MckLinky

The following is part of a post on MckMama's blog today letting us know of a new "linky" service that she is instrumental in bringing to fruition.

"There’s a great new “linky” service available and I wanted to let you know about it. It’s called MckLinky – www.mcklinky.com. After realizing the need for a new, reliable linky capability, Brent Riggs and MckMama got together to create a free, easy to use linky service for all their blog friends.

MckLinky is a free link list feature that allows you to do include lists of other blog links like MckMama does on Not Me! Monday. You can use MckLinky any time you want your blog readers to leave a list of links on your blog. It’s simple, reliable, free...and loads of MckFun! "

I'm not very savvy about all of this yet but am sure it will lead me to many ways to help my readership grow. I look forward to offering my readers a lot of new things in the coming days.

For today's poetic post, I am using one of the very first if not the very first poem I posted that will tell you a little bit more about what I know about blogging and about what I hope to know in the future.

God Bless and have a super week,


Mimmy



BOGGLE SCHOOL


Today I’ve jumped in with both feet
To this world that’s known as "BOGGLE".
My experience is very limited
As through cyberspace I toddle.


If I can get to nursery school
Where I’ll learn about pretty pictures
I’ll really be quite stupefied
Having crossed through some restrictions.


So we’ll start this journey together
That I’m calling "BOGGLE SCHOOL",
If you have a way to help me
Please don’t hesitate to send the rules.


‘Cause I really want to graduate
Right now with a high school diploma.
But if one day I get a Doctorate
Would be like a sweet aroma.

Be patient with me in my baby steps
Crawling one day to the next,
Until I’m named "Dr. Boggle"
Having utilized all the text.

Mimmy
April 1, 2009

Words

Tonight, or should I say this morning, will be a short post. I'm really very tired having had two pretty bad days.

As I sit at the computer reading my favorite blogs and thinking about what I am going to write I think about a "communication" that I tried to get going on one of them on Friday without much luck. It was all about words and I wrote the beginnings of today's poem. It has been edited since then and only goes to tell you how very important I think words are.

Without words, and a very good working knowledge of them, we could not read, write, communicate, or do any number of other things. We couldn't cook, unless you have all of your recipes in your head or unless you are better at making up recipes than I am. We couldn't do word puzzles, at which I spend a great deal of time. We couldn't follow directions either to a sewing pattern, prescription bottle or homework for our children. We couldn't follow road signs, at least the ones without pictures on them. Number one on my current list is that I most certainly could not write poetry and I could not share it with you.

I'm so thankful that I have found a world where the inhabitants love words and love to use them. Hopefully we will get to know each other better and our worlds will continue to collide.

God bless,
Mimmy


WORDS

Words are a powerful tool!
Those who can use them rule!
Those who can't should learn to dance
So they won’t have to run and prance!

Words are a mighty powerful tool!
You need them to just get into school!
You need them to apply for a job!
You'll need words to halt a mob!

You must know the words of your language
Or life will be nothing but control of damage!
With those words you just might meet a prince
And talk to him with nary a wince!

I’m sure you’ll find words to be quite important!
Words build questions and you must recant!
If you read books, words build all fiction!
You not only must know words but use proper diction!

So as you are reading my little bit of rhyme
And you look at your watch to see what the time,
Remember that if you didn’t know words
You could not read this no matter if absurd!

Mimmy, June 27, 2009

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Kathleen at Grosgrain is posting another giveaway of a linked as Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!! The aprons are retro '50's and very "flirty". Sure hope I win one if they make them to fit my frame. Please take a peak and let her know you are interested, not only in her giveaways but in her blog all together. She has the greatest tutorials on just about any sewing topic you can imagine and just might do one for you special if you have a sewing problem you need to have addressed.

Thanks Kathleen and have a super weekend.

God Bless, Mimmy

Babies

Babies: they can make fools of us, make us wise, make us laugh, make us cry, fill us with joy, fill us with pain, turn us to towers of strength and then in the next moment turn us to complete jelly. Babies are one of my most favorite things and I love them just about as much as anything else on this earth. A baby can be an absolute stranger to me and all I have to do to fall in love is see a picture.

