It's A Sunny Sunday Afternoon ~

Come, Let's Tag Along With Gramma-

Oh if only  I could "twitch" my nose (like Samantha-wasn't that her name/)  and find myself in this setting- oops, I think SHE was a WITCH....not my thing!!

Oh, but Fall is definitely my thing. We just have so very little FALL

  ...think 'deep south- as in the state of Alabama.  

Oh well, same Creator put it all into place and His Word tells us (He made no mistakes)

Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above.

We are promised and given such an abundance of Good Things...

Just teach me to Graciously & readily accept them.

This is my SOMETHING for today
[ writing something every day: :)  ]

Back To The Lap Top? Perhaps~

Justa thought ....or two. Let's face it -if  I don't jot it down somewhere it will be lost forever. Shall we call this not a post....not an idea for a post ..perhaps just a flicker of an idea..maybe.

We shall see~

Cast & production   from the spring season of our

local  Dinner Theater show: 

http://piddle.org/

Come Home, It's Suppertime

(Fall Season early November)

Remember this writer is a    self  described Planner-Producer-Promoter-Performer.

Hold that Thought now- Finding myself in this holding pattern
-with nothing to share and leaving notes to make excuses for Blog inactivity...you might say it's really sad.

Or you might take a deep breath with me and admit it is a bit funny.  Well....it sounds better to describe this little NON POST as funny instead of tagging it as PATHETIC.   mmmmm, playing with words are we???!!!!


Allright- enough of that. In case you don't follow my face book page I'll leave you with my newest facebook cover...thanks to a collaboration between my blogger friend Theresa Begin from http://www.shoestringeleganceblog.com/.

After sharing my appreciation for a fb cover Theresa is using she was able to use some of my stash of photos from my My Blog. I had the pictures & she had the technical know how. Have I mentioned that I have become really lazy about learning new computer skills in recent months?

Yes  I do know I have lost most of you by now- It still amazes me that close to 2,000 readers stop by Gramma's House every month.  I owe you more effort than an obligatory showing up every couple of months....okay, ladies "put it on my account." ( laugh smile, frown, or pray for my creative tendencies to kick in again)


Could it just be coincidental that I ran across a post somewhere  challenging people like me/us to just commit to writing SOMETHING every day! So, this my blogger friends is my SOMETHING for today. 

Tough Truths ~ Mine Are My Own

And Yours Are Not the Same as Mine-


 Remembering 

August  18, 2013

His last major project for me

Embracing Tough Truths   
 http://anewseason.net/widows-might/embracing-tough-truths/

Comments/in A Widow's Might, faith, finally healing, purpose in brokeness /by Katie -

My soul, oh Lord, is still! It’s still with real awareness that You made me for more than this mess. Than the mess of …. (uncertainties) of weariness and restlessness.

My soul is still, oh Lord, because I’m making my mess of a life matter.

No, Lord, it’s not me. YOU ARE making my mess meaningful! -   http://anewseason.net/widows-might/embracing-tough-truths/

Quickly - Put Those Amazing Thoughts Down Before They Are Forgotten-

On the Road Again

to 

Home-

Time to allow my mind to amble...ponder without goals

Without Boundaries

Let's Talk

About Home

Front Porches,

Rocking Chairs And Porch Swings

( ALL  Southern Things )

Does anyone recall the conversation (post) 

Challenging ourselves to consider  what  the word

HOME 

means?

Just allow me a few moments to search past posts and I will have total recall.

(Insert smirking here)

Home is recognizing twists and turns in the country roads, recalling who lived there & - things that happened here.

Home feels like Good memories, Sad Memories and snapshots in time all filed away in our personal memory banks

Home feels like being remembered

Home feels like being accepted, Valued, Appreciated, even Treasured

Home feels like a good fit

Home has an open door..another rocker on the porch . an extra plate set at the table -

and a bed that can be readied for unexpected company

Home is  conversations that begin with "Remember when?"

Home feels like "Us"...

Home: the ultimate Group Hug

F R I E N D S

As the years pass and I am older and older...

I UNDERSTAND when people say over a lifetime you can often count the true friends on one hand. My lasting friends are not always down the street or across town- and sometimes we don't visit face to face for YEARS...but when we do it's JUST LIKE YESTERDAY-

My real friends whom I still cherish LET ME BE ME. They don't try to change me or pass judgement when I don't measure up.

With these friends we do not keep score- of how often one has called or written a note. We accept that LIFE crawls up and grabs us and sometimes does not turn loose. We cherish the memories we share from the past and relish in the NOW.

Reba, My first Christian friend from 1959 I still count as such...We catch up WHEN WE CAN. It's still precious. We are not at all alike-could hardly be more different but again there is a strong bond that begins with our faith and our history.

