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

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

New Cashmere Socks and Grace

The unspoken rule of Christmas gift giving in the Knight household has always been that everyone in the house has to get new socks and/or underwear for Christmas. I know, not very fancy, but incredibly useful! They are things we need everyday, but seldom does anyone opt to go out and purchase socks and underwear for themselves....unless it is an emergency...or sometimes if we are packing for vacation, I will use that summer opportunity to augment the sock/undie supply to tide us over until Christmas!

Maybe I brought the tradition over from my extended family. We always knew there were socks and underwear wrapped up under the tree. My Mom made her annual Christmas run to Tomlinson's Wholesale every December.....the best place, according to her, to get the best socks for the best price. All the guys got black and blue and brown dress socks. The girls got either panties, slips or half-slips from the Tomlinson's lingerie department. It was a given. It was expected. And not a single Christmas, while she was still living, did she fail to come through!

This year, I got the most comfy, colorful cashmere socks....and they were pink! So by simply opening the gift and getting a glimpse of the regal, rosy shade, I knew the contents of that package definitely started out on the right foot. (Pardon the sock pun!) I put them on with my new PJ's, and stayed in them most of the day. Such warmth, and comfort. I felt, beautiful, snug, secure and at ease in my nifty new socks. Made me wonder why I only got new ones once a year!

Later in the afternoon, tucked in my recliner, having my quiet time....Yep, I thanked God, among other things, for the new socks. My thought process being that if He supplies the little things, then I should give thanks for them too! It also made me think about the amazing love He has for us, the incredible forgiveness He offers us, and how....like the Knight family sock/underwear tradition....that some folks only experience relationship with Him at Christmas....or in case of emergency :)

God's wonderful gift of grace is accessible every minute of everyday....yet many folks, for whatever reason, opt not to wrap themselves in it often. Talk about feeling at peace, secure and warm! Even my new, fancy pink socks pale in comparison to the gift of His grace.

So again, this year at Christmas, I got new socks. And again, this morning, I got another chance to wrap up in His amazing grace! I'm covered from head to toe....and I like it that way!

Hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas! But more importantly, I hope that you accept what you are offered daily from the child who was born on that day.

Cashmere and Jesus Y'all!
~Scarlett

Oh, Christmas Tree...OH CHRISTMAS TREE !!!!

Yuletide Greetings Y'all! I know I kinda, sorta said I was taking a blogging vacation until after the hustle and bustle....and mainly our huge Christmas Production was over.....BUT.....I forgot about the following article I was asked to write for SHE! Magazine....so here ya go!



Oh, Christmas Tree.....OH! CHRISTMAS TREE !

When we were building our home in 2001, Mark and I disagreed on only one thing…..the ceiling height of our “great room”. The house plans called for an open foyer and an open great room in the center of the house. A suspended catwalk would be the only thing dividing the two massive areas. Mark thought it was a huge waste of space to have the great room open….that would mean a 24x20 foot room, with ceilings 22 feet high…..hard to cool, hard to heat, especially since the whole back wall is pretty much nothing but glass. (And deep in his heart, he really wanted to floor in the top half to make a game room, so he could have a pool table.) But I really loved the idea of the vastness and openness of it all. Long story short…I won. Well, actually we compromised. I kept the open room, and I agreed that he could put a pool table in the small den off the kitchen.

We moved in the week of Thanksgiving, and I began decorating for Christmas immediately. Now let me just emphasize that I LOVE Christmas….I am talking REALLY LOVE it….decorating for Christmas is a passion I have. We’re talking 4 full size trees, 2 life size Santas, 50 sleighs, and gobs of other decorations! I would rather decorate for Christmas than open gifts…..for real y’all….I just love it! It takes me an entire week to “Deck My Halls”!

Just one problem…..when you have a large room with 22 foot ceilings, a normal size tree looks pitiful. So for the next several years, the trees kept getting larger and taller. As of Christmas 2004 every tree choice still looked rather dwarfed.
In October of 2005 I got a flyer in the mail from a Christmas tree farm in NC, and they were taking orders for trees to be delivered the day after Thanksgiving. They said they could get ANY size tree. REEEALLLLLY?? The paper only had prices listed for up to 12-14 foot trees, but had a number to call for “Special Order” trees. So I called. I explained my situation to the kind gentleman, and he said that he could definitely get me a taller tree, possibly up to 18 feet tall! My jolly, yuletide obsessed heart skipped a beat! Finally, I would have a tree for my great room that would complement its size!

