{ Wednesday's Word - Stressed }

This post is for all those who are going through a stressful time in their life.  
You know who you are.  
I'm praying for you!

HOPE everybody has a Wonderful Wednesday!

{ It's a God thing }

For my birthday last January, Jess got me this cute little purse.  At the time I was having pain from a shoulder injury and she said she got it so I could carry it when I went out with my sister-in-law, Kay,  for my birthday.  Well, because Kay can only go out on Tuesday's and Friday's, then Pappy getting hurt in February and being off work for 6 months, my birthday celebration kept getting postponed.....life gets in the way like that, doesn't it?   And, I lost my purse.  I looked where I keep my other purses and it wasn't there.  Last Tuesday, Kay and our niece stopped by and she asked if I was free on Friday to go out for lunch. Since Pappy has gone back to work, I'm trying to keep busy so I spent most of the day Thursday cleaning out and straightening up my craft room.  Guess what I found?  

Yes.....

my owl purse.....

at the bottom of a basket.

The day before I was going to have lunch with my sis-in-law!

Since I don't believe in luck, or coincidences, I've just gotta say it.

Ain't God good?

Oh, yes He is!!!

HOPE y'all have a great Monday!

{ SONday Morning Song - King of the World }

This song gives me Holy Spirit chills.
Please give it a listen.
Just close your eyes and worship the King of the world!!!

HOPE your SONday is awesomely blessed!

{ Friday Foto Friends #42 }

Pappy and I spent most of the day last Saturday out and about.  We visited one of my favorite little towns near us, Newport, TN.  There's a great thrift store and a little hole-in-the-wall store that has lots of cheap junk merchandise! It's just a small town at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains and is just a skip, hop and jump to Cosby where lots of people from around these parts love to visit Carver's Apple Orchard.  That's on our agenda for our next visit this fall.  

I love this motel that's part of the old downtown area......

We drove into an area we had never been before and came upon this bridge with beautiful purple flowers in planters down both sides.....

I'm missing Pappy since he's gone back to work, but I'm getting tons of work done.  

Be sure and link up your photos below.

HOPE everybody has a great Friday and weekend.

{ Indian Summer - Spice of Life }

(I received a message that the pics weren't showing up.  So sorry about that.....HOPE it's fixed now)

 In doing a bit of research on a Corning Ware pattern, Indian Summer, I found it was first introduced in 1977.  When Pappy and I got married.....in 1977.....I had no desire for a set of "formal" dishes, much to the dismay of some family members.  Instead, I chose the Indian Summer Corelle dishes and I've never tired of them.  I had an advantage, too, as to how I was able to get them.  At the time, my Daddy worked at House Hasson Hardware Company, a wholesale distributor.  He was able to get the dishes, along with some other  goodies at great prices.  Sometimes he would even find bargains in what they called the "morgue".  It was an area of damaged goods, but most of the time it was just the packaging not the contents.  

I thought y'all might be interested in seeing what this pattern looks like and also my favorite Corning Ware, Spice of Life.  It's also vintage 1970's.

(this post was prompted by my blogging buddy, Ms. Brenda at Mamaw's Place - 
she asked to see my Indian Summer dishes)

There's an 8-place setting and would you believe none have ever  been broken?

Serving Platter, which gets quite a bit of use

Spice of Life Corning Ware Collection - 

way too many pieces considering how little I cook.

I'm a little teapot, short and stout.....

Loaf Pan

So that's it!

Do y'all have a formal set of dishes and a set for everyday, too?  These days, I don't even use my Corelle dishes that often but I would never part with them.  I'll let Jess do that after I'm no longer in the picture.....;-)  Since it's just Pappy and me, we use a couple of pretty Melamine plates I found at Wal-Mart!

See y'all tomorrow for FFF!

