Granny here,
Been watching the news today which is not an encouraging activity. I think this world has lost its mind, what have we become or should i say what are we becoming because it is evident that we are still in the process. Nothing seems to be in the right order, everything seems to be out of socket, out of sorts, distorted to say the least.
Families have disintegrated right before our eyes, children are left on the streets like bags of trash. Young people are uncontrollable, inconsiderate, disrespectful and seem to be wondering in a fog and they have no idea how they got there. The world today seems to be in reverse and progress seems to be at a standstill in a lot of areas.
What is going on? Where are we headed as a nation, as a people who if my memory serves me correctly used to have a high reverence for God, family and country and now all three seem to have taken a back seat to the selfish, lustful desires of mankind. There is a price to pay for such behavior and although we may have put God out of our mind you can rest assured that we are still on His.
God never forgets! We are His top priority and He is faithful concerning His promises whether they be for good or for judgement. What He has said He will do in His own way and in His own time but we must never forget that He will do it!
We may
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Future Plans
Granny here,
I've been thinking, again! What's new about that, sometimes I feel I do way too much of that kind of stuff which can sometimes get one into trouble mentally and physically but I think this time I may be onto something, we'll see what you think, here goes. If all goes well these writings coming up will be compiled into some sort of book of wisdom. Can you imagine that? Me, giving out words of wisdom of all things, well maybe it could fall into other classifications such as opinion, my viewpoint or just musing in general but with all that said I think I have something to say on some subjects so here I go. I'm not the oldest person living but I have lived long enough to see things come and go and some of those things were treasures that can only be recovered by the person who sold them to the highest bidder or threw them away. In these next few post I would like to dwell on the loss of these treasures and ask the question "Has anyone has seen them? Has Anyone Seen Them "Integrity" I once heard of a human trait called Integrity, integrity, according to Webster is: 1.The firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values, incorruptibility. 2.An unimpaired condition: soundness 3.The quality or state of being complete or undivided, completeness, honesty Synonyms: Character, decency, goodness, honesty, morality, probity, rectitude, righteousness, rightness, uprightness, virtue, virtuousness. Antonyms: Badness, evil, evildoing, immorality, iniquity, sin, villainy, wickedness. I can remember a time when integrity was one of man's most prized possessions but today that doesn't seem to be the case. The human race seems to be involved in a bidding war for his integrity and so far it looks as if the bidder is about to come out the winner. Who are these bidders that have lunged at the integrity of mankind without thought of what they are asking man to relinquish? Have we given much thought to what is at stake here? Do we actually realize what is on the auction block is something that may never be regained once it has be released to the highest bidder? Integrity is a gift that is given at birth it may be weak in the beginning but it can be nourished into maturity by choices that we make along the way. Integrity is ours to keep and can only be given away at our own choosing. Giving it up will be our decision alone and no one else's. Integrity is a part of us, a piece of our makeup that makes us who we are. When we relinquish that to something or someone it is a choice that we make on our own but never for naught. There is something that we are getting in return when we give up our integrity. Giving up this piece of ourselves does not come without penalties, there is a price that must be paid just as there is payment for what we are about to sell. Integrity lives in the deepest realm of man's soul, it is who he is, it is the foundation on which other decisions are made and without it he becomes a man without merit, a person who cannot be trusted or looked upon as a good example. Integrity is the cradle that holds our emotions, the compass that guides us to become all that we can be and still be able to hold our head high. It gives us motivation for all that we feel is our duty to accomplish and make our mark in the world. Integrity does not come cheap, the price for retaining it can be high but the rewards far out exceed the cost. Integrity is something that anyone can have, poor, rich, any nationality in any country, in any job or vocation, none of these have a baring on man's integrity unless he alone chooses it too. Integrity isn't bought with money or position but it can be lost to these very things. Funny isn't it that something so precious and priceless is often let go for something of temporal value. This is our integrity we're talking about here, imagine that, a priceless part of ourselves that says to our surroundings this is a person you can trust, this is a person who keeps his word, this is a person with whom I'm not ashamed to associate myself. Integrity can place one in a high position or the lack of it can bring you down. Integrity let's those around you know that you are someone to be reckoned with and that you think highly of your impact on the world around you. You do not make decisions lightly and always try to consider the outcome of your decisions and what impact they will have on others therefore having a direct impact on your integrity. You take your integrity seriously and take all precautions to protect it. These are the traits of a person with real integrity, putting others first, looking for ways to improve his surroundings, helping to better the life of someone other than himself. Always lending a helping hand, seeing the need before someone tells him about it and being the first in line to do something about that need. Integrity will cause us to take a good look at ourselves and see if we still have it or has it been given up for other things that will only benefit ourselves. Have we forgotten that selling our integrity to the highest bidder may bring us under subjection to a bidder that cannot be paid off. Integrity has been lost in the world we live in today, it is no longer treasured as it once was but in it's place the bidding war has caused many to relinquish this possession. It is all too often given up without thought never considering what a price we have to pay to get it back. Losing one's integrity not only affects us but those in our closest inner circle. They must endure the shame too when we decide to relinquish this part of ourselves. So if you see integrity when you are out and about take time to honor him for what he is, and what he is determined to become. Honor him for being strong and not willing to be sold to the highest bidder. Has anyone see him?
