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

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

Honeymooning....It's Not Just for Newlyweds Anymore

Greetings from Litchfield Beach.....quiet, calm, and peaceful....a much welcomed retreat after a crazy, emotional, roller coaster week! I am still basking in the unexplainable peace that comes after a tumultuous storm (see last post)....still praising and thanking God for the way things turned out...we all know it could have easily been a different scenario.

A few years back, for my 40th birthday, my incredible hubby gave me the coolest gift....part ownership in a condo here at Litchfield beach...just a few families...we rotate weeks...and our family usually comes 4-5 weeks out of the year. It used to be that we all came every time....but as the kids started college, and as some of the newness has worn off...everybody doesn't make it every time. This week, it is just me and Mark for the first part of the week...so we are "honeymooning"....that's right.... All goo-goo eyed, lovey-dovey, touchy-feely, so glad to be your partner in life kind of time!

Now, let me say, Mark and I have always been the type couple that never really "lost the spark"....not that everyday is Valentine's day....don't get me wrong...romance ebbs and flows with us too, which is completely normal for every couple....But honestly, we have never felt totally out of sync. Not because we are great communicators or perfect spouses. Not because we deserve it. Not because we were without bumps in the road that could have potentially thrown us in a ditch or totalled the car! We have had bumps.

What has allowed us the ability to stay connected through it all? Well...I would have to say...it would be priorities. Yep....keeping the important things in order. God first, spouse second, kids third, and everything else falling somewhere lower on the list. Sounds simple...but any of us who have been married for more than 15 minutes can attest to the fact that it is not. We are all selfish, me centered, flesh driven humans....and without God first thing, everyday....we will most likely take the "what do I want, what is best for me" option every time....and that option can destroy great relationships quickly.

Mark and I married young...not quite 20...still teenagers....it is only by the grace of God and because (for the most part) we have kept our individual relationships with Him first, that we have made it almost 27 years as man and wife. Looking back, the times that were the toughest, were the times where God was not consulted or in the very least fell below the number one spot on our priorities list.

Last week, was an opportunity for me to make sure things were A-OK between me and God....to come clean, get honest, ask for forgiveness, to welcome His grace kind of week! This week, I am working on the number two spot...my hubby....to spend some time just being. Being silly, being close, being laid back, just being together....and it has been wonderful. As this week draws to an end, we will invest in the number three spot...we will share some beach time with our kiddos...and will savor each and every minute shared of their young adult lives.

But....they are not coming down until tomorrow evening...so in the mean time...Mark and I have some "Re-Honeymooning" to do....so I think I will sign off and go straighten my hair for dinner....Mark likes it when I wear it straight and down :).

Hip, Hip, Hooray for Honeymooning!
~Scarlett