Miss Scarlett's Rocky Raft Ride Down The Mississippi

Well Fiddle Dee Dee, Y'all!

I begin this post with a short, to the point confession: I am a "Blog-Neglector". Yesssss......I know, I promised to do better, but dang, y'all....Until I learn to duplicate time or clone myself, I can only promise to post as often as I can. Not a particularly exciting or intriguing promise, but one that I can likely keep :)

Where do I start? Let's play catch up:

The highlight of my summer was writing and directing our Kizblast Arts Camp again. Nearly 100 little cutie pies acting, singing, moving (can't say dancin', I'm Baptist)....as well as doing art pieces for the show and (my new favorite)....shooting commercials that we ran during the hour long Kidzblast event! Gosh, I love seeing bright, creative little minds at work! LOVE IT!

Went straight from the camp show to BIG RIVER auditions at FLT. I really was hoping for a chorus role....but Robin Thompson, our Director (and my musical director when I directed THE FANTASTICKS in January)...cast me as Tom Sawyer's ditsy Aunt Sally....and I must confess, she has been a fun character to develop. A quite minor role, really.....the real stars being our Huck and Jim....oh, my word those fellas can SANG! The whole cast is amazing and we are playing to sold out crowds...which is always exciting! A special thanks to Ashley Costas for making my stick straight hair, super curly every night....and just making sure I keep all my "acting ducks in a row"....she keeps me on task, she is the equivalent to taking an ADD drug....directing my focus, reminding me to put on my mic and loads of other stuff that a true Southern Belle must refrain from revealing.....Civil War era costuming is complicated...let's just leave it at that.

I am also back at the university, taking Directing II, under the masterful teaching skills of Professor Glen Gourley....(who also steals every scene he is in, in BIG RIVER). Our major objective being to select, audition, cast, rehearse and direct a one act which will be performed for judication the first weekend in December. I have selected a lovely one act, GRACELAND. Set in the 70's, and yes, it is about two die hard Elvis fans who have parked their hunka hunka burnin' love carcasses outside the prestigious front gates of his Graceland estate, in hopes of meeting him. Well written...really fun show.....let's pray I do not screw it up.

I have also been cast in SPOON RIVER, the FMU fall show. Another Civil War era show....I get to be the singing narrator-like character...Oh, and I am a ghost.....FUN!!! I do thank God for allowing me to be in two consecutive shows costumed with hoop skirts.... as I am a stress eater....and just a TAD stressed about now.

As BIG RIVER wraps this weekend, it is also my 30th high school reunion...so I get to go, straight from curtain call to the country club....with my sweaty stage self, big ole' crispy curly hair, stage make up....complete with fake lashes... and reunite with a bunch of folks who have dieted, selected the right outfit, and got their hair and nails just right in preparation for the event. Oh, well....I am who I am....just like I was in high school....just a louder, more confident version :)

Monday brings yet another audition for our big Christmas Event at The Stone. (Yes, that means I do not get even ONE day as a break from a show.) I am looking forward to the first truly dramatic event we have done since I became the Creative worship coordinator there. I cannot pinpoint one emotion to describe my feelings about this task.....it is more like one part excitement, one part mortification! Trusting God to send me the talent I need to do justice to the script....AND to live up to the tremendous reputation of our past Christmas events! It will be different....but I greatly anticipate seeing what God will do....trusting that He will do an amazing thing, as always!

SO...there.....five shows....in four months. I know,.... have brought it all on my self..... and I am freaking out, a bit....but I am loving every minute of it! And hoping this knowledge buys me a little sympathy from my precious blog followers who lovingly (and frequently) ask me why I have not posted lately...

Come the middle of December, when the above list is all said and done, I am going to Disney World! Woo Hoo! Let's just hope I get my stress under control.....not sure hoop skirts are the best resort wear, and likely would not fit into the seat for Space Mountain.....

Land sakes! I hear the Mississippi callin' my name again! Time to morph into Ditsy Aunt Sally Phelps....complete with crunchy, curly hair....

