Build Memories Worth Remembering

mamaw papaw memoriesMy maternal grandmother, Juanita Nutt Clark, passed away Monday, January 25, 2016 at 2:45 p.m. She lived to be 91 years old. I have many memories of Mamaw. Today I want to share a few of those memories with you.

The last 5 ½ years of her life she lived with Alzheimers. But those are not the main memories I have of Mamaw.

Mamaw will always be strong and healthy in my mind as I reminisce over the days I knew her when I was a child. She loved to garden and had the most beautiful rose bushes. Those and Papaw’s whirly gigs were the first things that we saw as we arrived at their house for a visit.

The next thing I remember is Mamaw’s sign that said, “Back door guests are best.” As a kid I wondered about that sign since technically there was another door that was even more in the back than that door but I get the idea now.

We entered the house through the kitchen and after giving Mamaw and Papaw hugs, we would stop by her guest bedroom to see her latest quilt that she was working on. All her quilts were hand sewn and beautiful back then. She even won awards in quilting shows. Somewhere there is a picture of her standing beside one of her quilts on display.

mamawkids memoriesThen we would go to their living room and sit on their couch and listen to the adults talk. It wouldn’t be long before Papaw would bring out “the claw” and chase us around the room. When us kids got bored Mamaw would bring out her collection of wooden spools for us to play with on the enclosed back porch where Papaw’s workshop was located.

And on pretty days we would run play in their fenced in yard. I remember Mamaw and Papaw had a nice sized yard that gave us plenty of room to play chase and hide and seek. It was even more fun with cousins since we could have teams. Ah, but it was hard not to play with the clothes line.

Some of our visits we ate dinner with them and there were usually aunts, uncles, and cousins at the table as well. It became a family joke that Papaw always had to take a picture of us with a bite of food in our mouths.

We kids were usually prompted to wash our hands in the bathroom sink after playing outside. We liked to listen to the large shell that held their bathroom door open. We would put our ear to the opening and listen to the sound of the ocean. We would also weigh ourselves on their bathroom scale that said “hospital” on it. It was one Papaw had from one of the hospitals he worked at as an electrician.

Then right about the time we needed to leave, Mamaw would pull out her cookie jar of homemade cookies. Once we finished eating the cookies, we would give her and Papaw a hug before we left.

Mamaw Assisted Living MemoriesThose are just a few of the many memories I cherish of Mamaw. While there are other memories of special times, it’s those regular every time I saw her ones that makes the memories special.

It makes me reflect on my own life, what memories will my children and future grandchildren have of me?

Mamaw’s last days were with Alzheimers and not remembering her loved ones but as soon as she walked through those pearly gates of heaven her memory was made perfect. She has perfect recollection now.

The last time I saw her she didn’t remember me. But the next time I see her, she will greet me by name. I imagine I will find her quilting tapestries for the mansions Jesus has prepared for those who have trusted in Him.

Why not? If God gave us our talents to use for Him here on earth, why wouldn’t He let us continue to use them for His glory in Heaven?

And now for the big question, if you were to die right now would you go to Heaven? If you can’t answer that question with a sure yes then you need to do a heart check.

Was there ever a time in your life that you felt bad for the sins you have committed, told God you were sorry, and committed your life to Him?

If not, now is the accepted time. Today is the day of Salvation.

I wrote another post about my paternal grandparents entitled A History of Family Commitment: My Paternal Grandparents that you might like to read from my building commitment series

Do you have memories of a loved one that you would like to share? What memories would you like your loved ones to have of you? 

I would love it if you would share your memories with me in the comments

AGT_WHW_Linkup_ButtonIf you have any questions about whether you will see your loved ones in Heaven, you should check out this post by my husband entitled “Will I See My Loved Ones in Heaven?” that he wrote for Ask God Today Ministries.

Speaking of Ask God Today, I’m linking up with other bloggers for our Warm Hearted Wednesday Link-up this week’s topic is Examples of Love. I would love for you to join us there.

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Enoch Walked with God

sunsetpasture AGT RSFEnoch is a little talked about man with only a few verses in the Bible that refer to him. However those few verses speak great volumes about his testimony.

“Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. … Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” – Genesis 5:18, 21-24 NKJV

Did you know that Adam was still alive when Enoch was born? 

