It wasn't the house that built me, it's the life that built me...

Warning: I'm kinda wordy today.... Lately I've been reminiscing, thinking about the different times in my life.  What each of those times brought/gave/mean to/taught me. It's funny how Facebook has given us the ability to stay connected or at least "spy on from a distance" people from our past!

 Let's take it all the way back... Birth - 10:  My family was building our house when I was born. So my very first house was 1420 - The house I would eventually move back to and the house I will always think of as "Home".  Then we moved out to the country. I was raised on a small farm, we had a decent sized garden, pigs, goats, chickens, horses, cows, dogs and I think there may have been a cat or two and Lambinata... my sheep (she was a stuffed animal, but I loved her just as much as my live "pets"). Even though we had a Marlow address (Rt 2 Box 174 Marlow Ok 73055 - Isn't it weird how an address I haven't had since I was almost 10 still sticks in my brain) I went to Duncan schools and even though Plato was the closest school to me, I went to Horace Mann. How much different would my life have been if I had gone somewhere else??  Well let's see, my amazing husband also went to Horace Mann... If I'd have gone to Marlow, I likely would never have met him.  If I'd have gone to Plato, we wouldn't have the funny stories about how he used to ride his bike past my house just waiting for the day I might actually wave or acknowledge him or how he used to try to convince a mutual friend to talk me into just giving him a chance.  (By the way... I didn't do either, until we were both almost 30 years old... shoulda listened to my Momma when she said that David kid was gonna grow up to be handsome and smart and that I should really pay attention to him [actually I shoulda listened to my Momma more on LOTS of things, but that's a whole nother blog for a different day]) Okay, back to my childhood... I grew up in the country as an only child... I LOVED it. I remember spending days in the field around our house, I remember my lovely old neighbors the Ivy's, I remember going up to the Tilly's Dairy just up the hill, I remember one day I ran away - to the middle bedroom and hid under the new plants for the garden that my dad had growing in there.  I remember the howl of coyotes in the pasture and woods that surrounded part of our house.  I remember the pond freezing enough for us to ice skate in our boots.  When we first moved out there we had a small back porch, I remember when we closed it in and made a small sun/playroom there.  I had a chalkboard and would gather all my toys and we'd have church or school whatever I felt like teaching that day. I had long blonde hair that my Momma would put up in pig tails or braids often.  Or sometimes she would curl it and feather it and it had a very Charlies Angles look to it with those dreadful bangs that looked like a cinnamon roll made out of hair (part of it curled back part of it curled forward and all of it teased).  We hooked a sled up to a tractor and rode around the whole mile section one year... I got chicken pox the next day, I was convinced that it was because of that sled ride.  My favorite place to be was at my Me-me and Pa-pa's house in Lawton.  The church parsonage next to what is in my opinion the best little church ever - Lawton Heights Church of the Nazarene.  I loved going to Safeway with my Me-me in their gray 1981 Cadillac we had so much fun together and I would play hide and seek and she would pretend to be scared when I jumped out of my hiding spot and said boo!!  The church was just through the gate in the back yard, and I loved going to "study" with my Pa-pa.  Basically that meant he was in his study and I roamed around the church and played with the sound equipment and most likely held some "sing-sparations" all by myself.  I loved getting to help my Me-me put up all her mauve and gold Christmas decorations and on Christmas, Jamie would always recite like half of the book of Luke (I was just a tad envious that she could remember all that and was younger than me) and everyone at the church was family... not family by blood (although many of them were related) but we may as well have been, I still to this day love each and every one of them dearly, dearly, dearly.  I loved going to stay with Phil and Brenda, the sunroom and the giant upside down Christmas tree (way before anyone else was doing it) and the BIG dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches. In the summer Shawn and Ilena and Tracy would come visit too and we'd all have a great time together.  Our trips to Walters, and the very first time I met HIM... the boy who will always live on a pedestal.  He sure wasn't perfect, he was rotten and made me completely crazy, but he was beautiful... I was 5 and I was completely taken by him then... his blue eyes were stunning and his blonde hair was just perfect.  He was 6.  He was at his grandma's and me and my grandma had gone for a visit.  I'm quite sure we made time to see Cricket and Wesley too. But Wesley and Cricket weren't my favorite people to visit anymore... I'd much rather go see if that boy was at his grandma's house again... Then there was church camp in Anadarko, the best things about it was: HE would be there, everyone knew I was Bill's granddaughter and treated me accordingly (yes, I loved that), fresh rolls in the kitchen, seeing Rosa, the snack shack, the "mountain" hikes, knowing that these were the three weeks that I would get to see all the people I didn't get to see often, the Campbell family, the Murray's (that younger one sure put a smile on my face... John David - you were pretty awesome too though).  Playing "Infiltration" in the middle of the night on the last night of teen camp, dropping water balloons on people from the empty rooms above the cafeteria, saran wrapping that poor Mark kid to the tree EVERY year.  The Collegians - I thought they were the most amazing group of singers ever, plus they said I was a mini Sandi Patty well one of them called me Little Debbie Gibson (that was soooo cool).  The GIANT blue waterslide that always caused some kind of injury but it was SO much fun!  Playing in the mud next to the tabernacle while services were going on.  Bon fires at the bottom of the mountain. The year they built the "new" girls dorm.  Some of the best memories of my childhood came from Anadarko. Back at home in real life, I'd have to go back to school and I couldn't wait to see Whitney and hear how her latest trip to Utah had been.  Spending the night with Whitney, Pam, Jaclyn, Jana or one of my other adorable grade school buddies or having them come out for big slumber parties, thinking that if we didn't get Michael, Clay, Brad, or Chris' jersey to wear our life was completely over.  I loved getting to go on the paper route with Mom. My favorite time was Christmas Eve morning...  We'd deliver a night paper and we'd take our time and sing every Christmas song that came on the radio. Most days the paper route was so much fun!  I liked getting to spend that time with my momma, just me and her.  Just before I turned 10 my parent's divorced and to town I went.  We moved into an apartment for a while, where we met people like Greg McCann and Jessica Baker, I thought they were sooo cool and we had cookouts by the pool a few times!!!  I honestly don't remember much else about living there.  Actually I don't really remember much else about my childhood... I was too small to make huge life changing mistakes, I was learning to find out the things I liked and didn't. I was given my foundation.  That boy would pop in and out of my life for the next few years... running into each other at church camp, visiting each other with family, we didn't say much, usually we'd just sit outside and stare at each other.  Weird how not much is changed... I still go to Walters sometimes and sit and stare at him...

