Wednesday Hodge Podge

1. Besides your very own house, describe a place where you feel most 'at home'?  I  had to give this one a lot of consideration...  It was a toss up  between my daughter's home   which I dearly love...  being with her and her  precious  tots...  her new home..to them...   during this   most exciting time of making it their own...

But, as far as feeling truly at home...  Id have to say it is my friend, Lynne's, home.It is  a very sweet and comfortable home...  but that isn't why I feel so at home there..  I  truly feel  a blessing there  that comes from why we Prayer Gals gather there.... to  seek the  face of God...  His presence is  there  and  it is  a tangible presence... I believe for the most part many of us gals  cut our teeth on corporate prayer there...  learned to hear the  Spirit  urging and leading us.. and it is the closest place to heaven I know beside our own home.

2. When did you last 'hit a home run' with something? Explain.I  suppose to was today...you see last week as small group leader I was  really excited that our study was opening  a segment of God's Word that is so rarely  discussed,  but  the  Charismatic in me  really longed to get to this topic and  teach the powerful dynamic of it...  the laying on of hands  by  God's spirit...  in Beth Moore's study, Entrusted! You see, a while back a dear friend  asked if he could lay hands on a classmate in the church  to pray for  a lady's healing and she was so offended she went to the pastor to  report   my friend...who was called in,,  rebuked.. and  subsequently left the church...my, my my  so much misunderstanding  in the church today... It was  my deepest wish to  shed  scriptural light on this  important  issue,  when a lady in my group   suddenly took the  negativity  route  pressing  her  disbelief into the  lesson..  squandering our time    and  all the  extra  study I had  done to  demonstrate it's need  in church...   at any rate.. I became impatient   with this  lady and  pushed my book  toward  her, I  said, " Perhaps you would like to go ahead and teach"... oh the  devil had a hold of me...  and it showed... All week I  sought  God and  knew that I had to humble myself before the group today  in apology and  explanation...  and  ask forgiveness..  Amazing to say the least  our  first text in  class  came from 2Timothy 4:2

2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.  

At any rate,   The ladies  said  I basically hit the ball out of the park in my humility and  willingness to demonstrate  the lesson in  the most powerful way...  by  living it  before others.

3. Tell us about something you love in your house or kitchen that is 'homemade'. Last year  for Christmas,  Amanda, my daughter  had a very special gift made for me...  One of my favorite bloggers is someone we all know... Ann Voskamp,  author of 1000 Gifts...  Her book is one of my very favorites  and I gave it to Amanda a few years ago.. A word Ann  uses  in the book  to express her heart  back to God for the  gifts He provides throughout  our days..   is used  to  describe the tiniest  thing like a dew drop on a leaf 

to  the  magnitude of  the prairie moonrise

The word in the Greek:  Giving  thanks to God!!

4. 'A man's home is his castle'...which of the world's ten most captivating castles (according to The Travel Channel) would you most like to visit and why-

Mont Saint-Michel (France), Edinburgh Castle (Scotland), Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany), Glamis Castle (Scotland), Windsor Castle (England), Chateau de Chambord (France), Hampton Court Palace (England), Prague Castle (Prague), St. Michael's Mount (England), Leeds Castle (England), and Swallow's Nest (Ukraine)

Without a doubt it would be  Glamis Castle, home of the Queen Mother..  mother of Queen Elizabeth.

The Strathmore Estate The Strathmore Estate lies nestled at the heart of the Vale of Strathmore in Angus, Scotland and has been in the Lyon family since 1372, when Sir John Lyon was granted the Thaneage of Glamis by King Robert II.

    

  

   

I have been planning a tour of Scotland for some time and Glamis is definitely on my bucket list..  not only for the  beauty, but  for the fascinating history!

5. What's a recent or upcoming plan or project that's required you do a little homework before getting started? Did the homework cause you to abandon your plan or adjust it in some way?

This would definitely be the sewing project I  have been putting off now for months.. ever since March when dearest bought me a sewing machine for our anniversary...  I have plans to make  Christmas presents for the tots...   and  that necessarily means  boning up on my sewing skills that I haven't really used since  Amanda was a tot herself...  Oh me!!!   And to think I  actually made a  lovely  suit and modeled it in the 8th grade  Home Ec. class fashion class for our  school...  Those must be the good days of yore I keep hearing about.

6. In your opinion, is homework an unnecessary evil or a valuable practise? Should schools be done with homework? Why or why not?

Absolutely homework is very important. I taught school for  30 years....  8 and 9 year olds...  and they needed to practise what they learned that day...  especially in  math and  English... Not  a zillion problems,    but something to show they  had a good grasp of the concepts.  Many times they needed parental  reinforcement..  which I  valued because  it connected  the parents to what the children were learning..  But homework shouldn't be so lengthy it robs  the family of time together!

7. Share a favorite memory of your childhood hometown.

I grew up  in the Star City of the South..

and it was  famous for the  beautiful Mill Mountain Star  situated on one of Blue Ridge  mountains  that rimmed the city..

Many a picnic  was  held here atop  the mountain  because the view  of our fair city  is so magnificent.

But as a youngster  my favorite thing to do was  go to the zoo  right on top of that mountain...

We  got to ride the train..

and back then  the  zoo theme was nursery rhymes

  I can remember   wearing my  circus striped  playsuit on hot days when we'd  drive up to the zoo  to see and get to pet some of the farm animals  and then  quake in my  tennis shoes  when I saw the elephant,  giraffe, and tiger!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am so excited for our hostess,Joyce,  as she gets to move into her long awaited new home...  What a thrill... moving is a daunting task to say the least and   hubs and I  are always thinking  it is  getting time to think about down sizing..  well, almost past time.. but  does one ever get  their  now home  fully ready to put it on the market..  We need to redo a bathroom.. and  redo the basement...  paint,  new floors,,  clear out a ton of stuff we would never consider  taking with us...  why, oh, why do we keep the  stuff we keep!!!  Well,   blessings to  you, Joyce,, may  this new beginning bring  great happiness and joy!!!