New Beginnings

Today is my grandma's birthday. Her name is and was Clara Francis Howard Thornton.  I am the oldest grandchild. I wanted to say a few things about her and my grandpa Joe.  They raised 13 kids. None of them got in to any trouble to speak of, all of them lived to be ripe old ages. My mom was the first to join them in Heaven... My grandma was a very fair skinned woman. She would tell it like it was. She didn't mess around with trying to sugarcoat anything. There was no such thing as being politically correct. My mom told me stories of them growing up in Tip Top Virginia , where my great grandmother lived.  We asked my mom did they grow up in a log cabin, she said almost. They lived similar to the Waltons, but didn't have quite as much.  On the Waltons, they had indoor plumbing, they didn't. There was the path to the outhouse and depending on the status in the community you had a one-holer or a two-holer.  My mom said they had to go to the spring and carry wa...

I was watching Jesse Duplantis last night and he was teaching on Jesus being tempted in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4. I was reminded of something that I was working on. I have never preached this message anywhere, but on radio once and I don't know when it ran...  In Matthew 4 "Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness, after fasting forty days he was hungry, the temptor came to Jesus and said, If thou be the Son of God command these stones to be turned into bread.  Jesus  said it is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of  out of the mouth of God."  Satan doesn't give up, he comes at Jesus a second time and says, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written He shall Give His angels charge over you.... Jesus said for the second time, "It is written again, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God. Satan didn't give up he came at Jesus a third time, takin...

I was reading in "The Gospel Greats" newsletter that Paul Heil sends by email to subscribers.  This is a way of keeping up with some of my friends in Southern Gospel Music.  In it there is a section called Paul's Epistle, where he shares thoughts on current events and how they line up with scripture. In this weeks he asks, "Does God have a master plan for your life"?  Interesting question. He gives his testimony about his love for radio, how he worked in college radio. Later producing a 30 minute newscast and doing a lot of interesting things. So this led me to do this blog, does God have a master plan for our lives. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you an expected end." KJV In the amplified Bible "For I know the thoughts and the plans I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace, and not for evil, to give you a hope in ...

"God Uses Cracked Pots" is a book written by Women of Faith speaker Patsy Clairmont.  It is my observation that God does use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. He uses those who have been wounded, bruised and used up by the world.  He wants vessels that are totally dependant on Him. When suffering comes, there is the temptation to ask why me? Or to wonder where God is. I don't ask that anymore, I just ask God what are you trying to teach me.  When God is doing the refining in your life, He has to burn a lot of things out of you.  The burning process is painful. He has to burn selfishness out of you, He has to burn arrogance out of you. You are not the master of your fate or the captain of your soul. Some of us need to move over and let God do the driving.  This is hard, because we don't know where we are going. We have to trust God.  We don't like trusting God, because we have trust issues.  God allows things to come into our live...

With VBS you never know what you will get. You get the kids to come to your church and you get their friends and the people that live in their neighborhood that don't go to church. You have kids from all walks of life.  They come to have fun, not necessarily to learn stuff.  Then you have the kids that their parents consider VBS as free babysitting.  There are no child care forms to fill out, no proof of income, ect. You just register your child to be picked up by the church van. There are things I have noticed about today's kids. They are more aware of things. They have had to be. They have had to grow up in a society that is full of drugs, predators and single parent families. They are more observent as well. They will ask questions , like "why do you hold your book close to your face? "I don't mind the kids asking, because there are things you have to explain to them and it is better that they ask.  They actually learn, when you don't think they are payin...

There was a post on Lola Spence Martin's page last night that I found interesting. It said something to the effect that I may not look like a fashion model, with a flat stomach and a hot body ect, but I am glad to be me... I liked that post.  The Bible tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. How can we improve on prefection? We can't. There are some things we CAN do. We can take care of our bodies better. Get enough rest and drink enough water.  If we need to lose a few pounds we can do that.  We can quit eating so much junk food. This is not so we can have hot body, but to be healthy. Let's face it, after you get a certain age, things tend to shift. I am not going to look the same as I did when I was 19 or 20.  Right now, I just want to be healthy. I am waging a war with diabetes.  This is a war that I must win. I have to watch what I eat and when I eat it.  I've lost a little bit of weight. People will ask you what are you doing to los...

It's Father's Day and I wanted to pay tribute to my dad. My dad is Charles P Smith. Known by some as "Pete", known by others as "Charlie," known by his cousins as "Sonny".  My dad is a great guy. He is 76 years old and dealing with health problems and still helping his daughters and grandchildren when needed. My dad doesn't understand this generation of men, who don't take care of things. He doesn't understand how a man will let his wife support him and he is able-bodied. He doesn't understand why, when things get tight, that today's men will not hustle to work extra to do what ever it takes to make ends meet. He doesn't understand how a man could father children and then turn his back on them, even when they turn 18. He is an old-school man.  My dad was raised mostly by his grandparents. His mother and step-father were there, but for some reason he stayed with his grandparents until he was 17.  He went to work at 16 or ...

