Even though I didn’t get to “see him” on Memorial Day…I know he has made it back stateside from the desert. Praise the Lord….from whom all blessings flow!
Yeah God!
Category: Family
Do you know what a Weezie is?
A Weezie is a sweet girl who loves her mommy. Weezie shares said mommy with Frog Legs. (Their Daddy picked both nick-names and they STUCK)
If my eyes look a bit sad or droopy (they do) we had just released our “Mother’s Day” balloons to the skies for Wanda. I wanted to ride one up and give her a kiss and hug. I couldn’t. But soon. We will leave this earth for the heavenlies. Wow! What a ride that will be!
I shared both days celebrating motherhood with both of my girls. It was a real treat! This sweet girl will soon make me the Nana of 5 little boys. No, only 2 will be hers to claim!
Lori, can you spell “clean the tub quick!” Guess what I was doing 30 minutes before they all gathered at our house? If you guessed cleaning the tub, you win the prize! I knew that at least one little boy, if not all four would be taking a bath at Nana’s before they went home and straight to bed! It is sort of a tradition. If they don’t bring jammies, Nana provides.
My two sweet girls cooked the entire supper on Sunday night, cleaned up the kitchen…completely. Ladies—this was a real treat! I have never felt more honored….and like I was in someone else’s house…with someone else’s family….(kidding). It was incredible! They worked as a team…I played outside with the boys…until they wore me out and then someone else took over! It was the most fun we have had in quite a while.
Wish you all could have been here!
Watersports on Mother’s Day
They had no choice–it’s in their genes…boys that “see” water in a pool…no matter the size…must jump in….clothes, shoes and all!
Rylan just doesn’t understand why they got in with their shoes on….
Zackary says…”because you ‘posed to Wylan”…
little Jason says, “pway mommy, ‘ets pway!”
Hope you don’t mind me sharing pictures this week.
I am feeling rather wordless…
must be the weather….
I will be back to regular devotions next week….this week, let’s just share a bit over a cup of coffee…or tall glass of iced tea…sweet please…with lemon!
Zackary says, “Jason, deese shoes are heavy now…”
Janice, whatcha fixin’ for the ladies tomorrow night?
Aimee said you looked after her while I was away. I knew I could count on you! You are wonderful! Thank you for that!
A very special thank you to my sweet precious ladies and sisters-in-Christ from Marianna First….you read, you tell me you are fed–or enjoy it—it lifts my sometimes weary heart! It meant a lot on Sunday to hear those words. Thank you dear ones.
On my way….
I hope you all have a very blessed week…I will be viewing this….
I will think of you…but will have no internet…no phones ringing off the hook…and maybe…my eye will stop twitching! Yeah!
Love you all. Sister Janice..if you read this…know that I love and appreciate the faithful women at Sneads A/G… encourage Aimee while I am away…
Weekend Fun!
A couple of these are from this past summer….the top two to be exact. But I thought I’d share a spoonful of sugar with ya! Now, don’t overdose! That sweetness can get sticky! After you’ve picked up the umteenth truck or almost broken your toe on a car—while kicking it’s wheels before test-drivin’ it!
The top dude loves to play Ninja. The next one down holding the stick, loves to BE NINJA. But he loves to whine more. Which is why I am looking into Ginger Plowman’s new book, “No More Whining”.
The one pictured at the picnic table and with the storybooks and bears is my Rylan. I call him mine for many reasons. His mommy doesn’t mind.
The picture with Papa “trying” to read to a couple of them is funny, because we had more fun watching and listening to Papa deal with this lap full of boys who love books, but love to squirm and ask multiple questions while you are reading…hence, this doesn’t happen very often, so a picture to capture the moment was necessary!
The last sugar-dumplin’ is my Cy-Man. His name is just Cy. But like all grandparents, we have pet names for our kids. Tiffany was “Frog Legs”, April was and is Weezie, and the boys have their own names as well.
My sister, Aimee and I worked on a project last night….more to come on that. It wasn’t a blog. It was a room project. My sister, Wanda’s sewing room. Like I said, more to come on that.
Just a few changes…
In a world full of changes….here is yet another one. After discovering a very ugly and graphic comment on one of my posts, I have had to enable comment moderation. I appreciate my sweet readers, you are loved! Please don’t let this deter you from posting a comment. That is so encouraging to us as we “blog” along in our ministry for the Lord.
