A Few Thoughts Remembering James L. Kilgore

Words fail me and tears flow and I’m not even trying to stop them. Bro. James Kilgore & Ima Kilgore have always been in my life for as long as I can remember. I love reading all the posts of what Bro. Kilgore meant to so many people. We all feel like we was his favorite. 😊 It takes someone pretty great to do that.

When I was growing up the Kilgore’s were highly admired and respected in our home. When Bro. Kilgore visited, it was as if The Lord was walking into our home. At one point in my teenage years Bro. Kilgore spoke words into my life that I have carried with me since that night. There have been those simple yet powerful messages that put me in the altar, on my face, asking God to please help me and give me a burden for souls and love for people like Bro. Kilgore. The warm handshake. The gentle hug. The firm, “Sis. Ronda…”(wouldn’t you like to know). 😊

When Bro. Kilgore became our superintendent in the Texas district you can imagine my delight when Sis. Kilgore asked me to be the organist for Ladies conference. I played those years along side Jeanetta Orange on keys. We had some great times. Sis. Kilgore had a certain way she wanted the music for those conferences and we did our best to make it to her liking. Bro. Kilgore asked me to play the organ for him on numerous occasions at camp meeting & conferences and I was always a little nervous but he was a gem to work with. However, (this is just a little funny) one year he had preached a beautiful message on unity and the man that was leading music for that particular service got up and began to sing the Sunday School song, “when we all pull together”. Bro. Kilgore was NOT very happy about that selection and came to me and said, “Ronda! This song is not right”. I quickly told him I sure didn’t choose it and he said, “I don’t care. Change it, now”! Yes sir! I did and did it gladly. We went on to have a wonderful alter service but whew! We laughed about it later but at that moment I wanted to crawl under the organ and I could have killed the man that put me in that position. On another note, I loved how he would go to the pulpit and begin to sing, “What a day that will be”. Won’t it be wonderful there”, “Jesus is the sweetest name I know”, and many other songs like these. Those were the most precious times for me as an organist. I will cherish these memories forever.

I could go on and on with memory after memory of Bro. & Sis. Kilgore, but I’m just one person in a sea of people with memories of great people. What a giant of a man he was. You are missed already, Bro. Kilgore and will be missed until we meet again. Tell Mother & Daddy that I press on in apostolic doctrine and identity and I will meet them in front of the throne, soon!
Rest in Peace my dear Bro. Kilgore.

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“That Wouldn’t Hurt on My Eyeball”

I know my title sounds a little odd.  Let me explain.

When I was a little girl, growing up, Mother would load us up in the car every once in awhile and take us down to Bloomington (California) from Fresno to see Grandma and Grandpa Pound and all the uncles, aunts and cousins.  I loved to play around their house, in the yard and if we could get by with it in the sand pile and on the pipes of Grandpa’s business.  However, if we ever got caught (which we did often) we got in big trouble either from Grandpa or Uncle James, Uncle C.W.,  or one of the crew that worked for Grandpa.  Inevitably, one of us kids would get “hurt”.  You know, scrape a knee or get a small cut on a finger or arm.  That was one of the reasons Grandpa didn’t want us playing on or around his equipment.  We loved to climb on the big trucks, etc.  Back to my story….When one of us got hurt and we would run to the house, crying and asking for help, after Grandma saw that we wasn’t  hurt that bad she would always say, “Well, that wouldn’t hurt on my eyeball”.  She would always make us laugh and forget about our little scrape.

A few days ago, I spilled a cup of HOT coffee on my arm and my poor husband thought I had been shot or something really horrible had happened,  by the way I screamed and bounced around saying, “Oh! OW!  JEEEE—SUS!”  and on and on.  He tried to help me by saying, “Oh, I’m so sorry.  Run it under cold water, etc”.  Poor guy didn’t know what to do.  We both thought for sure it would blister and be red and burnt for days.  However, the next day, I looked at it and it looked just like a little scrape.  Nathan looked at it and tried to remain sympathetic but I could tell by the look on his face (he’s not good at hiding his feelings) that he couldn’t understand what all the screaming had been about the previous day. That’s when I just started laughing, almost uncontrollably, all the while trying to tell him what I was laughing at.  That look on his face took me back to much younger days, when I would see that same look on Grandma Pound’s face and she would say, “Well, that wouldn’t hurt on my eyeball”.  🙂

I know I could take this post and make something much more philosophical and maybe even spiritual (grow up already, in the Kingdom of God).  But, I just wanted to share a little Ruby Pound-ism with you and hopefully make you smile.  There was only one Ruby Pound and every once in awhile I feel her “spirit” get on me.  She was quite a character and I’m glad I had her as a grandmother.  She made me laugh more times than I could ever count.

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Thirty Three Years

Has it really been thirty three years?  I still feel like I’m that young blushing bride.  I was so excited for this day to come, 33 years ago.  As I was waiting to hear the organ play the introduction to the song I marched down the aisle on, “Here Comes Heaven”, I remember Daddy asking me, “Are you sure about this?  Are you sure you love Nathan enough to live with him the rest of your life”?  I looked him straight in the eye and said, “I’m sure”.  Little did I know at that time how much love can grow.  Looking back, our love for each other that day was nothing compared to what it is now.  All the things you go through together makes love grow deep.  One of the songs sung at our wedding was “Walk Through This World With Me” and that is what we have done.  We have walked together, flown high sometimes, crawled and sometimes just had to stand still, but we’ve had each other.  I’m thankful for the journey and I am looking forward to the future with the man of my dreams.

Our Wedding Party: September 2, 1977

Our Wedding Day September 2, 1977

On our Honeymoon, September 1977

Us Now!

Our Family: August 2, 2010

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Seedless Watermelon? (I Don’t Like It)

This article in the Washington Post (By Jane Black Washington Post Staff Writer) answers a question I’ve had all summer…What happened to watermelons with seeds? I have had discussions with people about this. 🙂  I don’t like the seedless variety.  They are not as sweet!  Oh! Why do people have to mess with something so good? 

I have not printed the whole article, just a few snippets.

The iconic, black-studded watermelon wedge appears destined to become a slice of vanished Americana. If that sounds alarmist, try to remember the last time you had to spit out a grape seed.

Still, as the end of summer looms, I can’t help but mourn the inevitable disappearance of the black-dotted red watermelon. In part, it is a wistfulness for a classic American fruit and its traditions. Without seeds, there can be no seed-spitting contests such as the one in Luling, Tex., home to an iconic watermelon water tower, or the one in Pardeeville, Wis., where the rules are strictly enforced: No professional tobacco spitters. Denture wearers must abide by the judge’s decision if their teeth go farther than the seed.

Though there is some debate about it, the flavor of old-time watermelons might also be in jeopardy. And what a flavor to lose! In “Pudd’nhead Wilson,” Mark Twain described the true Southern watermelon as “a boon apart . . . when one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat.” Convenience, whether it’s a smaller size, a fruit without seeds or year-round availability, always seems to extract a price. And if that sounds alarmist, try to remember the last great tomato you bought at a supermarket.

I see the trend at local grocery stores. I haven’t found any seeded melons at my local Safeway this summer or at the nearby Whole Foods Market, though a staff member there told me that they sometimes carry organic watermelons with seeds.

The most reliable place to find old-school watermelons is the farmers market. That is not because of any bias in favor of old-fashioned varieties. It’s because seedless watermelons are more difficult and expensive to grow. Their seeds are most successful when germinated in a greenhouse rather than outdoors, and farmers must buy hybrid seeds for the pollinator plants. More than half of the watermelons grown at Montross, Va.-based Garner Produce, a regular at Washington markets, are seeded. At Spring Valley Farm and Orchard in Morgan, W.Va., 60 percent of the melons have seeds. “It’s easier,” said Joe Heischman, a co-manager of the farm. “But I think the seeded ones also taste better. When we put out samples of both, people always say the seeded ones are sweeter.”

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Childhood Memories

Need a break from the ‘grown-up’ life for a few minutes?  Peruse the images below and go back. 🙂  If you remember some or all of these, you have lived!

