The Guest Bedroom at Rivermont

Because of recent speaking engagements I’ve had the opportunity to spend a few nights at Rivermont...the home my daughter and her husband share in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s a great big rambling house with huge rooms and a great history. The place was built around 1904 and has only had a few families make their home there. Hannah and James are currently remodeling the kitchen. (Our son-in-law is not afraid to tackle anything! And he does it all well! Can you tell I’m impressed by him?!?) If you’re interested in knowing more about the Slaughters, visit www.hannahandhusband.com

The furniture in their guest room was purchased in 1963. For a few years, it was in my parents’ bedroom...then it became my furniture! It’s built from a blonde, curly Maple that seems heavy as lead! I stood in front of that tall mirror on the dressing table to check myself out before school, church, dates, proms, etc. That table, bed, and nightstand remained in my room from the time I was a girl, and until I moved away from home. After our daughter was born, and my parents were retiring/downsizing, they gave it to her. Hannah slept in that bed for several years. She recuperated from scoliosis surgery in that bed at the age of 14…even attending classes at her middle school via the computer for three months! She did lots of studying, drawing, reading, talking on the phone, sleeping and dreaming in that bed...just like her mother did so many years before.

And now it’s in the guest room upstairs, ready to welcome the next one who’ll enjoy a wonderful night’s sleep in that bed! Pretty soon, though, it’ll be moved to a guest room downstairs because that room will become a nursery. That’s right. My baby is going to have a baby in late August.

And for a short while, that newborn baby will be sleeping in the cradle where Hannah’s paternal grandmother slept in 1915. Then, it will be sleeping in the oak crib Hannah slept in from 1985 to 1987.

We are beside ourselves with happiness for them...and for us! When they shared the news with us in February, my hubby looked down, patted his rounded belly and said, “I knew something must be going on because I’m already showing!!!”

We’re excited for our children. Wanted to share the news with you, so you could share the joy with us!




Remember...
If you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count!

Music is Powerful

Fleetwood Mac songs take me back to sitting across from Joe in a Pizza Hut in Big Stone Gap, Virginia...listening to all their tunes I’d punched into the Juke Box.

The Beach Boys’ music puts me back in McComb, Ohio where my sister and I would spray Sun-In on our hair, slather baby oil on our bodies and climb out my bedroom window onto the roof of the parsonage. The identical transistor radios we got for Christmas one year would be on each side of us so it was like listening in stereo. We’d lay there and cook (literally) till we couldn’t take any more sun, then climb back in with radios still on and dance around for a while as our skin cooled down.

Three Dog Night and Dan Fogelberg songs take me back to living with my sister in a trailer in Wilmore, Kentucky, where I’d stack the albums and listen for hours to the same songs over and over again.

The Carpenters? Well, I was a ‘Karen Carpenter wannabe’ and spent lots of time in my bedroom in Sabina, Ohio - trying to sound just like her. She was a drummer. I was a drummer (not a great one) in band, but had moved on to playing the guitar, so I tried to mimic her when I’d sing and play her songs.

I can hear songs on Sirius XM or on the radio today and tell you what years they were hits simply by going back in my mind to those years. It was a handy trick when I was working in radio and needed to know those sort of details. Now, it’s a handy trick with which to reminisce!

Hymns and sacred songs take me back to special moments, too. “Just As I Am” takes me to the age of 20 and an altar where my daddy knelt in front of me and asked if I was ready to say “yes” to Jesus. I was. And I did. Most recently, I’ve been singing around the house the song, “No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus.” You see, the last time I sang that song was in a trio with two special friends, Deb DeFine (left), and Ellen Seymore (center).

We grew up together attending a yearly campmeeting in Ohio. For friends who only saw each other once a year, we were pretty good to pick up right where we left off the last time...and run with it! Much laughter abounded when we three got together! It's in our DNA!



Here are the lyrics to the song:

I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus,

Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;

I would tell you how He changed my life completely,

He did something that no other friend could do.



No one ever cared for me like Jesus,

There's no other friend so kind as He;

No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,

O how much He cared for me.



All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me,

All my heart was full of misery and woe;

Jesus placed His strong and loving arms about me,

And He led me in the way I ought to go.



No one ever cared for me like Jesus,

There's no other friend so kind as He;

No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,

O how much He cared for me.



