Everything's Coming Up Roses

Everyone's thinking Fall

and for me 

"Everything's Coming up Roses."

I'm a pink and roses kinda girl.

I have so much pretty and pink.

You gotta know when to hold it 

and know when to fold it.

A few years ago, I could sell a piece

like this for $30 or more.

EBay's completed listing

of a Noritake marked "M"

is going for $20 AT THE MOST!

Some pieces are $7-$15.

I think I'll hold on to mine.

The hand painted laced milk glass plate

is a pretty for sure.

Even for a numbered Lefton, 

the completed listing is $7.

I can't believe!

I guess I'll keep my pretties.

Temps in the 60's today.

In the South we say, 

"Happy Fall Ya'll,"

Bonnie:)

A Soft, Braided Rug and a Mirror

Sometimes it's just one small touch

that makes a room feel like home.

I added a soft, braided throw rug

and a mirror.

Looking for different shades of white, 

ivory, khaki, or tan pillows 

to add some color and texture.

One reveal at a time. 

Happy Monday!

Bonnie:)

It's 3:30 AM

so Monday is already here for me.

No, I've not even been to bed.

The mind is busy.

  

No Secrets: God's Provision and Our Responsibility

No Secrets:  God's Provision and Our Responsibility

Since I was not able to finish my ministerial training at Trevecca Nazarene College, I had to complete the home study program to become an ordained minister.  We both would sit in the middle of the bed each night and study.  Doris would read and I would write. 

Those first years were hard.  One lesson I learned early is when you are in the center of God's will, He always provides.  It is true, "When God guides, God provides."  My pastor's salary was $15 a week. Sometimes I got it, sometimes I didn't. One time the church got behind and owed me $225.  The cotton patch that was planted beside the church helped meet the needs of the church.  Our church treasurer was married to a man who was not a member of our church.  In the beginning, he was not a Christian but he was a good man.  When the soles of my shoes wore out or I needed a new shirt, he would take me to town and buy what I needed.  I learned humility and dependence on a gracious God to supply my every need.  

I really believed that it was important to develop relationships.  I often took men fishing and never once talked to them about the Lord.  The friendships that grew from relationships allowed me the opportunity to share Jesus and they were saved.  Doris fashioned her ministry from the same philosophy.  She once said, "Where I grew up, we couldn't have a get-together without someone having to preach."  We would invite the children and youth over for a good time of fun and fellowship and never have a devotional.  Yet, many came to know the Lord from her ministry.  She served the youth of the church until all of our children left home.

Reflections from Doris

As his partner, I felt that God had called me to into ministry.  One of my duties as a pastors wife was to take care of the pastor and the home.  Emory was on call 24 hours a day.  He worked three jobs at times to make ends meet.  He was maintenance supervisor for the City Housing Authority.  He did odd painting jobs on the side.  It was not unusual to get a call during the meal, to unstop a toilet, screw in a light bulb, or fix a leaking faucet.  

After seven years of marriage and ministry, God gave us a son, Bruce Earl Lindsey.  He was a beautiful boy with black hair. On the 5th day of my hospital stay, our perfect baby boy got sick.  Born at 7 pounds and 8 ounces, he had lost down to 5 pounds and was very sick.  He was vomiting profusely.  I did not want to go home without my baby so I stayed another day.  However when we got home, he was no better.  We sat up with him around the clock.  The men of the church met together and prayed for him. Several time during the first year, we called the church to prayer. He was a sick baby and I didn't go back to work until he was 2 years old.  Again, God always provided the resources for our needs to be met.  Prayer works.

Three years later, God gave us a little girl, Bonnie Anne Lindsey.  She was perfect with no health problems at all. Bruce loved her and our family was complete.  

A couple of years later, Bruce started to school.  Emory was spending too much time on "the field." Being a mother first, I sat him down.  My words went something like this, "You can work yourself to death, but what does it matter if you win the whole world and lose your own children."  

Bruce at three, taking care of his baby sister.

I bought a sewing machine after Bruce was born.

I made every thing they wore, including

Sunday suits for Bruce 

and lacy dresses for Bonnie.

The Rusty Gate: Unique, Handcrafted Furniture and Fabulous Linen

I have a friend who has a fabulous shop,

The Rusty Gate.

She has a booth an ENORMOUS space

in the flea market where I rent a booth.

