When The Past Comes Back To Haunt You

I've told you and I've told you..

Well kiddo's here I am again.  Hope you have not given up on me entirely.  I have been utterly uninspired lately.  I have been busy with home and grandchildren, but not really inspired to blog.  I guess it was a novelty at first and then the "new" wore off.  But I am fired up again and here goes.  

I am inspired by the beautiful area where I am living and the wonderful Lord I serve.  I am participating in a study of the book of Jonah and the church we are attending.   For those of you that are not familiar with the book of  Jonah, it is located in your Bible so if you have one, take it down from the shelf, dust it off, open it up and turn to the index located in the front of the Bible and see what page you can find Jonah.  It is a small book of the 66 books in the Bible but boy is it jam packed with good stuff.  I know you know the story of Jonah and the whale!  Well this is the same Jonah!  Believe it or not, I am doing a study on his life, his friends, his enemies and the decisions that changed his life.  Listen my friends and you will hear, the startling tale of... wait a minute... that was Paul Revere, OH WELL, listen anyway and I will tell you what I have learned so far about Jonah.  It's just to DIE for.  

It is amazing that God would choose to speak to anyone of such lowly birth as a human.  I mean, look at us.  We are always making awful decisions.  We never give God credit for the miracles around us that happen every day.  We are always griping about something or other.  We are always breaking some commandment.  We never take the blame for anything we do, it's always the other person's fault.  In other words, we are just not a very good human race for Him to be proud of and want to talk to, even back in Jonah's day.  I'd say nothing has changed much since then.  

God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and spread his word.  Jonah did not want to go so what did he do, he took off on his on and fled as FAR away from God as he thought he could get.  But did he really think he could escape God.  Do we today really think we can escape God just because we take flight and do the opposite of what we know we should be doing?  Even when we are just a "LITTLE" off track we might as well be "HUGELY" off track.  When God says to do something, he means do it and do it HIS way.  It's not like he has not told us over and over again in His word (THE BIBLE) what he wants us to do and how to do it. (DUH).  All we have to do is read it and do it.  Sounds simple doesn't it.  Well...
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I guess I wrote the above at the end of last year.  It sounds like to me I was going through a difficult time and not choosing to obey God.  Well, it is February, 2013 and it is a NEW YEAR and a NEW DAY.  I am feeling re-NEWED and ready to face the new year with a new perspective.  I ready to see what the new year holds.  ARE YOU?  If not, just hang with me and we will do it together.  Continue to read my blogs   and I will try not to abandon you again.

                                                                                I remain "yours truly"
                                                                                Kathy in the Kitchen (More or Less)
 
Back to Jonah

DRAMA QUEEN

One of the greatest blessings I have living here in Florida is being close to my son and his family.  I'm sure I have mentioned my wonderful grandchildren, a grandson 6 and a granddaughter that will be 3 in June.  The grandson has always been so sweet and loving.  He has a gentle little spirit and other than being a tad stubborn at times, he is for the most part an obedient and respectful child.  WELL... the granddaughter is a WHOLE different "kettle of fish".  I will give you an example that absolutely KILLED Mike and I last week.  We laughed and are still laughing about it.


Curt asked us to come over to the house and watch the kids while he and Kati went for a run.  They are  pretty consistent with their running and fortunately for us we usually get to watch the kids either at their house or ours.  Of course, we said o.k. and when we got there, Kati's parents were there and we ended up all spending the afternoon and evening together (I think I already wrote something about that).  Anyway, somebody "got on to" Baylee, I don't remember who it was, but it hurt her feelings SO.O.O.O.O bad.  We were out by the pool and she had on the cutest little swim suit with ruffles all the way down, anyway, she just dropped all the "stuff" she had in her hand and in 3 emphatic movements the drama began.  First was the "stuff" drop, then came the "shoulder droop" and finally came the "head bend".  What a pitiful sight!  As she walked away, dragging her feet and shaking her head, I don't think I have ever seen a better portrayal of the "mistreated child".  Well after about 5 steps, she looked back to see what reaction she was getting and seeing that it was not exactly what she was hoping for, she turned around and her "other grandfather, Crappa (I love that name)" scooped her up in a towel which set off a giggling fit and the drama was immediately over.  I just don't know WHERE she gets that "drama gene"!  If you know our families, you know it cannot possibly come from either of our families.  We have NO drama queens in our families (DUH!).  