Granny here, just saying!
I've been thinking, again! What's new about that, sometimes I feel I do way too much of that kind of stuff which can sometimes get one into trouble mentally and physically but I think this time I may be onto something, we'll see what you think, here goes. If all goes well these writings coming up will be compiled into some sort of book of wisdom. Can you imagine that? Me, giving out words of wisdom of all things, well maybe it could fall into other classifications such as opinion, my viewpoint or just musing in general but with all that said I think I have something to say on some subjects so here I go. I'm not the oldest person living but I have lived long enough to see things come and go and some of those things were treasures that can only be recovered by the person who sold them to the highest bidder or threw them away. In these next few post I would like to dwell on the loss of these treasures and ask the question "Has anyone has seen them? Has Anyone Seen Them "Integrity" I once heard of a human trait called Integrity, integrity, according to Webster is: 1.The firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values, incorruptibility. 2.An unimpaired condition: soundness 3.The quality or state of being complete or undivided, completeness, honesty Synonyms: Character, decency, goodness, honesty, morality, probity, rectitude, righteousness, rightness, uprightness, virtue, virtuousness. Antonyms: Badness, evil, evildoing, immorality, iniquity, sin, villainy, wickedness. I can remember a time when integrity was one of man's most prized possessions but today that doesn't seem to be the case. The human race seems to be involved in a bidding war for his integrity and so far it looks as if the bidder is about to come out the winner. Who are these bidders that have lunged at the integrity of mankind without thought of what they are asking man to relinquish? Have we given much thought to what is at stake here? Do we actually realize what is on the auction block is something that may never be regained once it has be released to the highest bidder? Integrity is a gift that is given at birth it may be weak in the beginning but it can be nourished into maturity by choices that we make along the way. Integrity is ours to keep and can only be given away at our own choosing. Giving it up will be our decision alone and no one else's. Integrity is a part of us, a piece of our makeup that makes us who we are. When we relinquish that to something or someone it is a choice that we make on our own but never for naught. There is something that we are getting in return when we give up our integrity. Giving up this piece of ourselves does not come without penalties, there is a price that must be paid just as there is payment for what we are about to sell. Integrity lives in the deepest realm of man's soul, it is who he is, it is the foundation on which other decisions are made and without it he becomes a man without merit, a person who cannot be trusted or looked upon as a good example. Integrity is the cradle that holds our emotions, the compass that guides us to become all that we can be and still be able to hold our head high. It gives us motivation for all that we feel is our duty to accomplish and make our mark in the world. Integrity does not come cheap, the price for retaining it can be high but the rewards far out exceed the cost. Integrity is something that anyone can have, poor, rich, any nationality in any country, in any job or vocation, none of these have a baring on man's integrity unless he alone chooses it too. Integrity isn't bought with money or position but it can be lost to these very things. Funny isn't it that something so precious and priceless is often let go for something of temporal value. This is our integrity we're talking about here, imagine that, a priceless part of ourselves that says to our surroundings this is a person you can trust, this is a person who keeps his word, this is a person with whom I'm not ashamed to associate myself. Integrity can place one in a high position or the lack of it can bring you down. Integrity let's those around you know that you are someone to be reckoned with and that you think highly of your impact on the world around you. You do not make decisions lightly and always try to consider the outcome of your decisions and what impact they will have on others therefore having a direct impact on your integrity. You take your integrity seriously and take all precautions to protect it. These are the traits of a person with real integrity, putting others first, looking for ways to improve his surroundings, helping to better the life of someone other than himself. Always lending a helping hand, seeing the need before someone tells him about it and being the first in line to do something about that need. Integrity will cause us to take a good look at ourselves and see if we still have it or has it been given up for other things that will only benefit ourselves. Have we forgotten that selling our integrity to the highest bidder may bring us under subjection to a bidder that cannot be paid off. Integrity has been lost in the world we live in today, it is no longer treasured as it once was but in it's place the bidding war has caused many to relinquish this possession. It is all too often given up without thought never considering what a price we have to pay to get it back. Losing one's integrity not only affects us but those in our closest inner circle. They must endure the shame too when we decide to relinquish this part of ourselves. So if you see integrity when you are out and about take time to honor him for what he is, and what he is determined to become. Honor him for being strong and not willing to be sold to the highest bidder. Has anyone see him?
Granny here, just saying!
America in Disgrace
Granny here,
You know watching the news on T.V. is like taking a dose of bad medicine, it taste terrible and has few benefits. Most of the news today just affirms how far down the ladder we keep sliding in every thing that a few of us thought we had made some progress.
