Merrie Christmas to You and Your Whole House!

Just a simple note to wish each of you a Merrie Christmas. Pictured is a vignette of one of our gifts to ourselves, a cherry oval box. We don't want to take any gift for granted.

This year we have made the very conscious decision to keep Christmas dear to our hearts and to not let it hide in the busyness of the season.

We are thankful for health, for friends and family, that we can afford some food, for the provision of funds for a few gifts. We are grateful for the laughter of children, for warm beverages on a chilly day, for each egg our hens provide for us. We are thankful for a God who would send His best gift to us, so that we may truly live.

So, with that said, Merrie Christmas to you and to your family. You are a gift to us!

The Gumdrop Bush

by F. Hendrix

Many Christmases ago in a tiny community of folks in southern Georgia, lived my little family of humble folks in an humble home that was cold but adequate. We didn't have much but we did have each other and we did share the true meaning of what the Christmas season was all about.
Mama always made a huge fruitcake in an old warped dishpan. It was filled with fruit of every color and hue, Pecans from our grove and baker's ingredients that she would horde for months anticipating this special day. We always had a monstrous bowl of Ambrosia. Living so near Florida, we were blessed to have citrus on hand. In it were all manner of fruit, juices, nuts and coconut, my favorite.

It wasn't always easy for a family who lived from week to week but we had love and we had one ritual that I always looked forward to. It was the adorning of the Hawthorne Bush. Some folk called it a Hawk Haw but no matter, it was a branch from a very thorny bush that grew wild in the swamps there. It had tiny, brilliant orange fruit that we ate as soon as they turned. Mama would send me to get a branch. I remember vividly tearing my arms to shreds with the thorns but it didn't matter, it was a job that I anticipated and my part would go on so that we could all share in the joy of the treat.

Mama was a simple woman with a hearty laugh and beautiful eyes that would slant when she smiled. She got as much joy from this decoration as anyone. She would take the branch and rinse it off at the well then she would plant it in a mason jar of black Georgia dirt and wrap aluminum foil that she had washed, folded and saved for just such an occasion. Next, she would find an old piece of red curly ribbon from so many Christmases ago, carefully iron it smooth and wrap it around the rim of the jar and into a beautiful bow. Now it was time for the gumdrops. Spiced Gumdrops, oh the joy of Christmas, the candy of Christmas to me! Each thorn on the bush would hold one gumdrop and when finished she would proudly display it in a prominent place in our home.

As the candies were eaten, she would lovingly replenish them. Everyone who came to our house went straight for The Gumdrop Bush to admire its beauty and to celebrate the Savior's birth in this season. Life was slow then, the simple decorated bush was glorious and brought our thoughts back to the simplicity of Christ's coming.

Mama went to live with Jesus many years ago and another Gumdrop Bush has not been erected until today, December 13, 2011. Here it stands, an homage to my beautiful mother and her love for her son, a tribute to the Savior who bore the thorns on His head and whose sweet blessings are represented by the candy on,... The Gumdrop Bush.

Merrie Christmas to you all and blessings beyond your wildest imaginations.

A Merrie Christmas Is Coming!

We have been working all Summer creating, refinishing, finishing and recreating to get ready for our Annual Fall show and Sale. Coming Home,...a gathering of friends is coming this Friday and Saturday from 9-5 at our home.

We have many unique and one-of-a-kind folk art offerings, primitives, antiques and vintage collectibles.

After this weekend we promise to be more efficient at blog posting. Thanks to all who follow us and check out or shop at www.picturetrail.com/shadetreeprimitives

The Prayer Box...

Yesterday we had to go to the doctor for my husband. He was required to undergo a special treatment for his Diabetes. We were a bit downcast at the conclusion of the visit so we stopped by The Treasure Store, a place where we once had a booth for our Folk Art and Antiques. As we sauntered over to a new vendor's booth I just felt a wave of 'everything's gonna be alright'! Have you ever felt the wave?

I walked directly to this box. It was as if it was calling me.