{ Wednesday's Word - Timing }

As many of you know, Pappy had a work injury on February 19th of this year.  Because of the doctor's work restrictions, his employer wouldn't allow him to come back to work.  It's his employer's policy to use annual and sick leave to supplement the percentage that worker's comp pays, so all of his leave was completely wiped out. Because of that, we were going to have to start paying for my insurance out of pocket beginning September 1st.  Since he gets paid every 2 weeks, the plan was to take a check to his employer last Friday to pay for the insurance because he wouldn't get paid again until after the beginning of September.  Last Thursday afternoon, my cell phone rang and it showed my husband's employer and the lady asked for him.  I thought they were calling to see if he wanted his work comp check mailed since he didn't have to actually come in to sign for anything because he wasn't getting an actual check from his work.  Instead, they were telling him to show up at 7:00 Friday morning because they had found him a position that he could do. Yes, it was very sudden, and yes I did question why they couldn't have found him something long before they did and yes I did wonder if worker's comp hadn't stepped in and told them to find him a position since it had been exactly 6 months to the day.....
February 19, 2016 - August 19, 2016

But, what I realized most that this was all in God's timing.  The very day we were going to pay for my insurance, God provided something so very unexpected.....

a job.

A job that will now pay for my insurance instead of us paying out of pocket.  He will also start accumulating leave again.  God did this when He led Pappy to this employer in the first place.  He had been out of work EXACTLY one year when God provided a job for him.  Oh, what a struggle that year was on so many levels, not just financially.

I'm sharing all of this to say this.....

TRUST God and HIS timing.

During this 6 months I've tried to figure and plan and check into and make calls which I look back on and see were all for naught.  I wasn't completely giving it all to God, I was trying to work things out and figure out how to "make it work".  Then, God in all His wisdom once again shows up "at just the right time".

Was I surprised?

Yes, and no, if that makes sense.

I KNOW God can do and handle any and all situations, and that doesn't surprise me.  But, it never ceases to amaze me at HIS timing, which is exciting and wonderful and just like Him!!!

Ain't God good?

Oh, yes He is!!!

HOPE sharing this helps somebody else who is waiting on the Lord. Take it from somebody who tries to get in there and fix things and "make" them work in the way she thinks is best.....

Give it to God and let Him do the work!

{ Dear Friend..... }

I'm so enjoying doing the study Fit For My King with my sweet Friend, Ms. Barb.  I'm gleaning so much more reading it through and jotting down notes the second time than I  did the first go-round.  It's so important in everything that we do in this life to have an accountability partner.  Left on our own, lots of excuses will be made to just give up or take a day off or whatever we tell ourselves at any given moment.  As I was reading yesterday's devotional, this verse of scripture stood out to me.  I looked it up in the NLT and loved how it was worded in that version because it used the word "friend".

This is my prayer for each and every person who visits my blog, leaves a sweet comment here or on Facebook, sends me a personal e-mail, whatever you do that brings a word of encouragement to my heart and soul.

I sincerely HOPE you have a Marvelous Monday chock full of blessings!

{ SONday Morning Song - In the Eye of the Storm }

♥ this song!

HOPE and pray EVERYBODY has an awesomely blessed SONday!

{ Friday Foto Friends #41 }

 It wasn't intentional, but it seems I focused on trees this week.  
Here's a few pics I captured on a morning walk and at my Mom's.

I'm so excited for the weekend because of the expectation of HOPEfully getting to see one of my dearest friends.  

It's probably been five years and that's way too long!

Looking forward to seeing everybody's pics for FFF.

HOPE you have a great weekend!

{ An Inquiring Mind Wants to Know }

Hey, sweet People!

I've got a personal question for y'all today.

What's your all-time favorite Bible verse, or verses.....

something that you seem to just return to because it speaks to your ♥?

I've got a reason for asking, but that's a secret!

PLEASE take just a minute to let me know either here, via e-mail at wiseoldowldesigns@comcast.net, or on my Facebook Page.  You can click on the link below to go there.....

Breathing in Grace.

Here are a few of mine.....

HOPE everybody has an awesome Thursday!

And, don't forget.....

tomorrow is Friday Foto Friends!

