Faith, Folklore, and Friends

A new missionary went to Venezuela for his first term. He was struggling with the language and didn't understand a whole lot of what was going on. He got lost on his way to the church, but eventually got back on track and found it. The small church was packed, and the only pew left was the one on the front row. So as not to make a fool of himself, he decided to pick someone out of the crowd to imitate. He chose to follow the man sitting next to him on the front pew. When they sang, the young missionary peeked at his neighbor's hymnal to see the page number. When the man stood up to pray, the young missionary stood up too. When the man sat down, he sat down. Whatever the man next to him did, he did. During the preaching, the young missionary didn't understand a thing. He just sat there and tried to look just like that man in the front pew. Then he perceived that the preacher was giving announcements. People clapped, so he looked to see if the man was clapping. He wa...

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:8-9 Today, I'm thanking the Father for: Yellow jonquils in January.                     Hot berry tea when I come in from the cold. Oswald Chambers, who died in 1917, but still blesses us with his book of devotions every day. The muted sounds of traffic on the Parkway a half mile away; letting me know things are normal.                     A beautiful umbrella that was a Christmas gift. The beautiful rain that gives me an excuse to use my new umbrella. A ceramic cup full of perfectly brewed coffee.            ...

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 Enjoy your weekend, my beloved.  As you wander, remember that you are special.  God loves you so much, He smiles and sings over you.

Where I grew up, squirrel hunting was as common as apple blossoms in spring.  Every family, if they were physically able, hunted squirrels for a source of protein in their diets.  Our woods had plentiful nut trees, oaks and hickories and black walnuts; therefore, there were plenty of squirrels. Daddy would start out at first light, his feet scrunching on the frost-covered ground, to find some squirrels.  He usually brought at least three home, sometimes after walking for quite a while.  Three provided enough meat for a big, hungry family. After the squirrels were skinned and cleaned, Mama would parboil the pieces a while, then dredge them in flour, salt, and pepper, and fry them in a big iron skillet.  After the meat was done and removed, she added more flour and water to the drippings to make gravy to pour over the squirrel meat.  Other days, she would boil the squirrel meat until it was tender, then add dumplings to the pot. We absolutely...

 It's another rainy day here.  Our average precipitation for January is 4.61 inches.  Yesterday, we had received 6.02 inches, and there is already more than an inch in my rain gauge from the rains that began in the wee hours this morning. Every year, we long for rain when the hot air of August scorches the pavement, the plants, and the people, when all the moisture just stays in the air and wraps around us like a wet, wool blanket.  For the most part, I enjoy the rain.  It does make me thankful that I don't have to go to work on a horse-drawn wagon.  It also makes me thankful that my house doesn't leak, although I can't say the same for my office at work. I just hope all the bulbs in the ground that are getting ready to stretch toward the sunlight don't drown. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  Matthew 5:45b

We have been listening to and loving the Primitive Quartet for more than thirty years now.  They are a group from Candler, North Carolina, that plays and sings the gospel just like it has been done for years in the mountains.  They have a Christmas singing in early December every year in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and these photos are from the 2011 singing. These photos aren't the best, since I was way back in the crowd. And what a crowd it was!  There were people there from many, many states.  We saw lots of old friends, and met lots of new ones. Every time these men get up to sing, they acknowledge that whatever talents they have, it is all God-given and they will use the time they have to worship and honor Him with those gifts.  Because of that, I have never seen them.....          spend their time on stage talking about football or politics...      ...

 Mrs. Gladys Makes Up Her Mind Poor Mrs. Gladys, she went to visit her grand-daughter and her husband over the weekend and the news is not good. She was excited about seeing the young family, and she was looking forward to going to church with them Sunday morning but things didn’t go so well. Leslie and her husband go to a big new mega-church. Mrs. Gladys, on the other hand, is used to the much smaller, much more intimate congregation. Hers is a nice country church and she’s been a member there for well, a while. Trust me. It wouldn’t serve any of us for me to elaborate. Mrs. Gladys wasn’t very impressed with the slick marble and the soaring ceilings of the new mega-church. Nor was she at all fond of the contemporary music. Now personally, I like both the old hymns and the new faster paced praise music, but I understand that some people prefer one or the other. Mrs. Gladys didn’t think the people were all that friendly, either. She said no one spoke to them in the parking lo...

I have been following Anne Voskamp's blog, aholyexperience.com, for several years.  She is a beautiful writer.  Every  Monday, her post notes things she grateful for, little things that we can fail to see unless we look with searching eyes. My blog has recorded hundreds of things I'm grateful for, but Anne has challenged us to find 1000 things to thank God for in the year 2012.  That's about three a day, unless of course, you get 23 days behind like I did.   Here we go!  Today I'm thankful: 1. that we were safe during the storms that swept through the South last night. 2. for the good decisions I have made; accepting Jesus as my Savior and having a personal relationship with Him is the best one I have ever made. 3. for a strong body that has been many miles in sixty-one years. 4. for a clear mind.  Most days.  Well, some days. 5. for a warm, dry house to live in. 6. for the gift of hospitality He has given me. ...

