Tired

I read today that Toby Keith posthumously broke all records for his songs...including Elvis. I am not surprised. What a talent! And we are going to miss him bigtime.  

He had a song for all of us! Patriots, moms, death, faith, love, hopes and dreams; and fun, humor...my goodness! Did he miss anything in his poetic lyrics? No. He did not. And one thing he sang about most was the working man; and our troops. Oh and hurt and pain and trials and friendship...I could go on and on and list a song for each topic.

And he did each one so beautifully. 

I thought I had heard all of Toby Keith's songs. And I do mean ALL. I found out today I was wrong. Here is one I missed.

This one is for the working man...especially the ones who are about to give up. You can see a whole of tired in each ones eyes.

Leave it to Toby to capture that...and care about it.

Man, I love that guy!

The Best Part of Life

It’s January 1, 2024. It’s early. The Christmas tree next to my computer, will probably be glowing for the last time this holiday season. I have fed my horse and dog. I sit in the silence doing one of my favorite things – drinking coffee. It is very, very quiet this morning. The quiet. That is one of my favorite things too. The fog is fighting with the sun for domination of the sky. Should be an easy win and of course it is. But from here, it doesn’t look like that the sun is winning at all. 

I am drinking my coffee this morning in a brand new mug, that I received for Christmas. This is the first time I have used it. The people that gave it to me know me well enough to know I love birds. The cup has a beautiful little etched bird sitting on a branch...He is looking up...as he should be. It warms my heart that they considered me and the things I like. That is the spirit of giving. Oh and they must know I love coffee. I think this will be my new morning coffee mug. One must drink coffee from the right mug, right?  

That brings me to the message of this post: My Favorite Things...or to be more nuanced, Creature Comforts. Here are a few:

• Coffee is best from a heavy mug.

• Tea is best from a tea cup, or a thin, fragile mug.

• I like table manners. First the blessing. I like the table set properly fork on the left; spoon and knife the right. Food must be passed from left to right all the same direction. Seems no one does that any more. But it certainly makes for much easier distribution.

• I like fires in fireplaces on crisp fall mornings and most certainly on cold winter nights.

• I like little strings of fairy lights and burning scented candles

• A dog at my feet is nice, but Arly would rather be on his bed. Sometimes I miss Bella who was always at my feet and Bullet who was usually on my lap. Every once in a while Arly will sit on my lap.

• I love rustling Bible pages. I had never given it much thought when one day in church Matthew mentioned it. He was about 6 or 7. “Listen to the rustling pages, Mama. Isn’t that pretty.” I never forgot that. It is one of my favorite memories ever.

• I love deep study of Scripture and morning reading. But I love deep study the best.

• I like memories. At least the good ones. I try to hold onto them and chase the bad ones away with prayers. “Hold every thought captive,” becomes more clear these days.

• I like reading glasses by every place, I might read. By my chair in the living room; on the night stand by my bed; on my desk by my computer; and on my kitchen shelf, where I read a recipe or instructions. I despise looking for my glasses, so I try not to move them from there designated spot...oh and a pair in my purse of course for our restaurant visits.

• I like hand sanitizer for those restaurant visits, and I like one in each of my car doors, so it is available after pumping gas; or for my passengers needs.

• I like lotion and Kleenex and lip balm by my chair. My niece gifted me with some wonderful hand cream and lip balm this year. That warms my heart.

• I like to read in silence.

• I like to think.

• I like to study.

• I like to write.

• I like to do what God has me to do in the moment. It isn’t obvious. I just do it, when I know it.

• I don’t know my gifts. Discernment, I believe, but one must know how and when to use that. Writing, I have been told...I don’t know about that.

• I do nothing well and never have...one might call me a “[Jill] of all trades; a master of none.” But I don’t even come close to a “[Jill] of all trades.” I try. I like that.

• I like hearing from people from my past.

• I like fresh, clean sheets and lots of blankets.

• I like down pillows and only down pillows.

• I like riding my horse. Interestingly, that is secondary to taking care of her.

• I love watching her get a long drink of water.

• I love to hear the munch of hay.

• I like cleaning stalls and putting down pine shavings.

• I absolutely love seeing her covered in pine shavings in the morning, because I know she has been sleeping in the bed I try to make for her for long winter nights.                

• I love poetry. Always have. These are my favorite poems most of them from the time I was a kid.     