When I think of this incident, I think that we all have a little drama in all our lives from time to time.  My friend Linda and I were having a deep, deep discussion about boring days and how we should be thankful when nothing is happening for THAT IN ITSELF is the blessing...boring is the blessing.  Each of each lead such hectic lives and some have such varied responsibilities.  Road blocks appear at every turn or little clouds of chaos follow us around just waiting to erupt.  The challenge is to meet each day with the attitude, I will face today and whatever it holds, but really I will secretly hope for boring.
                                                                Until then.... I remain yours truly,
                                                               "Kathy in the kitchen (more or less)"


                                                               The "Original" Drama Queen"

The Phone Call

Today was a beautiful day in Florida, 65 degrees this a.m., hi of 85 degrees, just gorgeous.  The sky was a pure blue with fluffy white clouds.  Just your typical fabulous day in Florida.  The only thing  that kept this from being the perfect day was the loss of my cousin Nicky.  Nicky was 58 y.o. this month. He was the son of my mother's only brother Jack.  He has one brother, Terry, a wife, 2 kids and 6 grandkids.  He was retiring from his job in June.  He had a very hazardous job and put his life on the line every day for his community as well as his country.  He was taking a few days off and having some trees cut in his neighborhood.  He walked outside his house to see how the cutting was going and a tree limb fell on him and broke his neck.  CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!  The only thing I can say is that I know for sure he was saved.  That helps along with the fact that I know we all have "an appointed time to die".  I did not get to see Nicky because he lived so far away, but I loved him just the same.  His loss is a hole in my heart from my childhood that hurts so much.  I have a lot of cousins that I know I will be losing in the next few years.  One of my cousins has Alzheimer's and is in her own world now.  That is so sad.  I think of her often.


I don't know about you, but every once in awhile, something in me dreads for the telephone to ring.  I don't know if it is my age or what.  That little dread goes away, I continue on, and then when something happens such as the call about  Nicky's death, that little dread starts up again.  Then every time the phone rings I am hesitant to answer it.  


But tomorrow is another day.  The beauty of it is that we do have another day.  We need to enjoy each minute of it and savor the relationships around us.  I would not take anything for the last 2 months and being able to spend it with my kids and grandkids.  Every time I look at them I thank God for them and the time I have spent with them.  Time is so precious.  Do not squander it.  Squeeze every drop from it.  Enjoy your precious mate if you are married.  I thank God every day for His wisdom in putting Mike and I together.  My life has been a tremendous journey and "I wouldn't take nothin' for my journey now".  


Learn not to dread the phone call.  Answer the calls, dive into the adventure.  After all this is Florida!


Until next time...................                           Kathy in the Kitchen  (soon to be at the beach)

I JUST DROPPED IN TO SEE WHAT CONDITION MY CONDITION WAS IN?

Well, apparently, my condition is not in very good condition.  I was checking the statistics of my blog and you, my beloved audience, are not letting my blogging publishers know that you are reading my blogs!  I know that you are reading them because you are telling me so on a daily basis.  I am even getting emails from dear friends I haven't heard from in forever telling me they either didn't know I was blogging or they were told by a friend or they just "happened on the blog" and were loving reading the blogs.  Of course, I still have absolutely no idea what I am doing.  I just sit down and ramble what is going on in our lives or what is on my mind (what is left of it).  But, please, if you are reading these blogs, join the little band of followers on the right side of the blog.  If you are not getting the green sheet of the blog and are just getting it on your email, please go to Kathy in the Kitchen @ blogspot.com and find me amidst the sea of the other Kathy's.  When I can figure out how to distinguish myself from the crowd I will do so.  You might be able to go straight from your email or from Facebook.  And please comment on any of the blogs so I will know your opinion, even if it is just a sentence or two.  I would appreciate this so much so I can see what my stats truly reflect.  I cannot believe now that I have 33 viewers from Russia, 34 from Ukraine, 3 from Latvia, 1 from Thailand and several from other foreign countries.  I bet they really get a kick from the way I write.  Of course, I write just like I talk with a great deal of  Southern accent.  Doing this little favor for me will improve my "CONDITION" a great deal!!!!!!!!!!!


