And She Said, "Well..."

I heard my Momma use that word so many times during my growing up years. When she used it, it meant that something had happened that had taken the wind out of her sails and she was rallying her spirit. And she managed to be a pretty upbeat lady who has now gone on to her eternal reward.
But she left me marked for life. Here's how:

1. To see my face is to see hers, so to speak. People often commented on how much like twins we looked. I could never see the resemblance until one day I happened to glance in the mirror after just having a new hair highlight put in. Folks, I did a doubletake. There was my Momma looking back at me. That's when I first realized that I looked just like her! Wow!


2. When things happen that have taken the wind out of my sails, and I have gotten over being dumbfounded, you will often hear me say, "Well..." Yep, I say it just the same way that my Momma did, and it means pretty much the same thing with me as it did with her. It means that I did not see a particular,  nasty, shocking situation coming, but that I will make the best of it and keep stepping while I wait to see what turns up next. It means that, though I am daggered, I will keep my faith in the God of heaven because I can say to the world, "Look where He brought me from. The God that I serve does not do things by half-measure. He brought me to it, and I trust Him to bring me through it." And I, Alma L. Carr-Jones will step on.

So, if you see me waving my hand as I sing in worship, just know that I am saying, "Well...look where He brought me from. I have my faith and trust in Him, and I have the hope of glory. I know that one day there will be no more trouble, trials, and tribulations. All of that will be gone, and I will shout, 'Hallelujah, glory to God' in my new home." And further, know that I am stepping on.

But I can tell you this, my rose-tinted glasses

Have had to be replaced several times in my life

But I kept purchasing, by faith, another rose-tinted pair

Because I wanted to instill hope in the young folk

Who are just starting to climb life's stair.

So

When you get hit in the solar plexus of your soul, don't despair

Just keep filling the heavenly region with heartfelt prayer.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Gratefully Stepping On Carr-Jones

 

It's in the Mail

Chopping My Row is proving to be more of a blessing each day. I received a phone call telling me that the book was well liked and that a check for it was in the mail. I had forgotten that there was someone who owed me for a book. I watched my mail, and the check did, indeed, come in the mail.

By Faith

I put the book out there in good faith, and the Lord is giving the increase on several forums. What a mighty God we serve! And you know, folks. Sometimes, we forget that fact. Take, for instance, the problems that we sometimes encounter in life. If we are not careful, we will get so bogged down in the problematic mess that we forget to hand it to the Lord in prayer. When we do remember to hand Him our problems and leave them there, we can take assurance in the fact that it's in the mail. Whatever His solution to our problem(s) is, it is on its way to us.

Thus

Our enemy (ies) will not see me fret overmuch. They will be trying to figure out how we can take whatever we are hit with in stride and keep stepping for God. And you know what folks, when we step resolutely on, we gain the admiration of some of our enemies and later may gain a brother or sister in Christ. The process of showing faith in times of dire stress works that way.

So

When you see your enemy look at you in a puzzled manner, you know that they are wondering how you are taking the hits that are sent your way. But, we know, don't we? Yep, we have learned to take our problems to Him and leave them there and know after the prayer session that the solution is already in the mail.

Tried by the Fire

"When you have been tried by the fire..."

I never knew what those words meant really until years after I experienced a house fire. I am still learning lessons predicated upon that fire of so long ago. Here is the burning of my house in a poetic setting. Travel with me down the ladder of emotions and back up again as we meet laughter, pain, joy, sorrow, and hope while weaving our way through the verses of this poem.

Renewed Faith in My Fellowman

 

April 16, 1987, is not a date

 That I’ll soon forget

For the happenings of this day

 Left me quite upset

I was running late so I didn’t

 Take time to put on my rings

I left them on my dresser with

 My other jewelry things

Our house was about 7 miles from the

School where I taught Special Education

And as I drove, I enjoyed the breezy sun-filled day

 With a sense of quiet elation

I enjoyed the new spring green of the grass

 That would soon need mowing

I enjoyed the tenacious little daffodils

 That had just started growing

I chatted with my Son about

 What time I would pick him up

I reminded my daughter to finish her

 Apple juice from her new sippy cup

After I dropped my kids off at

 Their respective schools

I hastened to my job because being

 Late was against the rules

I made it to school, went to the office,

 Said, “Hello” and signed in

Didn’t have a clue that within two hours,

 I’d be back in that office again

I spoke to my colleagues as I walked

 Past each of their doors

Then I went out to the portable building

 To begin my daily chores

Of teaching reading, math, spelling

Language, science and social studies

And was glad to see my two new teacher’s aides who

 Had turned out to be my hard-working buddies

We had all settled in for the morning and had

 Our children working as hard as could be

When the secretary interrupted our second class

 By intercom and said that she needed to see me

I said I would come as soon as the next bell rang

 And I had let my children go to P.E.

She told me to come right then and to let one of the aides

 Keep my kids and to bring the other one with me

“Wonder what’s up?” I said aloud as my two aides

 And I looked at each other with puzzled eyes

“It’s probably that shipment of workbooks I ordered and

She wants them out of the office as fast as instant pie.”

Well, we sped down to the office because interrupting

 Class for a workbook shipment is simply not done

When we rounded the corner of the office door, the secretary said,

 “Just got a call and your house is on fire hon.”

My aide started to have hysterics and

 I began to try to calm her

When the secretary said, “Not your house, but (pointing at me)

 Yours, while touching me on my shoulder

I stammered, “M-my house is burning down?

 Nah, somebody has made a mistake”

My boss told me to go home and my aide

 And another one, along with me to take

A leveled headed aide drove and when we were 5 miles from my house,

 We could see a thick black column of billowing smoke

We all watched that column but I

 Was the only one who spoke

“If that’s my house burning, there won’t be

 Anything left when we get to it, you know.”

The level-headed aide said, “It’s not your house because that

Fire is too close, and we still have five miles to go

“Maybe you’re right; some farmer is probably burning

 Off his field and it got out of control.”

Said the other aide, while I onto that

 Slim hope tried to keep hold

You know, in the rural areas, you travel

 Through so many twists and turns

But no matter how many twists and turns we made, we kept coming

Back toward that column of smoke where we could see stuff burn

Was it only my house that we

 Found blazing that April day?