Her pieces are GREAT,

hand-crafted from

old wood, doors, and windows.  

I bought two pieces from her, 

a single window cabinet and a double window cabinet.

They smell like freshly cut lumber

and old wood.

ahhhhhh.

Every piece is unique,

and sells the day it's brought in the door.

I wish I knew her secret place:)

Her vintage wares are near perfect.

There is nothing shabby about The Rusty Gate.

She sells a little of everything.

The linen, vintage, contemporary and shabby chic style,

are clean, perfectly-pressed and on nice hangers.

I snapped this up while it was still hanging on her arm.

She said it looked like me:).

The details are exquisite,

and PERFECT!

My mostly-white bedroom 

is coming together nicely.

(I painted this lamp with chalk paint today-it was orange-

and added a touch of fall.)

I'll photograph the entire room when I'm done. 

Hope you'll follow along. 

Thanks, Rusty Gate, for allowing me to share.

Bonnie:)

I'll be featuring other booths in the flea marker

in a few days.

No Secrets: Following the Holy Spirit's Leading

No Secrets:  Following the Holy Spirit's Leading

Be a student of the Word.  I committed to memory as many scriptures as I could.  My Bible was marked so that I could refer to them as needed.  These truths and promises will come to your mind at the precise time that you need them, whether in preaching, visiting and praying with someone, or claiming God's Word for a particular situation. I believe that God has the answer to every need if we earnestly seek His will and stay in the Word.

Keep your prayer channel with God open.  Get quiet enough to hear God speak. Keep your Bible open when you pray.  God most often speaks through His Word.

Never preach the same sermon twice unless the Holy Spirit leads.  People expect something fresh and your own soul, mind and spirit are renewed as you seek to teach others new truths.  I found that reading books written by the early preachers, Billy Sunday, Dwight L. Moody, C.W. Ruth, Bob Ingersal, Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, and C.B. Jernigen were helpful in developing sermons. 

Stay close enough to Him to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading in every aspect of ministry.  Often I have had to change a sermon just before I got up to preach.  However, it is really important to KNOW that it is the Spirit leading.  There are times when God will give the nudge to call people to move.  It is important to know when to do, what I've often referred to as "draw the net."  I can put aside my little sermon for another time.  I have seen good preachers who did not have the discernment of the Spirit to know when it was time to get out of the way and let God move.

Obedience is to the Holy Spirit is vital in winning others to Christ.  Many times I have been driving to one place and the Spirit would say, "You are needed at the hospital or that home."  On more than one occasion I would arrive at just the right time.    I'm glad to say that direction from the Holy Spirit is available to every pastor who is willing to obey.

Daddy relaxing in the new parsonage.

Reflections from Doris

It is important to be partners in ministry.  Over the years, when Emory was about to make a major change, we talked it over together and prayed.  We were prayer partners.

We had lived sixteen miles from the church for five years.  Emory began to feel the need to be "on the field."  We began to pray that somehow the church could buy or build a parsonage. He met with the church board while I continued to pray.  The board agreed.

We knew a man in the community who owned land.  The Saturday morning that he was to talk to the man about donating the lumber to build the parsonage, he asked me to pray.  I got out my Bible and sat down to read and talk to the Lord.  The Lord showed me in His Word a verse I had never noticed before, "And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desired of Him." (I John 5:14-15 KJV)  I literally claimed that promise, phrase by phrase.  
I prayed, "I have confidence in You, Lord.  I am asking 'according to your will.' Lord, you know that we don't want anything unless it is your will.  You are able to block the deal or seal the deal.  If it can be your will, we are praying for it to be so.  I know, Father that Your Spirit is bearing witness with my spirit that you ARE listening right now.  Since I feel your Spirit and know that you hear, then by faith, I have the assurance that we will get the trees needed for the parsonage."  I almost had a shouting spell, and I don't shout, right then and there.  I had no doubt that my prayer had been answered.  

By the first of the next week, the trees were cut by one of the loggers in the church and were hauled to the sawmill and cut into lumber.  The church never had to pay one cent.  God provided. The carpenter in the church who supervised the renovating of the church, also supervised in the building of the parsonage.  The men of the church built the church and God gave the increase.

Again, I want to say that this is ministry

from my parent's point of view.

Daddy was on the Georgia District Church of the Nazarene

Board of Ministerial Studies

for many years. 

He did all he could to help 

other young preacher boys.

