I WILL NOT GO THERE!

I have rolling around in the vast expanse called "My Mind" a blog. I am trying to not go there since it will lead to questions and suppositions from some of my readers. Many times when I write in vague analogies and metaphors, I have those that are guessing incorrect or thinking I am writing about them. The topic was to be "Which Way Do You Tip The Scale" and I will leave it at that.

RECENT SMALL GROUP FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER

DO WE LOOK LIKE WE ARE ENJOYING EACH OTHER?

SARAH, OUR FAVORITE WAITRESS, AT "THE SUNDOWN"

Almost every Friday night our small group meets and eats together. It makes for an enjoyable evening and plenty of laughs. Last night we met at "Sundown" which is BC's favorite place to meet. The temperatures were nice and we were able to sit on the patio and enjoy the late evening. As a Great surprise, Friend Helen, was able to eat with us while David &Rachel & Boys stayed with Dale. It was a great evening!

MENTORS AND PEERS

God graciously places a few of his Saints in our lives that have a life changing impact on us. While I can actually think of quite a few that God has placed in my path that have blessed me, I especially have these two on my mind today.

Artie is one of those Godly women that you are privileged to call a friend in your life. She not only loves The Lord, but she has spent countless hours pursuing Him. She inspires me! When Artie speaks, we all listen. A proverbial fountain of Godly wisdom flows from the lady!

Life has not always been easy for Artie, and yet she has this aura of peace and joy that we all would love to possess. I am so thankful that God has allowed me to sit beside Artie and gleam from her as we live life together in Small Group. Truly you only have a few people in your life that you call "Mentor", but I am blessed to do just that.
And then-there is sweet Helen. I consider Helen my peer-or my contemporary. A rare jewel of the faith that I also call friend. I have known Helen for a long time, but since we have been in Small Group together, our friendship has blossomed and grown. I ALWAYS know where I stand with Helen. When discussing personality types one day in a group, I announced to all that I was "Passive Aggressive" and came from a long line of this personality type. Helen quickly chimed in and said she was also. WE ALL CRACKED UP! There is NOTHING passive about Helen! You don't even have to ask-she will be glad to tell you just how she feels about something. It is GREAT fun to bat things around with her and we are never together that we don't enjoy a good laugh. Another great blessing that God placed in my path.

Helen appeared at group unexpectedly last night. Her husband, Dale is very ill with ALS. ALS is a very unkind disease. Dale only has the movement of his eyelids now and is able to communicate only sporadically with a computer. He has been on a respirator for over a year and Helen has been his constant nurse and companion during the entire year. She very rarely ever leaves his side. It has been a tough-bone weary year for her. She has shown great grace under tremendous pressure, but the struggle continues. Life is a struggle for Helen and yet, she loves her friends and family well-even in the midst of her own suffering. How I wish I could do anything to alleviate the suffering of Helen and Dale-but all I can do is be a friend and PRAY-and believe me-we ALL are praying!

I am thankful for the women that God has placed in my life and the wonderful friendships we have nurtured and grown. My prayer is that I will watch and learn and then live the life that they pattern before me. What a blessing!

HEY, MAYBE I CAN COOK AFTER ALL!

I took a series of cooking classes with local chef, Terry Plammondon, a few years ago. I have always been an OCD when it came to cooking. I needed to know how much-what order- etc. etc. I felt the need to have a recipe and a series of instructions for almost every dish. Terry is a fly by the seat of your pants chef. You add to your taste based upon certain parameters for the dish. I would watch him cook, while helping with the preparation and try to guess how much of each ingredient he was adding. It almost drove me crazy and he got tired of me asking, "About how much of that did you add?" I loved his classes though and learned a great deal.

Tonight when thinking about dinner, I had not been able to make a trip to the grocery after deciding upon a meal. I was sitting here waiting for a telephone call from a doctor (Adam, we need to discuss this!) and could not leave. (HELLO, DUMMY-give your cell phone number!) I went into the kitchen and inventoried the ingredients I had on hand. I ended up making a chicken pasta in a cream sauce. It was delicious and ALL BY THE SEAT OF MY PANTS! I added seasonings until I got the desired taste and just went with what I had.

The ULTIMATE compliment-BC said it was delicious! It takes practice to fly by the seat of your pants-BUT-I am feeling pretty good about lessons that were a long time coming and finally crossing the bridge of hit and miss. PERHAPS I AM A RECOVERING OCD!

