Rememberances

I am kind of slow to deal with certain types of things.


My Dad's death was one of those.


My Mom sent me some of his things to remember him by just after he died and when I opened the box, sorrow kind of welled up in me and took over so I put them in the closet to be looked at when I was more emotionally strong.  (I was going through chemo at the time and I just didn't have the 'balance' to handle looking at what she had sent.)


I took the box out on Father's Day and took the items out and looked at them.  (Okay, it only took me almost two years, but I figured I was balanced enough now.)  She had sent a couple of toy cars (My dad for some reason liked to collect small vehicles), a headband, a belt that said Tennessee on it, a pocket watch that we had given him the Christmas before he died, a Swiss army watch that BJ had given him when we were in Germany, a striped tie, a balancing desk toy, and a couple of knives.  All of these items were inside a 'treasure' box that he always called his 'bugger' box. 


I gave the knives, belt, and Swiss army watch to Tom.  I will give the pocket watch to BJ when we go to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks and I kept the bugger box.  The rest of the items, I put in a small box and tucked them away again in the closet.  Tom got a new wristband for the watch and it looks really great and believe it or not, it is still ticking and it had the right time on it as well.

The bugger box (and that is the last time I'm going to call it that because now it has a new purpose...it shall now and forever in the future be called a sewing box) found a home on my sewing cabinet.

Here is a closeup of the outside and inside.  It is a beautifully crafted box.  (I just love boxes!)

Not much else going on here in Alabama.  Clifford loved his quilt hanging and has now asked me to make him one for his wedding date.  He says "Say something on it that my wife will like...you know what women like...something mushy."  He cracks me up.  I'll figure something out.


Here is some Max for today.

"Live in Peace

By Max Lucado

We used to have a backyard trampoline. One afternoon all three of our girls were bouncing on it. Like most siblings, they don’t always get along. But for some reason, that afternoon they were one another’s biggest fans. When one jumped, the other two applauded. My chest swelled with pride. After a few moments, you know what I did? I joined them. I couldn’t resist. Their alliance pleased me.

Our alliance pleases Christ. Jesus promised, “When two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” (Matthew 18:20).

Do you desire power for your life? Paul said in Romans 12:18, it will come as you “do your part to live in peace with everyone as much as possible.”

Work through your conflicts. Forgive offenses. Resolve disputes. Scripture says, “Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit; bind yourselves together with peace. (Ephesians 4:3)."

By Grace Alone -

Teresa

Shadow Helped!!

Shadow, Tom, and I worked very hard to get Clifford's memory quilt completed.  Tom was bored some of the time so he took pictures of Shadow helping me on his phone.

 Wow, that is some MOUTH she has on her.  Here is Tom holding the final product. (He really isn't headless, he was trying not to be seen in the picture.)  We all finally got it finished.

Now don't look at it too closely because it has a few (ahem) 'character' imperfections but overall I think Shadow, Tom and I did a pretty good job for Clifford.  (Tom helped me pick out the design on top of her name and was my cheering section through the entire process) 

Well, like Jed Bartlett was known for saying in West Wing "What's Next?".  We were talking about maybe making one similar for Myranda (our daughter who died of Cystic Fibrosis in 2007). I know just the place I want to put that memory quilt too. 8-) 

Here is a little Max for today:

"Dread of Death

by Max Lucado

Dread of death ends when you know heaven is your true home!

In all my air travels I’ve never seen one passenger weep when the plane landed. Never! No one clings to the armrests and begs, “Don’t make me leave. Let me stay and eat more peanuts!” We’re willing to exit the plan because the plane has no permanent mailing address.

Nor does the world. Philippians 3:20 says, “We are citizens of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.”

Why don’t you do this? Give God your death. Imagine your last breath, envision your final moments. And offer them to him. Deliberately. Regularly.

My personal prayer has become, “Lord, I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. I entrust you with my departure from earth.”

With Christ as your friend and heaven as your home, the day of death becomes sweeter than the day of birth!"

By Grace Alone -

Teresa