Thus, these written words

are not meant to be a list of must-dos,

but to encourage. 

Again, 

thanks to you who have asked 

me to tell their story.

Bonnie:)

A Cracked Pitcher and a Vintage Clock

I don't pass up an ironstone pitcher,

even one with cracks.

I might say, especially one with cracks.

I paid $5 for this and it is enormous!

The chips and discoloration

show signs of age and character.

I hope that's what aging has done for me. 

Yes, I have some age spots

and I guess the wrinkles kinda look like cracks, 

and I have been broken.

However, unlike the pitcher, 

I don't intend to sit on a shelf 

for display only.

I've done that long enough.

I want to be of use and of service

as the cracked pitcher once was. 

Time is ticking away

and at 53,

I'm not getting any younger.

Did you know that anything

over 50 years of age 

is considered vintage.

Can you believe that?

This week I was allowed

and had the privilege of 

attending a Bible Study with 

girls much younger that I.

I was amazed at the wisdom 

of these young mothers.

I wish I had not been stuborn 

and learned some of these hard
lessons at a younger age.

I wish I had said, "Yes,"

to the call many years ago.

Sometimes I wonder if time 

has ticked away to fast 

and I missed it. 

  

I can't go back and change the past.

I CAN allow God to use the broken pieces

in my life to heal others who are broken, 

"making the most of every opportunity," 

as God's Word says, "because the days are evil."

Thank you, Holy Spirit for the lesson,.

When we're still enough to listen,

we can hear Him speak.

Bonnie:)

No Secrets: Growing the Church

No Secrets:  Growing the Church

The church continued to grow.  New space was added to make room for growth.  We completely covered the old metal building.  We added Sunday School rooms, a receding choir loft, restrooms, and a semicircle altar across the front.  Walls were extended, hardwood floors were elevated, and new pews replaced the old.  The house beside the church was rented for Sunday School rooms and used as a social hall.  As the church grew and new people were added, we were able to build a multi-purpose building on the back of the existing lot.  

"How," you ask, "did you grow?"  At Trevecca, ministerial studies students were assigned a whole city block and required to visit every home, read a scripture, share Christ and have prayer.  Before we left, we invited them to the church we attended or one near them.  We had to report the results of every home we visited.  This was one of the most valuable lesson I learned and I put it into practice in the new pastorate.

I knocked on doors everywhere.  If I saw children out playing, I stopped and invited them to church. When someone didn't have transportation, I would pick them up.  Some of the people I visited, had very little.  Jesus instructed us to go in the highways and byways and bring them in.  I found that my heart was filled with compassion for the poor and the needy.  I couldn't ignore my call to reach the people for whom Jesus died.  I wanted them to know that love.

I purposed in my heart to reach all people.  To grow a church, we must have a genuine love for all people regardless of their social status and get to know them where they are.  The best way to get to know them is through personal contact in the home, in their place of business and their leisure.  I believe that building relationships is the best way to win a person to the Lord.  I have gone fishing with many men, developed a friendship and later had the opportunity to share Jesus. 

The first year, we averaged 58 in Sunday School.  The next year, 95 and the next year, 118.  We had continual growth.  I can not take the credit.  Our teachers took their responsibilities seriously. They visited their absentees and wrote notes of encouragement.  They reached out to people who didn't go to church anywhere.  Most important, they loved.  

With growth, there is change.  Change is not always easy, but inevitable and necessary for growth to continue.  People will not continue to attend church if there is no place to sit comfortably.  We must expand if we are to grow.  The only time in the first 25 years that we did not show growth was when we had outgrown our facilities and had nowhere to house the people.

New families and with new children and babies 

were added to the church.

Reflections from Doris

Emory's compassion for people showed up in everything he did.  When he and I visited in a home and saw a need, God would put it on our hearts to meet that need.  Once while visiting a home with four little girls, I went to town and bought cloth, lace and buttons and went home and started sewing.  In a few days, they were the prettiest girls in the church.

When our oldest daughter, Bonnie was in the first grade, I saw a little girl standing beside the radiator with a frayed, dirty dress.  Her sweater had holes in the elbows.  She had "run-over" shoes and no socks.  Her hair was dirty and matted and had not been combed.  I asked her mom if she could go home from school with Bonnie the next day. Putting her in a bathtub of warm, soapy water, I cleaned her up, washed her hair, and wrapped her in a nice, soft towel.  I put her on one of Bonnie's dresses and she was so pretty and proud.  I sent three more dresses home with her.

