T.I. Lowe's Blog, page 4
January 4, 2018
Until I Don't Snow Day Scene
Crossing his arms, Asher says in that always deep authoritative tone, “Nice cap.”“I’m in the know on where to find these babies. I could hook you up.” My head bobs, causing the fuzzy, hot-pink ball on top of the toboggan hat to bounce around.“I don’t wear children’s apparel. I’m good.” His lip twitches, giving away his amusement. I am so on to him and that lip twitch!“Fine. Go put on your boring old man cap and come play in the snow with me.”“Do I look like I’d play in snow?” He’s one strong...
August 25, 2017
When Waiting is the Answer
You know that song “Tomorrow” from Annie? “I love ya, tomorrow, you’re always a day away.”I’m sure it’s supposed to be uplifting, the idea that the sun will come out tomorrow, but what if it doesn’t? What if it’s the same thing all over again? What if it’s still a day away tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that?What do you do until the sun comes?It’s not particularly easy to admit when you’re struggling, but boy howdy, I have been. For longer than I care to admit. Physically, ment...
July 17, 2017
God Winks
A God Wink is one of those small yet significant signs from God letting you know He’s there and has your back. A friend of mine, Crystal Gerrald, introduced the term to me and it’s one of those things that as soon as you are introduced, life suddenly makes a little more sense. An “ah-ha” moment, if you will.I’ve caught glances of God Winks over the last three years since being introduced. It’s one of those things that if you’re not paying attention, you’ll overlook it. And sometimes, you stil...
November 13, 2015
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November 22, 2014
Goodbyes Excerpt
Excerpt~
Sunday morning finds my crowd doing the nearly late for church shuffle. Aunt Evie had some minor emergency with a group of campers, so we are the last to arrive for worship service. We hustle in, and I have to refrain from moaning out loud. Kyle scooted in before me and swiped the last spot on the pew with the twins. The only remaining place to sit is directly behind them, and this is somewhere I try to never, and I mean never, sit. For one, they are way taller than me and I can’t see over their big heads. Secondly, they are such a distraction. I’m staring at the back of Mave’s head today, which is even worse. I’m seated beside Leona and her dad, so at least I have company to share in the aggravation. They undoubtedly were late too.
Dillon is at the piano and is already playing the offertory hymn. He is dressed in a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to midway of his forearms and is sporting a pair of grey dress slacks. Cora makes him dress properly for church, even on the Sundays he doesn’t play the piano. I lean forward and scan the twins. As always, they are in the normal jeans and T-shirts. At least Kyle wore a blue button-down shirt with his jeans. I look down at my simple coral-colored sundress. I know God don’t care what we wear as long as we show up, but I do like to dress nice for my visits to his house on Sunday. I guess it’s one of those unspoken things I’ve picked up from Aunt Evie over the years. She’s a dress wearing kind of woman when it comes to church. She even leaves the tie-dye at home for the occasion.
I refocus on Dillon as he plays “Victory in Jesus” for the call to worship song. I can see most of him from this angle. I love to watch him bring the piano to life with his hands and his soul. He plays with such seriousness and reverence, with his head bent towards the keys. He eases the song to a close, then gets up discreetly and slides onto his designated spot on the front pew beside Cora.
Preacher Mike Floyd takes his place behind the podium, and I lose him behind Mave’s big head. “Good to be in the Lord’s house this fine day,” he says, and people amen their agreements. He leads us in a quick prayer before instructing us to turn to Proverbs Chapter 7. He then dives right in and reads verses twenty-four and twenty-five, and I know right then that, yes, they let the jailbirds into church service this morning, but we are about to receive ourselves some learnings. “The Lord’s Word says, ‘Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.’ This world wants to lead us down the wrong paths. Youth today have too many temptations. Too many opportunities to easily make the wrong choices.”
I roll my eyes and slump even farther down in the pew. Good grief. We didn’t mean to blow up the blame boat. And we sure as heck didn’t openly make the choice to go to jail. Yes, I’m getting a bit defensive. You would too, if you had half of the congregation giving you knowing glances.
