Happy Birthday 2013!

Whoo Hoo! It's the birth of a new year! Welcome 2013.....I have so many well wishes and dreams for you already.....

So, if January 1, 2013 is the official day of birth.....that technically makes 2012 (and the years prior) a gestational period. A time to grow and ripen and mature. Mature....I am not particularly fond of that word. I believe there is a reason "manure" and "mature" are close in spelling, they both stink. However, on the other hand, they both can be used as a catalyst for growth.

And while we are unable to recall our human gestational period as a fetus, we are able (to some extent) to remember and recall our childhood, young adult and adult years, thus making us partially responsible in the outcome. There are numerous cliches that we hear almost daily to reflect that premise: Live and Learn, Learn from Your Mistakes, Life Lessons, etc...

So what exactly is our responsibility for the success of a new year?  Is it enough to simply show up with our mental index file of what has or has not worked in the past? What about fate? What about the unknown and things we have zero personal ability to control? Fiscal cliffs, physical ailments, alienation of affection, misunderstandings, the actions of others? There is certainly a long list of unknowns.

Maybe we should stick to the things we do know. And honestly, for me, that is kind of a short list. But the OCD in me loves making lists. So here is my list of things that I already know about 2013:

1. God already knows what each day of 2013 holds for me. He walks before me. He prepares a path.
2. I can follow the path He prepares or try to blaze my own selfish trail, and trail blazing on my own has not served me well in the past :)
3. My relationship with God has to be my first priority. Some call it faith. I call it my foundation. Everything else I hold valuable in my life rests upon Him.
4. With God as my foundation, it is fair for me to say that my husband is the rebar of my life. He is the steel beams, nuts and bolts, safety structure of my life here on Earth. I totally trust him. He loves me unconditionally. We are in this boat of life together, and neither of us will allow the other to jump ship or sink!
5. I love my children and the mates that God has given them to a fault. I do not apologize for this. They are great young adults. They are still learning, they are still leaning on me and Mark, as they grow and learn, and that is perfectly alright :) They are here for us, just like we are here for them.
6. Having an extended group of friends/family that believes like you do, follows the same moral compass you use, and are willing to be vulnerable with you is a priceless gift and is essential in healthy spiritual, emotional, and relational growth. Our Journey Group (small group) from our church is this for us.
7. God  blesses hard work, a humble heart, and a giving nature. (If you do not believe or understand this, I welcome you to go to Belize with me as we serve there.)
8. A day without Worship is a wasted day. Even on the hardest, darkest days, I have to stay connected with our Creator God, I must maintain the relationship that I can only have by staying connected to Him in prayer, bible study and praise.
9. Our dogs will always love us, desire to be with us, and attempt to protect us. 100% of the tail waggin' time!
10. I will need grace.....lots of it. I am opinionated, sometimes loud, passionate, dramatic and sensitive. Not a better recipe for saying or doing something stupid. So thankful that God's grace is new every morning, because I typically need it seven days a week!

There you have it. My plan for conquering another year. A year that this time next year, will be considered gestational. May the lessons learned be gentle......

Happy Birthday, to You!
Happy Birthday, to You!
Happy Birthday Two thousand-thirteen!
Happy Birthday to You!

Here's to 365 days of love and learning.......

Frankly~
Miss Scarlett

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

Muffin Pan Therapy

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you felt like life was off kilter and did not know why? I have kinda had one of those weeks. Incredibly busy....lots to do....seemingly not enough hours in the day to do it......but honestly, that is not all that unusual for me. But this week.....well.....I still cannot totally put my finger on it! A bit of sadness....a bit of worry....a bit of insecurity....all mixed together with little if any justification for it.

Now those of you who know me, know that I rarely have a down day.....and I cannot even say that I am down.....just mysteriously edgy......unexplicatively uncertain. Not about life, or love, or family or faith.....solidly grounded in all those areas for the moment :) Maybe it's hormones :) Isn't that the catch all for all things without concrete proof?? That or it's just a virus :)

It kind of came to a culmination tonight. After dinner I was preparing mini pumpkin cupcakes for our huge First Fruits (Church Anniversary) Celebration....Mark and all the kids at home on a Saturday night....which I just love (and is a rarity at their ages!).....and me...baking in the kitchen (which I also love)....all the makings of a "Perfect Saturday Night" at home. I had just finished icing the mini muffins.....and putting them in a container for tomorrow....(about a dozen fewer than came out of the oven thanks to the "muffin snitches" in my family). And as I dipped my hands into the dishpan to wash the mini muffin tins.....It happened ..... I Started tearing up at the kitchen sink.....thankfully everyone else was involved in TV or Laptop Land....so they were not paying any attention to my sniffing as I scrubbed.

I scrubbed, and sniffed....sniffed and scrubbed. I got SO frustrated with myself...."These blasted mini muffin pans are so hard to clean!" And then the tears really started to build.....Why? Because I realized these were HER pans....my Moms.....then it hit me. She has been dead seven years. The anniversary of her death was last month......but this year it did not weigh so heavily on my mind during the actual month of September....but obviously it caught up with me in October!

As I continued to scrub the seemlessly impossible to clean pans.....I thought about the hundreds of mini fruit cake cookies we made in those pans. Mom started making fruit cake cookies because....well, I liked them. :) We have this whole "Secretive Springs Family Fruitcake Recipe" that has been passed down in our family....but I never really liked it. But Momma found this fruitcake cookie recipe...tried it....my brother and I loved them! So she made them every Christmas. Unfortunately....my job was often to "scrub the pans"....and I hated it! (But I loved the cookies and my Mom, so scrub them, I did.)

As I sat there, scouring the pans...fighting back the tears, I thought about the hours of complaining I probably did when she asked me to scrub the exact same pans. (No such thing as Teflon coated, non-stick pans in her day....but hey, they have lasted longer than my fancier ones!) Oh, how I wish I just had one minute for every hour I griped about having to clean them for her....somehow magically stored up in time....so I could use one of them to talk to her right now. I still miss her SO much....guess I always will....that is until the day we are reunited again! Hallelujah for that!

So tonight, I prepared mini muffins to celebrate a special anniversary (First Fruits).....and I tearfully scrubbed Mommas mini muffin pans to commemorate a different anniversary (Mom's home-going). Both important....both special....both huge parts of who I am.

Still not sure it explains the mysterious, off-kilter kind of funk I've been in......but I sure felt better after a good cry. Maybe it is hormones :)

What ever it is....I have faith it will get better....and if Momma was here...I know what she would say. She would say, "This too, shall pass..".... I heard her say it many, many times.....and she was always right....it always did pass and life was good again.

Thankful today for tearful, muffin pan therapy,
~Scarlett