Are You a December Watermelon?

Don't you just love a ripe, sweet, juicy watermelon on a hot summer day? Living in Georgia, we have TONS of watermelons here in the hot summer months. It is a wonderful thing on the 4th of July, at a cook out, pool party, or any day "just because". I love to cut into the smooth green rind, hearing the thick striped skin split and crack as my knife goes in. A few wiggles of the blade and the melon bursts in half, exposing the beautiful red flesh inside and spilling it's sweet sticky juice onto the table. A few more hacks with the knife and it is in wedges or cut up into chunks, ready for eating. Nothing beats a happy child eagerly sinking their teeth into this sweet, delicious summertime staple.

So what happens when you crave that delicious goodness in December? A quick trip to most grocery stores shows you that watermelons are usually available year round, shipped in from somewhere on the other side of the world, usually teeny in size and big in price. Sometimes I can't help myself. I break down and buy the melon (don't even bother thumping or sniffing or tapping it, it won't tell you anything at this point) and take it home. Drooling with anticipation, I cut into it. A stab with the knife reveals no splitting rind, and I have to saw the fruit in half. The inside is a disappointing pale pink, with flat, sickly looking white seeds. I hack it into wedges or pieces, throw on some salt, and take a bite.

HUGE disappointment.  I knew better than to think I could experience that sweet perfection of a ripe south Georgia watermelon in DECEMBER!!!!!

Well, this little analogy also applies to our Christian life. You see, we all have seasons in our walk. Some seasons last a while, while others are very brief. God moves us from season to season, using us for His glory and purpose.

So what happens when we follow God's command and we do what He tells us, say teaching a class or serving on a ministry team, and we fall into a comfort zone so that we decide to stay there no matter what? God will tell us to move when He is ready, but often we resist out of that security in a certain job or position. Eventually, we begin to grow tired and stale in this capacity, and in time even grow resentful and grouchy. Finally, when we are so miserable we can't stand it, we step down or in some cases get "moved" because we have lost our effectiveness and the Kingdom begins to suffer for it.

We become a December watermelon.
Tasteless, unsatisfying, and bitter.


But when we serve a season at our fullest, listening for God's direction and urgings, we move from season to season, being satisfied in our work and effective in our mission for Christ. It's no different that pumpkins in October, strawberries in March, citrus fruit in December, and even a watermelon in July. We are best in our appointed season, and no other time.

Watermelon photo from Google images

I am at the three week mark!

Well, I went for my 3 week  post-surgery check up today. My hemoglobin is up to 11.5 which is a HUGE improvement since I was very anemic due to heavy blood loss before surgery. I am hoping I will have more energy when this is all over! My blood pressure was 126/73. My dr says I am healing well. I still have a little pain off and on, but  mostly just discomfort practically 24/7. My dr says the "zings" I was feeling a few days ago are the nerves inside trying to heal. She says my stitches are doing exactly as they should, some dissolved, some in place still. I can drive now, but cannot lift more than a gallon of milk. That is practically EVERYTHING when you think of it! Laundry basket? Nope. Jug of cat litter? Nope. Bag of trash from kitchen trash can? Nope. Still restrictions of  no vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, stretching, bending or reaching. Because of my hot flashes and crying jaunts I am now the proud owner of Estrogen patches which I sincerely hope help A LOT. Last night I had a hot flash like clockwork every thirty minutes. NO SLEEP at all last night! I really hope this little patch works well, and works quickly.

I am feeling better but still a long way to go! Hope this patch kicks in and works. If I could sleep I would feel a lot better I am sure. This Thursday my DH has to go to Charleston again for work and I got the ok from my dr to ride with him, as long as we stop every hour or so for me to stretch. No shopping or sightseeing this trip, but if I can get by that spice shop I want to get some flavored sugar! The lime flavor sugar was wonderful!  I will sit in the car and my beloved DH will trot in for me I am sure. :)

It's been 2 weeks and 3 days since surgery..........and..........