Frankly (and frantically),
Miss Scarlett

Cardboard Confessions

Mark and I had so much fun watching our kids open gifts when they were little. We would laugh at how they, quite often, loved playing with the box that their toy came in, as much as the toy itself! Especially if it was a big box that they could crawl into or hide in! Countless hours of the "Where's Joshua and Melody? Do you see them Daddy? I can't find them!" game were played at the Knight house. Of course we knew where the kids were all along....but some how in the playful, make-believe world of our kids, they thought they were really hidden away, and out of our sight. And yes, we would have so much fun reacting to the "surprise" when we found them....lots of giggles, laughs and love! And how they hated it, when the cardboard boxes finally made their way to the trash. They loved those boxes, and to them, they were NOT trash!

Well, today at Church, about 30 folks got to play around with card board boxes, and all for the glory of God! They took part in a Cardboard Testimony event. The testimonies came from young, old, broken, freed, sinful, blessed, and most importantly, "willing to be vulnerable" members of our church family. To say it was truly moving and amazing would be an understatement. Who knew God could do so much with our trash?

Each person (some were couples) had something written on the first side of their cardboard that they either struggled with or were encompassed by in their own personal life.....and on the flip side was how God has blessed them and healed them, changed them, and worked through these challenges. Some testimonies were mild and uplifting (such as moving to a new town and finding a church home) and others were raw, heart wrenching (such as medical issues/addictions). Both kinds of testimonies were used greatly and touched so many lives! (I hope you will all go to http://www.exit137.org/ and look up the video feed from today's service.)

It never ceases to amaze me how God shines the brightest through the dark places in our lives, where we are "cracked" or "broken". In our weakness He is truly strong. He can take the ugliest garbage we have and use it. If we let Him. There is the clincher...IF WE LET HIM.

Most often, we are so worried about what others think about the flaws in us, that we fail to let them see the beauty of who God really is amid the ugliness .....think about that for a minute.

We would much rather hide, like a little child, beneath the boxes...under the trash....believing that no one can see us, than to take that piece of cardboard, rip it into pieces, and write our "junk" on it for all the world to see. Most definitely that is the safe, non offensive, less risky way to handle our "garbage", right?

Here's the real deal...we all have "garbage", we all know that everyone else has "garbage"...its just a lot prettier to pretend.

I am so thankful today for people who trust God enough to be real. He uses them greatly. That was made so evident today. Thanks to each of you who shared. You are my new heroes :)

So, what if you were asked to write your cardboard testimony? Could you do it? Would you do it? What would it say? Who could be blessed by your willingness to be used by Him?

Here is mine:
Side 1: Worship (Noun) Somewhere you were expected to go every Sunday at 11am
Side 2: Worship (Verb) Something I offer to God 24/7 because of His vast love for me

Yep, mine is all about "playing church"....I did it....Did not really know I did it...did not mean to do it...but, none the less, I did it. God hates that. He does not want us one hour out of every week. He wants us 100% of every minute of every day...warts and all. It took me 40 years to recognize that. Maybe through my cardboard confession...somebody else will "get it" a little earlier on :)

Feel free to share your cardboard confession with us here....I promise that we will all rejoice, giggle with holy laughter, and mostly love you, when we discover who you are under that box! Oh yes, and most importantly, we will rejoice in who God is as he blesses us through your willingness to share! Get outta that box!


Having said all of that, I also understand that sometimes we have issues that are just so personal that they still resides in total darkness in our mind, and we cannot bring ourselves to the point to share them.....yet :) And that is OK too. No pressure here. Maybe God simply brought you here to see how God is working in the lives of folks ....just like you...and that you will be encouraged that God CAN and WILL bring you that freedom one day. Maybe not on an Internet forum for the world to see....BUT....maybe over a cup of coffee with someone who is hurting and searching that needs to hear what God has done for you in a more intimate setting. He will let you know when it is time :)

Happy Easter! He Lives! He loves you!
~Scarlett

March.....To the Beat of Your Own Drum!