So, I continue to “blog along”—writing devotions—sharing snippets of the life at the Knight house—joys and pain—loving the Lord with all I am —all I have—and being obedient to what ever He calls—***His name is Jesus***
There are days when I share lunch with my sister, Aimee in this fashion…I call her on the cell phone—or she calls me…and as I am going to the “drive-thru” of whatever is handy, we chat…she is doing the same as me…but is about 40 miles away…and we get our food —settle in for “lunch via cell phone”. It’s not what we wish it was…but at least we are able to share it in that way. We talk, share thoughts about what the Lord is dealing with us about, and sometimes she or I will share a scripture… or sometimes…you won’t believe this…but one of us may even “sing” to the other! Stop laughing….we do….And then sometimes, we share about the “stuff of life”. The painful stuff. We help each other…bearing one another’s burdens.
This week, I did the “crazy” thing. I was driving to run a quick errand on my lunch time…and as I made a turn onto the 4-lane—a song from YEARS ago came to my mind—from out of the BLUE! See if you recognize it…
“There’s gonna be a big homecoming
I’ll meet you up in heaven
at that
Big homecoming in the sky
There’s gonna be a great big table spread
milk and honey fed
at that
Big homecoming in the sky”
It’s an old Happy Goodman Family song….I remember it from when I was a young girl, and had not thought of it in years…but it came to me as I was driving and I just started singing it…called Aimee—and left the song on her cell phone! It was so bad it made her cry! (Well, she cried…so I figure it was really bad!) It made me think of Wanda…and wondering what she was doing…is she helping get the table set? Is she cooking one of her special dishes for dessert? Or, is she sitting at the feet of Jesus? I don’t know…but sisters…I am making my plans to FIND OUT!
Don’t forget the “Mother’s Day” give-away…and the “*clues*” within each post until then…go here to read what to do! I love each of you!!!!
And the Lord Showed Up!
Can I just tell you how busy I’ve been?….You too? Well, I really missed that hour sleep!
We had a busy weekend…don’t remember what I ate…but know I must have…I don’t remember each step I took…but I know I’m tired.
We had “little guests” and I worked hard on the house all day Saturday trying to get the excess “stuff” dealt with! (From the apartment) Slowly but surely…it is taken care of.
We have had so much going on—these past several weeks and Jeff and I have tried to “plan a few days away” several times and due to someone “tampering with” the set calendar at his office…we have had to change our plans….over and over. Reservations made and cancelled. Frustrating. I have felt “overlooked”…he has felt “on the back burner”…you know what I mean?
I was thinking today about how we go about our business of living each day…and so often put Jesus on the “back burner”….overlook Him in the process of living life…we neglect the “Giver of life”. I think it all goes back to “too much stuff“. Either too much going on….or we have all too much that consumes our time by having to tend to the “things” we thought we had to have. All about “stuff”. One way or another.
Tonight at church the Lord brought a special message—reminding us to “Call on Him”. That He knows us by name. Each one. Is that hard to imagine? It is for me sometimes.
Let me tell you what happened between me leaving work on Friday and Saturday when the wild indians invaded—ahemmm—I mean little boys came to stay the night.
Friday afternoon, I was driving home from work…a rough week in itself….and the thoughts of all the mess that I had to deal with at home was just making me tired! But as I was driving, I had been listening to some praise music…(gotta have it)….and talking to the Lord….(yes, out loud.) And I just told Him, “Lord, I really need Your help tomorrow. I would just love it if You’d show up and help me get all that stuff dealt with!” I said all this thinking that maybe He would speak to my mother’s heart….or my sister, Aimee’s heart…you know….like, “Go ye and help thy sister and thy daughter!”….well, maybe not quite like that but you get the point. I NEEDED some flesh and bones help for cryin’ out loud! Physical labor we are talking about!
Anyway, I finished up that prayer at some point and drove on home and then talked with Mother and knew that she would be unavailable…then my sister Aimee….unavailable…so I just thought…”it’s gonna be You and me Lord!”
Well, early Saturday morning, I jumped up out of bed filled with excitement about the prospect of doing it all myself!….
Not.
What happened was is this. I got up…after scrounging for some breakfast, realized the milk was a day old and would not touch it, I made a toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then I put on T.D. Jakes CD “Woman, Thou art Loosed”….it is a little bit of preach…and a little bit of singing…and a whole lot of worshipping the Lord! So…while we got us some T.D. going…I got started. But, I invited the Lord and He SHOWED UP! You think I’m kidding? Girl, I am a long way from kidding.
