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Home Sweet Home
6 AugHome Sweet Home!
Proverbs 10:22 (KJV) The blessing of the LORD, it makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.
I hope that this week’s blog does not bore the readers, but will encourage you! If you have family that loves you, I hope that you know how fortunate you are. That you are richer than you even think! Yes, most families have disagreements, arguments and even right down feuds, but at the end of the day, this is what you’ve been blessed with. God has reason behind putting you into your family. Maybe you are to be the example of who He is and go and love the unlovely anyway regardless of all their little quirks! Have you taken a good look in the mirror lately, if so, surely you can see that God has such a sense of humor! Maybe he wants us to laugh and learn to be joyful. It is my opinion that your family is your first test! If you can get along with them, hey…you can get along with everyone else!
I am returning home from a 1300 mile round trip from Georgia, to Kentucky and Ohio to see as much family as I could in nine days. I have five sisters! With all of their individual families it is quite a large family when we all get together. The reunions with them were wonderful and the time spent was priceless. I feel when we get together that we honor our parents who have passed away, but are never too far away that we can’t feel them with us. I also feel that we do them proud as they were the glue that held us all together! Unfortunately, in this time we live in a lot of families do not get together unless a loved one has passed and they all show up for their funeral… That is why this visit was so sweet to me. It was visited because we wanted to visit, no sad circumstances but just a joyful time with family.
While I have gone from this sister’s home to this sister’s and yet again another sister’s home, it is amazing how much we all have in common. As I was welcomed in by my sister’s I realized how much of our parents was instilled in each of us. It would show in the way we prepared meals, or in the way we chose the décor for our homes. Everyone that I visited, of course, had a treasured memento displayed on their walls, or in a curio cabinet that at one time had belonged to our parents.
This visit “home” Vanceburg, Kentucky, was so sweet. I had not only spent time with my immediate family, sisters, their husbands, nephews, nieces, even new great nieces that I had never met until this trip, but I also was able to spend time with several of my Aunts on my Dad’s side of the family. I chuckle when I am with them because they are so full of life and seem to never age. They honored me by coming to my first book signing event that was held in my hometown! As one by one entered the doors of the Library’s community room, I was so overjoyed to see them. Each had stories to tell of times spent with my Dad and their parents which were my grandparents. I loved every second of it not only for my sake but for my two boys who was able to meet with their great aunts once again! Again the time was priceless!
After the trip and reunion in Kentucky, we drove further to Middletown, Ohio where one of my sisters and her husband live. Her two boys, my nephews, live there as well with their wives and children. My children are extremely close to her boys and their children so of course the visit with them was wonderful. We went to see the new home of one of the nephews, which was absolutely beautiful. Again I rejoiced as it is wonderful to see the Lord’s blessings being poured out from one generation to the next!
Finally, we arrived in Oberlin, Ohio to yet another sister’s home, which is pictured! This visit is always great as my sister and her husband host a huge “Hog Roasting” event that has turned into a family reunion/ friend fest of sorts. This made the 9th year I believe that they’ve had it at their own home. They rent huge tents and chairs, even a porta potty which we joke about, the whole shebang! It is a wonderful time of food and fellowship that people talk about throughout the whole year. They live out in the country with a lot of little towns surrounding them. I love to just drive through these small little towns. We see such uniquely built buildings that have stood the test of time and such beautiful old two-story homes. We love driving through the country and seeing all of the farms sown with soy beans and corn as far as your eye can see. If you look very carefully which we always do, there are herds of deer lined at the openings in the fields. We are always thrilled to see them. This year we saw several wild turkeys which made it even more exciting! My boys love it as they run around barefoot and stay up practically all night when they put the pig on to cook. They build a huge bon-fire and roast marsh mellows and hotdogs. Again the time spent with them is precious and even though we dread the 13 hour trip back home to Georgia, we love it!
I hope that this personal vacation blog did not bore you, but truly made you homesick to want to spend more time with your family. You are Rich! I hope that you value them as a treasure that you’ve been given and that if they don’t make the effort to be close, that maybe you will!
Life’s little Rewards!
20 Feb
Life’s little Rewards!
Everything that I have ever accomplished in my life was always with the help of others. Whether they physically helped me or just encouraged me to do it, when I achieved it, we all enjoyed the reward of having accomplished something. I believe that as human beings, brothers and sisters, that we have been put on earth for purpose and reason. I also believe that we all have our own journey or path to walk, but that the God of the universe who has made us and put us on planet earth intended for us to interact with one another to complete that journey. No man is an island unto himself, but we need each other along the way! This is why I am writing this story or blog! I want to encourage you! I want to encourage and pep you up, and be your cheerleader and shout, “Come on you can do it!”
I grew up in a little rural community in Kentucky. We owned a pretty good size farm and raised tobacco on our farm at well as on others. We learned firsthand as we drug our bodies out of our warms beds at 4:00 in the morning the meaning and value of hard work and sweat.
I remember looking on my Daddy’s face when Spring would come. His whole persona would change as he couldn’t wait to begin tilling the fields for our huge garden, and of course the tobacco which was our money crop. He would go outside and began walking a huge field that was seated at the end of our side yard. My Mom would have us girls, six of us altogether; open up the windows to let the fresh air and Sunshine take the winter’s stale odor out of our two-story farm-house. When we opened the windows wide, we could hear faint whistling sounds coming from that field. It would be my little Daddy whistling a tune of gladness!
As we all worked to raise the crops our reward of our labor would come at different times as the crops were harvested. I could remember picking green beans and tomatoes for my mother to can. She lined the shelves of a root cellar in an old smokehouse that sat behind the house. We dug a wagon full of potatoes and God only knows how much cabbage Mom put up for soups and Sour Kraut . When she would finish canning and the shelves were full, she had this satisfying proud look upon her face. This was one of her rewards. She knew that she was providing food for her family for the winter.
I remember my Daddy would have that same look of satisfaction on his face as my Mom’s when he sold the tobacco at the end of the year. It was usually always around Christmas time! His reward was providing for his family by selling his crops. Although it was backbreaking work, my Daddy simply loved being out there in those fields and doing what he had to do for his family.
My Dad and Mom however, wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the rewards of their labor! My parents would call all of the girls into the kitchen and dining room area that was just one big old room. We would gather around the dining table in great anticipation as my parents wore a smile upon their faces. Our faces beamed as well, as my Dad would start with the older girls who had done the most work. He handed them a crisp new 50 or 100 dollar bill, which was a lot of money back then. The amount would usually depend on how much tobacco we had raised that year and what it sold for. Then, of course, he gave the younger girls their share! We were all excited and felt like we were the richest people in the world. We had received our reward for the year’s long work!
In my own journey, there were many pathways that I could have taken. I feel that the way my journey began made a huge difference in how I chose pathways and viewed the roads I have taken. We learn by experience whether those experiences are good or bad. I have found there were milestones in my journey! Some of those milestones were good and some bad that propelled me to the next pathway. The important thing is to learn from your journey. There are many goals that I’ve set in my life that I just have not been able to accomplish. I cannot use the unrealized goals as an excuse to stop! Those goals are still a possibility for me! I’ve realized that even the mistakes that I’ve made have lessons to be learned. If I will let them teach me, they may have something in them that will help me on my next path.
Nothing is wasted! Even the bad experiences have their reward if you will glean from them. The important thing is to keep pressing toward the goal! Also to simply notice that Life’s rewards come disguised sometimes, but that they are always there. I cheer you on my friend! I hope that your Life is full of great blessings and rewards!
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Christine Gilliam Hornback
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