TIMES ARE CHANGING, AND SO ARE WE

Fall is soon to arrive. DEFINITION OF FALL - a verb - moving downward, rapidly and freely without control.

A TIME OF FULL MATURITY, ESP THE LAST STAGES OF MATURITY OR EARLY STAGES OF DECLINE.

I did not like the last part of that definition, but it's true. We cannot stop change or aging in our lives.

Because of the excellent marketing of luxury creams and "quick fix" injections, I have bought many kinds, never the injections. I don't like needles. I understand wanting to take care of our skin. I like to look attractive and well-groomed, especially in my profession.

At some point, we have to factor these costs into our budget. We have to make financial choices. I despise the word "budget", don't you?

I work hard in my vocation, like so many others. I do get the feeling "I work hard, I deserve it, until I meet with my cpa, "got to cut back, Mrs.

Brown," inflation is going up.

Most of us, due to rising costs must watch our budgets. I despise that word, budget. Don't you? It's ok, we are in this together.

America first always. Amen. I get it. I love my country and Old Glory. I pray everyday for our leaders and countrymen. We rescue animals, people, whoever we can. My city is one of the most giving communities you could live in. Many of our children grew up, went away pursuing higher education to come back here and practice in our home town. That speaks volumes. I love our city.

BUDGET: That brings up another subject. COST. I have purchased various brands because of attractive packaging of the box? Not intentionally but because it caught my eye, causing me to pause it's site and shop. I'm getting older and I see those little crow's feet appearing around and under my eyes. I deserve to pamper myself. We should be good stewards of every aspect in our life. I read that in a big black book next to my granny's bed, the Bible.

Moving on, I will need a backhoe to dig me out, figuratively, of course.

Yes, the box, with its shiny, large, emerald colors of golden gold and persian blue letters. It puts me into a trance. "Order me, just push the button, Hazel Lee, you deserve it."

The glistening color of the box, it's name, all the little tricks these corporations pay to have made are enticements for us to purchase their product. I won't mention names but I have purchased from the lowest-priced to the highest-priced products.

Guess where I have ended up? Ponds face cream and Jergens hand lotion. Occasionally I will pick up a favorite on sale. I began to study their contents. Most carry two or three of the same ingredients. The biggest factor is their cost. You can check these out for yourself but I need to stop right there before some big cosmetic company has one of their many attorneys give me a call. It won't be to have a cup of tea.

I'm sure you would have some choice comments about this subject. Drop me a line.

HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED

Does anyone remember these old Simplicity and Butterick dress Patterns?

I found some of these old patterns a friend had given me. I couldn’t help myself. I sat down

and began looking at them. How many times did I goof up, cutting out my patterns as a teenager in home economics. Many.

My home economics teacher in the 8th grade was ruthless. “Hazel Lee, redo that zipper, Hazel Lee, lower your hem lower, Hazel Lee, repin that sleeve!” She screamed constantly.

I never could understand her. Somehow, I felt sorry for her husband. Mean! Mean! Mean! I barely made a B-. I made A‘s in my other classes.

No comment what my step-mother said!

Truth be known, I probably needed counseling after her class. I don’t think my parents would have allowed it. “Part of growing up, Hazel Lee,” “Get over it,” my parents would say, “you can do better than that.” They never saw all the pin holes in my fingers caused from recutting my pattern so the fabric was even.

I am putting these old patterns away for someone else who might want them. My parents thought she was the nicest. So not true. I do think she permanently scarred me for life. Why? Because here I sit telling you. I’ll move on from this subject. She really didn’t. At the time, it seemed worse. Isn’t this true of all things in life that pull us down? At first, we feel we can’t survive. In Christ we can.

One other cutie I must share. One of my dear friends was telling me about her granddaughter, now away at college. Recently, her home economics teacher instructed her to pick up fabric for a class project. She was going to sew a tote bag.

When picking out the fabric, she couldn’t decide how much to purchase, so she bought two bolts. When asking her mother for money to cover the cost, her mother asked how much she spent. “$98.00,” she said. Gasping, her mother went on to tell her she had spent way too much money. There you have it. History repeats itself. To this day, I take issue with home economics teachers. My daughter was another failure at sewing. Runs in the family I suppose.

When autumn arrives, I can’t wait to get the fall candles out. Problem is, I can’t decide which ones to buy. So, I end up buying all of them! Why? Because I can’t make a decision!