Emory loved the elderly.  He never refused to eat a meal when offered even with a low tolerance for odors and a weak stomach.  Sanitation and running water was not installed in the poorest of homes.  Many times he would eat a meal and make it to the car just in time to throw it all up.  I teased him that's the reason he stayed in a size 29 slacks for so many years.  

We were once asked to do the funeral of a small child.  The home had a missing step and the rest were rickety.  I almost fell in the door. There were no screens on the doors and windows.  The heat was unbearable. Many times the bodies were brought home for viewing.  When we went to look at the child, we saw flies crawling all over her eyes and mouth.  It was hard for us to believe that people lived like this. Emory felt like it was his calling to visit the poor and down-trodden.  His stomach was weak but his heart was willing.

As we grew, we added new classes.  I started a Young Adult Sunday School class and we named it "Christian Workers," and they stood behind the name.  This busy group of young adults invited friends and families to come.  As they married and had children, new classes were formed and the church continued to grow.

"Love the Lord your God will all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself."  Jesus said these were the most important commandments.  When we love God with our entire being, that love extends to others.  Without both, you can not grow a church.

Pumpkins Painted White

With a few strokes of left-over paint,

I painted pumpkins-

white, of course.

I sprayed the stems
with Rustoleum Textured Paint.

$1 pumpkins from the Dollar Tree

and a $2 Walmart basket.

That's an almost flea market find!

I like:)

Bonnie

No Secrets: The Beginnings of a New Church

The Beginnings of a New Church

The first year of pastoring the new church was filled with blessing after blessing.  There was no doubt that we were where God wanted us to be.  I always told my children, "If you know you are in God's will, you can handle anything that comes your way." 

A dear lady from the Wesleyan Church joined our church.  Her husband was a carpenter.  He oversaw the restoration of the old metal building.  He and the men of the church had the store front garage looking like a church in no time at all.  The windows were taken out and replaced with glass.  The two big doors on each side were taken out and closed in.  A window was put on one side and a regular door on the other.  The front sliding door was replaced with double glass doors with a window on each side.  The cement floor was covered with tile.  An altar was built with a cushion for kneeling and a raised choir loft was built.  The ceiling and sides were stripped and dry wall was installed.  A large podium was built and Sunday School supplies were locked inside.  

Pews were donated from an old church that had been closed for years.  We praised the Lord and "raised the roof."  We were blessed with people who wanted to work. Out of these few members, we had a Sunday School Superintendent and teachers for all ages, a treasurer, and a missionary president.  We were blessed.  To have a growing church, you must make every person of every age group feel that they have a place in the church and are loved.

With this kind of atmosphere, you would think that there would be no problems.  On the contrary, when God is working, so is Satan.  A church member would get mad at something I had said in the pulpit.  In the early days, I was only allowed to wear a white long-sleeved shirt and tie. I was often criticized for wearing anything else.  I always tried to mend fences even when I felt I was not in the wrong.  Most people would say, "Why?"  Jesus said, "If you are presenting your gift at the altar and realize that your brother has something against you, go first and be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift." 

Reflections from Doris

We ministered to each department in our little church.  The children enjoyed singing.  They would sing their little hearts out.  We organized a children's choir with programs for each season.  Everyone had a part to memorize, read or sing.  We kept the children busy with parties and special events.  Vacation Bible School was a way to reach out to children in the community.  We always crowned a "king" and "queen," at commencement.  The house was packed out on the following Sunday with parents who were anxious to see their children perform and curious about what was going on in the new little church on the corner.  

Youth Picnic

Vacation Bible School or Egg Hunt?

Teenagers

We had parties for the teenagers.  We were young enough then to keep up with them.  We played games indoors and outdoors including softball.  It was not unusual to have to make a trip to the emergency room for stitches or casts due to minor accidents.  The Christmas and Easter dramas touched the hearts of the people.

Our little church was a beehive of activity.  We had real revivals, not just times of assembling together with preaching and singing.  There were always seekers at the altar with people getting saved and sanctified.  Back then, we called it "praying through."

Baby Dedication Day

The first five years of our ministry we lived in another county.  We had no children so we packed a bag on Friday evening and stayed the weekend with church members.  We had five couples who opened their homes to us whenever we needed them.  We did this so we could get in a full day of visiting and have a youth activity on Saturday night.  We enjoyed our ministry and watching God grow the church.

