God blessed me with two wonderful Thanksgiving meals this past week and I am so grateful for it. I missed seeing my mother’s face and eating her cooking, but I know that she was there with us at both events. Life will never be the same, but I will always be grateful for the family that is still with me on this earth. It’s now time to pull out all of my Christmas decorations and get busy decorating to celebrate the greatest birthday ever!
Since my little family celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday, I wasn’t able to attend church and see my two sisters that decided to take the plunge and get baptized. Shonda Kendall and Anna Bardo, I am so proud of the growth and dedication that I have been seeing you make in the Lord. He is this world’s only answer to all of the sin and evil that is running rampant on earth these days. I’m not a saint by any means, but I am striving to make it to Heaven and the need to go gets stronger every day.
My husband, Keith, and his brothers made it back to Mississippi from their sister’s house in Texas and I was so glad that they didn’t have any complications. Most of the time, I want to strangle his neck, but absence really does make the heart grow fonder because when he made it to the house, all I wanted to do was squeeze him! He is another blessing from God that I didn’t deserve. God will be good to us if we will let Him.
I was so sad to hear of the passing of an old friend and classmate, Kevin Hodges, this past week. He was one of the good guys and he will be greatly missed. He gave so much of himself to his family and community. You never saw him without a smile on his face! Please be in prayer for his family and friends during this holiday season. It’s so hard not to question God about things that happen that hurt us so badly, but remember that God has a plan and he never makes mistakes.
This is going to be a very busy week for me. Since obtaining the old Cascilla store, I have been very busy trying to get it cleaned and stocked and ready to open this coming weekend. A lot of people have been asking about it and seem to be just as excited as I am that we will have another store out here in Cascilla. My plans are to have general merchandise so it will maybe save some of us out here in the sticks a trip to town and a few dollars on this expensive gas. Also located inside will be Sherry Joe’s! We will be serving our community with different buffet- style foods on the weekends and things like burgers and fries and fast foods during the week. I want it to be a place where the people can come sit and visit with their friends and neighbors and drink a good cup of coffee and eat a home-cooked meal. I will keep everyone updated on the goings-on because I surely would like to see each and every one of you come by and grab a bite to eat and keep me updated on what’s going on in your life.
Not only am I going to be busy with the store, but I plan on being a part of the Charleston parade on Dec.10. I’ve wrangled my daughter, Fallon, into helping me decorate a float and I know that we are going to have a blast! Remember, if any of my Cascilla babies want to participate, give me a call or send me a message and I will be happy to let you ride the float. The theme will be “A Toyland Christmas,” so I am asking that the children either dress up as a toy or wear some warm pajamas and bring a toy and a bag of candy with them. I think it is going to be so much fun!
On a more serious note, I want to remind you that no one is promised tomorrow, Get your heart right with God now while you still can. There is no sin that you have committed that God cannot erase. I, myself, have been such a sinner, but when I walked down that aisle at New Bethel Holiness, bent down in that altar and cried out to God, I felt Him wash all of the ugly away. It was just that easy. So make a decision to do better and secure your heavenly home. You don’t have to have a down payment for your mansion. Jesus already paid the price.
