We whine....

We whine when we don't like what's for supper....when just down the street a homeless person digs through trash to find a morsel to make into a meal.

 We whine when gas is $3.73 a gallon....and a guy down the street is losing his car because he can't make the payments?

We whine when the pollen is bad and our allergies act up....yet, someone with emphysema is fighting for every breath they take.

 We whine because we are tired and our legs and back ache....yet someone paralyzed would trade anything to be able to feel their legs.

We whine when things don't go our way at work....when the family next door is about to lose the only income they have.

 We whine because of the drama others put us through....yet the elderly and shut-ins go days at a time with no one in their life, lonely and all alone.

 We whine because we don't have enough time in our day....yet the single lady down the road counts the minutes until bedtime because she is depressed and lonely, with nothing to do and no one to talk to.

 We whine because our kids get too rowdy and noisy....yet the deaf parent yearns for just one chance to hear those sweet words "I love you" from their precious child.

 We whine because the sun's too bright or it's too gloomy outside....yet the blind mother would give anything to watch her daughter walk down the aisle.

 We whine over every single little thing in our life....yet there are many out there who would trade everything just to have one moment, one little fraction of the things God has blessed us with.

That is why I try so hard to maintain my Pollyanna attitude; to see the blessings I have and to thank God daily. How many times in your life have you seen or heard of hardships and thought "There but for the grace of God, go I." It is time to put aside our petty grievances, our whining and complaining and start being thankful for the little things that "get to us". Be glad that you are in the position you are in where you have a life that is filled with the "little things". It's time to put on our big girl panties and get over ourselves. Deal with what you can and leave the rest to God. There are so many that are so much worse than us. Paul said it best in Philippians 4:11-13 (NKJV)

"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

One thing leads to another.....

It doesn't take much to make me happy. Yesterday, I picked a few of my tea roses and put them in my little 25 cent yard sale pitcher. I placed them on my desk so I could enjoy them all day. 

I was happy.

Until I noticed the desk needed dusting so I cleaned everything off and gave it a good coat of Pledge.

That made me notice that I was tired of the way the desk was organized so I rearranged everything and dusted down the file trays and pencil holder.

But that made me notice that the dry erase boards beside the desk were a little too disorganized so I went through and erased what had been completed.

Then that made me notice that the bulletin board was a little crowded so I pulled down any old notes. I like the results. I am happy again.

I stood back and looked at my nice clean work area and out of the corner of my eye I noticed that I had some books laying around the book shelf and had not put the pack and play or the kids toy box back in the closet. So I rearranged things to get them back in the closet.

That made me see some things on the shelf in the closet that we don't use any more.

That reminded me that I'm participating in a yard sale in two weeks and haven't gathered my items to sale yet.

That made me think "Why in the world did I pick those three little roses this morning?"

Apparently, we have to pay a price for happiness.

Have a great day today!

I won't let go....

My blog today is dedicated to ..... 

Those parents fighting an illness of their child

Those children dealing with the aging of a beloved parent

Those caring for the ones whose bodies are full of disease

Those who are dealing with a family member with Alzheimers

Those who are suffering depression and anxiety
Those who are sick
Those who are trying to find their way back home
Those who are protecting our country
Those who have more on their shoulders than they feel they can handle

Those who are facing job situations and financial challenges
Those whose lives are torn apart from tragedy and grief
Those who simply are looking for a shoulder to lean on
Those who feel they have nowhere to turn

My prayer for you is that you have someone who will stand by you and won't let go.

Never forget there is ONE who is  willing to shoulder your trials and ease your burden. ONE who is always there for you and will always care. ONE who can heal the sick. ONE who will stand by you and won't let go. May God bless and keep you in His infinite care no matter what life throws your way. Listen to the words of this song and imagine Jesus saying these words to us

Busy about the business of being....

Do you ever have those times when life is just so good that you realize you are very content and happy with your lot in life? Those times when despite the bills, the worries, the stress, you are just happy to be alive?

