Tuesday, October 30, 2012

the Holy Spirit alone

 
"You can never make anybody a Christian.
You can make them church members,
but you can never make them Christians.
It is impossible.
The Holy Spirit alone can do this,
and therefore,
we must always be afraid of spurious results,
something that people have done
rather than the Holy Spirit."
Martin L. Jones ~ The Pre-eminence of Christ
 
This strikes me as profound truth.
 
Just because
you walked down an aisle and joined a church
 does not mean that you are a Christian.
 
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God;
 not a result of works (something you did)
that no one should boast." 
 Ephesians 2: 8&9
 
 

Monday, October 29, 2012

sunday afternoon at the ice cream shop

 
So....on Sunday morning,
we go to church to hear God's Word taught,
to fellowship with other believers,
to sing hymns & praises,
to worship our great and merciful Savior
Jesus Christ.
 
After church we eat and settle down to rest. 
 
At about 4:00 we come out of hibernation and begin to stir around.
Many times we seek fellowship again
and something special to eat.
"Meet you downtown at 5:30, okay."
 
One of our favorite places for Sunday afternoons is
Leopold's Ice Cream Shop.
It is an antique down on Broughton Street.
Sandwiches & homemade ice cream
just hits the spot.
 
We kind of sit around,
rehash the day,
and thank God for all of the good things
He did at church that morning
and in our lives in the days that just passed.
 
The ride home is speculative...
such a good day Sunday is...
somehow we are ready to start the new week,
whatever it may bring.
 
Stay safe Amanda Mark Jake & Eli, 
all of Mark's family,
and my niece Grace up there in
 Rochester, New York.
We are praying for you all.
 
 
 

Saturday, October 27, 2012

tale of the missing button

I am quite aware that by writing this
I am opening myself up for an early entry into the
rest home.
 
The last few weeks of my life have been incredibly busy.
Tuesday night last was a big family party
 honoring my sister Teri
whom we hadn't seen in over a year.
 
At some point my Lu arrived with the above pajama top in her hands.
One of the buttons had fallen off
and she asked me to sew it back on for her.
(I do all of her mending)
 
I keep my daily vitamins in a shell plate
so I will remember to take them.
I told her to put the button in the shell plate
so that it wouldn't get lost
and then I set about being the
"hostess with the mostest."
 
After the party and just before I fell into bed exhausted,
 I took all of the "pills" in the shell plate.
 
That was Tuesday.
I have been looking for that button all week.
I've looked everywhere.
Today I wrote Lu to ask her if she remembered where she put the button.
"Of course Grammy, I put it in the shell plate."
 
When it dawned on me
 that I had "taken" the button along with my vitamins,
everything started to make sense,
 the horrible pain in my stomach
 must have been the button making its way through.
 
We need a little white button with two holes.
Anyone got one?
 
 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

glimpses of halloweens past

 
Ya'll...
not going to write much tonight but,
Aren't these just adorable?
 
All children everywhere love to dress up for Halloween.
We talk about what they are
"going as" all year.
They change their minds 100 times,
except for Jake,
who has asserted that he will always go as Spider Man.
 
When Jake & Eli are here
we spend hours looking at costumes on the internet.
I have even ordered a few.
 
It's serious busness...this Halloween thing.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

things i love

 
My hutch dressed up for Fall.
Candles all over the place.
Honey Crisp apples dipped in caramel.
My grandbabies.
 
A good book at bedtime.
Waking up early.
Reading God's word.
My husband ~ my friend.
 
The library...
how it smells like books.
My lavender ~ olive oil soap.
Tortilla soup
made fresh by my son
and served up with lots of love and family.
 
The way the sun is golden 
 this time of year
Amanda calling with her funny stories.
Halloween costumes on
tiny little people.
 
My Dad
 in a place where he has everything he needs.
Having my sister Teri
here in my guest room all week..
catching up on our lives.
Laughing...remembering....talking till our mouths go dry.
 
