{ SONday Morning Song - Call It Grace }

HOPE everybody has an awesomely blessed SONday!

{ January 21, 1955 }

 1-year old

HOPE everybody has an awesome day!

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for our Friday Foto Friends!

{ Wednesday's Word - Birds }

Psalm 104:12
The birds nest beside the streams
    and sing among the branches of the trees.

One of my favorite things we own is our bird feeder. I must have taken after my Daddy because that's something he enjoyed, too, and so does my brother.  I love seeing all the birds come and eat. Since the weather has been so cold the last few days, there's been a feeding frenzy. Yesterday, I was excited to see a bird I hadn't seen before show up. Pappy suggested I "Google" black and white birds in Tennessee and I found it!  She (the male has a red spot on his head) is a downy woodpecker. Here's a picture of her sitting in the rhododendron beside the feeder.

And a little male house finch showed up, too.....

Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds. 
They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, 
for your heavenly Father feeds them. 
And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?

We have SNOW today and it's only 21 degrees.
That's probably considered a heat wave for some of you, right?

Wherever you are, stay warm.....
and safe!!

{ Life Hacks }

I follow a group on Instagram known as Life Hacks, and they post some very interesting little "signs" that give great tips, or pack a powerful message.  

Read on to see why I'm gonna stock up on oranges, mints, lowfat yogurt and mixed nuts!!!

;-)

 

.

And, this one is simply because I'm celebrating a birthday this week.....

only one more year and this ole gal can draw her Social Security.....

if there's any left by then.

Zippity-do-dah!!!

Stay warm, Friends.

It was 13 degrees here this morning, with a chill factor of 5.

I don't even like to hear the chill factor, do you?!?!?

HOPE everybody has an awesomely blessed day!!!

{ Just Stop }

Our pastor recently said something that really resonated with me.  He made the statement that we should just stop.....

stop going to church.....

stop reading our Bible.....

stop praying.

Now before you begin to wonder what kind of church we're attending, let me explain.  His point was that those things were doing us no good in our walk with the Lord, if we're doing them for wrong reasons.  I was raised in a very legalistic church.  It was a "hell fire and brimstone" church, telling me that one wrong move would send me straight to hell.  That type of thinking led me to lead a very fearful life.  I wasn't just fearful of my Momma (even if in size I could have taken her down....not that I would take down my Momma, but you understand), but I was fearful of ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that I said and did sending me straight to hell, even though I'd accepted that nudging of the Holy Spirit and asked Jesus into my heart at the age of 11.  My whole life seemed to revolve around the legalistic thinking of "If you're really a Christian, you wouldn't  fill in the blank."    Even until recently, I felt that if I didn't do my devotions EVERY MORNING at around the same time, that God would be angry with me.....

upset with me.....

dislike me.

Well, let me tell you.

The last few weeks have been so peaceful for me.

Have I quit going to church?

No

Have I quit reading my Bible?

No

Have I quit praying?

Definitely NO

But, I've come to realize that when I do those things it's because I WANT to.....

because I NEED to.....

not because I think God's gonna strike me over the head if I don't!

Oh, sweet peace!

There's nothing like it.

And, I've learned another thing.....

"you can teach an old dog new tricks"!!!

(I can't help myself with the old sayings)

Happy Monday, Y'all!!

{ SONday Morning Song - Holy Spirit }

Before we headed out to the Prayer Retreat yesterday morning, I played this song for Pappy.  
I'd woken up a few times in the night and this song was playing in my head (does that ever happen to you?).  I felt like it was the Holy Spirit that planted it in my mind to ponder on before the retreat.

"Holy Spirit, You are welcome here.
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.
Your glory, God is what our hearts long for,
To be overcome by Your presence, Lord.
Your Presence, Lord!"

HOPE everybody has an awesomely blessed SONday!

{ Friday Foto Friends #11 }

I've got something special for y'all today!

Our daughter is so talented when it comes to drawing and lettering.  
Here's an example of her Bible journaling.....