Marlin Perkins

BurmaShave Signs

Lincoln Logs

Flash Bulbs

 Reel to Reel Tape Recorders The Fuller Brush Man 5 Cent Cokes

Chatty CathyBrylcreem

Topo Gigio

Beany and Cecil Car Hops and Curb Service  Sky King

Cork Pop Guns  Jiffy Pop (Popcorn)

Green Stamps  Washtub Wringers

Gum Wrapper Chains Aluminum Christmas Trees TV Test Patterns   Old Yeller

Fire Escape Tubes  15 cent HamburgersSpeedy Alka-SeltzerTimmy and LassieStudebaker’s25 cent a Gallon gasolineBrownie Camera

 45 rpm spindles

Metal Ice cube trays  Tinkertoys

5 cent PostageDing Dong, Avon CallingChef Boy-Ar-Dee5cent Packs Baseball CardsRoller Skate Keys

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Lord, When Are You Coming?

Today I was taken back many years ago, to when I was just a little girl as Linda, Danelle and myself sang around the piano.  Linda began to play as I was preparing  potatoes to be put in the oven to bake.  Danelle came in and she immediately migrated to the piano with Aunt Linda.  She loves the old songs.  I soon made my way in there too and we sang and sang and sang.  Songs like,  “A Crown of Thorns”, “Inside Those Pearly Gates”, “Longing for Heaven”, “When I Inherit My Mansion”,  “The Next Step”, “Meet Me in Front of the Throne”, and my favorite of the day was “Lord, When Are you Coming”.  Linda and I actually got teary eyed as we remembered Mother and Daddy singing this song. Oh!  How they would sing…”Lord, when are you coming?  Lord, I’ve waited so long.  Come and get me Jesus.  Lord, I want to go home”.  I remember crying as a girl as they sang because it made me want to go to heaven so much.  Linda and I began to talk when we finished singing, about how our parents sang so many songs about Heaven.  It really seemed to make the things of this world grow dim.  I wonder sometimes if we would sing more songs and talk more about going to Heaven, if the troubles we seem to be facing in our day and age would not also dim in comparison to the promise of Heaven.  I think it would, because it did today.  I would have been very happy had the trumpet sounded as we sang around the piano today.  There was not a care in the world at that point. Because, my mind was imagining being there, in the presence of God, reunited with my family and friends, walking on streets of gold, seeing walls of jasper and gates of pearl, wading in the river of life and standing in front of throne, meeting with so many people that I’ve promised to meet there.  Ah! “Heaven!  Happy home above.  Heaven!  Land of peace and love.  Oh!  It makes me feel like traveling on.  Heaven!  Eternal.  Heaven! Supernal….”

Come on!  Lay down your burdens for just a few minutes and think about, sing about and talk about Heaven!  It will make things here not quite so consuming.  Lay aside the worry for awhile and think with me, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus”.  Take a moment and forget about everything else, except the most important thing, and that is making Heaven our home.  Lay it all aside for a little while and sing with me, “Come and get me Jesus!  Lord,  I want to go Home”. 

Even so, Come, Lord Jesus!

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BLT

Okay, So this morning for some reason I am missing my mother terribly. How do you explain it? I don’t know. Instead of sitting around and getting remorseful I thought, what would mother eat right now if she was here with me. Since I was hungry I guess that’s why I thought that. 🙂 I headed to the kitchen to see what was available and there it was. Bacon, bread, tomato, lettuce, cheese, pickles and corn chips.  Mother loved a good BLT sandwich. I proceeded to make myself an incredible BLT and ate a pickle and corn chips with it. The only difference was I drank a Diet Coke.  Mother would have drank a Diet Dr. Pepper. 🙂 Why you can miss someone so intensely after so many years (7), I’ll never know. I just know that you never get over losing a loved one. You just learn how to cope and that’s what I did today. It may sound funny, but it made me feel better. 🙂

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Welcome Home, Blanche Faye Shoemake

