Memorial Box Monday: Writing on the Wall

One day I was having a particularly down day. My love tank was on the south side of empty and I honestly just didn't feel very great about myself. I was having a bad hair week, my clothes felt all wrong, I had realized I put on a couple of pounds...just felt like YUCK. Know what I mean?! Well I called my husband, hoping to get a little pep talk and when I started whining talking to him about how I felt he pretty much told me to get over it...he was busy at work and I think he just didn't feel like dealing with an emotional wife at the moment. Well I decided to stop by a store that I loved and I parallel parked and sat in my car and started praying. I just spilled my guts to God about how awful I felt and I asked Him to please help me feel better about things. I got out of the car and I happened to glance up and I saw this:

My heart skipped a beat...who wrote that? How did someone get up that high to write it? I know you can't tell from the picture but this is very high...I was holding my phone up over my head to get this. I'll never know what human hand wrote this or why but it sure felt like a message straight from my Heavenly Father to me and I suddenly didn't feel quite so frumpy.

It's amazing how God knows just what we need and He cares enough to provide it.

I am going to print off this picture and put it in my Memorial Box to remind me that even on my ugliest days God sees the beauty of what I can be.

Memorial Box Monday: A Kiss

My Memorial Box Monday post is just a simple little story that some might find silly but I believe that God is into the details of my life and I believe that he knows just what I need and he takes pleasure in providing it for me, when he deems it appropriate.

When my children were smaller my husband worked some crazy hours he worked 12 hour shifts three or four days in a row. He worked midnights 5:45 p.m. till 6 a.m. it was so hard to take care of the kids and work and do all of the other things I was doing and often after three or four days of only seeing him for 15 minutes before work and having the kids alone I was struggling. One week he was working Monday-Thursday and it was Wednesday and I was on my way home from a long hard day at work, I had only seen him in passing the three days before and I knew that I was just going to pass him on his way out the door and then I would have to get the kids ready, do supper, and get to church all in less than two hours and I was feeling VERY overwhelmed. I was driving across town on my way home and I was just pouring my heart out to God. I was talking to him like I would my earthly father and I was crying and just telling him that I was overwhelmed, and tired, and lonely. I told him I felt like no one understood and like no one cared. It was a low moment for me. I was hurting, and tired, I needed a pick me up. Well my Wonderful Jesus knew just what I needed. I was driving in front of the courthouse downtown and I got caught by a red light. I looked over at the courthouse and I saw my friend Raymond. Raymond is in his mid to late 60's he goes to the church I went to at the time and he is precious (That is him in the picture). He always says "God loves you, just let him." He is just so precious and I love him with all of my heart. Since both of my grandfathers have passed Raymond is my stand in. He always gives me a smile and a hug and I just think the world of him. Well on that day I looked over and I saw Raymond and I waved and he waved and all of a sudden Raymond did something out of character for him. You see Raymond is a great guy but he is a "Man's Man" he likes to fish, and he holds an elected position in our county and he is not a man that just goes around being silly, but standing on the middle of the Courthouse square, Raymond put his hand to his lips and blew me the sweetest kiss you ever saw. At first it kinda surprised me, like I said Raymond isn't the blowing kisses sort but he sure did blow me a kiss. The second I saw it I felt the Holy Spirit come over me and I heard my precious savior whisper, "That kiss was from me." Then the Holy Spirit began to flood my soul with scripture that told of God's great love and mercy. I knew at that moment that even though things were not easy and I was in a difficult time, He was with me. The Lover of my soul was hanging on my every word, he knew what I needed and he was willing and able to provide. Praise the Name of JESUS! That night at church I got to tell Raymond what that kiss meant to me and he said he didn't know why he did it that he really surprised himself by doing it! :-) I love it when God does something like that just for me!

The other day I saw a little silver Hershey's Kiss at a gift shop I think I will go and buy it and place it in my memorial box to help me remember that God is watching over me and that whenever I am feeling down he is always with me.

Memorial Box Monday: The Purple Heart

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

I am very grateful to live in a country where my freedoms are protected but I have often heard it said that freedom isn't free, it costs some men and women everything. I am very proud that my grandfather, Jack L. Epperson Sr. fought in WWII. He received the Purple Heart. 