"That one marches to the beat of her own drum.".....I was a kid the first time I heard that expression, and I certainly did not have a clue what my Momma was talking about! Many thoughts passed through my grammar school aged brain....Such as: "I did not know she played the drums"...And...."I did not know they let grade school teachers march with the Southside Falcon Marching band". Like I said, I did not have a clue....It took me years to realize that phrase was NOT such a good thing to have said about you.

My Mom was talking (gossiping, actually) with some other mothers about a teacher at our school....a teacher that I was going to have for the new school year. I heard them say "Not only does she teach that "New Fangled Math", but she is so lazy that she makes the students do her classroom bulletin boards". I cannot remember the entire list on the gossip roster that day....but those two things stood out in my mind.

The first one...."New Fangled Math"...caught my attention in a negative way. I had always abhorred Math....(I realize now, I was perfectly average in my skills)... I just did not like it! But the Bulletin Boards.....I really kinda thought I liked the idea of that! I always loved arts and crafty type things! I would stare in awe at some of the bulletin boards in the hallways and the class rooms.....thinking how much fun it must have been for the teacher to do them! So the thought of actually getting to do one really peaked my interest in the new school year.....I thought I just might like my new teacher and her drum.

Sure enough....It was only a few weeks into the school year that she announced that students would be doing the next class room bulletin board. She had done the 'Welcome Back to School" one so that the class room would be properly decorated for our return to the new school year. She asked for volunteers....and my hand shot up in record breaking time! "Oh, Oh, pleeessseeee pick me"....I thought to myself as I bounced up and down in the seat. She looked at the hands that were up, and then asked us to put them back down, stating that she would talk with us later. Kinda weird, I thought. Ump...I definitely was not feeling "the beat" of that one.

Soon after lunch, it was Weekly Reader time! (I am really showing my age...do any of you remember the Weekly Reader Newspaper????) We were allowed time to work quietly on our own as we read the paper magazine and did the puzzles. Midway my word scramble....she came to my desk. "So, would you like to help me with this month's bulletin board?" OH, MY GOODNESS...you would have thought I had just won Miss America! My little heart skipped a beat...I was grinning from ear to ear. After all...it was the October bulletin board...and there would be pumpkins!!!! I had already dreamed of and concocted a "fall theme" in my head, in hopes of the possibility of this event! (Those of you who know me, are grinning right now, knowing this kind of behavior is still TOTALLY true to who I am today! LOL!)

Unfortunately, the rejoicing was short lived. She sweetly informed me....."I am so excited that you want to help.... BUT (the truth is always behind the BUT)...in order to help me, you must do all of your Math sheets at home, and a day early." I am positive I did not say "Oh, Crap"....but I am sure I thought the equivalent. She obviously saw the rapid switch from elation to dejection in my pudgy pre-pubescent face. "Whats wrong?" she asked.

Now this was a big dilemma for a fifth grader. Should I tell her the truth...which was that I stunk at Math....or should I go along with the plan....begin work on the bulletin board and hope she would let me stay on the project? Alas....I stayed true to my Lily White Sunday School Persona...and told her the truth. "That's OK, if you want some extra help and do no mind coming a bit early or staying a bit late, then I will be glad to help you with your work sheets". Now honestly, I did not realize then, what a big and generous offer that was....after all, she had a husband and two kids...so I am sure extra minutes here and there were a real sacrifice for her.

Long story short....Because of her willingness and dedication, I became a pretty good math student that year. One B and the rest A's if I remember correctly. However, the most useful lesson I learned was how to feel free to be creative. She let me pick the colors....she let me decide how to organize the leaves with all the kids names on them. She delighted in my idea to use colored yarn for the branches. I am sure she suggested ideas and influenced my decisions...but she did it in a way that I could still be "me". She urged me to be different...to be bold...to "color outside of the lines", so to speak! And I listened, I learned, and I began to march to the beat of MY own drum!

