What is love? It is such an easy word to say. Attach “ya” behind it and you have no commitment. Love ya! Just casual. But now, saying “I love you” is a little harder. Or putting a persons name behind it is even harder such as “I love you, Don” (Sometimes that ones REALLY hard) Just kidding, Don. But still it’s easy to say. We throw the phrase around all the time even to people we do love. As the kids are leaving for school I say “I love you, BB” or “I love you, Michael” As we leave family events “Love y’all, see ya next year!” Thank goodness once a year is enough! Again only kidding. I have a wonderful family! Or to old friends you haven’t seen since high school. “OH MY WORD! I have not seen you in three hundred and fifty-five years! How are you? Well I gotta run, Love ya! I got your number now. I can call you and we’ll have lunch!” Yeah right. You know you’re never gonna call. It’s just another number to store in your endless sea of cell phone contacts!
Love is so easy to say, but so hard to show. But tonight I saw love. I felt love. Not the casual kind of love. Not the “Love ya” kind of love. But honest to goodness true love. My pastor has been in the hospital this week and he is VERY sick. He could possibly be in the hospital several weeks. Pancreatitis. Very painful they say. (Ever wonder who “they” are?) Sorry random thought. I get those alot! There is also a little boy at my church who fell at school and was hurt pretty bad. (He’s going to be OK) Tonight some people at church put together a prayer meeting for them. I saw people there that I haven’t seen in a while. I saw people who I know were totally worn out from work. People who were sick. People who had to get up early for work. But still they came, because they wanted to show their love. They stood in line for a long time to write in the journals so Scott (the pastor) and Cole (the boy) could read these and know how much they are loved. People talked with each other, prayed together, hugged each other, some just stood or sat together. But they came to SHOW their love for these two. I saw and I felt the love in that room! And I felt very honored to be a part of that. I hear Don say that God never wastes a hurt, and I know he doesn’t. I don’t know what Gods plan is. I can’t see the big picture. But I know he has a plan and I know he’s in control. And I guess thats all I need to know!
Love ya:)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Whats cooking?
Ok so my culinary skills leave much to be desired. I wouldn’t call myself a bad cook, but not a great one either. But I’m not afraid to experiment. Don and the kids have gotten used to this over the years. Michael never wants to be the first to try something new I make. Bryanna’s usually first cause she doesn’t want to hurt my feelings. Don, well he don’t count he’ll eat anything. (Just kidding Don)
I was reminded tonight of my cooking escapades over the years. Some good. Some, well, lets just say different. The other night I made broccoli and cheese soup, cheddar and garlic biscuits, and twice baked potatoes. I went by the recipe so it all turned out pretty good. But usually that is where I go wrong. I am not much of a planner, so I do not plan out my menus. This has caused many a meal in the Boyles house to go awry! I will start making a dish not realizing I don’t have all the ingredients. So I substitute.
One of Don’s favorite stories to tell is about the “green” velvet cake. I was out of red food coloring so I just put a little of all the colorings in. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I know better. Oh and I now, know that peach cobbler is not good without sugar, no matter how sweet the peaches are. I could go on and on.
Cooking is kind of like life. We don’t always get it right. I know I don’t anyway. But we are supposed to learn from our mistakes. Right? But do we ever really learn? I would hope I do. I know I don’t always respond to what I have learned. I seem to make the same mistakes over and over again. Mistakes as a wife, as a parent, as a child of God. I make mistakes and I try to learn from them and make changes. Some of the changes I make are not any better than what I was trying to change. Like the time I was making meatloaf and I didn’t have any oatmeal, crackers, or bread. So I used potato chips. That was definitely a change. It change my meatloaf into a big greasy mass. Yuck! Even Don wouldn’t eat it. Ketchup couldn’t even fix it. But luckily Gods not like that. He see’s the mistakes I make and he forgives me. He see the changes I make good and bad and he loves still. Luckily mercy and grace are better than ketchup. Thankfully when I make a mess of things He still loves me. He see’s me for me. Not for who others think I should be but for what He knows I am. You all see me as a green velvet cake. (Which I do NOT recommend baking) but he see’s me for what I really am. His!
I was reminded tonight of my cooking escapades over the years. Some good. Some, well, lets just say different. The other night I made broccoli and cheese soup, cheddar and garlic biscuits, and twice baked potatoes. I went by the recipe so it all turned out pretty good. But usually that is where I go wrong. I am not much of a planner, so I do not plan out my menus. This has caused many a meal in the Boyles house to go awry! I will start making a dish not realizing I don’t have all the ingredients. So I substitute.