I’ve actually wrote more about that over at Ask God Today. I have joined a team of writers and this month we are going through a Bible Study entitled “A Mighty God and the Broken Faithful“.  We would love for you to follow us as we study about the faithful men and women in Hebrews 11. 

Here’s a little piece of what I wrote:

As we find ourselves getting older we tend to talk about what life used to be like. I wonder if Adam told his children stories of what life was like before the earth was cursed?

The Bible really doesn’t say much about Enoch. All we have is a few simple verses that hold a world of meaning.

In a world that was forgetting about God, why did Enoch stand out? Why did he choose to walk with God?

This is how I imagine it based on these few verses about Enoch.

Adam was 622 years old when his great-great-great-great-great-great grandson, Enoch, was born.

Let’s imagine Adam sitting with young Enoch at his side, telling the story of how the Garden looked the day he named the animals.

You can read more about how Enoch Walked with God at Ask God Today

Do you have that kind of close walk with God? Did you have someone like Adam that shared the God’s message with you? Please share in the comments or if you want to read more and comment over at Ask God Today I’d be honored to see you there. 

 

 

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A History of Family Commitment: My Maternal Grandparents

charlcyjimyng2 - Edited

James and Charlcye Taylor were married January 1, 1945. We called them Mema and Daddy Jim. They were married 64 years.

I remember how Daddy Jim was always a hard worker. He was a marine. Then he felt the call to preach a little while after being out of the military. I loved to hear my Daddy Jim preach. He was one of those old timer preachers that would emphasize his points with relish.

Mema and Daddy Jim were always good at hospitality. Their family has always been a close knit family. Their doors were always open for company. 

Our family would all get together at Mema and Daddy Jim’s house. I remember gathering around their piano in the family room passing around hymnals and singing beautiful songs of praise to God. Everyone would sing in joyful harmony. taylorfamilyyoung2That is one of my favorite memories. 

Mema and Daddy Jim were always there for us. If we needed help, we could always count on them. 

I remember Daddy Jim many times coming to help when we had car troubles.One time I got my car stuck in a ditch. Daddy Jim was there in no time to help me out. Flat tire? Call Daddy Jim.

No matter where you were stranded you could always count on Daddy Jim. He was committed to family.

MemawDaddyJimOne time my parents were out of town. I was a teenager and we were sure that we could take care of ourselves while they were away. However all three of us, my brother, sister, and I caught strep throat.

Mema took good care of us big kids. My parents didn’t have anything to worry about. Mema took us to the doctor. She made sure we took our medicine and got plenty of rest. She has always been there for us.

As Daddy Jim got older his health began to fail. Mema was always there for him and took good care of him. Even during the times she couldn’t get around as well, she would continue to serve him. If he wanted anything, she would get it for him.

memawdjhands

A Perfect Picture of Commitment
Mema and Daddy Jim’s Hands.

I think the sweetest memory I have of their marriage was on one of Mema’s birthdays. It wasn’t too long before he passed away.

Daddy Jim had just come out of the bathroom and sat in his chair. My mom and her sisters had bought a present for him to give Mema. 

Mema was admiring her present when Daddy Jim told her that she hadn’t even noticed his real present for her and pointed at his face. Mema came closer and saw that he had shaved just for her. She put her cheek against his cheek and gave him a kiss. And the whole room went “Aaahhh!!!”

Of course no one had a camera ready to capture that moment but I guess if a picture is worth a thousand words then maybe I was able to paint you a picture of my grandparents’ faithfulness and commitment with just five hundred. 

Do you know anyone that is that committed to family? Do you have any examples of unconditional love? The kind of love that does something for someone else without expecting anything in return? Please share your stories with us in the comments. 

This is Day 3 in my series  31 Days Building Commitment. You can bookmark that page to see my previous posts in this series. Tomorrow I will be introducing you to the lessons I have learned of commitment from my parents. 

I am going through this series expounding on my book “Don’t Quit: Build a Legacy of Commitment.” Download your free copy today! 
 

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If I Only Had One Day Left

The latest picture I have of my Papaw holding his great grandson Jonathan born November 4, 2007.