I often wondered if she had ANY IDEA, at the time, of the glorious, monster of creativity she was germinating inside me? And you know what...I think she did. I think she recognized it...early on....and seized the moment....and tapped out a cadence on her drum that was music to my little ears. She continued to take interest in my life...she came to our wedding (she taught Mark too)...she would show up at concerts or weddings where Mark and I would be singing. Mark and I sent her a copy of every CD we ever recorded. It was always such a treat to run into her.

A good many years later....Mark and I were not only married but now had two kids... I got a phone call from one of her neighbors that was a mutual friend, letting me know that my sweet teacher, had gone on to be with the Lord. She also wanted me to know, that among her belongings and boxes of memories and keepsakes from her teaching years, she had a scrapbook of just me. I had to sit down, I was at a loss for words.

Dozens of local newspaper clippings, various magazine articles, playbills...among other tid bits like my graduation and wedding invitations were in there....even church and wedding bulletins where she had gone to hear me and Mark sing... all were in the book. I was beyond flattered, and I felt incredibly loved. And for a moment...I could have sworn I heard a drum beating, ever so faintly.... And I still hear it from time to time...especially during times when I am "Stuck" creatively.

Weird, you say? That's OK...see, I "March to the beat of my own drum". And you know what, I also realize that IS a good thing.

Keep Marchin' Y'all!
~Scarlett





L

Our Valentine Story

It will come as NO surprise, to anyone who reads my blog from time to time, that I am MADLY in love with my husband. I am sure my romantic rants are almost sickening at times....quite sappy...verging on the edge of unbelievable for some! But I swear on my collection of Paula Deen cookbooks, every word is true!

We actually met at the community ballpark, when we were 12 years old. My brother played pony league....Mark also played ball there. But it was not until Mark started "liking" a girl in my church youth group, and began visiting our church, (Thank you Gaye!), that I really started to get to know him. Almost instantly, Mark and I were great friends....we both loved music...we both loved the Lord...and we could sit and talk for hours at the time, and it would seem like only ten minutes had passed! Before we knew it, we started singing together at church...and as soon as Mark got his drivers license, we started singing at local churches together.....it was just a matter of time before we began writing songs together...and yes, started making beautiful music together.... both musically and romantically :)

Believe it or not....it took us FOREVER to start "dating"...and it did not last very long. I could not handle it. It was too intense...too raw...too real....so I did what any inexperienced teenager would do...I broke up with him. What an IDIOT I was. I did not realize that I was simply afraid of the amazing, new, unique feelings I was having! Feelings of being loved and being known like Mark almost instantly...instinctually...loved and knew me blew my mind and overloaded my heart. He could read me like a book...still can. He loved me despite my flaws...still does. All my friends continued to tell me I was gonna marry him. I told them they were crazy. I was NOT gonna marry Mark Knight. I am so glad that I was wrong, and they were right.

The time between when we broke up and when we got back together brought confusing, difficult, dark waters to navigate. We both dealt with them like typical teenagers did...by consulting our emotionally immature peers :)....and dating other folks. Thankfully we survived the storm, but sadly, we both also came out of that time battered and scarred....BUT, also VERY confident that while we may not have found what we wanted in a relationship...we definitely found out what we did NOT want in a relationship! (If you can relate, can I hear an AMEN, SISTA!!)

Long story short...we did not "date" again until the summer before our second year in college....August 12, 1981, to be exact. I got my diamond on November 2, 1981. We married May 29, 1982. We did not waste time. We knew we were meant to be together! I did not intend on being an idiot twice :).... And although the statistics were stacked highly against our marriage making it. It did. And I know why.

It is not because we are super spouses....it is not because we are lucky....it is not, simply, a fluke. Nope...we have made it almost to our 28th wedding anniversary because we have trusted God with our marriage. We have worked hard to keep our relationship with HIM first. It ain't easy....keeping God first. And Mark and I both suck at it at times. But it works.

