Wisdom Nuggets from Granddaddy

My daughter and I spent some time with my granddad on Sunday. He has influenced our lives in so many awesome ways! He was a pastor for decades before retiring a few years ago. He and my grandma raised me from the time I was six months old. He constantly gives me an earful of the most interesting stories I’ve ever heard, especially about how he built his house from scratch, his relationship with the Lord, his adventures being raised on a farm, and how he fed and raised nine children (seven girls) while trying to fulfill the call of God on his life! Whew! My head’s spinning just thinking of all of it. But with him, I experience a quality I don’t see in men today. Just saying. . . For instance, he truly has a relationship with God, and grows from it. He really does pray and read his Bible. He still ministers to others through prayers and pamphlets with nuggets of spiritual revelations. He's going on 90, and he’s writing almost every day!  While I was listening to him at his Father’s Day dinner on Sunday, he said something that struck me. It was a simple statement that just stayed with me this week. He basically said no one can make you complete as a person. No one can "get you together."  They can help you, but ultimately you have to make the decision, and do the bulk of the work of "getting it together." And most importantly, you have to want it. You have to decide to change your life for the better. Other people can only add to that process. They cannot make you, and you shouldn't want them to. You shouldn't need anyone to make you happy or make you whole or make you feel good about yourself. Whatever you need in life, it should pour from within you. It will pour from the place where you are truly intimate with God, and you’ll receive revelation from Him that pushes you further into your development as a person. Then, the neat things is, you’ll be able to pour into others. I thought about my brief conversation with my granddaddy, and it seems that it is so easy to allow certain truths to slip from time to time. Especially these days when so much is vying for my attention. Thanks granddaddy for reminding me of the important truths of life. You always help me get back on course . . . on the road to wholeness. Love ya much! 

Tee

Food for thought. . .

Just realized something . . . there are some blessings you are just graced with. They just seem to float in as if lost at sea. They drift in from out of nowhere, and although you didn’t work for them, you appreciate them. However, there are some blessings that you have to search and find, chase down running full speed, grab hold of them, and wrestle them to the ground and tell them they better not move! Yeah, I’ve had a few of those too! And you know what? Those are the ones I’ve appreciated the most.  Just saying . . . LOL! Today, I want to encourage you to appreciate all your blessings—the ones that floated in on a raft and the ones you had to find and wrestle to the ground. Happy Friday!

Growing Up

My daughter turned 18 last month, and weeks after her birthday, we were in my room, watching Gilmore Girls, and chatting about how much we had gone through over the years. I’m in my mid-thirties, and I sort of grew up with my daughter.  I was just 18 when I became pregnant with her. Right now, I know it was the grace of God that helped me to give birth to and begin raising such a spirited child. I had so many unresolved issues myself. I had relationship issues with her father, and I was so young and naive. I was new to the world, yet I was bringing a little mini me in the world with me to learn as I went along. When I think of how childlike my daughter is at 18, I begin to gain a whole new respect for women who at such a young age bore children. Even at 18, you’re still a baby to society, trying to live life with limited resources and hardly any knowledge of the world around you. I’m grateful that my daughter had and still has her innocence and silliness. She can brighten some of the darkest situations. The hope she exudes helps me to see the light at the end of the tunnel in every situation. For example, through my volatile marriage and divorce, single parenthood, bad roommates, broke days, and the pain of having to ask people for help—her smile, her growing faith in God (along with mine), gave me such strength.

The other day she laughed and made a joke about how I was once stranded on the side of the road. My old Kia had clunked out in the middle of I-75 headed into the city of Atlanta—in the middle of the summer! My daughter was spending some time with my aunt in Decatur, and they came to give me a ride. She said my natural hair had drawn up into a sweated-out Afro. I looked like Michael Jackson when he did that Off the Wall video! But I wasn’t dancing. I was sweating and looking a hot mess! I couldn’t help but laugh just thinking of how I looked! It wasn’t funny then though, but it’s hilariously funny now. I eventually got a new car, but just the experience itself is so funny, words really can’t fully express it.

I believe that when we embrace those types of memories with the right attitude, we will see them as learning experiences and not memories of regret. Those memories should be cherished because they got us from one point to another, and within many of those chaotic experiences, we realized that by the grace of God we grew and developed. During those seemingly impossible situations, we gained strength.  We learned not to do this or that. We found another way. We prayed. We believed. We read our Bibles. We went to church. We listened to people with similar situations. In other words, we grew up. If you are a mom facing an impossible situation today, I want to encourage you to keep your head up, there is light at the end of the darkest tunnel. Just count it as another growing experience.   

Tee

Quick Blurb About My Sister Studying Abroad in Spain

My sister is living out one of her dreams this summer! She got a chance to study abroad in Spain! Yay! I am so happy for her. We've been talking about this for quite some time now. Anyhoo, I decided to share some pics of her experience. She gave me permission to share. She is taking a Spanish course, and learning the language a little better. OMG! I'm so excited about this. I so want to travel now that my daughter is 18!  So I guess. . .I'm living vicariously through my sister's experience. And even though that sounds lame, I'm loving it! I'll be going soon! Yes!

Latest Go-to Summer Style

Hi guys,

Last month, I wore my hair in twists. I decided to just post the pic. This style was so simple! However, I got bored with it. I experimenting with wash-and-go ideas. I'll keep you posted. Just thought I'd share. Oh, I highlighted my hair with a burgundy red.

Tee

Natural Hair | The Wash n Go!!

Hi guys,


I know it's been a while. Sorry. My daughter helped redesign my blog for me and I'm Happyeeee. See famous happy dance below. I'm trying to be less busy these days so I can update this blog more! I do have some food for thought for you today though.

You know how something becomes old and stale like a blog or something you started and you feel like there is absolutely nothing you can do to revive it. Revive it anyway. Just don't think about it. Do the happy dance and be happy. Sometimes you can overthink a thing to death.

That's my food for thought for today. I will try to update this blog at least twice a week. Thanks viewers for strolling to my blog!