We are all of five minutes into the sermon when Mave’s head starts doing the bobbing around thing. The dude is going to have one sore neck. Mr. Dan leans up and nudges Mave on the shoulder to try to rouse him back awake. This works all of five more minutes, when the head bobbing picks back up with a soft snore to accompany the show. I can see over his head, now that it’s bent over, and I’m a little nervous at what I see. Preacher Floyd is steadily watching the snoozing boy as he continues his rant on how we need to keep our focus on God before we find ourselves on a destructive path we can’t find the exit for.
Preacher Floyd keeps right on preaching as he eases over to the first pew and picks up a box of unopened tissues. Without missing a word, he pitches the box. It bounces perfectly off of Mave’s head and wakes the boy abruptly. Kyle can’t refrain from snorting in laughter. I give him a quick slap on the shoulder to shut him up, before he gets a box to his head by the preacher too. I don’t think today that such mess is very wise of the boys. Preacher Floyd seems to be on a mission to get ahold of us, and this won’t be making it any better for us.
“Mr. King—” Preacher Floyd says.
“That’s Maverick, sir,” Max blurts out as he points to his twin. I give the end of Max’s hair a mean tug to hush him up. Pointing out who’s who won’t be helping the cause.
The preacher shifts his gaze over to Max before looking back to Mave. “Young man, I do believe God may have something important you need to hear today. You need to wake up and listen up.” The congregation amens this as Preacher Floyd takes his position back behind the podium, hidden out of my view for the remainder of the service. Mave seems wide-awake now. Every so often, he rubs the spot where the tissue box made contact with his head.
Preacher Floyd repeats those two verses, I think specifically for Mave’s benefit. “Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths,” he reads loudly and with much emphasis. Then he adds Psalm 119:105. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Yes, I do believe I get the theme of this sermon. We are obviously heading down the wrong path, and we need to get off it real soon, before we mess up even more. Between Preacher Floyd’s fervent words from God, Cora’s wicked sternness, and Aunt Evie’s wise warnings for us to make better choices before the consequences catch up with us, I think they are hopeful at being able to turn off our stupid buttons. Fingers crossed, they will succeed.
We all file out somberly after Dillon sings while he plays the song, “The Old Path.” Do you know that one? Well just let me share with you that it’s all about staying on the right path with God and not straying from it. He sounds like an old man up there, crooning out the ancient lyrics. I’m not sure if this was a specific request or if Dillon thinks he’s funny. Either way, it was all I could do to not openly laugh during it.
I catch up with Aunt Evie outside and hear the rest of the crowd drifting behind us. They are whining about needing food—big surprise. They are always whining about needing food.
“I’m starving,” Mave grumbles, right on my heels.
“Well, my friend, I do believe if we stay on this here path set before us, we will be rewarded abundantly,” Dillon says. They are following Aunt Evie—the regular food source on Sundays. I know for fact that today will be no different. The ham is in the oven keeping warm with the mac and cheese. And the deviled eggs are keeping cool in the fridge with the layered salad and coconut cream cake. My mouth waters just thinking about it.
“That sounds like the kind of path I can handle, keeping on the straight and narrow,” Max says. I want to tell them to knock it off before they get Aunt Evie riled up.
“Lead us, Aunt Evie, and let us not astray from your righteous cooking,” Mave says solemnly, and the guys crack up.
I step ahead of Aunt Evie. I don’t want to get in the way of the tongue lashing the boys are just asking for.
“I will let not thine belly decline her food.” Great. Now Kyle throws in his two cents. I glance over my shoulder and that’s when I see this lady has reached her limit.
She stops abruptly and faces off with the smart-mouthed idiots. “Well, I’m glad that you young’uns ain’t as stupid as I had suspected. You’re smart enough to remember Bible verses well enough to misquote them, so maybe there’s enough sense in you to be able to get it right.” This lady doesn’t get riled up too very often, and as I watch her place her hands on her thin hips, I know the boys succeeded. Fools.
She hollers over to the preacher, and the boys start to squirm. “Preacher Floyd, these here boys were just quoting those fine verses God had you share with us today. They’d like to share with you what they learned from the message.” Oh crap. They’ve gone and done it now.