In comparison with this big world, the human heart is only a small thing.               Though the world is so large, it is utterly unable to satisfy this tiny heart.                                                   Our ever growing soul and its capacities can be satisfied only in the finite God.  As water is restless until it reaches its level, so the soul has no peace until it rests in God. ~ Sadhu Sundar Singh Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  ~Matthew 11:28

During the rainy, stormy day this week, I completed this string quilt. Quilts like these were named string quilts because some of the fabric used were small as strings, all that was leftover from other projects. I actually made the blocks a few years ago during and after a class on string quilts. Unlike food and flowers, the blocks will keep until you have time and energy to put them together.  I know some of my students will recognize some of the fabrics that were used. Blocks are made by cutting old newspapers in the desired shapes; this is an eight inch square.  Starting in the center, fabric strings are sewn on until the newspaper square is covered.  Then, the fabric strings are trimmed to the size of the newspaper. It is best to leave the newspaper on until the blocks are sewn together, then they are removed before you make the quilt sandwich (top, batting, lining). I quilted this quilt using a free motion foot and meandering.  ...

If you feed them, they will come.  I spent way too much time trying to get these beauties to pose for me, but it just didn't happen.  Most of my bird photos are made through a window, so if an unexpected glare appears, that's why. This little fellow seems to love my birthday gift as much as I do!   I wonder if she thinks she has found the buffet at Ryans. . .   Can you spot the thief?  It is bird food, not squirrel food!  The squirrels  must have gotten  tired of dog food or wanted some variety.  I wonder if a stove pipe around the pole would help. A bird does not sing because it has an answer.                                It sings because it has a song.                   ...

A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, “Who still wants…… it……?” Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, “What if I do… this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air. “My friends” he said, ” We have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what wi...

In loving memory of Mary Lynn Stricklin Horton January 12, 1937-December 2, 1990 She was the same kind of different as me. My half-sister, Mary Lynn, was my oldest sibling. Her mom died from complications of measles/pneumonia when Mary was about four, and her brother was two. Before too long, my dad and mom were married, my mom a new bride with an instant family. My parents lives, like those of everyone we knew, consisted of growing cotton, corn, chickens,  and children. Their world was very small, immobile, static for generations. An aunt and uncle had moved to Michigan searching for a better life and had seemingly found it. When the aunt became pregnant, Mary traveled there to help her during the pregnancy. Mary saw how big the world was. She returned home when she was no longer needed, but she was never again content living on the farm. There was not a lot of opportunity for social interaction with anyone who was not a relative. People visiting from outs...

On Monday, my friend Danny Joe died. Danny Joe and his wife, Jo Ann, were auction fanatics, just like Hub and me, so we were always seeing each other.  He loved fishing and was usually looking for vintage fishing equipment at auctions.  He always had a smile to share, and he always had a pocket full of candy.  Anytime you met Danny Joe, he would have a piece of candy for you.  In my case, it was usually cinnamon disks or lemon drops, my favorite.  Sometimes, a small piece of candy and the kindness with which its given is a large thing. Kindness , like courtesy and manners, is not as common as it used to be. Several years ago, on the day after Thanksgiving, I attended an estate auction that had several quilts I wanted to buy.  The day started out clear and balmy, but a north wind blew in and I was not dressed properly for it.  I was standing outside, trembling from the cold, thinking I was going to have to leave before the qui...

Today was a dark, damp, dreary day, like days that we have every January.  That is not going to change without a radical move to a lower latitude, which I don't think is going to happen. Of course, it is easy enough to surround yourself with flowers. The sixteen tulip blocks, a simple nine-patch variation, were made yesterday afternoon. Today, I sewed the blocks together with sashing and borders. Pretty sure I am sensing an old-fashioned quilting bee in the near future to quilt this little garden. In the depths of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.- Albert Camus

Yesterday, we went to Argentina. * One of my favorite places in the world, the Florence Lauderdale Public Library, has a series of programs on January Sundays for all of us who want to travel the world but just haven't had the opportunity to do so yet. This is their fourth year to do this, and it has become so popular that they will probably have to move to a larger room soon. Yesterday's program was full of those of us who wanted to "Get out of Town" without spending the time, money, and effort to do so, so we packed out the library on a wet, cold, cloudy afternoon, and we were transported to the far south for just a little while.  My longtime friend, Deborah Douglas-Brown, affectionately known to some of us as DDB, and her husband, Bill, presented a program about a recent trip to Argentina. The Browns travel more than anyone else I know. Every time I see her, my first question is, "So, where have you just got back from?" Find the passp...

At first glance, the winter landscape seems gray and dark, devoid of life and color. Look again! Chill air and wintry winds! My ear has grown familiar with your song; I hear it in the opening year, I listen, and it cheers me long. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow