HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY 2008
Some of the articles and sermons I have heard on Mother’s Day would give one the idea that to become a mother is to become a saint.

We all would agree there are saintly mothers and there are self centered, even criminal mothers. Most of us as mothers find our place somewhere in between.

In spite of the seemingly endless nausea and misery of pregnancy and pain of childbirth, the incredible love that we have for that helpless and amazingly beautiful baby when it is finally born is awesome. There is something about motherhood that tends to bring out the best in most of us.

Most of us as adults have an emotional attachment and love for our mother. In cases where the mother has such personal problems as to neglect, abuse or abandon the child there is always unbelievable sorrow.

Just the thought of “mother” brings about great emotion in many of us. I remember one Saturday before Mothers Day when I was sitting in the sanctuary with our church music director. We were discussing the music for the next day and got into conversation about some of the old Mother’s Day hymns. She mentioned two old gospel songs, “That Silver Haired Mother of Mine” and “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again.” We both choked up.
I think all of us come to Mother’s Day thinking about our own mother and not about some honor due us if we also happen to be a mother.

It seems to me that mother love is more nearly like God’s love…unselfish love…agape love, than any other human love. Mother seems to see possibilities in us that other people seem not to notice. Just as God sees possibilities in us that we do not see in ourselves and others fail to see.

Charles Swindoll’s book entitled, Living Beyond The Daily Grind has a chapter, The Grind of Motherhood. Is there any one of us who will not agree that in addition to the many joys of motherhood and the endless rewards, motherhood is a four letter word called “Work.” Swindoll puts it this way; “the daily mounds of laundry, ironing, folding, cleaning , cooking, car pooling, being a referee, a coach, and encourager, a counselor, a cop, staying pretty, remaining tactful, loveable, compassionate, cheerful, responsible, balanced and sane…”

My daughter, Deborah Lewis wrote a book in 1990, later put out in paperback which I think is one of the best on the subject of Motherhood Stress. On the cover is a woman stretched out across two mountain peaks, with children walking across her, and the sub title is “Finding Encouragement in the Ultimate Helping Profession.” Motherhood is the ultimate helping profession and parents are encouraged to realize the importance of the job.

I was in my early fifties when my mother died at age 88. Even though I had a husband and seven children, I will never forget the sense of loneliness and loss I felt to realize my mother was no longer in my world.

My mother had a philosophy of life as a Christian, not to worry about things that “could not be helped” and to take each day as a new beginning. In her honor, I want to include :
A BALLAD FOR MY MOTHER
1. My mother grew old. . . had lines etched in her face
Worked hard all her life. . . with uncommon grace
She lived by the Bible. . . Each day and each mile.
She taught me her secret. . . of life with a smile.

Refrain: She said. . . Today is the first day. Of the rest of your life.
Don’t borrow trouble, With yesterday’s strife.
Take time. . . Smell the flowers.
It makes life worth while
Then pick up each new day.
With love and a smile!

2. Widowed while young. . . Mama worked in the mill.
Washed on a scrub-board. . . Brought wood up a hill.
She sang as she labored… to stay out of debt ,
She taught me a lesson. . . I’ll never forget.

Refrain: She said. . . Today is the first day. Of the rest of your life.
Don’t borrow trouble, With yesterday’s strife.
Take time. . . smell the flowers.
It makes life worth while .
Pick up each new day With love and a smile!

3. One day I said, Mama,. . . Your life has been hard .
You’ve buried two babies. . . Out in the church yard.
You’ve known all the heartache of struggling for bread,
She smiled through her tears and these words she said:

Refrain: She said. . . Today is the first day, Of the rest of your life.
Don’t borrow trouble, With yesterday’s strife.
Take time. . . smell the flowers.
It makes life worth while.
Pick up each new day. With love and a smile!

Her old fashioned teacakes? We ate the last crumb!
Her old fashioned flowers? She had a green thumb!
She lived by the Bible. . . Each day and each mile.
She taught me her secret. . . of life with a smile.
~Ruth Baird Shaw~

Right now I will be spending more time reading the SEO information at Stylish Design. Then I might see if they have anything about getting rid of those flowers at the top of my blog.

Stacey (about putting her panties in the bachelor’s pants pocket the first night): “I’m so embarrassed. That’s not me. I’m the sweetest girl, to be honest.” ANYTIME you have to say “to be honest” - you’re generally not.

Robin: “It IS a competition. I will fight for what I want. . . I”m not here to play fair. . . The girls are bitches.” Yep - Robin included.

Chris: “Were you there for the right reasons?”
That is THE one line that RT and I laugh about all the time. Everybody talks about whether or not people are on the show for “the right reasons.”

Marshana: The drama queen. Not much to say about her. She talks about other people (Robin) acting superior - and yet Marshana was the one who shook her finger at others and dismissed them. Buh bye.

Amanda is up next. I love the fact that when he said that everthing he’d said to her was true, she said “I don’t believe you.” I’m proud of her. But then she did the stupid “fake parents” joke, and that would have been enough, as far as I am concerned, for Matt to send her home. Oh I didn’t realize Amanda was the “meep” girl.

Matt is up next. Not much to say.

Stacey and the panties - can’t let that incident go.

The usual recap of Matt, Shane and Chelsea. I’m just not into this season that much. I don’t care who he picks. I DO think that Shane is more into this for the publicity and the boost to her acting career. Maybe she’s not in this for the right reasons. LOL!

Tomorrow I will likely get some other Teacher Appreciation cards - possibly a gift or two. Typically, though, as a “special area” teacher, I don’t get the gifts that classroom teachers get. And that is good with me. I’m just a 30-minute a day, 4 times a week teacher. I wouldn’t change back to being a classroom teacher for anything in the world.

If you have a child in school, write a Teacher Appreciation card for his/her teacher. Make it specific. What specifically do you appreciate about the teacher. Words are support are what teachers value the most.

So, lesson learned. I will never try NutriSystem again. Horrible food. Not just horrible, but REALLY inedible food, for the most part.

They’ve been working on the “set” for the past week. We live out in the country - and our road is particularly scenic with big fields, wooded areas, a creek and lots of wildlife. At one place, next to the creek, there is a field. One day last week there were flags posted at places in the field. Our first thought was that someone was going to build a house, and the flag were for the septic system. Nope, the flag were where hay bales would be placed. Then they put up a section of fencing - and then treated it to make the fence look old and weather worn. It’s kinda funny to see a fence that doesn’t go around anything - but it looks nice.

As soon as RT read the notice, he immediately called the contact number. He mentioned that we have a beautiful place with lots of wooded trails that would be good for a movie. He asked about the filming - and the guy did not say it was Miley Cyrus, but when Ron mentioned that his grandkids would be excited about a Hannah Montana movie being filmed on our street, the guy said something like “They wouldn’t be wrong.” The guy also said he’d like to look at our place.

So the rumor is that Miley Cyrus will be filming part of her new movie here - and that would make sense considering all the security that’s going on - and especially considering what the Disney contact guy said. I understand that she lives in this general area although I don’t know exactly where. I just hope it’s not a headache getting to our house this week. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle traffic.

Running ahead of schedule, Clinton followed up the stop with a trip to the local Dairy Queen, where she ordered a Snickers Blizzard. “Two of my favorite things — ice cream and Snickers,” she said as she spooned bite after bite.

It has been a year or two since I made this, and I had forgotten how good it is. I had a bowl for dinner, and it is wonderful. I also made a pot of chili, but I’ve posted my recipe for chili before.

Here’s the recipe for Chicken Cheese Corn Chowder

Chicken Cheese Corn Chowder

1 cup chopped onion
1 Tablespoon butter
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 17-ounce can creamed corn
3 cups milk
8 ounces Velveeta
8 ounces Colby-Jack or cheddar cheese
salt/pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash seasoning to taste
Chopped parsley (optional - I add this because it makes it look so nice to have the bits of green in it)

In a soup pot, cook the onion in butter until transparent. Add chicken brother, chicken, potatoes, salt, pepper Mrs. Dash. Simmer until the meat and potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Add corn, ilk and cheese until the cheese is melted and blended.