"This is Your Life"

To BE Continued...

Thanks for allowing me to tell their story.
I am writing this and posting to my facebook
to share with my friends our personal history.
Thanks for indulging me.
Maybe something that is said
will touch your heart.

Bonnie:)

No Secrets: The Call

No Secrets:  The Call

After graduation from high school, I began to feel the call to full-time Christian service.  God began to speak to me about attending Trevecca Nazarene University.  One day, as I worked in the field chopping cotton, I said, "Yes."  I chopped my hoe in the ground, stood up the handle and I went in to tell my mama.  I will never forget the look on her face.  "Son, you can't do that.  We don't have the money to send you to college."  I said, "I know, Mama, but God has called me, and He'll make a way."  It is no secret what God can do.

I had two uncles who I thought had money.  They agreed to co-sign a bank note with me for $225.  It was in faith that I agreed to pay the money back in a year.  I bought a new suit of clothes including underware, new shoes, and a tin trunk.  Everything I owned was in that trunk.  I said goodbye to my family and friends and most of all my sweetheart and caught a ride with someone who was going that way.  I hitch-hiked my way to school and back home again the two years that I was there. 

When I registered at Trevecca, I said, "I have no money, and everything I own is in this trunk. I will need to work my way through."  There was no money for room or board or books.   Because I could not afford a meal ticket,  I lived on peanut butter and crackers and pork and beans. Today I still can't eat pork and beans. 

I had several jobs while there.  My first job was digging a ditch ten foot deep.   The sun was shining down in that ditch.  It was so hot that I could hardly stand it.  With sweat dripping off my brow and down my face, I longed for home.  The devil said, "Quit."  Knowing that it was God's plan for me to be there, I prayed for grace and another job.  God proves Himself faithful.  Shortly thereafter, I was given the job of ringing the bell for classes.  When winter came, my job was to keep the large boilers of steam running by putting in coal and keeping the "clinkers out", where the coal melts together and will not burn up. If left in, the fire will go out.  I've thought about this over the years.  We need to make sure the "clinkers" of our lives are kept clean so the fire of the Holy Spirit will keep burning in our soul. Later I was made night watchman. It was a great job. I was given a pistol that I kept on my hip. It was interesting to see the preacher boys and music ministers who tried to sneak in after curfew. (We often said Daddy's story made us think of Barney on Andy Griffith.)

While at Trevecca, I held jail services in the county and city jails.  Part of my training was to visit the homes within a block of the school and hand out tracks and witness to people on the streets in downtown Nasvhille.

After a year, the note had come due at the bank and I had no idea how I was going to get the money.  An older man from Wray, Colorado, had moved to Nashville and asked me if he could drive me around as I went about the Lord's work.  He gave me the money to pay the loan.  Years, later I received a note in the mail, "Paid in full."  I sent a letter to thank him and the letter was returned and stamped "no return address."  An angel?  I don't know.  Divine Intervention?  Most certainly.

The following summer, I continued to preach.  It is no secret that God works in a life that is truly dedicated to Him. 

Reflections by Mama

The first time I heard Emory preach, I would hardly believe what my ears were hearing.  It was remarkable how the Holy Spirit was with him.  He preached like he had preached forever. Because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, many were saved.

One night he preached on hell and it seemed the little schoolhouse got hotter and hotter.  He was preaching with such fire, talking as fast as he could, and running down the scriptures in such a way that you felt like you were there.  He quoted the scripture, "Where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched."  Instead he said, "Where the worm dieth not and the fire is not 'squenched'," I lost it and almost fell off the pew laughing.  One time when he was preaching in the early church, he got hot and took his coat and tie off, rolled up his sleeves and said, "Ya'll get comfortable and take your clothes off."    

An old friend drove Emory everywhere he preached that summer.  I went every time he held a meeting. Although we were young, we knew our love was geniune.  We promised ourselves to each other and talked about getting married after he finished college and found a church.

I had one more year of high school.  I knew that a new church would need a pianist so I started taking lessons.  Mama borrowed an old-fashioned pump organ from a neighbor, and this is how I learned to play the notes.  Mama exchanged the organ for a second-hand piano and I attempted to learn every song in the hymnal.  