Nope! When we got there, my Mom’s had already burned

 Completely and mine was well on its way

I stood there and watched my son’s room, my

Daughter’s room and our bedroom go up in flames

When I think about it, I still think

 It was an awful shame

That there was no way to get a pumper there

Fast enough to pump water from the ditch

But you know how things work; they

 Seldom go off without a hitch

By the time the pumper came, four

Miles from the nearest town

My little house with all of its contents

 Had burned to the ground

I thought about my kids' pictures that

 I had had taken through the years

I thought about my new teaching wardrobe and the new

 Riding lawn mower and I couldn’t see for the tears

I remember wondering why the

 Grass didn’t stop growing

I remember wondering why the wind

Just kept right on blowing

So much for my ideas about treating people right and

Doing the right thing, all of that had just come up empty

Then I thought about how though the fire had taken

 Her house and ours, GOD left my Mom with me

Then I remembered that we had changed insurance companies and the old coverage

Ran out and the beginning new coverage on the following week would fall

What week did my house burn, the week when there

 Was not a single smidgeon of coverage at all

That meant that everything that I had worked and scraped for for

Thirteen years was lost and no way to replace any of it

People kept saying, “These things can be replaced.” And I thought,

 “The next person that says that to me is gonna see me have a fit

Sure enough, the level-headed aide said “it,” and I screamed

At her, “You just tell me how!”

“You’re going home to your house intact;

 What cha’ got to say about that now?!”

She never said a word, but bowed her head and

 Then asked me if I had called my spouse

I told her that somebody had gone home and

 Phoned his job from their house

When my husband got there, he just sat on the side

 Of the hill and just sobbed and sobbed

He said that he couldn’t feel any worse

 If we had just been robbed

The only thing that I kept saying aloud was that

 I didn’t even own a broom straw

And I kept wondering, in my mind, when that awful

 Knot in my throat was going to start to thaw

And that level-headed aide to which

 I threw a screaming fit

She only supplied my son with an entire wardrobe (shoes and all)

 And even threw in a broom and dust pan kit

Furthermore, my kids’ respective schools replaced

 Their new bikes that we had just bought

And we were supplied with housewares, small appliances, clothes

 And money from the school where I taught

From the churches that we were affiliated with, we

 Received furniture, linen, money and more

From the whole community to our family,

 There was a tremendous outpour

So we made it through it all, as victims

 Of catastrophes, with time and effort, do

But the fire that happened on April 16, 1987,

 Did my faith in my fellowman renew

And regarding total replacement fire insurance,

 Allow me to tell you one thing more

Learned a lesson?  You betcha!  Nowadays,

 This family is fire insurance poor!

********

Years have passed since that fateful day

That life tugged off my rose-tinted glasses

And the fray shook some of my faith away.

I remember that youthful anger came to my aid

About what had happened to me

Until I realized that my anger was directed to

A Being I could not even see.

And better yet, I realized that He had carried me

Such a ways from where I started that  for a

Moment, I forgot that by His grace I was

Allowed to be the success that I had become

In fact, had been chosen for a particular duty

Way before I was gifted to my Mom.

Now, I travel this world and work at

Spreading hope and encouragement through

Whatever work I am given to do.

I have learned to cheer others on who are running their race well

And to pick still others up who by life have been felled

And yes, every now and then I am brandished back through

The finishing fire again to get more impurities out

But now, I stay prayerful and know that the God of Heaven

Has my life plan and is working all things out.

So, when you see me smiling through my pain

And you see me unfold my umbrella in the rain

Just know that I have full assurance that my Father

Is, but working on my impurities again.

...And I shall come through as pure gold!

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

The Flashlight

 

Introduction

You know that my daughter has been having a little vacation from the group home with us this week, right? Uhm, hmm, well, remember yesterday I mentioned that she was dogging my footsteps. I could not turn around for her being right there. I had to make sure and not whirl to do something quickly because if I did, I might bump into her or step on her toe or foot. I think I told you yesterday that she fair wore me out, but what I did not tell you was why. It hit me after I finished my blog and thinking back over our conversation. I still did not put it together until I was talking to my husband later. I told him about her little head trying to nod and her stalwartly fighting sleep and drinking water. I told him that she had said to me, "Momma, I'm keeping you good company ain't I? Get this, folks. That is when he said to me, "That's because I told her to take good care of you." I said, "No wonder she did not want to go to sleep even though her head was bobbing and weaving. You can't say things like that to her because she thinks it means to do just what she was doing."  She thought that she was actually being a big girl and taking care of her Momma. Bless her little heart! It doesn't get much sweeter than that, y'all.

Flashlight

I said that today's blog would use a flashlight in reference to Christian life, and I will still do that, but I am going to use a different application for the same flashlight. I had planned to talk a bit about knowing what you have in your hand in reference to the flashlight and its capability to shine on a wide area for a bigger view or to pinpoint a particular area with intense light. Again, I was going to use the Bible in the application as far as using what you have been equipped with (just knowing about what you have to work with).

But

I decided to use it from an angle with reference to how we sometimes look at situations that we perceive as problems. Now, about the flashlight, I did not know that it had the mechanism on it where you could have a wide circle of light, an intensely bright narrowed stream of light or a flashing strobe light, as for emergencies. Handy tool and it is a little one, too. (could use that application, too, but maybe another time.)

I told you that my daughter dogging my steps was a bother, and I knew that it was going to be a long week. I wondered if she had suffered some ill effects in the group home that had made her be clingy.  I was looking at the small picture of her being a bother under my feet so much. BUT, when my husband explained that he had specifically told her to take care of Momma, that shed more light on the subject. And then guess what? Yes, exactly! The situation was exactly the same but what WAS different about it was that I was looking at the bigger picture and what had seemed to be a problem was actually a sweet blessing of care. Let me explain.

So

You might be thinking that you understand that perfectly well but what has the scenario mentioned in the paragraph immediately above have to do with you. Simple, folks. Don't you see that it is our perception of our problems that can change our state of mind from one of sad resignment to one of hopeful joy? You remember the scripture Romans 8:28, right? That scripture tells us that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. (KJV) You see, if we love Him, we will trust Him. If we trust Him, then we will know in our hearts that He is working things out for our good. And knowing that ought to stir up that hopeful J.O.Y. in us.

