Home again, Home again, jiggity jig!

My hubby came to PA and picked Hannah and I up to bring us home to Maryland after 18 days (Hannah was there 11days ~work and school). We were visiting my third son, Matthew Scott his sweet wifey, Natascha, cute son and new baby daughter. I had a wonderful time helping, laughing, cleaning, shopping, cooking, sewing and most importantly loving them all and giving baby kisses to Lorelei.

We had Thanksgiving together as Dave, Caleb and Rebekah came for the day to be with all of us and celebrate together. We have traditions.....and the traditions must go on. After our delicious turkey dinner with all the fixings, we go around and share two things. We name one person in our family we are most grateful for this past year, and why. Secondly, we share the name of a non family member we are most grateful for this past year and again why. Not a year goes by, without tears flowing. I have a Thanksgiving journal I have written down this info in over the years.

Was it hard to leave? Yes. And No. Yes, because I love them, love talking with them, being with them and being a blessing as they are to me. I am a baby person, always have been, always will be. I love babies. I really love babies. I love talking to them, holding them, rocking them, changing their diapers, changing their clothes, wrapping them up, burbing them, all things baby I love. Even doing their laundry and smelling their tiny clothes as I fold and put away. Like I said I love babies, especially mine, be them, my own babies or my grandchildren. I do love other peoples babies too.....if they 'share'.

So this morning I packed up my stuff. I hugged goodbyes. I kissed and kissed goodbyes. Then I hugged again. My sweet darling Joschua stood on the porch waving bye-bye to Grandma and Grandpa! Sweet! Very Sweet! We drove home. Here I am. YET ~ I have my pictures and my heart is very very warm. I am a happy Grandma!

Did I mention they are coming Friday for a visit? Yay! They will visit Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa McCurley too. We are so blessed!

Gratefully His, Lynette

In PA

I have been in PA helping my kids with my new baby granddaughter. It has been pure joy for 17days. I will blog about it in coming posts. I just found out today that I could post from this "droid"...my hubby's phone, he lent me while I am here. God knows me! My time was more important in other things. So more blobs to come in days ahead. My time here has been pure abundant joy! I am filling up on baby whiffs. I have logged in miles of rocking. I have watched more Disney movies with little Joschua than I can count. Tuesday my hubby comes to whisk me away back to Maryland. It will be hard to leave. But I must! I will leave thanking God for such blessings. Our late night chats. Our laughing til it hurts. Baby kisses. Joschua running from Grandma kisses. Hearing those sweet voices. I leave knowing they will be fine, adjusted to having two! I leave knowing they want me to stay longer. Yet, home calls. I miss my man. I miss my Caleb and Rebekah. I miss my Open Bible Family. Life marches on. Besides they are only two hours away. Lots of baby kisses ahead! My heart is full and I am so grateful to the Lord of All!
Gratefully His, Lynette

10 Ways

I love lists. I am a list maker. I have a book of lists. I make lists in my journal. I often make 'to do' lists. I like lists a lot.

I recently came across this short list of "Ten Ways to Love Your Children".

"How Can You Love Your Children Today?"

1. Leave the dishes in the sink and tuck them in bed with a short prayer.

2. Turn your computer off and look at your children.

3. Turn your phone off and listen to your children.

4. Stop what you are doing and go sit by your children.

5. Walk across the rug and hug your children....more than once!

6. Kiss them at the door when they get home. Kiss them at the door as they leave.

7. Never leave an argument without saying "I love you".

8. When they ask you to play with them, say "yes" , instead of "in a minute".

9. Try to understand them; see the world through their eyes. Remember when you were their age.

10. Don't let a day go by without giving them a kind word. (Or two, or three, or four --added by me)

Food for thought, don't you agree?

With a grateful heart ~ Lynette

Keep Your Heart

"Keep your heart with all diligence." Proverbs 4:23

As we think about marriage today, since it is 'Marriage Monday' this verse comes to my mind. Why? Because in order to cultivate and keep a tender love for my husband I must guard my heart against sin.

When my emotions roar up, as they did this week, and I feel less loving towards my hubby, a blinking red light in my mind should warn me. I can ignore it if I so desire. Yet, I don't want to ignore it because I desire to desire the truth. I have learned to 'fight' the good fight. How easily I can fall into sin and not tell myself the truth!

I keep a copy of one of Jonathan Edwards resolutions in my journal. He wrote: "Resolved, whenever my feelings begin to appear in the least out of order, when I am conscious of the least uneasiness within, or the least irregularity without, I will then subject myself to the strictest examination."

When that alarm goes off, I must examine my heart and repent of any sin. I run to the Cross. This is the way to maintain a tender love for our husband. When we agree with the diagnosis of Scripture as seen in Romans 3:23 , we can also receive the remedy. The forgiveness of Christ becomes ours and the power to change right along with it.

Charles Spurgeon wrote this:

"He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. He overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and, therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it." (Sermon "Ripe Fruit" #945)

I remember my husband is a sinner. BUT I AM TOO ~ my sins are great...who am I to point out the speck in his eye when I have a 'boulder of a log' in my eye? God's truth sets us free. He always tells us the truth ~ that to first take the log out of my eye and then gently attend to the speck in his. Often as I remove the log from my own eye....the speck disappears! Amazing! What great affection I have for the love of my life although I do not always show it. How easily my sin blinds me to my own heart condition.

So my thought today is "Keep watch on your heart ~ for out of the heart flow the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23

Easy? No.

Good? Yes.

Worth it? Always.

Fighting the good fight this week, though not me, but HE...who is faithful...on my behalf ~ Lynette

Marriage Monday Part 2

As promised from last week ~ Here is Marriage Monday Part 2.

40 years together, married and best friends...my hubby and me. He took me to Hilton Head for a week of celebration and memory sharing of our past 42 years of knowing each other. When we came home he announced one more special 'gift'. Extending the celebration into a full year of celebrating!! What? Can this be?

Yes, so for the weeks since May 16th my wonderful, dear, kind, loving husband has written me love notes 5 days a week. He said he wants to do this for 40 weeks....we are in week 24! YES! Notes left on my bed table or on my pillow each night. All kinds....some make me cry. Some make me laugh. Some make me blush. Some make me smile. ALL make me glad I am married to this man!

I asked and received permission to share one today. Not all of it, just partial.....hey.....you can fill in the blanks, I am sure!

On the front of this computer generated card is a small picture of a garden with two small ducks sitting really close together (real) and under that picture is:

Happy 40th Anniversary

Week Twenty Four

Card Three

I open it and read ~

Love' Philosophy

By Percy Bysshe Shelley

The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

With a sweet emotion

Nothing in the world is single,

All things by a law divine

In one spirit meet and mingle-

Why not I with thine?

See the mountains kiss high Heaven

And the waves clasp one another;

No sister-flower would be forgiven

If it disdained its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth,

And the moonbeams kiss the sea-

What are all these kissings worth

If thou kiss not me?

"What would life be like without your sweet kisses and if our lives were not mingled together."

~ Dave

Romantic! (He has acquired this trait over the years ~ he wasn't romantic when we were first married......there is HOPE!!!)

He is the kind of husband every woman would ask God for if she was wise enough to ask HIM!

Deserved not am I.....it is only God' precious Grace given to me ~ how I thank HIM!

My heart is so FULL ~ Sherry Lynette

PS. I am writing him notes too....just not as eloquent or as often ~

Question of the day ~

Do you keep a journal?

What do you write in it?

~Recipes ~

Since Fall is here and the cold weather is right around the corner, I will share some McCurley favorite recipes for winter. In the summer we eat a lot of grilled stuff. But when winter arrives out comes the 'comfort food'....things that help keep us warm and cozy...smile! My hubby and son Caleb both love BISCUITS...so we have homemade BISCUITS twice a week from now til Spring!

Before I share a recipe or two, a couple time wise hints. I always (well, most of the time) double certain recipes, we eat half for dinner and I stick the other half in the freezer for those days I don't want to cook, or we are super duper busy. Saves time and money too. I like that my kids have 'caught on' through the years and just last month Rebekah, Hannah and Caleb made "garlic meatballs" while we were in North Carolina and I came home to a big bag of cooked "garlic meatballs" in my freezer. We had some last night! Very yummy!

~Vegetable Pie ~ One of my favorites

In a 9X13 pan (spray with PAM) layer in order ~ season each layer with McCormicks Season All

5 potatoes (washed and sliced thin)

5 carrots sliced thin (or mini ones)

2 onions cut in thin slices

1/2 cup rice (uncooked)

(any other veggies you like, squash, zucchini, celery, etc.)

1 pound hamburger (raw, uncooked...yes...you read that correctly)

Top with 1 quart tomatoes (add 1/2 cup water)and 2 T. brown sugar.

Cover with aluminum foil tightly. Bake in 300 degree oven for 3 hours.

This is so yummy and veggies are fork tender~ Leftovers are even better.

(Recipe from Mary Pitroff many year ago~)

____________________________________________

~ Chicken Divan for 10~

3 10 oz. packages frozen broccoli or big bunch of fresh.

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup mayonnaise

5 cups cooked chicken, boned & sliced.

Bread crumbs

Steam broccoli 5 minutes or until barely done. (or do in microwave)

Combine soup, juice, and mayo. Layer broccoli, then chicken in 13X9 inch pan.

Pour soup mixture over chicken. Top with buttered crumbs.

Bake at 350* 20 minutes or til heated through. My family loves this with mashed potatoes and a green salad. This is a great company meal.

(Recipe from Mrs. Bob Ellis many years ago ~)

BTW ~ When I get a new recipe I usually put who it is from and the year I got it! I have a few dated 1970!

Tonight for dinner we had Chili on brown rice (topped with cheddar cheese), Biscuits and Cole Slaw (my own concoction). It was a perfect rainy night dinner too. (Chili came out of the freezer...smile)

That's it from the kitchen for today....

Taste and See that the LORD is good! Sherry

Tidy Mother

I will admit it...I am a Tidy Mother! Or at least I try to be, wanna be. I like things in their place, easier to find. My time is limited and I hate to waste time 'looking for things'. We live in a middle sized home with no basement. We also have an eat in kitchen (which I love) but little counter space and not many cabinets. Soooo not a lot of room. I have learned to use 'wall spaces' and 'vertical spaces up high'. Our ceilings are almost 10 feet.

Still ~ Tidy means more than just everything in it's place. Here are some tips:

Don’t let it sit for later (Clean ASAP) – a mess is much easier to clean up when it happens. Once food or dirt is allowed to dry or soak in, it’s going to take a lot more time and elbow grease to clean it later. I have learned this the hard way....clean it up when it happens...even dripped milk.

Don’t Put it off – this is probably my BIGGEST household tip! Clean as you go. You’ll be amazed that many things only take a few minutes to do if you clean as you go, rather than hours of cleaning if you put it all off to do at once. If you stay on top of these things daily your house will look nice and you will be more organized and relaxed. Some of the things I do daily are:

• make my bed
• wipe down the bathroom after I have gotten ready – I keep Clorox wipes and a cloth diaper under the bathroom sink – and I give the bathroom a quick wipe down daily.
• clear the dinner table AND do dishes as soon as we finish eating.
• load the dishwasher any time there’s a dirty dish – it really only take a few seconds, instead of having a sink or counter piled with dirty dishes.
• wipe off the counters and table. Get kids to help....this is key to large families...it becomes a habit to them too.
• sort mail, throw out junk.
• do at least one load of laundry a day if children are small. I do mine all on Monday.
• fold and put away laundry as it comes out of the dryer ~ you'll be sorry if you don't.
• We home school. When my children were younger we had 15 minutes after breakfast before school for 'chores'. Different things each day. Trash, clean sinks, put things away, collect laundry etc. It was just automatic once learned. At the end of the day, we did the same thing. 15 minutes of everyone doing 'something' to help keep things running smooth.

