Two Birthdays

Happy Birthday, Auntie J!!!

I was thinking this weekend about 2 birthdays. The first, and most important, was Auntie J’s .....th birthday. We love her so much and wish her many, many more.

When SanFran S, SS, and I were babysitting the boys on New Year’s Eve, I couldn’t help but admire how straight Mommy M keeps her house. Of course Bo has his little toys all around, but in every room in their house everything is so neat, with no clutter. In looking at my very cluttery house, I made an excuse for myself, thinking “ Well we have lived here for so many years accumulating stuff.” Then, I thought, “Wow, we

moved here January 3, 1983, so it’s been 29 years!” That is so hard to believe! So I had to go pull out pictures, first of our house on Friarsgate Blvd in Irmo.

Then, thinking about how SS had to start working in Darlington in August 1982, while I stayed in Columbia with a 3 year old and 5 month old during the week, and he just came home on the weekend. After looking for houses for a couple of months and not finding the right thing, our lot on Tennessee Drive came available. We bought it and found a builder in October, these pictures are in November, and then it was ready to move into in January.

Everything was done in such a hurry, but it has always been such a good

little house for us. I thought that once I had a dining room I would enjoy having company and entertaining, and I did try, but it has always been stressful and not really enjoyable to me. But I started a little notebook, describing dinner parties we went to, what was served, and who was there. And guess where the first party was – on January 9, 1983 at the home of Dickie and Carolyn Bryant, future home of Mommy M and Daddy L!

Wishing all of Pamela’s Girls a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

I love you all, CiCi

Abba! Father!

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Galatians 4:6

I always like to read the Bible in the morning while I am eating breakfast. Sometimes it has been a Year Through The Bible plan or some years I just pick various books to read through and digest slowly each morning between bites of cereal. Making it through the Bible in a year does require getting through quite a bit of material each day and it can become a bit pressured, but I really love that The Word stretches throughout my year and I refresh my heart and mind with Old Testament heroes, the people of God and their struggles of faith, God’s many valiant rescues of His people and the way each page of the Old Testament calls ahead and previews the advent and rescuing presence of Jesus.

I have tried two Year Through The Bible plans: one is a daily reading of Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs and the New Testament and the other is a chronological dividing of the Word between 365 readings in the “when it was written” order that Bible scholars believe to be accurate. Both are wonderful!

At the end of this past December I finished the mixed plan and hope to use the chronological study for 2013. This year I want to pick different books or psalms and slowly read a bit each day and have the chance to meditate on the message and savor the words.

A verse from yesterday morning somehow shot through my heart in a new way and I thought that I would share it with the Pamela’s Girls.

“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Galatians 4:6

I have read this verse many times and have always loved the thought of being able to call out to the Lord of the Universe from my tiny spot here on earth and call Him “Daddy” with the intimacy that “Abba! Father!” conveys. And – believe me – I have called “Abba! Father!” many times in my moments of fear or sadness.

But yesterday it suddenly hit me that what Paul is saying in Verse 6 of Chapter 4 is that God sent the Spirit of Jesus into our hearts and that Jesus is there within us calling “Daddy!”

Jesus is calling from our hearts to His Father! I can barely begin to wrap my head around that!

And I really love what this says! The message to me is that no matter how sad, overwhelmed and weak, lost, afraid or hopeless I may ever feel – that Jesus is within my heart and He is always willing, able and justified to call out to His (and now our) Father!

Amen! How absolutely kind He is!

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom!”

Luke 12:32

With lots of love from Auntie J to the Pamela’s Girls!