Spaghetti Lucky #8 (AKA Jesus is like Celery)

For the first 25 years of marriage, Mark was all about my Spaghetti....Ragu with meat sauce with lean ground beef. That's it. It was easy and quick to make, the kids loved it...the dogs loved it....so, in my book it was a keeper.....we usually had it once a week...it was one of the few unshakable constants in our otherwise ever crazy, hectic, often upside down world. However....I noticed over the last year that Mark was all of a sudden no longer "all about" my spaghetti.....he would fix a plate, nibble at it, push it from side to side, and would leave a large portion uneaten. "What's wrong, Honey....do you not feel well?" I would ask...."Just not hungry" was the reply the first few times it happened...then finally one night when I asked him about it again...."Nothing Personal", he said...."I just don't really care for it anymore."

WHAT???!!!! For the first 30 seconds, I saw red...at least I cooked!!....then, all of a sudden, I got a wee bit paranoid.(OK, a "wee bit" paranoid was an understatement....I flew into a "full blown PPP"....A Perimenapausal Paranoidial Predicament...) My thoughts began to unreasonably bounce about...Had he secretly hated it for 25 years, and not told me?....and if so, what else was he lying about?....Liking my hair?...The way I kissed?...Eternal security? Was he...(gasp)...A CLOSETED DEMOCRAT??? Did he secretly really like Barry Manilow, Twinkies, and Bermuda shorts?? (Things he "supposedly" abhorred.) My mind was racing, my heart pounding! Thank goodness for the telemarketer who called and abruptly snapped me out of my hormonal, mental rant...."NO, I DO NOT WANT YOUR FREE SATELLITE SERVICE, AND DO NOT EVER CALL THIS NUMBER AGAIN, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!!"...(well kinda snapped me out of the rant...the telemarketer got the majority of the acidic ire bubbling deep inside my unbalanced, estrogen depleted soul....)The call, however, did divert my attention, some what, and allowed a smidgen of "reasoning" to come over me....

Once I sat down and thought about it,....It came to my mind that ever since Mark had Mono last year, his taste buds seemed to be changing....he was trying new foods out of the blue, and not eating things he normally liked...not just the things I cooked, but food from restaurants too...so I found myself not feeling so bad about his not liking the spaghetti, and regained a new found confidence in the solidity of my marriage :)

So later that night, we talked about it....and he remarked that he really loved my Mamma's spaghetti. So we thought about trying that next time. Unfortunately, she did not write the recipe down anywhere...so she carried it with her as she journeyed to meet Jesus seven years ago. So, I called my aunt who knew some of the ingredients....I remembered a few...and the next week, I tried it...Result #1...not it...too tomato-ey...so I went to cookbook after cookbook, week after week...trial recipes #2-#7....were OK, but not exactly the taste we remembered. I was so hoping that #7 would be my lucky one...and it was not bad at all really...just missing something.

As we were cleaning up the dishes, it hit me. Celery! She always put celery in her sauce! I actually remember my aunt saying that she thought that my mom might have used celery....but seeing how I am not a huge fan of it, I figured leaving it out was no big deal. I figured wrong. Tonight, we added celery...and the recipe for Spaghetti Lucky #8....to quote Goldilocks "Was just right".

So something I was told about, something I knew about all along, was the missing secret ingredient.....and when added, made a world of difference...it made the recipe finally, complete!

In a strange "Scarlett kind of way", let me say,....to some people, "Jesus is like my celery"....they have been told about Him...they have known about Him all along, He is the missing secret ingredient that they have been looking for to make their life complete....they simply just do not think it necessary to add Him in. How sad, how human....

So as I close tonight, I have a new appreciation for celery....and a renewed burden for those who know ABOUT Jesus, but do not KNOW Jesus....and on a lighter note, one less telemarketer that calls during dinner time....

As we simmer through life, make sure Jesus is listed as the key ingredient on your recipe card!

Blessings Y'all!
Scarlett

Dirty Hair, Back Fat, and Arm Pit Chinchillas

OK.....with a title like this....do you dare to read? Really, who wants to read about "Back Fat". If you dare...bare with me.... there is a point :)

We had a wonderful weekend....Celebrated Josh's 19th birthday, caught up with some really great friends over a big pot of Chili....and topped it off with a great morning of worship. But as wonderful as the weekend has been....there has hardly been time to breathe....or sleep. To start off Josh's birthday, we caught the special 12:01am viewing of the new Batman movie on Thursday night....so we did not get to bed until 3:30ish! Friday we did the whole birthday routine....made him a YUMMY Banana Pudding Cake....(let me know if you want the recipe...easy and scrumptious)...culminating the day with "His Favorite" meal.....and yes, I did fry pork chops, made rice and brown gravy, steamed cabbage, prepared asparagus with a delicate lemon butter sauce, and made bread.....MAJOR high fat, high calorie meal...but hey...it is once a year and for "my baby"! After the heavy meal.....we had great family time....but also chalked up another very late bedtime....Saturday was crazy, and hectic.....but really special in that we got to have some friends over who we have not had a chance to fellowship with in a long time....our two families have this thing about chili...we have solved so many of the worlds problems over a steaming hot pot of spicy beans and ALOT of cornbread.......(This post is making me hungry!!) And even though all of us had early morning church commitments.....we were in no hurry...bedtime had to wait....we were having such a nostalgic time reconnecting! (We love you all Dwight, Becky, Rebecca and Michael!...let's NEVER go that long between chili again!)....SO.....1:30ish we hit the pillow....knowing we had to get up at 6:45!