All of this has been proven to me by some of the blogs that I read. Little Baby Jonah was my first blog love. Jonah was born with epidermolysis bullosa or EB which is a group of diseases that are characterized by blisters that appear after only a bump to the skin. Jonah's little brother was also born with EB and died soon after birth. To read more about Jonah and Gabe, check out his mom, Patrice's blog entitled the Williams Family Blog. To have gone through so much and at such a young age, Matt and Patrice have a faith that rivals any of her readers. As her blogs have progressed, Patrice has turned into a fantastic writer and keeps us posted on their every day lives with Jonah while keeping us in absolute stitches.

I predict that one day Patrice will write a book for children with EB that will help them and their parents get through a day of pain with laughter and joy.

Another baby that I have come to love through blogging is Kayleigh Anne. Kayleigh Anne's father Adam Freeman posted daily at what was originally One Pound Miracle but is now One Pound Blessing because precious Kayleigh Anne passed from this life on May 11, 2009. Her little body, born premature, finally shut down after a battle of eleven months. To read Kayleigh Anne's full story, check out her father's blog or the first of two poems included in today's post. Adam still posts about life with the Freeman's but not on a daily basis. Kayleigh Anne's blog is well worth checking out. Adam has a sense of peace to his writing, even after they lost Kayleigh Anne. I miss you sweetheart.

There have been other babies that I have gotten to know through blogging. However, these two have impacted my life on a very permanent basis. There are also many other babies that I have come to love outside of cyber space. Twelve of them are my wonderful, precious, sweet, adorable grandchildren, Zachary, Hali, Dakota, Richard, Kaitlynn, Samantha, Tiffany, Tyler, Trey, Joshua, JJ and Memphis. Aren't you impressed that I could remember all of their names without having to cheat. You have already met Zachary, Hali, Dakota and Trey and it is my plan to introduce you to the other eight in the near future. Their parents just have to get me updated pictures. (hint-hint).

Babies are one of the most wonderful of God's creations. It is amazing to think that God takes two cells, puts them together, lets them "cook" for nine (or ten) months, takes them on a journey through an opening much too small and they enter a world much more chaotic than what they just left, loan them to two people for the next 18 years while they are changing every day, with only minimal instructions, and then one day, with patience, consistency and love God helps them develop into His true children, serving him every day that they live on this earth, only to have them pass from this life into eternal bliss with our God and Father and his son, Jesus Christ. AREN'T BABIES GRAND!!!

God Bless,
Mimmy



The Glory of God


"One Pound Miracle" she was called
On her blog created by Daddy.
She was so tiny her arm would fit
Through Dad’s wedding ring, quite uncanny.

She fought hard for eleven months.
248 procedures, 7 major ops.
1 on her open heart so small
The very smallest they’d seen, none topped.

Her room at home was all ready,
Painted brown with many accents of pink.
Every time she came near to coming home
She got sicker, very tough, don’t you think.

So many people would ask each day,
"How’s your sweet and precious girl",
That Daddy opened up her Blog
Answering questions coming to their world.

They heard lots of people began to pray
Some who said they hadn’t for a long time.
Others said they had returned to God
After reading her story on line.

So now I see this question
That recently entered into my mind.
It’s one that must have an answer,
That the answer to now we must find.

If the story of this little girl
Who died after her dreadful fight,
Could turn so many folks to prayer,
Could have others seeking the light,

How much more could the words of Jesus,
His fight that saw His death on the cross,
Lead people not only to kneel in prayer
But to salvation and of sin, total loss?

Do we start a blog to send out the word?
Do we post of his terrible dying?
Do we e-mail all of our family and friends?
Sure we can if that’s your way of trying.

But God has already written it down
In a post that resounds through the ages.
The book is called the Bible today;
He’s said to read and then share the pages.

Sweet baby you’re done with all your work,
Felt through the words of your story.
Now it’s our turn to take up the cross
Telling Christ’s tale to all of God’s glory.