......... I am very discouraged today. My mom left yesterday to go home since my husband was coming back from work for a week. (He works on a tugboat and is gone 7-10 days and nights, then home 5-7 days and nights) When I walked out of my bedroom yesterday morning, I saw that she had stripped her bed and had her stuff packed. I started crying and I am not sure I have stopped yet. Last night I cried because I had to ask my BFF to sweep my kitchen floor. She was happy to do it of course but I felt like an idiot asking. Today I cried because I walked in my daughters room and her bed was not made. I realized for the past week my mom had made her bed and opened her drapes every morning. The after a shower I cried because none of my granny panties were clean. Not that I wanted to wear the granny panties AT ALL but my bikinis hurt my incisions. So.... I cried because my fat old lady underwear was dirty and also because I had to wear granny panties at all LOL. The I walked in the kitchen and saw that the biscuit pan was on the counter and I cried because my mom had made me homemade biscuits every night while she was here and I loved them so much. I realized I won't get those tonight. My husband just hugs me and laughs, then I cry because he is laughing "at me".  He really isn't, but hey, the sight of a usually (fairly) sane woman crying over her underwear is kinda funny if you think about it. And he is a guy, who is doing the very best he can.

SHEESH! I am a  TRAIN WRECK!

clipart from picturesof.net

Where Have I Been????

For the past two weeks, I have been pretty much confined to the comfort of my bed. Or my recliner. Or my couch.

I had a total hysterectomy, including ovaries, on Feb. 23. I did not make details of this public thru cyberspace for many personal reasons.

Please continue to pray for my recovery. I developed several minor complications after surgery including a severe UTI, an infection at one of my incision sites, and an infection in my throat from the scrapes of the tube.

Thanks so much for praying for me, and I hope to be back to blogging (and life in general) very soon!

Time for Tea in Charleston SC

Yesterday, my husband has some business matters that had to be handled in Charleston, so we spent a day in the beautiful city. We walked in the open air market for a little while, before we realized that it was really too cold for that kind of activity. :) We were going to get lunch and on the way I spotted a tea shop across the street and wanted to go in.

The name of the shop is The Spice and Tea Exchange and when we walked in we were met with the most delicious scents swirling together to create an intoxicating aroma. The walls are lines with clear glass jars that hold spices ranging from cinnamon sticks and bay leaves to exotic little numbers I had never even heard of! The owner Stacy was very friendly and she and her employee  (who's name I forgot to get!!!!) helped us by providing information about each spice, and explained that they compound the spices into their own rubs and seasoning blends right there in the store.

 

  

 

 In addition to spices and spice mixtures, they also have flavored sugars, flavored salts and loose leaf teas. We found sugar that was flavored with lime, lemon, blueberry, and many other flavors but decided that the lime sugar was the best. Once we got home we were devastated to realize that in our excitement we neglected to get any of the sugar! We played around with some salts, and decided to purchase some hickory flavored sea salt. I plan to use this when I cook Boston butt in my crockpot, hoping it will give a smoked flavor without actually smoking it.

Our last stop was the wall lined with teas. We sniffed and thought and enjoyed all of the offerings before deciding to purchase an ounce of three different teas.

Our first choice was the Lemon Twist tea, which is a blend of lemon verbena, hibiscus, and other delicious herbs. We also got some Green Tropical tea, which is flavored with pineapple and other tropical fruits. Lastly we chose the California Fields Tea, which is a blend of green and black tea, cactus flowers, sunflowers and other tasty bits.

I cannot wait to go back and try more of Stacey's delicious blends and creations. Visit Charleston and go into her shop or for some online Southern charm visit the website here and shop with her. I promise you will not be disappointed!

The last guest blog for a while

I finished up my guest blog series over on Kimchi's blog "Hope on the Horizon" today. It will be my last writing as a guest blogger for a little while. Please check it out and let me know what you think!
Read her blog here.

Can you believe this?