One friend  *[Shirley]  still in southeast Texas, I might count as the best friend of a lifetime...and while  we could hardly be more different personalities there is an amazing bond. I believe it to be our faith.

Our life journeys have  hardly been similar and I don't pretend to understand 'what makes her tick."

I have no doubt she would say the same about me but we overlook those things and accept each other 'warts and all.' 

Several of these friends are 10 hours or more away..with Pam who is now in S.C. we made a pact to keep the relationship alive...we call [or try to] every SATURDAY MORNING. That's what is often needed -

an intentional effort to nurture the relationship.

  All treasured friendships are not the same-because we are  different and bring different gifts and needs to the relationship.

* Shirley lost her years long battle with cancer this year. The first diagnosis was in 1994

Then the cancer just kept coming back again and again  until it finally won but  Shirley was so ready to go..Only God Himself knows how many people she shared Christ with in clinics, hospitals and doctors' offices (*and yard sales) over all those years.

Back Tracking....

Back tracking is something I always told the children to do when they lost or misplaced something. I would often say: "Just retrace your steps-Back track."

That's still what I tell myself when I suddenly find something necessary is not where it is supposed to be....my telephone, a piece of jewelry, a garden tool.

Well ladies I'm reminding myself today of the significant number of wonderful, unique Bloggers I try to visit regularly have been ignored (not forgotten) for quite some time and it bothers me.  I am  motivated not because  I think you will feel badly towards me...but because I am missing you. I am missing your wonderful creativity,  your open honest writing, all the fun beautiful spirit and personalities.

So I am here to try to reconnect and truly, selfishly to enrich and encourage myself as I travel across the country  by way of this technology, and back track reading what you have  shared in recent months.

I sincerely pray that you have not been dealing with heavy issues or great sadness but we all know life goes on whether we are faithful and attentive to our blog audiences or a total 'no show' as I have been.

I cannot promise - but I will TRY-

The Time- The Days, Weeks, The Whole Month-

Where has the time gone?

How did I miss Thanksgiving?

Actually I did not miss Thanksgiving...It was very real and very 'family', spent with  Three of our four children in the Pensacola, Florida area-

With our middle son and wife along with our oldest who accompanied me to Florida and our youngest son and his youngest...our youngest Grand.

[You KNOW Mr. Lincoln, our Great Grand and his parents were there]

Another grown up Grandson joined in this Thankful gathering and rounding out the crowd, spilling over into the second table were extended family members we have the honor and pleasure of  sharing this time with now and then..

Then before one can dance around the room and count to 100 It is Christmastime-

Well actually I was dragging it out -surely the time between Turkey day and December 24-25 must have been extended to 8 weeks this year.

Why else would I have had such difficulty getting that 9ft. tree up and a respectable amount of house cleaning done?

Did I mention the Costa Rica interruption? Okay, here it is.

Our church's Costa Rica Mission team left on December 15 for a 5 day Mission trip, spending time again with Jose & Leda,(Acts 1:8 partners)  taking with us more than 400 blessing bags for sharing on our big Christmas Party day on Saturday.

Now let's fast forward to Troy and December 20th.....(after mid night)

Can I be forgiven for doing absolutely nothing for at least 24 hours after hitting the ground?

Well, I DID...nothing.

No I cannot share the Costa Rica story in bits and pieces. It will take some time,   some notes, quiet thought and multiple rewrites to pull together  something to give you a true picture of our time.

Don't give up...just come back regularly  to hold me accountable.

This brings us to Christmas at the Harrison House..

Our notes about Christmastime will likewise show up in due time.

We have a fair number of  pictures to share and will happily do so  as soon as the grandson with the real camera gets it all ready for sharing...

to be continued .....soon I hope :)

Just In Case You Were Wondering~

I'm stopping by to clarify something.

Yes, I did leave the country around Christmastime-

But, I did return in time for Christmas with my family.

A small group from my church  returned to Costa Rica in December  (2016)

Below are a few pictures of special moments and dear people .

I've concluded that it's near impossible to share  this with you in little snippets...brief accounts of memorable encounters. Nevertheless I will try to give you a  a few glimpses into

Another Kind of Christmas

In Costa Rica.

So many Christ Followers shopped, filled 1 gallon bags, donated money for us to pay for checked bags, fruit,  and additional supplies as needed.  Then as the Lord led so perfectly, hearts were touched and a plan came together to enable 22 teenagers to attend church camp in January. 

( See the last group picture  below at the end of the post)

Time to say Goodbye again

Back home in South Alabama

on December 20th-

Not to worry-I did get my Christmas tree up before leaving

( 22 youth )

Off to camp in January

Because other Christians Cared Enough!