Mews from Meowmix

…otherwise known as Germantown Parkway Chapel.  This is where I spend a little bit of time now, learning a new job.  As time moves along, I’m sure I’ll have lots of stories about the people and the situations I encounter.  I’ll share a couple of them now, since one of the people I’ve met may be checking into some of our blogs and, possibly, making some comments.  I’ve told him about all of you and our blogging network.  He says he enjoys dialogue!

Jonathan is one of the funeral directors.  I don’t understand a lot about all this, yet, but he apparently goes from location to location.  He’ll be filling in for our two regular directors who are vacationing next week.  Right away, it was obvious he likes to engage folks in conversation, so we spent some time swapping information and asking questions.  Seems he went to Freed and Lipscomb both and knows a LOT of preachers, etc., that I know.  He is affiliated now with an evangelical church and, if I got the story right, does some part-time preaching there.  He’s a nice guy, and I have enjoyed getting to know him a little bit.  Greg, I told him about you, my ex-preacher-turned-funeral-director friend and brother.  He smiled, I guess, thinking about the parallel with himself, since he does some of both, s well.

The first night I worked a visitation, there were two at the same time.  As one of the families were leaving, I got up to move to say goodnight to one of the men, and my right knee gave a familiar twinge of pain and almost gave way on me.  Could have fallen but, thankfully, didn’t.  Got the attention of the grieving man, though, and he had to ask if I was okay.  How embarrasing!  But it would have been WORSE if I’d fallen.  I’m such a klutz, anyway………early on, I asked if we have to place the casket sprays and was thankfully told no.  I could see myself dropping one and sprawling right in the middle of it……………..and taking my whole paycheck to replace i! 

That’s all for today.  See you tomorrow.  And may God bless.

TODAY’S SMILES:

1. Listening to Grace  hold her son’s feet to the fire on the phone.
2. A beautiful sunshiny day.
3. The visitation I work tonight is only from 5-7.
4. Home-made biscuits.
5. Stew in the crockpot cooking for supper.
6. Phil sounded okay on the phone last night.

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I received the following in an e-mail from a very dear friend, and I thought it so beautiful and pertinent that I decided to share it with you tonight.  And, yes, God may speak with encouragement, even through the e-mails of a friend.  He often gives me encouragement through communication with this friend.  Thanks, Caril!  

WHISPERS

The man whispered, “God, speak to me” and a meadowlark sang.
But, the man did not hear.

So the man yelled, “God, speak to me” and the thunder rolled across the sky.
But, the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, “God let me see you.” And a star shined brightly.
But the man did not see.

And, the man shouted, “God show me a miracle.” And, a life was born.

But, the man did not notice.

So, the man cried out in despair, “Touch me God, and let me know you are here.” Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man. But, the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

I found this to be a great reminder that God is always around us in the little and simple things that we take for granted … even in our electronic age.

So I would like to add one more:

The man cried, “God, I need your help!” And an e-mail arrived reaching out with good news and encouragement.

But, the man deleted it and continued crying .

Don’t miss out on a blessing because it isn’t packaged the way that you expect.

I fear I sometimes overlook blessings because they don’t appear in the package I want them in.  This was a simple, yet lovely, reminder to me that God IS around me in all of the day and night.  If I think He isn’t, I may just not be listening and looking.

TODAY’S SMILES:

1. Recalling how Holly remembered Doris’ birthday and called her.  This is monumental for two reasons: 1) her memory has to be getting better; many things have not come easy for her since last July and the brain surgery, and 2) as far as I can remember, it’s the first time this has ever happened—even with a good memory!
2. Jonathan.
3. I continue to be amazed at the varied ways Barney has of keeping us wrapped!
4. Jeff Foxworthy’s portrayal of an old man walking along with a sagging posterior.
5. The x-ray didn’t take nearly as long as we thought it would.
6. Leftover meatballs are still pretty good!

See you sometime tomorrow.  And may God bless.

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Don’t know exactly what day spring happens this year, but I know it’s right around the corner.  I was just sitting and thinking tonight back to my childhood and things I remember about growing up in the country and this time of year.  Fall is my very favorite time of year, but I like spring, too, and this has seemed like a particulalry hard winter.  (I know other parts of the country have had far worse than we saw in the mid-south!)

I moved away from the country into Memphis in May of 1969.  One of the first things I remember noticing the first early spring away from it – and missing – was the smell of the earth being turned over in preparation for planting.  I never noticed before that heavenly smell of a freshly-turned field until I could no longer smell it!