I am just trying to figure what to do with my memories.  I was listening to a Martins CD. I had to stop, because it was too painful. It was a reminder of what I used to do. That's not good, I love the Martins. I also love the Crabb Family, Aaron and Amanda Crabb, Lauren Talley, the Bowling Family, the Gaithers. I haven't been able to listen to them for very long, because it is too painful.  It just reminds me of what I was. Some of the artists knew me too. I have questionsm like how do I become just a fan, when I have introduced some of these people in concerts?  I have pictures, some got left behind, but I have a lot of memories of things that I don't know if people care that I along with some of the staff used to travel around and do MC work for gospel sings.  It is hard to start over. That's why I really don't know if I can work in radio again.  I don't think I could keep my mouth shut . It's hard when you know how to do something and nobody wants you....

When I woke up this morning, I wanted to share with you that God gives us music to enjoy and to soothe our troubled souls.  From the time I was ten or eleven, I knew the power of music and what a good song can do.   There were the songs on the radio. We didn't have a station that played a lot of Christian music back then. I heard most of the music at that time in church. When I worked in Christian radio, I enjoyed a lot of the songs I played. They were a blessing to me as well as the listeners. The first song that I will talk about is the song "That's Enough"  Jake Hess, and the Talley Trio recently had a hit with this. The Talley Trio had used a recording of Jake singing with them. The first time I heard that song was when I was eleven at Mt. Zion Baptist Church.  The church wasn't a typical Baptist Church.  Now it would be more of a full gospel church. Anyway the first time I heard that song, the church began to praise the Lord.  The lady that sang...

Someone asked me what are my plans. Well, they are in God's hands. I want to earn my degree in Business and Accounting. I would really like to work in a nice office or maybe teach at a community college like New River.. if I work again. At this point it is all up in the air, because I am in school. Once I thought I could do something once or twice a week during the summer. At the most three times a week, but nothing has surfaced at this point.  When getting Social Security disability you can work a little and still get benefits...I really need to finish school though. I have no plan for radio except for the volunteer stuff I am doing... I would like to produce a program for the underserved audience in our community. That is the black or Afro-American audience.  They are an under served audience. I used to do a proram for four years called Saturday night Praise. It was on from 8PM til midnight.  People listened, they didn't care if it was on AM or FM. They were glad to h...

To those whom have recently lost a loved one, I am going to share some things about grief. Grief has an ebb and flow to it. One minute you could be laughing about something funny that you and that person did, the next your heart can feel like it's breaking over the loss.   My day started the same as any Monday, it was November 10, 2008.  I woke up at 2 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. I quietly went out to the kitchen to do some work on the computer. I had a password and I could work from home. The past few days had been hectic.  It seemed like the more we prayed the worse my mom got.  I had a feeling that she wouldn't be around much longer. I stopped asking God where are you in this? I began to ask Him what was He trying to show us.  The Friday before mom had a doctor's appointment about some upcoming surgery she was scheduled to have.  Sharon and I made ourselves available to go with my dad to this appointment.  My mom was just there. She ha...

Naaman was the captain of the host of the king of Syria. He was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him, the Lord have given victory to Syria.  He was a man mighty of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Kings 5 verse 1.  As we read the story of Naaman, a maid to his wife said that there was a prophet that could heal him.  Naaman gets a lot of treasure to give to the man that can cure him.  When he goes to see the prophet Elisha sends a messenger out to him. He tells him to dip in the Jordan seven times. Naaman is offended. He thinks that the prophet should have done things a certain way, and he didn't want to wash in the Jordan River. There is a lot to be learned here.  First look at Naaman, he was honorable, a great man, but he was a leper. We can give this story a look in today's eyes. We know people of good moral character, they even hold positions in church, they give to charities, they feed the poor, but they are lost without Je...

Last week was one of the roughest weeks I've had in a long time.  Nothing earth shaking happened. I was struggling with a depression that was really bad.  I guess there were things that aggravated the situation. It was bad.  When you go through a day and the highlights of the day was that you watched DVD's for most of the day, because you didn't have to energy to do anything else, something is wrong.  I wasn't sure if the depression was the result of my diabetes, or something spiritual or both.  I reached out to ask for prayer and all I got was people giving me scriptures to read. I told my sister what was going on and she was going to bring me some sewing to do.  My husband's answer was to work on my blogs or to write some short stories.  All of this I am sure folks meant well, but when you have something like this attacking you, what you need is intercessory prayer. There is just no way around it.  As I take the time to pray for people the Holy ...

