LIfe's Ebb and Flow

LIFE'S EBB & FLOW


Much has changed in life's ebb and flow,
There's a little less get-up in my go.


The sounds I hear grow sweeter each day,
As a little bit more of my life slips away.


Has my life counted, I wonder at this minute,
Is the world a little better because I am in it?


What have I done for Christ, He has done so much for me,
He gave His very life back there at Calvary.


I look beyond the stars at night and feel so very small,
Even the hairs of my head are numbered by God who created all.


I listen to Him speak in the wind blowing through the trees,
I feel His touch in the gentle blowing breeze.

These water lilies were blooming  on my gold fish pond last year.


Sorry I haven't blogged the past few days. My computer is down and I am working with my old dinosaur. Thank the Lord my husband is a computer geek and is working on getting mine up and running so I should be back in business soon. Over the week-end we had a small attack of spring fever and got my gold fish pond flushed out. I was amazed at how big my fish had grown. We got  last year's weeds that had sneaked in around the big rocks  pulled away. Anywhere a seed can find shade and water it will grow out here in the west, and they got ahead of me last year because I was not well. I'm looking forward to spring and grilling and enjoying the outdoors this year.

THREE THIEVES

What makes some people hurt other peoples feelings is something I'll never understand. I think we've all known those people who seem to enjoy building themselves up by tearing others down. I was always taught to live by the golden rule. They actually taught that in elementary school when I was a child. Anger, Anguish, Aggravation these are the three thieves that steal our joy and shorten our lives. Looking back through the years I’ve known several people who seemed to love to be in one or all of these attitudes. Abraham Lincoln said: “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be” Anger is sinful when it is expressed in wrong actions. When we blow up at someone, psychologist call it venting, God calls it sin. We often use the energy mobilized by this emotion to tear down others.

My little Aunt Allie was a saint unless you got her mad, then watch out. I was with her once when we drove onto a one lane bridge. The custom was who ever got on the bridge first had the right of way. Well this day she got there first but the man on the other side was in a hurry and tried to bully his way across. They met in the middle of the bridge, got out of the cars and had a screaming match. I was a teenager, my sister and I were and so embarrassed. He did not know who he was messing with. She told him she would sit on that bridge all day, all night and the next day if she had to and she meant it. After what seemed an eternity with her throwing a real conniption fit he gave up and backed off the bridge, she drove past him still in a rage. I guess you could call that one righteous indignation, but that would be pushing it because she was really, really mad.

It is the wise man or woman who maintains self-control. Too many words are spoken in anger without thought to the scars that will be left on loved ones, words of anger and discouragement are not easily forgotten. If you have justified anger, deal with it in a calm manner. Anger generates more anger and in the feeding frenzy it becomes a monster, totally out of control, devouring all that gets in its destructive path.

Forgiveness is the best salve there is for a hurting heart. Holding on to bitterness will destroy us. In the long run, we lose when we hang on to the pain. Forgiveness is a choice we make, not because the person or persons deserve to be forgiven, but because God commands us to love one another. He hates the sin, but loves the sinner, and that is how we should be. It’s a hard task to forgive when we’ve been wronged, because we are not able to forget. Some of the pains from past experiences run themselves through my mind like reruns of an old movie on a seemingly regular basis. I have to run to God in prayer and ask for strength to love and to forgive. (Proverbs 29:11 A fool utters all his mind: but a wise man keeps it in till afterward.)

Anger Is An Evil Power
By: Lillian Carol Russell

Anger speaks with cruel words that cut just like a knife,

Imparting bitter feelings of pain and hurt and strife.

Anger is the devil’s tool;

He uses it often to destroy the golden rule.

Always treat others the very same way;
That you’d have them treat you day after day.

Take time to say you're sorry when you've caused somebody pain,
Give no power to anger, never let this monster reign.

Oh wouldn’t the world be a wonderful place,
If everyone treated his fellow man with only love and grace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Psalms 34:14-17 …Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Todays Travels

I took a notebook and jotted this on my way to the big city today, sorry so late getting it blogged. Also I'm sorry I haven't gotten your comments as some of you have told me you have been leaving for me. I uploaded a new comment form and hopefully this one will let me see your comments. I've not been able to get any so far.

We've reveled in the warm spring like weather the past week or so, it has been grand. Today we are making one of our seemingly never ending runs to Amarillo. We are like the long stretch of highway in constant need of patch and repair. Trips to Amarillo are a regular thing for doctor visits or medicine . The sky above us looks like a great blue bowl turned down over the brown prairie grass, still dead from winter's icy kill. Clouds spreading across the blue sky bring hope of rain to quench the parched prairie.

We've passed several blackened spots where careless motorist tossed out a burning cigarette and winds spread the flames with a vengeance. Over 70 homes have been destroyed and thousands of acres. With 70 mile an hour wind gust it is impossible to contain these fires, the only hope is prevention. In the distance we see the smoke of a grass fire burning, I just hope it is open range and no one loses anything. Fire season is a part of living in the prairie lands. Soon the spring storms will come and these prairies will turn a lovely green, wild flowers will pop up and God will paint a new picture on this old canvas. With spring storms comes the threat of tornadoes, in Louisiana it was hurricanes. Life holds its challenges where ever you go I suppose.

When we first began to make our trips over here to visit the grandchildren, I called this place God forsaken. Now He has changed my heart and I love His wide open spaces. I never dreamed I'd leave my beloved Louisiana, the rivers, the streams and the moss hung trees, green things growing everywhere. It was my life and my heart for 55 years. When God laid it on my heart to move to be near my grandchildren, He not only took away the pain of leaving my comfort zone, He gave me a love for wide open spaces. You've never really seen a sunrise or a sunset until you've seen one Texas style with no trees to block your view.

The following poem I wrote about my love for Louisiana, who knew I'd ever leave my sweet county home there.

INVISIBLE ROOTS

Soft as velvet to the touch, the petal of the rose,

Soft against my skin, the morning breeze that blows.

Majestic is the mighty tree, reaching to the sky,

Majestic are the clouds so gently drifting by.

I listen to music from frogs, crickets and birds,

God's song is playing the sweetest music ever heard.

An orange ball of fire rises from a gray-dawn haze,

The sunrise, it always does amaze.

No highway noises, no city sounds,

Living in the country where peace and quiet abounds.

You may not see my roots but they are there,

Binding me to county life and the smell of country air.

The city I'll visit once in a while,

When I need groceries or clothes to keep in style.

A day in town on those times that I do roam,

Make me oh so thankful for my county home sweet home.

 Romans 8: 38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, not life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Along Came Linda

As I've said before us girl cousins often visited each other. My cousin Linda had spent the week, she went on vacation with us to Florida. After we got back she was sleeping late that week-end and there has never been a McDaniel born that at some time did not sleep with their mouth wide open. So I thought it would be really funny to squeeze lemon juice into her mouth. I got a big slice went to her room and sure enough her mouth was open and in went the juice. Up she came like a bullet and my life almost ended that day. She said, “I am going to kill you.” I think she meant it, I ran down the hall to the bathroom and locked the door. I was climbing out the window as I heard her picking the lock. She tumbled out the window right behind me, hot on my heels. I ran up the front steps, slammed the screen door, employed the latch and headed for the safety of the bathroom again. Of course mama thought it was funny and opened the door and let her in and she picked the lock we repeated the scenario. We ran round and round the house until neither of us could breath and she finally forgave me. Ah youth, to be able to climb and run like that again. I'll never do that lemon trick to anyone again, I never even though of the danger of her chocking, nor the danger of my death at her hands, if it had been the other way round, I'd have felt the same way. We were hard to anger but we had our Irish tempers.

When we got old enough to drive, my cousin Linda who lived in Gulf Port Mississippi would frequently drive to Louisiana to spend the week-end. Linda was an exceptionally beautiful girl with a figure Hollywood starlets would envy. She always had her hair done before she came. Back in the 60's when the up-do was in, curls & ringlets were the rage. Daddy had big plum trees on either side of the front gate, it was spring and they were in full bloom. Linda was a vision of loveliness coming through the gate until a most unkind bird did his business right on top of her newly styled hair. Oh the horror, oh the wasted money, so right to the bathroom for a shower and a redo. Well that was not about to ruin our day, we worked and got her hair styled as best we could and we were pretty good at styling hair. Then she sprayed it good with what she thought was hair spray to hold it in place, but it turned out mama had just bought a can of the new foaming bathroom cleaning spray. Linda came out screaming, “Oh my God what is wrong with my hair.” Then she looked at the can and we all died laughing. What a day!

Then there was that time she called, she'd just bought a new car, she said, “Hey, Do you want to go with me to visit Uncle Phillip?” This was her mother's brother, so he wasn't really my uncle. Her father Johnnie and my daddy D.C. were brothers. I was married by now and had a two year old son but we would be back by the afternoon. Well that was the plan and it would have worked if we had not driven over an hour in the opposite direction of where we were headed.

These are some of the sights we saw going in the wrong direction.

 We were having so much fun talking and laughing by the time we caught our mistake, we had burned a lot of daylight. We stopped at a little cafe and ordered a delicious lunch and in came a camera crew shooting a background shot for a movie. We signed a release form giving our approval for it to be used, then drove on our merry way so happy that we might show up in a movie some day. We never saw ourselves and the fearful thought hit us that we had no idea what kind of movie it might have been for.

This trip was long before the invention of cell phones, so we stopped at a pay phone to call Uncle Phillip, he was worried sick as he had expected us much earlier. When we got to his house he informed us that we would be spending the night because it was far too dangerous for us to travel that road in the dark. I called my husband and told him what had happened and spent my first night away from him and my son. Uncle Phillip was high ranking in the military and his home was beautiful. They treated us to an unforgettable meal. He and his wife were so sweet to us. He had the first color TV I'd seen and I remember watching a Bobby Gentry special that night. She was a great singer and her costumes were so beautiful. They say she married a rich man and quit the business. I bought one album, on it she sang a song called Sunday Best and I did love that song. She's the one that made “Ode to Billie Joe" so famous.

Come morning Uncle Phillip escorted us to the main highway, pointed us in the right direction and said, “Now you keep going in that direction.” Really such a big to-do about one wrong turn. We never lived it down. It might have been Linda's last wrong turn but I have no sense of direction and I have stayed lost most of my life. Praise God for the invention of Tom-Tom.

THE ONE PURE LOVE

By: Lillian Carol Russell

Life is but a vapor and all too soon it is gone,

But love shared is left behind in hearts to linger on.

I love you may be something you feel you need not say,

But it is and you should say it every day,

And if you can not speak it, then show it in a deed,

A hug, a kiss, a favor, or just fulfill a need.

Some hearts are cold as stone, no joy shows on the face,

No joy that comes from knowing about God's saving grace.

If only they knew Jesus, joy would bubble up inside,

His love is something that a joyful heart can't hide.

God is everywhere, you can smell Him in the rose,

Feel Him touch your face with the breeze that gently blows.

Noah felt it when he sent out the dove,

The mighty God in heaven is the one pure love.

A LIFE OF ENTERTAINMENT

Since the beginning of time we have loved to be entertained. Great amphitheaters in ancient Rome and in ancient Greece attest to this fact. Since time began there have been story tellers and before television and movies there were traveling shows. It was not only entertainment but education. We learn the most when things are presented by way of entertainment.
I remember as a child that my daddy's father, “Grandpa Mc”, we called him, would sit on the porch with us kids after he was done working in the garden and tell us stories. He was so much fun, some were true and some were for sport, like the time he told us that if we could kiss our elbow, we would change into a boy. My sister and I tried so hard to kiss our elbow. He told us that when he was small he was a little girl until he kissed his elbow, of course we believed him. He roared with laughter watching us try this impossible task. On the side porch, they had a long shelf with water faucet and pan where they washed up when they came in from the garden. One day Grandma Mc took her false teeth out and laid them on the shelf. My sister and I were amazed, we did not know you could take your teeth out. Grandpa said, girls everyone can take their teeth out, you have to catch hold of them with a firm grip. He and grandma nearly died laughing at us trying to take our teeth out that day. They lived next door and grandpa always had time for us. If he wasn't working the garden, he was filing saws and we sat on the work bench while he did this because he had lots of stories to tell us kids.

My dad also loved to tell stories. Once when we were going to visit one of his sisters, Uncle James , his brother and young wife rode with us. On the way there we passed a stone house. Daddy said that they had built the house out of special growing rocks. It was a tiny little house when first built, but through the years it had really grown. He was teasing us kids but Aunt Irene fell for it too. For years we watched that house grow, every time were drove past it, daddy would say; "Boy that house has grown since we were here last." My sister and I could really see it growing, or so we thought. Daddy really got a big laugh the day we called his hand because we had learned that rocks do not grow.

There was a lesson in the old stone cottage. He taught us to speculate, to think before accepting things at face value. The power of suggestion is very strong and when used in the right way it can actually help children learn. Convincing a child that he or she is smart can do wonders toward making them believe in them selves. They can reach new heights because they believe they can. Tell a child he is dumb and he will be, because that is what he believes, therefore he will never try as hard and never be the best that he could be.

Sometimes I think that life was just better way back when things were so much simpler, and people helped people, and everyone knew their neighbors for miles around. It was fun being a kid back in the day when we entertained ourselves.

When I was a young bride, I took my husband’s Granny Russell grocery shopping every week. Each time we passed a house with a TV antenna she would say; “Just look at the devil’s horn sticking up out of that house.” I did not know at the time how wise a woman she was in that speculation. Even though I watch television everyday of my life, I know that granny was right; a lot of bad things have come into our hearts and minds by way of it.

A BETTER DAY
By: Lillian Carol Russell

When I was a kid, what fun we had,
Visiting folks with my mom and dad.

It’s something people just don’t do anymore,
It takes too much time, it’s such a chore.

Twelve kids in daddy’s family and five in my mother’s,
And we visited each and every of the sisters and brothers.

Daddy got in from work and we hopped in the car,
During the week we never traveled very far,

Always a pot of coffee and friendly chat,
Then daddy said; “Come on girls, it’s time to scat.”

With so many cousins there was always a lot to do,
Playing games, having fun and we did some chatting too.

I often wonder how we had so much time back then,
Enough to work, grow a garden and visit with a friend?

Week-ends we’d visit his siblings far away,
Most often we went for the night to stay.

No television in our home back then and life was good,
People cared for each other the way that they should.

Not many conveniences way back then,
But you never had to lock your door, there was way less sin.

The devil has us by the throat it really seems to me,
We welcomed him in you know, he came by way of TV.


Philippians 1:13,14 This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Ghost Driver

Yesterday's blog did not get written, my headaches are back, Sunday was bad, yesterday was worse so far today it is mild. The thing that really stinks is not being able to take pain medication, the bright side is that it really feels good when it stops hurting.

Once I had a big toe that kept me up all night itching, felt like the bone was itching. Then I could take pain medication, but no relief, it nearly drove me crazy. I put alcohol on it, I rubbed tooth-past on it, Listerine, Ben-gay ointment, I was putting everything I could find that I thought might help. At the time I didn't care if it made my toe fall off that would have been a relief. I pounded it with my fist, dragged it on the carpet, I thought dawn would never come so I could get to the doctor. I got my husband off to work, then dressed and took my toddler son to stay with my parents and rushed to the doctor in anguish. Back then you could just go to the doctor without an appointment if you were in pain and they would see you. It turns out I had developed and inflammation around the bone in my big toe. He gave me a shot in the toe and the relief was like a shot of heaven. A round of medication and I've never had the problem since.

When I got back to Daddy's house we sat down for coffee and he told me about one of his co-workers years ago who had the same problem I'd had. He said, “He fixed his with a hatchet. It got to driving him so crazy, he just went out side and put his foot on the chopping block and chopped that big toe off.” That poor man, I can see that the thought of having to live with that kind of maddening itching pain would be almost too much to bear. I don't think I could have chopped my toe off though, I'd have missed anyway and took half my foot off.

Daddy used to have so many stories of co-workers, there was one night watchman at a box factory where he worked when I was a baby. Everyone knew that he just came in, punched the clock and went to sleep. He slept soundly. One night they went into the office where he slept on the couch and nailed his shoes to the floor, which he slept through. Next morning they all watched as he laced them up stood up, and fell down when they did not move with him as he tried to walk. He was caught in his tracks.

Daddy had a mechanic shop at this one place he worked most of my growing up years, but he was a jack of all trades, he drove trucks and kept that saw mill running. One of the truck drivers died and rumors got started that his truck was haunted. To feed that rumor, daddy would get up before daylight and go put that drivers gloves on the steering wheel as if in a driving position. When he got to work the men would be gathered around that truck, daddy the picture of innocence would say what's going on here, why aren't you men working. They'd say, “It happened again Mr D.C., he came back last night, look at that, there's his gloves.” Daddy would say, “OK, who's the joker?” He'd come home and laugh over it at the supper table. He did that about a week before he confessed to the workers, that he was the joker who had been feeding the ghost rumor.

When we were kids, during summer vacation, daddy would often take us to work with him we stayed in his shop while he worked around the saw mill. We were blessed little girls that daddy loved us enough to take time to include us in his life. Some dads of this day and age don't take time to make memories with their children, something they will live to regret someday. Sometimes he would let us set up in the tower and tally lumber as it went into the creosote dip vat, it was great fun and I liked that strange smell and watching the large squared rough beams fall into the black silk bath disappear then reappear climbing the rolling chains up the other side. It wasn't work to us it was play, These are some of my happy  childhood memories.

Times were so different back then, we were safe, even when daddy was out of sight, all the workers knew us and watched out for us. Now we live in a whole new world and it is not the wonderful world that I remember as a child growing up in the 50's. By the 60's Elvis had won our hearts and Beatle mania hit and we thought things were wonderful and life was going to be grand. Little did we know that this era would begin a steady decline, moral decay would envelope future generations. That sly old devil Satan had crept into the pool of life and barely made a ripple. My elders thought our music was a bad influence. If they heard this stuff our kids are listening to today, the shock would kill them.

These verses come to mind when I hear some of the music, music I don't listen to, unless someone drives through a parking lot with loud speakers blaring loud enough to wake the dead and I am forced to hear evil words that would have gotten someone arrested when I was young.

James 3:8-12- But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapefruit bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridle not his tongue, but deceive his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

A REAL HUNGER

It seems to me that a lot of people are losing interest in going to church because the old devil, who is very real, has a grip on the world. No one wants to offend anyone now days, so churches are not preaching the hard truth, lots of them sugar coat things so as not to offend. We need to get back to the basics. As I once heard  Richard Weightman say, "The best commentary on the bible is the bible". We get further and further from it daily, I’m not saying don’t read other Christian books, but we must be careful when we listen to man’s interpretation of God’s word!

Don’t ever think that you can’t just preach the basics, that’s hogwash. I had a pastor back in Louisiana, Bob Simpson, who always preached it right from the bible, just the basics. I listened to him Wednesdays and twice on Sundays and I never heard him preach a dull or boring sermon. He always opened with a joke to get everyone laughing, like one I remember: He said a salesman was driving in a rural area and came up on a chicken running so fast he had to speed up to 70 to catch up with it. It turned into a farm road and he followed it. He stopped and asked the farmer who was out working if he saw the chicken? The farmer said; “Yep, we all like drumsticks around here so we breed chickens with three legs.” “Well how do they taste?” asked the salesman. “We don’t know,” replied the farmer, “We can’t catch ‘em.” Then, bam; while you were still laughing he blessed you with the true word of God. Usually you were wiping tears when you got there from his humor and you were wiping tears when you left because God’s word had squeezed your heart. You could hear a pin drop, because it was what we had gone to church for, we wanted to be fed on God’s word. You did not fall asleep when he preached.