The last picture I have of my Papaw, Clyde Clark, holding his great grandson Jonathan born November 4, 2007. Papaw passed away July 11, 2008

I recently read a book that was given to me by a friend and fellow Tribe Writer, Eva P. Scott entitled “20,000 Days and Counting: The Crash Course in Mastering Your Life Right Now” by Robert D. Smith.

It was a very good book. I can’t quite apply all the concepts because I’m in a different time of life than he was in the writing of his book.

For instance he was past his 20,000th day when he wrote the book. I am currently on my 13,324th day. (If you want to figure out which day you are on you can go to his website day calculator: Here)

I’ve got young children that still need to be raised. So I have to keep my situation in mind while reading his book. Not everything will apply to me.

But one of the things he mentioned in his book that really got me to thinking was to imagine everyday as if it were your last. 

If I really imagined that everyday was my last day to live, I’d never wash another dish again. I’d hide all the dirty clothes in a closet. Those things aren’t on the most important list for me. But they are things that have to be done and I cannot neglect them. 

It did get me to thinking though. What legacy do I want to leave to my children, grand-children, great grand children, great great great great great…? Okay, you get the picture.

Will I have a great-great-great…grandchild one day that will be just like me. Will she be going through the same challenges? Will she even know who I was? Do I know anything about my great-great-great…grandparents?

My paternal grandfather, Clyde Clark, wrote his story. He wrote his memories down during the years right before he passed away. I found the document he typed the other day. I could hear his voice in my mind as I read it. I want to turn his story into a book. It will be a book that many generations from now will read.

I’m not stopping there though. I want to write my own book. A book for my children and beyond. I want them to be strengthened long after I am gone. A continuing legacy of building a Rock Solid Family.

That brings me to my current plans. I must say that I feel like I’m always in the planning stage. It is hard to move from planning something to actually making it a reality. Well today is the day… No more procrastinating.

I have finally started my book. And you, my faithful followers, will be the first to read it when I’m done.

The working title right now is “Don’t Give Up: A Rock Solid Manifesto of Commitment.” I say working title because the title may change.

This summer is incredibly busy with family and church commitments. So I’m going to set a tentative launch date for the end of August. That will give me a month between the time all the summer activities end and the homeschool activities begin.

What do you think? Does the subject I plan to write on interest you? Is there anything you would like to see me include in my book? How about a future book? Is there a subject you would like me to write about? Please let me know in the comments.

I’m making my writing goal public as a challenge from a blog post by another tribe writer, Bryan Hutchinson of PositiveWriter.com. He encouraged writers to “write a post about starting on your path to achieving your dream, and then post a link in the comments.” You can read more about the challenge and his great advice here.

 

~♥~  Anastacia “Stacie” Maness ~♥~

“Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!”

–Job 19:23-24

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Great, Grandparents


We took a couple of days of spring break and got to visit with all of my grandparents. I took some really good pictures of the kids with them. This first picture is of the kids with Daddy Jim, my maternal grandfather. I got to hear about an owl he and his brothers kept as a pet when they were kids. I guess they used to get to keep the animals they would catch as boys. All I know is his mother had to be pretty patient.

This second picture is of the kids with Memaw, my maternal grandmother. I have so many good memories over at Memaw and Daddy Jim’s house. I remember going there and playing with my cousins when I was little. I remember singing in their family room when we were teenagers. Daddy Jim sang bass and Memaw sang Alto. That was how I learned to sing harmony listening to my family singing the different parts. We had a lot of fun singing different hymns in that small family room.

This third picture is of Mamaw, my paternal grandmother with the kids. She still works in her garden and helps my dad and his brothers with construction work on my dad’s house. Seeing my daughters’ rose bush always makes me think of Mamaw’s roses.

This is a picture of Papaw, my late paternal grandfather. This, the latest picture I have of him was taken after the birth of Jonathan in 2007. I felt like I should put his picture in here as well, since he was a great grandfather too.

My grandparents are all such a wonderful blessing. I appreciate how they raised my parents to love the Lord and to walk in his ways. It was by their examples that my parents were able to raise me and my brother and sister to do the same. Now it is a wonderful thing to see my own children wanting to follow the Lord as well. That’s how it is suppose to be though, one generation teaching the next generations to do what is right.

Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
(Proverbs 17:6)

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