"Go, tell it on the mountain"

In another time and in another place, the Huffingham had a maid whose name was Pecola. She did the ironing and sang as she worked.  Both my sister, Cindy and I loved to hear her singing - especially at Christmas. I  can just hear her singing "Go, tell it on the mountain". 

I tried to get Cindy to sing that song with me recently.  She said it would make her cry.

As we remembered that time in our lives I realized the reason I like that particular song.

Your first clue should be in the word  "tell."

I have never been accused of being quiet.  Nobody ever told me, but I am probably not even quiet when I sleep.

I just always have a story - or some words that I think are important to share - or something good (or bad) that's happening and my favorite way to share is with a pen or keyboard.

And yes - a cell phone.

You know the ones that you can use to TEXT.

I have a couple of friends who text me (and I them) just to say hello - as a reminder that we care and are praying and sending good wishes toward the other.  This is an everyday occurrence!

I love group texts.  That's because I can share the information succinctly and know that everyone gets what I have shared.   Sometimes the news is good.  My high school friends and I learned together when the first great-grandbaby in our group was born.  Sometimes it is of concern and a request for prayer like when my friend Mary Jo texted our prayer group to say she had taken a bad fall and couldn't host the dinner we had planned for that evening.  This week, my siblings and I texted about our brother's in-laws who are ill and my children and I texted about Christmas plans and presents.

I think my children prefer texting because I usually have fewer words.

So here we are - a few days before Christmas 2018.

And we can talk about a text...the most important text that has ever been written.

If I  try, I can almost recite those words --- "And it came to pass, in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. . .".  Don't depend on me...look it up for yourself in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2. Count the times the concept of "telling" is used.

The innkeeper said "no room";  the Angels had a story; the shepherds told each other "let's go see"; and then they made abroad what they had seen (that means they talked about it).

Only Mary remained quiet.  (Luke  2:19).  Hum, there might be a lesson there!

May your life be filled with enough Sunshine 

to make you appreciated the Shadows

The stocking are hung. . .

You don't have to be in my presence for more than about 10 minutes before I am telling you my latest adventure as a grandmother.

There is absolutely no way to ever explain how I feel about those 7 bundles of joy that I am blessed to include as my second favorite things about life.  Of course, I have those grands because of the first favorite thing.

When I was putting out my Christmas decorations, I was happy to find this.  For the 18th year, it hangs on the shelf with other significant stockings that have been a part of my life for many years.   One of them held a $100 bill, a gift from a friend who still remains among my dearest although we rarely communicate much less see each other - just know we share a love that is very special.  I digress.

As I hung the stockings and pulled the one that says "GRAND," I loved texting Abbie by now a Freshman in college to tell her how special she is to me. Her birth in 2000 was the beginning of this extraordinary life as a grandmother.  Each one holds a special place in my heart.

This past Fall, grandchild #4, the one I call Terrific, has spent many Saturdays with me.  We have enjoyed pizza, talking about his schoolwork, and playing various games.  He loves to tell people we meet that he may be my fourth grandchild, but he is my first grandSON.

He was excited a few weeks ago to bring his electronic Battleship game.  He knows that I used to play a similar game with his mom.  I tried to remember the game we played many years ago as we started and he assured me that it took him a while to learn it.

Finally, he took out the directions, scanned the pages and closed the book.

"It's not here," he said with a sigh.

"Doesn't tell me how to teach my grandma how to play this game."

As I reflected on that, I thought of my third favorite thing about my life this Christmas 2018 - the fact that every Monday night I get to be with an incredible group of women as we study the best directional book that I know of...the Bible.

Fortunately, it tells us not how to play the game but how to live the life...and as I follow those directions I find that I have joy, peace, and love.

I'm going to keep enjoying my three favorite things -- and pray that as I follow the directions in God's Word, those people are also going to enjoy me!

May your life be filled with enough Sunshine 

to make you appreciated the Shadows

It works for me

At a high school girlfriends luncheon this week the talk seemed to be about diets, exercise routines and what face cream is best for the wrinkles that are increasingly etched on each of our faces.

We were all searching for what works...and finally, someone said: "well it works for me."

More than 24 hours later, I cannot remember exactly what works; nor can I remember who it works for.

That conversation, however, made me start asking myself that some question - What works for me? And, no one is surprised to hear that I'm not thinking diets or exercise but rather what means do I employ that help me enjoy and appreciate the daily grind.