We actually had SNOW in south Georgia! I had not seen snow stick to the ground in years! Marissa, Barry and Shaw had a great time playing in the snow and then we had hot chocolate to warm up again. Then I did loooooooads of wet, cold laundry...... :)

At it again....

Guest blogging again. Check it out HERE. What began as a two part blog based on my pastor's recent teachings is stretching on. Part 3 is up today, part 4 will be up next Wednesday.
Let me know what you think!

Love is in the air.....

Oh wow, my baby girl is in love. Hard to believe isn't it? Well, a few weeks ago I wrote about the young man at church who was asking if she was ok, and quickly became her biggest cheerleader/encourager. They really bonded over that time, and now since she has moved classrooms and things are so much better they have grown from being friends to "like-liking" each other.

Ah, young love....so sweet.

Today they are celebrating what they call their "one month-a-versary".

He is a great kid. He encourages her. He is called to be a pastor. He is musically gifted as well, and they spend a lot of time working on band pieces and he transposes stuff so they can play his trumpet music together. (He plays French horn, trumpet and is learning piano, she plays clarinet, piano and is learning guitar) They text all the time, and talk once or twice a day. Last month my daughter used nearly 5,00 text messages. Thank goodness for unlimited text!!!!

I am not ready for this.....but it is here.

Guest blogging again.....

Check out my second post as a guest blogger. Please leave a comment!
http://hopeonthehorizon-kimchi4.blogspot.com/2010/02/what-is-sin-part-2by-michelle.html

Under The Big Top

Last Thursday we took Marissa to her very first circus. It was amazing! Until we bought tickets to go, I did not realize that my husband had never been to the circus either! I can remember going as a kid with my mom. I always loved everything about the circus, except the clowns. They always...even now....freak me out.

These were made before the show.

We got there early, for the meet and greet.

The animals were amazing!

All in all, we had ONE HAPPY GIRL!

Guest blogging

Hi everyone,
I want to invite you all to begin following a new blog called Hope on the Horizon. It is written by a good friend and sister in Christ that I had the honor to meet a few years ago. Although the military life has moved her to the opposite side of our great country, we are working together on some exciting endeavors.

Please check out her inspirational blog here. I will be a guest blogger each Wednesday. My first post for her is called "What is Sin", and it is a two part blog. Please read it and let us know what you think! Lastly, post a comment here and on her blog to give your feedback.

Have a great week!

Totally random here.....

A list of total random current happenings:

• Took my daughter and my husband to the circus Thursday. First time for both of them. Pics to come. They both loved it and said they liked it more than they thought they would. I remember going to the circus with my mom as a kid. My biggest excitement was over how much the elephants peed. Still amazed me this week.
• Mom and PaPa are renovating some rental property that Mom owns, the house I grew up in actually. The guy who moved out left it TRASHED and now they are working hard to try to make it livable again. Jamie helped all last week as well.
• Bible study started up Tuesday. Although I was not feeling nearly well enough, I led it and we had a great group. Looking forward to the next 5 weeks with these ladies!
• Marissa had her "friend" Barry over last night. It was great to see them practicing their band music together. He encourages her like no other. They took pics of themselves....more of those to come also. I can tell you the encouraging "friend" role has changed a bit :)
• Sleepover tonight......my childhood best friend and her two daughters are coming to stay. We will watch G Force and eat pizza. They are going to church with us tomorrow!
• My beautiful daughter donated 10 inches of hair today for Locks of Love. She looks so grown up! Pics of this to come as well. 

Thanks for being patient, it has been a crazy week and I am STILL not completely well. I have a doctor appointment Monday, hoping for a good report.
Have a great weekend!!!!!

Under the weather

Sorry my blog has been rather quiet this week, but I have been under the weather. I will be back with you ASAP! In the meantime, check out my blog list and go read some of the stellar stuff over there!

Another wow!

You won't believe this, but I have been asked to do a weekly guest post on a new blog! I am so excited! I will get to share a corner of the blog stage with an AWESOME and accomplished writer, who happens to be a great friend and a MIGHTY WOMAN OF GOD! I am excited beyond belief! More details to come SOON!