She did the artwork below for a friend and offered it as a giveaway on my blog.  I wanted all of you to have an opportunity to share in her talent, so just click on the picture to enlarge and print it off on card stock.

Isn't she talented?

Like I told her and a blogging friend,

I cannot draw.....

if I tried to journal, it would be only stick figures.....

LOL!

  On a side note, Pappy and I will be attending a Prayer Retreat at our church tomorrow.  Please be in prayer for open hearts and minds and wisdom and discernment as we pray ourselves into a brand new year serving the Lord!

HOPE everybody has an awesome weekend.....

and don't forget to link-up your picture below.

(HOPEfully it's working now)

{ Thrifty Thursday }

I love taking something old and making it "new" again by turning it into something completely different.  I've made little stuffed owlies for our grand-kiddos (well, I don't have Silas one yet) and for the back I used an old flannel shirt that belonged to my sweet Daddy.  That way they'll each have a little something that belonged to their great grandfather, whom they never got to meet....:(

 The feet and beak were from an old leather jacket that belonged to Pappy back in the day!!! ;-)

And, I made a purse out of that same old leather 

jacket of Pappy's and another I found on a sale rack at Goodwill.

You can click here for a tutorial on those.  

I took a pair of $1 yard sale shoes and painted little owlies on them. As you can see, painting/art isn't one of my talents because that little "Nannie owl" looks a bit deformed!! ;-)

  I recently came across a site that gave some really cute ideas for old sweaters......

Doorstops.....or just cute stuffed animals.

Boot slippers out of the sweater sleeves and the bottoms of old flip-flops....wow!

Pillows.....

Purses.....

And, TWENTY-FIVE ways to recycle old jeans......

(just click on the picture to go to the site)

Oh, mercy.....

so many ideas, so little time!!!

I better get off here and get to work!

HOPE everybody has a Terrific Thursday.....

stay safe and warm!

(don't forget tomorrow to get your picture ready for tomorrow's Friday Foto Friends)

{ Wednesday's Word - Sayings }

Do you all love old sayings as much as me? Since I used one Monday and Tuesday, why not just continue today? Here's a few I found and some of them have some really weird, or funny origins!!

bite the bullet

Meaning: Accepting something difficult or unpleasant

Origin: There was no time to administer anesthesia before emergency surgery during battle. The surgeon made patients bite down on a bullet in an attempt to distract them from the pain.

break the ice

Meaning: To commence a project or initiate a friendship

Origin: Before the days of trains or cars, port cities that thrived on trade suffered during the winter because frozen rivers prevented commercial ships from entering the city. Small ships known as “icebreakers” would rescue the icebound ships by breaking the ice and creating a path for them to follow. Before any type of business arrangement today, it is now customary “break the ice” before beginning a project.

butter up someone

Meaning: To flatter someone

Origin: An ancient Indian custom involved throwing balls of clarified butter at statues of the gods to seek favor.

go cold turkey

Meaning: To quit something abruptly

Origin: People believed that during withdrawal, the skin of drug addicts became translucent, hard to the touch, and covered with goose bumps – like the skin of a plucked turkey.

saved by the bell

Meaning: Rescued from an unwanted situation

Origin: As scary as it sounds, being buried alive was once a common occurrence. People who feared succumbing to such a fate were buried in special coffins that connected to a bell above ground. At night, guards listened for any bells in case they had to dig up a living person and save them “by the bell.”

spill the beans

Meaning: To reveal a secret

Origin: In Ancient Greece, beans were used to vote for candidates entering various organizations. One container for each candidate was set out before the group members, who would place a white bean in the container if they approved of the candidate and a black bean if they did not. Sometimes a clumsy voter would accidentally knock over the jar, revealing all of the beans and allowing everyone to see the otherwise confidential votes.

going to hell in a handbasket

It isn't at all obvious why 'handbasket' was chosen as the preferred vehicle to convey people to hell. One theory on the origin of the phrase is that derives from the use of handbaskets in the guillotining method of capital punishment.



And, you can click here for a whole bunch of others.

I'd love for you to share some of your favorites.

HOPE everybody has a great Wednesday.

Stay warm and safe!