Let me explain further. I heard at a Bible school a cute little ditty that they had made up. The kids sang about J.O.Y. and that J.O.Y. meant Jesus, Others and You. How does that apply in any given situation? Easy, we ought to view everything through the eyes of faith and know that the all things mentioned means things that happen to us because it says for our good. If you really think about it, you will realize how many times in your life that you have had trouble that turned out to be a blessing for you because it strengthened your faith by your having to walk by faith and not being able to figure out just how you were going to get out of said predicament. AND that same predicament helped to strengthen someone else's faith or plant a seed of faith in somebody because they saw your hope and trust in God throughout the predicament. Don't you see? Your problem blessed you and somebody else, too. Maybe several somebodies else.

I Have Determined

This serving God is not just about you. It is about J.O.Y. (Jesus, Others, and You) Since I have learned to change my view about things as they happen in my life, I realize how much better I feel about situations and problems that crop up. Here is what I have determined:

• That when something unpleasant happens in my life, I am going to ask myself, "Okay, now what am I supposed to learn from this? How can this help my Christian walk?"


• Conversely, when something good happens in my life, and I am encouraged by it, to try to find a way to spread that encouragement to my fellowmen.


• To be more than just content, to take it a step further and show the world the joy, content and hope that I have in Him


• to show that I have the hope of glory and that one day, oh-h-h one day, I'll get to join in with other saints, old and new, who have crossed over to the other side to sing majestic praise to the God of Zion!


• That, hopefully, by showing contented determination, I can take somebody with me.

And with that, folks, I will step on down this row that I have been assigned to chop. Y'all have a blessed evening and night.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

And those, my friend, are a few lessons learned all from a flashlight that showed us that sometimes, yep, you just have to change your focus.

The Sewing Machine

It's Been a While

Sorry about posting so late tonight, but I am posting from sheer determination. Today I felt like I had a two-year-old in the house again. Let me tell you why. I went to the group home to pick up my special daughter on last night, and today she literally dogged my footsteps. It reminded me of when my children were little and it was nothing to have them dog my footsteps. But, my daughter had not done so in many a year. Never-the-less, I took the time and painstakingly answered her every query and just had general conversation with her. Bless her little heart, when her head was nodding in an attempt to go to sleep, she was still doggedly trying to stay awake and talk to me. She has just had her bath and taken her night meds and I, at last, have time to do my blog.

Sewing Machine

As most of you know, I am always doing something, whether writing, crocheting, etc. You also might remember that a few blogs back I decided to make some curtains for my bedroom. They turned out well. Well, I guess I got the stitch itch because one day I was sitting in my kitchen and decided that I would make some curtains for the kitchen. Let me tell you what I discovered. I discovered that I had not had to change the bobbin in my machine in so long that I had forgotten how to thread the machine for doing so. This was something so rudimentary to sewing that I thought I would never forget how to do it. Well, I did. I have had two sewing machines in my adult life, and I used my first one quite a bit. But, as you may or may not know, it burned up back in 1987 in my house fire.

And

Okay, so no problem. I will just get my instruction book out for this machine and see what it says about threading the machine for winding the bobbin. Ha, ha, ha! It should prove so easy to do! Could not find the instruction book so I was trying to do it from memory. I mean, how hard can it be, right? But, no, what did my brain try to do. It tried to remember the way to thread and wind the bobbin from the old machine. Well, it would not work, So, I, by trial and painstaking error, finally got it to thread and wind some but the thread kept breaking.

Y'all, what kept running through my brain was,  "I don't want to have to deal with readjusting the tension." That is a mess, let me tell you. At any rate, I got it threaded. Then I had to find a piece of scrap material similar to the one that I was sewing on to see if it would sew on that. I got that machine finally to start sewing, and I was very thankful.

Now I know why I had so many bobbins filled with white thread. I had had such a hard time the last time that I wound a bobbin on this machine that I went out and bought several bobbins and filled them all with white thread.

Lesson Learned

Well, I have determined that I need to thread and wind bobbins with all of the basic colors. And I also determined within myself to go online and order a sewing machine book for my model of machine and read it again and to never let myself get rusty on something as simple as threading a bobbin.  Whew!

Application to Life

Just as I said on yesterday, "If you don't use it you will lose it."  Did you go back over those books of the Bible yet? Just like the general knowledge found in my sewing machine manual would have helped me, the general knowledge found in the Bible can help us. Do you read yours daily? You know, we really must take time to read the instruction manual (Bible) that has God's plan in it as our roadmap to glory. At the end of time, we will be judged by the words that are in the book. Don't you think that we ought to know for ourselves what it says? Just saying. Y'all be blessed.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

 

Gotten Rusty

For the next three days I am going to make a point about three things and tie them in with the Christian life:
1. An Iron Skillet
2. A Sewing Machine
3. A Flashlight

Iron Skillet

Every now and then, my husband gets it in his head that he wants to cook something up, in my kitchen. Now, you cooks on the blog today,  know how territorial we can be about our kitchens, right?  We have a certain place for each thing, and we use certain utensils for only preparing certain foods, etc. And we can tell if someone has been in our kitchen and done anything, right? Y'all know how we do it. Anyway, on this particular day he decided to fry something or another, I forget what, but when he finished, he put my iron skillet in the sink full of water

WELL!

Uhm, hmm, you know that I was not a happy camper, right? I remember thinking, "Now who in their right mind would put an iron skillet in the sink and leave it until the real cook got home, which happened to be several long hours later, in fact into the night. You know how we do when we have been gone for a while, we come in and take inventory of our family and after seeing that they are none the worse for the wear, we then turn our attention to our home, me to my kitchen in particular.

YOU GOT THAT RIGHT if you thought that I had a small fit!  "DIDN'T WANT TO BUY THE IRON SKILLET ANYWAY AND NOW HAS GONE AND PUT IT INTO A SINK FULL OF WATER! NOT TODAY!!!" And  I was getting wound up really good, until I thought like a Christian and remembered Whose I was! The skillet could be saved with some scrubbing and re-seasoning. I explained why I was upset to my husband who looked at me like, "You should be proud of me, I cooked myself something to eat." (You know that I wanted to point out that I had prepared food aplenty for Him before I left, don't you? And no, I did not even bother mentioning it.) He never understood the rationale behind my almost tirade, not really. But, he never put my iron skillet in the sink again.

The Point I Want to Make with Reference to Living a Christian Life

• If you have acquired a certain skill set with reference to the Bible or living a Chrisitan life, that skill set will do just like my iron skillet did, rust if you do not take care of it. If you used to know the books of the Bible by heart, you might not remember the order in which they fall as readily as you used to. You have gotten rusty on them. The same thing goes with delivering the plan of salvation to someone.