Our dear friend and radio buddy Jimmy Kirk passed away today. He went home to be with the Lord. He fought a long battle with cancer and for a while he was winning the fight.  I kept up with things through Dennis Williams and Ernie Keller.  Jimmy loved life and music.  He did the radio program for the Mabscott Holiness Church for many years. I met Jimmy back when I first started working in radio. It was WBKW then, he was a 1979 graduate of Independence High School. He worked at the WV Turnpike for a long time, until his health wouldn't allow it.  Jimmy and I used to pick with each other, he called me "Sandra Dee."  When he came to the radio and the door was locked I would sing. "You keep a knocking but you can't come in" and then open the door.  He would call and request songs in the morning. The last song I was able to get to him was "Lord I'm Coming Home" by Ponder Sykes and Wright.  In 2009 me and Gary Hosey and Jimmy Ernie all had a reunio...

I have to put this in a blog, because there is too much to say. I was reading the posts of Mergie Bradley who worked as a substitute teacher this year. She is to be commended.  Kids really give the subs a hard way to go.  She shared with us at church that she felt that God was using her to impact the lives of some of the kids.  This is true. It's a mean world out there and you have got to equip kids to deal with it.  Nobody is going to cater to their every need.  Being a mother herself she would know. The part that saddens me is the part where she says she's been called a n and other words.  Words hurt. In the day and age where we can send a man into outer space, why can't we get rid of racism.  No matter how much you accomplish, you are just a n. to some people.  I've been called that myself.  I heard Jesse Duplantis say something on TV. the other day that made sense. He said our enemies, the ones who bombed the world trade center, people ...

     I had to do a paper for a class at church, it was called, "How Jesus Taught".   I love to teach the Word. That is my calling.  He used different methods and met people at the point of their need.  He used things and situations that people were familar with.  I want to follow His example of teaching. When I was growing up, we had a good Bible teacher in the form of Mr. Joseph Neal.  I learned a lot from Mr. Neal. I would hear stuff and go home and look it up. There was a hunger to learn more...      Jesus taught through the use of miracles. There was the woman who pressed through the crowd, believing that if she could touch the hem of His garment she would be well.  Her pressing and faith made her well. Sometimes we have to press our way through a situation to get God's best.  Sometimes a person that is in need or hurting can't hear what Jesus is saying, because the need is too great.   ...

     I just spent two days with some wonderful Christian women.  There were eleven of them.  Last night I was in a life group.  That is the new thing in churches now.  It was a group of women who had been through various things in life that were abusive.  Sharon thought that I should be part of this group, because of all the abuse I went through at work.  They were using Joyce Meyers book, "The Penny" as a point of discussion.  The first time I met with these women, I listened. Some of them knew the story about me, they welcomed me in.    During the winter we didn't meet. Several meetings were cancelled due to the weather.  I went last month to a meeting and enjoyed it very much. In a small group, you can be really open.  People know you are hurting and they are praying for you.  Sometimes I have outbursts, because I hurt and I know of others who are hurting through no fault of their own.  Circum...

I was planting the flowers yesterday evening when I found a walnut in the flower bed from the winter. We have a walnut tree in the backyard and the squirrels feast all winter from the nuts that fall to the ground. Matt tries to confine them to one of the raised garden beds, but the munching squirrels carry them around.  When I found this nut, I remembered that goofy song from childhood "Found A Nut".  The one that says "Found a nut, found a nut found a nut just now, just now I found a nut.  Then its cracked it open, then it was rotten.  Anuyway I started singing this while planting the flowers. I don't know if any of the neighbors heard this or not but it took me back... We lived on a dead-end street in what's called,"The Red Brush". I don't know why its called that.  My dad says when they moved there they were the youngest people to move in, when they sold the house we grew up in in 2007, they were the oldest people there. It was a strange neighb...

     I was watching "Joyce Meyer" this morning and she read a scripture from Isaiah 45: 2, "I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates of brass,and cut in sunder the bars of iron."   There is another scripture that says I will open a door that no man can shut and shut a door that no man can open. In summary, God opens and closes doors, not people.      Have you ever been trying to do something and the door of oppertunity seemed to be closed?  Sometimes the door is closed, because it is Gods timing.  Sometimes our season is up with something we are doing and the door closes. It seems like that someone closed the door. There you are binding the devil and praying. God has another plan, but we are so focused on the present situation we can't see what God has in store for us. He sees the big long-range picture of our life. I was reminded of that recently.    ...

     It's that time of year again... Time for Vacation Bible School. As soon as school is out many churches have Vacation Bible sShool.  It's fun and a lot of hard work for those involved. No matter how much help you have, it is never enough to deal with today's hyper-active, computer/Ipod generation.  Someone once called VBS an anointed time for the children. I thought to myself, get real. It is an anointed time for children, a busy time for adults.      I went to my first VBS at 11. We sing songs and had class, my mom handled the crafts for our age group.  My mom took on the project for our two week VBS, us preteen girls had to make a bellbottom pants suit.  It was a simple pattern. She thought that we all needed to know was how to sew.  So we she got several patterns, and we learned how to pin a pattern, cut it and baste it. When we got it basted, she ran it up on her sewing machine, and she put on the trim on it...