A Pinterest Project

The Preacher and I have had a very emotionally rough month. April has certainly been a big roller coaster ride, and because of that it has been very hard to even think about sitting down at the computer and writing something profound or lofty, that means something. Maybe, at a later date, I will post more about some of the emotions that we have been going through.

So today I thought I would post something a little light-hearted, a Pinterest Project. 

Before

The Preacher and I have been working very hard at cleaning our house, deep cleaning the house. While cleaning the upstairs loft, I discovered that our cat has left scratch marks in some of the post on the railings. She enjoys getting as far up in the air as she can and on the railing post in the loft she can look down on us. She loves it up there.

Well, I knew I couldn't leave it like that, so I turned to Pinterest. I searched for a DIY product that would hide the scratches and here is the recipe that I found: 3/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup vinegar, mix well and apply with a rag. (To see the actual pinterest post just click on the recipe.)

The only oil I had was olive oil, and that worked just fine.

After

I rubbed it on all of the scratch marks and although it didn't magically remove them, it did soften the appearance of the marks. I am very pleased with the results. Here are the before and after pictures.

I hope you have enjoyed this little Pinterest tip. 

I did try one other Pinterest project while cleaning the house, maybe I'll post that on another day.

Well I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Love from the Preacher and I

A Mother's Love

Several years ago the Preacher and I went to the movie theater, along with several people from our congregation, to see the movie, The Passion of Christ.
It was a great movie but was really hard to watch, especially when the Roman Soldiers began beating Jesus and then nailed him to the cross.

As hard as those scenes were to watch, there was another scene that was just as hard, if not harder, for me to watch. 

In this scene you can feel her heart aching for her son. The scene that I am referring to is when Jesus falls from carrying the cross and Mary, Jesus' mother, sees him fall and she is transported back to a time when Jesus was young and he had fallen down stairs. She rushed to him then and told him "I'm here." Her mother instinct takes over and she rushes to him again and tells him the same thing, "I'm here." 

Jesus is the Savior of the world, but during his 33 years here on this earth, he was her child. How hard was that for her? To see her son being beaten and killed upon that cross. Did she know he would resurrect from the dead in just 3 days? Even if she did that didn't stop the pain that she as his mother would have seeing her son being hurt so badly. I'm thinking that maybe she felt in her heart that she would have taken his place just to stop his pain.

While sitting in the theater and watching this I too felt her pain, her overwhelming need to stop this.

Do you remember when your son fell and scrapped his knee? I do. I remember him coming to me crying, showing me his 'ouchy'. I would give him a hug and then kiss his scrapped knee and almost instantly the crying would stop.

Do you think Jesus felt just a tiny bit better knowing his mother was there? Did she kiss the wounds on his face?

We'll never know that intricate part of the walk to the cross, but what I do know is that a mother's love is the same today as it was when Mary loved Jesus.

Love from the Preacher and I

You can watch this powerful scene here.

R.I.P. Roger / Getting Old

I learned this week that a high school friend, Roger Slifer, passed away. He had been living in California. He had worked for Marvel Comics and for DC Comics. In 2012 he was seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver. He was recuperating in a nursing home, but on March 30 he was having trouble breathing and passed away while the ambulance was en-route to the hospital.

I had not been in touch with him since high school, but my mother kept me informed of how he was doing because his sister attends the same church as my mother.  

On the day that I read of his passing on a friend's Facebook page, I was going to a diagnostic center to have a few test ran. Nothing serious, just wellness checks. My doctor wanted me to have one of these test done "due to my age". Don't you just love it when they say that?!

The Preacher was asking me questions about my high school friend since he had never met him. I began reminiscing about high school and the friends that I had. Then I began getting a little teary eyed because life all of a sudden felt very short. I was crying for Roger and I was crying for all of the lost friendships, and I was crying because I began to feel very old.

That last reason might seem silly to some, but it just it me hard how short our lives are. No matter how hard you try to live right, eat right, exercise, old age will catch up to you. This last month the Preacher and I have been seeing different doctors, having blood drawn, having test ran, due to our new insurance. It just catches up to you, this old age. 

I remember in grade school, our teacher asked us to calculate how old we would be in the year 2000. When I subtracted my birth year from the year 2000 I couldn't believe that I would be that old and I remember thinking to myself that I would probably not be around when the year 2000 came. I just knew that I could not possibly live that long because to me I would be soooo old!

And yet here I am, still alive, thank God. I pray that the Lord will let me stay around for a long time. I've got a son whom I would like to see get married and have children. The Preacher and I have so many places that we would like to go and see. 

Rest in peace Roger. I send my prayers and sympathies to his family. I also hope that everyone who is reading this post will remember to love deeply, to be kind, to teach your children well, and to love the Lord with all of your heart and soul. Life is short, we never know when our last day will be, we don't know if we'll go to be with our Lord by a natural death or an accident, but what we do know is that one day will be our last day and we will meet our Lord in heaven.

Love from the Preacher and I