HEED MY WARNING!

Today was my semi-annual visit to the dermatologist. If you play-YOU PAY! As a child I had more burns than I care to recount. As a teenager, I loved lying out and soaking up rays. As a young adult, I discovered Florida and the beach and more sun worshipping. The last 30 years I have spent running in the sun and working in the yard-in the sun. I finally got wise after having a skin cancer removed from my forehead over 10 years ago, but the damage had been done. By staying out of the sun now and wearing sunscreen, I am avoiding further damage, but my visits to the doctor are not fun.

Today I had two biopsies and two places burned off. I would love to have that glow that only comes from long hours in the sun, but I promise you the price is STEEP and NOT WORTH IT!

SUPER BOWL / SUPER GROUP

We have a wonderful "Small Group". The purpose of "Small Group" is to live life together with a Christian perspective. We meet mid week and study "The Word" together, socialize together, hold each other accountable, and serve each other. It is a wonderful blessing! This week we spent a good deal of time together. We met Wednesday night to dicuss Christian confrontation, ate dinner together Friday night, and watched the Super Bowl together tonight while enjoying GOOD EATS!

Friday Night Dinner

The Other Side of the Table
Gathered Together To Watch The Exciting Game

We Cheered For Our Team, Ate Together, & Rated The Commercials

It was a great weekend and we are blessed with dear friends who we are "Doing Life" with.

BEST CATFISH IN THE SOUTH!

We went with brother, Robbie & Laurie to eat catfish at Port au Prince on Lake Claiborne. This is without a doubt the best catfish restaurant we have EVER eaten at. The meal begins with a small bowl of bean soup, hush puppies, cold slaw and pickles. Shortly after that course, they bring you crisp catfish filets and homemade french fries. Of COURSE, a big glass of sweet tea tops the meal off. We ate until we were full to the brim, but did leave enough room for home made pie. No matter where you live, this fare is worth the drive. You just cannot top this family owned long time icon of good Southern eating!

When You Drive Up This Mail Box Greets You

The Sign Marking The Prince Family's Business
On Our Way In To Enjoy

The Sun Setting On The Lake

The Red Sun Reflecting To The East And Dusk Arriving To The West

The Men And Our Pretty Waitress

Robbie told a cute story about his granddaughter, Emma. It seems that they were discussing the Inauguration at school last week. When asked what they talked about Emma said that the new president was the first president with brown skin. When asked why he has brown skin, she said he and his family like to swim a lot. She then said, "His name is Rock Bama." I JUST LOVE KIDS!



Emma and Her Daddy

I HAVE BEEN INSULTED!

While floating around in the "Blog-a-sphere" this morning, I ran across a web-site that rates the level your blog is written on. The blog I found it on was rated college level, so I thought,
"Hey wonder where I stand." I AM SO INSULTED! It seems the brains that put together this survey have me on a "Junior High" Level. WELL!

Did I EVER even once discuss bodily functions? Have I ever been mean spirited? Have I spent all of my time running on and on and on about me-myself & I? (DON'T ANSWER THAT!) To get down to the junior high level, you have got to go REALLY basic! They have just gone from fully wet behind the ears to still damp. Could I be on that level?

I have a BS in accounting, I passed the CPA test, I AM NO DUMMY! Now perhaps I should go back and start all over and begin blogging about the complexity of inventory tracking systems or expound on the Tax Code or even HEAVEN FORBID! give another post or two on stock trading. YOU WANT TECHNICAL & HARD TO UNDERSTAND? I CAN GO THERE!

Then I reflected back on the writing courses I took while in college. Every writer knows-the KISS method. You know Keep It Simple Stupid! We don't write to impress everyone with our superior intellect, we write to tell a story, convey a thought, or entertain those that are reading. Hopefully that is just what I have done. If it is too simple or easy to understand, is that a bad thing?

INSULT ME-INSULT MY READERS! SO BLAHHHHH TO YOU, RATING SITE! You can take your rating and ------ --!

As a little side note-it was COLD this AM when we ran our 8 miles. I was red cheeked even after driving home! I dressed for the temperatures, and even took off a layer about 3 miles into the run, but your face-what do you do without sweating up a storm to keep your face wam?