I volunteered for every office in the church that became available including teaching a Sunday School class of 12 year olds, serving as youth president, and secretary and treasurer of the missionary program.  In the midst of it all, I wrote Emory everyday.

During his second year of college, I worked for a local manufacturing company. I was paid 40 cents an hour.  After taxes and social security were taken out, I brought home $15.40.    I lived the first few months with his brother, Ernest and his wife, Lois.  Instead of paying board, they let me send the money to Emory.  I sent him $5 a week to pay his board and he ate his meals with a married couple who lived on campus.

As you already know, he didn't finish college.  He came home, set up tent, and started the home mission church.  We were married in the Fall. We didn't get a honeymoon instead we started to work immediately.  The next Saturday, we went "house calling."  Emory wanted everyone in the church to meet me and I was ready to be a pastor's wife.

A handsome, young couple

I think my mama was beautiful.

She indeed loved the church
and her preacher boy.

To Be Continued...

Bonnie:)

Yellow: The Color of Sunshine

Remember Match Game?

Some of you are too young!

It was a television game show 

where contestants 

filled in the blank.

The Word, "YELLOW."

The Yellow Pages

A Yellow Submarine

Yellow Jackets

and then the last one that required

a suggestion from a favorite celebrity.

Someone was certain to suggest 

Yellow Ribbon.

You know, "tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree.

It's been three long years, Do you still want me?"

Yes, I'm a 70's, Tony Orlando-and-Dawn-kinda-girl.

YELLOW...

the color of gold, butter, ripe lemons,

autumn leaves, daffodils, bananas, egg yolks,

and often associated with

SUNSHINE, bird, butterflies, and flowers.

My daughter-in-law has a bit of yellow

in every room.

She also is a fan of vintage wares.

She decided to part with some of her favorites.

A stay-at-home mom, 

she wants to make a little money.

These are going to the booth on Thursday.

I've never been a color biologist, 

if there even is such a thing, 

but when I see YELLOW

I see nature at it's BRIGHTEST.

YELLOW, the color of SUNSHINE.

Have a bright sunshiny day,

Bonnie:)

Shabby Chic: A Classic

One of my favorite designers, 

if not my favorite designer, is Rachel Ashwell.

She claims to not have invented Shabby Chic, 

but can be accredited for 

today's trend.

However, it can not really be called a trend.

Her book, Shabby Chic 

was written in 1996

and remains a classic today.

She writes, 

"Shabby Chic goes far beyond the stereotype

of a few tea-stained florals and some cushy chairs.

Some have called this shabby yet elegant look 

'a marriage between the laid-back, breezy ease 

of Los Angeles beach life and the romantic 

prettiness of English country life

at its most casual'."

The pink candlesticks and floral dresser box

atop the vanity mirror

have the "romantic prettiness"

that is described in Rachel's book.

The sheer curtains share the 

practicality and faded splendor 

of the shabby chic.

"To these qualities I would add that the style

suggests things that are inherited rather

than store-bought and handcrafted 

rather than mass-produced."

I like to imagine that the candlesticks 

and the dresser box were wedding gifts

from a grandmother, 

an inheritance to share with the 

next generation.

I dream of a beach house 

decorated with white and soft pastels and

loosely fitting fabrics draped across comfortable seating.

I imagine wide wood-paneled white walls

and sheer white panels 

that blow with the ocean's wind.

I imagine ruffled pillows

and soft throws 

for relaxing while enjoying 

my favorite pastime, reading.

I imagine a large front porch 

with a close view of one of 

God's most beautiful creations

that remains and stands the test of time. 

This is shabby chic living.

Hope you enjoyed a relaxing Monday. 

I did!

Bonnie:) 

We Have This Moment

Many memories are flooding

my mind this day,

and I thought of this song. 

We Have This Moment

Bill and Gloria Gaither

Hold tight to the sound of the music of living

Happy songs from the laughter of children at play

Hold my hand as we run through the sweet, fragrant meadows,

Making memories of what was today.

My sister, my brother, and me

We have this moment to hold in our hands

And to touch while it slips through our fingers like sand

Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come

But we have this moment today.

I am holding my baby brother who was killed 

when he was five years old.

When the accident happened, 

I was 14, my older brother was 17,

and my sister was 9.

Tiny voice that I hear is my little girl calling

For Daddy to hear just what she has to say

And my little boy running there by the hillside

May never be quite like today.