The American people have been brain washed so badly that they have lost all sense of decency and self respect. They have come to believe what was wrong is now right, what was white is now black, what was respectful is now just something to make fun of. Yes, they have lost their bearings and are on the road to destruction and aren't looking for a way to turn themselves around. That's the sad part, they don't see the error of their ways.
There is a saying that goes " there is none so blind as him who will not see" and we have a society today that doesn't want to see because when your eyes are opened and you "see" you will be required to make some decision as to your next move and most people don't want to go there. It makes us responsible, we have to give account for our doings to ourselves, to those around us and to society in general.
America no longer sees that killing babies as if they were a fly on the wall is murder and they get away with it everyday but killing an animal is beyond forgiveness by most of America today. Animals although deserve good care and love in todays society receive better treatment, food, medicine etc. than lots of children and elderly. They are given the run of the home whereas children are made to sit in corners, stay outside and other treatments that I can only imagine. Can't we see were we have traded our value system for a line of thinking that is warped and we will answer for our wrong doings.
I agree that women should have the say of what they do with their bodies but can't America women see that the decision whether they want to bring another life into this world should be made "before" that life is a breathing, living human being that has rights just as the mother. Where do they get the right to kill that human being because they have decided that they no longer want the responsibility, that decision should have been made before the moment of pleasure that brought it into being. It had no part in that decision making so why should it pay the ultimate price for the mother's mistake.
America has laid their belief in God on the altar of self centeredness and are under the illusion that they are in control of their own destiny. I am here to tell them that they are so wrong and just as God has always required a day of reckoning and He still does and ours is coming. A nation that forgets God is doomed.
America has her head so far in the sand of disbelief that they are ignorant to the fact that they have gone so far from the founding fathers blueprint for our nation that it no longer resembles the nation that they dreamed of.
Our government has turned it's back on the people of this country in so many ways. Our service men are treated like second class citizens and denied the care that they have earned once they have returned to this "wonderful" country. Senior citizens are frowned upon as a burden for the government and no longer deserve what little they get to live on and are always being threatened by the same. Social Security funds are constantly being thrust at us as a dependent fund when in reality it is money that the American worker and their employer deposited into a government account so that they would have something to live on in their retirement years. It is their money not the governments so where do they get the idea that they have all the rights concerning someone else's bank account? But the government has taken possession of it as if they were entitled to tell us how much of our own money we will be allowed to live on. Is this insanity or what? How did America get in such a mess?
America is so weak that they allow others with beliefs so foreign to ours to come into our country and ask that we bow to their way of thinking and America being overcome with stupidity is beginning to give them just what they want. Singing the National Anthem in Spanish (which is alright in a Spanish community but not on the national level). Removing the words "under God" and replacing them with "under Allah" in our pledge of allegiance. Have we forgot who we are? This is America, one nation under God, built on the principals of God and with His Word as our foundation.
We have become a nation that no longer is secure in the sex to which we were born but feel that we have the "right" to take God's creation and change it to fit our own desire. We have lost our way and no longer are sure what we are, male, female, other, both, or whatever. The minds of the world today is so confused by the ways of sin that they can no longer see through the cloud of self to find their way back to sanity. God will let us go in whatever direction we choose if we fight hard enough for our wants but with that getting will also come a day of payment for our wrong doing and disobedience.
The ways of sin have overtaken this nation to such an extent that the price we will pay for our disobedience will be far more than any of us will want to pay but we will not be given a choice when the time comes. The time for choice is now, right at this moment.
The world today thanks to social media has become so small that every little jot and tittle of our daily lives is displayed somewhere for all to scrutinize and comment on. Therefore we are open to opinions and remarks that otherwise we would have kept to ourselves therefore opening the old wounds that we had assumed were being healed over the years but now find out that they are more raw than ever.
We have become a nation of wimps that no longer can take criticism, that has trouble coping with difficulties that our forefathers saw as opportunities for growth and obtaining strength. We are a nation that is becoming lazy, feeling entitled that no longer takes respect and pride in carrying our own weight but feel that it is our "right" to have as much as possible without earning it in any way. You know if you're not earning it someone is and that someone may feel that he is entitled to a few things too such as keeping what he has earned, feeling used and abused by those who refuse to work and make their own way. Capitalism has always been the American way. We have always been taught to take pride in our accomplishments.
Wake up America, thrust off the cloak that has been thrown upon us by those that would have us become that weak, entitled, self centered nation that can no longer feel that we are the great nation that God allowed us to be. "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" so beware of your desires because their is a price to be paid and God calls in all debts.
Granny here, just saying!
You know watching the news on T.V. is like taking a dose of bad medicine, it taste terrible and has few benefits. Most of the news today just affirms how far down the ladder we keep sliding in every thing that a few of us thought we had made some progress.