Please pray for me, and for my friend, as we earnestly seek God's purpose for us in this ~NEW~ season of our lives!!!!!

New Scrapbook Layouts

This first layout celebrates the game night traditions we have around our house. Since Jamie is so money hungry in his gaming, he earned the nickname Donald CHUMP. For future reference, I printed a small pic of The Donald and a brief bio of his wealth and success and secured it to the back of a layout. Sure everyone knows his name now, but in 50 years? Maybe not. Marissa and I also earned similar nicknames which are used on the very rare occasions we win. Of course Julio has to be a part of EVERYTHING so he gets to play the game too.

Oh yes, my sweet obsession. I have always loved a Hershey's kiss, and I had to document my sweet obsession with this sweet treat. I had inspiration and used the actual flag thingie to make the "hershey" ribbon on my page. Inspired? Maybe. Cheap?You betcha.

Ah yes.....my handsome husband. My gift from God. The fabulous father of our daughter. The spiritaul leader of our home. And best of all, he is my very best friend.

Of course I used PageMaps sketches for these, but everythign else was my own brainchild.  Scary huh?

*****GASP*****

Oh my goodness! I was so shocked and honored when I read Moira's comment on my post "A Friend Indeed". I wrote the post straight from my heart, describing the pain my daughter was going through with middle school girls, and somehow she read my blog and decided it was worthy of being used as devotional materials at her school. Through my squeals of delight I read Moira's profile, and learned that not only is she an avid and talented scrapbooker, she is principal of a Christian school in AUSTRALIA!

Ok, so big woop, I had somebody like my little ditty who happens to live on the other side of the world right? Seems like a kinda neat thing, but no big deal until you know the following.....

Less than one week ago, a very wise person prophesied over my life. She spoke words of life over me, and the thing that hit me hard was that "my creativity and writing would be used to reach many souls for the Kingdom". She went on to say that this was only the beginning, and that what was about to happen in my life was going to be huge.

Moira's email kind of takes on a different air here doesn't it?

When I went through my Tres Dias weekend, our theme was "Such a Time As This". The leader of my weekend contacted me after seeing my post about this on facebook and reminded me of one of our songs that weekend, with lyrics that said "If you say go....I will go". The same friend who prophesied over me last week told me recently that I would go to the nations.

Now a new song is ringing in my head.....one we sang at our old Church:

"We speak to nations, be open
We speak to nations, fall on your knees.
We speak to nations,
The kingdom is coming near to you
We speak to you BE FREE."

In my Christian walk I am constantly reminded of the freedom I received in Christ simply by being obedient to His loving invitation and accepting Him into my heart. He has turned all of my baggage into joy, removed my pain and yes, so importantly to me is He removed all my shame. Now I can walk with my head high, facing the world, and showing His love.

So whether you are reading this is podunk Georgia or on the other side of this great world, I want to remind you that the love of God is reaching all corners of the darkness in our world. He loves YOU, and His arms are waiting to hug you and tell you what you mean to Him, and to help you get rid of all your junk that is weighting you down. So be free....and run to Him. It's just that simple. And you will never regret it.

My Sweet Obsession

My delicious obsession is Hershey's chocolate. I know there are many fine chocolates from all over the world, but my favorite, hands down, is Hershey's chocolate. And I will take that plain please, no Special Dark, no Krackle, no almonds or peanuts added. Just pure, smooth, delicious Hershey's chocolate.

I have always loved getting one of those big gigantic Kisses as a gift. I never buy one for myself, it seems it would lose it's magic that way somehow.

I have a system.

• First I stare at the box for a few days. (Or hours, depending on my mood....)
• Next I unwrap the kiss, smooth out it's paper flag thingie and uncrinkle the beautiful shiny foil wrapper.
• I pick it up and kind of grope it a little, admiring it's smoothness
• Then I pick it up and start scraping off the top with my teeth,.   
  