So - here's what works for me.

It's my faith  - the belief that nothing is going to come my way unless it's sent to me for a reason and that sometimes what comes will be positive and yes, just like the wrinkles on my face, some are not going to make me smile.

And it's a hope that even when life seems a bit bleak, there's a rainbow behind those torrential rain showers and though the shadows are a bit foreboding, there's still sunshine somewhere.

More specifically.

Our mother taught us that when we are going through something difficult the best solution is to say the name Jesus again and again.  I've done that when facing a painful physical procedure and when I am confronted with an issue that seems too big for me to handle.

I shared this concept with my prayer group last week.  I told them that's what I'd suggested to my mother when she is in pain.

And then I had a stressful morning and so many things to be going awry in my little world.  My friend, Anne put her hands on my shoulders and very gently said: "Just say, Jesus".

It works for me!

May your life be filled with enough Sunshine 

to make you appreciated the Shadows

Sing, Momma

He was an impatient little two-year-old.

So cute - no doubt about it.

But so impatient.

I was putting breakfast on the table and had decided this cold North Carolina morning, three days before Thanksgiving in 1979 would be a great time for hot chocolate.

Steam was rising from the three Styrofoam cups as I said, "let it cool a bit."

Eight-year-old Becca listened, as did five-year-old Renee. However - my impatient little Tray thought he knew better than his momma.

He reached across and pulled it toward him.  Suddenly that hot water was running not just across the table, but splashing on his body.

I grabbed him, put him in the sink and begin to spray cold water. What I hadn't realized that when I grabbed him, the chenille bathrobe I was wearing held heat - and that made the burn worse.

We were on the way to the hospital in Lexington, and as I held him in my arms, I sang Jesus Loves Me and sometimes he would try to sing. I can almost hear his sobbing voice "nobody can do it like McDonald's can."

The trip was a 30-minute drive.  When it got quiet in our car, he would say "Sing, Momma."

Those words have stayed with me.  When I am frightened or worried, I sing.

Besides, "He who sings frightens away his ills" (Miguel De Cervantes).

I have been reminded of those words as we are in this stage of my mother's life.  She sang in her high school women's ensemble.  I have heard that she even soloed at a wedding or two. When daddy was in the Philippines during WWII, however, she stopped singing.

She would sing the hymns in church, but she was never in the choir, and she rarely sang at home. The years before daddy's passing, I would often hear them singing as they shared in a time of devotion early in the morning.

As her hearing continued to diminish, she tried to sing, but well I should just say she tried to sing.

I was with her recently at a gathering that included a performance of various songs.  It ended with Amazing Grace and I tried to get her to sing along, but she kept her mouth closed. So, I leaned into her ear and sang the words along with the musicians.  I'm not sure how much she heard, but to me, it was a wonderful experience.  And I have decided to keep doing that.... when I go visit her from now on, I'm going to sing to her.

Maybe someday she will say "Sing, Paula."

May your life be filled with enough Sunshine 

to make you appreciated the Shadows

Thank you for the spinach

I happen to like spinach - as long as it's in a salad.

I don't, however, like it cooked.

Years ago, my then husband, Ray Parker, gave this example in a sermon about being thankful.  It was especially meaningful to him because he loved his Mammaw's fried chicken and his mother's German Chocolate Cake.

"Suppose you sat down to a nice dinner," he said, "and there on the table was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and you could see a chocolate cake on a nearby counter."

Your mouth would be watering...you could hardly wait to get through with the chicken and potatoes and get to that cake".

. . . |and then you saw it.  And you knew what your mother was going to say.

You had to eat what was in the center of the table before you could dive into that cake".

And what was in the center? You guessed it - a bowl of spinach.

That story always reminded me of my brother, Lester, who had heard my daddy lamenting the fact that we (our family was visiting our South Carolina friends for Thanksgiving) were probably having turkey soup for supper.  Lester was four years old, and when we got to the table, he had the honor of asking the blessing.  And his words:

"Thank you for the turkey 'toup."

The point of these remembrances is that even when we have so many  things for which to be grateful, we also need to be thankful for those less than pleasant things....even those things that are downright awful - loss of job (or home like those in West Florida, the Carolinas, and California); catastrophic illness (or loss of a dear one because of that); or even the loss of a relationship - we can be thankful.

