More Things that make me smile

I have to agree with Hannah Whitehall Smith, the author of The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life, who is quoted as saying:
"If being a grandmother was only a matter of choice, I should advise every one of you straight away to become one. There is no fun for old people like it!"
I loved this thank you note from my oldest grandson, Joshua.

I looked for an older one in his scrapbooks and found this:

and this: Josh and I "several" years ago.

Something else that made me smile...Josh's mother made me this. I'm sure those old spools belonged to my mother. She has been in my thoughts a lot the last few days. I put some of her lace and ribbons on my new towels last week and saw some of her fabric that a friend made into a apron.

Christ in the Arts Winter Dance Performance

Daughter #3 and I went to Lubbock this weekend to see Z in her dance recital. I was very impressed with the program.They had beautiful Chrisian music, the performers were dressed modestly, danced beautifully and the choreography was excellent. The First Baptist Church of Lubbock is a beautiful building. Miss Z after her performance.

I walked to church with some of the kids. We visited a church that is new to Miss Z and her family. It is a 15 minute walk from their home. (That's if you are walking with a granny.)

Will you open the ketchup for me?

E made spinach and cheese ravioli.

M's hair is growing.

W had a successful trip to JoAnn's to find fabric for the nursery. (not the blue plaid..that is a purse)

Preparing for a trip with 3 little ones is a big undertaking.

A couple of cousins tried unsuccessfully to trade siblings. They offered to trade I. for just about anyone. Mom didn't go for it.

You never know what you might see on the street in Lubbock!

Bathroom Makeover

Every year at Christmas, my husband asks me what I want and I ask him to do a project in the house. This year, we did a bathroom makeover. I don't have a before picture. but it was hunter green and cranberry red plaid with a map of the world wallpaper that we put in there over 20 years ago and was very 80's. I did find a couple "before the before" pictures, though and I knew you would love to see them. Here is daughter #1 getting her hair done on her wedding day. She is going to celebrate her 25th anniversary this year. This wallpaper is original to the house. I had forgotten what it looked like. I like it better than the green and cranberry.
Another before the before picture with daughters #2 and #3. They think it is a prophetic picture. Daughter #2 last name is now Morris. Oops, actually this is the other bathroom. That wallpaper is still there! Well, at least the carpet is gone. Maybe this will be for next Christmas.
I think the rug may be too small for the space. It is the only size available that matches the shower curtain. Since the walls had never been painted, we had to texture it, then painted it grey.
We got a new light fixture, and painted the mirror frame.
This is one of our photos of the trestle near Cloudcroft, New Mexico after a snow. I can exchange it for a different photo in the spring.
With the map of the world gone, I had a space for another one of our photos. This is a lake near Tampa, Florida where Jenny took us when we visited her.
I started with the shower curtain and choose my colors from it.
I found this trash can at Ross for $8. The regular bathroom trash cans are $20.
We got new towel racks and paper dispenser and made this little shelf. I need another something to put up there. This photo is the "Overseas railroad" in Florida.

Things can get embarrassing on facebook when you are friends with your grandmother

Or "Your mama dresses you funny" OK, maybe I did the wrong thing, but I thought this was the cutest little picture, ever. Isn't she cute? Her mama made that hat and took her somewhere (Sears?) and had this made. So on her 17th birthday, I thought I was being really clever and posted it on facebook. AND IT DISAPPEARED!
Go figure.
I hope she doesn't unfriend me.

I don't want to be a fake, either

I will never forget the Sunday that I sat in the congregation on Sunday morning and listened to the pastor preach one of those sermons that most of us have heard more than once.

"Just have faith. You will never be sick. The people you love will never die. People will always like you. Money will grow on trees. You can live a safe and peaceful perfect life."

The truth was: in just 2 hours, the people who sat in that audience, including the pastor, were to be attending the funeral of our friend, 40 years old, who thousands of her friends and family had prayed for many years who had died from breast cancer.

Philip Yancey is my favorite author. Some of his books have interesting titles. This is his latest. I got it for Christmas.
Some of his others are:

Disappointment with God
Where is God when it hurts?
What's So Amazing about Grace?
Prayer: Does it make any difference?
Reaching for the Invisible God
The Gift of Pain
Church: Why Bother?
Soul Survivor: How 13 unlikely mentors helped my faith survive the church

Here are some things Philip says:

• God seems to value character more than our comfort, often using the very elements that cause us the most discomfort as His tools fashioning that character. We are all a story being written, with an ending only faintly glimpsed by us.
• God does not accept me conditionally on the basis of my performance, but loves and forgives me despite my failures.
• Human beings need problems more than we need solutions. Problems stretch us and press us toward dependence on God. Success represents a greater danger..toward pride and self satisfaction.
• On this planet God allows us to be put in harms way. Buildings collapse, tectonic plates shift, viruses proliferate, evil people resort to violence. If we believe God's promises, these things do not reflect his ultimate will, but while we spend our days on planet earth, bad things will happen.
• In the face of tragedy, we can respond by blaming God or turn to Him and trust him to fashion good out of bad, to use whatever happens as the raw material for a new story. A story that will be much different than it would have been without the tragedy or failure, but in some ways even richer and redeemed.

When we try to make our life sound like a picnic, we hurt the cause of Christ. If we pretend that our lives are perfect, how can we hope to help those who are going through bad times or enduring hurt and disappointment?
Our wounds are the very things that God uses to allow us to receive grace and empower us to reach out and offer comfort to another grieving, hurting, disappointed person.
Our testimonies are our best opportunities to minister. Jesus knew the power of identification. He was betrayed. He knew what it was like to have friends walk away and gossip about him. When Thomas doubted his resurrection, he showed him the wounds. Sometimes, people will only listen to you after they have seen your wounds.
But he giveth more grace, Wherefore he saith, God resists the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. James 4:6