So, that is the synopsis of "Our Valentine Story" ...thus far...and Sugar, it ain't nowhere close to being over. No way! Our story gets better every year! And I refuse to imagine one page of the rest of my life without his name written all over it! :)


I love you Mark!...... My Sweet, Incredible, Life-Long, Jesus Loving Valentine <3

~Scarlett

A Flurry in a Hurry

Hey Y'all!

Well, January has closed her door to what was a very busy, crazy, hectic, wonderful month at the Knight household! Life was definitely a "Flurry in a Hurry" for me! Lets see....New years holiday and finishing up "Christmasing"...."Un-Christmasing"....A Women's Ministry Event to coordinate...Returning to College...Tech week for THE FANTASTICKS....a nine day AMAZING run of THE FANTASTICKS...cast parties..homework?!..FLT Endowment Gala committee duties....and the list goes on :)

But I love it.

Oh...and one of the coolest things about this January, was picking out my Christmas present from my wonderful husband! He sent me flowers with a precious, sweet note attached saying I could pick out whatever car I wanted :) He did say "brand negotiable"...but hey...I am a GREAT negotiator! SO, last week I drove off the lot with a brand new Palladium Silver Mercedes Benz E350. (Told ya I was a good negotiator.)

There are so many amazing things about the car. It was a "launch edition"....which means it has all the bells and whistles. Navigation, integrated phone, heated seats, MASSAGING seats, push button ignition....need I go on? Alas, I must tell you about my most favorite part....It has Sirius radio! I am SERIOUS. I am addicted!! I could just sit in that puppy and listen to music all day and all night. I am lovin' me some 70's and 80's tunes. Fleetwood Mac, Jefferson Starship, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Paul McCartney and Wings, Journey, Bread, Peaches and Herb, Prince, Eagles, and The Stones..and so many more! It amazes me how many memories came flooding back...just by hearing those familiar tunes that have been pretty much absent from my listening vocabulary over the last two decades!

Music has always acted as a direct portal to my soul. It speaks to me. All kinds of music.

Now many of you know that Mark and I had the amazing opportunity to sign with a small record label in the early 90's...to tour...to write and perform our own music....and it was an incredible opportunity...stressful, yes...but a beautiful blessing all the same. Because we were in the Contemporary Christian genre, our venues were mainly large churches and small arenas, such a conference centers or retreats...but no secular music "allowed" type gigs. Now I could get on my soap box....(maybe on a different post)...but for whatever reason...with the inception of all of that in my life...I was listening less and less to secular radio.

Don't get me wrong...there has yet to be a secular song that speaks to my heart to the depths that many hymns and contemporary worship pieces have and continue to do! Let me say, "The Revelation Song" brings me to the feet of Jesus like no other song I have ever heard or had the opportunity to share.....so, I am a huge fan. These songs minister to the part of me who longs to be a better, more genuine follower of Christ. And that is a good thing!

But what about those parts of me that God created, also for His glory...like romance (I do dig my husband with selfless abandon...and NOT just because he gives me great Christmas gifts.)....What about other relationships...life circumstances...conflicts....even, purple rain :) I have theme songs I have adopted along my earthly journey for those nooks and crannies of my life as well, and I have been gently reminded of them this week as I have taken the time to sit and listen.

With all the reminiscing, I can't help but be reminded that it was not just January 2010 that seemed to fly by.....but the last 30 years as well!! And while, yes...I admit...that I am quite often that "Flurry in a Hurry"....my hope and prayer is that in a few of the seasons I have passed, that I have, in the very least, left a beautiful blanket of snow that has helped others to stop and revel in His glory...even if just for a limited time.

Until next time....If you get passed on the highway by a beautiful silver "flurry in a hurry"...it just might be me.....and hopefully, there will be no blue lights flashing behind it :)

Wishing you all a BLIZZARD of BLESSINGS!

~Scarlett

I Think I'll Try Defying Gravity (And no, this is not about me getting a new bra!)

Well, I did it. Today I woke up, got dressed, and walked onto the campus of FMU as a student......surreal to say the least! It was 30 years ago that I did, for all practical purposes, the exact same thing.