Ev'ry day He comes to me with new assurance,

More and more I understand His words of love;

But I'll never know just why He came to save me,

Till some day I see His blessed face above.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus,

There's no other friend so kind as He;

No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,

O how much He cared for me.



The words in the 3rd verse are the ones riding heavily on my mind today. That’s because Deb, whose voice is absolutely incredible, is getting to “see His blessed face above” this very day. She drew her last breath this morning just before 10:00, but her beautiful voice wasn't silenced. In fact, Deb is now blessing Jesus with her voice in total praise!

She hadn’t been sick long and this disease took her from us too quickly. When we talked on the phone last week for a bit, she asked me to pray with her before we said goodbye. I’m so thankful for those moments now! The song will now take me back to sweet memories of a dear friendship that’s lasted more than 50 years! I’ll bet my sister, Vangie, was waiting close by when Deb came through the gates...arms outstretched with a “Hi, Honeeeeeeey” for our buddy! She left too soon, as well. They’ll have lots of catching up to do.

Music is powerful.
Let music take you places...
Let music remind you...
Let music heal you…that's what it's doing for me today.




With every blog, I close with this challenge: If you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count!

Christmas 2015

As I begin writing this post, there are only about 40 minutes left of Christmas Day, 2015. 

Isn’t it funny how all the preparations we do to be ready for December 25th take so long...and then it’s over in a day. Well, not ‘over’ over...just done.

It’s kind of like a wedding with all the plans that are made, people involved and details worked out only to have the wedding ceremony over with in about 20 minutes (and a reception that lasts a couple of hours). Then it’s over. And then, the hard stuff starts like being married “...till death do us part.”

But I digress. (I’ve noticed that I do that a lot when I’m writing these blogs. My mind digresses a LOT! If you could see inside my mind, it would probably look like a jukebox, a playground at McDonald’s, with lots of DisneyWorld thrown in.)

When Christmas is over, sometimes all the joy and season’s greetings can seem to be over, too. People seem to be a little friendlier during the holidays...wishing total strangers to have a merry Christmas!

Generosity comes a little easier. The bell ringers find the red kettles a little heavier when they remove them from their stands because folks dug deep into their pockets to share their loose change to help The Salvation Army.

Goodwill toward men. We need that all year long.

I’m a Christian...and I try to have goodwill toward others on a daily basis, but some days are harder than others and I find myself not always living out what I say I believe. Thankfully, I serve a forgiving God who knows I’m gonna blow it and offers me second, third, and more chances to make it right.

Christmas has been a little different for us this year:
We had two deaths from our congregation on Christmas Day, and that’s an especially hard time for families to lose loved ones. It’s also hard on pastors who need to share family time and church work.
I got sick with bronchitis and a sinus infection. When I spoke, I sounded like I was going through puberty...and I was unable to sing the solo I’d been asked to share at one of our six Christmas Eve services at church.
We moved into a new (to us) house the same week as Christmas. (Not something I'd do again. Kinda like the car ads where the little disclaimer comes up: "Professional drivers on a closed course. Do not attempt." This was not one of our best ideas.) Joe was busy as usual with church matters, yet was able to do a lot toward our move, too.
There are so many boxes stacked around our house, it almost looks like a warehouse.
I’m still trying to find things that I need, but it’s been an adventure unpacking boxes that have been stored since our 2012 move!

Things have been quite chaotic at times, and in the midst of this move during Christmas week, we’ve seen The Church in action! Volunteers from our new church (First Broad Street UMC) came to help us move, paint, unpack, and feed us. One guy in particular fixed so many things in the house that I told him we’d never be able to thank him enough for all he’d done...so we’d just have to adopt him!

Where am I going with all this? Let’s keep this good stuff going. Christmas cheer can last all year! Hey, that rhymes!

Let’s say it together now:
“CHRISTMAS CHEER CAN LAST ALL YEAR!”




With every blog, I close with this challenge: If you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count!

Discombobulation

Have you ever driven to a store or mall to shop, then walked out to the parking lot afterward and not been able to find your car?

It happened to me the other day. When I couldn’t spot my Honda CRV, I felt this burning sensation inside.

Was my car stolen?!?
Of course not! I have an alarm system!

