Memories Rewind: Makeup can be Messy

I had seen my Granny comb her hair with that brown bristle brush many times before she left the house, but one thing became etched in my memory. She would pull out that green tube of lipstick and smear the reddish orange tint over her lips to complete her look.

That looks easy, I said to myself. So, one day I snuck into the bathroom and locked the door. I wanted total privacy. I did just like my Granny did...or so I thought. I put a little lipstick on my lips, but quickly decided that wasn't enough. I got it all over my lips. I wanted to be pwetty. Lots of lipstick=beautiful! I looked up at the mirror to admire myself. I pranced into the hall to show everyone, but I didn't get the reaction I'd hoped for. They all laughed. Laughed at my faced covered in orange. Looking back on that day, I don't know what I was thinking. I probably looked like a clown!

Mama knew that I loved all things girly, so she understood my love of makeup. "C'mon we'll wash it off." She scrubbed and scrubbed. That pristine white washcloth was now covered with splotches of burnt orange lipstick.

Even though my first attempt was less than successful, I was glad my Granny let me play dress up at her expense. She laughed for days. I was the talk of all her friends for that next week.

Ever had any makeup mishaps, readers? I know I'm not the only one. :) P.S. I'm thinking about making a F@cebook for the blog. What do you think?

Image Credit: Google via Van's Makeup Ride Blog

Give Me Your Eyes

Large teardrops fell on the pages of her history book as she thought about something that had been pushed to the far corners of her mind.

Let it be, God. I whisper in the depths of my heart. That's my only prayer. I don't pray for you to change this person, I pray for this person to cry out to you. I know that when this person is saved, they will have the opportunity to be forever changed.

Please help this person to see they are nothing without you. None of the money or material things matter in the grand scheme of things. Help this person to receive Your forgiveness because without that, they can't be forgiven or forgive themselves. Give me the grace to love them, but also hope for a brighter tomorrow. No matter what has been said or done, only one thing matters.

It doesn't matter what their background is or who their parents are. It matters whose child they are. I so desperately want them to be a child of the King, to join in this family who knows no race, creed...no limits. Break us out of our box, O Lord. As the song so eloquently says, "Give me your eyes for just one second, give me your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missin', give me your love for humanity."



Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes from Brandon Heath on Vimeo.

What have you closed your eyes to lately?

Memories Rewind: No Time to Breathe

No offense to any chihuahua lovers out there.

My best friend's birthday party was over. All of our friends left, so it was just me and A. "Wanna go for a walk?" Sure, I wasn't one to turn down a chance to talk about girl stuff and our brothers that always found ways to get under our skin. We got on their nerves too, so the feelings of disgust were mutual. ;)

Off we went with no destination in sight. We were just walking along. The sounds of our shoes hitting the pavement were almost in sync with each other. "I wonder if your aunt is home?" A asked excited at the possibility of getting to jump on the trampoline.

"Oh no! I said sharply. My aunt would kill me and you both if she found out we were on it with no one home."

We were headed back when we heard a faint bark. Walking a little faster, I turned my head to see a ball of brown fur on our heels. "A, that stupid chihuahua is chasing us! She hurled a small rock at it hoping that would make it go back. No such luck. If anything, it barked a little louder.

"C'mon let's get out of here!" I whimpered, knowing that dog had a track record of biting kids.

A wanted one last shot at her furry nemesis, so she hurled a stick at that stubborn dog. I hightailed it to her house as fast as my legs would carry me. I never knew what caused that dog to chase us, but on second thought, who wouldn't chase after two pretty girls? It didn't look like he* had any takers on his street! :)

Have any dogs ever gotten to close for comfort?

*It could have been a girl dog, but I never knew. I choose to think it was a boy anyway. A if you're reading this, please let us know the gender of that dog.

P.S. Please leave suggestions for me on this post. I want Making my Mark to be better!

Suggestions Welcome!

Summer is fast approaching. Right now, my bed is scattered with papers and my brain is swirling with thoughts. I'm almost finished with another year. This year has been challenging, fun, and different. Not much longer now!!

I'm just trying to get everything done, so nothing too exciting is happening over here. This is where you all come in. Share some things you would like to see more of at Making my Mark. Stories? Scavenger hunts? Something unique? Let me know in the comments or email!

Image Credit: Google

Memories Rewind: Playhouse Parties

 Something's up with the spacing today.

I was over a C's house for a sleepover filled with laughs, mischief, and games. We still had a few daylight hours to burn, and we just couldn't waste away a beautiful day in the house.

"Whatcha wanna do?" C asked. I spotted the bright pink doll house out of the corner of my eye. Let's play house!

We arranged the miniature table and chairs just so. The table cloth was laid aside because this was a casual affair. Mr. Teddy and all of C's dollies were anticipating the fabulous feast put on by the two princesses.