1. Barefoot Boy - John Greenleaf Whittier
2. Stopping by Woods - Robert Frost
3. Somebody’s Mother - Mary Dow Brine
4. The House with Nobody in It - Joyce Kilmer
5. The House by the Side of the Road - Sam Walter Foss

• I love birds and watching all of them. But I especially love Bluebirds, Meadowlarks and Northern Flickers.

• I love the smell of freshly cut hay.

• I love the smell of rain and the sound of it falling on my roof.

• I love sitting in the she-shed in my barn watching it rain while eating rhubarb pie.

• I love spending time with my kids and grand kids. But that isn’t a creature comfort. That is life and the best part of it. I guess it is a favorite thing.

Don't Let the Old Man In

  Here it is…

I absolutely love this video! Toby Keith recently received the “Icon Award” at the First Annual Country People’s Choice Awards...The key word is “country”. While there have been People's Choice Awards for some time, they have never before designated one that is only for country artists...until now. I am no longer real big on award shows, because  they have become so extreme with their entertainment, hosts, guests, performers that don't belong, and politics. (Most tend to deny being political, but they often are...especially those outside of the country genre.)  Because of that, country award shows were the last hold out for me; but I have been giving those up as well, in recent years, preferring to stand with AJ and GS in their belief that country isn’t country any more. I think Bill O’Reilly should write a book called “Killin' Country” for his Killing series. I think there is a lot to write about. Just sayin’!

But anyway, I watched the Country People Choice Awards primarily because I had heard that Toby Keith was going to be presented with the "Icon Award". I couldn’t miss it. I love that guy! He is the greatest song writer in modern history, in my view. No bias there at all! :-) I also love him for his dedication to our troops, performing for them countless times; honoring vets and active duty during his concerts; and often honoring our nation by bringing a veteran or two up on stage with him. Toby also started the OK Kids Korral, a ministry for children with cancer and other illnesses. He will get his award in heaven, for that one day too. But I hope that is a long way off.

So for those that don’t follow country and haven’t heard what has been happening with Toby Keith, Toby was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021. He has been privately fighting that battle, since then, though he didn't announce it to his fans until June of 2022. He wanted to explain his absence and not keep his fans wondering. Then, just a couple months ago, he announced he would start trying to do a few small gigs in order to see how much he is able to handle performing. He was wise to start slowly. This event for the People’s Choice was his first television appearance since his diagnosis.

Let me explain why this award meant so much to Toby and ME. ;-) Toby quit attending award shows sometime ago, not caring for all that was taking place with the awards; i.e. drama, theatrics, politics, and whatever...you get the idea. Kinda like the same reason I quit watching! But I won’t go into all of that. One thing about Toby, he is his own man and he isn’t one to put up with stuff like that. He would simply rather not attend. 

To me, that he decided to attend and accept this award speaks volumes. He revealed to a reporter on the Red Carpet before the show, that his disease is precisely why he chose this song, "Don't Let the Old Man In", to sing at the event. He was hoping it would be an encouragement to others. When he was asked how does he get through his illness, he thoughtfully replied: "I just lean on my faith and lean into it. I just do whatever is next. Every day there is a next, so you just do it."

I have been a Toby Keith fan since his beginnings, and I absolutely love his talent. The songs that he writes, stab directly into your soul (at least mine) and leave you better, I think. He writes about the every day, common man, love, pain, family and America. All the things that are important to us. And his voice is just the “[pudding] on the cake” of his songwriting talent. (I don’t like “icing”.)  ;-)  

I know I am not alone. Toby, when asked what inspires him answered, "I've always wrote with a prayer and as long as I have Him with me, I'm cool." Toby writes the majority of his own songs and has had sixty-nine radio singles in the thirty years he has been performing. Sixty-five of those have topped the charts. Twenty of those songs were number one. That's an incredible record! Truly an incredible artist.

His performance at the awards show was a song written by him due to a request from Clint Eastwood for one of his movies - “The Mule”. I didn’t watch it and I am not advocating for it until I do. But I absolutely love this song and Clint Eastwood. 

Toby and Clint were on a golf course in 2018 and Toby asked Clint, “How do you do it?” Meaning how does Clint keep going at his age. Clint’s response was, "I get up every morning, and don’t let the old man in." Toby’s response? “Man, I gotta write that.” (some paraphrase on my part, but that is the essence.)

