Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul.
Thank You, Lord, for making me whole.
Thank You, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.

***Sunday lunch song at Camp Soaring Hawk

My godmother from Memphis called this morning telling us to read the Commercial Appeal in the memories section. JB McCaleb is my grandfather and he was a character to say the least. Below is a copy of the article from The Commercial Appeal out of Memphis:

“50 years ago: 1957

For just a few moments yesterday at noon, the Cotton Carnival became the Catfish Carnival. A tankload of blue catfish was dumped into Court Square’s fountain, a gift to the people of Memphis from their fellow Tennesseans at Savannah. Mayor J.B. McCaleb of Savannah set the tone of the occasion by handing Savannah Joe, leader of the finny tribe, to Mayor Edmund Orgill. Mayor Orgill held Joe while movie cameras ground and flashbulbs exploded. Then he dropped the fine fish into the fountain. Moments later, some 20 other catfish were deposited in the fountain to keep Joe company. But you can recognize Joe if you look. He is wearing a red tag with his name on it. The cascade of catfish was Savannah’s way of contributing to the campaign to replace Court Square’s goldfish with creatures more appropriate to the region. ”

Only my granddaddy would take a bunch of catfish wrapped up in a bow and dump into a fountain in Memphis! Welcome to Tennessee ya’ll!

My 20th high school reunion is coming.  I’m having a planning session tomorrow night.  I’m finding this very difficult to do.  First, 20 years!  Good night.  How did I get to be nearly 40?  Where did all that time go?  Second, I am very unsettled with high school. I just made so many stupid decisions.  I traded the truth for a lie time after time.  All people know is this person I pretended to be.  It’s almost like showing up as a stranger to a room full of familiar faces.  It’s been good to hear from people and catch up with where they are, but I face it with regret like I need to say I’m sorry to the whole crew.  Then there is the fact that my best friend was in the grade under me.  But we had a big falling out that I never have understood and he doesn’t speak to me and those were my main high school memories.  Why do I want to live that again?  There is just so much regret.  I hope that all these people are content.  I really hope that.  I hope everyone can come in and find those old friendships.  I don’t want people to come in arrogantly with the success they’ve had and I don’t want people to be ashamed by what they don’t have.  I just want us to come together as the close class that we were.  Perhaps it will be better than think.  I just don’t want to be fake again.

It’s the day after Christmas and I find myself wishing that the season had been less full of parties, plays and hoopla and filled more with quiet time spent with God. I don’t know how to go back now that so much materialism has been forced into our lives. I hate those signs that hang in store windows that say “only 9 more shopping days before Christmas!” It fills me with a panic and shifts my focus to what Christmas is not about. However, I have come to understand that God loves to give gifts! I love to give gifts, but I’ve seen that many times my gift giving is not me at all, but the Lover of my soul reaching out to touch His children. There are countless times that I’ve been in a store and seen something and was prompted to buy it for a friend only to have them call me and say, “That came at the perfect time” or “I can’t tell you how much I needed to know someone cared”. What I find interesting is this doesn’t happen on birthdays or Christmas. I never find the perfect gift on “have to” occasions. I find that God likes to give gifts when we least expect them or when we most need them. I take great comfort and joy in knowing that He is already in tomorrow. Like when I hear that still small voice telling me to “send that to Cathy”. It gets wrapped, goes through the mail and arrives on the worst day of her year. I didn’t know something terrible would happen, but God did and He was there with a reminder that she was loved. My heart rejoices in such an incredible God! Which brings me to Christmas. We didn’t expect a Savior to be born in a feed trough to an unwed mother 2000 years ago. Yet, God loved to give us the unexpected gift at the unexpected time which would prove (yes, I said prove) to be the greatest gift of all. You have many options. What will you do with the Gift? What will you do with Jesus?

I don’t enjoy being inside. Working out at Camp has reminded me of that. I function much better when I am working outside. So, how do I balance life being a mother of 3 boys with all the laundry and the cleaning and the cooking with my love of the outdoors? Seriously, it is so depressing being within these walls and really being unappreciated for the most part. I feel like I can’t even be a mother for having to be a maid. “Do all things without grumbling or complaining.” Ok. Here goes… thank You, Lord that we have clothes that need to be washed. Thank You, Lord, that we have food that needs to be cooked and toys to stumble over. Thank You for warm beds to make up. Thank You for business to have to keep up with and money to pay the bills. Thank You for friends to prepare for and a refrigerator so full of food that most of it needs to be thrown out. Most of all, thank You for these children who need to be bathed. Thank You for giving them creative minds to do art work and strong minds to have homework. Thank You for feet that need scrubbing and fingers that need to be groomed. Thank You that Jon Garrett took off his underwear and colored his pee-pee brown with a marker and said, “Look Ma, tootsie roll!!!” It made me laugh. At least it wasn’t a permanent marker like the drawings on my walls. Ok… I feel a lot better. Funny how counting your blessings changes your attitude.