• So, take care of the skill set(s) that you have because we do not want to be caught unprepared when He returns like the five foolish virgins were caught.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Tomorrow we will talk about A Sewing Machine with a comparison being made to a Christian life.

Be Careful

 

 

Be Careful About What

Hmm-m-m. I wonder if I have ever actually “…entertained an angel unawares.” (Heb. 13:2, KJV) That is really a thought that goes deep into our brain cells and dwells there a bit. I mean, the way we interact with someone or treat someone is being reported straight to the Lord?! Whew! That gives me great pause for thinking.

I think about whether I took time for or was kind to:

• the person that I met on the bus who stared a hole through me, and because of the uncomfortableness of the stare, would not make eye contact with them


• the person who asked for a dime on the streets


• the person who told me they were hungry


• the person of a different ethnicity who dared let her finger touch mine when she gave me my change


• people that I meet on a daily basis and whether I left them feeling lighter or not


• people who I might need to ask for forgiveness, but never have


• whether I leave a person feeling Jesus in me after our meeting or not.

All of those are things that I think about when I think of “…angels unawares.” And like you, I would like to think that I came out looking good in the telling. Oh, I know that it is easy to be kind and sweet in certain situations. When we are communicating with our loved ones, meeting someone’s new baby or toddler for the first time, etc., all of those are times when kindness and love just ooze from our very pores, right? Uhm, hmm, but let’s be mindful of the other times as well.

Why

1. We are the light of the world.


2. One of those people you looked upon with disdain just might be a person that the Lord has allowed the protective hedges to be taken down from and they might be reeling from several blows from the adversary. You might be one of the jic’s (Chopping My Row, p. 30) that the Lord has put in place for that person or it could be a test to see just how much you do love the Lord.


3. And in the judgment, when the books are opened, we will be most glad that we did respond with kindness!

Just a little something to think about in this world of ours as we make our way home.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

I Can't Take Any More

You know those days that we all have when we want to say to life in general, "Enough, now! I can't take any more!", well, I was having one of those a few days ago, and the telephone rang. It was one of those days when I was a bit overwhelmed, and I was marshaling my own thoughts so that I could do what needed to be done in my world. We all have days like that or have had them. As I was marshaling my thoughts, I took a trip down memory lane.

And I remembered a few years back, just when I was at a low point of my attempting to paint my own storm green, and someone came to me near tears. Their question was to ask if it, meaning life, or trouble with children ever got any better. My first thought was to tell them to continue to pray, and everything would work out. But when I looked at that person's face, and I knew that they needed more than that. They needed me to listen, give words of encouragement, pray with them and for them and counsel their errant daughter. You see something that Maya Angelou said resonated with a practice that I have used all of my life. She said, "Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud," and to that, I add my take on it, "Even though you are going through storms of your own."

Folks, I had to focus on this person's problem. I realized, as a Christian, that I serve the Lord and that He has given me an insight into situations and into children and a certain affinity with them so that I can usually reach them when their parents can't. I realized that my being a Christian was not all about me. I realized that in the Lord's army, sometimes my problems had to take a backseat to those of my fellowman. And you know what else I have learned over the years, I have learned that when I put the Lord's work first, oftentimes, my problem is worked out before I realize it!

So

When you feel like you have enough on your own plate and cannot be bothered to help someone else, be careful. The gifts that you have for helping people were not given to you just for your family and yourself, but for your fellowman, as well. Then too, remember that the Bible says, "Have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2, KJV)

To be continued tomorrow-

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

The Monsoon Season

I was talking to a woman in the store today, and she mentioned the fact that when she lived in a certain part of Venezuela, there was a monsoon season and it rained about the same time every day during the season. They knew the time of the rain each day, so they planned their activities around it. Be that as it may, wouldn't it be nice as Christians if we knew when our monsoons would be upon us?

Yes, it would be nice, but if we knew that we would not be walking by faith as much as we do now. If we knew the time and the duration of our stormy season, we would plan for such. But, since we don't know, we have to trust in the God of creation to help us to make it through our storms.

Like Domesticated Cattle or Sheep

They tell me that when a sheep gets lost or a cow gets stuck in something and cannot get out that the cow bellows and the sheep baas. We ought to be like the cows that bellow or the domesticated sheep that baa for food. When we have a storm or a problem we ought to go to our God instead of despairing.  We need to remember that He is the Ultimate Shepherd.

So

I don't know when my monsoon will come nor how long it will last. But I do know who made the monsoon and who controls the wind and waves, etc. In short, I know the Lord, and I know that He cares for me. So, I have no need to worry and no need to fear. I just have to remember that though I am a frail mortal, I have a Father, Who can do all things. There is nothing too hard for Him. And then, folks, I step on.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Under Your Banner

I owe my life, my all to You, Lord, and I proudly walk, work and chop my row under Your banner! I tell it everywhere I go. Y'all, enjoy your day in worship.

Sometimes You Just Have to Wait

Things don't always happen as quickly as we think they ought to or the way we think they ought to. Sometimes we just have to wait for the Lord to do what needs to be done. And remember that faith worketh patience, and patience perseverance. (Romans 5:4 and James 1:3-4)

What we have to remember is that we are always a work in progress. That means that God deals with us as with sons and daughters for He chastens those that He loves. (Hebrews 12, KJV) For when my tribulations and trials are over, if I maintain my trust in Him, I shall come forth as pure gold.

So

During your trial by fire, keep your head up and maintain your faith in God. When it is all over you will be left with the peaceable fruit of righteousness, and you will be "Fit for the Master's Use."

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Trust Issues

There are times in our lives when it is hard to trust the Lord. We develop trust issues with Him because of the way that some things unfold in our lives. I know, because I have been there and done that. Let me remind you that it is precisely at these times that you must lean on your trust in Him the hardest. Yep, I mean, trust Him when it makes you look stupid to the eyes of the world to do so.

How do I do this? Easy, I look back at the past that is recorded in the Bible and back through the eyes of my parents and view their walk with Him and with some of my church members back at their past. When I do, I see a strength, a resolve, and trust that is ramrod strong. Then, too, I look back at my little past with Him, and I begin to rethink my decision to trust Him. I tell myself that I already know how the game is going to end, I just don't know all of the plays and that is okay because He wrote the playbook way before I was born. Did y'all hear me?

No Matter What

I will repeat that for you. I said that no matter what the outcomes finally is, it will be okay for me. How do I know? Easy, as one of my favorite scriptures has said, Romans 8:28, that all things work together for good for those that love the Lord. That is enough for me.