Other memories include, and here it’s a little fuzzy, but I remember ditch dumps being burned off in the spring.  Doris says she thinks they did this in Mississippi in the fall, but I’m remembering spring time for this.  It was so neat to stand outside and look across the open country and see little blazes in the distance and know someone was standing close by and tending the fire.

I have no idea, now, what he was planting, but Daddy used to walk the field and “broadcast” something.  He would have an apron pouch tied around his waist, and he would dig his hands in and toss the seeds from side to side.  I know it wasn’t cotton because those had established rows.  Couldn’t have been soybeans, either, for the same reason.  As far as I remember, that’s all he ever planted, but the term “lespedezer” comes to mind.  I think it was some kind of green “cover crop” which would have been for feed or some such.  I’m a little fuzzy here, too! 

My older brothers and sister used to talk about some kind of “spring tonic” they were forced to imbibe, and their description was awful.  I don’t remember having to take this.  I must have been healthier than they were.

Later, in school, spring heralded the end of the school year, and there were the field days.  I always looked so forward to these and packing a little lunch and getting to play outside most of the day.  By then, the cool spring mornings turned into much warmer days.

One year, we were outside for some kind of field day, and the teacher asked if anyone in the class knew at what degree the ground should be for it to be safe to plant a crop.  I don’t know where I pulled the answer from, but I was a country-country kid, and a lot of the rest of the class were country-town kids, and I thought I knew it was somewhere around 60 degrees.  Teacher said that was right!  I was so proud!! 

Later, after I graduated and started to work at the bank in my home town, spring time meant there was a day (and more) that the bank lobby was going to be filled to overflowing with people.  As I’m remembering it now, it was April 1st.  As soon as the curtains were pulled and the front doors were opened, farmers piled in to make their yearly crop loans.  It was an extremely busy time.

As the spring progressed, Mom would plant Morning Glories at the west end of our front porch.  (She and Daddy always thought it was okay to plant ANYthing on or after Good Friday.)  Our house faced north, and the afternoon sun really did a number on anyone trying to sit on the porch in the late afternoon.  Mom would make her own trellis across the whole end of that porch with twine, and those Morning Glories would just take off!

Daddy’s claim to fame with flowers was the beautiful princess feather.  These are so lovely, looking like burgundy felt material!

Also, in the spring, Mom would order a bunch of little chickens.  They would come in the mail, and the boxes, of course, had a bunch of little holes all in them.  Those little chickens were so fuzzy and cute and would just be peeping away!  Now it kind of turns my stomach as I remember those fuzzy little babies who were destined to have their adult necks wrung and wind up on the table!

Planting the garden.  That was a major event.  But not nearly as major as harvesting later on and canning everything in the house that didn’t move!

Anyway, anticipating spring right around the corner has caused me to think backward to other springs, and I wanted to share just a few of my springtime memories.  Feel free to share some with me!

TODAY’S SMILES:

1. A beautiful spring-like day with sunshine and blue skies.
2. Being a servant, even though sometimes it’s exhausting.
3. All the puppies at Ricky and Jacquee’s house.
4. Elisa’s new trailer.
5. Coming home.

See you tomorrow.  And may God bless.

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Bro. C. is called on to lead prayer in services a lot.  He’s a deacon and has been a Christian for many years.  Has an adult mentally-challenged son and is a good father to him, continuing on after the death of his wife and the boy’s mother.  But I enter into prayer with him with trepidation.  Why?

Somewhere in his prayer, he ALWAYS uses the phrase “we know your hear and answer our prayers if we pray according to Your will.” I’ve mentioned this before—–that this particular wording bothers me.  Maybe I should approach the subject with HIM instead of boring you guys with it again.  But……………

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that, most of the time, I pray “amiss.”  I pray to the best of my ability, but always feel that the power of the prayer is not in me but in the One to whom I pray.  I feel like I’m not the only one who may pray contrary to His will, selfishly, perhaps ignorantly…………and many other descriptive words I could use here.  I’ve wondered after hearing Bro. C.’s prayer again this morning if any of my prayers have ever been heard.  Have they really been answered or am I just kidding myself because, after all, I’ve probably prayed in a way that is not according to His will.

Jesus, in human form, prayed in a human way in the Garden of Gethsemane, didn’t He?  He prayed, “Father, if it be Thy will, let this cup pass from me.  But Thy will be done, and not mine.”  He was sweating drops of blood in grief and fear and pled with the Father that there might be a way to deliver Him from this task that He already knew He had come specifically to perform.  A task of mercy, grace, and service to mankind – who didn’t deserve it .  It was the reason He came.  He was God in human form.  And in His humanity, he feared what was ahead and asked for deliverance – “nevertheless, Thy will, not mine, be done.”