One of Don’s favorite stories to tell is about the “green” velvet cake. I was out of red food coloring so I just put a little of all the colorings in. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I know better. Oh and I now, know that peach cobbler is not good without sugar, no matter how sweet the peaches are. I could go on and on.
Cooking is kind of like life. We don’t always get it right. I know I don’t anyway. But we are supposed to learn from our mistakes. Right? But do we ever really learn? I would hope I do. I know I don’t always respond to what I have learned. I seem to make the same mistakes over and over again. Mistakes as a wife, as a parent, as a child of God. I make mistakes and I try to learn from them and make changes. Some of the changes I make are not any better than what I was trying to change. Like the time I was making meatloaf and I didn’t have any oatmeal, crackers, or bread. So I used potato chips. That was definitely a change. It change my meatloaf into a big greasy mass. Yuck! Even Don wouldn’t eat it. Ketchup couldn’t even fix it. But luckily Gods not like that. He see’s the mistakes I make and he forgives me. He see the changes I make good and bad and he loves still. Luckily mercy and grace are better than ketchup. Thankfully when I make a mess of things He still loves me. He see’s me for me. Not for who others think I should be but for what He knows I am. You all see me as a green velvet cake. (Which I do NOT recommend baking) but he see’s me for what I really am. His!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Who am I to Judge?
It seems like more and more people are dying young. I never lost a “close” relative until I was 21 years old. After that it seemed like it didn’t stop. I really have a hard time dealing with death.
My dads friend found his adult son dead last week. How horrible to find your child dead! I could not even (nor do I want to) imagine. I haven’t seen him since I was about 10 years old. So I was not directly affected by his passing, but being a parent, I am just sick for his parents. All I know for sure is that children are supposed to outlive their parents no matter what. But thats not the way life works.
His son lived a “fast” life. Drugs! They over took him. This man finally succumbed to his addictions. He had so many opportunities in life. Opportunities the average person wouldn’t have. And he blew it. I wish I could ask him why? Why when you KNOW the drugs will eventually kill you did you try them anyway. I just want to shake him. Why did you put your parents through the ringer? Why did you choose to give up everything? I know his death was inevitable. The rate he was going it wasn’t a matter of “if” it was a matter of “when”. With all the information there is about what drugs can do to your body why would you even give them a passing thought. All the young celebrities we have seen die because of addictions. He should have know better. In my mind I rant and rave at him. He has left grieving parents and a sibling. I just get so mad how dare he screw up the life God created for him! Then I start to think rationally.
Here I sit, overweight! Sedentary! Knowing that I am at risk for a stroke or heart attack. I have diabetes and I eat sweets ALL the time. I have a food addiction! Even after all the information I have been given. If I do not make some changes it will become a matter of “when” for me as well. How dare I screw up this life God has created for me! Who am I to judge this man? An addiction is an addiction. Whether its food, drugs, or whatever. I need to see this as a wake up call for myself. I need to take the opportunity God has given me to live! So I’m gonna try to learn a lesson from him and make the changes I need to make. I never have liked change, so I’m sure it will be baby steps.
My dads friend found his adult son dead last week. How horrible to find your child dead! I could not even (nor do I want to) imagine. I haven’t seen him since I was about 10 years old. So I was not directly affected by his passing, but being a parent, I am just sick for his parents. All I know for sure is that children are supposed to outlive their parents no matter what. But thats not the way life works.
His son lived a “fast” life. Drugs! They over took him. This man finally succumbed to his addictions. He had so many opportunities in life. Opportunities the average person wouldn’t have. And he blew it. I wish I could ask him why? Why when you KNOW the drugs will eventually kill you did you try them anyway. I just want to shake him. Why did you put your parents through the ringer? Why did you choose to give up everything? I know his death was inevitable. The rate he was going it wasn’t a matter of “if” it was a matter of “when”. With all the information there is about what drugs can do to your body why would you even give them a passing thought. All the young celebrities we have seen die because of addictions. He should have know better. In my mind I rant and rave at him. He has left grieving parents and a sibling. I just get so mad how dare he screw up the life God created for him! Then I start to think rationally.
Here I sit, overweight! Sedentary! Knowing that I am at risk for a stroke or heart attack. I have diabetes and I eat sweets ALL the time. I have a food addiction! Even after all the information I have been given. If I do not make some changes it will become a matter of “when” for me as well. How dare I screw up this life God has created for me! Who am I to judge this man? An addiction is an addiction. Whether its food, drugs, or whatever. I need to see this as a wake up call for myself. I need to take the opportunity God has given me to live! So I’m gonna try to learn a lesson from him and make the changes I need to make. I never have liked change, so I’m sure it will be baby steps.
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