There was no shopping for me the day after Thanksgiving that year. No way. I stood guard at the front door….waiting anxiously like a 4 year old on Christmas Eve….with so much anticipation of grandeur in my heart that I could hardly stand it!! At 4:00pm, my door bell rang. It was finally here! I ran outside in my sock clad feet, no time to put on shoes….I wanted to see it. It was hanging slightly off the end of an extremely long utility trailer.... She was a beauty! It took 4 men to back her into my front door. It took about an hour to get her up in the special stand….but WOW! There she stood, and although her branches were still tied up in netting, I could tell she was a BIG tree. We had to anchor her to the open cat walk for stability….she was SOOOO tall.

Now to put things in perspective, the pool table that was originally in the den off the kitchen, over the four year period, migrated to the “great room”, which at this point was called the “pool room”. (That’s right. Being the upstanding, respectable Baptists that we are, when you open our front door….there it sits….a pool table. I guess Mark really won that battle after all!) So, there was small sitting area on the fireplace side, a pool table in the center, leaving practically half of the room for the tree.

When the netting was released, the branches quickly fell……and they were touching the pool table. So we trimmed it back some. Being the self proclaimed “Christmas tree Officiatto” that I am, I knew the branches needed to be left, at least over night, to relax before any decorating could commence. I hardly slept. Bright and early Saturday, I awoke to the ever sweet aroma that only comes from a live tree. I quickly got dressed and rushed to the great room, and was greeted by quite a site! The tree had definitely “relaxed”. We had branches, across the pool table, past the center of the room! I am talking HUGE! Mark and the kids and I laughed hysterically for hours! I ended up calling my friend Bert Floyd to come help me decorate…..he brought his team….he even had to call for back up with taller ladders! He said he had NEVER seen a tree that large, and I believe him.

It was an exciting holiday with folks visiting most everyday to see “the tree”. The guy we purchased it from, stopped back by to see it decorated, and while he was there, he told us she was the “sister tree” to the tree that was put into the White House that year! We took lots of photos; other folks took photos….no one was able to get the entire tree in one photo shot! We finally figured out how to put two photos together to show the whole tree….but the photo really did not do her justice. She was as beautiful as she was big.

It took five of us and a chain saw to take her down. It was kind of sad really. She had acquired a personality all her own, and for that Christmas season was definitely a member of our family. We have not been able to find another tree quite so magnificent, but her memory will be forever etched in our minds and in our hearts.

Oh, Christmas tree…..Oh, Christmas tree…..your branches are so loverly…..

Happy Ho, Ho, Hoing Y'all!
~Scarlett

Christmas Vacation

The past few days have me scratchin' my noggin'
How to get it all done, and still keep on bloggin'
Been trimming five trees and decking the halls
Got Christmasy things all over my walls

Been building the sets for the upcoming show
Gathering the costumes, with props still in tow
Trusting the lights and the sound to the pros
Just hoping they're able to get me some snow

Been trying to take time to make me list
Keep fearing there's something important I've missed
Cause one day of shopping is not near enough
To gather the presents and wrap all the stuff

What was I was thinking, must of had a brain-farty
When I offered to host the work Christmas party
There a wedding and a birthday amidst all the fuss
As if all of the other was not quite enough

Just glad we're all well, and able to bustle
Cause to get it all done, we will all have to hustle
So don't think I've kicked it if posts don't appear
I promise to catch up the first of the year

Happy Holiday's Y'all!
~Scarlett

Count Your Blessings Y'all!

Happy Pre-Thanksgiving! My, how the holidays are rapidly approaching.... Ready or not, here they come!

One of my favorite things to do in the blogosphere is visiting blogs who have "Thankful Thursdays". There is something quite humbling about experiencing the gratitude of others. It helps keep me in check with what really matters. (Like realizing that my "want' for new hardwood floors....IS TRIVIAL in the whole scheme of things when you consider our present economy.) I am reminded as I browse and blog, that simply having a roof over my head is a blessing not be taken for granted! Foreclosures are at a record high, already surpassing last years final total, and with unemployment also at an unimaginable high, they look for the foreclosure total for this year to topple the 3 million mark!

So as I sit here in my warm house, with food in my pantry, enough money in my bank account, a vehicle in my garage, a happy, loving, healthy husband who is employed....healthy, thriving, loving kids....incredible friends and family, and an amazing, God-loving church family.....I am almost at a loss for words to my GRACIOUS heavenly Father God, to adequately provide explanation of the gratitude I feel!

So until the economy gets better, I am keeping my trap shut about the new hardwood floors!!

What about you? What are you most thankful for during this particular Thanksgiving season? I would love to hear!

Keeping an attitude of gratitude y'all!
~Scarlett