Now on to more important things.  I attended a time of prayer, devotion and praise with focus on Jesus.  It was such a sweet time.  We had about 10 girls.  I say girls, as we were all ages and we enjoyed each other, or at least I did.  We shared together and then prayed.  We sang to hymns             A Capella, which I particularly enjoyed.  What a sweet sound, women voices raised with praises to Jesus.  I had to leave early, but it left me wanting more.  I can't wait until next time.  That really improved my "CONDITION".


As for Mike and I, our "CONDITION" remains the same.  We are relying daily on the goodness of God.  It is amazing to me that He knew our needs before we asked and that we are here in Florida, in this beautiful area, enjoying this beautiful weather and our beautiful grandchildren.  What a blessing God has given us.  I don't know how to thank Him other than to praise Him and walk in His ways and continue to believe that "something good is about to happen".  Or just maybe it already has!!!!!!!!!!!!


As always,                                                (Kathy in the Kitchen   (actually in the back yard)  




P.S.  As for the "Kitchen".....  I occasionally like to let you know that I not only write from the kitchen table, I actually do cook in the kitchen.  Two days ago I made the most amazing vegetable beef soup.  My mama used to call it my trash soup.  It had several left over dishes from the refrigerator and soup vegetables, some beautiful stew beef, a whole family pack of corn and some cabbage.  I tell you it was absolutely delicious.  AND it was better the next day after the flavors had blended.  SEE I'm not just a pretty face.  I do cook now and then.  More then than now, but when I do cook, I do it up right.  And there are so many vegetables in the soup, it REALLY improves our CONDITION (if you know what I mean)!!~!~!     K

DOGGONE AFTERNOON

You cannot BELIEVE the rest of Monday.  I thought a.m. was BAD, but afternoon was TERRIBLE!!!!!!!


First off, Mike (remember last post, a.m. Knight in shining armor?), was putting together shelves for his office.  He came in the front door with them, left the screen door open and, you guessed it, COCO the dog, took the opportunity to peruse the neighborhood (check out for those of you that don't read much).  I was a tad HOSTILE toward my Knight in shining armor for leaving the door open, not to mention he was not moving nearly fast enough trying to find my baby girl COCO the dog.  We looked everywhere and called her name, which was absolutely pointless.  At times she will come when called and other times she will stand, look at you and act like she never heard what you said.  (Sounds like a teenager doesn't it?)  As I passed by one of the houses across the street and about 5 houses down, Lisa was getting into her car to leave with her daughter and son with 2 dogs.  As she called her dogs, they came running from around the back of her house and low and behold, COCO the dog was trailing behind having a great time following these new friends.  I was so mad at her!  If those dogs had not run from behind Lisa's house, we would not have known where Coco the dog was lurking!!!!!!!!  Oh well.  That incident ended with a badly behaving DOGGONE DOG and a quietly retreating husband. (Both remaining in the doghouse for quite some time that day!)


As if it could not get worse, have you ever had a day when you dropped everything you picked up?  Well, that was my afternoon.  I was trying to finish unpacking boxes and putting up pictures.  My sweet nephew, Brandt is coming for a visit and later, some of our  best friends in the world, Linda and Larry Jones are coming.  When we were in St. Pete, they came every year.  I cannot remember them coming to Alabama.  I wonder why?  Oh well, I am so excited about my upcoming visitors.  I have been trying to get all my "stuff" fixed, put up or stored away.  But my fingers and hands have not been co-operating with me.  AND my computer has been down and I have not been able to get my email.   Google absolutely would NOT recognize my user name or password.  Do you know how frustrating it is trying to get back into your account once you are out?  Well I will tell you is it doggone frustrating, especially for a novice like me and I ended up in a crying jag.  THEN along comes my Knight in shining armor.  He cleans up my computer, fixes the problem, gets back into my account and TA DAH, I'm back in business baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And by the way, he is out of the doghouse.)