Sarah Young said it so well in November 22's Jesus Calling "Thankfulness is not some sort of magic formula; it is the language of Love which enables you to communicate intimately with God. A thankful mindset does not entail a denial of reality with its plethora of problems."

I suppose the most difficult bowl of spinach that ever was set before me was when  Rich Suhey suddenly died 20 years ago.  For two years following his death, I was caught up in dealing with the financial responsibilities that he left me with, the sadness of the loss of the dreams that we had shared and the inexplicable pain of being a 51-year-old widow who had been married only 8 months.

Even today all these years later, I can be met with an unexpected feeling of great sadness at my loss.

However, in those same twenty years, I have been blessed with a terrific daughter in law, seven dear grandchildren, finished my college degree and had the privilege of caring for my parents (which sometimes has been a little like that Turkey 'toup Lester was thankful for).  I have also met and formed incredible friendships, and I have loved the many opportunities of service that I have enjoyed.

Spinach is high in iron.  It enriches one's blood.

It has been said that "pain is good for you."  And how about this little quote:  "If it doesn't kill us, it makes us stronger."

I'm still breathing; I must be stronger!

And that's the way I'm looking at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, this Black Friday, 2018.

May your life be filled with enough Sunshine 

to make you appreciated the Shadows

Faith, Family, Friends

When I am asked what my blog is about my most common answer is "Faith, Family, and Friends".  It could just as easily be "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", or " Let's have another cup of coffee..."

Or when I am really honest, I might say "It's about me". 

Actually, it's about WHO I am.

I am faith - the faith that was instilled in me as a child, the decision I made as a six-year-old to put my trust in Jesus Christ and begin the lifelong journey as a Women of Faith. AND faith to believe everything is going to work out for the best!

I am family - my parents who met almost 90 years ago when he was 8 and she was 6; who loved each other and their children and our children with such a deep and lasting love; my dear siblings who along with their spouses, love and support me; my incredible children and grandchildren and our extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins.

I am friends - from the childhood crib babies who are still my closest friends to friends I seem to make at every juncture of my life - in churches, workplaces, and civic organizations.  AND somehow I have managed to keep most of those friends! 

My children tease me and say I meet a person one day and have planned to meet for coffee the next.  That's not very far from the truth.  A friend asked me how I've met so many people and we determined it's because I ask them questions (my children call it being nosy; I call it being interested and if I get really sophisticated I say it's because I m a journalist at heart that that's what I am supposed to do).

At any rate on this day before Thanksgiving 2018, it's my Faith, my Family and my Friends for which I am the most grateful.

I am especially mindful of the Faithfulness of God - new every morning, even when I've gone to bed the prior night wondering what the next day might hold - My mother's health and well being as well as that of her sisters and their families, the upcoming Winter Celebration at the Mandarin Museum, (Saturday, December 1 from 11-4) and what project will fill my days once 2019 has dawned.  Oh, and am I going to make any new friends?

I really do have much to be thankful for!  I hope you do as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

                            May your life  be filled with enough Sunshine...

                                ...to make you appreciate the Shadows

"She meets her trials..."

I woke up this morning with lots of trouble on my mind.

Unsure about my mother's current state of mind and body; Disappointed that my daughter didn't get a position we wanted for her; difficulty with filling a couple of important volunteer spots at the museum, wondering where that check for all those hours I spent working early voting is,  concerned for the health of my children's father and sad as I recall the last days I spent with Rich Suhey before his untimely death 20 years ago this weekend.

I remembered the words in the annual when I was a senior "she meets her trials with a smile... and the shadows turn to light".

Hum

As is my daily practice, I poured that first cup of coffee, found the Praise and Worship music that I listen to and settled into my comfortable chair with several devotional books at my feet.

"Approach problems with a light touch...When a problem (A problem?) starts to overshadow your thoughts, bring this matter to Me" (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young).

The devotional included a reference to Scripture "...In the world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33b).  These were words that Jesus gave His disciples as His time with them was nearing the end.

And also on that page is my handwriting as the words "she meets her trails...".

Hum

I must have felt like this another time.

The wind chimes outside my bedroom window sang out to me as the November breeze picked up.

Somehow I heard my daddy's oft-repeated words "everything is gonna be all right".

I smiled!

                          May your life  be filled with enough Sunshine...

                               ...to make you appreciate the Shadows