But what if it didn’t activate?!?
Of course not! The alarm system works just fine! Sometimes it goes off when I’m sitting in my car, unknowingly hit the remote door lock when I’m fumbling around with something, and then put the key into the ignition to start my car!!! Sets off the alarm every time...and boy, that thing is loud! It won’t stop until you unlock the doors...and you have to do that with the remote!

Maybe I probably just went out a different exit than where I entered. Nope. Can’t be. Lowe’s stores only have entrances and exits in the front.

I was in a fix. My car was definitely gone. I figured I should call the police, then call Joe and tell him what happened. Oh dear.

I couldn’t believe my car was stolen from a Lowe’s parking lot! It’s the holidays! And we’re in the midst of moving to our new home! This was a lousy time for something like this.

...and then I remembered.

Joe and I traded cars with one another earlier that day so he could get my tires checked before our Christmas trip. In all the scenarios I imagined, I forgot to imagine that maybe...just maybe...I was looking for the wrong car.

Just another day in the life of a discombobulated woman.




With every blog, I close with this challenge: If you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count!

A lot adds up in 41 years...

Joe and I have 41 years of marriage together.

We have 1 daughter, who gave us a son-in-law and a grand-dog

We've lived in 6 parsonages, along with serving 6 ministerial appointments...McClure/Clinchco/McCowan’s Chapel, Dryden/Seminary, Ft. Oglethorpe, Central, First Alcoa, Cleveland District, and currently First Broad Street UMC

We've driven 3 VW Bugs, 3 VW Rabbits, a beautiful 1968 Chevrolet with an 8-track player, a Ford Windstar, 1 Toyota Celica, 1 Toyota Camry, 2 Honda Accords, 1 Honda Civic, 1 Honda Odyssey, and 1 Honda CRV

Owned 7 guitars

Raised 3 Toy Poodles: Gabriel, Abraham, and Obadiah (aka Gabie, Abie, and Dobie)

Eaten at least 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for 41 years (I must admit I didn’t cook all of them)

And of all the meals I did cook, I can count on my fingers the number of times I absolutely burned the food. That’s not a bad track record for 41 years.

But tonight, I must start counting on my toes because I ruined dinner. Burned. Charred. Blackened...and not in a flavorful way.

Guess you could say I adore my husband so much that I gave him a 'Burnt Offering.'

I hear charred things can be good for digestion.






Remember...if you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count!

Boxes & Blessings

Been a while since I’ve blogged...

I’ve had good reasons:
We’ve been living with boxes since March
We moved from Cleveland to Kingsport, Tennessee in June
We couldn’t unpack
I went to Ohio for a couple of weeks to attend my favorite campmeeting
I came home and still couldn’t unpack
I’ve been home two weeks and still haven’t unpacked (except for my suitcases)
We’re living in basically three rooms in our parsonage…so SOME things are unpacked

In the United Methodist system, most churches have parsonages provided for the minister and family. But that is quickly changing as many of the larger churches are choosing to go out of the parsonage business with the burden of upkeep, financial responsibilities, etc. In those cases the minister receives a housing allowance to rent or purchase a place in the community where they serve.

When we moved into this parsonage, we were aware of the possibility of the sale of the house, so I packed accordingly. And that’s why we didn’t totally unpack right away. A vote was held by the congregation earlier this month and the decision was made to sell it. Good thing we didn’t unpack!

But that brings another wrinkle...
Our little house in Cleveland is for sale. Has been since May. We can’t buy a house in Kingsport till that one is sold. The feedback from realtors is how much people love the house but dislike the tiny back yard with neighbors living so close to one another. Never was a problem for us. The neighbors weren’t out that much, and when they were, they were enjoyable. And the side yard is HUGE!

Our pleasant, tiny, fenced-in back yard is a drawback.

Last week we lowered the price listed with our realtor. I asked her if the cost was lower, would that make the yard look bigger? Maybe.

So, boxes are still everywhere in the parsonage. We still live in three rooms. I’m starting to be ‘over this’ really fast. But then I have to think, at least there’s a roof over our heads. At least there’s plenty of food in the partially unpacked kitchen. I don’t have to drive somewhere just to do our laundry. We have all we need.

Yes, it’s inconvenient.
Yes, I’d like to have everything in place in OUR place already.
Yes, I have my moments when I want everything to be solved YESTERDAY.