The American people have been brain washed so badly that they have lost all sense of decency and self respect. They have come to believe what was wrong is now right, what was white is now black, what was respectful is now just something to make fun of. Yes, they have lost their bearings and are on the road to destruction and aren't looking for a way to turn themselves around. That's the sad part, they don't see the error of their ways.
There is a saying that goes " there is none so blind as him who will not see" and we have a society today that doesn't want to see because when your eyes are opened and you "see" you will be required to make some decision as to your next move and most people don't want to go there. It makes us responsible, we have to give account for our doings to ourselves, to those around us and to society in general.
America no longer sees that killing babies as if they were a fly on the wall is murder and they get away with it everyday but killing an animal is beyond forgiveness by most of America today. Animals although deserve good care and love in todays society receive better treatment, food, medicine etc. than lots of children and elderly. They are given the run of the home whereas children are made to sit in corners, stay outside and other treatments that I can only imagine. Can't we see were we have traded our value system for a line of thinking that is warped and we will answer for our wrong doings.
I agree that women should have the say of what they do with their bodies but can't America women see that the decision whether they want to bring another life into this world should be made "before" that life is a breathing, living human being that has rights just as the mother. Where do they get the right to kill that human being because they have decided that they no longer want the responsibility, that decision should have been made before the moment of pleasure that brought it into being. It had no part in that decision making so why should it pay the ultimate price for the mother's mistake.
America has laid their belief in God on the altar of self centeredness and are under the illusion that they are in control of their own destiny. I am here to tell them that they are so wrong and just as God has always required a day of reckoning and He still does and ours is coming. A nation that forgets God is doomed.
America has her head so far in the sand of disbelief that they are ignorant to the fact that they have gone so far from the founding fathers blueprint for our nation that it no longer resembles the nation that they dreamed of.
Our government has turned it's back on the people of this country in so many ways. Our service men are treated like second class citizens and denied the care that they have earned once they have returned to this "wonderful" country. Senior citizens are frowned upon as a burden for the government and no longer deserve what little they get to live on and are always being threatened by the same. Social Security funds are constantly being thrust at us as a dependent fund when in reality it is money that the American worker and their employer deposited into a government account so that they would have something to live on in their retirement years. It is their money not the governments so where do they get the idea that they have all the rights concerning someone else's bank account? But the government has taken possession of it as if they were entitled to tell us how much of our own money we will be allowed to live on. Is this insanity or what? How did America get in such a mess?
America is so weak that they allow others with beliefs so foreign to ours to come into our country and ask that we bow to their way of thinking and America being overcome with stupidity is beginning to give them just what they want. Singing the National Anthem in Spanish (which is alright in a Spanish community but not on the national level). Removing the words "under God" and replacing them with "under Allah" in our pledge of allegiance. Have we forgot who we are? This is America, one nation under God, built on the principals of God and with His Word as our foundation.
We have become a nation that no longer is secure in the sex to which we were born but feel that we have the "right" to take God's creation and change it to fit our own desire. We have lost our way and no longer are sure what we are, male, female, other, both, or whatever. The minds of the world today is so confused by the ways of sin that they can no longer see through the cloud of self to find their way back to sanity. God will let us go in whatever direction we choose if we fight hard enough for our wants but with that getting will also come a day of payment for our wrong doing and disobedience.
The ways of sin have overtaken this nation to such an extent that the price we will pay for our disobedience will be far more than any of us will want to pay but we will not be given a choice when the time comes. The time for choice is now, right at this moment.
The world today thanks to social media has become so small that every little jot and tittle of our daily lives is displayed somewhere for all to scrutinize and comment on. Therefore we are open to opinions and remarks that otherwise we would have kept to ourselves therefore opening the old wounds that we had assumed were being healed over the years but now find out that they are more raw than ever.
We have become a nation of wimps that no longer can take criticism, that has trouble coping with difficulties that our forefathers saw as opportunities for growth and obtaining strength. We are a nation that is becoming lazy, feeling entitled that no longer takes respect and pride in carrying our own weight but feel that it is our "right" to have as much as possible without earning it in any way. You know if you're not earning it someone is and that someone may feel that he is entitled to a few things too such as keeping what he has earned, feeling used and abused by those who refuse to work and make their own way. Capitalism has always been the American way. We have always been taught to take pride in our accomplishments.
Wake up America, thrust off the cloak that has been thrown upon us by those that would have us become that weak, entitled, self centered nation that can no longer feel that we are the great nation that God allowed us to be. "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" so beware of your desires because their is a price to be paid and God calls in all debts.
Granny here, just saying!
Friday, May 2, 2014
Nothing to Say, A Lot to Think
Granny here,
Just sitting here thinking how sometimes I feel like I have nothing to say because no one cares to listen. Not because it's me talking, it's just that people aren't into talking and listening these days so thinking is all we have left and of course blogging. Thinking doesn't get anyone in trouble except the person doing the thinking, right? That is unless the person doing the thinking decides to act on their thoughts and then there could be some real trouble.
