I've Tapped Into Something and It Works!

I really can't tell how it happened or when it started to happen because it's been going on for years. I don't even know what I did to make it happen in the first place. All I know is that it happens and I love it! There are these random words of expression that comes from the mouth of my dear husband. These words cause me to melt like a popsicle on the sidewalk in the middle of January.

He tells me all the time that he reads about me in the Bible. Then he'll proceed to read the Scripture to me and explain why it's talking about me. As I sit there like a school girl blushing gazing into his eyes, I can't help but to wonder what did I do to deserve this.....

Society tells me that I'm not what a man wants in a woman because I'm overweight. That theory was blown out of the water when my husband said the reason why he loves my stomach and can't stop touching it is because I carried his children in it.

Even today the children are still amused when their dad comes into the kitchen and loves on me. They may say things like, "Ewww get a room." Or, "That's gross. Don't be kissing mom while she's cooking." All the while they are beaming at the sight of their dad loving their mom.

Did I tap into something that caused him to openly express his love and affection for me that so many women desire? I'm not sure. I've tried answering this question so many times. I'm a simple girl living a life of simplicity. I dress simple. There's nothing extravagant about my hair. My makeup is little to none. My nails are.....well, let's not go there.

What could I have done to cause him to follow me around the house just because he "wants to" be in my presence? What caused him to put me so high on the pedestal? I often tell him that I'm not perfect and I'll fall off. His response is that he'll catch me and put me back up there.

Could it be that just maybe following Scripture and totally abandoning myself to God's will and not my own cause such a reaction? Have I tapped into something in the Word of God and embraced it with every fiber of my being? I don't know, but whatever I've tapped into works so I'll keep doing it.

Ephesians 5:22 - Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

My Invisible Brake

After over a year of being chauffeured around by my 18 year old son I should be used to it, right?! Wrong! Last night while riding home from church I realized why I'm so tensed whenever I came home. I can feel it all over my body. My neck is so stiff. I move as if I'm wearing a neck brace. I don't think the best masseuse can loosen the knot that's growing in my shoulders. Just thinking about my legs and how they're so sore upon the exit of his vehicle makes them hurt as I'm writing this. Why so much drama?! Not with my son, but his with momma. I figured it out last night. It's the brake pedal that's on the passenger's side. My side!

This brake pedal wasn't put in the car by the manufacture. Neither my son nor my husband install it. Who installed the brake pedal that I've used for over a year now and has cause such harm to my body? Some may say it's a figment of my imagination. But how can something that's so real or at least seems so real be my imagination. Could my imagination be running away with me? Of course not. It's real. I use it. Maybe my husband uses it too, but just don't want to admit it.

Admission.....hmmm.....

Maybe I just don't want to admit that my son is a young adult now and he knows how to drive. Maybe I won't admit that it's hard for me, a mom, too see him as a man developing into his own identity. After all, he did tell me when I address him and his brothers by trying to get there attention not to used the word "boys" But they are my boys. Ooops! There I go again not admitting that my son is a young man. Since I am admitting some things, maybe it's time I admit that I installed the invisible brake pedal.

"I installed my invisible brake pedal."

Commitment

New Year's Day has come and gone. People are talking about their resolutions: go on a diet, walk two miles a day, get organized, clean out the hall closet, spend more time with the family, give more attention to devotions and prayer.

Promises, promises.

Talk, as the old adage says, is cheap. It's now two weeks into the new year, and most of those resolutions have already gone into the recycling bin. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh just can't seem to keep up. We mean well, we really do. We fully intend to keep those promises, this time. But before long "this time" becomes like all the other times. We slip back into our old comfortable patterns.

Why is it so difficult for us to keep the commitments we make? Perhaps because the changes we seek are external rather than internal. We can make vows to God and to others until Jesus comes, but unless true commitment is rooted deep in our hearts, we are bound to fail, to disappoint our loved ones and ourselves.

We live in a society where lack of commitment is the norm. If the road to marital bliss gets a little rocky, bail out and start over with someone new. If a job's tougher than you planned, turn it over to someone else-or just abdicate it altogether. If you're always late for appointments-hey, no big deal. They'll wait.

No wonder we have trouble keeping our word. No wonder our zeal flags and our determination fades. Commitment, in the modern world, simply isn't a very high priority.

To God, however, commitment is the very bedrock of faith. And it begins, not with our external efforts to change our outward patterns, but with a profound inward conviction that draws us into a commitment to Someone greater than ourselves.

"How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?" the Psalmist ask. "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people." (Ps. 116:12-14)

When we commit our lives to God, something happens deep within us. Our priorities begin to changes. We begin to see the spiritual truth keeping our word is not just a matter of making a good impression, but a matter of being true to the One who created us and redeemed us, the One in whose image we have been reborn.