Word - OBSESSIVE - of the nature of obsession. In other words, you can’t make a decision. I’m a chocolate or vanilla girl. Simple. Keep it simple. Don’t give me too many choices. I think it might be a sin. My husband, God rest his soul, would become frustrated with me. I wonder why? “Hazel Lee, you just can’t make a decision,” he disgustedly would say.

He definitely would not let me go to the nursery alone. I love roses. You can figure this one out. I could never get just one. Nope, I had to have two just alike. What if one died? Enough!

OLD RECIPES ANYONE?

I am trying to go through my recipes from what seems like child birth. I have them scattered all over my dining room table. My mother, my sister, my grannies, my childrens’ grandmother, close friends, where do I begin? Tragically, I will go through some, the phone will ring, and my mind shifts gears again. Another day. Back into my files, or a pretty box covered in roses for another day. I try.

A GIFT FROM MY SWEET JAN, FRIEND OF 40 YEARS!

THE BEST !

HOW SWEET AND PRETTY ARE THESE, I ASK YOU?

When she dropped these pretties off to me, she shared the sweetest display of love I could ever imagine! As she walked through her home of 45 years, packing to move closer to her grand babies, she picked this bowl and darling bud vases and packed them in a bag for me.

She knows my love of roses. I cried when she left. 40 plus years of friendship, through thick or thin, we have been there for each other. We both buried our husbands these past tgreens years.

If you have five close friends in your fall years of life, you are blessed. God has blessed me. Kids now grown, our grandchildren have become the center of my life.

LOVE THE COLORS OF FALL!

LAST OF THE SUMMER HARVEST!

Money doesn’t have much value to us anymore. Our friendship love, and encouragement have molded us together. Christ has always been the center of our lives. FALL - change, time moves on. Before you know it, spring will arrive. Off to the garden I will go. She will too. On a smaller scale, but rest assured we will have our tomatoes growing, even if it is in pots.

Growing tomatoes is a southern thing. You just do it. For your family, your neighbors, or on a foldout table in front of the house,FREE TO WHOEVER WANTS TOMATOES! My granddaughters love to do it, collecting any “donations” for our animal shelter. What a great way to teach them about helping others, and of course, man’s best friend, our sweet pets. It’s the best.

What does our Lord say about change? To find meaningful change in our lives, we must allow God to direct us. Our lives will have purpose and meaning with Him guiding us.

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:15, “Don’t meander. Don’t just drift around. Don’t aimlessly walk though life.” God says we must walk with purpose. Think of the world we live in today. Paul tells us we must not walk aimlessly. Pay attention and stay focused on what you are doing.

My husband told me repeatedly to be aware of my surroundings at all times. “It’s not always safe in this world, Hazel Lee!” He was a Vietnam veteran. He had been injured severely by an incoming missile during hand to hand combat.

A purple Heart who went there in 1968, the Big Red One, 16th Infantry, he was one of the first soldiers to hit the ground. He was a protector. He protected me and tried to teach me, should anything happen to him. God took him home too soon. I pray I never have to change a tire. He will be laughing.

Interestingly enough, all the things he taught me come streaming back into my memory when I feel scared. I miss him. It is natural for us to walk in darkness. Paul said in Ephesians 5:8, “Once you were in darkness,” but then he goes on to say, “walk as children of light.“

So how are we doing? If you are lost, then stop, wherever you are. Talk to God. He is listening.

Proverbs 14:15 says, “The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.”

Spend time wisely. We live in an evil world. We know that when we turn on the television.

Paul says To be focused on “redeeming our time, because the days are evil.”Ephesians 5:16

In other words, use our time wisely. Nothing wrong with browsing internet or TV, they are not bad in and of themselves, but we need to put God first, at the top on our priorities.

John 15:19 - we are not to be in the world, but of the world.

Fall is such a pretty time. Leaves fall helplessly to the ground. Colors of the leaves become breath-taking! Chili and football become a pastime.

Before you know it, you are in the fall of your lives. Some of us are in late autumn.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 - “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:”

I guess my question would be what season of your life are you in?

Be still, be calm, and pray, it is there where you will find your Eternal being and your season in Christ Jesus!

Amen! Happy fall!

“John 4:4 - ..............the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

---