A Southern Sunday Post, Indeed! I'm In My Southern Comfort Zone…..

I just keep hearing the lyrics from Brad Paisley's song….and he's trying to reassure me that I am indeed, in my Southern Comfort Zone…

And you know, he's got a great song! It almost made me a believer! Until I remembered exactly where I've been and where I am now!  I don't ever want to leave where I am now!  But that's ok! Because just like Brad sings….I certainly understand missing my Tennessee roots! Yes, I'm really from Memphis…or you could even say Southaven, Mississippi…"OH, Dixie Land, I hope you understand…."

Just a stone's throw from each other…

I'm headed there in three weeks for my Grandfather's 90th birthday celebration…I can't say I'm just thrilled to be going…I haven't lived there since I was 6! But all of our family is there! And all of my children and extended family are coming with me! WOW! Just think of the blog post that will follow that! But, it really does feel like home…even if I had to find home all along my way in my journey through life! We moved every year of my life while I was in elementary school…a new school every year until we finally stopped for good when I was in 6th grade in Birmingham, Alabama! There is no better place in the whole wide world!

This was the view from Jim's grandparent's house on top of Red Mountain!

I've lived in Southaven, Memphis, Denver, Pleasonton, and
 San Francisco…our next stop was either going to be Los Angeles or Birmingham! Go figure! 

Don't get me wrong, LA would've been fun! But my parents wanted to be back home…close to our Tennessee roots! Where we could be close to family since they had basically had to raise us without being close to grandparents or cousins…you see, my dad was in Medical School and then in the Navy since they helped pay his way…let me just tell you, my whole life is a wonderful adventure and one that I wouldn't trade for anything! The days of spying on the Navy Base with my best friend April Gill, as the Officers walked in with their spectacular uniforms on and the glamorous women…I felt like I was watching a Hollywood premiere! Trust me! 

But sure enough I envied all of my new friends that I quickly got to know once we landed in Birmingham and realized these kids had never left or moved away a day in their life! They literally grew up in a bubble…and I intended on invading that bubble! I wanted my kids to experience this feeling of home…of always being in one safe place...and I can truthfully say, they have! I've always been so glad for that! And even though  I was moved one more time, to Briarwood Christian School…I couldn't have asked for anything better! It was the best thing that ever happened to me! 
And, as hard as it's been to have my daughter be moved around so much lately, God has been more than faithful! We are having a great time on this adventure with them! But they love their Comfort Zone just as much as Jim and I do and we live and pray for them to be back!
Which is why I loved "My Southern Comfort Zone" today! Can you guess what it stands for?
It's simply LIFE! It's everyday life…it's grocery shopping at Publix...

It's the life I've come to know and love! I was blown away today by how full it was and by what I witnessed! I talked to my pharmacist, the bakery lady about the cornbread for the dressing I'm making next week because their cornbread is the best! Then I talked to the butcher and then the precious cashier and the even more precious "sacker"!  I know she has to be a Christian but of course I'm thankful that my brain was thinking about our "I Share" program we've been studying! What a great incentive plan…just asking someone where they stand on Eternity? What better Southern Comfort could you ask for?
On top of that, it was filled with women in fur coats because that's what you do when it is in the 50's in Birmingham if you are a Southern woman! I guess they feel like they don't get to wear them often so you better wear it while it's chilly outside!

But it was familiar…and it was full of eager shoppers…women who greeted each other on every aisle as if they had been their best  friends for their entire life! I loved it! I kept seeing the same women as I turned up each isle and they were just as friendly to each other as the time before. I actually got "stuck" behind a sweet lady that was passing an elderly couple that had obviously had a serious illness…they thought that I minded standing behind them and having to wait to get past them…I didn't. I was soaking it all in…it was My Southern Comfort Zone!

I simply smiled at the wife of the man that had been just released from the hospital..I wanted to reach out and hug her but that would have been weird! But my heart so went out to her! I pictured me there in years to come! Who knows where we will be? As long as I'm in My Southern Comfort Zone…with friends and family, I will be ok! As long as I know where I'm going to end up in Eternity!

Truth be told, I'm wondering if this post, these "musings" if you will haven't been spurred on by the fact that two short days ago I walked into my shop, heavy laden with the usual bags I carry into work…(most importantly, my lunch!) And my nails were still wet! Only to be greeted by none other than one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world! If you were to ask me who it was that has had the biggest influence on my life in high school it was this woman…but most of you didn't know me back then…I wish I could tell you and explain it! I wish my children knew! But there she was and I was so taken aback that I couldn't fully enjoy it! It was almost an out of body experience! It's been a lifetime since I've seen her and a lot of that is a good thing because I've changed and I've grown and I don't want her to remember me for who I used to be! I've only seen her twice since high school and each time I've just want to run! Even at 48 years old! My children are grown! My daughter actually bears her name! I am so thankful for that! Now, our youngest sons are at Auburn together! Even as I type this I can't believe it! I've never even told her how much I love her! Not that I can remember, anyway! Oh, how I loved her!  Part of me remembers a letter that I wrote her but who knows if I actually sent it 29 years ago? She was my idol, my role model and the one that I needed acceptance from and she gave it freely! I spent the night with her and her sweet family all of the time and babysat for her two oldest children..I took my church clothes with me and got ready just as if I was their own child…I never felt as if I didn't belong…she made me feel that loved! 
( she was my dance team sponsor that I was captain of and I loved every minute of ever getting to know her!)

So, what am I running from? My past! Yes, that's it! I don't want to remember the bad parts…I don't want her to remember it for sure! I want my Southern Comfort Zone!
Romans 8:1-2 says, " Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set men free from the law of sin and death!"
What a comfort! This is my true comfort zone!
Praise the Lord I can have the comfort that only He can give! No need to look anywhere else! And I'm so thankful for a woman like Holly Leachman! I praise the Lord that He chose to put someone like Holly into my life so that at this point in my life I can look back and know, beyond a shadow of a doubt…that I was loved! By my Lord, by my parents and by Holly! I have loved seeing her this week! Do you have someone that made a huge impact on you growing up? I sure hope I am that "someone" for at least one person! 

I hope you all have a very blessed Sunday! I for one am looking very forward to Thanksgiving, Miller being home for 9 days and Holly and Brad arriving as well! What a blessing! I can't wait to have all of my chickens under one roof! Sure wish we could coax Mitch, Britney and Layton into spending the night one night! We shall see! If you want to check out my Thanksgiving Table blog on Vintage Mulberry you can see it HERE!
If you want to see the Twinkie post you can see it HERE!
 Love you all dearly!

My favorite verse since I can remember…
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake". Psalm 23:1-3