The times I pray amiss don’t equal the Lord’s time, of course.  But He is our example, our model.  And even He, on the cross, cried out to God, “Why have you forsaken me?”  Are we to believe His Father did not hear Him?  I’ve always believed the Father DID hear His son and DOES hear us but sometimes must remain silent.  Again, not in any way comparing my prayer life to that of my Lord.  His was perfect; mine is not.  But I take comfort in knowing He prayed in fear and anguish to have a cup removed from Him.

If God’s hearing and answering my prayers depend on the perfection of my prayers, I am sunk.

Comments?  Input?

TODAY’S SMILES:

1. Barney wanting us to chase him.
2. My friend, Cheryl.
3. Sunny Sundays.
4. Afternoon naps.
5. Making Doris a birthday cake.
6. My church family.

See you tomorrow night.  And may God bless.

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Is there anything that can make a person feel more inept than the first day of a new job?  I think not………. 

Yesterday was my first day of training as a receptionist/hostess at Memphis Funeral Home.  It was an 8-hour day with a supposed 1-hour lunch time, which I was told rarely stretched out the whole hour.  By 1 pm, I was starting to sneak glances at my watch.  You  have to understand, for three years I’ve been moving at my own pace and schedule.  (Most of the time with a nap thrown in.)  Add to that the chronic fibromyalgia-type pain that is constant, and I really thought before the day was over they’d have to lay me out in one of the family rooms!

I won’t have very many 8-hour days.  It IS, after all, part time.  But I opted to do a visitation tonight, from 4:30 to 8-ish, and then I turn around for another 8-hour training day tomorrow.  The one great perk with this job is that you can turn down any shift you don’t want to take, and they just go on down the line.  It isn’t held against you.

There seems to be quite a bit of paper work involved in the daytime hours, and there IS a desk involved, consarn it!

It IS going to get easier, right?  Huh?

Prior to the first day of a new job, SOMEone who’s been sharing my computer opened up a website that began throwing porn and viruses into it, and it eventually just froze up.  It was down for a couple of days, simply because I didn’t have time to get on the phone with Microsoft (and they are VERY helpful, by the way) and get someone to help me clear it up.  I did that this morning, and now it’s working perfectly.  The person who helped me was in India.  Can you believe that?  He “shared” the computer with me, and he just walked right through it.  It takes a special person to have all that techno stuff floating around up there, don’t you think?  Anyway, many thanks to Ryan in India!!!

Doris had her own brand of “mama said” days yesterday with sister Grace.  Grace actually lives in a neighboring county, and Doris took her out there to get her Social Security check and try to take care of some business.  Probably 10 days ago, Grace began a medication due to her cancer.  It has many possible side effects (although supposedly less than chemo), but none had manifested themselves ’til yesterday.  And it hit with a vengeance.  The details are gruesome, so I’ll spare you, but very few of the errands were accomplished, and they were still in Fayette County at 4pm.  Doris was headed for cardiac arrest because she knew I got off at 5pm, and she needed to pick me up.  (One car between us!)  But it worked out, and in fact, Miss Jane had pity on me and let me leave 15 minutes early!  God bless her sweet soul.

Oh, and Miss Jane said I was a “keeper.”  That has to be good, don’t you think?

SMILES:

1. Ryan in India.
2. Having our house to ourselves last night.  Phil went to Arkansas looking for a house, and Grace wanted to stay put at Elisa’s house, since she was so sick.  Not smiling at her sickness……………….just smiling at peace and quiet.
3. Meeting new people and finding out the boss knows people I know from way back in Corning.
4. Miss Jane.
5. When I got back on Facebook, my yellow melons were still waiting to be harvested.  They weren’t withered!
6. Michael calling last night to see how the first day went.

See you tomorrow.  And may God bless.

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Many of us struggle with the plight of loved ones in difficult situations, and we hope and pray we can do something to help guide them to the right path.  We all do it, but women have the name of being nurturers and “fixers.”  We want to climb inside the heads of those we love and rearrange the gray matter so that they will act like they ought to!  When our efforts don’t bring about the desired changes, we become saddened and/or frustrated.  Probably, if truth be known, there are instances where those we love who need some “fixin” would be better served if we encouraged them to make their own way.  Reckon?