{ Wednesday's Word - Accountability }

"The first fall of man was between a woman and food - could that be why women have been struggling with this food issue and our body image ever since?"
~~~Sheri Rose Shepherd~~~

I told y'all about this book......



in this post, Fit For My King.

I highly recommend that you get the book if you struggle with how you've taken care of your body over the years. From speaking to other ladies, I know I'm not in this boat alone.  If you have no problems in that area, just the devotions are well worth the 30 days it will take for you to finish this very well-written and in my opinion, God-ordained journey written by Ms. Sheri Rose Shepherd (who, is now going through cancer treatments).  She is open and honest about her past and how she overcame the guilt and shame she carried around but only through her salvation and faith in Jesus Christ.

One of the sweetest and most thoughtful ladies I've ever met, Ms. Barbara, asked me if I would pray about doing this devotional and eating plan with her.  We both had already gone through the 30 days of devotions, but hadn't stuck with the recommended eating plan.  As we talked on the phone, I shared with her that I did my best at sticking to a plan if I was being held accountable.   I did pray about it and was a bit torn as to what to tell her, but then I realized it was simply Satan holding me back and telling me "you can't stick to such a rigid plan."  He really likes to get into our heads and convince us we cannot accomplish something when God tells us in His word that we can do ALL things through His strength.  SONday morning, before our SS class, I told Ms. Barbara, "YES"......
and during our class one of the best SS teachers I've ever had (besides Ms. Thelma, of course) shared during our lesson how we need to be accountable to one another.  After class, we told said that we knew his statement was a confirmation we'd made the right decision!  Ain't God so good at showing up at just the right time with exactly the right words?

So, our journey has begun.
She has a goal......
I have a goal!
Not sure mine can be met in only 30 days, but we're hoping this will be the start of a brand new journey in taking care of our "temple" and giving God ALL the Glory!

Who knows.....
in the future, this might turn into something a group of us girls can do together.

(if you're interested in what this plan consists of, 

please contact me @wiseoldowldesigns@comcast.net.  When I say "rigid", it's actually a low-carb diet and for a sugarholic like myself, that's tough!)

HOPE everybody has a Wonderful Wednesday!

{ Tutorial Tuesday }

Do y'all like to journal?

Or, maybe just like to have something to write on to take notes as you're reading your Bible and doing your devotions?

I love pretty journals, but not so much what some of them cost.

So, what's a girl to do?

Why, make her own, of course!

I started with a composition book that you can buy pretty cheap right now because of all the school supplies on sale.....

Dug out my stash of scrapbook papers and embellishments......

Grabbed a pair of scissors and a glue stick......

uh-oh, I didn't get pics, but y'all know what those look like.

Decided what colors I wanted my journal and started cutting and gluing and embellishing and came up with this.....

Front

Back

Did y'all notice the binding?

It's actually duct tape that my sweet friend, Stephanie, from church got me!

I've already starting using it to take notes as I do the Fit For My King devotional study with another friend from church, Ms. Barbara. I also took it to the doctor's office yesterday to jot down some notes about my Momma's visit.

How about y'all?

Have you ever made a journal/notebook similar to this?  

I'd love to see your version.

(I bet Ms. Mary's made one!)

HOPE everybody has a Terrific Tuesday!

{ Miscellaneous Monday }

I thought I'd share some pics with y'all today of things that make me smile.....
or laugh out loud!

Spider Lace that comes up volunteer every year.

I ♥ these flowers because the original seed came from Mammie, my paternal grandmother.

Our new grand gecko, Lizzy Grace.
If you saw my post on Facebook, you know it's gonna be Nannie's job to feed this reptile when the kids are out of town.  The bad part, besides that THIS.IS.A.REPTILE, is what it eats.
LIVE crickets, People.

I saw this T-shirt at Wal-Mart and wondered if you could buy them in bulk!

LOL!

I went for my physical last week and this was on the wall in the exam room.

There's a young lady I go to church with who sells Thirty-One products.  Occasionally, she has a "flash sale" on her Facebook page and that's where this zipper pouch came from.  I LOVE it (can you tell me why?) except it didn't have handles.  So, I dug through my stash and found  this webbing in a dark green, cut it to the length I needed, sewed it to the bag......

and now I ♥ it even more with handles!

And, I'll leave you with this.
My hubby didn't understand the humor in this at all.
Please tell me that you all find it as funny as I do.

HOPE everybody has a Marvelous Monday!

{ SONday Morning Song - I See Him }

Beautiful song sung by a beautiful soul.

I HOPE this touches your heart like it did mine.

HOPE your SONday is full of awesome blessings!

{ Friday Foto Friends #40 }

Morning, Glory!

I took a little stroll into the back field behind my Mom's house yesterday morning and spotted these morning glories in bloom.  Look at those pretty purple centers.

I'd be honored if you'd join in our Friday link-up of your favorite photo(s)!

HOPE everybody has a great weekend.....
we're supposed to get much-needed rain.

{ Loved }

Someone said it's not God's will for us to feel unloved and unwanted and insecure.

Oh, how my mind knows that.

But sometimes my heart feels differently.

When from a small child you're made to feel that way it often carries over into adulthood and sometimes it takes just the smallest of things to cause those feelings you thought you had been able to suppress come rising to the surface and flooding back.

Our daughter gave me a copy of Streams in the Desert and this poem seemed to just jump off the page and feed a hunger deep inside me reminding me that I need only to seek HIS love and that of nobody else.

Loved! then the way will not be drear;

For One we know is ever near,

Proving it to our hearts so clear

That we are loved.

Loved when our sky is clouded o'er,

And days of sorrow press us sore;

Still we will trust Him evermore,

For we are loved.

Time, that affects all things below,

Can never change the love He'll show;

The heart of Christ with love will flow,

And, we are loved.

