Bring on the white trash BABY!

Last week, I get a text from Jeremy that says... this p.m. when you get home, the house will look like white trash lives there. And my response was WHOOOHOOOO. It all translated to the "project" will begin! So, that was last week. All moved along pretty smoothly and then, life struck! Project stopped. As easily as it started, it stopped. Jeremy told me that I should complain to my contractor! Not a bad idea, but he has such selective hearing! I'm not sure that spring time was the best time to being a project. All sounds good on paper, but rain, ball practices, dance, church, work, and repeat again, all seems to take it's toll on the project. A week later, we can qualify for "white trash" yard of the year!

Random.

Last night our Wednesday lesson was "what is something you couldn't live without or what would be the first thing you would grab on your way out of the door if your house was on fire!" Most of the kids said their Bibles. That got this ole'mind to thinking. In our household, our Bibles are located all together and for easy access. But would that be the first thing I grabbed going out the door. Let's be honest, no. Because how many times I walk by all the collection of Bibles my family has and just keep walking. I have no doubt that my family is no different than others. We have black ones, small ones, orange one, pink one, large blue one, many different versions, one for ladies, one for men, just a big variety of Bibles. When I walk by, I'm too busy. I've got laundry. Supper to fix. Vacuum (oh I think I could put down my Dyson for the third time during a day). Watching Greys. Plucking some weird hair that has popped out on my face. Kids to tend to. Husband to correct (yes... LOL... you know as well as I do, us ladies always have to correct whether we're right or not) You name it, most of the time, I just keep walking by for whatever reason. Now, yes, I do love me some Beth Moore Bible Study and I use a couple of my Bibles for that, and I do prepare on Wednesday evenings and Sunday morning lessons, but just to pick up and get an answer that I need for the day... hardly ever. The easy access part... now what I mean is when we are darting out the door to church... we grab a Bible or two because of the easy access. Most of the adults I know would grab pictures because we consider the pictures irreplaceable. Just thinking how more improved my life might be if I considered less clutter irreplaceable and focused other important things.

For my husband...

Craziness

Wow what is up? That is what I keep thinking to myself. One day I woke up and realized that my body just isn't what it used to be. I know, where I have I been right! I've been tricked! I believed the 30's were being pretty kind to me, but 33 seems to have a different lesson. My body is rejecting 33. Scares me about 34. And can someone tell me where all this facial hair comes from... one day my lips are chapped, the next day, they're protected and not by good ole' Burt's Bees, but more like a beehive of hair! And geez, don't even get me started on the single wire surprise hair that jumps from the bridge of my nose! And the hormones... MERCY! You would think that a body that has been through three pregnancies would be given a reprieve!?!?!? But no! This morning, really, I thought I had peed my pants! YES PEOPLE I'M BLOGGING THIS! It wasn't urine. It was sweat! Now, any rational female would think to herself... oh yay, I didn't pee on myself in the middle of the night, BUT today, nothing rational is within me. I was more disturbed that it was sweat!! Night Sweats... urrrr! And my poor husband - I won't begin to get into what a crown he will receive one day for putting up with this rollercoaster. I was trying to correct my kids this morning and I'm pretty positive that my voice went from mom to E.V.I.L. At least that message was written across their sweet innocent victim-like faces! They scattered to the car in fear! In fear!
Oh how I hope this ends soon. My friends that are older and wiser than I, say oh yes you will survive and it will be ok. My younger friends... they just think... we'll that it's craziness!

It's the gift.

