A visit home... Sunday 05/18/08

The Massey Family has attended Frenchport Community Church for 13 yrs. My grandparents have devoted many hours and days of service to this church and community. Grandpa Massey became a deacon 12 yrs ago and loves serving the Lord through this ministry. The Lord has blessed him and our family in so many ways and you can see that in the love and service that my family returns to church.

On Sunday, the church presented grandpa with a Deacon Lifetime Achievement Award. When the award was presented, the whole family was in attendance. He was speechless, as this was a surprise to him.

Not everyone understands the meaning of a Deacon and their importance in the church.

Ministry

Deacons are those who respond to God’s call to lead in service and to equip others for this ministry through teaching, proclamation, and worship.

Ordained to Word and Service

Deacons are persons called by God, authorized by the church, and ordained by a minister to a lifetime ministry of Word and Service to both the community and the congregation in a ministry that connects the two. They exemplify Christian discipleship, create opportunities for others to enter into discipleship, and connect the needs and hurts of the people with the church.

Grandpa,

You always give so much of yourself

To the people that are around you

Adding a richness to their lives

By all the things you do

You have a special heart

One that is full of caring

Your heart is filled with genuine love

A love that you're always sharing

I'm so thankful to have someone in my life who has a heart so true

Very few people are as loving as you.

A visit home... Saturday 05/17/08

Excited as I could be, I left work on 05/15 headed home, Camden AR. Dance recital's, Deacon Lifetime Achievement Awards, DADDY from Virginia, high school and sixth grade graduation's, and a week filled with family, food and good times were in my future.

Saturday, 05/16 was Kylee Kay's first dance recital. To say the least, we were a little excited! No one was as proud as her momma though. Angie (kk's mom) has clogged her whole life and now teaches clogging at KK's dance school. This was a BIG day for her!

So the story goes...
KK's 2 and 3 yr old class had to dance first. They didn't know what to expect and were so scared and didnt move.

KK spotted Gail and I on the front row immediately. She ran to the edge of the stage and held out her arms saying "Auntie, Auntie". Of course this made my heart sad but I had to say "NO baby, go dance. You have to go dance KK!" She turned and got back in line with the other girls. The next group's performed their first routine and then it was back to KK's group. By now, her class has figured out what their suppose to do when they hit the stage. That sassy little group marched back out on that stage and lit it up!!! They had the crowd rolling :) So cute! Kylee Kay was dancing, laughing, jumping, and running all over that stage!


The more people laughed and clapped, the more she hammed it up! On the 3rd dance, she realized she hadn't seen her daddy. She marched up to the edge of the stage, pointed to the crowd and yelled "Daddy, you out there daddy? I cant see you daddy. DADDY! Are you out there daddy?" Because Angie teaches dance at this school and Jimmy is one of three barbers in town, everyone knows them and the crowd was loving it!!! I was laughing so hard my side was hurting and crying uncontrollably! She finally decided to give up on finding daddy and continue dancing.

At the end of the recital, Jimmy made his way to the stage with flowers in hand. When KK saw him her face lit up. She said "Daddy, was you watchin' me?" He told her he was and that she was the best and prettiest dancer on the stage! (of course no other little girls could hear him) He gave her the flowers and he got this in return...

Awards were given out to ALL of the children who performed in the recital. The studio owner gave out these awards and wrote down the names of the awards during the performances (very creative award title's I might add). KK won the "Coming out of her shell" award. As you can see, she was very happy to receive the award and what she called "daddy's flowers"!

Mom 14 years ago...

I know this post is a little late but it took a while to find the poem.

Our family split when I was 12, my brother 8. At that time, Rose was a stay at home mom who babysit during the day and had never worked outside the home a day in her life. Within a week and she had 2 jobs and a plan. A plan for her and her 2 children.

There were two things that changed in my life at that time, I had a new home and I learned how to deal with a broken heart. She made sure it was no more than I could bare.

She was a single mom working 2 jobs to support her family. She would wake at 5:30 every morning, work 7a-4p, then second job 5p-10p. Rose did this almost everyday for 8 years. She made sure that she didn't quit and that we were taken care of. No matter what, I always knew and still know that we were loved and are still loved more than anything in the world.

My mom framed this poem for me as a gift.
May 21,1994 / High School Graduation

Their not her words but they are to me...

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When she might have won had she stuck it out;
Don’t give up thought the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst
That you must not quit.

Mom, Thank You and I Love You!

Letter from Austin TX

I cant help but share... :) This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It's PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the Leak Guard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of
running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend's testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy!

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong', or are you just picking on us?

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that's a promise I will keep.



Always. . .

Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX