Winter In the South

i love winter. won't make any bones about it. it's a time of rest. reflection. hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace. a time to slow down. soft talks at night. soup and crusty bread. endless cups of coffee with various creamers for the holidays. it's my favorite time of the year. always has been.

cardinals. my favorite bird. especially the males with their colorful red in a white world with green hollies in bloom. they remind, and i know not why, of being messengers. they turn up to make one smile. they seem to know when you need to see them. could they be sent to make us remember better times, loved ones no longer here, eternity that will be filled with peace. watch for them. they come when they sense a need. truly. as do dragonflies. but that's another story.

walking on a bridge in a snowy wonderland. romantic. i wonder how many engagements have taken place here? how many have expressed love here? how quiet the snow makes our world. it blankets out loudness, animals settle in to hibernate and sleep. daily outside noise vanishes. all lies dormant. beautifully so.

 i know not where this is other than a street my heart takes me to in my dreams. belgium? rome? paris, oslo? i pray that he will show me these places in my dreams once this life is over and there's beauty i still haven't seen. i wonder, do the people who walk these streets wish to walk the streets here? hmmm ~ 

 sadness. so much sadness. 84 deaths and counting just in our state alone. from flu and flu related illnesses. death is no respecter of persons. we've lost family, friends and oh, we've lost our young. those that die with our dreams. this year has been a terrible one with this illness that takes us to such sickness.

our youngest and her family. just prior to going to look at the christmas lights in the town, suburbs and various areas that still love to decorate and set out luminaries. i miss that as our current home is in a suburb that doesn't but oh, we've lived where they do. and it's not only beautiful but brings us back to the heart of christmas with the lighting of a candle. a star.

Still One of My Favorites

This post remains to be a favorite post with readers and with me. I love the movie and love the information you can find searching for the baseball players. The doctor is even based on an actual character. Here's the link to read it for your pleasure and enjoyment! Click HERE.

Celebrating the last few weeks of Summer.

Teachers are reporting in, families stocked up on clothing and supplies are trying to get in one last chance to take a mini vacation before the business of classes begin. Mothers, like me, put on a smile while my heart weeps because I won't have the children at home any longer. I was never one that did somersaults when the buses rolled up but laughed at the antics of friends that did {giggle font}. As a teacher, it was a delightful time to meet new little ones and also be near our daughters as they attended classes. I was blessed with a career I loved and enjoyed. To also work with some of your best friends was an added blessing.

How are you celebrating these last few weeks?!?! AND, are you one of the many that have decided to homeschool this year?!  With dedication and planning, I'm a supporter of those wishing to make sure their children are learning not only basic, needed skills, but also able to work in field trips, extra studies, and bible lessons that public schools either cannot or find it difficult with the financial strain. I am not a supporter of CORE and would love to see it taken off the lesson plans in Alabama. Getting the answer right, but missing the problem because the steps were wrong doesn't make sense to me. Seriously. Look at past generations and the technology that has hit the world! And we did it without CORE. Okay, I'll get off that bandstand {wink font}.

Summer is a'goin' and Autumn she is approaching. I am SO an Autumn and Winter gal and shed no tears as Summer eases out. As your family gets ready for another school year or you watch your grandbabies step up into another grade, I'll be praying for us. For courage to face the fact they're growing much too quickly, peace and calm as we settle into football Saturdays and cooler temps, and that God will show great might in allowing America to have a President that will not take us into a Socialist state and a nation whose leaders refuse to acknowledge God. Prayers are needed more than ever for our nation and her leaders. God bless and keep us near Him as we draw closer to the November election. May He bless you and yours ~

Dr. Mary Neal & Her NDE

(On the far left bar, you'll see Asleep-77 Days. It's my account of an experience my family and I will never forget. Our lives were changed, some more than others. But as I told a counselor, I'd do it all over to have that time in the Garden.)

If you've followed me for a while, you know that almost 7 years ago I underwent an outpatient procedure that went horribly wrong. Truly, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Satan had a grand time. That was a Friday afternoon and I would spend the next 77 days in ICU and away from home. However, satan forgot that I am a child of the King. Saturday morning dawned bright and clear and on call where the doctors that were the best in their field. Our beloved internist, Dr. Catherine Thomas, told John that the ones she would have called, happened to be on call. Yes, our Lord trumps again.

My sweet man saw the above interview on his Facebook Home page. We both watched and listened as Dr. Mary Neal shared her near death experience. She was gone longer than me but some were the same. John and I caught ourselves looking at each other with amazement, and "She saw that, too!", and "It really happened." She made a key statement that nailed what I felt after being sent back. This is what Dr. Neal said, "I went from believing to knowing".

Growing up I was taught that one could hope for a place in Heaven and that if one walked with the Lord there was hope that he would reside with Him. Hope. I now know that if one follows the plan of salvation and loves the Lord, he or she can rest knowing that they WILL be with the Lord. I can tell you I was no saint {surprise!} and I distinctly remember thinking, "I'm here! I'm really here!" and I had goosebumps on my arms upon realizing that He had indeed forgiven me the sins all those 50 years! I was there! I just didn't get to stay.

Dr. Mary Neal was sent back, too. She was sent back with additional knowledge that I'm glad I wasn't, and I'll let her share that. We both believe we were given the mission of spreading the word that Heaven is real. There IS a God and He does forgive. He loves us more than we love our own children and He forgives. Everything. Except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Here is a great article on this subject.

I love sharing what I saw, what I felt, what I learned. I get excited letting others know that there is NO pain when you die. We live in an earthly shell and it may go on 'living' after the soul departs. (We were talking recently about our mothers killing chickens and how those birds would run around the yard with no head before finally dying.) When it is appointed our time to die, to be with Him or to be cast into darkness, there will be no pain. Like the blink of an eye, you're transported. Transformed. The earthly shell may, or may not, continue to live. Sharing over the years, I've been told "the eyes will tell". It appears that there's no one home.

And just as Dr. Neal confirmed, someone always comes for us. I was never afraid. I was never alone. I felt only supreme happiness, joy and delight in knowing where I was and that I knew those I had loved here on earth. I knew who they were and my connection to them. I believe we will know others in Heaven but that there will be no sorrow in those that aren't there. You will read that one of my first thoughts was, "John will be so excited when he gets here!". 

I pray that if you don't know my Lord and King that you get in touch with a local minister of the Word. Email me your location and I'll do my best to give you the names of some in your area. I know He longs for all of us to return. I know He knows not all of us will make that decision. As a parent, I can imagine that truly hurts His heart. But He practices tough love and He is very clear about what is expected of us. Just as there is a Heaven, there IS a Hell.

May your week be filled with much love and laughter and may you walk with your head held high knowing that someone far greater than any of us loves us and wants us to come home. To a mansion, to a beautiful life where there is no pain, no worries, no tears. Life is hard and satan (I refuse to give him the distinction of having a capital S) is working overtime. But he's a loser. Cling to God. He's never far away. And don't be afraid that dying will hurt. Just blink your eye. Feels just like that. May God bless and keep you ~