Let Me Tell You One Thing

  November 28, 2023 1:26 pm   I just want to say I miss my friend Jo-Ann Carlton Blair, 1943-2020.  It hit me hard today about how much I do miss her.  I have called very few people friends in my lifetime, she was one of them. Jo-Ann never disappointed and never turned her back on me; she was straight forward, real, and direct with me. She and I did things together that did not include our husbands, like the time she booked us a five star hotel in Buckhead with a five course meal, then a limousine to our front row seats at the Fox Theater in Atlanta to see The Phantom of the Opera! Who does that?  When she walked into a room, everyone had to adjust to her light, for her light always shined brightly.  She most always had a gift in her hand to give to someone.  She was a great balance for me because my lips cracked when I tried to smile,  I didn't usually stretch my lips to do that.  I didn't have to do anything when she was around because she gave out the light and the warmth an

 September 14 2023 Have I ever been interested in Wagyu beef?  No, I have not, until someone introduced Wagyu quality to me.  I have never actually eaten Wagyu beef.  How can I blog about Wagyu beef if I have never eaten Wagyu beef?   Because I see so many familiar qualities in Wagyu.   Now, there is an even higher quality of beef which is Kobe. In all my years as a person, I have not been aware of these two qualities of beef until recently from a person who seeks excellence in many categories. Here we go, if you get Wagyu beef, wherever you may find it, you will be getting a bona fide, high end, quality beef.  Why?  Because this Japanese Cow ( meaning Wagyu) has been bred to produce high end marbling and fats with a a pinkish color that sets it in a separate quality with a buttery taste, so they say. Leaving Kobe aside, which I know nothing about, I allude to Wagyu because I have heard that it is a gourmet beef  and I certainly will be looking for it in the market, and in restaurants.

  A friend of mine said it this way on a Facebook video,  " We have never passed this way before".  Our wise Solomon said this, "There is nothing new under the sun".  Both of these men are right, we have never been through 2023, and, there is nothing new under the sun.   We do not know what 2023 will bring to our personal lives, our nation, or this globe.  But we do know there will be continued successes, challenges, rapid changes in technology, medicine, and social issues. The mainstay in our moving forward is God our Father, Jesus Christ, His son, and the Holy Spirit.  Not all people rely on the trinity, they put their faith and their trust in other gods, in themselves, in the economy, or fate. This one thing I know, I am grateful for life, for the privilege of experiencing life, all phases of life, all possibilities of life, all challenges of life, all heartaches, and all disappointments.  The other side of that is no opportunity at life at all.  There was a grea

  Published by Broadman & Holman Publishers Nashville, Tennessee  c.2003 November 18, 2022 When I began this book, it had been on my shelf for a few years.  And like most books, they are around you, either you own them or you buy them, or possibly download them.  But these books can be around for a day, a week, a year or years and then suddenly, you find yourself reading them for no apparent reason. This book was picked up off my shelf of books basically because I was reading the book of John in the bible at the time, and wanted to know more about him.  When I start reading a book, I usually finish the book whether I like the book or not.  I must admit, this book was small print, three hundred thirty-four pages, and it took me some time to acquire a taste for Beth Moore's writing style.  Even though she is a well known speaker and author of multiple books and bible studies, I had never looked into her writings before, I had never heard her speak publicly before.  My main intere

One tiny baby, born on Christmas day,  Born in a stable in a land far away.   One tiny baby, lay in a manger,  One tiny baby who never showed anger!   This tiny baby, grew up as He should,  He grew to be a man, that did only good!   He was sent to us from the Father above,    Just to prove to us how great was His love!   Then He died on a cross to save us from sin,  So that we can, to the Father, boldly walk in!   So now we celebrate Christmas, but let's don't forget the cost,  Without the cross and Easter, then Christmas would be lost!   So when we exchange gifts remember the greatest gift of all,  "One tiny Baby" who from heaven did fall!   Just one tiny baby in one tiny hand,  Held the keys to the kingdom and to the soul of man!   Hattie Calihan Taylor won second place with this poem by the Society of American Poets 1994 Hattie was a faithful woman and gave many hand written and typed poems to her pastor, Clyde Johns. She was dependable, and was always

Read at Thelma Vickers Johns’ Funeral When you looked into her soft brown eyes, there was a knowing look that brought surprise. She was not a woman that held contemporary matters worth a cent, she was from a different era but knew what life really meant. In her younger days it was work that gave meaning to her life, tilling the soil, milking the cow, away from global problems of trouble and strife. It was a narrow world for her, this woman of the field, nothing was more important than Enoch and cooking him a meal. Bah! she would say to glitter and glitz, and no one could orchestrate a more passionate fit! When her fit was on, we would all back away! She could carry on and leave us nothing to say. But when the fit was over and she had settled down, she’d say “you want some eggs before you go back to town?” Many a morning when the dew was still on the ground, she would harvest her strawberries and beam at what she had found. Then off to the barn to milk her dear cow, making cream for our

  When things really pile up, I mean really pile up and you become so overwhelmed that staring at the wall seems good; there must be a path left open in our brain to find solace. I find those times especially taxing on everything that I normally use to regain composure and talk myself through whatever is going on. This  reminds me of the many times Saul of the bible felt this way, and he most always called for David who was so very skilled in playing soothing music for him. The best thing always is to have a plan, for we never know when these times will catch us so unprepared to deal with them.  If you have a favorite soothing piece of music that can rest your mind coupled perhaps with beautiful scenery and give yourself time to regroup, time to get the situation into perspective you are already on your way back to sanity and composure.

 It is odd when you are in the throes of possible disaster.  The mind can play tricks.  When the siren went off in my city, I took it seriously but not too seriously.  Why was that?  They don't do those except as a warning.   I did take cover, I did believe it was possible, but it was as if it was surreal.  It was as if it was not really happening.  I saw the wind. I heard the roar. I saw the deluge of rain; however, I stayed on the phone with the Direct TV guy because I was trying to upgrade my plan so I could actually see my local weather.   I can get it on my iPhone , but I wanted to see this radar on my TV.  The entire few seconds that the tornado was actually over my head, I was talking with him about the upgrade hunkered down in my hall bathroom.  I made him nervous.  I told him the siren was going off.  He said, "I hear it.  Mrs. Johns, you are making me nervous."  I said, "My name is Paula, pray for me."  I know he did, because I was in such denial of wh