Grafted in and Grateful

Thank You Lord for my Family
I am so blessed
Parents that love me
Siblings too… yes!

A sweet, caring Husband
He is my best friend
Thank You Lord always
Again and again

Though I had no children
Raised in my home
A decision that I made
All on my own

You gave me a step-son
And I was able to see
What a good Mother
You’d make out of me

So thankful for family
All precious to me
My heart overflowing
How can it be

You’d bless such a sinner
With so much love
Praising my Savior
For gifts from above

The Potter molds both noble pieces
And those for common use
I’ve caught myself wondering why the common pieces
Would be used for such abuse

But who am I that I should EVER question
The Potter of the use of His clay?
Shall what is formed say to who formed it…
“Why did you make it that way?”

It is not for me to be concerned how
God will make His power known
What if He bore with great patience
“Throw-away” pieces from His Almighty Throne

What if He did this to make the riches of
His favor known to His nobility?
Those He prepared in advance for His glory
Yes, that’s you and me!

So forgive Your noble pieces Lord when we question and wonder
Why You would blame the common pieces that resist Your will?
It is written…”The Lord God will have mercy on whom He has mercy”
It’s not ours to question Your will

It’s not ours to ponder
Common pieces prepared for destruction
When You sat at
The Potter’s Wheel

So when our mind wanders to places and things
That might cause us to question or doubt
Help us to remember there are things from above
THAT WE ARE JUST NOT MEANT TO FIGURE OUT!

POWER VERSES:
Romans 9:18-26 The Voice (VOICE)

18 So when and where God decides to show mercy is completely up to Him. Likewise, when He chooses to harden one’s heart, how can we argue?

19 I can hear one of you asking, “Then how can He blame us if He is the one in complete control? How can we do anything He has not chosen for us?” 20 Here’s my answer: Who are you, a mere human, to argue with God? If God takes the time to shape us from the dust, is it right to point a finger at Him and ask, “Why have You made me this way?” 21 Doesn’t the potter have the right to shape the clay in any way he chooses? Can’t he make one lump into an elegant vase, and another into a common jug? Absolutely. 22 Even though God desires to demonstrate His anger and to reveal His power, He has shown tremendous restraint toward those vessels of wrath that are doomed to be cracked and shattered. 23 And why is that? To make the wealth of His glory known to vessels of mercy that are prepared for great beauty. 24 These vessels of mercy include all of us. God has invited Jews and non-Jews, insiders and outsiders; it makes no difference. 25 The prophet Hosea says:

I will give a new name to those who are not My people; I’ll call them “My people,”
and to the one who has not been loved, I’ll rename her “beloved.”[a]
26 And it shall turn out that in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not My people,”
they will be called “children of the living God.”[b]

“He said…”, “She said…” …That’s what I heard
“God’s honest truth?”… “Yes, every word!”
I’d bet we’ve all fallen prey to the gossip game
Because the tongue is the most difficult beast to tame

So when you are tempted with juicy nuggets to dispel
Remember not every story is yours to tell
Think before you speak, put yourself in their place
Practicing what you’ve received through God’s grace

Idle gossip makes you judge, jury and executioner
But if facts aren’t true…shouldn’t you have acquitted her?
Keep a strong rein on your tongue and you’ll find
You can extinguish the flame of gossip every time

Let some of that junk go in one ear and out the other
Use your words only to lift up a brother
In reading my work, you might think I’m trying to preach
But God is using this gift – Yes, it’s “me” He’s trying to teach

But if they speak to your heart and I can bring you along
Steer you away from things I’ve done wrong
Then my purpose for writing these words is done
Teaching both of us how to rein in the tongue

I walked through thickets along a dusty path
The way was not clear it was not meant to pass
But I continued down the broken road
The way more difficult as each cobblestone

Overturned yet another consequence
And the choices I made were my recompense
When I thought I knew best about what was good for “me”
The path that I took would soon let me see

That when I let go of The Father’s hand
That’s when I fell, I could no longer stand
I stumbled and fumbled my way down the path
That ended facing… my own Goliath

But The Lord never left me, He heard my cry
He gave me wings and taught me to fly
So that I could see clearly above adversity
That a path devoid of Jesus was not meant for me

The selfish desires that took me off course
Were not of God, but my own driving force
Letting Satan steer me down the broken road
Impaired my good judgement and it too did erode

Some of my choices were not the best
And each fork in the road presented another test
I took every wrong turn that came upon me
When you’re on Satan’s path there are no right turns…you see

So my advice to you as you go on your way
Do not deviate from the The Lord’s path or from what He has to say
Read His Word daily and paint it on your heart
So you’ll live through eternity, never apart

From The One who loved us
And gave up His life
So our future would be blessed
With His glorious light

Margaret Elizabeth Tapley Hudson – “Bettye”

Dear Mom,
Thank you for taking care of me when I was just a kid. Thank you for always loving me no matter what I did. Thank you for giving me a great love of music too and the poetry inside my heart began by watching you. Thank you for sitting me on the kitchen counter and teaching me how to cook; letting me eat cake batter and pretending not to look!

