Marilyn's Mussings

My family comes home for the Fourth of July. This year I put out a jigsaw puzzle of Lady Liberty. We love jigsaw puzzles. It is a great non-competitive, non-threatening place around which to congregate. No ones knows how long it has been since you found a piece to fit (except for the sudden exclamations of "I finally found one!") and conversation is easy. They helped me with Lady Liberty while they were here, but I was left to finish all the blue sky alone.  There are two issues here that you may notice, both of which slowed down the progress of finishing the puzzle. My sister gave me the puzzle and she has a dog who might very well have enjoyed the puzzle before me. There is a piece completely missing just under her arm and there is a  "chewed up" piece in the top right corner. Here's the problem with that. I looked everywhere for the missing piece and tried desperately to make other pieces fit in the empty place. Worse than that, I completely ignored the che...

It was our first Independence Day in Birmingham. The day had been busy and fun so we thought we would top it off with a low key observation of fireworks. We had heard that they did a great show from Vulcan Park called "Thunder on the Mountain." We left home about thirty minutes early thinking we would go to a building top, but noticed almost immediately that traffic was creeping along like rush hour going in the wrong direction. Miles before our destination, traffic was almost completely stopped and people were pulling over to the median and the side of the road. We managed to find a place to park just in time to hear the police come by with a loud speaker telling people they were not allowed to park in the street. This was a bigger deal than we knew. In the end, "Thunder on the Mountain" was great. We had gotten as close as we could and got to see the fireworks leap into the sky. Someone turned up the accompanying music on their car radio and it seemed all of us ...

Mama Sue came into my life when I was a young wife and she was there when I found out I was expecting my first child. I knew nothing about babies and I shared with her my fear that I would not know what to do with my own child. With calm words and a confident smile she said, "God will put it in your heart." She told me that many times prior to the arrival of my baby girl. When she came to hold her for the first time, I could not wait to tell her, through tears, "God put it in my heart! He really did!" Then I watched with gratitude as she snuggled my little pink bundle in her arms. I knew she had shared with me the key to parenting and it was God Himself. I only had the blessing of time with Mama Sue for a few years before God moved us to another city, but they were crucial years. She poured into me truths that have impacted my walk with God and my role as a mother. I'm pretty sure it was not intentional. She was being a mother and walking with God. I went al...

Dear child, I was your mother long before I was this child’s grandmother. We have gone on a long and wonderful journey together. From the first time I held you in my arms, you have been stretching for your independence. I cheered you on as you took each monumental step and helped you establish ownership of your life. As you pushed me away with one hand, you pulled me close with the other until as we found the delicate balance between your need for both my affirmation and my respect of your boundaries. Now you have a journey of your own. You have the privilege and responsibility of pouring your life into your little ones as I poured my life into you. They too, are already stretching for independence and as you help them establish ownership of their lives, I am still cheering you on with each monumental step. My joy for you is only exceeded by my pride in you as you embrace the responsibility. I am Nana, but I am and will always be your mother, the roll I cherished first. I love you.

In June of 2009 I was living in Gadsden, Alabama and was very involved in my church and community. In July we moved to Birmingham. Since that time, everyone I know has heard me say "Just pray that I find my place!" (I said it to you more than once didn't I?) I have frantically dipped my finger into multiple ministries and contacted others, all the while begging God to "show me my place!" I figured I was way too old to waste any time so I should hurry, and hoped God would too. In the months that followed, my activity progressed to a crescendo of perpetual motion. This culminated in a six week sprint of over 3,500 out of town miles. Then I got sick, quite sick. I stopped everything and stayed home. I needed rest. My loving Father arranged for me to get rest and learn what David learned years ago! "God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch...

My new grandson, James Blake, was born last Friday. That was in Georgia, five and a half hours away from my house. We were blessed to be able to be there for the weekend. He weighed seven pounds, twelve ounces and is just a perfect little man. I already love him. His mom and dad are going to be great parents. I think he has his daddy's mouth and chin and his mother's eyes. He is wonderful! Jonathan (my first grandson) celebrated his first birthday that same day. That was in New Orleans five hours away from my house in the opposite direction. We were not able to be there for the party. But my sweet daughter reenacted the whole thing for us on Monday. (Birthdays have always been a big deal at my house!) This little fellow's smile encompasses his whole body and my whole heart! He is wonderful! Back home on Wednesday, Beth Moore came to Birmingham for a book signing. What a surprise for me! So I got to meet Beth Moore! I got tears in my throat when I told her how God had u...

I was teaching some classes in Merrill Building at Jacksonville State University. The building had a huge two story lobby with curved staircases on either side. I had taught my first class and was going downstairs to clear my head. I was within three steps of the ground when something went terribly wrong. I'm not real sure what happened but I was suddenly on the floor and in a great deal of pain. I found out later that I had broken my leg. Now the interesting thing is that I was smack dab in the middle of "young adult world." And at a time when much of their entertainment was derived at the expense of another's discomfort. They generally laugh pretty hard at things like people falling. But no one laughed. What they did do was try not to let me know that they had seen me. I suppose they were embarrassed for me. This week I am in New Orleans and I just completed a course on lifestyle evangelism. I've been thinking about our attitude to those who do not yet know ...

This precious caravan came to my house last week. They told me that they felt like they had come home for Christmas. I am so glad that "home" came with us to this new house. We laughed, we ate, we played and we talked. It was sad for them to leave but exciting at the same time. This next year is full of much expectation. Jonathan will be one year old in February and is beginning to talk and trying to walk. James Blake will be here in February and we can hardly wait. A new semester of school is right around the corner and ministry plans for 2010 are being finalized. I cannot wait to see all that our good God has for us this year! It is a new year and a new week. Today I started a new Bible study, a new diet, and a new exercise program. We are also involved in The Radical Experiment at The Church at Brook Hills . The plan includes, among other things, reading through the Bible and praying for the whole world in 2010. I know it sounds like a bit much but I am very excited! T...

Someone asked me this morning if we had a good Christmas. I said yes but it threw me somewhat because I'm still anticipating! My kids aren't home yet. They are both on the way and we will have our family celebration tomorrow. So much of Christmas is surrounded by anticipation and expectation. At it's climax, the whole world celebrates who we as Christians celebrate every day. Jesus Christ. Then it's over. How strange. I wonder if anyone received the Christ-child for the first time during the Christmas season. I wonder if the attitude and disposition of the general public is any different after Christmas than it was on December 24. I wonder how any of us can remain unchanged after such a celebration. By huge contrast, the season before the first Christmas was not surrounded by anticipation and expectation. Jesus' birth went virtually unnoticed by the world. Only a very few understood that the Messiah had come, but His birth brought irreversibly change to the live...

Yes, I am being a little melodramatic. Yes, I have done a little bit of whining. No, it's not really a foreign land. It's just Birmingham! I am a girl that loves tradition and Christmas seems to be the time of year that screams the loudest for "same-ness" in my life. A few days ago Mother and I were in the car and she said "I just wish I had something familiar." She is struggling to hold onto the familiar but I also related to what she was saying. It is exciting to be at a new place. Everything is fresh and a wide open adventure. But meshing the old with the new is sometimes difficult. Even small things like decorating for Christmas is a challenge. Some stuff doesn't have a place, some stuff doesn't fit in, and some stuff needs a special place.   But isn't that the nature of life? Always changing. Always dealing with change. Some traditions we take with us everywhere we go, some we leave behind. The important ones we keep. Christmas is abo...