Teresa's Treasures

I've had a daughter-in-law for almost eight years now. Last week she and I were talking about why we got along so well, when so many mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law do not. From my perspective, here are some reasons I believe Kelly and I do. 1) Before I even knew Kelly I prayed for her. 2) I believe God answers my prayers. 3) I believe God answers my prayers with the perfect answer. 4) I trust God with His answers. 5) I believe Kelly was made just for David. 6) I believe David was made just for her. 7) I believe God knows more about my children than I do. 8) I believe God gives my children just exactly what they need while I want to give them just exactly what I want them to have. 9) I knew David was not my own. 10) I raised David knowing he was a gift from God. 11) I knew that if David was a gift from God He could give Him away again. 12) I knew that God could give this gift to anyone He chose. 13) I knew that God would likely give him to another woman. 14) I knew that that wo

For two days this week, I did yard work. Two sides of our house, the right side and the back had not been landscaped since we bought the house three years ago. Oh, I've kept the bushes trimmed, but never really given them the manicure they've needed. They've just been out of sight/out of mind. I've kept the front looking fairly well and the other side, that has all the air conditioner "stuff" in it, is hidden by a big bush, so all my efforts really had to go into caring for the right side and back, which, definitely had been neglected. To say these two places needed attention is an understatement. To say these two spaces were eye sores is the truth. I knew what I had to do, but didn't want to do it. There's a difference between big weeds and little bitty weeds. With the little bitty weeds all I have to do is rub my hand over them, and they go away. But with the bigger weeds, especially the ones that are illegal, I have to use the spade to uproot them

I just had lunch with my sister and daughter-in-law at Zaxby's, where we meet sometimes to have a small reunion with our kids and grandkids. It's usually a spontaneous gathering, that is usually determined by the behavior of the kids on that particular day. Nevertheless, even with all the inconveniences they like to get together. Today was really no different than any other day, except that another little cousin came who usually doesn't. He came because my sister brought him and she tries to help his mom who needs help sometimes. One of the children has a mom, a dad and another mom. One of the children lives alone with his mom, but has a dad he's seen maybe twice. The other one has had only one set of parents and her homelife has, pretty much so, remained the same. When Bella, my granddaughter, saw me come into Zaxby's she lifted her hands, palms up and reached out and said "Hode. " "Hode." And I picked her up and held her. And nothing would have

After visiting Laura last week-end and going on a nature trail, I was so intrigued by the hummingbirds that I bought a feeder myself. I asked Phil to hang it on the shepherd's crook in our back yard, behind my kitchen window. And he did. I wanted two of them, but Phil said we'd see how long it took them to find this one. Oh! My! My! My! My My! In less than 24 hours we had hummingbirds...enough hummingbirds that I came up with this blog. I've named one of them KING TUT because he's the bully and thinks he's the leader. I've named another one of them ESTHER, because she's bullied by King Tut. The rest of the covey are THE OTHERS because there's just too many to give names to and they fly too quickly to know which is which. Okay. Here's the parable that I literally came up with in less than 10 minutes because I've seen it ALL MY LIFE. It is so similar to what happens in the CHURCH that I didn't even have to think about it. It just flowed. 1) Kin

In May, my daughter Laura, moved to Paducah, after living in Bowling Green all her life, with her husband, Clinton, whom she married eight months ago. I've had the privilege of visiting with them over the past two days and have enjoyed seeing the results of seeds that were sown in her youth, that have, now, grown to maturity. With so many of my "Friends" on Facebook experiencing, for the first time, what it feels like to have their little chicks "fly the nest" I want to share with you some of the things that happened to me in Paducah this week-end, that mimick what you may be going through, as your little chick starts to school. When I was almost to Laura's apartment, I called to be reassured I could find her. I had the directions from MapQuest, but I knew if she heard my voice telling her where I was, I could hear her voice, reassuring me I could find her. "Don't ever go beyond the sound of my voice." When I was almost to Laura's

Phil loves to watch lightning and the usual rain that comes with it. One day this Spring, we were outside in the front of our house and it started to rain...not the rain that drives you inside, but the rain that's rather nice and peaceful. I watched as the tree (actually the one we call the devil tree, because it spits these feathery things in the Fall that are impossible to clean up) filled up with water. I could not help but be reminded that trees and Christians have a lot in common. They need a constant source to feed them . "Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the Lord...He is like a tree planted by streams of water,"... Ps. 1:1, 2 One of the reasons a tree prospers is because it has a constant supply of water going to it. Jesus is our constant supply of water and if we keep drinking from Him we will be filled. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matt. 5:6 But because we keep emptying ourselv

I deal with pain everyday of my life. It comes either in emotional, physical or spiritual ways. There are at least two statements I've heard about it. Pain is weakness leaving the body and No pain/No gain. The first promise that God gave woman was that she would have pain. I guess that's why I have so much of it. When we go back and take pain to its furthest conclusion, pain came about because of man's sin in the garden. Before Adam and Eve sinned, there was no pain. It was something I could not imagine. But when man sinned and separated himself from God, He promised pain to the woman in childbirth and that man would work by the sweat of his brow. I have been asked, "how do you manage having pain all the time?" And I answer, "Because everytime I suffer, I know that I'm living the promise that man would have pain, and because of man's separation from God, I know that pain makes me aware of how much I need God's presence." Today, I was mowing

We had stood there maybe 10 minutes complaining that the clerks were so slow and speculating why. We agreed that this post office was slower than the other one, yet, we believed, this one had fewer customers. We wondered why they didn't call in more back-up help and why there seemed to be only two people working at any one time. Surely there were more workers, somewhere, at least during peak hours, which it was then. There were about 10 or more people in line, now, and the line was only getting longer. So we chimed in talking to the man in front of us, who was just as upset as we were. When I had first arrived, the woman in front of me said, "You might as well get in line, and just wait with the rest of us." Somehow, the post office just brings out the worst in people, but sometimes it brings out the best. She looked very tired, as I made it to the front of the line, and walked toward her. I told her I wanted a roll of stamps, the ones that are "forever" and ask

I've been so busy getting our house on Claiborne Court ready to go to auction that I've written hardly anything over the past month, so this is just sweet and simple, yet so profound. Listen with God's voice in mind. Bella loves steps, so this week I helped her go up a new one..........just one. I knew the step was larger than she had been used to , because I had seen her take other steps. I knew if she climbed it, she'd have to hold onto my hand. So I waited and I watched until she did. I knew if she was determined, together, we could climb the step, and I knew even beforehand that she would. I just knew that helping her climb the step would show her that she could. I knew there was only going to be one step and I knew this was going to be the one, but I knew if she successfully climbed it, she would want to climb more. I knew if she wanted to climb more, she would have to continue holding my hand. SO She looked up at me as if to say "I'm ready&qu

I just want to write to let you know life is sooooooooooooo busy for Phil and me, right now, so I haven't had the time to blog lately. I actually have at least 2 blogs up my sleeve and I'm anxious to share them with you...pictures and all. Our house on Claiborne Court is going back on the market this week-end and I am pleading with everyone reading this to pray for it to sell quickly. We plan on listing it for 4 months and then after that auctioning it. You almost always lose in an auction, so we'd like to go with selling it soon. Last week I trimmed the hedge in the front and Phil and I put down 1500 pounds of mulch. Gwynn Stewart showed it this week-end and it was in the top 3 of a couple that ultimately bought a house in the Briarwood area. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to take the wallpaper off of the dining room walls and will paint it sometime before Saturday, which is when we're listing it. The burning bushes in the back are about 12-15 feet tall, now, and I ne

Recently, while shopping at Wal-Mart, which is where I go EVERDAY to meet all my friends, :-) I heard a lady, in the customer service/return line, talking--no yelling--at her grandchild, which, no doubt to her, was her way of disciplining him. She said something like this: "ETHAN!" " Ethan, come here!" "Ethan...ETHAN... ETHAN COME HERE!" "What are you doing?" "Get back in this line!!!" "Ethan, I'm going to get you if you don't get back in this line." "Don't you act like that." "If you don't come here, I'm gonna get you." "Are you listening to me?" "Get yourself over here." "Leave that alone and get over here, right NOW!" And on and on she went. I knew by now that the little boy's name was obviously ETHAN and that he probably thought his last name was DON'T. I could understand why, if he did. So, to stop the scene, give the grandmother a break and g

Kelly has been teaching Bella sign language for some time now, to make communication between the two of them less frustrating for Bella...at least until her words "come in." The first sign that Kelly has taught her is MORE. It, typically, is taught by touching the ends of the fingers together, in a tapping motion, directly in front of you. Kelly has followed the rules by looking for the right time and being consistent, signing MORE over and over again in context, which is usually when Bella eats, as she is showing us when she wants MORE bread at Mariah's. And Bella's sign for MORE is arms completely crossed, moving them back and forth on top of each other. We have all been thrilled that Bella has learned the sign for MORE when she wants MORE food--especially bread. One day this week, David came home from work, and, as usual, picked Bella up to give her a hug. After he had hugged and hugged her, thinking it was enough, he handed her to Kelly, and started toward

Twenty-four years ago today, was one of the most beautiful days I can ever remember. Everyone was either making plans to watch or go to the Kentucky Derby or wondering how they could celebrate Cinco de Mayo. The morning fog lifted and a new day began, that revealed the beauty of Spring and celebrated God's handiwork. I was in awe of God's creation, but I was even more in awe that I was a part of it. God knew something very big was going to happen to us that day. And it did. You woke me up around 4:00 a.m., which you had done on several occasions, to go to the bathroom, and I sat there realizing that the nine months we had spent together was soon coming to an end. We had been inseparable, you and I. When you moved, I moved. When I moved, you moved. Coughing, kicking, sneezing, hiccoughing, stretching, yawning, tumbling--there was nothing we didn't do together. What you did, I did. What I did, you did. We were inseparable. Even though we could have lived apart, God knew we di

I like lists. Here's one on parenting. 1) Children don't go in straight lines. They change all the time. How your child acts today, may not be the way he acts tomorrow. 2) There are no mistakes in child rearing. Even the "bad" decisions we make and the "bad" things we regret doing, can be used to benefit us and to glorify God. 3) If we give our children to God, we will see them as a gift, both from Him and from us, rather than a possession. 4) If you can't be a "stay at home" mom, your child may be developing a relationship with his caregiver, that develops a trait, that will benefit him, in a way you haven't seen yet. 5) If it won't matter in five years, it doesn't matter. 6) Pick your battles. 7) Your child will be in diapers today and married tomorrow. 8) Great parents have rebellious children. 9) If a child grows up to ask questions and "leave" the church, he may be developing his "

Please don't think that because I'm writing a post about struggling as a mom I think I have all the answers; you and I both know I don't. But having been given permission by Melanie Smalling who wrote a blog entitled Struggling recently, I want to share with you some of my own personal experiences and "wisdom" that I have received over the last 27 years, that has helped me in my own struggles with raising children and with just what God expected of me when I was your age. So it is mostly with my heart, instead of my head that I write this entry about struggling. First of all, in paragraph two, Melanie starts with the words,  "I'm so tired. So is everyone else. I feel like God has been giving and giving and giving to me for so long through so many people and I should be so full of Him that it would be evident in my life. And then I look at my life and it's kind of the opposite. I still feel like I'm taking and taking and taking." When I wa