Enjoy the Creamery Coffee Barn's finished murals for your photo ops! They are lovely!!!

I know that God watches over me. I have been in a bit of a darker place. I do have highs and lows, and my prayer is always a thankful one that I can trust Him to get me through to brighter days. He is faithful. He is faithful and touches me through uncommon situations and people. I love to watch the Holy Spirit work in my life, but I really LOVE seeing him bless others. When someone does something kind for me, he blesses them. He blesses those who give without expectation—selflessness vs selfishness.

I was at Walmart picking up some gift bags and ran into a sweet friend, a young woman who would give all she had to help someone in need. Today, she was my "God touch." We visited for some time, and she hugged me, and I could feel the darkness shift. As I moved through the day, it was better. I'm working through it, and God is in the mix. 

Later this afternoon, I met a forever friend at one of my favorite places, The Creamery Coffee Barn, for our monthly affogato treat. You don't know what an affogato is? It is a scoop of ice cream with coffee poured over it...like a Coke float but a coffee float. Anyway, we always have a sweet visit. She brings a "God touch" of encouragement every time we get together. 

While we were visiting, the server brought the sweetest note to us that our treat was gifted by, guess who! The giving young woman who lifted my spirits at Walmart earlier in the day.

You'll, God. God is in everything in my life. He delivers encouragement and warms my heart through beautiful souls. I'm a blessed Ushka!

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

Alvah Curtis Roebuck was a watchmaker who partnered with Richard Sears to start the mail-order business that eventually became Sears, Roebuck and Company.

My father worked for Sears for nearly forty years. Santa was always at Sears during Christmas. I was four years old here. I grew up with the Sears Catalog and I loved getting a first copy of the Christmas Wish Book each season.

Sears was really a pretty big deal. The store and the catalogs.

'Tis the season to give back! Western Bank is having an open house on December 3, 2024, in partnership with the Plainview Chamber of Commerce, from 5-7 p.m. All the fun planned is wonderful, but the blessing of giving back to help another is greater fun!!! Look at the invite for the items our local F.I.S.H. will share from our giving! Drop these items by the bank any time. Be sure all items are on date. Everyone can give something!!!

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. — Hebrews 11:13

We do not receive the complete fulfillment of God's promises on earth. We are simply pilgrims on a journey. I am so deeply humbled that I have been allowed to walk and talk with God since I was a young girl. It is a choice I made and has proven to be a wise one.

As we celebrate the Season of Thanksgiving, remember all that God has done for you and others, miracle upon miracle.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

We must find ourselves thankful!

The Holy Spirit is the butter on God's daily bread. If you know me at all, you understand that giving is my jam. It is sweet and smooth to my soul, with a pleasing flavor of faith-friendships. I am blessed to hear the voice of God in so many ways. I love to participate in his plan.

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.— 2 Corinthians 9:11

I have nothing, yet I am rich. I am undeserving, but he gives me love. I am weak, and he makes me strong. I have his favor through Jesus Christ.

I struggle with accepting gifts. The Holy Spirit nudged me hard years ago with the big yell YOU ARE DESERVING! I still struggle. When I accept a gift it is easier now because I understand that God will bless the giver. This is the gift within gift giving.

Imagine my surprise today when these were delivered.

Recently I met Myna McCutcheon when they were in town for Lawrence's induction to the Hall of Fame with a star set in front of the Fair Theater. Thanks to Myna, the Hale County Historical Commission was honored to have time with him to record his history on the Friday before the big day. They both were so gracious.

I told someone that of all the "famous" people I could pick to meet, Lawrence McCutcheon is the name that I heard often in my growing-up years that I wish I could hear his story. I love his two sisters, Kathleen Jackson and Ruby Ann Riggins. They are all heart. I never dreamed I would meet this guy who made it big when the odds were stacked against him. He continually expressed how people were always there to help him along the way. To sit and listen and see how God worked throughout his life through encouragers (and his family's prayers) to bring him success brought tears to my eyes. 

Myna and Lawrence McCutcheon blessed us while visiting his hometown. Good people come from Plainview and West Texas. Myna & Lawrence, thank you for the beautiful reminder of generosity. May you be abundantly blessed!!!

Thankful to our dads! U.S.A. Veterans!