I’m about to settle in my spot and see just what they come up with when Aunt Evie wraps my arm in hers. “You wouldn’t mind taking them home, when y’all done? Me and Jillian are going to go finish up dinner.”
“No ma’am. I don’t mind at all. Come on, boys. Let’s go sit inside and have a talk.” Preacher Floyd pats Mave’s shoulder firmly and directs them to follow him. They all file back in the church with their heads hung low. Boy, am I glad I managed to be overlooked. I’m impressed I didn’t follow the leader this time and have managed to keep my lips shut.
Needless to say, the boys didn’t make it back to the trailer for over an hour. When they do arrive, they eat in silence, and then do the dishes without being asked. They even thanked Aunt Evie and didn’t swipe the leftovers to take home as they usually do.
http://www.amazon.com/Goodbyes-Second...
Sunday morning finds my crowd doing the nearly late for church shuffle. Aunt Evie had some minor emergency with a group of campers, so we are the last to arrive for worship service. We hustle in, and I have to refrain from moaning out loud. Kyle scooted in before me and swiped the last spot on the pew with the twins. The only remaining place to sit is directly behind them, and this is somewhere I try to never, and I mean never, sit. For one, they are way taller than me and I can’t see over their big heads. Secondly, they are such a distraction. I’m staring at the back of Mave’s head today, which is even worse. I’m seated beside Leona and her dad, so at least I have company to share in the aggravation. They undoubtedly were late too.
Dillon is at the piano and is already playing the offertory hymn. He is dressed in a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to midway of his forearms and is sporting a pair of grey dress slacks. Cora makes him dress properly for church, even on the Sundays he doesn’t play the piano. I lean forward and scan the twins. As always, they are in the normal jeans and T-shirts. At least Kyle wore a blue button-down shirt with his jeans. I look down at my simple coral-colored sundress. I know God don’t care what we wear as long as we show up, but I do like to dress nice for my visits to his house on Sunday. I guess it’s one of those unspoken things I’ve picked up from Aunt Evie over the years. She’s a dress wearing kind of woman when it comes to church. She even leaves the tie-dye at home for the occasion.
I refocus on Dillon as he plays “Victory in Jesus” for the call to worship song. I can see most of him from this angle. I love to watch him bring the piano to life with his hands and his soul. He plays with such seriousness and reverence, with his head bent towards the keys. He eases the song to a close, then gets up discreetly and slides onto his designated spot on the front pew beside Cora.
Preacher Mike Floyd takes his place behind the podium, and I lose him behind Mave’s big head. “Good to be in the Lord’s house this fine day,” he says, and people amen their agreements. He leads us in a quick prayer before instructing us to turn to Proverbs Chapter 7. He then dives right in and reads verses twenty-four and twenty-five, and I know right then that, yes, they let the jailbirds into church service this morning, but we are about to receive ourselves some learnings. “The Lord’s Word says, ‘Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.’ This world wants to lead us down the wrong paths. Youth today have too many temptations. Too many opportunities to easily make the wrong choices.”
I roll my eyes and slump even farther down in the pew. Good grief. We didn’t mean to blow up the blame boat. And we sure as heck didn’t openly make the choice to go to jail. Yes, I’m getting a bit defensive. You would too, if you had half of the congregation giving you knowing glances.
We are all of five minutes into the sermon when Mave’s head starts doing the bobbing around thing. The dude is going to have one sore neck. Mr. Dan leans up and nudges Mave on the shoulder to try to rouse him back awake. This works all of five more minutes, when the head bobbing picks back up with a soft snore to accompany the show. I can see over his head, now that it’s bent over, and I’m a little nervous at what I see. Preacher Floyd is steadily watching the snoozing boy as he continues his rant on how we need to keep our focus on God before we find ourselves on a destructive path we can’t find the exit for.
Preacher Floyd keeps right on preaching as he eases over to the first pew and picks up a box of unopened tissues. Without missing a word, he pitches the box. It bounces perfectly off of Mave’s head and wakes the boy abruptly. Kyle can’t refrain from snorting in laughter. I give him a quick slap on the shoulder to shut him up, before he gets a box to his head by the preacher too. I don’t think today that such mess is very wise of the boys. Preacher Floyd seems to be on a mission to get ahold of us, and this won’t be making it any better for us.