I decided my shining Knight deserved a dinner fit for king, so I defrosted steaks from the freezer, boiled some corn and WA LA I knew he was going to love this.  But all of a sudden I smelled a funny smell, kind of like something burning.  The corn was gently boiling, the oven was pre-heating for the steaks, the steaks were sitting on the counter on the broiler pan.  Maybe it was coming from outside, maybe at the neighbors.  THEN IT DAWNED ON ME!  I had left the pizza box with 1 slice of cheese pizza from Sunday in the oven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I ran to the over and sure enough, smoke was pouring from the oven. I grabbed an oven mitt, snatched the box from the oven and ran out to the open garage to throw the charred, smoking box in the garbage.  Meanwhile I had turned on the vent fan in the kitchen and the smoke was being sucked out.  I just stood there.


O.K.  Lord, what is the deal.  I almost (but not quite, said, what did I do to deserve a day like today.  Why did you do this to me?  Not just today, but the whole series of events I find myself in at this time of my life?)  I had started the day with a migraine and without a quiet time and without reading the word.  Could that be the culprit to my day?  Some of you might remember the words in this song, "Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before, every day with Jesus I love Him more and more.  Jesus saves and keeps me and He's the one I living for.  Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.".  It is tried and true.  Starting your day with Jesus just makes everything else pale in comparison.  Money, things, events, everyday stressors, they all fade to gray in the beautiful light of our Savior.  


Now this is Tuesday.  It is another day filled with opportunities for service, to witness to seek Him in his word.  Help me  not to get caught up in the workings of the day, but to find joy in each task with enthusiam focusing on one the and one thing only, HIM.


A new day today!
                                                                                                             Kathy in the Kitchen (smiling)

MONDAY MONDAY, SO GOOD TO ME, MONDAY MONDAY, IT WAS ALL I HOPED IT WOULD BE?

So many of you don't even know who the Mammas and the Pappas were and that they sang the song "Monday, Monday back in the 1970's.  Obviously, they did not live the dream of that song.  Most of their lives were a total shambles so I suspect Monday's were not so hot for them either.  Not to "poo poo" a Monday, but lets just take a look at MY Monday.  Today IS Monday.  I awoke with a migraine headache.  Mike cooked breakfast this a.m.  That always means a trip to the local fast food restaurant, but hey, I'm not griping, at least I did not have to cook.  Then, Mike had to tackle our budget so he could meet with the accountant.  What fun!  I am so glad I had a headache!  Then I tried to get on my email and they claimed I changed my password 22 days ago.  I will admit I am a bit scatterbrained, a bit spacey at times and not very savy on the computer concerning a lot of things, but I believe I would have remembered CHANGING MY PASSWORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Then I tried ONE MILLION THINGS to try to restore it.  I could not get into my email. 


Re-enter my knight in shining armor (or my husband Mike) and with a few strokes he fixed everything.   That, of course, made me both mad and glad.  Glad it was fixed, but mad it took HIM to do it.  Oh well, such is life on a Monday.


Once I took care of the ONE MILLION backed up emails and facebook stuff, I saw I had a comment on my blog from "Anonymous".  What a wonderful surprise to know that our former Minister of Thank You was reading my blog and not only that but had commented on it.  Thank you "Anonymous".  We love and miss you so much too.  Hope you guys will make a trip to see us this year!!!  What fun we would have!!


Will that takes care of Monday until 12:00.  This is President's Day.  Kids are out of school and at museum with mom, auntie and cousin.  Mike preached at a church in Nokomis, FL yesterday and we did not get to see them all day.  We will probably search for them this p.m.  Can't wait to see what the rest of the day holds.  I'm beginning to feel better already!  


Have a blessed day!


                                                          Kathy in the Kitchen (really I am in the living room today)