I was reading a book today and one of the sentences said "She was just glad to get busy about the business of being." I loved that remark. That is how my weekend has been. Just a wonderful time to enjoy the little things in life. A couple of days out of the hustle and bustle. Spending time just simply "being".....

.....Tryng to get a good picture of five grandchildren.....

.....an inquisitive zebra who was fascinated with getting his picture made..... 

....telling the grandkids to get together so I could get their picture....and having the goat "kids" doing it instead....(this one cracked me up, they are all watching and posing)

 .....realizing your tea roses are blooming and you haven't even worked on them this year.....

 .....having a plant that died last year just burst back to life unexpectedly.....

 .....the sunsetting over the tree tops in majestic splendor Sunday night.....

.....the laughter and excitement of playing with our baby grandson.....

Life is too short not to enjoy the precious moments that come our way. Too short to waste on worrying about what others think. Too short to waste energy on deciphering what others mean. Too short to stress about situations where we have no control. Too short to spend so much time planning life that we let it pass us by. Do something fun and frivolous today. Take 10 extra minutes to toss a ball with a dog, roll out some yarn for the cat, call a friend just to chat or call a loved one just to let them know you are thinking about them. Life matters. Be sure and live yours while you can.

My life, my world, my heart.......

My grandbabies.....

I wonder if they have any idea how much I love them or how much they mean to me.

Sentimental Saturday

A pictures worth a thousand words...or in this case a thousand tears. My cousin recently posted some old pictures on Facebook and there were some I had never seen before. When I opened the folder and saw this one, I bawled like a baby.

 A million memories flashed back. This was the back porch at what we all called "The Old House". Memories of summers spent playing under the weeping willow (yes, that is where my love of willows comes from). Memories of chicken frying in the kitchen, sweet tea in the pitcher, and Mamaw making us Inky Binky Boos from Papaw's work socks (they are now known as sock monkeys, but Mamaw had her own version and every grandchild had one. That's my Papaw on the left. He died when I was only 5, but I do have memories of him but nobody has very many pictures so this one just took me by surprise. That's my two aunts up in the chairs. Frances on the left and Mary (Dee Dee) on the right. The woman setting beside Papaw is my precious mother. Of course, if you would look close at her feet, you can tell we are related.....FLIP FLOPS. How funny is that? I forgot about her love of "floppies" until I saw this.

I can imagine this day in my mind. I bet they had been inside doing dishes after a big family meal. To escape the heat, they went out to the back porch. Notice Mom still has her sweet ice tea with her. Us grandkids (would have been 9 of us at that time) were probably out in the yard running and playing or on the front porch, playing house and pretending we were the "Rimmer Girls". They were neighbors of Mamaw's that were in high school and we adored them. I always had to be Mary Jane because she was so beautiful and cool. I still see the Rimmer Girls when I go back to West Virgina on visits. And we always laugh about growing up. Oh, such precious memories.

This next picture is Grandma & Grandpa Adkins in their early years. They were Mamaw's parents. My first thought when I saw this was that Grandpa looked a lot like Matthew McConaughey. :)

She posted many more and they all brought a tear or a smile to my face. But Blogger is being tempermental today and won't let me post. It keeps locking up. So I'll save more for another day. In the meantime, I'm going to spend the day today making memories for my grandbabies. We are taking all five of them to the Deer Farm and Petting Zoo in Sevierville. They will be able to get right in the pen with the deer and feed them from their hands. They can also get in the goat pen and play with the baby goats. I just have to remember to pull the girls' hair up on their head. First time we went there, Alexis had two pony tails and when she bent down to pet the goats, I noticed one was chewing on her hair. We had to wrap the pony tails up like Princess Leah buns on side her head. Don't worry I'm armed with bobby pins today for her and Shelby. Then after the zoo trip, my son's three will be spending the night. It's the first time all three have spent the night since Colby was born. He will be 7 months old tomorrow. It will be the very first time that all 5 of my grandchildren will get to go to Sunday School and church with me. I am so excited about showing off all my beautiful babies at one time. I'm pretty sure that singing in the choir in the morning is not going to be an option. :)

I hope everybody has a blessed and wonderful weekend.