When Joe and I married, we promised to love each other “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.” That promise was made 41 years ago. We’ve done really well with all those vows we made to one another!! And we still like each other!

The inconvenience of all this is just a bump in the road. Some days (like today) I tend to forget this is temporary and God’s got the whole thing under control. He already knows where we’ll live! I wouldn’t mind a bolt of lighting with a note on the end of it to tell ME where...but that’s not His style.

And it doesn’t define home to us because wherever we’re together is home...even when boxes line the walls. Joe’s used to being around lots of boxes. He grew up around a funeral home! He tells folks the hardest thing I ever had to learn was to sleep in a bed with a lid on it!

In my last blog I mentioned that a good marriage will always contain an element of surprise. This surprise is taking a while to be revealed, but it’s still good. I’m praying that God will keep that at the forefront of my thoughts these days. It’s going to be okay. It is. When I finally get to unpack these boxes somewhere, it’ll be fun! I’ll find more stuff I forgot I had!

And when I look back on this, I'll realize all the blessings I've enjoyed all along the way. And that element of surprise? Always enjoy it.






Remember...if you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count!

Packing, Purging, Moving

This week Joe and I are moving from Cleveland (southeast Tennessee) to Kingsport (northeast Tennessee) where he will become Lead Minister at First Broad Street United Methodist Church. We've missed it, so we're excited about being back in a church again, but moving is no picnic.

The movers are here now, loading two trucks in 90º heat. By later this afternoon, it’ll be nearly 100. These young men are constantly moving. I know they’re burning up, but they have the most wonderful attitudes and have been nothing but nice guys and hard workers! (We’re using Still Transfer Company out of Kingsport...and this advertisement is free of charge!)

My friend Diana has been a HUGE help during the packing phase of our move. We’re members of the same church and have been buddies ever since we met! The two of us made a great team!

Because I’m sort of picky about the way I pack, Diana was very helpful when she saw my strategy. I have catalogued in a notebook every room and every box. Yes. I know. In 41 years of ministry with Joe, we've moved six times. This is the seventh and I think I finally have a system!

I print out destination labels so the movers don’t have to search for where it’s headed because each box is labeled with a room destination and a number, which is added to my notebook, listing the contents. This way, when I’m looking for a particular item at the next place, all I’ll have to do is check the notebook! It’s a little time consuming on the packing phase, but a great help on the other end...

An interesting thing happens when one begins to pack for a move. With me, it’s been a matter of purging, organizing, cleaning, and finding things.

I thought the Bluetooth headset for my cell phone was lost two years ago. I was wrong. It was in a drawer I rarely open. Why did I do that?

For several years I’ve been trying to find our daughter’s wedding photos. I found a couple of photo boxes that hadn’t been opened since the last move. Yep. There they were!

My hubby hides my Christmas gifts. From himself! Yesterday when he was pulling the last items out of his home office closet, he found a gift. It was so funny when he walked out and said, “Merry Christmas!” In his hand was a beautiful blue Kobalt tool bag, complete with everything I’d need to do what I love, which is fixing stuff! Joe knows I’m a fixer-upper from way back, so he knew what would make me jump up and squeal with delight!! He bought it in the fall, then hid it for Christmas morning. Last year.

Reminds me of when he asked what I wanted for Christmas in 1992. I told him I’d like to have a pancake griddle. (kind of like other things I've liked receiving...jumper cables, power tools, a really nice Road Atlas, etc. so this wasn’t an unusual request on my part.) In the spring of 1994, the clothes rod broke in the master bedroom closet. A trustee from the church was coming to repair it, so I hurriedly emptied the closet so he could work.

As I was pulling the out the last items, I found the pancake griddle hidden in the back corner of Joe’s side of the closet. Feeling bad about finding the gift, I called him to apologize because I’d “...found my Mother’s Day gift, even though I wasn’t looking for it!” Joe didn’t seem to know what I was talking about, so I told him I found the pancake griddle.

“Pancake griddle...pancake griddle...pancake griddle.” He said, “I don’t remember a pancake griddle.” There was a long pause as he tried to recall.

Then he acknowledged with much satisfaction, “Yes, I remember now! That isn’t your Mother’s Day gift. I bought it for Christmas...two years ago!”

A good element to any marriage is the element of surprise. I think my husband has that one nailed. 


Remember...if you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count!