The Spirit of Love

     The song by Faith Hill, "A Baby Changes Everything" is becoming one of my favorite Christmas songs.  It tugs at this mother's heart as she remembers her babies and ponders how Mary cherished holding baby Jesus in her arms.  I imagine she had many of the same emotions we have as mothers and some of the same questions. I am grateful for this mother who trusted God to give birth to our Savior. Her faith in God and her willingness to sacrifice her life to be a mother was a gift she gave to all of us.  I'm sure she would agree with  us that "a baby changes everything."  That baby's life and death certainly changed everything for me.
    My prayer for all of us this Christmas is that we will make this holiday all about His love for us and in turn our love for all others. Let us remember that God is love. Let us also remember that we  love God  because He first loved us and that without love we are nothing and that nothing we do apart from love will have any lasting significance.  The "spirit of love" is truly what Christmas is all about. I agree with the words of H. Drummond- "You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."  
                                                                  Merry Christmas with love, Pamela                                                                  
     

A new appreciation for an old word

     Years ago when I worked for an advertising agency I enjoyed learning a little about what makes a commercial effective. Creativity is important because there are so many variables to consider in relating to the consumer. I've seen a commercial recently and each time it has struck a deeper cord within me.  Their advertising worked on me with the sound of a word.  The word is insieme (in see m a), the Italian word for together. The commercial is for baby bow tie pasta and you can be sure I am going to buy some. :)
    Since I found a new way to say together I've been doing a lot of thinking about what together means. I'm saddened with how little "togetherness" most of us are participating in. I think the reason is that we've come to the conclusion that togetherness is not all that important and we can do okay without it these days. I don't want to do just "okay". Do you?
    We can't do without it. The truth is we were designed by God to be together. He made it that way so we would need each other. We are designed for spiritual, physical, emotional and mental togetherness. We have His word on it. He said in Genesis 2:18 that it is not good for man (one human being) to be alone so he made him a companion to help him. Many people think that their situations would be better if others weren't involved. It is time to see others as a help, not a hindrance and time to see ourselves as a helper in other lives. It is time to see that we can contribute something of  value to someone else and to appreciate the value they can contribute to us.
     We have a longing inside of us for togetherness. Togetherness can happen in lots of different settings but the true essence of togetherness is not simply being in physical proximity with others. There has to be a connection and for connection to happen someone has to reach out and take something of themselves and give it away with the hope of it being received.
     I believe with all my heart that there are many people around us ready to receive.                                        
     I hope you experience  insieme  this Thanksgiving.
     Let it be more than a visit to another house and good holiday food.
     Be thankful to God and to others.
     Be insieme and be glad to be insieme.


I came across this old picture of myself, my mom and my two children taken in 1989.  I think you will agree everyone was happy to be insieme.

  

Share the goodness

I love ideas. They are everywhere. Open eyes and hearts find them in all kinds of places.  I found one today I want to pass on to you.  It is a Thanksgiving idea from another wonderful blog I found called Apron Memories.  National Tie One On Day is November 24.  Here's how it works:  on the day before Thanksgiving Day you wrap up a baked good in an apron with a note of encouragement. Deliver your bundle to a friend, a neighbor, co-worker, or anyone you think of that you want to bless. On her website (blog button on my site) you can download a card to include in your bundle.  What a wonderful idea!
     Most people think of aprons as only something practical.  They have a rich history.  They tell stories. You can find one in all shapes, colors, sizes.  There are free patterns on the internet to make one.  There is an apron for everyone.  If you don't have one. Now is the time. Give yourself a bundle and someone else as well. My favorite apron is red. I've decided its time for another apron or two so I suppose its time to go shopping. What girl can have enough aprons?
      By the way-  you don't have to bake something.  The baking came come from another person's hands but the note of encouragement can come from your heart .  Hope you "tie one on" for someone this year and share your the goodness that has come your way. In case you haven't thought about it lately- when you do something "good"  God is shining through your life to someone else.
                                                                          Pamela  Ann 

                                            

Our cutest pumpkin

This is the cutest pumpkin ever, our Will!  He visited his first pumpkin patch yesterday in Ft. Worth with Mommy and Daddy.  I am so happy to see him wearing the pumpkin hat I made for him. His Mimi loves him more by the minute and she is planning more hats for the future.