Mimmy aka Joyce K. Smith
May 15, 2009




The following was penned for some friends of mine at the birth of their first baby. He just spent his first week at church camp which is absolutely unbelievable and makes me feel very old. At the time this was written we didn't know he was going to be a he, so please excuse the "she" references.



Baby Blessing

A baby is a precious gift,
A gift from God above,
Sent to us to cherish
To cuddle and to love.

But she’s not really yours, you see,
She simply is on loan,
From our Heavenly Father
As he sits upon his throne.

He’s given her to you to raise,
To teach and train and warn,
To cherish all that’s good in life,
And all that’s evil to scorn.

What she becomes depends on you
And how you live each day.
She’ll learn much more from what she sees
Than she will from what you say.

So love her each and every day
As the treasure that she is,
And guide her to that Heavenly home
Of happiness and bliss.

Mimmy aka Joyce Smith, April, 1999

Remembering

Only a little while ago I visited another blog Time For A Bucket List written by Margaret Hall. If you recall I introduced you to her blog Images In Thought a few days ago. They are both extremely well written and have made me think. They are very different in tone which only goes to show you how well written Margaret is. It is hard for me to come up with enough to post in one blog, let alone try to keep up with two.

Her most recent post in Time For A Bucket List reflects on her memories of her childhood days. We share many of the same memories which must mean that we come from very similar backgrounds and from approximately the same time frames. It made me start to think about some of my memories and led to me penning the following. Hopefully it will lead you to write about some of your memories and share them with both Margaret and me.



Take care, enjoy your walk through the past and



God Bless,

Mimmy



Remembering

What do you remember of your days gone by
Whether fifty, forty or ten?
Do you remember dolls as tall as you are
With clothes that fit your brother or friend?

Do you remember playing house, school and church
With props made from only a box?
Do you remember wearing braids in your hair
With bows tied at the ends of your locks?

Do you remember playing outside ‘til dark
Catching fireflies in a quart jar?
Do you remember the walk to your school
‘Cause your family had only one car?

Do you remember the walk home from school
With band instrument in your left hand?
Do you remember your mom and your dad
At concerts ‘cause you were just grand?

Do you remember banging the big screen door
To announce, "Hey, I'm here"?
Do you remember smelling roast and hot taters
When you came in from church, "Where's my chair"?

Do you remember how truly awesome it was
To find mom home and not just a key?
Do you remember dad taking the time
To let you sit right upon his knee?

Do you remember your very first date
That wasn’t to a school dance?
Do you remember wrapping yarn ‘round his ring
So you wouldn’t lost it by chance?

Do you remember when he finally proposed
After asking your dad for your hand?
Do you remember walking down that long aisle
While the very same dad held your hand?

Do you remember the first house that was yours
Your first car and your very first babe?
Do you remember when the money was tight
So tight for your heat your couldn’t pay?

Do you remember the friend who found out
You were worried about being cold?
Do you remember the thanks that you felt
When your friend paid the bill? Who told?

Do I remember? You sure bet I do!
Could I think of more? Yes, I can!
Can I think of them all as I sit hear tonight?
No I can’t! Wish I could! Sorry man!

You’ll just have to wait until some other time
For my memory to click into gear,
Then I'll write more of days all gone by
And the times I’ve had year after year.

Mimmy
June 22, 2009

Women and God's Word

In trying to decide what I wanted to post about today I was looking through some of the poems I had written in days past and found one about women in New Testament times. Part of that poem was written regarding the lack of worth placed on women in that time of history and as we are aware, that point of view existed in our country not all that many years ago and still exists in a great portion of this world today.

How men came to believe they are superior to women is a view I have never understood. The scriptures definitely teach that women are to be in submission to their husbands and I have never had a problem believing this. The scriptures also teach that I am to obey my parents, which would include my father, that I am to be in subjection to the elders of the church and that I am to obey the laws of the land. However, there is nothing, anywhere, in the Bible, of which I am aware, that teaches that women are in general less worthy of anything than are men.