By doing these things daily you can reduce stress and have a visually cleaner home.

Set a Timer for Quick Clean Ups- Many days I will give myself 15 minutes and run thru a few rooms and just pick up stray times, fluff and straighten the room. You’ll be surprised how often this will motivate you to keep going. Get the kids to help – make it a game!

Dust While on the Phone – often if I’m on the phone with someone, instead of sitting on the couch, I will get up and dust a room while we chat! Multi tasking is my friend

Don’t walk to another room empty handed - there’s almost ALWAYS something in a room that belongs some where else – don’t pass it up, grab it on your way – even if you just open a door and toss it in!

Clean up as you cook - I have a small kitchen, so I really get stressed if I have no room to cook or bake. Like wise, if you’re waiting on dinner in the oven, clean up the mess while it cooks.

I LOVE to come home to a Clean House- I try and pad my “to go time” by 15-30 minutes and do a quick run thru before I leave, put dirty dishes in the dish washer, wipe off counters, pick up stray items, even vacuum if I have time. I especially do this before travels, that way I could walk in to a clean house and start dinner with out the stress of a messy house to pick up as well.

Hope this gives you some ideas.....make it work! Doing a little now, pays big time later!

Thankful Heart Here, Sherry Lynette

Marriage Monday

I know I said part 2 from last week would be today, but I will continue that later in the week. I came across an article about "Bonded Couples" and I liked the reminders because it is so practical and I am a very practical lady.

So here are some very practical ways to build into you husband and invest in being more deeply 'bonded' together ~ which makes the LORD extremely happy!

A couple things I would add. Number one should be PRAY for your husband. Pray for his relationship with Christ. Pray for his integrity. Pray for wisdom. Pray for strength in a day and age when men are torn asunder, especially godly men. Pray for his relationships with other godly brothers. Ask God to make him HIS man. Ask God to keep YOU out of the way as He works. God will answer!

The second thing is never stop showing your husband respect. That is what HE desires. We just naturally 'love' our husband, which is nice.....yet what he really likes is respect. Respect should be something we as women should always, always, always be learning more about and practicing daily, if you love your husband.

I have been married 40 years and am still 'learning' the power of respecting as God asks me to. I shudder to think how disrespectful I had been at times earlier in my marriage, to my own shame. 1 John 1:9 is the remedy. AND asking for forgiveness of my always forgiving husband. Study, look it up, practice it. Godly women have done this down through the ages.....and I want too also!

Here are practical reminders to all of us ~

Have a great day and give your hubby a big 'hug' as he comes home today with sweet words of a grateful heart for WHO he is!!! Tell HIM!!!! I know I will and I hope you do too!

6 Habits of Highly Bonded Couples

Highly bonded couples…

1. Are courteous and kind to each other.

A little kindness goes a long way. Try to treat your husband like he's a good friend. If you're rude and snippy to your husband, why will he want to be nice to you?

2. Talk about issues before they get out of hand.

In marriage, you have to choose your battles, but if you sense that an irritation is becoming a major annoyance, you need to talk about it with your husband.

3. Believe in each other.

If you think your husband is a loser, you're going to treat him that way. Even if he has a track record of business failures or poor decisions, keep your opinion of those outcomes separate from who he is as a person.

4. Assume the best about each other.

Look for the good things about your husband and assume the best in his actions and words. Instead of assuming that he has bad intentions, give him the benefit of the doubt before you jump to conclusions.

5. Live in a "we" world.

Couples who are close use words that show they are set apart. Try to say, "Our bedroom, our house, our children, etc." Think of you and your husband as a team.

6. Touch.

It sounds corny, but hugs are healthy. So, hug your husband when he comes home, instead of just giving him a quick peck on the cheek or lips. Touch his shoulder while he's driving; hold hands while you pray at church, offer to rub his back.