Sweet Pumpkin Bracelets

I had to share this idea I found for these sweet pumpkin braclets. They are super simple to make and the instructions are on one of my favorite new blogsites- Brown Paper Packages.  I have a link posted on my blog.  I know some of you have little girls who would love one of these bracelets or you know of someone you could make one for.  All you need are candy pumpkins, a few ribbons, a needle and dental floss.  It doesn't get any easier than this.  Hope you enjoy making one.  Let me know.  Happy Fall!

Intentional Joy

     The sentence I read in the book on my bedside table held those two words. They leaped off the page, jumped in my mind.  It wasn't long (maybe 2 minutes) until they found their way to the door of my heart. I'm glad I answered the knock and opened up.
     I decided long ago that Joy is a must have. I always knew it was a Pam essential but I didn't know why for years and years. I watched lots of people do without it.  I found that answer in my favorite book- the Bible- page 1656, Romans 14:17.  Joy is a tell-tale sign that the Kingdom of God is in operation.
     My heart reminded me that my joy is always in jepardy. I decided I will be intentional about protecting it. I also know that because of that decision my Helper will glady assist me.  Disappointments have been coming, problems need the answers I don't have right now, changes are taking place that could be scary if I let them, personal progress is slow. Top it off with a cloudy sky outside my window view.
      What's this girl to do? The 3 P's I so often do?  Yes, I will pray, pour a cup of tea ( in the prettiest of my cups) and ponder the next step. Speaking of tea cups- years ago I met some people who read the future in their tea leaves (seriously- don't laugh- some people really do that). Well the pretty tea cup and slightly sweet and tart raspberry tea provided something for my senses but  the prayer and pondering provided what I really needed.
      He restores my soul. (Psalm 23) I'm so glad I don't have to do the restoring. I learned today that I probably have to wait a while on the bigger joys but I can rejoice and enjoy so many small things right now.  I'll stack them one on top of each other intentionally.  They will give me strength. 
     Guess what?  The sun is shining outside my window view now.  The birds are at the feeder, the roses are still blooming, the squirrels are chasing each other, all the clothes are folded, my knitting needles are nearby, I know God loves me and I say- "It is well with my soul." 
     Think I'll have another cup of tea and intentionally be joyful as I remember, "Those that wait on the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." (Page 1011, Isaiah 40:31)

The Importance of Together

     When life runs "snack dab" in your face, the pictures and words your mind holds onto and the ones you imagine coming to pass are ropes to grab and hold onto.  I learned this two weeks ago as I stared at my husband, Mike lying in a bed in the I.C.U. of St. Francis Cabrini Hospital. No one expected the complications that arose from a simple hernia repair.  The repair was quick and perfect; the awakening process was quite a different scenario.  As soon as the two doctors left the small conference room after delivering the critical news, I had a choice to make. I had help!  God is faithful and in a split second reminded me of His promises we stand on every day of our lives; one of them being, "with long life I will satisfy you and show you my salvation."
     Throughout the next two days, He continued to remind me of the promises in His Word and those personal ones He has given to our family. We chose and continue to choose His Word instead of circumstances and our feelings.We know this for sure:  God is faithful!  His Spirit inside of us comforts, guides and strengthens us.  When we believe Him, He does marvelous works.
     Hundred of images bombarded my mind.  God helped me, along with our children and good friends to choose to hold onto the good pictures.  Every time I looked at Mike full of tubes and restrained in that I.C.U. bed, I thought of us talking, laughing, being with our children and our grandchild.  We took the pictures here last Saturday when we celebrated our daughter, Casey's 23rd birthday in Ruston.  I look forward to sharing more pictures of us being with David, Lindsey and Will in the near future.
     TOGETHER is a special place to be.  I never want to take another "together" time for granted, with each other, our family or special friends and most certainly, not with God.  God has been so good to us. Our family has been so blessed. Our children are wonderful and so are our friends.  We appreciate you in our lives.  Reminds of me an old song. . . "I can't see me lovin nobody but you for all my life. When you're with me baby the skies'll be blue for all my life. Me and you and you and me, no matter how they toss the dice, it has to be. The only one for me is you and you for me . . .SO HAPPY TOGETHER."

