You Know You Are In The Country..

Going to the family reunion over the 4th was fun but it also provided some humor that I thought you could truly appreciate. I know that my sister-in-law and I got a big kick out of it.

First of all, if you are going to have a family reunion in Mississippi, do NOT call your family photo session "Clan Pictures". There is something just WRONG about that on every level.

You know you have arrived in the country when your directions include making turns by the broken toilet. Yes, I took this photo as proof that I am not kidding. My BIL missed his turn home because he couldn't see the toilet in the dark. See? They can't clean it up or my BIL couldn't find his way home!

Politics are alive and well everywhere --- even in the country. We are driving along on roads that look like this...

And even sometimes we were driving on roads that looked like this...

But then all of a sudden for a .7 mile stretch of road we were driving on THIS...

Right in front of the County Supervisor's House!!! Who said politics isn't alive and well EVERYWHERE!!!

Because after the .7 miles it looked like this...

Gotta love it!     Tax dollars at work.

Words Unspoken

 

Book Review:  When you are a teenager the world is perfect.   What could go wrong?    Unfortunately a lot as Lissa realizes after her mother is killed in a tragic accident right before her eyes.    Everything that she planned for her future are laid to the side as she becomes trapped in her own room of guilt.

During her process of trying to recover she meets a driving instructor who is dealing with his own past issues.   While dealing with her fear of driving, they discover that being trapped in the car give them a great change to open up about their emotional fears as well.    

 

 "Words Unspoken" was not an easy read for me.    Not to say it wasn't a good book because it absolutely was, but I had to read it in pieces to be able to digest it all.    It gave me a lot to think about.      How choices from your past affect your future.  How depression affects all ages.    How there is no such thing as "coincidence".     Those aren't new thoughts for me but things I wanted to think about again.

Such a well written book and I look forward to reading more of Elizabeth Musser's books!

Book Description:    Whose voice will she listen to?   A mysterious bestselling novelist, a depressed teen, an eccentric driving instructor, a rogue stock broker, a socialite in trouble, a weary missionary, a desperate book editor. . .

Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee during the frenzy of the stock market crash of 1987, Words Unspoken introduces a cast of unforgettable characters who must choose whether to listen to voices that entice them towards greed, depression, and anger or to a still small voice that offers hope.

Read the Prologue and Chapters 1&2 Here

Still... The Only One

 

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

I am so proud to be your wife.    

The past 19 years as your wife 

have been the happiest of my lifetime.

You're still the one 

I want to love forever.

You're still the one 

I want to wake up with every morning

and snuggle with every night.

The one I want to share my dreams with, 

build castles in the air with,

the one whose hand I want to hold when I'm afraid,

whose shoulder I want to lean on when I need support.

You're still the one 

I want to encourage to make your own dreams come true,

the one I want to comfort when you need a source of strength,

the one I want to hold close always.

You're still the one,

the only one,

I want to love forever!

Deanna

He Did It Again

My hubs is sweet to me all the time.    He spoils me on holidays and on my birthday and Mother' Day.   He makes sure I have time to relax and don't have to cook.    But when it comes to our anniversary he considers it "our" day.     


As you read this our boys are at their Grandma and Grandpa's house.    We are in Memphis for some time together.       Hubs planned this time together.      My special surprise?     We are going to see "WICKED"! 

 

I have wanted to see this musical for quite a while now.    If you know hubs you would know what a gift this truly is.      Musicals are not at the top of his list of favorite things to do, but because he loves me and wanted to do something special for me he bought me tickets.       

I intend to wickedly spoil him for this special gift!!

Crazy Songs With Mom

I don't know what it is about summer.   Maybe it is all the camps going on, but all these songs I learned growing up keep popping into my head.     My boys think they are hysterical and they are convinced I am just making some of them up.     Sometimes at night when it is bedtime they will say "Sing us another crazy song you learned growing up!"   

You guys are going to have to post and let them know you have heard of some of these!

The song that started it out...

I’m bring home my baby bumble bee
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me
I’m bring home my baby bumble bee
Ouch! It stung me!

I’m smashing up my baby bumble bee
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me
I’m smashing up my baby bumble bee
Ugh! What a mess!

I’m licking up my baby bumble bee
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me
I’m licking up my baby bumble bee
Eww! I feel sick!

I’m puking up my baby bumble bee
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me
I’m puking up my baby bumble bee
Yuck! What a mess!

I’m sweeping up my baby bumble bee
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me
I’m sweeping up my baby bumble bee
Well, I won’t do that again!

 

 **********************************************

Let's dig a hole.   Let's dig a hole.  Let's dig a hole and put the devil in it.

Let's dig a hole.   Let's dig a hole.  Let's dig a hole and put the devil in it.

God made man. Man made the money.  

God made the bees.   Bees made the honey.

God made the devil and the devil made sin.

So let's get the devil and throw him right in it.

Let's dig a hole.   Let's dig a hole.  Let's dig a hole and put the devil in it.

Let's dig a hole.   Let's dig a hole.  Let's dig a hole and put the devil in it.

I can't tell you how many times I have sung this song when the song have asked what is for supper...

Fried Ham
Fried Ham
Cheese and Bologna
After the macaroni
They’ll be pickles
Ketchup and onions
After the ham
Fried Ham
Fried Ham

**********************

Father Abraham
Had seven sons (Seven sons)
And seven sons had Father Abraham
They never laughed (HA! HA!)
They never cried (BOO! HOO!)
All they did was go like this:
With a: Left Arm, Right Arm, Left Leg, Right Leg, Hips, Head, Tongue, Turn around, Touch the ground, Sit Down
(Each time you sing through this, add one additional motion and continue doing through the verse.)