Sick.....I know......but I have done it that way since I was a kid and I see no reason to stop now!

Today I took photos of my beloved Hershey's Giant Mondo Kiss......as I systematically destroyed a little of it. Then I carefully wrapped it back up in it's foil, placed it back in it's box, and hid it in the back of the top shelf in the fridge.

'Til tomorrow my sweet obsession.....

A Friend Indeed

UPDATE: Today we had a conference at school, and my daughter was move immediately into another class. She is now with two kids she has known almost her whole life,, in a class without cliques and powerful girls. PRAISE GOD! The amazing thing is that He had it all worked out before we even asked for help. Isn't God good that way????

My daughter is a very studious, serious kid, with little interest in  what's popular or trendy....loves 80's music, thrift store shopping and wears sort of her own style of clothing that is a mix of grunge/Miley Cyrus/hippy chick. She is tall for her age, and very smart. She is not into rap music or partying or skipping school, and she loves to spend time with her family, reading, and watching Food Network which has inspired her to be a pastry chef when she is an adult. She is interested in pursuing a degree in culinary arts. She is active in our church, she helps with the little kids and is on the interpretive dance team and in youth group. Basically, she is everything a parent could ask for and then some. (I may be biased, but I am also right lol)

Lately, my daughter has had some issues with "mean girls" at school. Who knew middle school girls were so brutal???? They tease her and exclude her and say mean things about her shoes and lanyard and lunch box. (They wear uniforms, so they have to find other things to harass her about) This has been going on for a while, and over Thanksgiving break her closest friend in her class dumped her (by text message even) for not being cool enough to hang out with.

WHAT?????? How can kids be so mean? Who is raising these girls to be such snotty cliquish little brats? Why can't they all just go to school and get along and be happy? I blame hormones myself. But I also blame parents and media influences. We all know kids mimic what they see. I am willing to bet their Moms treat people the same way, forming relationships based on what the other person looks like or can do for them rather than what is real and true. And the media...oh goodness. We hear all sorts of stuff there, even from husbands and wives like Tiger and Elin and Jon and Kate. When people are publicized making fun of or trashing their spouse, what dignity can be left? And don't even get me started on Nancy Grace.....

However, my daughter has recently discovered a great friend at church. He is a really sweet kid, a couple of years older than my daughter, raised in a single parent home by a Godly mom. He asked his mom what was wrong with my daughter, what was going on, and his mom told him. He began texting her, telling her how he thought she was so cool and that the other kids didn't see what was really there in her. Then he had her begin looking up scripture verses about how she is so perfectly made, how she is unique and beautiful in God's eyes, and how she is created in God's own image.

A complete turn around is taking place. Yesterday I was fixing my hair in my bathroom, and my daughter was in her bathroom doing her daily chores. Through the wall I heard her singing. For the first time in a long time, my daughter is HAPPY.

The texting is continuing, and she is being encouraged and strengthened beyond anything I could have forseen. I am thanking God for sending my daughter a friend that we have prayed for, for the young man's obedience in what God told him to do, and for the young man's mom for raising such a wonderful son.

I am also thanking Him for unlimited text messaging......:)

Almost 2010...........

I can't believe it is almost New Years Eve, and then we will be in 2010! It seems like just yesterday we were all freaking out about Y2K and thinking the whole world would crash at midnight. This year my DH is working, so it will just be my daughter and me to celebrate. We are planning a real high class affair....some pigs  in the blanket and a bottle of sparkling grape juice while we watch the ball drop at midnight on TV. On New Years Day, DH will be home so we are planning a small get together with some friends.

For the past 39 years I have had black eyed peas, ham, rice and collard greens on New Years Day. (Typical Southern tradition supposed to bring good luck, money and fertility) This year I want to do something different! To celebrate 2010, we are having chili and cornbread. A little unusual and I am sure rather strange in my Mother's eyes, but it will be fun.

So what about you? What are your plans for this New Year's Eve? What are your traditions? Are you doing anything different this year?

artwork courtesy of hubimages.com