Take the time and read this poem, if you will. I want you to get past the fact that you don't like poetry. Why. because my response to your saying that you just don't like poetry would be, "Not even poetry that helps you with a problem and eases your mind through a struggle?" If it is going to help you, read it and absorb it. The writer was inspired to write it for folk just like you. Yeah, you!

Now that we have gotten past that, read the poem below:

The footsteps of faith from the past have charted

My course from which I have grown

And have me looking toward the future...

All from the past that I have known.

 

Remember the blessings that Abraham got from being faithful when it seemed for the impossible to be done? Yes, dear ones, it pays to keep your faith in God, uh hmm, to keep on trusting Him!

And Guess What Else?

One day, the world will be looking at you and thinking, Well he/she doesn't look so stupid now, do they?" And you will be sounding like me, and you will be the one saying, "Won't He do it?!!"

 

 

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

Spent the biggest portion of the day at the doctor's office with the husband. He is not happy about now having to give up his beef. He says that is asking more than he can do. He has been like a bear with a sore head these past few weeks. Whew! And having to give up beef, oh my.

But, you what? He is already making plans for what to do with the beef that he bought early this morning.  And you know, we have to have an attitude pretty much the same about life. We have to remember Who is in charge of our lives, make adjustments and step on. Some days are easier than others, but we must keep putting one foot in front of the other. And when it seems that the storm is just too much for us, we have to trust in God and keep moving. Yes, sometimes we will be moving with tears in our eyes, but we keep moving just the same. When folk:

• talk about us


• laugh at our calamities


• set traps for us


• lie on us


• misunderstand us,


• and when life generally abuses us, etc.


• we must keep going.

I don't overstress long about anything. I have learned to remind myself Whose child I am and that He ever cares for me. You, fellowman have to do the same thing. And I always remember that this world is not our home. We are pilgrims passing through. So, if we have to cry sometime, that's alright because we have a Father Who will fix it all by and by. Y'all be blessed and grateful for what God has already done for you. Until tomorrow, if the Lord wills.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

 

Stealing My Joy

Not everybody is happy for you when you receive a great blessing, some quite the opposite. If it is true that "Misery loves company," then it must be equally as true that joy has few true friends.

I told you that  I was going to be on the radio being interviewed about my book, Chopping My Row, right? Well, I was as giddy as a school girl and as happy as a lark during the interview and for several days afterward. I was walking around in a euphoric cloud. I tell you that I did not know how to take the blessing because  I have had to learn to make do for so long that when I received a phenomenal blessing, it fair took my breath away! Let me explain.

Most of you know that I have a daughter who is special. Well, she is pretty much like, "E. F. Hutton," in that when she speaks everybody listens!  I have been carrying the burden of my daughter for almost 39 years. And as I told you in a post several years ago, and in my book, "Chopping My Row," the longer you toil under a load, the stronger you become. My daughter's autism has been a heavy load, but it is one that I have learned to bear because I gave it over to the Lord. She can go along so well that you can tend to forget that she is special. Then she erupts like Mt. Vesuvius!

When the eruption does occur, you are taken aback for a minute or so. Then you realize that you gave her over to the Lord a long time ago. You tap into that infinite  Power Source, by which you do all that you do,  with regard to her and then because of His continual love, you step on. When she had her latest eruption, I had to remember to not allow her eruption to steal my joy. I had to remember the scripture that says, "All things work together for good for those that love the Lord." (Romans 8:28, KJV) And then I went on down to Romans 8:31 and I picked that favorite scripture up that says, "If the Lord is for you, then who or what can be against you?"

What am I saying? This: the stealing of my joy was not successful because GOD IS! I have been in the storm and been tried by the fire, and I'm on my way to becoming more of what the Lord will have me to be! Remember this poem that I wrote just a few days ago?

The Lord's hand is upon me

And He is providing blessings

That I did not have the vision to see

Thank You, blessed Jesus

God of eternity!

Well, I did not write it for nothing. It has blessed me and several others as you can tell by the response to it on Facebook. What am I saying to you? I am saying to hold on through your trials and your storms, no matter the duration. Your muscles are being strengthened in preparation for your bountiful blessings to come so that you will have the stamina to receive them and remain faithful to Him. GOD is faithful and good, y'all!

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

The Afterglow

Nothing fills a mother's heart with joy faster than hearing from that grown girl or boy. When we went to the restaurant to eat yesterday, I could see afterglows of joy on the faces of many of the mothers there. I can imagine what put that look on their faces:

• a new hat, scarf  or some other article of clothing


• a piece of jewelry, (a mother's ring)


• a phone call from a child who lives far away just to say, "Happy Mother's Day."


• a surprise visit home from one or more of her grown children


• the pleasure of having all or most of her family together again, etc.

Sons and Daughters

In every family, there is at least, one child who takes charge of the others and herds them in line when it comes to "Mother's Day. I have heard things such as:

• "Don't care how you manage it, but you be there for dinner at Momma's house!"


• "Okay, we need everybody's money for Momma's gift in two weeks!"


• "Okay, we got the flowers ordered. You girls got the outfit, right?", etc.

Mothers

Now, as far as mothers are concerned, they usually call it like it is. I have heard mothers say things such as:

• "Girl, I have one child who is always going to be right under my feet. Honey, not a day goes by that I don't hear from him/her. And he/she makes the others tow the line, too when it comes to my birthday or Mother's Day. Yeah, girl, I know. Sometimes I have to make him/her lighten up on the others. But, he/she is a blessing as are all of my children. They all love me, though they may have different ways of showing it.


• Honey, my babies remembered their momma on yesterday. The girls got together and fixed a big ole dinner. Even had my baby cooking and I never was able to get her to sit still long enough to boil water! Ha Ha, my babies surprised me if I never get another surprise like that. Yeah, I know what you mean; they are a true blessing to us.

So, children, you did well yesterday.  When you talk to your mother over the course of the next few weeks, you will be able to hear/see the afterglow that your outpouring of love caused in her.  God bless you for your care and concern for your mothers and for your taking the time to show it.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Happy Mother's Day to Every Mother

May your day be filled with happiness and may you build sweet memories to carry you through the years.

Momma - My Blessing

To those of you whose mother on this time side of life still resides
Make her know her, value and worth
Make her know that you are thankful that
She was the one who gave you birth.