HOPEfully devoted to you

     Baby dedications are beautiful, especially when the one you're attending is your grandson's. As I watched our son and daughter-in-law dedicate Will, I thought about what it means to be devoted to someone or something.  An "oldies" song popped into mind- Hopelessly Devoted to You.  I decided I was definetly devoted but HOPEFULLY so.  I thought about how I commited myself to this child before he was born. I am also commited to Jesus Christ, my husband, and my children as well.  As I began to think of other people and other things I am dedicated to, I decided to check out the definition.  Here's what I found.  According to Merriam Webster it means "devoted to a cause, ideal or purpose, firm in one's allegiance to someone or something."  The example given was "a dedicated follower of the television show wouldn't dream of missing an episode." Is this the best example people can relate to when they think of using the word  dedicated?  Some synonyms and related words for dedicated are: zealous,devoted, constant, faithful, loyal, steadfast, true, reliable, responsible, solid, unhesitating, unwavering, gung ho, passionate, enthusiastic and determined.
     I decided the next time I think or say that I am dedicated to someone or something, I'm going to check out these words again. Applying one of my house rules is also in order for my life. Whenever I buy something new, I look around for something I no longer need and remove it.  One of my friends continually keeps a great word in front of her- intentional.  That's what I want for my life.  I want to be intentional, to live purposefully.  The choice is ours. We can be hopefully or hopelessly devoted.
       We think Will is going to be a steadfast LSU fan and in all fairness a Texas one as well, but all Mimi could find in Louisiana to fit Will was purple and gold.

    

A reminder of the Son's love

     Have you ever wondered why God loves you? The answer is a simple one.  If you love His Son, Jesus and believe that Jesus came from His Father, then God loves you. (John 16:27)  By believing and receiving His love, we are given the right to be children of God. (John 1:12)  Being in a family means you belong to someone.

     God's love toward us reminds Him of the love between Himself and His Son.  He loves us because we belong to Him and we belong to His Son.  We are given an intimate look at a prayer Jesus prayed to His Father in John 17.  He refers to all those the Father gave to Him seven different times. We are a gift they gave to each other.

     Take a look a a new mom and dad with their little baby.  That child is a gift they gave to each other and a gift God gave to them.  Those little babies are loved not for what they can do for mom and dad. They are loved because they belong to them.  For those who adopt children or who have been adopted, its the same. They are chosen and loved because they belong to those who chose them.

     Its easy to relax and be at home with your family when you believe they love you simply because you belong to them. We can relax in God knowing He loves us because we love His Son, not because we always do the right things.  The more we experience their love, the more we will want to do what pleases them.

     We are a constant reminder to God of His love for Jesus and Jesus' love for us. May you be a peace knowing you are greatly loved.