Thank you God tonight
 for all of Your good gifts to me.
 
 

Saturday, October 20, 2012

rare photo

It was Thursday night.
My sister Teri had come from California
and we were preparing to take Daddy to his
Tenth Mountain reunion
 in Greenville, SC, the next morning.
 
Something caused Daddy
to temporarily
lose his eyesight and his ability to stand and walk.
He arrived at the hospital in an ambulance a short while later
 and they immediately went to work on him.
 
As of this afternoon all tests have come back perfect.
They can't find anything wrong with him.
He will stay in the hospital for a while longer
and we are hopeful to get some in house rehabilitation.
(he is very weak)
 
Amanda and Mark came back through
from a week at Sea World
and the whole family
was able to
join around the table
 over at David & Erika's house last evening..
 
So, plans change...
but because of that we got this rare picture of
Amanda, Teri, and myself with Jake & Eli
Wanted you non-facebook friends to see this photo
and know @ Dad,
 
Please pray for God's wisdom
 as we face very hard decisions about his future care.
 
 

Thursday, October 18, 2012

chosen in Him

 
This is the truth that sets me free....
 
"Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places in Christ,
just as He chose us in Him
 before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
having predestined us
 to adoption as sons
by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace,
by which He made us accepted in the Beloved."
Ephesians 1: 3 ~ 6
 
 
 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

gus turns two

Look at that face...just look at that face!
August David Cleland
turned two today!
 
We had a little party....
we did a little dance,
we sang a little song.
It was all fun and wonderful.
 
Thanks to Gus for bringing so much joy into our lives.
 
"Grandchildren are the crown of old men."
Proverbs 17:6
 
 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

pointing the way

 
Too old?
Maybe....but maybe not.
 
Sometimes I question myself....
Are you too old to teach?
Out of touch?
Over the proverbial hill?
 
The Bible has a lot to say about this.
 
"Older women likewise are to be
 reverent in their behavior,
not malicious gossips,
not enslaved to much wine,
 teaching what is good,
that they may encourage the young women to
 love their husbands,
 to love their children,
 to be sensible,
pure,
workers at home,
 kind,
 being subject to their own husbands,
 that the word of God
may not be dishonored."
Titus 2: 3 ~ 5
 
Seems like from these verses that
teaching
is just what God wants us
 "older women"
to be doing with our time.
 
"Teaching what is good."
That would be God's word.
 
 
 

Friday, October 12, 2012

this little girl & this pillow

 
She woke up early yesterday morning
and told her moma
 that she was going to make me a pillow.
She got out her Dora fabric,
(soft as a cloud)
cut out her shape.
(rectangle)
stuffed it with cotton balls,
and Lucy stated to sew.
 
Above you see the finished product.
 
She presented it to me yesterday
as we set out on our trip to the beach.
I love this pillow so much.
Her little sewing skills are very good
and she has such a desire.
She worked hard on it all day.
 
I told her it was just the right size to fit the crook of my neck...
also to lay on my ear.
(It is 6" by 3 ")
 
Just look at her up there playing in the sand.
She is my little love...
a joy of joys,
a gift from God.
 
Always thankful....all the time!
 
 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

pumpkin on the porch

 
Beautiful things......
 
We who sink sometimes
into the
"sloth of despond,"
who become focused on our own little selves
and our troubles,
should take a look around.
 
There are orange pumpkins on every street corner.
The sky is so blue it takes your
breath away.
The air has "conditioned" itself.
 
God has created His world
in such a way that we are
 "without excuse"
 to not acknowledge Him as
the sole creator.
 
Take a look around.....
 
Today I gazed upon
a two month old baby boy that was a work of art.
All smiles and sweet baby talk...
made perfectly by God.
 
Just now I talked to my daughter
who is full of plans,
of good things,
calling to check on me
and find out what is going on
in our world.
 
What are your blessings tonight?
What are your beautiful things?
 
Let your mind dwell on these and be lifted up.