~~~Streams in the Desert~~~

L.B. Cowman

Edited by Jim Reimann

See y'all tomorrow for Friday Foto Friends #40.....
a milestone!

(p.s....is anybody having trouble leaving a comment?  If you are, please let me know via e-mail (wiseoldowldesigns@comcast.net) and I'll try to check some settings.....thanks bunches)

{ Row YOUR boat }

I'm gonna skip Wednesday's Word  today and instead share this little video that was posted yesterday to our nephew's Facebook page.  I'm not sure if it was by him or his sweet wife.   I started not to share because of a couple of things that could be offensive (I didn't like those parts either) but ignore those and focus on what this fellow says about the song, Row, Row, Row Your Boat.  It's a pretty awesome analogy!  It really spoke to me about my tendency to think I can fix everybody's problems, when all I can do is give advice and pray for them and row my own boat!
(kinda goes along with yesterday's post)

HOPE everybody has a Wonderful Wednesday!

{ It's Today }

Do you have someone in your life who is a "Debbie Downer"?

(I really do not like that name....wonder why....LOL)

It's sometimes difficult to separate ourselves from people who are always looking at life from a negative point of view.  Their glass is ALWAYS half empty and their outlook on life becomes ours sometimes, and having a fix-it type of personality I feel it's up to me to change this person, to make them happy, to fix their life so that they'll see things differently.  Okay, I know that's crazy thinking on my part because we cannot change a person 'cause  believe me, I've tried.  God's been working on me lately about my attitude, but it's difficult to have a happy, upbeat outlook when you are in the midst of negativity and criticism.  

So.....

I'm going to try to tell myself this each and every morning......

I'm going to make TODAY my  favorite day!

I ain't gonna let the devil steal my joy!

By the way, thank you so much for your kind comments yesterday.  I truly didn't write that post looking for the things y'all wrote, but after reading a devotional last evening about those whose love language is "words of affirmation" (that's me!!!) and it stating that we need to ask God for encouragement.....

well, I realized that's just what He gave me through that encounter at the Wal-Mart and through you all.

Ain't God good?

Oh, yes He is!

HOPE each and every one of you has the most Terrific Tuesday!

{ I yam what I yam }

I've been told I'm a "deep thinker".

I am a pretty serious old gal.

I find myself trying to see a "reason" or a "why" or a meaning in most every thing that is said and done, movies I watch, books I read.

Many don't like my blog for some of the reasons stated above, and probably a host more, if the truth were known.

"She talks about God too much".

"She thinks she's  better than others because she's a Christian."

Oh, listen, if y'all could get inside my head you'd see that oh, my word that ain't the truth at all.  I have so many insecurities and faults and let my mouth run when there should be a muzzle put on it (that's with my husband). I voice my opinion and tell it like it is and point out when I see injustices done, like speaking out in a Facebook post about a political cartoon that was in such poor taste and I knew it would hurt those of a certain skin color, our grand-daughter included (thank the good Lord she's too young to understand those things right now, but she will soon and it breaks my heart for her).  I get my feelings hurt easily because, like my Daddy used to tell me I carry them around on my shoulder just daring somebody to knock them off.  And, another lady told me I get offended really easily, and that statement offended me.....

but it was the truth and that hurt my feelings because they were barely balancing on the tip of my shoulder.