“Mr. King—” Preacher Floyd says.
“That’s Maverick, sir,” Max blurts out as he points to his twin. I give the end of Max’s hair a mean tug to hush him up. Pointing out who’s who won’t be helping the cause.
The preacher shifts his gaze over to Max before looking back to Mave. “Young man, I do believe God may have something important you need to hear today. You need to wake up and listen up.” The congregation amens this as Preacher Floyd takes his position back behind the podium, hidden out of my view for the remainder of the service. Mave seems wide-awake now. Every so often, he rubs the spot where the tissue box made contact with his head.
Preacher Floyd repeats those two verses, I think specifically for Mave’s benefit. “Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths,” he reads loudly and with much emphasis. Then he adds Psalm 119:105. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Yes, I do believe I get the theme of this sermon. We are obviously heading down the wrong path, and we need to get off it real soon, before we mess up even more. Between Preacher Floyd’s fervent words from God, Cora’s wicked sternness, and Aunt Evie’s wise warnings for us to make better choices before the consequences catch up with us, I think they are hopeful at being able to turn off our stupid buttons. Fingers crossed, they will succeed.
We all file out somberly after Dillon sings while he plays the song, “The Old Path.” Do you know that one? Well just let me share with you that it’s all about staying on the right path with God and not straying from it. He sounds like an old man up there, crooning out the ancient lyrics. I’m not sure if this was a specific request or if Dillon thinks he’s funny. Either way, it was all I could do to not openly laugh during it.
I catch up with Aunt Evie outside and hear the rest of the crowd drifting behind us. They are whining about needing food—big surprise. They are always whining about needing food.
“I’m starving,” Mave grumbles, right on my heels.
“Well, my friend, I do believe if we stay on this here path set before us, we will be rewarded abundantly,” Dillon says. They are following Aunt Evie—the regular food source on Sundays. I know for fact that today will be no different. The ham is in the oven keeping warm with the mac and cheese. And the deviled eggs are keeping cool in the fridge with the layered salad and coconut cream cake. My mouth waters just thinking about it.
“That sounds like the kind of path I can handle, keeping on the straight and narrow,” Max says. I want to tell them to knock it off before they get Aunt Evie riled up.
“Lead us, Aunt Evie, and let us not astray from your righteous cooking,” Mave says solemnly, and the guys crack up.
I step ahead of Aunt Evie. I don’t want to get in the way of the tongue lashing the boys are just asking for.
“I will let not thine belly decline her food.” Great. Now Kyle throws in his two cents. I glance over my shoulder and that’s when I see this lady has reached her limit.
She stops abruptly and faces off with the smart-mouthed idiots. “Well, I’m glad that you young’uns ain’t as stupid as I had suspected. You’re smart enough to remember Bible verses well enough to misquote them, so maybe there’s enough sense in you to be able to get it right.” This lady doesn’t get riled up too very often, and as I watch her place her hands on her thin hips, I know the boys succeeded. Fools.
She hollers over to the preacher, and the boys start to squirm. “Preacher Floyd, these here boys were just quoting those fine verses God had you share with us today. They’d like to share with you what they learned from the message.” Oh crap. They’ve gone and done it now.
I’m about to settle in my spot and see just what they come up with when Aunt Evie wraps my arm in hers. “You wouldn’t mind taking them home, when y’all done? Me and Jillian are going to go finish up dinner.”
“No ma’am. I don’t mind at all. Come on, boys. Let’s go sit inside and have a talk.” Preacher Floyd pats Mave’s shoulder firmly and directs them to follow him. They all file back in the church with their heads hung low. Boy, am I glad I managed to be overlooked. I’m impressed I didn’t follow the leader this time and have managed to keep my lips shut.
Needless to say, the boys didn’t make it back to the trailer for over an hour. When they do arrive, they eat in silence, and then do the dishes without being asked. They even thanked Aunt Evie and didn’t swipe the leftovers to take home as they usually do.
http://www.amazon.com/Goodbyes-Second...