I remember the morning in 1980 like it was yesterday. I was wearing a soft, red plaid dress, with a little bow at the neck, and the cutest pair of espadrilles! (No wonder the KA's invited me to be a Little Sister! SO preppy!) I hurried to school, noticing that I was running really low on gas....but did not have time to stop!! Fleetwood Mac's album "Rumors" (yes, it was an eight track) blaring as loud as the speakers in my Pontiac Sunbird would allow! Excited, a bit nervous...but ready. Ready to start a new chapter: College! My first class was Intro to Theatre, in the old auditorium...the new fine arts building was not complete yet. Bob Simpson was my professor...he was a new staff member at FMU, and I remember thinking how we looked very close in age!

Other than one little mishap, which included me falling into a dumpster (a church daycare dumpster at that! Pewwwww!)on my way to class....(That will need to be a post all on its on, another time perhaps!)....the day went smoothly.

Time warp to 2010. Here I am this morning....wearing Uggs, a poet hat, skinny jeans, a long sweater and a scarf. (Not really KA material anymore :) ).....Rushing to my Mercedes Benz SUV, the soundtrack from WICKED blasting "Defying Gravity" as I make my way to the college. Running low on gas. (Somethings never change!) Excited, a bit nervous...but ready. Ready to start a new chapter: College! My first class was a Theatre 303 class, Stage Management. In the now old, but new 30 years ago, Fine Arts building. Professor Granath is my instructor...and ironically, I am pretty sure we are very close in age...he is not so new to the staff of FMU.

There are only 4 of us in this particular upper level theatre class....there were 5, but the Professor made quick mince meat with one particular student's non-theatrical brain, and suggested he exit stage R and go immediately to his advisers office in hope of getting a class more suitable. The other three students...are girls....ALL younger than my youngest child :/ A huge, but only momentary wave of panic washed over me....WHAT AM I DOING??? Have I lost my mind?

After all, (This is where I started trying to reason to myself)..."I have a perfectly wonderful degree in Nursing! I am a RN! I have 5 years of successful college credit under my belt!!" I commenced using my psyhciatric nursing knowledge on my self...."Breath deep, another time, now slowly let that breath out....repeat....relax....everyting is fine"....

And yes, I am a good nurse. Long story short...here is the deal...after nursing my Mom for seven dark years through End Stage Renal Disease...I can hardly stand to walk into the hospital anymore! Nursing was/is a field that I was successful and gifted in.....BUT....it is not, and never has been my PASSION. However, being the good "rule follower" and "go with the flow" girl....I took the sensible road 30 years ago...it paid well....it served others...it is a respectable and honored profession...nursing. I did not realize thirty years ago that passion trumps sensibility in the game of life.

There has never been an extended period in my youth or adult life that I have not been performing is some manner. Church musicals and dramas...singing at hundreds of weddings....Mark and I signed with a Christian Record Label...we wrote songs, recorded albums, performed and toured for years....community theatre...script writing....children's dramas...directing...etc....Always feeding that passion for performance. It has NEVER escaped me. The desire to learn more about it...to better my skills and knowledge of it....never goes away.

I realize most folks in my age group, my socioeconomic group, my peer group, would never have the desire to go back to school for something they know they will likely never profit monetarily from....but dang it, I DO have that desire!!!.....Oddly enough,the lyrics from that Wicked CD that was blaring this morning popped into my brain at the height of my doubt today....."Something has changed with in me, something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game. Too late for second guessing...to late to go back to sleep. It's time to trust MY instincts....close my eyes and leap! I think I'll try defying Gravity...I think I'll fly...defying gravity....and you can't bring me down!"

Today, I decided to take that leap :)

"So if you try to find me, look to the western sky....as someone told me lately, everyone deserves the chance to fly! And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free! To those who ground me, take a message back from me....I think I'll try defying gravity, I'm flying high...defying gravity...and you can't pull me down!"

Today, my second chance to fly!

~Happy Soarin' Y'all!
Scarlett

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!!