Having said that, God has from creation placed a very high regard upon women. At creation, Adam was unable to find a being capable of serving as his companion in all of the being created by God up to that point. This is the reason God placed Adam into a deep sleep, removed a rib, and from it created a being to serve as man's help meet, or a suitable helper. Woman was created because there was nothing else in all of God's creation that was good enough to be Adam's wife. Doesn't that make you as a women feel special? (Please know that I do not intend to say that men are not special. One of the most special men I know is in the other room.) Not only did God create us to fill a special need, there are many times in His word that He addresses the fact that women fill a very special role.

The scripture that is cited above today's poem is there because this was an assignment I was given for publication in our congregation's daily devotional booklet. It speaks of women that our Lord met and from whom he cast out demons. It also speaks of how they dropped everything to follow him.

Hopefully you will enjoy this work and also take the time to read the scripture from which it was taken.

May you all have a glorious weekend and may

God Bless,
Mimmy


Jesus Speaks To a Group of Women
Read: Luke 8:1-3

Our Lord spoke to many people
As He walked upon this earth,
Some of them of humble means
Some who had great worth.

He spoke to little children
And He spoke to old folks too.
He spoke with teachers learned
And with those who’d had no school.

He often talked with men He met
Upon the streets He trod
Of things on earth, things in heaven
But always things of God.

Yet on this day He chose to speak
With those often overlooked,
Not for their lack of learning
Or the paths that their lives took.

They were thought of by so many
To be lesser folk than men,
For they were merely women
Put here mostly just to tend,

To the needs of those around them
And surely not to sit
And talk with one so learned
As this One from Heaven sent.

But He not only took the time
To pass the time of day,
But to throw out many demons
And send them on their way

So they could go and live their lives
Free from the demons’ power,
And could spend each day in joy
From morning ‘til evening’s hour.

They were so very thankful
That they chose to follow Him,
And give Him what they had to give
From what little they’d been given.

His words were so important
And His actions so profound,
That they did leave their very homes
To hear His voice’s sound.

Do His words mean half that much
To us who live today,
Who have His words in written form
In countless and wondrous ways?

Will we even cross the room
To pick up His great book,
Or change the internet address
So we can take a look?

Or are we just too busy
To let our Master speak.
And tell us how to live our lives
Each hour and day and week?

Mimmy
January, 2006

Word Bank/Two Lives

This afternoon I took a trip over to Margaret Hall's blog entitled Images in Thought. She has the most beautiful poem there that is more accurately portrayed as a painting done in words instead of oils. Please take a few minutes and go over there to see what she has written. It is fantastic.

In a round about way she gave me or anyone else a challange who might want to write a poem from a word bank. The 10 words she used in her poem were given to her by Roger Bacon another blogging poet. The words he gave her are marked in my post in teal and should be fairly easy to spot. Why not give this a try. It was a bit challenging for me because the words don't lend themselves easily to just one topic. We need to see how many different formats we can get out of the few of us who are connected with my blog. Please invite your friends to participate also.


Poem from a Word Bank:

"Two Lives"

This morning at the break of dawn
A cool gentle breeze did blow.
By noon it was so hot outside
She looked for a cool place to go.

Her clothes are so very tattered
She's ashamed to show her face.
Why could she not have pretty clothes;
The ones others throw on in haste?

If she were to have such pretty things
She wouldn't treat them with disdain.
They'd be treated like pretty flowers
Blooming in the sunshine and rain.

All the people in their little town
Always look on her with pity.
At night in her room all alone
She dreams that they live in the city.

It is easier to get lost there.
It's much easier to be alone.
You don't have to worry about making friends.
Your room's your only friend, just one.

Her room was dark and dreary.
Paint melted from off the walls.
The bed was in a tiny nook.
Curtains a long time ago did fall.

Her mother slept 'til nearly noon
Every day of the very long week.
Down the hall her mom totters
To the kitchen where food Mom seeks.

Mom says to fix her two fried eggs
And a piece of toast with jam.
Oh, how the young girl wishes
She could warm Mom a big slice of ham.

She knows that all of her wishes
Shan't come to be in her youth.
There's just as much chance that they'll be
As if a fairy would pay for a tooth.