I recently finished a book written by Patsy Clairmont entitled “I Grew Up Little.”  She writes about her life, her battle with agoraphobia, among other things, and her journey out of that, as well as how she came to be part of the Women of Faith ministry.  One of the final chapters had to do with relationships.  A small excerpt from that chapter seemed very appropriate for all us fixers, and I thought I’d share it with you tonight.

…Certainly, the pain a relationship causes us can force us to see ourselves in a new and sometimes unflattering but honest light.  From her book, The Heart of Prayer for Women of Faith, Lana Bateman, our Women of Faith chaplain, shares, “At one of our Women of Faith Conferences, a middle-aged mother described the pain she had suffered through the alcoholism of her youngest daughter.  After sharing with her about ’seeking God’s heart,’ she agreed to ask how the Lord might have her pray for this adult child.

“The next day I had occasion to see her for a brief moment.  She shared what had happened when she took her request to God the night before.  Surprisingly, He did not ask her to pray for the daughter’s release from alcohol or for the counseling she so obviously needed.  Instead, as she meditated on the situation, He impressed her to confess her own struggles with addictive behavior.  This dismantled any condemning thoughts she held toward her daughter.  The He led her to pray that her youngest child WOULD HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH HIM, that the walls of denial would be destroyed, and that He might speak truth into her life.”

What I gleaned from this reading for myself was to acknowledge I can’t fix everything wrong in other’s lives.  Heck, I can’t even fix everything that’s wrong in MY life.  Sometimes I need to just remind me to let go, be there for support, and pray that a loved one (or myself) will have that encounter with the Lord in such a way that they (or I) will be changed forever.  We are to minister, yes.  But we are to minister, I think, kind of like an extension cord.  We are not the source of power.  We ARE, however, plugged into the source of power and, recognizing that, can convey it to someone else.

Whattayouthink?

Now that I’ve shared a recent light bulb, I’ll share some smiles and return to the dog show.  Have you ever noticed that 9 times out of 10, if a class of dogs has a poodle of any kind in it, the poodle is going to win?

TODAY’S SMILES:

1. Finally digging my heels in with one of our cleaning clients.
2. Phil treated us to pizza for dinner at Stevie B’s.
3. The Green babies.
4. Elisa “cleaned house”, so to speak.
5. Chase and his cute little smile.
6. Princess, the dog.
7. Got put on the payroll today and will begin work training on Wednesday.
8. Phil’s amazement that he now has the freedom to walk outside, get in his own car, and drive to Walgreen’s to pick up a few items.
9. My friend Kenny H.

See you tomorrow night.  And may God bless.

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Well, I passed the drug test and background check ( )and, tomorrow, I go in to fill out the paper work that will get me on payroll at Memphis Funeral Home.  Later in the week will come some training time.  So I am apparently once again gainfully employed!  God has blessed me with this job, and I pray for His guidance in using very wisely the extra income.  I also pray that I can do well and be a comfort and blessing to the families I’ll be coming in contact with.

So much has been going on I’ve lost track of what I’ve shared.  Grace, who is Doris” (blood) sister has inoperable breast cancer.  Because of some other health circumstances, she cannot receive chemotherapy.  She is being treated with an anti-hormonal drug which, if it works, will slow the progression of this cancer they describe as incurable, level 3, and stage 4.  Naturally, we are very concerned for her welfare, and the family is coming together to try and do all for her that we can do.  At this point, she is not suffering any side effects from the drug she’s taking.

Glad to know Brigitt is home from the Sunshine State where she’s been for a week in classes pertaining to her job.  I know there was a happy reunion at the airport between her and her little family.  Emmy had been having some throw-up spells, and I know she’s glad her mommy is home, as well as Hailey and their dad!

We had a little promotion ceremy this morning at the end of services for our little Jayden and Jamell who were moving from the nursery to toddlers and for Michael and Ricky, moving from toddlers to pre-school.  The little boys didn’t much appreciate being on the front row and being asked to come up and get their certificates and Bibles, but they both came to me with their little arms up for me to pick them up and receive their ’stuff.’  Did that do my heart good?  Naw, not at all!!!!! 