We see this everyday in the news when some nut decides to carry out his thoughts. This world has become a scary place. It makes one want to dig a hole and pull the hole in after yourself. What is happening to our world, to it's people. Have we become a society so self absorbed that we have to create a disaster of some kind to get the attention we think we so rightly deserve.
Are we such idiots that we believe that what we encounter in person, on T.V., in music, games, videos has no adverse effect on us. We've all heard the saying "trash in, trash out". We can see the proof of this every day when we watch the news, hear our neighbors, listen to our school officials just to name a few sources. Measures of all descriptions have had to be put into place to try and protect the sane citizens that we still have in our society.Well, it looks as if society is fast becoming one large trash can but there is a cleanser and His name is Jesus Christ.
Having lived 72 years now I have enough experience in life to have some comparisons under my belt and believe me the world has done some major changing in those 72 years and not all good ones either. It seems that the slippery slope it has been on since the beginning of time has become more slippery over the last 25 years sliding society into a cesspool of sin and despair that is about to totally consume us.
Comparing life today to the life I encountered as a young child, teenager and young adult is like comparing life on skid row and being a winner of the lottery. My life as a child was carefree and secure, as far as I was concerned. My parents did all the worrying, I was never brought into the adult world, I was treated as a child and was only allowed to do, hear, say and be involved in things that fit into a child's world. I believe that is called parenting. Where is that concept today?
As a teenager I was chaperoned, given orders and chores for which I was not paid as if I was an employee instead of a responsible member of a family who had responsibilities to that family as well as any other member. I was expected to honor my mother and father as long as they were my parents not until I reached the age of twenty-one, although becoming an "adult" did give me some freedoms I had not known until then. I was taught by my parents and the society that I was lucky enough to be part of in the 50's that when I made a commitment I kept that commitment whether it be in my personal life, my business life or my social life, I was to keep my word, it was expected.
I was taught that during my life I would experience success, failure, disappointments, betrayal, I would win sometimes and I would lose sometimes but never was I taught to give up, to let others down, to whine, to get revenge. I was taught to love, to forgive, to have compassion, generosity and concern for those less fortunate than myself although it may be taken for granted by those who benefit from it.
Putting one's thoughts down on paper or in a blog can open up a cavity far deeper than we ourselves realize, it can open up a fountain of bottled up thoughts and ideas that have been festering for quite sometime, some good and some not so good. But it gets it off our chest and the load becomes a little lighter and in the process we may get someone else who thinks they have nothing to say to realize that it just isn't so, when in reality if the fountain is opened it will be hard to turn it off.
Granny here, just saying!
Just sitting here thinking how sometimes I feel like I have nothing to say because no one cares to listen. Not because it's me talking, it's just that people aren't into talking and listening these days so thinking is all we have left and of course blogging. Thinking doesn't get anyone in trouble except the person doing the thinking, right? That is unless the person doing the thinking decides to act on their thoughts and then there could be some real trouble.
We see this everyday in the news when some nut decides to carry out his thoughts. This world has become a scary place. It makes one want to dig a hole and pull the hole in after yourself. What is happening to our world, to it's people. Have we become a society so self absorbed that we have to create a disaster of some kind to get the attention we think we so rightly deserve.
Are we such idiots that we believe that what we encounter in person, on T.V., in music, games, videos has no adverse effect on us. We've all heard the saying "trash in, trash out". We can see the proof of this every day when we watch the news, hear our neighbors, listen to our school officials just to name a few sources. Measures of all descriptions have had to be put into place to try and protect the sane citizens that we still have in our society.Well, it looks as if society is fast becoming one large trash can but there is a cleanser and His name is Jesus Christ.
Having lived 72 years now I have enough experience in life to have some comparisons under my belt and believe me the world has done some major changing in those 72 years and not all good ones either. It seems that the slippery slope it has been on since the beginning of time has become more slippery over the last 25 years sliding society into a cesspool of sin and despair that is about to totally consume us.
Comparing life today to the life I encountered as a young child, teenager and young adult is like comparing life on skid row and being a winner of the lottery. My life as a child was carefree and secure, as far as I was concerned. My parents did all the worrying, I was never brought into the adult world, I was treated as a child and was only allowed to do, hear, say and be involved in things that fit into a child's world. I believe that is called parenting. Where is that concept today?
As a teenager I was chaperoned, given orders and chores for which I was not paid as if I was an employee instead of a responsible member of a family who had responsibilities to that family as well as any other member. I was expected to honor my mother and father as long as they were my parents not until I reached the age of twenty-one, although becoming an "adult" did give me some freedoms I had not known until then. I was taught by my parents and the society that I was lucky enough to be part of in the 50's that when I made a commitment I kept that commitment whether it be in my personal life, my business life or my social life, I was to keep my word, it was expected.