"What shall we make?" we pondered. It had to be special. Mud pies were a favorite of the furry forest animals. I scooped up mounds of mud as C poured the water in. We were quite the team, so before we knew it, those mud pies had a date with a hot oven. Water and lemonade were waiting to quench the thirsts of the animals. Sticks were used in place of forks. We didn't want to lose an eye if one of our guests thought her slice of pie was overdone.

"Whew! That was quite the party." we said as we wiped the sweat from our foreheads. Enough of this serving business, princesses needed to be served. C and I skipped inside her house and promptly helped ourselves to some junk food.

What are some unusual pie flavors you've made? I might start a support group for Playhouse Pie Lovers. I think there's something about that whimsical furniture that inspires the best ideas. :)

From Despair to Love

I sat there as the sunlight streamed through the window present in body but not in mind. My mind had dug up something from the darkest depths of my past.

Something that I thought had been dealt with. People meandered about the room chatting while I was dealing with myself. This was the real me stripped of the walls that I had built to protect me. The ironic thing is they didn't protect me. The walls held me in bondage, keeping me from seeing the truth.

Images flashed before me like a video screen. Here I was a little girl sitting alone on the playground after a girl I thought was my friend turned on me.

Taunting words from a boy who wanted to waste his breath making fun of me accompanied the image of him walking down the hallway calling me a duck.

But, I realized I'm not that person anymore. I've forgiven these people and know that I've grown.

Immediately, I pictured many yellow glasses in the shape of a daffodil with a large orange base as the stem. One by one old and new friends came to fill up the glasses. One might contribute to my life with their sense of humor, another may give me wise words of wisdom, another may have awesome taste in music. The void that I used to have had been replaced with an abundance of love and laughter. We all need to appreciate the things that each of our friends bring into our lives. Thanks to each of you for filling up my glasses!!!

What are some qualities that you are thankful for in your friends and family?

Image Credit: Vastate via Google

Memories Rewind: Something about a Harley

The sun was shining so brilliantly that day. Me and E were outside playing when we heard that unmistakable sound close by. That sound was the sound of our neighbor's Harley barreling down that dusty gravel driveway.

E dropped his toy trucks in hot pursuit of the shiny black motorcycle. I ran to B to get my hug, which is something that never failed to make B smile. Daddy and Bill were talking about guy stuff when I looked over to see E's eyes as round as saucers. He was totally mesmerized by the vehicle that represented 100% manliness to him.

"Wanna go for a ride, E?" Bill asked. Yeah! E practically shouted in excitement. Always one to put safety first, B tossed a helmet to E making sure he snapped it on tight. They both hopped on and E gave the go signal.

Vroom, vroom went the motorcycle as it muffled out any attempts at a conversation. I waved to E as they rode off to have a little adventure down our country road.

Even though the ride only lasted a few minutes, E had the time of his life. There's just something about the wind blowing in your hair that makes you feel as if you're a thousand miles away from reality.

What is a favorite past time of yours?

He Will Be Raised

This is a song I recorded when thinking about Easter. I wasn't even going to post it, but I thought it might encourage someone. Ideally, I wanted this to be posted yesterday, but I was having problems getting the video in the format that I needed. This is the raw version, so I apologize for the short pause in the video. I couldn't edit it out. Enjoy, and be thankful for what God has already done for us!

*You may want to turn the volume up. I can only bend so far without hurting my back, so it's not as loud as I wanted.*

Sidenote: Only one person voted for the Memories Rewind link party, so I'll wait awhile before doing that.

Memories Rewind: Loose Tooth vs. Towel

I apologize for not posting this yesterday. I was studying for a test.

My tooth had been loose for days. I agitated it with my tongue to no avail. I would go to bed trying to sleep, only waking up to find my tongue had found its way to my tooth.

I came home from school, excited to find my tooth was loser. The looser is it, the closer I am to the tooth fairy! I told myself. I grabbed a peach colored towel from my Granny's bathroom and went to work. I leaned into the mirror so that I could stare that wimpy little tooth eye to eye. Mano a Mano.

"Got it out yet?" my mom yelled from the living room. "Nope," I said disappointed that I wasn't the newest member of the snaggle tooth grin club.

"Let me at that tooth!" my Papa grinned. He just had to get in on this one. I can have it out in no time!"

Knowing he was serious, I got scared. I hopped on the counter and awaited my fate. He wound the towel between his fingers and started to put it around my tooth. "No! No! I whined.

He was determined to get that thing out despite my loud protests. "Pop!" The tooth was out and I was left with a bloody mouth. "You killed me! I screamed." To my young mind, a bloody massacre had occurred in my mouth.

Suddenly, the tooth fairy visit lost its luster. After expressing my feelings of utter disdain for Papa, I held my tooth up proudly, glad to be rid of that wiggly little thing!

Do you have any funny tooth stories?