Commitment is not an outward effect, but an inner transformation.

It's not a New Year's resolution; it's the gift of grace.

*Taken from the book "Simple Words of Wisdom 52 Virtues For Every Woman" by: Penelope J. Stokes

Dare To Dream

There are times when I'm asked if I'm related to Martin Luther King Jr. Hmmm.....what would give someone that idea? With a smile on my face, I politely say, "No, but my husband is Don King." For those of you who have meet my husband and know the boxing promoter Don King, you should be chuckling by now.

I started thinking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Then it clicked. Him and I do have something in common. We may not be blood related, but we share something and it's not just our last names. He was a dreamer and so am I.

Often times dreamers are told that they are living in a fairy tale and their imagination is to far fetched to ever come true. A dreamer has the tendency to look beyond the here and now, but see what's ahead. There are times when a dreamer can ask, "Did you see that?" Only to be told no. To top it off, no one around you saw it but you.

We walk away scratching our heads.

Next thing you know the dreamer is at it again. We just can't shake off the feeling we felt while dreaming. Dreaming about watching our children minister to the multitude of people. Leading them into the presence of God as the angelic voice comes from the mouth of your offspring. Standing at the altar as your lad gives an invitation to invite others to give their hearts to Jesus. In awe as you see your younger ones hunger for the Word of God. You get up in the middle of the night because you're awaken by a light. Only to find that they have their Bibles cracked open. Then you hear, "Just one more chapter Mom and then I'll go to bed." Watching the rosebud develop into a beautiful rose right before your eyes. Standing outside on the gravel waving down the street as you see your prodigal coming home. Working side by side as husband and wife in the ministry. Becoming pillars in the local church to carry out the vision God gave your leader.

Yes, I was at it again, dreaming. With one exception, my dreams are reality because I dared to dream!

As we approach the close of an old year and began a new one, I want to challenge you to dream. Some dreams you may not be able to share with others, that's fine. For 2010, I dare you to dream.....

He Took A Second Look

Lately I've been talking to one of my son about what to look for in a wife. Yes, I know he's only 18, but that day will come when he comes to me and say, "Mom, I met a girl and I'm really interested in her."

I have yet to hear those words come from his mouth. He has many female friends. I for one consider him to be one of my best friends. We can talk about anything. Sometimes we can have deep conversations. Sometimes it's about politics, ministry, marriage, having solutions to the world's problems, things we're passionate about, ect.

Over the years we've talked to our children openly about relationships and why we don't like dating. Our son has never been on an official date. You know the kind where he goes and picks her up. Takes her to dinner and a movie, alone. Would he like to go to dinner and a movie with a young lady? Perhaps, maybe, but with whom?

Sometimes I scratch my head because I really don't know what he's looking for in a young lady. I have an idea, but when I ask him, he says stuff like, "She's got to have a nice personality." Me being the mom, I'm like "What else?" Then there's this awkward silence....

A few weeks ago he mentioned to me that he saw a young lady wearing a skirt. I was kind of puzzled because he sees young ladies in skirts all the time, but something was different about this skirt. The next words to proceed out of his mouth was, "She had on a modest skirt and she looked like a lady."

Then it dawned on me that it's not very often that he sees a young lady dressed modest. He told me he had to take a second look. Wow!..... Imagine that, a young man taking a second look at a young lady dressed in modest attire.

Christmas Quilt & Decorations

This is a scene from my little town.

Little one room school houses.

Snowman display inside my curio cabinet.

My 2009 Christmas quilt hanging on the deacon's bench.

Snowman Christmas tree.

Christmas Quilt

As you can see, Christmas is well underway here in my home. I love this time of year. Our Thanksgiving was filled with so much joy and laughter. Love just filled our home and I pray that those who shared Thanksgiving dinner with us felt it as well.

I have some new cookie recipes that I will be trying for the first time this year. During this time of the year, my home always has a candle burning with some kind of cinnamon scent. I love the smell of cinnamon. Sometimes the boys will walk through the door thinking that I have some bread or cookies in the oven, but it's just my candle.

On Friday, November 20th, I hosted a baking party at my house. I was able to share my love for aprons and my passion for baking. I made each of the ladies an apron. I tried making them according to their personalities. I think I did pretty good being that I've only known them for such a short time. We had so much fun in my cozy little kitchen.

The Invisible Mom

The Invisible Mom
by: Nicole Johnson

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously, not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is 20 the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude -- but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England .... Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped pack age, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read -- no, devour -- the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals -- we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit..The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know...I just did.

Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does.

We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.