And to those whose mother has gone on to the other side
Just look forward to a joyous reunion when you see her again
And she will have a joyous smile on her face that says
Blessed child of mine, come right on in!

********

A Colorful Picture of a Blessing

I tried to paint a colorful picture

These last few days on my blog

Like the one that my Momma painted for me

And I wanted to share my rose-tinted glasses

By encouraging and inspiring others

As a child of a jewel of a mother

On behalf of all mothers - the blessings

That mothers are to all of humanity.

 

A Tribute to My Momma:

In reading my blog, you have warmed your feet at the "hearth of my Momma's love." The values I espouse are the ones that she drilled into me. The God I talk about is the One she taught me to cherish.

• - Hats Off to You, Lula Mae, Momma, for you deserve a medal of honor!

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

I Remember Momma

 

I Remember Momma

I am just a country bumpkin

Still holding on to the standards

With which I was raised

My Momma was a godly woman

The Lord be praised.

Since my Momma was a preacher's daughter

There were certain things that she did not condone

And would not allow her children to do

For when we did she would give us a look

That would chill us to the bone.

Found myself thrust into a situation

Last night that made me cringe

And I thought to myself, "You

Know your mother would not be

Comfortable with the mess that

You have been put in, for she

Would say, "No, no, daughter, you

Are standing too close to the fringe!"

So, what I did was remember to whom I belonged

And I upheld the right and shunned the wrong

And held my head up for all to see

The Spirit that dwells inside of me.

Remember your Momma and always strive to make

Her proud of the things that you do each day

By living for the Lord and being a shining

Example of love along the way.

 

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

She Took Time and Patience Then

She Took Time and Patience Then

She took time and patience then

So that I could begin my walk and

Take my stance among men.

She taught me my ABC's

She taught me to tie my shoes

She taught me to be polite by

Always saying, "Thank you" and "Please."

She took the time and patience to

Instruct me in the things that she

Thought I needed to know

In essence, she gave me the tools that

I would need to carry me where I would go.

Yes, she prepared me for this life

And for the day when she would

Leave me to walk solo

The day when she would no longer

Grace this world below.

Yes, she left me alone

To continue to chop my row

As on through this life, I go.

She took the time and patience then

And I took the time and patience when -

Now looking forward to one day seeing her again

My beloved Momma, my earthly best friend.

She never expressed disgust or showed impatience when she was trying so hard to teach me to learn to tie my shoes or when she was trying to teach me my ABC’s. I remember struggling so hard to tie my shoes and practicing and practicing. I never will forget the day that I manipulated those strings and, Voile! I got a tie. I went running to find my Momma so that I could show her what I had just done. I think I ran so fast because I wanted to find her before my hand forgot how to do it. At any rate, I ran smack dab into her with a woof! She shushed me and asked me what had me so excited that I had slammed the door when I came into the house running. I was grinning from ear to ear, and I said, “Momma! Momma! Momma! I can tie my shoes.” She looked at me with a twinkle in her eye and said, “Show Momma.” You know it was show time then, right? I stuck my tongue in the corner of my mouth, and I tied my shoes and looked up at her to see how she was looking and what she was going to say. She said, “Uhm hm, now show Momma again.” She looked at me and then said, Momma is proud of you because you are Momma’s big girl now. I tell you, folks, I basked in the glow of those words and others of like ilk that she said to me even to this.

You see it was like I told you Tuesday, she colored the glass through which I view the world. She colored them with love. And in answer to the innocent question that I asked her about magic beans and getting a doll lite Rita got? She gave me Something much better than any old bean or doll; She gave me Jesus.

She equipped me for life with and without her. She gave me a Friend Who could be with me all of the time, even when she couldn’t. And that Friend, y’all, I carry everywhere I go.

He was with me when I went to the studio and did my interview on the radio yesterday. Yes! You heard me correctly. I interviewed on the radio yesterday, and it felt great! I felt on top of the world when that radio announcer pulled that big microphone up and the interview began.

So, what does my radio interview have to do with you and your mother? Well, here’s the deal. If My Mother had not taken the time and patience to teach me and push me to be all that I  could be in Jesus’ name, then I would have given in to the naysayers a long time ago. And you would not be reading from my blog now because there is always somebody that wants to shut you down. But because I had a godly Momma who loved and cherished me, I use that teaching to learn more about this living that we are doing so that I can share that love with you. You see, when I share her love with you, I am sharing her love of the Lord which is what she was all about.

So

Since your mother takes the time or took the time and patience to teach you and nurture you, take time for her now. It’s quite simple, really. It’s all about showing love. We have spent almost nine days discussing mothers, and for some of you, that might seem like a lot. But remember the nine times umpteen days that she spent on you and your welfare. She certainly deserves more than one special day of your care. Why, because the jewels of mothers of this world are rare.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Had a Caring and Teaching Mother,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

 

Better than Cake - Out on the Air Waves!

We stopped yesterday with our little 8-year-old being excited but not too excited to each a piece of cake. Let's jump back in, shall we?

So, that night when it was storytelling time, I begged my momma to tell us the story of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” When she finished, I sat back with a blissful sigh, as I always did when Momma finished whatever story she was telling us. Still in the grips of the blissful storybook moment, I said to Momma, “Momm-uh! Wouldn’t it be good if magic beans were real?”

Oh, the scoffing laughter that burst forth from my brothers. “Ha ha ha ha! Man, are you dumb! There’s no such thing as magic beans! You’re so stupid! Ha ha ha ha!”

 

