seem to make mistakes over and over but one thing I know - I have the ingredient that will secure my place with the Lord in eternity - I have Jesus as my personal Savior - what about you? Have you secured your place in eternity - you must have that one vital ingredient or all is lost.