So, you see, I'll be the first to criticize and make fun of and put down.....

myself.

I get fussed about for that, too.

But, I've come to this conclusion......

God made me and He's not  gonna stop working on me until I take my last breath.  He loves me in spite of my faults because He looks inside of me and sees something that I definitely don't see myself 99% of the time.  Then, he sends somebody right smack dab in the middle of the Wal-Mart to say something that is so kind and knew that I needed to hear because of my current state of feeling unloved and unwanted and insecure. (I know I'm on my pity pot, don't need anybody to point that out....re-read about the teetering feelings above).  This person was somebody I'd been feeling angry at (yes, I know that's a sin) because of something he did that inadvertently affected me and he had no idea that I was feeling that way but he said something that he'd also said to me in the past and I realized that he had taken some advice I'd been giving him for years and years and......

well, I walked away knowing I'd just had an encounter with the good Lord.

(re-read about finding meaning and "why" in EVERYTHING that happens to me).

So, for those of you who know me really well, you had to see this statement coming, right?

Ain't God good?

Oh, yes HE is!!!

{ SONday Morning Songs - Hee Haw Quartet }

  I follow a gentlemen on Face book who was my Algebra I and II teacher in high school.  He was one of my all-time favorite teachers, although I feared for my life (and safety) in his class.  I'm just kidding, but he did instill a "healthy fear" into his students.  My favorite memory of being in his class was the day we returned to school after being out for snow.  My paternal grandfather had passed away during the snow break and when I went to Algebra that day he came up to me and told me how sorry he was about the loss of my Pappy, that he had seen his obituary in the paper.  This goes to show to NEVER EVER hesitate to show kindness.  Here I sit typing this 46 years later and it still brings tears to my eyes at this man's kind words to me when I was only 15 years old!  Mr. Blalock posts things that are near and dear to my own heart and he recently shared a video of the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet.  Did y'all enjoy that show as much as I did?  Here are a couple of songs I found that bring back sweet memories to me, especially the first one, "I'll Fly Away".  That was my precious Daddy's favorite song.

This has always been a favorite of mine, "Just A  Little Talk With Jesus."

Happy SONday, Friends!

HOPE everybody has an awesomely blessed day.

{ The Human Family }

Did you all watch the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics last evening?  If so, then I'm sure you saw this commercial at the beginning.  It's a poem by Ms. Maya Angelou.

I ♥ it!

Happy Saturday, my Friends!

{ Friday Foto Friends #39 }

This picture was taken by our daughter last evening and she posted it on Instagram with this description.....

"Are you ever literally awestruck at how God works things out? I was told some terrible news at the doctor's office two weeks ago tomorrow. The doctor literally told me it was possibly lymphoma and I had to go for a biopsy "stat." Those were his words. I walked out of his office and sat in my car and cried and cried....and cried the whole way home. But, I couldn't get the song lyrics, "I will praise you in this storm" out of my head. I was uncertain about what my future held. I even began pinning head scarf patterns in a private board on Pinterest. This morning, I got up and was at such peace either way. He ordains it. He is good. BUT this morning, after I went for a needle biopsy, that could possibly turn into outpatient surgery (again, doctor's words), the surgeon said it was just a mass of fat! Lol. I have lost about 25 pounds, and since then, is when this mass appeared. Typing this makes me laugh out loud! I can't praise him enough for a mass of fat and I literally can't quit smiling. And they didn't even have to do a biopsy!!!! Oh how I love my Jesus! I so hope you know Him. He is the only one who can bring perfect peace in a storm. And, Brant left some of his Trail Life stuff here, so I just ran to the church to take him his stuff and this beautiful sky greeted me as I walked out the door!!! Soli Deo gloria!!!!!!!!!"

Only God could end her day with such an awesome example of His promise to His children!

HOPE everybody has an awesomely blessed weekend.