The You Tube version of that song is absolutely beautiful and Clint nails the character in the video. He is that Old Man. Toby tells an interesting and fun story about writing this song for Clint. I have included a video at the bottom of this post with Toby telling that story. It's well worth watching. 

Anyway, Toby wrote the song and wanted to send Clint a video of him singing the finished product, but he was sick with a bad cold. He went ahead and sent the video explaining to Clint, that he was ill and would send a cleaner version when he felt better, but that he was excited for him to hear the song. He wanted him to know he wrote the song due to their conversation on the golf course that day. 

Clint quickly emailed back his approval of the song and that he wanted it in his movie in its raw form that Toby had sent him. If one watches that You Tube version which played in the movie, you will see just why Clint was so right in his decision. It absolutely melts the heart in its genuine realism.

The performance Toby gave at the recent awards show is every bit as inspiring as the movie version. Even more so, with all that has transpired in Toby's life since then. I can’t get enough of listening to it. I can’t watch it without tears, nor could most of the people in the live audience, it would seem. It’s raw, and personal, and demonstrates an open vulnerability. It is absolutely gut-wrenching, but in a healing and beautiful kind of way. His wife shown, in the audience, is part of that beauty. This woman has stood by her husband through thick and thin; in sickness and in health. Good times, and I am sure bad times due to some probably very rowdy times. ;-) I have the utmost respect for her.

Anyway, there is another kind of beauty in Toby’s performance. And that involves his earlier acceptance speech for the award. Toby’s speech began with thanking the “Almighty, Who has been riding shot gun” with him throughout his latest ordeal. It was a very real moment. The beauty in it is because it demonstrates growth springing from the ashes. TK is one who has obviously been “torn for the healing”. And his faith most obviously came out stronger on the other side. Toby has always included a message on his CD’s that states: “Thank you to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” But in this performance and in his acceptance speech, one can see a whole lot more boldness and a desire to share and honor his Source of Strength. That is an amazingly beautiful thing. 

"Come, and let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us to pieces, and he will heal us; he has injured us, and he will bind up our wounds." ~ Hosea 6:1

I have been known to over-think things. Probably one of my biggest faults. But as I am drawn back to watch this performance over and over, I am compelled to think deeper. What is it about this performance that so directly hits my heart like it does. I think it is because I have come to believe that even if Toby didn’t know it at the time, he wrote this song for himself. He is a man on the south side of middle age and he may have been noticing that for some time. Clint, in his 90's probably recognized his aging for decades. ;-) Hence his decision to keep age at bay. Toby had some catching up to do. And I think he got there when he developed this dreaded disease. 

But truthfully I think it is reflective of even more than that. I think it is a God-inspired message that he wrote back then for himself. Maybe even at God's prompting...you know; kind of as a result of those prayers he prays before he writes! He simply didn't realize it at the time. As it turns out, it would seem it wasn't only written for Clint's movie, or even just  to himself. It was written as a message to to all of us. And that is this: When we have seen and understood the Source of our Salvation, we would be very wise to try to never let that "old man" in again.

I think Toby gets that more fully now. It's what makes it all so amazingly powerful, thought provoking and inspiring, about what's really going on in this man's life...and if we are truthful, also in ours.

Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.  ~Romans 6:6

Just to put that all simply: Don't let the old man in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And the movie version.

 

Cute Interview

  

Honor, History and Cake

Ok, so this is going to be a rather trivial, probably childish post. Pretty sure most people would rather read that though, than anything political that I have to say; or even about faith. That is a sad commentary on our society in my view. But let’s get sadder...I am going to share a gripe. And enjoy doing it. :-) But I also think there is a lesson in my gripe about honor.

I hate sharing recipes. I just truly do. Some people think that is selfish and stupid. I don’t really care. Now sometimes, even though I don’t really want to share a favorite, I do anyway. Sometimes, depending on who it is, I am happy to share. Sometimes I just absolutely refuse, and I do not feel one bit guilty about that. It’s like sharing your huckleberry spot or your fishing hole. Just have fun finding your own. This one’s a secret. Lol Generational natives where I live, understand that. Side note: those of you who may think you are transplanting or harvesting huckleberries at a low elevation...those are not a true huckleberry! But I digress.