The desire needed to accomplish something

     I recently had a conversation with two of my friends about the need for a greater desire for things we want to accomplish. As we talked we agreed that our desire usually follows what we give our attention to. Sometimes we convince ourselves that life is more complicated than it needs to be. If there's anything we would like a greater desire for we can create that desire by giving more attention to it.
     For example, I now love to knit. That wasn't the case when I first began. I did have the motivation to learn but quite honestly, the desire to actually do it wasn't there. I find it is usually hard to for me to get excited about something that is difficult at first.  My motivation was to learn to knit for grandchildren. At least I was wise enough (or know myself well enough) to give myself a head start. I began to learn when there was no evidence of babies on the horizon, but I did have faith for a grandchild. I'm happy to say God has blessed our family with a gorgeous baby boy. I'm knitting for him and I love doing it now. By the way to show you how desire can work,  that is the little vest I made for Will. His Daddy wears vests all the time so Will needed one early on.  It took lots of practice. I started the vest 3 different times but I was happy with how my attention paid off. That little vest took lots of desire to accomplish.
     In the beginning I was very frustrated because I simply wasn't giving enough attention to doing the knitting. I read books and magazines about knitting, thought a lot about it, but I wasn't doing it. I'm not convinced that old saying, "practice makes perfect" is true but I do know that without practice you won't learn and you won't have enough desire to keep yourself motivated.  It is easy to become motivated but to stay motivated is quite another thing. I'm well on my way into the knitting adventure.  Now I must start attending to the regular exercise program adventure.  I have the shoes, the workout clothes, the videos.  Surely desire is right around the corner.

Four Generations

Our home has been full of joy and delight this past week.  The wait for this four generation picture has been a long one. My father who is 86 years old, my son David and grandson William David (Will) and Mimi Pam. Children are truly a blessing from the Lord.

Under the paper

     My friends know I love gift giving and that I give special attention to the wrapping.  I'm not partial to any one type of wrapping. I love bags, paper, ribbon, tags, charms, flowers. Once the present is wrapped I will look for something that puts what I call a "Pam stamp" on it.  A book or article on gift wrapping always calls out to me.  Sometimes I have to wonder if the presentation speaks more to me than the gift. . . which led me to do a little soul searching. Do I want others to see the value of the gift more than the presentation?
      Our lives should be a gift to others. Do I allow myself to be unwrapped? Do I unwrap the gift within others? I read a wonderful book by Florence Littauer titled, "Silver Boxes."  The book is based on the scripture verse Ephesians 4:29 which says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth,except that which is edifying so that it might minister grace to hearer." Mrs. Littauer asked a group of elementary children if they understood what the verse meant. One little boy said that our words should be like building blocks; another said that we shouldn't go around knocking other people's blocks down. Knowing how much children like presents, Mrs. Littauer explained that when words come out of our mouth they should be like presents we give away. Finally one little girl simply wrapped it up by saying, "What she means is that our words should be like little silver boxes with bows on top." She ends the book with a very personal story of her own mother and how dreams can die with us.
     It's no wonder I love this book because I love words and I love wrapped presents. I don't want to waste my time evaluating or envying someone's wrapping.  I want to spend my energy finding the valuable gift inside of them and encouraging them to let it be unwrapped.

Living with Lagniappe

     Having been born and raised in New Orleans, this southern girl knows about lagniappe. For those of you who haven't a clue, in New Orleans, the term is used to describe "a little something extra," and it is pronounced "LAN-yap." It's a Louisiana-French word derived from the American-Spanish word "la napa" which originally meant a gift. Mark Twain described lagniappe as "a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get." You can find the principle of  lagniappe in many cultures including the once norm "baker's dozen" in North America. Lagniappe in the true sense is unexpected.
     There is so much lagniappe in our lives that goes unnoticed and unappreciated.  You can't earn lagniappe. You can't buy lagniappe. You don't deserve lagniappe.  It's a gift and you can't receive a gift if you think you deserve it. I'm convinced God smiles about lagniappe because it's all about Grace.  We don't deserve his love and his salvation.  We can't earn it or buy it.  We can only receive His love and then turn around and give it to others.  Lagniappe living is delightful. It's fun and it's rewarding.
    I'll tell you about a recent lagniappe I received.  His name is Will.  He is the most wonderful gift God sent his Mom and Dad on April 18, 2010 and there isn't a day that goes by that his Mimi (that would be ME) doesn't fall head over heals in love with him again and again. Will doesn't know it yet, but he is in store for a lot of lagniappe from his Mimi, and I'm sure from many others as well. I've just begun this new journey of being a grandmother and in case you can't tell, I'm excited about it.

    I hope you discover lagniappe on your journey today and then turn around and give lagniappe to someone on their journey.