There is no end to subject matter in the bible, every thing we need is there. Bob Simpson loved the Lord and he loved his people. If teens or even adults were chatting in church he would call them down and reprimand them for being disrespectful of God’s word. You might think his church was small for this reason, no; it was the biggest around and is still growing. People want to hear God’s Word, they hunger for it! Somewhere along the way man decided that we need to be entertained and they are just plain scared to preach the whole truth.

Acts: 4: 12 …Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

HE IS ALWAYS THERE

By: Lillian Carol Russell

May the Lord bless us all; grant us peace today and every day.

May He guide and protect us all as we travel life's highway.

His word stands forever and His promises are true.

And though the dark clouds gather the Son will see us through.

Sometimes the road we travel may seem to be uphill

The climb will be much easier if it is not against His will.

Let us commune with Him in constant fervent prayer,

And place our trust in Him alone, for He is always there.

From His presence and His glory we can never hide,

The Holy Spirit dwells with-in, our constant friend and guide.

Let us never take Him where He would not want to go,

Sometimes the things we do can grieve the Holy Spirit so.

He alone knows our every thought and every deed,

If the thought that we are thinking is a flower or a weed.

The things we do in secret are not secret from our God,

Let us be so very careful where our feet have trod.

Let us always keep Him close in thought and in prayer,

And always remember; He is always there.

JAMES 4:14 ...Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then will vanish away.

BUZZARD, BAT & BUMBLE BEE"

In this life there are intelligent people and there are wise people and the two are quite different. Knowledge we gain from our education but wisdom must be imparted by God. In my lifetime I’ve known some really smart people who really fell short on the wisdom scale. Proverbs 2:6 says For the Lord gives Wisdom: out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Knowledge without wisdom is a dangerous thing.

I read that if you put a Buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a Buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

 Also the ordinary Bat that flies around at night, a remarkably nimble creature in the air, can not take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A Bumble Bee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

In many ways, we are like the Buzzard, the Bat, and the Bumble Bee. We struggle with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that the answer is so simple. The Bible tells us in James that we have not, because we ask not. In First John 5:14 we are told: And this is the confidence that we have in him that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. The last part of that is really important, because sometimes we ask for things that are outside of His will. He being a loving Father will not give us that which will hurt us and sometimes we can not see the danger in what we want.
My youngest granddaughter was fascinated with scissors when she was very small. She was drawn to them like a magnet. She did not see the hidden danger in the shinny things that could cut paper, and once a big swatch of her hair. She was sneaky and got them sometimes when no one was looking. It was a constant battle protecting her from the danger that she could not see in this amazing object. She called them no-no’s because every time her little hand reached for them, someone said, NO-NO. Our Father in heaven knows when we make a request of Him if it will turn out to be a no-no. Like that song, I Thank God for Unanswered Prayer. Be thankful what ever the answer to your prayer, because God makes no mistakes.
Recently I watched a TV special on the effects of prayer. Studies, they found, proved that prayer actually works. I already knew that. I’ve seen prayer work in my life so many times. We don’t go to our Heavenly Father as we should. You know how when you've done something for your kids or grandchildren and they just don’t seem to appreciate it, the indifference really hurts. It must be the same way for our Father in heaven. He gives and gives and yet so often we only go to Him when things get all messed up and we are desperate. We should wake up with thoughts of praise, we should thank Him during the day and when we place our heads on our pillows at night, our last thoughts should be filled with praise. We are told that God inhabits the praises of His people in Psalm 22:3, isn't that amazing! To use my favorite son-in-laws favorite word, it is awesome, when you are praising God He is right there with you, inhabiting those praises. You can not be closer to the Master than when you are praising Him.

I GIVE YOU PRAISE IN ALL THINGS

Lillian Carol Russell

Lord I give you praise in all things, not only great but small things,

And since I've learned to give you praise with joy my heart now sings.

I wish I'd learned this long ago but in my youth I did not know,

That praising your name was a way to make your blessings flow.

My life held some hard tribulations, heartache and trials along the way,

I prayed for relief but neglected to raise prayers of praise in that day.

Now I know when the clouds gather in not to let the fear grip my soul,

If it's your will Master hold my hand while the storm clouds roll.