She also knows that when she grows
Things won't be the same for her kids.
Now her Mom works two hard jobs
Just to keep them off the skids.

School is where you will find her
Until she can get her degree.
She's going to make something of herself
So she can care for herself if needs be.

Unlike her hard working Mama
Who loves her and stands so bold
That she works her fingers to the bone
So she's not homeless, hungry and cold;

Because her dad walked out on them
Leaving them with nowhere to go.
Her mother stepped up to the plate
No training for work did she know.

She loves her mom so very much
But she needs a better life.
Someday she wants to have a home
Be a teacher, a mom and a wife.

She shot straight up out of her bed
Her dreams had been life long ago.
Thank goodness it was summer time
So she didn't have to work to go.

The day would be spent with her two girls
Doing this, that and the other.
Before they would go to their first stop.
They'd go by and pick up grandmother.

Mimmy aka Joyce K. Smith c

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

Take a few minutes and go visit Kathleen at "Grosgrain". She is linking today to her new tutorial and give away at Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!! . The skirts that she is giving away are very cute and she even gives you the instructions for making one or more of your own just in case you don't win.

Take a chance. The worse that can happen is that you leave her a comment letting her know how much you like her blog and you get another reader for yours. Besides that, you learn how to make a simple skirt without a pattern.


Sew, Sew, Sew

Sew, sew, sew.
Prick your fingers with a needle.
Sew, sew, sew.

Sew, sew, sew.
Cannot find a thread to match.
Sew, sew, sew.

Sew, sew, sew.
Thread that needle work by hand.
Sew, sew, sew.

Sew, sew, sew.
Find a button the right size.
Sew, sew, sew.

Sew, sew, sew.
Try it on it better fit.
Sew, sew, sew.

Sew, sew, sew.
Terrific outfit they all say.
Sew, sew, sew.

Sew, sew, sew.
Love to do it, find the time?
Sew, sew, sew.

Sew, sew, sew.
Gotta go, must work on line.
So, so, so!!!

Mimmy
June 17, 2009

MckMama's Family

Many of you are sure to be aware of a wonderful blog written by MckMama. This blog entitled My Charming Kids is so very special because MckMama lets you into the lives of their very charming family. She refers to her husband as Prince Charming and her four children collective as Many Small Children or "MSC". Individually they are Big Mac, MckNuggett, Small Fry and MckMuffin.

Over the past few months, followers of her blog have gotten to know MckMuffin, or Stellan, very well because of a heart problem he has had since before birth. In spite of the fact the Stellan was hospitalized for several weeks in the last few months she continued to keep her readers posted on this condition and on what was happening with the remainder of her family.

MckMama has a faith in God that has carried her through all of the many hills and valleys associated with Stellan's continuing illness and that faith is also a basis for the family's everyday living.

As is the case with most of the people I know and have come to admire, at some point in their lives I write them a poem. Since I find MckMama to be both a unique and inspiring individual I asked her permission to post the following.

Hopefully you will not only take the time to read my writings but you will take the time to visit MckMama's blog and see for yourself the joy and love that exist within the confines of this God loving family.


MckMama's Family

There is a young woman who lives in a land
That quite often is frigid and frozen.
She loves her dear husband, Prince Charming his name.
Need Proof, they’ve kids, one third of a dozen.

Her name is MckMama. I do not know why.
To her kids she has passed it along.
Big Mac, MckNuggett, Small Fry and MckMuffin,
Makes you want to sing that hamburger song.

In this day and age of multiple births
Four children are not all that unusual.
There are lots of families who have even more
So why do I think the MckFamily so "spectactical".

Big Mac is four, MckNuggett two and a half
Small Fry is just eighteen months old.
That leaves MckMuffin who, believe it or not,
Is a precious, darling seven months old.

If you’re smart as a tack and have done your math
You can see that this makes four in four.
There couldn’t have been more than just a few months
Between deliveries and conceptions galore.

In fact this MckMama must love number four
‘Cause the birth of her son number one
Took four days of hard labor, pushing and tears
Most of which with sheer heart she bore.