Through the years she had discovered that some people had certain advantages that allowed them to escape the worst consequences of their bad decisions, but she wouldn't call that luck. If she did, she would have to wonder why good luck and bad had not been distributed more equitably, and dwelling upon that was the quickest route to bitterness. Jennifer Chiaverini, Circle of Quilters, Elm Creek Quilts

As my husband has always said, "Life is not fair."

There are so many variables that shape our pinball paths, the balls hitting here or there, stopping, getting knocked around by the "flippers" of life, moved, shifted, adjusted, bells ringing with the good, and finding ourselves stuck in a place where we can't move forward or backward. We all are on a different path. Our choices are important. It seems we grow more when we are in a valley than when we are on the mountaintop, but for each set of circumstances and each person's wiring, it will be different.

"Pinball" by Chris Bordenca

Asperger's wiring has taught me so much throughout my life, most before I was diagnosed at the age of 58, but a better understanding once I could grasp the whys.

It would have been easy to be bitter, but God. Since the wiring is mostly a relationship awkwardness, friends and friend groups are simply something that I am not empowered with the ability to understand. I admire these things in others and I love that they exist. God, in his divine creation of me, needed me to be different. I embrace this and know I am so very blessed. 

We can look at others and be bitter because they do this or that, have this or that, or act this way or that, or we can love and encourage. 

Life may not be fair, but God is. He offers unmerited favor of Salvation through Jesus Christ, the same for me and you. The promise is the same. His Word does not change. He leaves the light on! How we see and understand it is what helps direct our paths.

When I'm old I will NOT wear purple, nor a red hat. I'm sure you have read Jenny Joseph's famous poem, Warning! If not, here it is...

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

I guess I want to know why she chose the color purple to represent old age. Possibly, it is a color not worn by very many people. Is it not worn because it implies old age?

And here is where AI works to our advantage, the symbolism of the color purple...

Royalty and luxury

Purple is associated with royalty, nobility, and luxury because it was once a color only accessible to the upper class. The dye for purple was made from sea snails, and it took many snails to produce a small amount of dye. The symbolism of color is cultural and not universal. The more rare the colored pigment, the higher the value of its meaning. 

Stability and energy

Purple is a combination of red and blue, which represents the stability of blue and the energy of red. 

Creativity and independence

Purple can symbolize creativity, independence, and bravery. In creative workspaces, purple can encourage employees to think innovatively.

Mystery and exoticism

Purple is not common in nature, so it can also be mysterious and exotic, inspiring curiosity. 

Calming effect

Purple can have a calming effect. 

Sadness

In some European cultures, purple can represent sadness and is sometimes connected to mourning. 

 

 

As I have read this poem over the years, the colors have always thrown me off. For me, wearing purple with a red hat is not at all in my fashion storehouse. However, as I've aged, the words of Warning! have given me ideas and a security found in the fact that others my age do weird things. I think it is a loss of filtering that we grow to enjoy as our need to not be forgotten comes through.

 

 

 

 

 

You wear purple, I'll wear green, and you top it off with red! We will call ourselves rebels. "Rebels of the Round Table!"

 

 

 

We have a new Rodney painting ...

Santa just wants to have fun. He will always be a kid at heart. Mrs. Claus smiles when she sees the twinkle in his eyes. In the off-season, he tests the toys. He and the elves hi-ho, hi-ho as off to work they go. Christmas 2024 is quickly approaching and Santa will be here soon. To get your 2024 Santa print, order yours from the Wyatt Gallery in Downtown Plainview or on the Kenneth Wyatt website.

Unusual things are noteworthy: you don’t see them every day. And because you don’t see them a deep appreciation is understood. It has been said that to find one unusual friend in this life is truly a gift.

I had lunch with a friend recently, a ‘holy lunch’ as we call them. Each time we are together is a time that the Holy Spirit is alive through encouragement and meaningful spiritual conversation. We cherish these moments. I have a deep appreciation for this ‘unusual’ friend. God richly blesses me through her. 

Colossians 3:12-15, Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

An unusual friend is someone with whom God shows favor and it is evident. As I move closer to my finish line I am reminded that Paul stood alone towards the end with few friends: Onesimus, Luke, and Mark most likely were in that group. I believe they each were unusual in their approach to friendships but they all knew the one who is the Great I am. This man named Jesus was seen as unusual and what a friend we find in him!