I was taught that during my life I would experience success, failure, disappointments, betrayal, I would win sometimes and I would lose sometimes but never was I taught to give up, to let others down, to whine, to get revenge. I was taught to love, to forgive, to have compassion, generosity and concern for those less fortunate than myself although it may be taken for granted by those who benefit from it.
Putting one's thoughts down on paper or in a blog can open up a cavity far deeper than we ourselves realize, it can open up a fountain of bottled up thoughts and ideas that have been festering for quite sometime, some good and some not so good. But it gets it off our chest and the load becomes a little lighter and in the process we may get someone else who thinks they have nothing to say to realize that it just isn't so, when in reality if the fountain is opened it will be hard to turn it off.
Granny here, just saying!
Monday, March 24, 2014
Birthday Bash
Granny here,
Last night was a night to remember to say the least, it was the Birthday Bash given for my 95 year old mother Effie (Ellie) Irene Ratliff given by her church family Zion Assembly Church of God here in Cleveland Tn.
It was a total surprise to her and she was taken off guard but being the bashful person that she is no emotions were shown on her part. She took it all in stride as she does anything that comes before her. She is strong that way and never gives in.
A mini "this is your life" was given by the pastor Todd McDonald with information provided by one of the daughters being myself. Her nephew Wade (Hughie) Phillips gave a personal summery of knowing her through the years.
Then she blessed everyone with a song which was four verses long and she didn't miss a word. Granddaughter Sherri Bush filmed it all and placed the singing portion on You Tube for all the world to see, I hope she goes viral. LOL
Good food, good friends and some family made the evening one to remember because at this stage we do not know how much longer God will allow us to be together, so far our family has been blessed beyond any of our expectations.
The family is going through several emergencies at this time in Ohio. Ellie's son Montie age 77 is waiting for bypass surgery on March 30, daughter Lisha's husband came down with a bad case of TMJ and they were unable to make the trip. Another son Rick's wife Pat is entering the hospital on Tues. for back surgery and if that isn't enough Pat's father had a stroke Sat. night and her niece was rushed into emergency surgery for her appendix. So needless to say none of these were able to attend the party and that was certainly a disappointment to all.
The family members that did attend were daughters Lelanni Anne and husband Jim, Debbie and husband John, and oldest daughter Billie. Two grand daughters Sherri Bush and Tina Anderson, one great-great grand daughter Araya Sutter and one nephew Wade H. Phillips who is the Presiding Bishop of Zion Assembly Church of God and his wife Dale.
Thanks to all who took time out of their own life to add some joy to someone else's, thanks for all the birthday cards, gift cards and money, it is greatly appreciated. She will have lots of conversation material when her only living sibling a sister who lives in Spain calls her which she does everyday.
It was fun reminiscing and talking to old friends about her life, the food was good and we had plenty of it thanks to all the good cooks that attend that local church.
Thanks again, it's moments like this that make you appreciate the people who will take time to add a moment of unforgettable memories to a 95 year old's life.
Thank You So Much
Granny here, just saying!
Last night was a night to remember to say the least, it was the Birthday Bash given for my 95 year old mother Effie (Ellie) Irene Ratliff given by her church family Zion Assembly Church of God here in Cleveland Tn.
It was a total surprise to her and she was taken off guard but being the bashful person that she is no emotions were shown on her part. She took it all in stride as she does anything that comes before her. She is strong that way and never gives in.
A mini "this is your life" was given by the pastor Todd McDonald with information provided by one of the daughters being myself. Her nephew Wade (Hughie) Phillips gave a personal summery of knowing her through the years.
Then she blessed everyone with a song which was four verses long and she didn't miss a word. Granddaughter Sherri Bush filmed it all and placed the singing portion on You Tube for all the world to see, I hope she goes viral. LOL
Good food, good friends and some family made the evening one to remember because at this stage we do not know how much longer God will allow us to be together, so far our family has been blessed beyond any of our expectations.
The family is going through several emergencies at this time in Ohio. Ellie's son Montie age 77 is waiting for bypass surgery on March 30, daughter Lisha's husband came down with a bad case of TMJ and they were unable to make the trip. Another son Rick's wife Pat is entering the hospital on Tues. for back surgery and if that isn't enough Pat's father had a stroke Sat. night and her niece was rushed into emergency surgery for her appendix. So needless to say none of these were able to attend the party and that was certainly a disappointment to all.
The family members that did attend were daughters Lelanni Anne and husband Jim, Debbie and husband John, and oldest daughter Billie. Two grand daughters Sherri Bush and Tina Anderson, one great-great grand daughter Araya Sutter and one nephew Wade H. Phillips who is the Presiding Bishop of Zion Assembly Church of God and his wife Dale.
Thanks to all who took time out of their own life to add some joy to someone else's, thanks for all the birthday cards, gift cards and money, it is greatly appreciated. She will have lots of conversation material when her only living sibling a sister who lives in Spain calls her which she does everyday.
It was fun reminiscing and talking to old friends about her life, the food was good and we had plenty of it thanks to all the good cooks that attend that local church.