******************************

(To the tune of "We Will Rock You")

Jesus was a cool dude,
40 days with no food,
Then he wrote the golden rule and that's O.K.
He's got love on his face,
Full of grace!
He's spreadin' his word all over the place!
Singin', We will, we will
Praise him yeah, praise him WOO (2x)

 

*********************************************

 

To the tune of batman theme song...

na na na na na na na na Thank You Jesus
na na na na na na na na For the food Jesus

 

(Hey, it was camp.... and we were kids!)

Summer Camp.... Good Times!

WFW: Freedom in Truth

 

I will walk about in freedom for I have sought out your precepts.

Psalm 119:45

Hubs and Big Guy just returned from their Father/Son weekend.     It is a true guy's weekend.    Lazer tag, go-carts, golf, fishing, swimming, movies, and bowling.     There is no schedule.     Big Guy said that they both woke up at 2 in the morning one night and couldn't sleep so they just got up and watched a movie.     

My hubs is one amazing man.     This weekend is a bonding experience for he and the boys, but it is so much more.    It is a precept weekend.      Each year that they have been going he has been sharing and teaching them a little bit more of what it means to be a man of integrity and "grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" like Jesus did in Luke 2:52.     

It is our prayer that our boys will discover more and more the freedom that can ONLY be found in following the truths that God has given us.    

Surrender All

Book Review: I was contacted by Larry Ross Communication and asked if I would review a book written by Joni Lamb. It is my understanding that she has a television show, but I have personally never heard of her. The main reason I agreed to review this book was because of the title, "Surrender All".

Unlike the common saying, I DO believe in judging a book by its cover because of the fact that it reflects a lot of the publisher, author and sometimes intent of the book. Seeing Ms. Lamb's publicity shot on the cover of the book bothered me when the intent of the book was "Surrender All".

Ms. Lamb has a beautiful story and definitely an incredible testimony. All of us go through and experiences in our lives, but being able to develop a life of complete surrender is something that so many fail to reach. Ms. Lamb's heart for seeing others experience the freedom that can only come from Christ comes across in her writing. She states easily some of the foundational truth that each of us need to be reminded of during times of crisis: God will never leave or forsake you.; God's timetable is not our timetable.; God's desire is to see us love Him and accept all He offers us.

There were moments when I wish Ms. Lamb would have been a little less "self absorbed" in her writing, but overall this is a book that held great encouragement.


Book Description:

Incredible things happen when you give up control.

As a young wife and mom-to-be, Joni Lamb never imagined a dream and Duct tape could launch a growing television network and career as host of two programs that reach millions of viewers worldwide every day with help, hope, and wisdom. Then a simple act of surrender to God helped her use ordinary things to achieve her extraordinary dreams.

That same simple act can help you find unshakeable peace, incredible power, and confident purpose too. Surrender All contains practical know-how and Joni’s remarkable story of how giving up control to God can…

• deepen every relationship,
• buoy any career,
• strengthen all finances,
• restore your health;
• get you through great loss or failure.

Drawing upon her experiences as a wife, mother, and television personality, Joni also shares the inspiring stories of others, celebrities and everyday folk, who found fresh hope in difficult circumstances by surrendering all:

• the couple whose marriage was fully restored–two years after their divorce,
• the mother whose faithful prayers for her drug-dealing son received an unexpected answer,
• the romance novelist who surrendered her career and found a whole new level of success,
• and the renowned sportscaster whose alcohol addiction nearly destroyed his life…until he chose to believe that God had greater plans for his future.

You can step confidently into your own divinely-designed destiny, Joni’s story reveals; she comes alongside to show you the way to making real the dreams of a heart willing to Surrender All.

Getting Ready For The Weekend

Hubs' family has a reunion every couple years during the 4th of July weekend. Obviously, it is easy to decorate for the reunion with such a huge holiday.

I don't know what your reunions are like, but hubs' reunions are like nothing I have ever seen before. Your first reunion can be very overwhelming to say the least. Donald's family isn't just grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles. There are eleven "divisions" of the family. There is Harold, Henry, Edward, etc... I won't name them all. Obviously this means a LOT of people which means we need a big space. We stay at the family church campground WAY out in the country. If you have ever been to an old fashioned campmeeting where services are held under an open air tabernacle and people sit in chairs fanning themselves because of the Mississippi heat... you get the picture.

A weekend consists of lots of catching up with family, sweating, eating homemade ice cream, sweating, watching fireworks over the pond (which they say probably won't happen because of the burn ban), sweating, swimming, lots of good food, tours around the family homesteads and cemeterys, fishing, softball games, and more sweating. Ha!

We will stay in a cabin by the pond so I am looking for ways to decorate our porch for the weekend. Since we have gone so many times I have lots of decorations, but here are a few new ideas I have found:

I love this sign and think it would be great hanging in between the posts on our porch. Instructions Here

I don't have instructions for this, but Little Guy and I love to get in the kitchen and create. We intend to make another fireworks fruit display! This time I think we are going to dip some marshmallows in white chocolate and sprinkle with red and blue sprinkles.

The boys will love snacking on these....  (Instructions Here)

I love this simple idea for my kitchen table. Instructions Here (Since sand is so messy and you can't store it, I think I am going to use white and red beans to get the same effect. Plus we can eat them when we are done.)

At the end of weekend, the boys are going to stay with Grandma and Grandpa because hubs and I are going away to celebrate our 19th anniversary. I am going to be making these bags and filling them with little treats and notes as a way of saying, "Love you. Miss you. Be back soon." This ADORABLE treat bag is one of the cutest things I have found in a while! Instructions Here