First let me say, that I am fully aware just how blessed I am. Not trying to be conceited, but let me explain. I have known all of my great-grandparents except three. Those three passed on prior to my birth. My childhood consists of so many grandparents! I don't mean pictured memories, I mean living my childhood with them. So, let me fast forward a bit to this weekend. After 33 years, I lost one of my grandparents. You would think being an adult would make it somewhat easier; but it doesn't. So many people in this world never know any of their grandparents... so yes, Im WOW'd at the thought that God gave me the gift of my grandparents. And it is a gift! (side note: not gift bagged either, I mean a fully boxed, nice paper, huge perfect bow gift) You can't imagine how long I have dreaded the day that one of those gifts had to be called home. The weekend arrived and I made it thru. Poppy Tug aka Pepaw died Sunday. I can't even begin to blog the memories. Mostly because they are so many in number and secondly, Im a blubber butt and I'll start blubbering again. But with a smile on my face, I can blog tonight and say: He was a first-class grandfather. He was a jokester! He was a Christian, a devoted husband, a straight forward father, and a GRAND grandfather! Im proud to be his granddaughter. His "Beccker". His first born grandchild. To be a branch of the Tugwell Family Tree. Sad. Yes. But more thankful and blessed for the 33 years. I'm going to take the cup half full route rather than half empty. And in all honestly, my cup isnt even half full, my cup runs over. Im fully aware of the gifts and the Giver! My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Psalm 57:7

He's still tweaking on me.

Tweak: to fine tune or adjust. Yes He is still working on me, to make me what I ought to be... I got up this morning thinking about that song and a telephone conversation I had with a friend last night. PTL He still tweaks me but sadly that I must be tweak'd on. I was telling my friend that it's my little wired-up belief that He originally wired us just how He wants us. All the little funny ways and habits we have, all the ways of our personalities, all to His setting by His control box. He knows our wiring system like NO ONE else does, after all, it's His system. But this morning, I was thinking about our wiring and the need for tweak'g. My wires get crossed more than they should. My wires get corroded. My wires break. My wires spark out. There are days that I get the wrong repair and it shuts the system down. I don't call on the right repairman. I pull out some good ole' southern ingenuity and try to repair it myself. I let sin seep in corrode my wiring system. It's like that song Slow Fade by Casting Crowns. It's not like I just jump into a vat of sin, but it seeps in over time when I'm distracted or when my wiring system isn't up to par. Then my wires get corroded and nasty. My life gets out of control. Anxieties and doubt kick in. Excuses start. Easy fixes win. Sight is clouded. Thoughts are not pure. The right actions are lessened. Yes, I'm a tad thick-headed and sometimes it takes all the above for me realize the ONLY way to remove all that crude built up on my wiring is J-e-s-u-s. He is the original 3M contact cleaner! He removes my corrosion. He restores my wiring. He repairs my system. There is no system He can't repair. My thoughts are back on the right path. I see easy fixes aren't the cure. I kick my excuses. I close out my doubt and anxiety. My sight is focused. My life becomes grounded again.

Jeremy and I both love to people watch. Jeremy more so because he usually takes a bench in the mall while I'm taking care of important household chores like closet management! :) I get a kick out of people. Just to watch and see all the different wiring systems out there. People are unique and sometimes just plainly speaking... strange. But strange to me, not my God. Those strange ones are His system too. We're all from the same factory, just different models. All the models need a good tweak'g every now and again. So this morning, yes my heart is singing He is still working on me, to make me what I ought to be! Am I ashamed that He must tweak me, Yes. But am I eternally thankful that He is there when I call on Him to tweak me, FOR SURE!

The parental fear

Today the phone call arrived. If you're a parent, one of the phone calls that you dread most. The Norman family invited Skylar to the Big Buck Classic. He was stoked as you can imagine if you know my son. So his weekend is as 11 year old perfect could be, Big Buck Classic and sleep over with his cousin/best bud. The boys had a little outdoor time before church this morning. Let's just say, they didn't stay in their given boundary and gave Uncle Bop and Aunt Mamie (Sloan slang) an unfortunate big scare. When Aunt Mamie called to say they couldn't find the boys, you could feel the fear in her voice. Mom to Mom fear. By the grace of God, this was no real emergency, but it certainly posed all the right factors for one. My motherly gut tells me this will not be the last phone call I get regarding those two and their adventures and my prayer is that if the phone rings again for those reasons, the ending is as happy as today's. Just considering if a GPS micro-chip inserted behind the ear would be going a bit far? ;)