SO three nights....very little sleep....and I set the alarm clock wrong. YIKES!!!!

When it went off 30 minutes late.... I quickly hopped in and out of the shower...I knew there was NO time to wash my extra thick, long head of hair and get it dry....so like those late nights/early mornings in college.....I pulled out the baby powder...sprinkled my two day old, slightly oily scalp...and hoped for the best....threw it up in a messy bun, thankful that messy buns are chic right now...slapped on my make up....went to get dressed....COULD NOT FIND "MY" BRA....(for you men.....every girl has many bras...but all bras are not created equal)....I had to make do with an "unfavorite" one...and yep....sure enough....BACK FAT enhancing it was....but the clock was ticking...and the top I had picked out was fairly forgiving....but as I hastily pulled it over my head....what do I notice?? THAT I FORGOT TO SHAVE UNDER MY ARMS....that's right....in Scarlett lingo...I had "Chinchilla Pits"....(where it looks like you might be smuggling two hairy rodents under your arms.....).....OK...I admit....it was not THAT bad...I only skipped two days....but I am kinda obsessive/compulsive about my grooming!! I wanted to cry...but instead I prayed..."Lord, should you call me to worship this morning in a manner that compels me to raise my hands in praise, please a) remind me not to raise them above elbow level, or b) move in such a way that all on the first five rows are blind or worshipping with their eyes closed...Amen. (Nothing like suggesting "options" to the Lord Almighty, right!!!)

I am happy to say....we had a wonderful worship experience today...I do not think I exposed any of my three "unwanted secrets" (Dirty Hair, Back Fat, or Chinchilla Pits).....As a matter of fact....once the music started and we hit the stage....they never entered my mind....all I wanted to do....all I could do... was worship!! Thank you Holy Spirit for meeting with the likes of me on a regular basis....I am sorry I tried to give you "options" in my selfish prayer this morning....Who DO I think I am????

As I close, Mark and I are headed out for our"date night" and since I took a nap this afternoon and not a shower....I hope he is attracted to a woman who, for tonight, hair smells somewhat like a freshly changed baby's bottom....

Worship with out options Ya'll!

Frankly Miss Scarlett......

Can you smell the magnolias in full bloom? Picture the elegant, grand, double staircase that flows so picturesquely into the grand foyer ( pronuounced "Foy yay " if you are truly "Southern") of Tara......Miss Scarlett, with her 19 inch waist, her emerald green dress and corset which perfectly matches her deep green eyes, "floats" gracefully down each mahogany step......can you see it??? Well, that AIN"T me!!!!

Yes, my name is Scarlett, and Yes, I was named after "her".....what can I say....My Mom was a true "Gone with the Wind" freak! And while I must admit I really like my name....although many folk fail to spell it correctly....the similarities between me and the iconic character created decades ago are far and few between!! I do have a beautiful staircase that flows into my foyer...but that is about as far as the similarities go!! My waist is not, and will never be 19 inches.....my eyes are blue....I look extremely nauseted when I wear green....and I NEVER float gracefully....anywhere, anytime.....Ask anybody who has ever been in a theatrical production with me!!! Who else...but me....could break her foot being chased by "a fork" during the choreography of "Beauty and the Beast".....oh yeah....and my notorious "Pit Dive" on dress rehearsal night of "Honky Tonk Angels".....( out cold, 11 staples in my head....but the show still "went on" opening night!!!).....so Gracefulness.....yeah, I run a little short in that department.......

But GRACE....on the other hand.....well that is a completly different story.....My theory is that the Lord knew I needed EXTRA Grace....so he balanced "my genetic make up" with a little less of the ability to glide, and float, and move about elegantly!!!

I am so thankful for the amazing, wonderful saving GRACE of God.....and as you follow my blogging journey......hopefully you will see it in my words, hear it in my stories, and feel it as I express my thoughts.......

My wish for you today is that you will feel His Grace cover you as magnificently as the lilac and lace parasol that my namesake used to block the sun from her perfect porcelin complexion....that you will recognize it....rejoice in it....feel safe beneath it....and share it.....maybe with a good friend over a "Mint Juliep"....that would SO be a "Scarlett" thing!!

Blessings Ya'll!