Alabama, Tornadoes, and Quilting

My mind has been in Alabama tonight. It's amazing how quilting can bring you together even in the worst of circumstances. When my husband was in the military, my oldest daughter and I would travel back and forth between Georgia, Louisiana, and Arkansas. If we were headed to Arkansas, our route took us through Tennessee. If we were headed to Louisiana, we went through Alabama and Mississippi.

And I knew where all the GOOD quilt shops were located on both routes.

One particular day really stands out in my mind. I believe we had stopped at Heart to Heart Quilt Shop in Pell City, AL. It was right after lunch, and we needed a stretch break. We got out, we looked at all the pretty fabric. And then the tornado sirens went off.

The owner was fantastic. She let us stay in the store as long as we needed. We listened to the radio, and she was able to say, "that one was to the north of us," or "that was to the east of us." Then there was "that one just landed where you came from," and then "that one is south of us."

At one point, we were all in the back room, under her longarm quilting machine. My baby was wedged up right next to the bolt of batting. I believe the final count that day was 7 tornadoes in the area. And interestingly, I was able to look up on a chart later, and it turned out that that month of that year (2003 I think) in that spot had the most tornado activity of the whole year. (I had to look it up because Dale thought I had panicked.)

Quilting is more than the fabric and thread. Quilting is what brings us together and makes us friends. I haven't had the chance to go back, but I sincerely hope and pray that they are safe tonight.

Hugs,

Melinda

Duh!

"Church" is not the same as God!

Why is that something I should know but didn't realize? I'm going to be thinking of this for a while, but I wanted to share with you.

Hugs,
Melinda

Comment Posting

FYI, I just thought I'd let everyone know that I've been getting some spam comments on my blog. I've turned on full comment moderation until they cease. Until then, if you don't see your comment, don't worry. I'll post it soon enough.

My Nana

Please scroll down to find the post that goes with this picture. Thank you.

Hugs,
Melinda

Things to consider when getting a dog

I've talked about Nana before, and I'm going to post a picture in just a minute. Nana is a good dog. Nana is a BIG dog.

Nana is my first dog.

Well, sort of. We had an Old English Sheepdog when I was growing up, but she was an outside dog, and I don't think we took as good a care of her as she needed/deserved. I don't really remember much about her. Feel free to ask me about Sugar sometime.

Nana is the first dog that I've owned.

There are several things that they forget to tell you when you purchase a dog (and I'm using they as a generic term referencing vets, friends with dogs, shelters, pet stores, and anyone who should know to tell you these things). Such as... "Dogs have fur. Their fur in the winter is considerably MORE than their fur in the summer. Expect a lot of this fur to come off in the spring."

Or how about this one? "Big dog = Big poop = BIG smell." Or shoot, they even forget to tell you what to do with the poop once you've picked it up. Or that dogs fart. :S

Let's see, what else. Oh, there's "all dogs like to chew, so make sure you don't leave your good footwear out." To which I would add, "or comfortable footwear, either."

There's this classic line they forgot to tell me. "You need to invest in a tennis ball factory. And a dog food factory."

They absolutely forget to tell you that training can be valuable and fun. But then, they also forgot to tell me that my 5 year old wouldn't really understand it.

Oh, we now know about dog naps (as opposed to cat naps, which we already knew about). But they forgot to tell me how much having a dog is like having a toddler sometimes. That's the one they really shouldn't have forgotten to tell me. lol

But I think the most important thing they forgot to tell me is how much I would love this dog. How much she smiles (and yes, Nana smiles). How much joy she has brought to my life. No, she's not one of my kids, but she really has added to our family, and I thank God that we waited for her. She's perfect for us.

Hugs from our pound,

Melinda

P.S. As a little side note, we rescued Nana from an animal shelter. If you are considering getting an animal, please check your local shelter first. You'll never know what gems you'll find there. And in most cases, the cost from a shelter is considerably less than a purebred.

Punctuality

Why are we at a place in this world that we don't respect other people's time? I am sitting here waiting on a sales person who told me he would be here at 2:00. It's 2:45. He has not called to tell me that he would be late.

Earlier this morning, I was expecting a sales person between 9:30 and 10. The person called at 8:15 and said that he was running early, could he come buy at 8:45? It wouldn't have been a problem except that I have a hard time getting my brain to work before 9:00 and a cup of coffee.

I know several people that if I want them at my house at 9:00, then I have to tell them to be there at 8:30 just so they might show up by 9:15. Personally, I try to arrive about 5-10 minutes early. Any earlier than that could also be considered rude.

Why do we not consider other people when we are scheduled to go somewhere? Their time is just as valuable as ours. And if you are a sales rep, then you need to consider that their time is MORE valuable than yours.

I'm sorry. I'm extremely frustrated with the lack of manners that has seemed to explode lately.

Hugs,

Melinda

Control

The preacher asked a question this past week that I had been thinking about. What area of your life does God need to touch and fix and have total control?

My immediate response was, "but I don't want to admit that!" If I admit it, then I admit I have a problem that needs fixing, which means I'm not in control. If I have something that needs to be fixed, then my life is not perfect. No. I would rather pretend that there is no problem, that everything is a-okay, that I am in control. I am happy in my denial.

WAKE UP!

That is not what being a Christian is. If we can't give God control of our lives, if we can't surrender everything to Him... No. If *I* can't surrender everything to Him, even my control, have I really surrendered anything? God wants our total dependence upon Him. The verse in Matthew says that those who are like children shall see God. It isn't their innocence. It's their dependence upon Him.

God wants every part of our lives. He wants our control, He wants the part of your life that you don't even want to admit you need help with. Are you ready? Are you ready to give Him everything? Are you ready to surrender control?

Ezekiel 37:1-ff
Matthew 18:3-4

Hugs,
Melinda

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