I want to tell the story of how he received his Purple Heart for my Memorial Box Monday this week. During a battle my grandfather, Papaw Jack as we called him, was shot in the leg. He in turn shot the German soldier who shot him, killing him, the German soldier fell on top of him. Later the Germans were walking around stabbing any injured American soldiers with their bayonets when they came to my grandfather they saw the blood from the German soldier and the German soldier on top of  him and they thought he was dead so they did not stab him. When the German soldiers had passed he was able to push the dead soldier off of him and crawl until he found two twin Medics. The twins were not tall enough to enlist as soldiers so they joined the forces as medics. The medics took turns dragging my grandfather through the snow until they got him back to another group of American soldiers. They got him to a medical unit and eventually back home to marry my grandmother who he had met while working for her fathers saw mill. I can't help but see the hand of God all over this situation. God protected him and kept him safe and brought him back to be the Patriarch of our family. Papaw Jack was a wonderful man who spent his retired days when I came along taking me to eat Apple Pie's and planting potatoes in the garden. I don't believe I would be the woman I am today without his love poured all over my childhood. I am very thankful that God spared his life and I am thankful for those two twin medics who weren't "tall enough for the team". I believe that my aunt has my Papaw Jack's purple heart but I know it will eventually be passed to me and when it is I will add it to my Memorial Box to remind us that God will protect in every situation and that even when men say you aren't enough God can make you be exactly what a wounded warrior needs. I included a few pictures from the Memorial Day event we attended this morning, and also one of my beloved Papaw Jack from his days in WWII. Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Memorial Box Monday ~ Homeschooling on a Shoestring

We made the decision to homeschool a month or so ago, we prayed about it and thought about it for sometime before that and we felt that God was leading us to do it. So I researched curriculum and I picked it all out and priced it and I was thinking it would cost us about $599. Well I found out about several used book sales in the area so on Thursday I went to two of them and when I walked into the first place I found Sarah's grammar book that I was prepared to pay almost $20 plus tax and shipping for and it was only $10.00. Well we left there and went to another sale and I told my Step-Sister Ashley and the kids what I was looking for, the places was crowded and we were about 10th in line to go in, when the doors opened the first table I went to had my Science curriculum and the lady there told me the workbooks were free on-line, the book was only $15.00 so the Science that I was prepared to spend $140.00 on cost me $15.00! A few minutes later Ashley yelled for me and she had found my History curriculum for $15.00 and it was in great shape! We also found some teaching aids and a large map there and I got about $100.00 worth of History Curriculum for about $38.00. Well I had been a little on the fence about what to do for Colton's Grammar curriculum and I really wanted the Charlotte Mason Simply Grammar but it was a little pricy so I was going to settle for another book, well guess what I found at the sale?! A NEVER used Simply Grammar book for $10.00! So I spent $63.00 and got every bit of my curriculum except for the Simply Spelling book I want and our Math Curriculum (still a little on the fence with what to use there...any suggestions?!).

I knew I felt God leading me into this path but I can tell you it sure felt GREAT to have the material I needed practically handed to me for a small percentage of what I planned on paying. Not to mention I also wanted some organizational shelves and things for my homeschool room and I got the cubes I have stared at for several months on CLEARANCE for $19.00 each, and I found a great little three shelf organizer at a yard sale for $3.00 and at one of the book fairs a lady had a rolling shelf for sale and as she picked it up to show it to me the top shelf broke and she said "Oh well, you can have it for $1.00" well I gave her a dollar and my husband fixed it in about 10 seconds.

Our map and a few posters and charts.

My beloved cubes with our curriculum inside!

A poster and a Cursive Alphabet guide.

The window into my kitchen and two pie graph’s the kids did today.

Mom’s corner, my chair, my yard sale find (on the right), and some art supplies.

A close up of the cubes.

I have only spent $200.00 on anything to do with homeschooling and a family member emailed me to tell me they want to give me $100.00 toward our supplies so I really have only spent $100.00! Praise the Lord for His Provision! So here are some pictures of my new homeschool room! Praise God for giving us just what we need when we need it! I will put a picture of my beloved cubes in my memorial box to remind me that when you say "YES!" to God's way he will provide everything you need to walk the path.