So. Let me explain my reasons for not always liking to share a favorite, most often, a family recipe. Number one, I don’t know how many times I have shared, or I have known someone to share, and the minute the recipe is tried by the receiver and it didn’t turn out as well as expected, the person who shared is accused of withholding an ingredient...or an important means to success! Come on! We have all heard that, haven’t we? Or had it happen to us? I have sure heard lots of stories like that. Maybe my biggest pet peeve that comes from graciously (or not so graciously) sharing is when it ends with an “attack”, for lack of a better word. Lol Because in reality, the one receiving is questioning the honor or honesty of the giver...whether they realize they are doing that or not! Think about it!

Or sometimes, I have been told “Well that didn’t sound quite right, so I changed this.” Whatever “this” might be. “Ok...I’m sure you know best, but don’t ask me for another recipe,” is how I would like to retort. I try to remain silent. Whatever. Lol Good luck with that.

And finally, there is the one who refuses to acknowledge from where the recipe came and instead claim it as their own. It is silly, that I think about that, I know...and probably childish. But I am all about history, and family traditions, and offering credit where credit is due. The borrower gets to take credit for their baking, canning or cooking skills when they use the recipe. Isn’t that enough? What’s wrong with telling the story behind the recipe? And how you came across it? That should be a fun part of serving.

I have a beautiful begonia that my aunt recently gave me. It is a start, probably from a start, that was from a plant my grandma had when she was still alive. She died in the 1980’s. Yet her plant is still living! I would never talk about the plant that I have without sharing that story! Isn’t it the same with a recipe? It is nothing I have anything to do with in the way of success or not. It’s just a cool part of the story that shouldn’t go unsaid. It is kind of a cool way to remember the people who have gone before. I once had a direct start from her begonia decades ago, that I kept alive forever! That’s why this one also means so much to me...it’s like I got it back. I like remembering what my grandma did and liked.

Same goes for a recipe, especially if it is one with which I grew up eating. Some of my most cherished recipes are those from my mom. I like to be sure she gets the credit. It’s called honor. And I want to honor my mom, so sometimes I share her pickle recipe and her peaches recipe, because I know she would...but sometimes I get childish and selfish and guard them with my life. Those recipes truly do belong only to her. They require her name in my opinion. Somehow, I want that preserved. (pun unintentional...or maybe not ;-))

We have had one recipe in our family for generations which has an incredible story with it. It is called the “Waldorf Astoria Red Cake”. And trust me there are a lot of red cake recipes making the rounds today, but none of them are like this..from which I believe, all red cake began. IF you aren’t eating red cake from this recipe, you are not eating red cake...kinda like huckleberries. My grandma started making this recipe decades ago, and always made it for my sister’s birthday. Sis picked up and continued the recipe and is the one in our family that most often still makes this cake. I know other family members do every once in a while and I do too. It is so good! No wonder everyone wants the recipe!! But for crying out loud! Can’t we keep the story that goes along with it, intact??? It is part of the story! And a huge part of the cake. That’s part of the fun! It is history! 

I have another recipe, that I have always gladly shared because I know how good it is and how popular it is every time I make it. It was given to me by my aunt over 50 years ago. She created the cutest little recipe box for me when I was just starting my adult life with a recipe from every single family member. It is one of my most treasured gifts. (*Treasured gifts...note to self: that is for another blog post some day.)

But anyway, there was a recipe in that box that she labeled with her husband’s name (my uncle) and a story about the recipe. I included it in a family cook book that I once wrote, using many of the recipes she gave me from members of our family. I have made that recipe more than any other from that recipe box, I believe. And I have given out that recipe more than any other one I have. That kind of gift I did want to share with family members. And I have over and over. But along with that, I think every one I shared it with should call it by the name it was given, and know a little bit about the person for whom it was named. So I share that story.

Recently, I was so excited, when a 4^th or 5^th generation family member asked me at a recent gathering where the item was served: “Now who was Uncle F?” she inquired after I mentioned the name of the dish.

Well how cools is that! I like that she cared enough to ask. It warmed my heart to talk about a family member that I remember and loved, with a younger family member that never knew him. That’s called family tradition. It’s history and it is an important way to keep our loved ones alive. It is called honor. So just do it. It’s fun. And we are slowly losing all those things that really matter: tradition, history and honor. Sometimes someone’s reasoning may seem silly or even childish...but ask a question or two. You might find out why...or you may find you even want to do the same.

And for crying out loud. Don’t criticize the recipe, the giver or the method, if you ever want another recipe from me.