To that, Momma replied, “Leave your sister alone, boys. And yes, it would be nice, but that’s only in fairy tales. All right, everybody! Scoot! Off to bed, you guys.”

~~~~~~~~

 

The next day, Momma sat me down and told me she needed to talk to me. She gave me that penetrating stare that seemed to look through me. I didn’t like it when my momma looked at me like that, because most of the time it meant I was in trouble or she was about to tell me something serious.

 

Momma said, “Beanstalk magic is not real, but there is something better that is. That something is prayer and Jesus. You know how Momma has taught you to say your prayers at night? Well, after you finish saying them, you can ask Jesus for what you want Him to do for you.”

“You mean I can ask Him, and He will do it!” I thought for a few seconds then I came up with this bright conclusion, “Can I ask for a doll like Rita got?”

We will finish our tale tomorrow of how Momma gives our little eight-year-old the best lesson that any mother could give a child, Jesus. And I will tie in today's title for you, too.

I will give you a hint! I got some studio time today!!!!!!!!... Until tomorrow, then, if the Lord wills.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Joys That Await Me

I had about a 2.5-mile walk home from school when I was eight years old. I did not mind the walk, as there were many other children who walked, too. Usually, we found one of our buddies to walk home with and played, hopped and skipped most of the way. But Tuesdays were special days. Why? That was Momma's off day. I knew that when I got home, Momma's love would be waiting for me and warm food to boot. Plop, plop, plop, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other because I knew what joy awaited me when I got home. My Momma's love awaited me...

When I got home, I walked through the door, and I could smell what smelled like neck bones and potatoes…and I smelled something else. It smelled like cake! Had Momma baked a cake? I walked through the corridor of the front room, the middle room, the hall, the dining room, and at last to the kitchen. Yes! There sat a cake on the table. I went out the back door looking for my mother and found her talking with my aunt who lived upstairs. I walked up to Momma and took from her the clothes she had just taken from the line.

 

By the time I heard the back-door slam, I had changed into my play clothes and had hung up my school clothes. Momma told me to wash my hands and come to the table to eat. I kept up incessant chatter while I washed my hands with the Octagon soap, until Momma said, “You pay attention to what you are doing so you get your hands clean. You can tell me about school after you get your plate and sit down at the table.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” I said in a subdued voice.

 

When I got my food and sat back down at the table, Momma said, “Okay, so tell me what has you so excited that you could hardly get in the door before you told me?”
I said, “In reading group today, our teacher read us a new story. It was called ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’”

“Okay, tell Momma the story.”

I launched into the story using my best storytelling voice, just as I had heard Momma do many times. When I finished the story, with Jack getting an ax and chopping the beanstalk down, Momma was giggling, and her eyes shone with motherly love and pride.

She patted me on the back and got up to cut the cake. “I don’t suppose you are too excited to eat a bit of cake, are you?”

(Continued on Thursday)

The story above is a true story excerpt from the book, Chopping My Row, p. 160.

The gift that was my mother

I am proud to share with you

As we make our way to the other side -

A place that with joy we are looking forward to.

If your mother is still gracing this time side of life, give her a phone call or a visit because one day the phone calls and visits will be memories that will sustain you.

If your mother has already crossed to the other side, then do something in her memory to help your fellowman as you walk this life to reach her side.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Serve My God with Pride,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Oh, what joys await us when we get to the other side! We will have the joys of reunion, but the greatest joy will be meeting my Lord and being able to say, "Thank You, Sir!"

She Colored My World

She Colored My World

I had a jewel of a mother

And I was glad that the Lord let me see

That the things that others admired in me

Was simply the way my Momma taught me to be.

She was loving, and she taught me to be

She was prayerful and had great respect for Christ

And she taught me how to allow Him to

Always have control over my life.

She taught me to always think of the downtrodden

And anyone who was going through something unpleasant

Oh, she taught me so much that I cannot name it all

But I can say that I carry her teachings with me

Even in this moment, present

And it still brings me joy when those moments

That she colored my life, I sit down like now and recall.

If I could, I would pick up my telephone and

Dial up a sweet, “Hello”

And say, “It’s just me Momma sending

You some thanks from down here below.

And yes, I am doing fine

I am doing my blog and sharing with others

About the time that you introduced me to Jesus

So very long ago.”

 

********

A Portion of the poem above is what I would say if I were able to dial my Momma up today. Have your dialed up yours if she is still on this time side of life?

 

 

Yes, I am an optimistic little soul and a caring, tender-hearted one at that.

Something my momma told me when I was just eight years old had

such an impact on me that it continues to impact my life, even

to this day. What thing is this? Listen, and put yourself in the mind

of an eight-year-old, okay? You can do it—just humor me a bit, will you?

 

If you have ever had the privilege of indulging in a good fairytale,

then you realize the euphoric cloud that I walked home under one

particular day when I was eight years old. This would be the day

that our teacher introduced us to the children’s story “Jack and the

Beanstalk.” On any given day, it was my mother’s habit to ask us

what we had learned or done at school that day.

 

 

On this particular day, I skipped until I got tired, walked for a bit,

and started skipping again. Now mind you, I had three miles to go,

but that did not bother me. I hopped, skipped, and played on my

way home from school, as I did most days. I could not wait to get

home to tell my momma what I had learned in school that day. And

you know what else? I knew that today was extra special because

today was Tuesday—Momma’s day off. That meant I would get to

smell the hot food she would have waiting for me and my brothers.

There would be baked sweet potatoes with a small amount of margarine,

maybe neck bones and Irish potatoes, or pinto beans and

pig’s ears. Then again, I knew there was the chance that we might

be having black-eyed peas. Yuck! Neither my brothers nor I liked

black-eyed peas, but Momma said they were good for us.

Continued on Wednesday…

Blessing of Mothers

There was a song that I heard a choral group do several years ago that had these words:

Lord, I want to thank You for my mother

For when You gave me my mother

You gave me a part of You

Lord, You knew that when we

Had lost all others

That we could always count on our mother

So I want to thank you Lord for mothers

Such as this.

Mothers have a blessed place in our hearts. And while I did not write the words to the song above, the words ring true for me, as I am sure it does for most of you. And that is one of the reasons that I have dedicated my blog for the rest of the week to the subject of mothers.

It has been said that "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." That is a true statement. And if you go to my Twitter site you will see that I have as a logo, a mother's hand holding a tiny baby's hand. That shows you the weight that our mothers carry in shaping our lives.

And as usual, when you read the pages of this blog, you will see that I am using this opportunity, as my mother's daughter, to brag on God. (Jeremiah 9:24)

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because, As My Mother's Daughter, I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

 

 

 

Ah, Mother

Ah, Mother

You cradled me in your body

Nine months long

You held my hand with love

Until I learned to walk on my own.

You taught me about life

And how to find my way

You introduced me to your God

A Friend, Who would care for me

So that I could have hope

When life and time parted our ways

And I had to face your dying day.

Ah, Mother

I now walk on my own

But I carry the strength you gave me

When you told me of the God, Who loved me

And because of that, I can be strong.

Ah, Mother

Because of the love that you've shown me

Each smile I give or each kind deed that  I do

Precious, I share with this world