Here's what that season of my life gave me: 
     *I learned to love the country, I'd rather be in the country than in town any day.
     *I was blessed with an amazing family who loved me and cared enough to teach me about
          God and right from wrong.
     *I am learning: God's sovereignty is just plumb amazing when you step back and look at things
          from a distance and see how he's always been there working in the background.
     *I was given lots of friends. (Many of them are still great friends to me.)
     *I have a selective memory... for real.
     *It meant I would have a heartbreak like no other... we just haven't heard that yet.
     *Christmas is my favorite time of year.  Not the commercialism, not Santa, but the fun of
          decorating with your family.  The music is the best.  The lights.  The ultimate meaning.
     *I know that as an adult I am thankful for every aspect of my childhood.  Those first 10
          years of my life are a major part of what made me who I am got me where I am today.
     *Church camp was FULL of amazing memories for me
    
     
Tune in next time to see where the next 5 years takes me...

So, I forget a lot...

I forget lots of things... like this blog for instance... it seems to escape my thoughts for several months at a time.  When I do think about it, it's always at the most inopportune times and then I forget again.  I forget where I put my keys, my purse, my glasses (always with the glasses), I forget to put the meat out to thaw for dinner, I forget to get the clothes out of the washer... sometimes I forget to push start on the dryer... that one just floors me.  How exactly does one forget to start the dryer that you just filled up?  I have a terrible memory, if I see you somewhere and I should know your name, chances are... I've forgotten it.  I never forget a face, but a name... well I probably forgot your name before we finished our conversation when we first met.  Yes, it really is THAT bad.  Of all the things I forget to do, or forget to say, or forget about... there is one thing I have been good about not forgetting lately.  Spending time reading my bible.  I've taken to posting about the things I read on Facebook.  Sometimes it turns into a mini sermon, sometimes I cheat and use a quote that goes along with what I read and that's it.  Each weekday starts the same, if I wake up early enough I will read first thing, sometimes I get the kids to school and come home and read... but either way, computers don't get turned on, no television is watched, the only cell phone usage that is allowed (other than receiving phone calls) is to check the weather, a cup of decaf coffee or a bottle of water and a few minutes of time with God in his word.