Thanks for letting me stay up late to watch old movies in black and white. Some of my fondest memories were spent with you, watching TV at night. I remember the first time the story line of a movie cut through my heart like a knife. It was a film we watched together, starring Lana Turner and John Gavin called The Imitation of Life.

Thank you too for afternoons spent picking four-leaf clovers. I’d love to go back in time again and search for them over and over.
Whenever I smell a Gardenia, it is deja vu of one of your favorite colognes. And thank you for all the times you clapped when I sang with a hairbrush for a microphone.

Thanks for the Sunday drives through our little town, to places I had not yet seen, and for ending each trip with a final stop at the local Dairy Queen.

Thank you too for all the shopping trips to buy me shoes and fun, fashionable clothes. I still enjoy shopping to this day…yes that’s a girl thing I suppose.

Thank you for every present you bought and wrapped and tied with bows. The times you made Christmas special, under the Tree a treasure trove!

For the lessons learned by working hard, the allowance poster board comes to mind. The silver and gold stars by our names when we completed our chores…each time.

You taught us to give back to God, our quarters in the offering plate. That has resonated with my heart and I continuing giving to this very date.

I’ll never forget our family time, around the kitchen table after dinner. You and Dad read Bible stories giving each of us kids a glimmer, of the faith and hope and love instilled inside your hearts from our Grandparents. What a beautiful gift you’ve left for Karen, Bobby, Bonita and I to inherit.

Like all families there were times when there was adversity, but that’s not what I will remember or what my heart will see. When I think of you my heart will praise God for the Mother he gave to me.
Margaret Elizabeth Tapley Hudson, my beautiful Mom, “Bettye”.

I Love You Mom,
Marie Elaine

I trust You though I’ve not seen your face
I believe Your Word was put in place
To steer the chosen by Your Grace…You are my place of PEACE

I love You though we’ve never met
For paying all of my sin debt
I believe Your Word is true…You are my source of WISDOM

You know my name and call me friend
Our conversations never end
You’re with me each and every day…You are my ROCK and my REDEEMER

I confide in You when I am down
Your Voice like rushing water sounds
I’m confident You hear my voice…You are my GOD and KING

Thomas believed when proof was given
That You once were dead and now arisen
Blessed are those who have not seen… AND YET THEY STILL BELIEVE

Here are a few pics that bring back some really great memories and fun times spent with of our sweet Australian/German Shepherd, “Sophie” when she was just a puppy. She looked almost like a snow leopard.

This pic was taken on Lee’s Dad’s 42′ Marinette, several years ago. She is just adorable in her new bandana scarf!

As the years went by her coat got much darker. We were beginning to wonder if she was really a lab because she has always loved the water! This pic was taken on the front of the Cobalt, right at dusk in front of Pickwick Landing State Park and made her a celebrity dog! We sent the pic in to the website for “Paws Aboard” (the maker of the life vest she is sporting) and this shot of Sophie appeared on their website that month!

This is one of my favorite pics of my very best girlfriend, companion and security guard…taken at Shelby Farms near Cordova, TN.

Finding Joy on difficult days
Is hard to do
If we miss
Counting the ways

That we’ve all been blessed
Beyond belief
“Gratitude”
Is complaining’s relief

Because it’s “Thankfulness” in adversity
That brings us closer
To God
So we can see

Clearly when our
Focused gaze
Turns toward Jesus
Giving Him all the praise

For His sun will rise
On the evil and the good
Rain too comes to all
As Matthew 5:45 said it would

So for everything
The good the bad
For the joyful noise
Or cries when sad

Give Thanks to The Father
In every way
And joy too will come
On difficult days

I’d like to welcome my niece Hannah Pearson to the Melodies and Memories page of my blog again today. The video below was Hannah’s first performance as a Freshman at Bethel University, singing “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked” at Renaissance Weekend
on The Square in McKenzie, TN.

Have you ever contemplated how you are perceived by others? Do you find yourself diligently working to gain the accolades, respect, praise and applause of a fallen world, just to impress others?

If you answered yes to these questions, you are not alone. If I were truthful, I’d tell you I’ve been trying to impress and have been seeking approval and applause from “the world’s” many stages most all of my life.

It was not until just recently that a comment from a video series I watched on “The Best Yes” by Lisa TerKeurst that it really hit home with me. Lysa made the statement, “When you try to impress others, you only end up depressing yourself”. Wow! That statement still speaks volumes to me!

I’ve been known to belabor issues over and again in my mind, constantly replaying situations that have happened in my life and wondering what other people thought of me, my family, my background, my education, my abilities, my ambitions, my work, my performance, etc. etc…

But knowing how deeply music resonates in my soul, God reminds me
using the medium that speaks to me the most, through the lyrics and melody from a song by Francesca Battistelli; reminding me too, that He Knows “my name”…and that’s all that matters!

Exodus 33:17 (AMOP) “And The Lord said to Moses, I will do this thing also that you have asked, for you have found favor, loving-kindness, and mercy in My sight and I know you personally and by name”.