A little bit of the sunshine that was you.

And now that I'm grown

With children of my own

I teach them the melody of you

So that they, too can learn to sing

The essence of your song.

So man, woman, boy or girl

If your mother still graces

This time side of life

Don't just wait for Mother's Day

But love and treasure her

Like the jewel that she is

While you can still feel her

Tender touch and warm embrace

And she is only a "hello" or phone call away.

 

The poem above is one that I composed this morning in memory of my Momma, Lula M. Carr. And yes, just as the poem says, her melody sings to you with each blog that I post.

You should not wait until next Sunday; go ahead and start today. This Sunday morning, if possible, surprise your mother with a visit to the worship and act upon her slightest whim. Trust me; you will be glad you did when her life wattage has gone dim.

 

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because My Momma Taught Me to Love God and He Said to Love You, Too,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

 

 

Like Nobody Else in the World

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 13, so for the next nine days, I will be discussing mothers on my blog. Why? Simple, really. If you ask most people who loves them more than anybody else in the whole world, most people would say their mother, if you exclude spouses.

Momma (Mother)

Our mothers make quite a significant contribution to our lives, and yet, sometimes we get so busy that we might tend to take her for granted simply because she has always been there.

We will discuss this a little more in the next nine days. But for today, here is a poem for you to think about.

Like Nobody Else in the World

Just a phone call will gladden her heart

The woman who gave you life and

Gave you your start

The woman whose value system you

Are walking around with ingrained in you

The woman who trained you to do and be

All the things that you can be and do.

 

Do you take for granted the fact that

All you have to do is smile

And that female you look upon as Mom

Will give you that special look, just

Because you are her child?

 

Your mother, whether birth or adopted, will always be your best friend besides your spouse and of course, God. He is first always. Think on these things…

 

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Persistence Pays Off

When I got to my computer this morning to do my blog, things did not go as I had planned. I must have inadvertently hit a wrong key., the end result of which made my type size go to about a 6. I usually type in a font size of 12, so you know I had to be mildly irritated, to say the least. Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! At any rate,  I did not get to work on the problem until this evening, as I had an appointment that took up quite a bit of my day. 

The trouble that I had with the size of the font made me have to do a bit of study, the result of which is that I know quite a bit more about my new wordprocessing program than I would ordinarily know. I have managed to get the font to a size that I can work with. I still do not know how to get it the size I want without going through several steps. I will keep studying and stepping.

And

The scenario above brings me to another point that I need to mention about life.  When I had the computer problems this morning, I could have easily given in to frustration and not done a blog at all. Instead, I found a way to make this thing work until I could figure out the logistics of this new program. What am I saying about life? I am saying that sometimes we are thrust into situations, not of our choosing and the only way we can get out of them is through prayer and trial and error. The trial-and-error develops something in us that we will need in our further travels down the road. Think about it...

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

I Won't Be Missed

Worship Service

When it comes to worship services, do you ever feel like the title of this piece says? Do you ever feel like, "I won't be missed?" Most of us have felt like that at some point or another in our life. But, the trick is to not allow yourself to feel that way too often. Why? Well if you allow yourself to feel like that too often, you may be setting yourself up for falling away from the church and not even realizing it. You know how it goes; you stay away for some reason or another, usually because somebody hurt your feelings. You sit at home mad with righteous anger.

You figure that somebody will come by and ask you to come on back. But what if nobody does? Yes, we know that in a perfect world someone would come by or call to check on you and tell you that they missed you, etc. Somebody may come by and they may not. You have to remember that we do not live in a perfect world. If we did, then the Lord would not have said that He was going to separate the tares from the wheat when He comes back.

Listed below are some of the things that you do when you decide not to go to worship:

1. You deprive yourself of the privilege of communing with the Lord. Remember that He said, "Where two or three gather together in My name, there I will be in the midst." (Matthew 18:20, KJV)


2. You deprive other members of your presence. You never know when someone has decided to pattern their life after you, so it behooves all of us to put Christ first in all we say and all we do.


3. You deprive the preacher of your presence. I know! That statement shocked you didn't it? You never thought about it like that, did you? Yeah, well most people don't think about the preacher in that way either. But, look at this scripture:

that is that I with you may be comforted in you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.(Romans 1:12, ASV)

You can plainly see in the scripture above that the apostle Paul said that he got encouragement from coming together with his Christian brothers and sisters. I can tell you as the wife of a preacher who has been on the ministerial field for  over 40 years that every encouraging word helps the minister because much of the time he gets more criticisms than "Thank you's."

Good Works

As you know, my motto is some form of "Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care." That is why I do a blog most days. When my blog does not appear, you look for it don't you? Well, if you like reading my blog, that means that I have been successful in doing a good work. It means that when my blog doesn't appear you miss it. Try to build a positive legacy so that you will be missed in a good way, when your seat is empty.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

 

I Can Use the Dust Ruffle

Often in life, we have to resort to using what we have in hand to accomplish a goal. I wanted a new window treatment for a room in my house but had no funds to create one. So, I used what I had in hand. I used the new dust ruffle, and it matched the spread perfectly because it came with it.

So, it is going to take a little effort on my part, but I will have the new window treatment that I, wanted and too, I will get the satisfaction of being creative with cloth once again.

I have a long history of being able to make do with whatever I had on hand to get a job done. When I was a little girl, I altered the clothes that folk gave me so that they fit me. I guess that you could say that since life had given me some lemons, I used the talents and skills that I had been gifted with to make lemonade.

But

I just was not prepared for folk to mess with the lemonade that I fixed. But as I told you a couple of blogs back, if you do anything worthwhile, you will cultivate enemies or haters and will have a bullseye on your back. But I am so glad that I have a Father, Who can and has said, "Oh no you don't! Not that one. She is mine! Enough, no more! She has proven her love for me and is to be commended and blessed." You know, the Lord had a conversation similar to this concerning Job, didn't He? Uhm hmm.

Well

What I am saying is that we need to use whatever we have and know that if we do, we have a God, Who is faithful and Who will take care of our needs according to His riches in glory.

Bottom Line

When things happen that you cannot understand, keep praying and trusting God anyhow. Our thoughts are not His, and our ways are not His, but remember He is the great I AM and what is He to you? He is your Daddy, and He has been in the taking care of His children business longer than you have been living! In fact, He invented the business, so why should you worry? Be happy and content while remembering that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord!

Use your dust ruffle!

Doing What I Can While I Can as I Use My Dust Ruffle and Give Encouraging Advice to You at the Same Time,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

And another thing, don't let what your neighbor has cause you to be discontent with what you have. Think about this: If you look overlong at what your neighbor has, you will become a hater and just might act accordingly. Just saying...