Today, Thursday January 7th, 2010, brings a rare treat for all of us here in South Carolina....we have a forecast for possible SNOW! Whoo Hoo!!! Every loaf of bread, every gallon of milk...will fly off the grocery store shelves today .....despite the fact that there is very little accumulation expected :)

We all just go bonkers over seeing it snow! (I know, all my friends in Alaska and Canada are rolling their eyes about now....) But is a rare...beautiful thing here!

Also rare.....is when God takes something you are doing.....and puts His own special twist to it!! I just love it when that happens. Today is one of those days that He is blessing me by playing with me a little bit!

You see, today is also the day that our Women's Ministry Team has had planned....for months now....to have an appreciation banquet for the Ladies in Ministry at our church....those that manage and serve or head up a ministry.....as well as the wives of our elders, pastors and male ministry staff. And guess what our theme is??? SNOWFLAKES!! No lie....when we were making these plans....we were wearing shorts and reeking of suntan lotion.....just being faithful to what he was leading us to do in our area of ministry!

What an AMAZING God we serve.....who is totally in control of everything....but still finds a way to thrill us and bless us with little details!

And in honor of the amazing women that serve in Minsitry at The Stone.....I wrote this poem to be the cover of a keepsake booklet that each honoree will be receiving at the banquet:

Priceless, Precious, and Appreciated

What's said of Snowflakes can also be

Said of Ladies in Ministry

Unique and Vibrant

Bold or Subdued

Each radiate such beautiful hues

One difference, though, that I can see

While Snowflakes fall for us to see

Ladies who serve, they rise above

And blanket us with His grace and love

Yet the presence of each

Anxiously anticipated

You are Priceless

Precious

And Appreciated

Thanks to all of you who serve selflessly.....each a beautiful snowflake from God's hand to our heart!

Let it snow, Y'all!

Scarlett

Happy New Year! Welcome 2010!

Happy New Year! Welcome 2010! I love new beginnings!

Another New Year, another decade....another chance to get it right! OK, maybe not right....because if there is one truth that life has taught me....it is that I will likely never get it ALL right. But I have also learned that even small improvements can make a world of difference! So I will earnestly shoot for perfection, but also gird myself with the idea that the result of working hard, searching deeply, and making an honest effort will be enough. Enough...Wow...it has taken me quite a few years to understand that one little thing....Enough. Satisfaction. Comfort. A quiet bliss inside, whispered by God into my ear....."How I have made you...Where you are right this moment...Who you are, the good, the bad and the in between...is Enough"....Whew! What a relief!

Now this is probably the most unusual "New Years Resolution" post you will read this year. Many...if not most folks, are making a list of what they want to do, changes they want/need to make...bad habits they plan to break, new habits they plan to implement, etc....and that is an awesome thing to do! I have typically done the same each and every time the first day of January comes around. There is nothing wrong with that! It is a good thing! BUT....for me, I wanna approach this year from a different perspective.

Instead of beating myself up about the things I need to change....I am gonna thank God for who I am this very moment. Celebrate the cellulite! Pat myself on the back for being active and exercising most every day! Thankfully recognize that all those close to me are in good, general health...and rejoice in the fact that God has put some pretty awesome and amazing people in my life! Sweet friends old and new....enough money in the bank that we can eat, stay warm, afford a few luxuries, and bless others from time to time. I can worship freely and love uninhibitedly! I have a husband who loves me as close to unconditionally as humanly possible, and children who are amazing! Oh, and a God who is bigger than any problem, issue, hang up , or sin I have. Actually, that is MORE than enough :) And so much more that I deserve.

So here's is to 2010! Another chance to get it as close to right as we can :)

May you find love, peace, and good health! And more than anything...may you walk closer to your Creator God. That is my only plan for 2010...step by step...as He daily reminds me, with a gentle whisper in my ear...."I love you so much, I sent my Son in your place....and for any and all things....THAT is enough!"

Happy 2010 Y'all!
~Scarlett