Thanks again, it's moments like this that make you appreciate the people who will take time to add a moment of unforgettable memories to a 95 year old's life.
Thank You So Much
Granny here, just saying!
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Wrinkled Inspiration
Granny here,
I'm writing my Mother's Day message a little early but the meaning will be the same. I will be paying tribute to my own mother who is turning 95 on March 26. If I could give her another name it would be Inspiration, because that is what she has become to me and maybe lots of others too.
I have been mom's companion for most of my adult life since she never learned to drive and daddy hated cars so rarely did he own one. We have been the best of friends doing almost everything together. In her younger days my husband Scott and I rarely went anywhere without her, we have always lived close to each other. I ate dinner at her house every Sunday as long as she was able to cook Sunday dinner. For the last 17 years she has lived next door to me here in Cleveland Tn. I have become her caretaker so to speak although she is pretty good at taking care of her personal self I do all the incidentals that happen to come up. There was a two year interval where she decided to go back to Ohio and live around my three siblings up there but that didn't last the attachment was too strong and she returned.
We have recently sold our old places and moved in together for the convenience especially for me since I am a widow now and have the sole responsibility for myself and mom since she chooses to stay close to me although I do get assistance when needed from two other sisters that live close enough to pitch in.
Mom is old, blind in one eye, confined to a walker if she moves about, has vertigo at least one day a week, arthritis, congestive heart failure, one artificial hip and a titanium rod in the other, 5 stents in her heart and I'm sure some hidden issues that we are not aware of. She has had her gall bladder removed, her female organs removed, a broken hip, a broken arm, 4 angioplasties, a heart catheterization, 2 hip surgeries, 6 children, and high blood pressure for over 70 years. Is this super woman or what?
But mom is like the Duracell Bunny she just keeps on going, she is not slowing down for anything or anyone. She jumps in any car that stops to pick her up, if I wake her up she can be ready to hit the road within a short amount of time considering it takes some young folks at least two hours to get ready to go somewhere. I make plans with the grand daughter at least a day in advance, she does nothing on the spur of the moment but mom, that's another story just say the word go and she's off and running, well, you know what I mean, you don't "run" in a walker. LOL
Mom and I just recently complete 40 hand made quilts which was her idea and she began making them first and then I pitched in to help because there is so much that she can't do like threading needles, keeping her machine in running order, heavy lifting and the finished quilt is too heavy for her to maneuver so I did the hemming etc, but the initial idea was hers. Some of them we gave to an organization that helps needy families and some of them will be sold by our local church for World Missions.
Mom inspires me everyday when I watch her in her daily routine, she gives me the strength to know that if she can do it so can I. So when I get the notion that I should pity myself I think again and look at her who lets nothing stop her but faces every day with a gusto that only she can. It's not easy, don't ever think that, life for her is hard, she struggles, she's in pain constantly but she is in determination mode most of the time and that keeps her going. At 95 she is determined to take life by the throat and squeeze everything that she can from it. May I be half the woman she is and may that determination be left to me as a legacy of the life that she lived.
But for now I will glean the inspiration that she radiates and use it as a motivator in my own life. I've had some challenges in life but by watching her I know that overcoming is the name of the game. I've learned that if you don't take control of life it will take control of you and in respect to my own life I want to be a control freak.
Yes, inspiration is a good name for mom, and boy does she do it well. Love ye Mom! Love Ye!
Happy Mother's Day
Granny here, Just saying!
I'm writing my Mother's Day message a little early but the meaning will be the same. I will be paying tribute to my own mother who is turning 95 on March 26. If I could give her another name it would be Inspiration, because that is what she has become to me and maybe lots of others too.
I have been mom's companion for most of my adult life since she never learned to drive and daddy hated cars so rarely did he own one. We have been the best of friends doing almost everything together. In her younger days my husband Scott and I rarely went anywhere without her, we have always lived close to each other. I ate dinner at her house every Sunday as long as she was able to cook Sunday dinner. For the last 17 years she has lived next door to me here in Cleveland Tn. I have become her caretaker so to speak although she is pretty good at taking care of her personal self I do all the incidentals that happen to come up. There was a two year interval where she decided to go back to Ohio and live around my three siblings up there but that didn't last the attachment was too strong and she returned.
We have recently sold our old places and moved in together for the convenience especially for me since I am a widow now and have the sole responsibility for myself and mom since she chooses to stay close to me although I do get assistance when needed from two other sisters that live close enough to pitch in.
Mom is old, blind in one eye, confined to a walker if she moves about, has vertigo at least one day a week, arthritis, congestive heart failure, one artificial hip and a titanium rod in the other, 5 stents in her heart and I'm sure some hidden issues that we are not aware of. She has had her gall bladder removed, her female organs removed, a broken hip, a broken arm, 4 angioplasties, a heart catheterization, 2 hip surgeries, 6 children, and high blood pressure for over 70 years. Is this super woman or what?