Big Mac is your typical four-year-old boy
Playing with toys in his sandbox outside.
He loves to jump on the trampoline
Watching Queen Mum do flips very wide.

MckNuggett prefers things that move on their own.
Bug, worms an occasional frog.
He runs and he plays ‘til he can stand no more,
Then with his blue blanky he nods.

Small Fry is the princess that "rules" o’er the boys.
She has pretty soft blonde curly hair.
You never will see her all through the day
Without a hat or a bow planted there.

Little MckMuffin, the most special by far,
Has a face that you just want to pinch.
He’s all cute and cuddly and soon grabs your heart.
You will love him, that’s truly a cinch.

Before MckMuffin came into this world
Doctors said he’d not see open air.
These doctors did not know that prayer was involved.
He did live and with nary a care.

He had SVT, a hole in his heart
That makes it race out of control.
Only God knows why his heart was OK.
He had a chance to grow his young soul.

But a new number four came on to the scene.
MckMuffin just turned four months old
When the old SVT reared its cold, ugly head,
MckMuffin fought two months to reach a goal.

In the hospital he stayed for several long weeks
Both Montana and in Boston Bean Town,
With doctors so smart they knew what to do
He came home, but it’s different all round.

His MckMama posts daily on her family blog
MckMuffin’s name truly is Stellan.
His name’s made a trip around the world
In his very own photo name gallery.

Stellan sleeps with a monitor to check his heart.
He must take meds all through the day.
A nurse comes to check to make sure he’s all right.
There just really is no other way.

My Charming Kids is MckMama’s great blog.
By the thousands people read what she’s said.
She posts everything from healthy foods
To a picture of the big boys’ new beds.

Her pictures are glowing with her love and care
Full of colors the brighter the better.
She shares her faith in the God up above.
She writes us as if in a letter.

This poem could go on for page after page
Telling tales of this family so fine.
However at some point the reading gets long
Folk just think they can’t read one more line.

The point that I want to make to you all
Is the blessing she’s being to readers.
She opens her heart and shows us her love
Telling us ways to make ourselves leaders.

If you are looking for a blog to follow
Not today but for now and forever,
Add My Charming Kids to your list of great blogs
Meet a family with love that won’t sever.

Mimmy aka Joyce K. Smith
June 12, 2009

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

As for me and my house, I most certainly did not forget to send the birthday and anniversary cards I had made for the members of our church with my husband on Wednesday night so that everybody got a late card this week.

I definitely did not go three days without a shower because I just felt too bad to get one. It just wasn't worth the effort.

Most definitely, I did not finish up the curtains I promised my grandson in September of last year that I would make for him; and I truly did not make an extra throw pillow for him out of one of his old and favorite tee shirts to make him feel better because it took me so long to get his curtains done.

Surely I didn't stay home from both services of worship yesterday because I just felt too bad to go. And I surely am not admitting this to all of you so that maybe you can understand me a little bit better.

Awesomely, I did not postpone baking a loaf of pound cake for my new neighbors after having not burned a loaf of banana bread that I baked for them last week and;

We most definitely did not eat the burned banana bread that was baked for our neighbors.

Hopefully all of you will have a magnificent Monday and will not do too many things that you will have to post on the next NOT ME MONDAY.

Thanks MckMama for this wonderful arena of confession.

God Bless,
Mimmy

Hopscotch Camis GIVEAWAY!!!!

Jump on over to Grosgrain and take a look at her Hopescotch Camis GIVEAWAY!!!! These are absolutely precious camis that can be worn summer or winter (with a turtle neck or some other shirt under it). Surely everyone has someone in their family or friends list that will have daughters who can use these. Also, leave a comment and let Kathleen know how much you enjoy her blog. I'm quite sure you will, I know I do.

Hopscotch Camis GIVEAWAY!!!!

God Bless,
Mimmy

Poetry Info

For those of you who are poets, there are a couple of sites you may be interested in. Mattia is having a poetry contest. The rules are quite easy to follow and are very well explained on their blog. Check it out. There are cash prizes but that's not why I'm going to enter. Even getting an honorable mention would make me feel very honored.

