Am I on the right road?

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I had several places I wanted to go. Before the day was out, I had traveled through three counties and logged many miles. But it was a beautiful day and I love to drive. As I was going to my final destination of the day, I was traveling along a road I have only been on a few times in my life. I'm just beebopping along when it hit me...am I on the right road? My granddaughter was asleep in the backseat and Greater Vision was blasting on the radio. This was the beautiful view out my front window. Blue sky, green grass, not a car in sight. That's when it hit me. "I don't know where I'm going!" So I picked up the phone and dialed a dear friend and called to ask "How do I get from HERE to THERE?" Am I going the right way? Did I go to far? I was getting into a little of a panic mode. But she gave me good directions and I got to my destiny without mishap. I thank her for her guidance.

Is there a point to all this? Yes, there is. God works in mysterious ways. This was just another of life's little lessons.

I was going to do my blog this morning as Down an open road, BUT GOD, as my dear friend likes to say, had other plans. As I posted the photo, the words Am I on the right road? came to my mind. As I started typing, I began to realize that yesterday was just one more of those God moments. So often in life, we get lost in the effort of day to day struggles that we sometimes forget which road we are supposed to be traveling. Should I turn left? Should I turn right? Or should I just turn around and start all over again? Is the correct road right around the next corner or did I pass by my turn by being too cautious and missing the road sign? Do you struggle with what you should be doing? Which road you should be taking? Does God often put your turn signal on, but you hit your brakes to decide if you want to turn? When you are on the road of life, do you face each curve in the road, riding your breaks and expecting it to be one of those hairpin curves that puts butterflies in your tummy? We shouldn't. Instead, we should face those curves with our feet on the gas, full speed ahead and know that God is in control, He directs are paths and all we have to do is keep our hands on the wheel and follow His roadmap for us. If you do, I guarantee you will be in for the ride of your life

My morning musings.....

Musings: thoughts, especially when aimless

Well, that certainly sums up my brain this morning. I have only been up an hour and already had my mind running down about 17 different highways. I love Saturdays! I have so much I want to do and so many places I want to go today.

I am very excited about a local community yard sale at Catlettsburg school today. It is at the end of my road so no matter what my plans become, I can pop by there on my way out.

I want to go to Lifeway Christian Store today. I want to look for an old Dottie Rambo CD with the Holy Hills of Heaven on it.

I want to go to the Scrapbook Superstore - Discount location. I love that place. Everything is 50% off every day. And it is usually discontinued items that are already marked down and then at the register you get 50% off the lowest marked price. Last time, I got $47.00 worth of stuff for $8 something. I'm really excited about going there. I have a great idea for a craft for my next turn at Children's Church. I'll share it with you later.

If I'm at the Scrapbook store, I'll have to pop into Joanne's since it's in the same complex.

I also want to go to Kohl's. I really need to start looking for a new Easter dress. I am torn between a dress or a matching skirt/top set. Of course, what I want doesn't really matter, it's what I find that will fit this old body that usually gets purchased.

My dilemma is that 1/2 the stores I want to go to are in one direction and 1/2 are in the other direction. I just need to wrap my mind around a game plan.

Of course, if I head to Knoxville, I'll be right beside Target. And since their popcorn is my new weakness, I'm sure I'll have to pop in and have some. But I really want to head into Sevierville to the scrapbook store. Decisions, decisions.

Whew, I've worn myself out just thinking about what all I want to do today. I need a bowl of ice cream for breakfast to give me some energy!

Oh, well, it's Saturday. That's what it's for. Enjoy your day.

Today I'm linking to Jeremiah 29:11. Be sure and pay a visit and join the fun.

 

But by the grace of God I am what I am... - 1 Corinthians 15:10

 

Sometimes I can be so silly. Sometimes I can be so serious. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cry. Sometimes I take things with a grain of salt and sometimes I take them as a personal affront. Sometimes my husband will just look at me and shake his head and chuckle because of my reaction to something. When he does, I just smile, shrug my shoulders and say "You just gottat love me." which always cracks him up. But no matter what "mood" I'm in; no matter what fates befall me at a particular moment, I am what I am. A child of God. A product of His grace.

 

grace alone

which GOD supplies

strength unknown

HE will provide

CHRIST in us

our cornerstone

we will go forth in grace alone

One life - a little gleam of time between two eternities. - Thomas Carlyle

Definition: Gleam - A brightness in a person's eyes taken as a sign of a particular emotion

What puts a gleam in your eye? What are the "little things" that leave you with a smile, a tear of joy, a feeling that something has touched your heart? Here are some of the things that put a gleam in my eye....

• The laughter of my grandchildren as they play
• A small little hand reaching down to pick that first flower of spring and then handing it to me
• A child's smile
• The look in my husband's eyes when he watches me
• The smile of a loved one who hasn't seen you in a while
• A blessing from an old southern gospel song
• A card in the mail from my sister
• A quick note or phone call from a dear friend
• The suns rays as they burst through the cloudy sky
• An eagle as it soars through the sky proud and free
• The Star Spangled Banner
• A hand holding mine
• A hug
• The words "Good job!"
• Driving through the country side with my window down and music blasting
• A good bargain
• My mom staying all night and telling me she loves me at bedtime
• Memories of my daddy
• Just being silly with my family
• My children and their family coming to visit
• The smell of a new baby doll
• The sounds of the birds on a quiet summer day
• The ocean
• The rain on the roof
• The first butterfly of the season
• Going barefoot through the grass

Any time life gets to you and you start feeling overwhelmed, just stop and ponder on the things that bring a gleam to your eye. I guarantee it will be a great pick me up.