You tell us that we're not to worry that worry is naught but sin,

So I hold to your Word, not to let that old worry creep in.

You're an awesome God and I lift my praises to you now,

Teach me to serve you better my Lord, please Father show me how.

WHO KNEW MAMA COULD FLY

 Photography By; Alexandra McGoey

Alexandra, takes beautiful nature shots, I love this one because sometimes I feel just like this old post, still standing but mostly worn out, leaning a bit, weathered, wrinkled and gray. The world around me still filled with color keeps me going, fills my soul with song and cheers me on.

OFTEN TIMES I FALTER

By: Lillian Carol Russell

Often times I falter Lord and stumble along the way,

So busy running things myself that I forget to pray.

Then it all gets in a mess and completely out of hand,

I call on you then and cry out that I just don't understand.

When if at first I'd come to you and bathed it all in prayer,

You'd have made me understand that it all is in your care.

Some days are hard and hold more pain than I want to know,

Yet it is through the pain that you teach us and help us grow.

Teach me to slow down Lord and not to fret and worry,

How can I walk with you when I am always in a hurry?

Forgive me when I falter and please forgive me when I fail,

And help me to remember Lord that you do all things well.

I remember in the long lazy days of a summer gone by the car of my dreams, it was a new white 1959, Chevrolet Impala with the rear wings and cat eye tail lights. There were about eight of us cousins that were about the same age and we all got together as often as we could in the summer time. Mama was always willing to be our chauffeur, she loaded us into that big new car and off we'd go to the swimming hole for a day of fun at the creek. Sometimes she took us to the movies and dropped us off then picked us up when the movie was over, or took us to the drive in picture show at night. The living was easy and life was fun back then, when my cousins came to visit. One afternoon mama took us to the malt shop for hamburgers and cokes. It was before the days of safety belts and we packed in like sardines, well like sardines used to be packed, can't say that old line anymore. We sat under the shade tree at the table by the shop. The Roseland Malt Shop was the gathering place for teenagers and there were a bunch of boys there and they were clowns in the first degree. They teased and talked and suddenly they had to leave. We finished our food and got back into the car.

Floods had washed the bridge out over the Tangipahoa River and a metal suspension bridge had been put across the river until a new and better bridge could be built. What we did not know was that those boys had a very mischievous scheme planned, about eight of them had crawled along the side of that bridge and hid from view. It was a beautiful afternoon and we were riding along at a snails pace across that old suspension bridge, us girls giggling and talking with the windows down, when those boys sprung up over the side of the bridge and yelled. We all screamed as only teenage girls can scream. Mama floor-boarded that new rear winged Impala and those boys said it really flew, it was the first time anyone had seen her drive fast. Now one thing is for sure, my mother never got a speeding ticket in her whole life. She always drove below the speed limit. We knew all the boys that had done this deed, they followed us home and apologized to mama. She was not mad and laughed about it through the years, it was one of her fondest memories, the day she made the wings on that 59 Chevy Impala really do their stuff.

My Days in Child Labor Camp

Thanks to photographer Alexandra McGoey for sharing her beautiful work.

MUSIC FROM THE MASTER MAESTRO

(A poem written while living in Louisiana)

By: Lillian Carol Russell

The crickets sing in the nearby wood,
Their happy tune makes my heart feel good.

The mourning dove sings a sad sweet song,
I hear him calling all day long.

The birds are all busy making melody,
Taking their part in God’s symphony.

From my lily pond a bullfrog sings bass,
There’s so much rhythm around the place.

The wind gently blows through the lush green leaves,
To blend with the humming of the busy bees.

Much has changed in life’s ebb and flow,
There’s a little less get-up in my go.

The sounds I hear grow sweeter each day,
As a little bit more of my life slips away.

Has my life counted I wonder at this minute,
Is the world a little better place because  I am in it?

What have I done for the cause of Christ, He has done so much for me,
In fact He gave His very life back there at Calvary.

I look beyond the stars at night and feel so very small,
Even the hairs of my head are numbered by the God who created all.

I listen to Him speak through the insects, the birds, the wind in the trees,
I feel His touch in the gentle blowing breeze.