Monday, October 8, 2012

baby jake.....

 
in the pumpkin patch.
Love this picture.
Love the baby blanket knit by Aunt Dottie.
Love those plump little cheeks.
Love all those beautiful pumpkins arrayed on the grass.
 
I am decorating my house for fall.
I find things that bring back so many remembrances
when I drag out the holiday boxes.
 
"For Thou art my hope;
O Lord God,
Thou art my confidence from my youth.
 By Thee I have been sustained from my birth; 
Thou art He who took me from my mother's womb;
My praises are continually of Thee." 
Psalm 71: 5 & 6
 
I love to find verses like these just before I go to bed.
Night thoughts are so sweet
when I'm thinking about the wonders
of my God.
 
 
 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

one of our cruises

 
We have done some traveling in our 42 years of marriage.
This was an impromptu cruise that we took in the summer of 1992.
We were living in Fayetteville,
and I think David had just graduated from high school.
 
We drove down to New Orleans
and toured the Western Caribbean stopping in
Grand Caymen,
Cozumel, Mexico,
and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
 
Notable things....
Bubba and David are skinny.
Amanda & I are not skinny.
I have some really short, funny looking hair,
and a gold chain belt.
Amanda has some really funny looking bangs
and is carrying her pillow.
 
Bubba and I are saving to take the whole family on a cruise...
for our 50th Anniversary.
that's a little ways off,
but it will take that long to save that much money.
Eleven of us now....could be more by then.
 
Family is everything...a grace gift from God.
Time spent together...
priceless!!!!

Friday, October 5, 2012

the earth

 
God made the earth.
He placed it precisely where
He wanted it to hang in space.
 
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Genesis 1:1
 
The earth is still right where He put it
It will stand firm
until His purposes are all accomplished.
 
Then....
 
"The day of the Lord
will come as a thief in the night,
 in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise,
and the elements will melt with fervent heat;
both the earth
and the works that are in it
 will be burned up." 
 II Peter 3:10
 
Then.....
 
"Nevertheless,
we,
according to His promise,
look for new heavens
and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells." 
 II Peter 3:13
 
No sin at all in the new earth!
Can't wait!!!
 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

a bald eagle

 
Jake Barrington Hollingsworth
 is my
first-born grandson.
 
He is one-of-a-kind,
a leader.
A confident, fearless,
born to go places little guy.
 
One of his weak areas, though,
is that he is at times
completely oblivious.
If you point out a bear standing right in front of him
he may look to the right
 and the left
and he may not see the bear at all.
 
Today,
while driving away from the
Chick-Fil-A in Williamsburg,
he miracuously spotted
 the bald eagle
that you see in the picture above.
Maybe he is developing a keen eye after all, Amanda.
 
I talked with him on the phone this morning.
His first question was,
"Grammy, is that red stuff still all over your face"?
When I told him
that my face was mostly healed up,
 he gave a shout of joy
 and told his little brother Eli
 the good news.
Both were exuberant.
I just love their love for me.
 
I also love nature
 and bald eagles
and getting to share all of that
with my grandbabies.
 
 

Monday, October 1, 2012

roses for moma

This morning my Dad and I went to
Bonadventure Cemetary.
We picked up a big bundle of roses
and I made a beautiful arrangement to place on
 my Mom's grave.
 
Five years ago this morning she passed from this earth.
I was standing by her side holding her hand when she went away.
For all of her cookbooks,
pots&pans
shoes and sweaters
purses
and her collection of angels
she had no more need.
She left all of her earthly possessions behind.
 
I miss her....can't believe it has been five years.
 
We can't settle in here.
Life on this earth is temporary.
We are promised eternal life and mansions in glory
but we must first pass over to the other side.
We must leave all that we know and love,
put all of our trust in Jesus,
and believe Him
for all He has promised.
 
How do I know this?
It is plain spoken in the word of God,
and Jesus
has given me His Spirit
to have faith in all that it says.
 
Roses for Moma today...
I'll always love you sweet one.