Come on, get happy.....

When my two year old granddaughter doesn't get as much attention as she thinks she should get, she drops her head and mumbles "I so sad." Very pathetic. So somebody picks her up and says "What's the matter, sweetheart?" Her head bounces up, her smile gets big and bright and she says "I not sad anymore. I happy."

Oh, to be able to bring ourselves out of the blues that easy. I have noticed that if I get tired or a little down, if my day is not going exactly how I want, I have a tendency to get "so sad". I have come up with some little tricks I use that make me "not sad anymore" and boost my spirits. I thought I'd share some of them with you. They are some good little pick-me-ups.

1. Stop and fix yourself a cup of hot chocolate. Take a 5 minute break and look out your window while you slowly sip on it.

2. Take a bubble bath. Let Calgon take you away. Soak in a tub of steaming bubbles to ease the aches and pains. Light a candle and grab a good book or that new magazine you have been wanting to read.

3. Go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search for one of your favorite upbeat songs and crank it up and sing along or get up and dance to it. This will not only improve your mindset but will count as exercise.

4. Give yourself a manicure. Be daring. Find some bright pinks or ruby reds. Currently, mine are lavendar. I have some pale yellow, a copper, a silver, and a light blue hidden among my normal light pinks and tans. All guaranteed to bring a smile to my face. I love typing and glancing down and seeing my "wild" nails. At least they are wild for a grandmother of 5.

5.  Rearrange something in your decor. Maybe move a knick-knack to a new area or simply reorganize a whole design setting. Just changing what you look at every day can be a mood booster.

6. Quote an uplifting bible verse.

7. Sing a silly song from your childhood: "This old man" or "My Mother Sent me to the Store".

8. Wash your hands really good and apply some of your favorite smelling lotion. It's strange, but if my hands feel good; I feel good.

9. Grab your binoculars and scour the trees to do a little bird watching.

10. Just breathe. Stand up, stretch your arms to the ceiling. Take a deep breath and relax for a couple of minutes and then get back to the task at hand.



Tuesday Teasers

Back in the heart-throb days of my teenage years, I had many teen idols. Some were singers; some were actors. Some were a little of both. I thought it would be fun to post 10 of my favorite ones I remember from way back when and see who can remember them. You can leave it as a comment or email me at brendakeefere@comcast.net. I would be curious to see who you remember.

#1

#2



#3

#4

#5

 #6

#7

#8

#9

#10



My weekend....

Thanks to everyone for the anniversary wishes yesterday. We had the best day together. Even with the dreary rain. It rained the day we got married so it brought back fond memories. He surprised me late Saturday night with a beautiful soft yellow and white sweater and then took me to get my new Donna Sharp purse yesterday at The Maples Tree. We had a romantic dinner together in a cozy restaurant and even got to sit in front of the fireplace that was burning. It was an awesome day (of course, we ended up at Walmart before the day was out.) Here is my purse...

(I'm going backwards on my weekend, but I wanted to share my Saturday as well.) The day started off with my Olan Mills Portrait session for our church directory. I have been dragging my heels and basically kicking and screaming all the way because I detest having my picture made. The last one I had done by a professional photographer was my twins first birthday (around Christmas). I was having pics made of the babies and they suggested I sit in one of them. Their Godparents bought it and it still hangs over their bed 32 years later. But I hated it. But this guy Saturday was awesome. I actually for one time in my life liked my picture. Of course, all I ordered was the one free 8 x 10 because my family knows what I look like and I wouldn't give my picture out to anybody else. But without sounding conceited, it did turn out well.

I got a great bargain when I went shopping Saturday thanks to my wonderful niece Amy in Parkersburg. It went like this....

I thought I needed a new tablecloth so I posted on my blog what I was thinking of doing.

My niece, Amy, saw it and called me the next day all excited. Kohl's was having a 40% off sales on their plaid tablecloths! Plan A - go to Kohl's after portrait setting was launched into action.

Saturday, I made a trip to Kohl's. Went to the one I THOUGHT I wanted based on what I saw on-line. I didn't like it. Was walking away disappointed when I went down the next aisle and found one I loved. It's hard to find the 102" length and they had it in that length. It was regularly $29.99 on sale for $17.99. I snatched it up. Walked straight to the checkout. The girl rang it up and said, "That will be $13.08." WHAT?? It turned out that it fell into one of their sales categories that day that gave 35% off the lowest price, making the actual cost before tax.....$11.99! Since I had a short supply of SSC (Saturday shopping cash), I had went in with my mind believing I was going to find what I wanted at a price I was willing to pay. God is so good. He is in everything we do. You know how I am about faith and I approach everything in my life with "in faith believing". Just one more example that FAITH does come through in all areas of our life. My daughter dropped me at the door and I popped out of the car with "I'm just going to run in and get a tablecloth and be right back." It's the little things I have faith in that never cease to amaze me when they come true.

Thank you, Amy, for looking out for your Aunt B!  With new rugs from Walmart for $5.00 each and some springy items setting around my house, I have now turned my kitchen from this....

 to this.....

Hope everybody has a wonderful week!