He is an awesome God, a mighty God is He,
And awesome is the very thought that He loves even me.

(Old Roads to Mississippi)

I remember as a child, when we went in an old truck and my sister and I rode in the back, it was a scary ride up through those Mississippi hills, the roads were not so good as they are now and we passed big moss hung trees that we just knew had giant snakes waiting to drop into the truck bed with us. Daddy was fond of taking short cuts through logging roads that often got us lost and threw mama into a raving caniption fit.)

The Years I Spent In Child Labor Camps

Last night I was going through some old pictures and came across one of my Uncle Bill, he was one of my favorites, hard to pick a favorite when they were all so special. I thought I'd write about my days in child labor camp today, the greatest years of my life. We kids did not know it but our family had a clever way of running legal child labor camps in the summer.

When the peas came in my sister Stella and I went to spend the week with Uncle Bill and Aunt Martha, with our cousins, Joan, Shirley, Lloyd, & Dennis. Uncle Bill was a hoot, when he left for work at 3 AM. He woke us all up, we had to be up and smiling like he was, but as soon as he left we crumbled back into our beds and slept late. That was OK with Aunt Martha because she most likely enjoyed the peace and quiet and she knew what was coming when he got home, she was a sweetheart too.

Uncle Bill's Day began early and he got home early enough to work his gardens, you might say fields, because he planted a lot. When he got in he and Aunt Martha picked many bushels of beans, not a few mind you. They brought these in and gave us each a bushel and a shelling pan and challenged us to see who could shell the most. We dumped the shells on news papers in the middle of the living room floor, where we sat circled round the TV, talking, laughing, planning our futures, and filing complaints each time Aunt Martha would come in with more beans. She would just laugh as she gathered the empty shells and tell us we'd be glad to have the beans come winter. 

We were not even aware of the hard job that lay ahead of her, washing jars and with all the canning of the beans. Kids are only aware of their own needs. Our fingers were really getting tired and as kids do we were getting bored as we watched the mountain of pea hulls pile up in front of us. We just wanted this to be over, we had pent up energy, we needed to run, we needed to feel the wind in our hair, to hear the sounds of nature outside. I'm giving Joan credit for this because as I remember it I do believe it was her idea. I can almost hear her voice saying it now; “What if we take a bunch of these peas that we have not shelled and put them up under the pea hulls?” Genius, my cousin was a pure genius, why hadn't someone thought of this sooner? We hurried and scurried and buried peas. Oh did we giggle at our triumph. Aunt Martha came in delighted that we had gained speed and had finished all those peas. Our celebration was short lived, when she came back in from dumping those hulls, she had picked the peas out and brought them back. She delivered to us a speech I will never forget that did shake me out of my childish stupor a bit, it was the only time I'd seen her so upset. Back then you grew your own food and stored it away for the winter, you didn't run to the grocery store like we do now. She made us aware how hard they had worked in the fields planting, tending and picking those peas so that they would have food on the table through the winter. She threatened us if she should find one more unshelled pea. We were not so proud of our little trick anymore and worked with new found fervor. 

She kept a beautiful spotless home and always had a delicious supper on the large dinning table. I remember setting round that table like it was yesterday, golden ice tea poured over crystal clear ice, meat & gravy, hot fresh biscuits, lots of vegetables, oh she was a wonderful cook. Grace was said and we all sat round the table together enjoying a family meal.Those times working and playing with my cousins, visiting my aunts and uncles, were some of the best memories of my youth. Oh how nice it would be to step back through the gossamer veil of time and spend another day in child labor camp.  

It would be wonderful if children of today had the opportunities we had back then, it was not child abuse, it was love and it was education family style, the way it should be. Daddy's family knew just when to send the kids to visit. We spent cucumber season with Aunt Cloe, I'll save that for another day. Families helped each other out, now they don't even visit any more. Look at the sad state our world is in, kids don't want to be bothered with their family any more, love and loyalty are out the window. Family, the very foundation of our nation is crumbling, Satan has a very real foot hold and we are too blind to see it.

“"There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human society, are created, strengthened and maintained”" - Winston Churchill