But mom is like the Duracell Bunny she just keeps on going, she is not slowing down for anything or anyone. She jumps in any car that stops to pick her up, if I wake her up she can be ready to hit the road within a short amount of time considering it takes some young folks at least two hours to get ready to go somewhere. I make plans with the grand daughter at least a day in advance, she does nothing on the spur of the moment but mom, that's another story just say the word go and she's off and running, well, you know what I mean, you don't "run" in a walker. LOL
Mom and I just recently complete 40 hand made quilts which was her idea and she began making them first and then I pitched in to help because there is so much that she can't do like threading needles, keeping her machine in running order, heavy lifting and the finished quilt is too heavy for her to maneuver so I did the hemming etc, but the initial idea was hers. Some of them we gave to an organization that helps needy families and some of them will be sold by our local church for World Missions.
Mom inspires me everyday when I watch her in her daily routine, she gives me the strength to know that if she can do it so can I. So when I get the notion that I should pity myself I think again and look at her who lets nothing stop her but faces every day with a gusto that only she can. It's not easy, don't ever think that, life for her is hard, she struggles, she's in pain constantly but she is in determination mode most of the time and that keeps her going. At 95 she is determined to take life by the throat and squeeze everything that she can from it. May I be half the woman she is and may that determination be left to me as a legacy of the life that she lived.
But for now I will glean the inspiration that she radiates and use it as a motivator in my own life. I've had some challenges in life but by watching her I know that overcoming is the name of the game. I've learned that if you don't take control of life it will take control of you and in respect to my own life I want to be a control freak.
Yes, inspiration is a good name for mom, and boy does she do it well. Love ye Mom! Love Ye!
Happy Mother's Day
Granny here, Just saying!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Nothingness
Granny here,
Nothingness, is that a word, I don't know about that but it sure is the state of a lot of people these days.
Seems that in today's world of technology many people find themselves with nothing to do, nowhere to go and no one to do anything with if there was that much to do.
Seems to me that the day of wanting to spend time with your family or your friends instead of gadgetry has long passed. I see a society that can't stand for others to invade their space, take up their time that they would rather spend with the "I's" in their life, by that I mean IPhone, IPad, IPod, and (I'm sure there are some "I's" that I don't know about ) who knew that I would become so important?
In years gone by our time was spent with each other sharing our lives in a way that this generation will never know nor understand. It was a time when one never felt alone or deserted by those they considered family and friends. In today's world if one can hold on to one or two people that are a constant part of their lives they have accomplished more than most.
Grandchildren use to respect their grandparents holding them in high esteem and looking to them for love and consideration. Now a days grandparents are lucky if they see their grandchildren on holidays and special occasions unless they are raising them which is too often the case. Adult grandchildren often leave the grandparents in the past while they are moving into their future which is true of adult children too in many cases.
I can remember a time when children had a favorite aunt, uncle, cousin and now sometimes they don't even know who these people are because they spend all their time with some form of technology. If they can't hold it in their hand they considerate it and old fashioned concept.
Well, I am here to remind you that there are too many things that technology can't do. It can't console you when your heart is broken, it can't see the hurt in your eyes when life is going bad, it can't take you in it's arms and tell you that no matter what you are loved, yes, technology has it's place in today's world but it's not to take the place of each other leaving us in a state of nothingness.
Granny here, just saying!
Nothingness, is that a word, I don't know about that but it sure is the state of a lot of people these days.
Seems that in today's world of technology many people find themselves with nothing to do, nowhere to go and no one to do anything with if there was that much to do.
Seems to me that the day of wanting to spend time with your family or your friends instead of gadgetry has long passed. I see a society that can't stand for others to invade their space, take up their time that they would rather spend with the "I's" in their life, by that I mean IPhone, IPad, IPod, and (I'm sure there are some "I's" that I don't know about ) who knew that I would become so important?
In years gone by our time was spent with each other sharing our lives in a way that this generation will never know nor understand. It was a time when one never felt alone or deserted by those they considered family and friends. In today's world if one can hold on to one or two people that are a constant part of their lives they have accomplished more than most.
Grandchildren use to respect their grandparents holding them in high esteem and looking to them for love and consideration. Now a days grandparents are lucky if they see their grandchildren on holidays and special occasions unless they are raising them which is too often the case. Adult grandchildren often leave the grandparents in the past while they are moving into their future which is true of adult children too in many cases.
I can remember a time when children had a favorite aunt, uncle, cousin and now sometimes they don't even know who these people are because they spend all their time with some form of technology. If they can't hold it in their hand they considerate it and old fashioned concept.
Well, I am here to remind you that there are too many things that technology can't do. It can't console you when your heart is broken, it can't see the hurt in your eyes when life is going bad, it can't take you in it's arms and tell you that no matter what you are loved, yes, technology has it's place in today's world but it's not to take the place of each other leaving us in a state of nothingness.
Granny here, just saying!
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