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

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

Say It Ain't So, Sweet Clementine!

Hey Y'all! I hope you have all been blessed with cool Fall evenings, plenty of pumpkins to carve, and vibrant mums to plant! Even though the changing of seasons is subtle here, we do have a decent window of weeks here where we actually can see God adjusting His color pallet! We have continued to have a wetter than usual Fall this year, but it has still been quite beautiful.

This afternoon was another rainy, Fall afternoon...so I snuggled up with my puppies and my computer and decided to catch up with e-mails, journaling, and facebook....and as evidenced by this post...blogging!

While socially stalking all my dear friends on facebook, one of my director friends from the theatre, who is also one of my facebook friends, sent me a quiz to try out.....called "Your American Accent". Being from South Carolina, having a name like Scarlett, and coming from a most adorable border-line redneck family....well...it seemed like a no brainer to me what the results would be.....but I took it anyway. AND Y'ALL......It said that I had A NORTHERN ACCENT.......Say it ain't so Clementine!!! I could not believe it....so....being the doubting Thomas of my bunch....I retook the quiz.....and yep....it came back with the same results!

Now let me clarify...there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a Northern Accent....I think they are just lovely. I love all kinds of accents....as a matter of fact....I could listen to Hugh Jackman's Aussie accent from now until Jesus calls me home, and never get tired of it. It's just that anyone who knows me.....knows I am as Southern sounding as they come. (Not to be confused with the deep down in the boondocks accent that most American actors use...and THINK they are doing a Southern Accent. If you saw Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger in "Cold Mountain", you know what I am saying!) And while I am not as richly Southern as say.....my Charleston relatives....I am still pretty daggone southern sounding.

The first time this was ever blatantly evident to me, was just after we signed with a small Christian Record Label. The artist relations and corporate offices were on the west coast. All I had to get out of my mouth, was "Hey"....and they would immediately know who I was! I even tried to NOT sound southern...and say "Hello"...and they would still recognize the accent! Needless to say....we were immediately hooked up with an excellent vocal/voice coach....who was quite relieved to discover that although our speaking voices were BLATANTLY Southern, our singing vocals were not.

So, obviously, the quiz was inaccurate. Just a template of ten word/vowel related questions, used to quickly evaluate a person who uses a million words a day. (If you think I am over estimating that number....just ask my hubby :) )

But I ask you to think about this.....How often do we jump to conclusions....or make up our minds about folks....based on a small subset of circumstances of who we think they are? You've probably done it....I know, ashamedly, I have done it. I am not talking about accents here....I am talking about characteristics that make up a complex personality as a whole. Some folks get really nervous when they meet you for the first time, and easily make awkward first impressions. Some folks are shy, and come across as stuck up. Occasionally, some folks get excited and loud when they are passionate (that would be me), and some folks might happen to be having a really bad day....and you walk up on it. It happens.

I have unfairly evaluated folks, and yes I have had folks unfairly do the same to me.

When we do that, we are no different than that silly little FaceBook Quiz.

God calls us to Love, not evaluate (a kind way of saying "judge") our brothers and sisters. His commandments clearly call us to love...first and foremost....Him....The Lord our God....and then almost contiguously he commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. No where in His word have I found a "Quiz" to use.....and I am so glad of that....Because as evidenced by the "Accent Quiz" I took.....I would fail miserably.

So my challenge to you this week, is this. Take time to get to know someone who you are pretty sure you do not care to get to know. Ask yourself why you do not want to spend time with them. Ask God to show you something incredibly amazing about that person. They were created in His image you know....that alone should be enough.

God cares passionately about each of us...No matter what our accent. We too, should take time to care for one another.

Later, yooz guys..... :)

~Scarlett, from the South





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