Here's how it all started:  I woke up one morning and reached for my phone.  (I have a very serious love - hate relationship with this instrument of technology.) I immediately went to Facebook to check the red numbers and see what all was happening in everyone's worlds so far.  {Brutal honesty moment:  How in the world can there be that much drama by 6:45 in the morning???} Annnnd,  You all know what I mean about the red numbers... those tiny little bubbles that somehow make us feel special?  Kinda sad, but oh so true.  So, I get on and it hits me... holy cow, this is seriously how I start my day?  I haven't even pulled my squished hair head off my pillow, my warm tootsies haven't touched the floor, my morning breath hasn't yet been chased away by my Mentadent... I haven't even said good morning to my three favorite human beings or thanked God for the answered prayers from the night before... but yet I checked my Facebook???  That's an issue.  A serious, serious issue.  I had let Facebook become an idol in my life.  I was seeking affirmation from the 950+ "friends" on there!  And that morning I decided something had to change.  So I made up my mind I would NOT FORGET to spend time with God before concerning myself with any external world stuff... otherwise known as, media - in any form.  I have noticed that there are days where I don't even think about getting on social media anything unless God has put something on my heart and I want to share it!  Sometimes I get on just because I have work stuff to take care of and I don't even bother with reading all the posts on the newsfeed! Victory!!!  Yes!!!  God has helped me have the strength to dethrone that idol and I am so thankful for that! 

Here's what I'd like to see happen, if you see me out and about somewhere, ask what I read about that morning!  Help keep me accountable, lest I FORGET!!! 

EEEEEAK... We've all been running around half naked!!!!

Sooooooo, yeah... let me just be the first to say that I'm a total blogging failure!!!  Three posts in like three years! Wow... that's good stuff right there. 

Now to ease everyone who's near a heart attack from the title of my post...  I don't mean naked in a literal way, I mean, c'mon man that's a scary thought!!! I mean it in a biblical/theoretical sense. You see, I've spent more time than usual pouring over my Bible, really looking to see what the scriptures say, what God is trying to teach me.  It started because I was looking for answers to some questions that are to personal to be aired out on a blog, and began to see that not only am totally inept when it comes to actually sitting down and taking the time to post something.... there are many other areas in my life that I have regrettably become a  (dun - dun - dun) slacker.  I've failed to clothe myself in a manner according to scripture...  
Colossians 3:12-14 says "12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. "

Clothe yourself in these virtues, I know I'm not very good at wearing all of those all the time, are you? Okay,  let's just look and see exactly what each of these mean:

*Compassion - A feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc.

*Kindness -  having or showing a gentle nature and a desire to help others : wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others

*Humility - the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people : the quality or state of being humble

*Gentleness - having or showing a kind and quiet nature : not harsh or violent : not hard or forceful : not strong or harsh in effect or quality

*Patience - able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with problems or difficult people : done in a careful way over a long period of time without hurrying

*Forgive -  to stop feeling anger toward (someone who has done something wrong) : to stop blaming (someone) : to stop feeling anger about (something) : to forgive someone for (something wrong) : to stop requiring payment of (money that is owed)

*Love -  strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties  :  affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interest:  an assurance of affection : warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion :  unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1) :  the fatherly concern of God for humankind(2) :  brotherly concern for others

All these definitions come straight from good old Merriam Webster.  I'm wondering, how well do we clothe ourselves in these?  I'm curious to see what/where we see a lacking in the lives of the Christians around us.  As we put on the "full armor of God" are we forgetting all the things that go underneath? Are we going to church without our shirt of patience? Do we respond to unbelievers without our hood of gentleness? The homeless man on the corner we pass everyday... did we remember to put on our socks of compassion and humility? How about the pants of forgiveness when dealing with that family member that wronged you? Or the skirt of Kindness as it applies to the children in our lives?  Oh and lest we forget the trench coat of love??  You know that one that covers a multitude of sins.... did we leave it hanging on the coat rack this morning?  Or do you have it tightly buttoned around you warming you and the lives of those you come in contact with?  

Don't forget to participate in my little survey on the right... you can mark multiple answers!!

Less is not more... let's all make sure we get all of our clothes on today!!! 

God Bless and Good Day!