I did me some singing…I did me some dancing…I did me some furniture moving…I did me some cleaning…I did me some picture hanging…I did me some praying…I did me a lot of talking to the Lord. Out loud. My house. He hears me all the time. It does not shock Him or anything to “hear me”. He knows the sound of my voice. If I have already upset you….shut this down…it will get worse. Maybe you don’t sing and dance before the Lord….go ahead and get off this page…move on to someone else.
Let me ask you this….where do bad thoughts come from? The devil. Right. So, where do good thoughts come from? Paul admonishes us to “think on good things”…I try…really. But ever now and then, a bad thought pops in my head. Sometimes on a daily basis. On a bad day….they pop in several times a day. Like when someone is playing their rap noise…I mean music so loud I can’t hear myself think…much less listen to what I’ve got on my car radio…and my windows are rolled up! My bad thought is —“I wish I had my baseball bat…I would fix their car radio….right there on the highway!” See…bad thought. From a very angry heart. Not Christlike at all.
So if bad thoughts come from the devil…and good thoughts come from the Holy Spirit…that would mean…to me…that “good common sense” is a gift from the Lord. Okay, don’t laugh….but Saturday while I was working away…I had gotten to the point of needing to move the dining room table. Remember I had been moving…cleaning, dancing, praising, rearranging, etc., all morning…just me and Jesus. Oh, don’t forget T.D. Jakes was involved in keeping my “dancing heart light”. So, here I call Jeff to see where he was in his work on the buildings at the camp. He’s at Lowe’s…..so again, it’s just me and Jesus. Well, I go to to the dinning table and look at it. Knowing I can’t move it.
Thought pops in my head…tip it on it’s side and just roll it to the other room….hmmmm. Okay, maybe I can do that. So, Mighty Woman here tips the table over and rolls it all the way through the living room to the hall way to the door that it won’t possibly fit through…no amount of twisting…turning or shoving will convince this table to become a moldable piece of clay and just “move on in”. A potter I am not.
Thought number two pops in my head. Lay it on it’s back and take the leg unit off. Hmmmm…..okay, I am now in search of Jeff’s cordless drill. Found it! Pedestal legs come off…table top rolled in…Pedestal leg pulled in and screwed back down…and viola`….table in place.
Mr. Husband…sweet man known at other times, walks in and says, “Miss Impatient…you just can’t wait on me can you?”….I looked at him in all sweet innocence and said, “The Lord helped me”….well after a conversation that made him think I was being “sacrilegious” or either had been smelling some bathroom cleaner that had missplaced some brain cells, he helped me with something else and then went back to work. So did I. Me and Jesus. I made up my own song—(had to, the electricity went off for several hours), I like to work to music…I kind of think that Jesus does too.
So, when your sister can’t help you…and your mother can’t help you….invite the Lord….I tell you the truth…you will have a grand time with Him! Promise!
I’ve still got lots to do!
Fight the Good Fight of Faith
This morning, I have just finished reading and trying to answer around 100 e-mails over the past week concerning prayers and/or sympathy for the loss of my sister Wanda. Our loss is heavens gain.
I have never been so overwhelmed at the magnitude of visitors and flowers at a funeral service before. At the family visitation time, over 700 necks were hugged or hands shook during this time of sharing our grief with others who loved Wanda and our family. Over 125 flower baskets or sprays lined the hall, foyer, and platform of our home church, Carmel Assembly of God.
The service yesterday was awesome. The Holy Spirit fell upon the house as a blanket of warmth offering comfort and love to each grieving heart. The music was angelic as Carmel’s choir sang a medley of praise songs. A special song by a precious trio, Aaron, Clarissa and Jenna, wrapped us even tighter in His arms, as they sang, “Praise You in this Storm”, by Casting Crowns. It was fitting.
As we look back at Wanda’s sweet life, we realize and know, as we have known each day, she fought the good fight of faith…she has laid hold on her eternal life. 1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses”.
As we stood by her bed just after she left her mortal body for a glorious immortal body, we began to praise the Lord. As the song says, “though I am torn, I will praise You in the storm”. This was sung at the services yesterday, and had special meaning for those of us that were privileged to be with her as she left this earthly life for her glorious eternal life!
“Praise You In This Storm”
I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again,
I say “Amen”, and it’s still raining
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
And I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can’t find You
But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth….