Had a very interesting class this morning.  We are  in a study book entitled Abundant Living, written by Leroy Brownlow.  This particular chapter has to do with the problem of immaturity when it comes to living abundantly.  The points were that there are traits of children that adults would do well to cultivate:  forgiveness, simple faith, trust, and compassion.  Other points were in regard to childish traits NOT conducive to abundant living, one of which was “tattling.”  Carrying tales.  Gossip.  Did you ever have something just kind of hit you between the eyes?  One of those “now he’s quit preaching and gone to meddling” things?  Very recently, I’m afraid I departed from my normal course of action and perhaps did some tattling.  It’s not what I called it; I thought there were good reasons at the time (don’t we always?), but what I succeeded in doing was to fuel some family disappointment in an individual.  I wish I hadn’t.  I called to apologize to those involved, and I pray God will help me not to do that again.  Each person I talked with said the same thing, “It’s not the same scenario, and there were reasons we needed to know about this.”  But I still pray I will hold firm in the resolve to be careful about this sort of thing.

We’ve had some bee-utiful days recently.  They are a harbinger of spring.  I can hardly wait.  And the moon has been gorgeous the last few nights, hasn’t it?

I’ll see you tomorrow night.  And may God bless.

TODAY’S SMILES:

1. The parents and grandparents with cameras flashing at the promotion ceremony.
2. Jamell and Jayden.
3. Christy has a new apartment.
4. The scammer who was “chatting” with me in the name of my friend, Dee.  The funny part was that he/she couldn’t have had a clue that I was the LAST one to be trying to scam for money!!!
5. Watching a load literally lifting off Phil’s shoulders.

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I promised to try and be back by Thursday of this week, so here I am.    However, I don’t have much of a commentary except the title of this post.  I just hung up from talking to my niece and, in the middle of an intense discussion about ‘what to do,’ she giggled and said, “my eye is twitching!”  And my comment was that I thought my head was going to explode!

So, I’m just checking in to say I’ll be back, hopefully, by my usual Sunday night blog time.  I hope all of you have a blessed and peaceful weekend, and may God’s hand rest upon you.  Love to all.

SMILES:

1. The pictures of Greg’s grandkids on FB.
2. A beautiful day.
3. Visit with Michael yesterday.

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I will probably not be blogging til maybe the middle of the week.  Things are still swirling at my house.  Next week is an extremely busy week.  Tomorrow, I go to fill out paper work on the job and take a drug test.  Then Tuesday we take Phil to West Memphis to get his driver’s license early, and then in the afternoon, we meet with Grace’s cancer doctor to find out what the PET Scan showed and what our game plan will be.   Doris has a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday.  I will try to get back on schedule by Wednesday night or Thursday.

Til we meet again, be safe and sweet.  And may God bless.

SMILES:

1. Hailey’s BB game Saturday.
2. Nicer temps and sunshine for a few days.
3. Made a new dish for supper.
4. Not being nursery supervisor anymore!

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……………………never easy but mostly necessary.  That’s what my friend and brother, Greg, said.  And Janice has been praying that something did not happen that DID happen.  I know others read and don’t comment but that I’ve had the prayers and good wishes of those who grace my blog with their presence.  And, so, I’m reporting in.

The unpleasant conversation took place but was not as unpleasant as it could have been.  He listened mostly, and I talked.  He apologized, did not deny what had obviously taken place.  Apparently didn’t remember some of it and seemed ashamed when I told him.  I stressed that both of us love him and wish the best for him but could not/would not allow that behavior in our home, especially since we will soon have another relative here while she is recovering from or undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery—–or all three.  She’s coming here because we have a peaceful and quiet home.  And I can’t have them overlapping.

Looking at another week and half to two weeks with him here.  After that, he’ll be financially able to move forward with his life.  The incident that occurred was his reaction to a bitter disappointment in regard to a relationship that went belly-up, and, boy do I understand the grief and heartbreak attendant to that kind of thing.  And I told him that.  I understand tears and bitterly and heartbreakingly crying out to God, “Why, why, why?”  And my heart broke with him, as did Doris’.  But life is full of disappointments.  Lots of joys, too, yes, but disappointments also abound.  And his particular addiction is one that will slam-dunk him in the gutter if he doesn’t learn to handle them in a different way.

I am venting here——–not judging.  I’m so sorry for him.  But I don’t feel I can do anything else except love him and pray for him.

If you happen to be a relative reading this, I ask you to do the same.  Please don’t judge him.  We all make many missteps as we go through life.  Ours just  may not be the same as his.  I ask you to love and pray for him.  I wouldn’t share this in an open forum like a blog except that I believe in prayer, and people cannot pray for something or someone that they don’t know about.

See you tomorrow.  And may God bless.

SMILES:

1. Prayer.
2. Sunshine.
3. Spring will be coming soon.

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