Also, Poetry.net will list your blog as a poetry blog on their site if your blog meets its criteria. You just need to link to it and it's all done. They will review your blog and based upon the number of hits you have it will be listed accordingly. According to their information, linking often will increase your number of hits.



Good luck to all of you and I think this post deserves this poem.



THROUGH THE EYES OF A POET



A poet is a very rare breed
Who doesn't see as other see.
If a tree she spies with a might trunk,
Her mind hears leaves that go kerplunk.



And when she sees a child at play
Who runs and skips along the way,
She sees a tot who gallops with glee
And glides across the grass so free.



A waterfall from a mountain high
Is a crying rock with blissful sigh,
And a rainbow high above the clouds
Has angels sliding with leaps and bounds.



Raindrops are the tears of God,
You don't walk, you have to trod.
A book is a journey through paper leaves,
A cuff link hugs a gentleman's sleeve



For a poet sees with more than eye;
She sees with spirit, soul and mind,
She looks beyond this world and time,
For everything must have a rhyme.



Mimmy, 2002

Saddness Turned To Hope

The last few days have been difficult ones for me in many ways. Without going into all of them, some of them have come from my blog friends. One in particular has touched me so deeply that it will remain a part of me for a very, very long time, if not for as long as I live. Please take a moment to share some of your love with
WON. From reading your comments to other bloggers, I know that you have a lot of love to share. I met WON through MckMama just yesterday. Right now, they both need us all.

When trying to come up with a post for tonight, I sat down at the computer and the desktop that my husband had chosen for this month all but said, "here I am". In the upper right corner are the words "Hope is patience with the lamp lit". How very simple and yet how very true. God describes faith as: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1).

We often tell ourselves that we have faith, particularly when we are going through life's trials. Right now, my husband and I are going through one of those trials and I have been telling myself, with everything that is in me, that I have faith that God will get us through. However my faith is conditional. I have been wanting Him to tell me how and when our problems will come to a resolution. It's not that I only want a positive outcome for us, it's just that I want to know what the outcome is.

You are probably wanting to know how I have switched from hope to faith, but, referring back to Hebrews, God tells us that Faith is hope. My hope and my faith have been tempered. I'm not waiting, patiently, with my light on, I'm waiting impatiently with a camera. I want to take pictures of what God has planned all along the way so that I will know when the end of this particular trial is near, and what the joyful outcome will be. Lord, help me to develop a Hope that is Patience with the light on.


Questions and Answers

You ask me, "What is hope?"
My reply, "Believing in tomorrow."
You ask me, "What is faith?"
I say, "The same, with no sorrow."

You ask , "How do you know this?"
My reply, "God told me so."
You ask, "How can you trust Him?"
This is how, listen and know.

"In all the days that have passed me
He’s never let me down.
God’s answered all my questions.
Made smiles out of dreary frowns."

You ask, "Do you ever worry?"
My reply, "Sure sometimes that’s true."
You ask, "Why do you worry?"
My reply, "‘Cause I’m human like you."

You ask, "Should you worry?"
My reply, "Not really dear."
You ask, "Why shouldn’t you worry?"
My reply, "Because God is near."

You ask, "If you can worry
Why shouldn’t I do the same?"
My reply, "Because I make mistakes
Unlike the one who from Heaven came."

You ask, "Will God bring me
Through all of this world’s strife."
My reply, "He will, that’s for certain,
Through every one in all your life."

You ask, "Will God always answer
With a yes to all my prayers?"
My reply, "Sometimes He will say no,
To the prayers we send with care."

You ask, "If God will bring me
Through my pain and hurt on earth,
Why must I bear an answer
That makes me wonder at my worth."

My reply, "God knows tomorrow,
The days that reach beyond,
And the days that reach beyond that
To all the days in our life gone."

"He knows the hurt we’ll suffer.
He knows the joy we’ll share.
He knows the days that will go by
Without a worry or a care."

"Most importantly He knows what
We need to get us home
To the land of milk and honey
From which we’ll never, ever roam."

"He knows that we must feel pain
To enjoy the days of glee.
He knows that we must feel loss
To enjoy the good that we receive."

So the question you must ask me,
"Does God love me as a son?"
My reply, "Sure he does child,
His Son died to make you one."

God Bless,
Mimmy, June 9, 2009

Rain, Bones, Grass

For the last few days it seems to me that all it has done is rain. Of course, the only real proof I have of that fact is what I hear on the roof and what I see on the news. This has been one of those weeks when I haven't been out since an appointment that I had on Monday. You are saying, well, she could have looked out the window, and you are absolutely right, except that I really didn't even feel like doing that. Enough about me and my aches and pains.

Completely changing the flow of this post, we have the absolutely best neighbors. Except for one family, we've had the same neighbors for about 8 years. Considering we live in what is considered to be a starter community, that is pretty amazing. Our neighbors to the left bought their lot at about the same time we did. In fact, we bought the biggest lot in the sub-division and "D" wanted the lot for herself. Of course, we had no idea she did and we bought it 45 minutes before she made the bid on her second choice. It probably wouldn't have made any difference if we had known at that point. However, as good as they have been to us, if we were in that situation now we just might have let them have it.

Our neighbors across the cul-de-sac have lived here almost as long as we have. They are super people, have kids about the ages of our grandkids that have lived with us, and don't mind last minute requests for assistance such as dog sitting, newspaper collecting and mail grabbing.

The neighbor two doors to our right is an adorable lady who gets around much better than I do in spite of the fact that she is my elder by more than just a few years. She will call, out of the blue, just to see how I am and if we need anything. If she sees us out and about she always stops to chat and sometimes just comes by the house to visit. Those neighborhood charms are just about gone from our.

In the house just to our right we have new neighbors. This house is now rental property and we have been getting new neighbors about every two years or so. That's OK with us. It just means we get to meet more good people. If everyone who moves in next door is like our newest neighbors, we may have to bolt their doors and slash the moving van tires if they try to move. They have been here for less than a month and the Mr. has already mowed our grass without our asking. Of course, he just got a new riding mower and he may have wanted to try it out on a yard without a fence. However, I kind of doubt that.

Speaking of neighbors, I sometimes hear people complaining about how close our neighborhoods are becoming and how you can just about reach out and touch your neighbor's house while touching your own. To those who complain and speak of this as if it were something new, I have some information for you. My grandparents' house was originally a "shotgun" house and is now over 100 years old. I can remember my grandmother and her neighbor standing at their individual kitchen windows and talking to each other while they did dishes. They could have handed each other things if it weren't for the screen windows.

Another one of my fondest memories of that house is sitting on the front porch steps while Daddy, Mama, Granny and Grandpa all occupied the porch furniture in the evening after supper dishes were done. The "old folks" would talk about the day and Daddy and Mama would catch my grandparents up on the news from our house since our last visit. My sister and I would sit and listen. Sometimes we would be playing a game and I'm sure they didn't know we were taking in as much as we were. We learned a lot about life and about what it is to be a good person from those conversations. As people strolled by during their evening walk they would often continue their stroll up the sidewalk to the front porch and join us for a while, lending an even more diverse blend to the evening's discussions. When we would get sleepy, we would crawl up in the swing or on the glider snuggling with whoever happened to be sitting there, and go fast asleep. There is not a thing in this world that I would take for these memories.

Now, back to the rain...

God Bless you with sunshine,
Mimmy



Spring Rains, Aching Bones, Growing Grasses

Rain, Rain, go away
Don’t come around for several days.
My fingers really ache and creak
My knees and legs feel very weak.

Sometimes folks say
We need the rain,
But as I hear it
We’ve nothing to gain.

The pouring torrents
Just stand in puddles.
Really makes me
All befuddled.

There’s one more thing
Before I go,
The rain sure makes
Our grasses grow.

Then we must find
Someone to mow.
Usually a grandson,
Don’t you know?

Sometimes they do it
With hearts of glee,
Other times they’re gloomy
Don’t you see?

So if you have
A mower handy,
Come by and mow
That would be quite dandy.

Mimmy
May 5, 2009