A testimony often shared by a beloved uncle, who we believe met her at the Gate, used to say, “In order to hear Him say, “Well done thy good and faithful servant”, you will have to do well.” I want to hear Him speak those words to me. I know those were heard by Wanda. For she did well. Her purpose was fulfilled. She is whole and happy with the Father. We take great comfort in that.
Thank you for all your prayers, comments, love and concern. If you were among the 700+ that visited with us at the church, thank you for that. Your visit, hug or hand shake meant so much. Those that blessed my mother’s home with food, —-incredible. The flowers you sent were beautiful. I heard someone say yesterday that one of the flower shoppes has run out of flowers before Valentines Day to make the many orders that were coming in for Wanda…I simply said, “Well, some lady might not get her valentine flowers, but Wanda deserved them all.” She did.
I have to say one last thing regarding this. I have never seen—-either on TV or in real life….any man so dedicated and loving to his wife—his life mate. My brother-in-law was awesome. Many of the doctors and nurses commented on his tender care…never leaving her side. Thank you Mark. You will never read this, since you don’t do much net surfing…but you were the perfect husband for her. You loved her completely. God blessed our family tremendously when you were married. We all love you dearly. Always will. You will always be our brother. You belong to Aimee, my brother Jeff, and myself.
I hope that somehow, the Lord will pour thoughts back into my head….as it has been very muddled lately. Hopefully next week I will post a devotion again. I love you all.
A New Body in Christ
This morning at 3:30 we held the hand of my sweet sister, Wanda, as she took her last struggling breath here….and stepped over into Heaven and drew a deep cleansing breath of celestial air. Her loving husband, Mark, my mother, my youngest sister Aimee, our home church pastor, Reverend Tommy Moore, and myself were all kneeling and in prayer—-releasing her to our Father, who stepped from His heavenly home to our earthly one to escort His beloved sweet child home.
We will miss her deeply, but we rejoice with her greatly! The pain and suffering she has endured these past, almost 44 years, has been heartbreaking to watch….but she suffers no more. On the last day of this month, she will celebrate her 44th birthday—in heaven. I can only imagine the party my Father will throw for such a faithful beloved child.
With deep gratitude, I thank each of you faithful readers, for your prayers and sweet comments, either by e-mail or on this blog. Our hearts have been greatly blessed by reading your kind words. This week will be full, therefore I will not be posting again for my usual Thankful Thursday. But rest assured, we are thankful….that she is doing things in heaven she could never do on this earth. As the Lord leads, I will share sweet moments of her final days with us.
We are all…..
Wanda’s Hand (Updated)
Today, Wanda needs all the prayers that can be prayed. I appeciate each of you that have prayed and continue to go to the Father on her behalf. Last night as I was in my prayer room/library —the words would not come. Only the tears. But some time in all the mumblings of words, the Holy Spirit came in the room and interceded for me. As I type this the tears begin again. Can’t help it. It happens. The girls at work are very sweet. I have told them I couldn’t talk about the situation much at work due to needing to keep my “face” on, and my mind on my job.
Today they will give her a unit of blood—we need much prayer during this process. It is lengthy and can be accompanied by difficulties. Tomorrow they will give her another unit of blood. Her blood count is low, but this is not a surprise to the Father. They have her on a strong medication to pull the fluid off—pray that it works. She is weak—but He is strong.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthiansn 12:9
If you are curious as to why I put the “hand print” of Wanda on this page, go back and read here. Thank you for your prayers. I appreciate each of you. You have left me some precious e-mails. Many of you have e-mailed me prayers which I am saving to take to Wanda. Thank you for your love and kindness. God is good—and we trust fully in Him.
(Update: She is resting right now, recieved a unit of blood around midnight last night, which, the process takes approximately 4 hours—so there was not much rest last night at all. There has been no fluid loss — actually a gain—but we are counting the blood as being that gain.
Today, pray for rest in between all the activities and tests. Continue to pray for the fluid to come off. She is weak and weary. Pray for them all to be bathed in the annointing of the Holy Spirit—as He gives comfort—exactly what the Bible says He came for —-our Comforter. Pray for guidance in the doctors making the right decisions for Wanda. We pray for peace and comfort. Rest for the weary and annoited strength for those watching over her.
God is good and we continue to trust Him….even in the hard places. I will update as there are changes. She will receive another unit of blood at some point today we understood last night, but not sure when, since the first unit came so late last night. Thank you for your prayers. The Father hears.)
Jeff & Angie 