My baby girl and her daddy.

My children at play.

Tender words, gentle touch and a good cup of coffee

And someone who loves me and wants me to stay

Hold them near while they're hear and don't wait for tomorrow

To look back and wish for today.

Nothing like a good man and a good cup of coffee.

Thankful for both daily.

Take the blue of the sky and the green of the forest

and the gold and brown of the freshly mowed hay

Ad the pale shades of spring and the circus of autumn

And weave you a lovely today.

This little one turns two in October. 

"Hold them tight while they're near"

Reminds me of another song...

Thank You, Lord, for Your Blessings on Me, 

Bonnie:)

No Secrets: Growing Up

No Secrets:  Growing up

I was born the second son of a sharecropper and his wife. My father died when I was 13 months old, and my mama, brother, and I moved in with Grandpa.  Grandpa had lost everything he owned in the Great Depression, and he too was a sharecropper.  Growing up, life was hard, but it better prepared me to face the hardships that lay ahead.

Granddaddy Lindsey

(The Daddy, my daddy never knew)

When I was eleven years old, my mom married again, and we moved to a neighboring county.  I shared a home with a step father and six step brothers and sisters.  Having no dad, wearing thick glasses that were bent out of shape, and poor, I felt inferior in this new house with a large family.

Grandpa had taught us to work hard and I worked even harder to prove myself to my new siblings.  We all had to work in the fields and take care of the livestock.  No matter, I made sure that I worked a little harder to stay ahead of them.  When we picked cotton, I tried to pick more.  

Shortly after moving to the new town, I began to hear weird things about a weird church filled with people who did weird things when they got happy.  Some people in the community referred to the church as "Happy," or "Happy Holler."  It was named that because when people got "happy," they "hollered."

A neighbor drove us to Sunday School and my fears kept me on the outside. On the outside looking in,  I heard first hand that what others said was true.  Little by little, I began to realize that these people were "shouting."  I finally got the nerve to go inside.  It was there that I saw the prettiest little girl in town.

The following summer, I went to FFA Camp with the school while the youth from the church went to church camp.  A great revival broke out and many were saved.  Upon returning, the teenagers would meet in the "prayer room," and pray out loud.  I could hear my name being called. One of those praying was my sweetheart, Doris Haywood.  On my own, I tried to break the old habits that controlled my life.  I knew that to date the prettiest girl in town, I had to stop smoking, cursing, and fighting, but I found I could not do it on my own.  Feeling what I discovered was "old-time conviction,"  I knelt beside a pew in the choir loft and confessed my sins.  God came in a wonderful way.  I jumped up, raised both hands in the air and shouted to the top of my lungs.  I experienced a peace that I never had known.  

The following Sunday, I surrendered my will completely to the Holy Spirit's control and was filled with His Spirit.  I wanted everything the Lord wanted for me.  I began to feel a calling to preach the gospel.  I was asked to share my testimony at a cottage prayer meeting.  Prayer meetings were often held in homes in those days.  I preached for what some said was an hour.  From that night on, I knew that God had called me to preach, and I have never doubted that calling since. 

I preached anywhere I was called.  There was an old preacher who preached every week in an old school house.  Getting close to retirement, he asked if I would fill in for him.  I gladly accepted.  I began to prepare sermons as the Holy Spirit led.  I had never prepared a sermon and had no theological education.  At 15 years old, God gave me the subject, the introduction, several points, and a conclusion.  I was unable to drive, but had no problem finding transportation.  It is no secret that when God guides, God provides.

In those days, school began with a devotion.  I was invited to have the morning devotion for my homeroom.  I never missed an opportunity to share the Good News. 

In Memory of Rev. and Mrs. J. Emory Lindsey

in

Dedication of the First Church of the Nazarene

J. Emory Lindsey Outreach Building

I know this is not Daddy's car

because he once said, 

"I didn't own a car, and didn't even know how to drive

but God always provided."

A young preacher of a young, home mission church.

Daddy always said that a growing church

had children of all ages. 

Mama was always beside Daddy.

Everything they did, they did together.

More teenagers.

It was seven years before their first child,

so Mama and Daddy always brought

children home with them from church.

This picture was taken on their wedding day.

They went back home that evening

and went "house calling" the next Saturday.

Daddy always said, 

"She was the prettiest girl at Mt. Olive."

To Be Continued

Bonnie:)