Oh, it's beautiful. It is a Cranberry red color, has a little door with a bas relief of Jesus praying at The Garden of Gethsemane on the front. I opened it and there were two little drawers and a beautiful green velvet lining inside the door. Upon opening the drawers I found them to be filled with small cards, each with a scripture printed at the bottom on front and back and a place at the top for Prayers:...and on the back Answers:...!



The scripture on the Prayer side reads: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
The scripture on the Answer side reads: From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16

My heart lept within me as I keep a log of sorts of different requests that come from the forums.
I looked at the price tag and it was $3.00!!!!! I nearly shouted!!!!!

The box required no touch-up or cleaning, it still had tags on it. I just know that it was placed for me. Folks were coming and going in that booth and no one gave the little box a thought.
Today, I wrote the first request. It is for my husband, Frank. His Diabetes is out of control and only God can bring it to where it needs to be.

Will you please pray for him? And for me? We have other needs that I won't go into but God knows all about it.

You know what? Your name is going to end up in this box, too. Every time you have a need, know that someone cares and listens and that prayers are being shot like cannon fire to heaven on your behalf.

Thank you all for indulging me with this little story. I pray it gives you a ray of hope, too. The Prayer Box...a box of victory.

God Will Cover You...

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Psalm 91:1-4

Some years ago when we were contemplating which way to go with our lives in ministry, we began noticing feathers everywhere we went. Just random 'fluffs of faith' we called them.

First when we were on the praise team at our church and a fluff floated from the back of the church to the front and landed in my husband's palm. That evening when we got home, a feather laying at our threshold.

For the next few weeks finding these feathers consumed us. They were everywhere. Had God placed them there to help us focus on Him and His will for us? Were angels losing feathers in the battles to protect us? Was God leaving a trail for us to follow?

We were on the way to our next appointment and I told Frank that if we saw a feather there that it was our sign. Sure enough, we walked to the front door of the parsonage and laying there on the steps was a beautiful white feather!

So, over the years we have continued to see these wonderful works of God in our paths. It may not mean much to anyone else but, to us, they are feathers of faith and they have continued to bolster us, to remind us that our Father covers us with His love, under His wings.

Lord, today will you protect me from the harm of this world? More than ever I believe in Your protection, in Your love. Show me Your way, show me Your path for me. Protect my family and my friends. Bolster us that we might not falter. In Jesus name, Amen.

Spring In The Air and In Our Hearts

Spring is truly 'springing' around here in the Heart of Georgia. I have a miserable case of sinus/bronchitis and Pam has been sick for a couple of weeks, too. We are better. Our life is better because of this picture. It is one of our granddaughters smelling the Azaleas that bloom at the end of the porch.

It is Spring outside and Spring in our hearts. Thank you Lord for allowing us to see 8 grandchildren and to influence them with the gifts you have given us.

On Being Thankful

Each day, every 15 minutes of each day, we are thankful. Every moment of those quarter hours we are thankful.

Thankful for friends, for food, for home.

Thankful for peace of mind,...we cannot afford.

If God has been good to you,...be thankful.

Welcome, Warmer Weather!

We were 'snug as a bug in a rug' this season! It doesn't get too cold here in the South but this season we installed a woodburning heater and didn't turn on our furnace in the house. (Experimenting to see how well it works and how we fare!)

Well, we did pretty good even with record cold temps! But we are so thankful for the warmer week we have experienced.

Just thought we would post some pics of the activity at our Cookhouse today.

One of our grands cutting potatos for Home Fries cooked on the woodstove. They dipped them into Homemade Spicy Ketchup and had Home Brewed Ginger Ale to wash it all down. A simple supper, a simple time of joy and loads of memories

Our little buddy chopping fat lighter wood. We get it from the swamps of South Georgia. It is the oily heart of the pine tree and will start a fire even on a wet day.

The 'least un' running to the Cookhouse for some grub. It was enjoyed by all but the fun of being together and enjoying the hobby of 19th century living was momentous.

Isn't it grand when your grandchildren think your hobby is 'cool'?

Blessings...

Pam and Frank