Does God Still Perform Miracles?

I'm linking to Jeremiah 29:11for Fantastic Friday

Does God still perform miracles? If you have any doubt, sit down and have a conversation with my dear friend Norma. She is a walking, talking, BREATHING example of just how powerful our God is. On April 26, Norma celebrated her anniversary as a lung transplant recipient. At the time of her operation, the doctors encouraged her by telling her, that with proper care, the transplant might add another 5 years to her life. That was 8 years ago and she is still going strong.

Norma has shared her story with me and I would like to kick off my new series of Faith Filled Friday blog posts by letting you know a little about her story.

In November of 1992, Norma’s lungs completely quit working right. She had gotten a headache like nothing she had ever experienced. After being hospitalized for a week, she was released to come home on oxygen 24/7. She had been diagnosed with Emphysema/COPD. Years of working in jobs with dust, chemicals, cleaning supplies and gas/diesel fumes in addition to her years of smoking had damaged her lung beyond repair. Her smoking stopped that day. In 1994, she had a transtracheal system installed to take oxygen directly to her lung and in 1995 had to undergo lung reduction surgery. As an independent person who would spend the last 3 years out of 11 years on oxygen seldom leaving home, this was a huge adjustment for Norma. Friends helped when they could. Her life was confined to the walls of her home, only leaving long enough for the necessary trips to the doctor.

In October 2002, Norma was evaluated at Vanderbilt Transplant Clinic in Nashville, TN to see if the rest of her organs could withstand the necessary lung transplant that was needed to save her life. On November 12, 2002 she was listed on the national registry for one lung transplant. In December 2002 and February 2003, she had two dry runs for transplant, but neither lung was viable. But on April 26, 2003, she received her brand new lung. The Learning Channel was filming the “Resident Life” series at the hospital and they broadcast her transplant. She was able to later watch the removal of her old, dead lung (mostly black in color) and watch the miracle of her new lung turn a beautiful shade of pink as the air was put into it. After around 15 days in the hospital, she was released to a local apartment with no oxygen, breathing on her own and holding an oxygen saturation of 95% and better. She laughingly recalls that “I couldn’t wait till I got home and called the oxygen supply people to ‘come and get these tanks!” She had one mild rejection, which was common, but they got everything straightened out. She did so well with her transplant that on July 15, 2003 (less than 2 months after her transplant) she was allowed to return home to her own house with no care or assistance.

When she was finally released to drive, her very first trip was to church on Sunday morning. In her own words, “I thank God everyday for giving the doctors the knowledge to do this life saving transplant, my donor family the desire to donate, and me the willingness to accept this great gift and the desire to honor my donor’s memory. It is beyond my understanding why one person lives, and another passes. But I have faith in God's perfect plan, and I agree; Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake. I have faith that there is a reason. Please pray for me to see the plan that God is wanting fulfilled. Maybe it is just to let everyone know that transplants work to save lives. Maybe it is just to give my testimony before you. I feel that without all the prayers that went up for my successful surgery and recovery, I could not have done as well as I have. I am living proof that transplants work. God has been so good to me.”

So here we are eight years later and three years longer than the doctors predicted. Norma still lives alone. She cleans her house, does her grocery shopping and drives wherever she needs to go. She runs the library at our church and is an active member of the WMU at church. Her great faith in God and His healing powers have guided her through some tough times, but she will be the first to tell you that no matter what curve life throws you, God is STILL God and you must always place your faith and trust in His hands. He is STILL in the miracle business.

You can learn more about Norma’s story by visiting her website on Angel Fire.

Thank you Ms. Norma for stopping by today and letting us tell your story. You are a real inspiration to every who knows you.

(NOTE: This is the launch of my new "Faith Filled Friday" posts. If you are anyone you know has a story of faith to share, please email me at mamawsplace@gmail.com. I would love to tell the world of the miracles God brings to our lives every day.)