Yesterday morning at 10:00 we went to the Home-going of Blanche Faye Kilgore Shoemake.  As we walked into the sanctuary you could already feel the sweet, comforting presence of the Lord.  As the service progressed and different ones spoke and sang there was such an awesome presence of God there.  I believe that is because we were honoring the life of one of God’s favorites,  Blanche Shoemake.  What a great lady she was.  Sis. Shoemake lived for the Lord from a young child until the day God called her home.  Her life impacted so many other lives that we know about and hundreds and even thousands that we do not know.  She was a lady of prayer and many talents.  Sis. Shoemake always tried her best at everything she did.  When she cooked a meal.  When she taught Sunday School.  When she was raising her family. As a hostess.  As a wife.  And if you don’t believe that one you would have to just hear how Bro. Shoemake talked about his beloved Blanche.  I heard him say one time when I was little girl,  “if Blanche ain’t gonna be my wife in Heaven, I don’t even want to go”.   We have laughed about that statement many times down through the years but he was just trying to express what a love he had for her.  Sis. Shoemake always looked so “spiffy” and classy, so put together.  I wish I had pictures of  her in her little hats.  She was so pretty.  However, it wasn’t just her physical beauty but her spirit that made her the beautiful lady she was.  I remember one time sitting at her table with her as we ate a snack and I asked her how she had kept herself so slim and trim all of these years.  And she said, “well, honey when you go to someone’s house they will always fix their favorite and best dishes for you.  At the end of the meal when they offer you a piece of pie for dessert you tell them just how big you want your slice to be and if they bring you a bigger piece you only eat the amount that you said you wanted.”  And, I said, “well I always feel guilty if I don’t eat it all, or afraid they will think I don’t like it.”  And she said, “Oh no, no, no.  When you say that’s all you want then that is all you are obligated to eat.”  That is just one memory but it has stuck in my brain for more than 28 years.  She gave me some other advice that day too but I won’t share that here.  LOL  She was just a priceless Jewel and I’m so thankful I knew her and had the opportunity to be around her some in my life.  I know the angels in heaven sang a beautiful welcome song when Blanche Shoemake stepped across the threshold.  And I’m sure the Lord said, “Welcome Home, thou good and faithful servant.”

  

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Who Do YOU Remember?

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip. You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just read it straight through, and you’ll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America Contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners. 

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with

Easier? The lesson: The people who make a difference in YOUR life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care.

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Five Things You Don’t Know About Me

I have been tagged twice now so I guess I better respond.  Once from Jewell and once from Gene.  So, here goes:

1. When Mother was carrying me in her 8 month, she fell down a flight of stairs.  I always told her that it was her fault something wasn’t quite right with me. LOL  When I started to crawl I would drag my right leg.  And then when I started to walk I was extremely bow-legged.  Daddy worried about me.  But, I grew up alright. Things straightened out.

2.  I loved P.E. in school, especially gymnastics and was fairly good at it too. When I was younger I loved to play sports: baseball, volleyball, basketball, tennis, badminton (with Mother), etc.  I skated, rode a skateboard, biked, jumped on my Pogo stick, jumped rope, climbed trees, dug and built trenches with Nanci (Shoemake) Holston, so we could play army. Anything so I didn’t have to come into the house.  Not that I didn’t love my home but I love the outdoors. Thank God for parents that let me be a “tom-boy”.  I still snow ski (blue slopes) and play some games when the younger generation will let me.  lol

3.  When I was 9 years old the Lord healed me of allergies.  I had to come home from school almost every day in the spring and my eyes would be nearly swollen shut and itching so bad I couldn’t stand it. The doctor had told Daddy that we would need to move from Fresno, CA to either the coast or desert.  Daddy told the doctor that would be impossible.  He was a pastor and couldn’t just up and move.  And the doctor told Daddy that I would only get worse if we didn’t get to a place that had better air.  Well, the doctor didn’t know the Great Physician can do anything and He did what the doctor thought impossible and I have never suffered from allergies since that time. THANK YOU JESUS!

4.  I didn’t want to marry a preacher!  Although every guy I ever dated was already in the ministry. (well, except one) and he ended up being one. LOL  In fact when our phone rang in our hotel room (mother, daddy and mine) at the General Conference (1976) in Anaheim, CA I would jump in the bathtub FULLY CLOTHED and say to Mother or Daddy, “If that’s Nathan Hurst tell him I’m in the bathtub”.  hee hee  Mother would say, “no! you come talk to this boy.  If you don’t want to go out with him, tell him yourself.”  Well, we did go out, and the rest is history.  And I wouldn’t trade being a minister’s wife for any other life in this world.  I AM BLESSED!

5. I was and am very mischievous.  When my husband was youth secretary in Texas (way back when), I squirted Bro. Jerry Jones in the face with a water gun (we had confiscated quite a few from the campers) after a Rook Tournament with he and his wife, Bro. and Sis. Ken Gurley and Nathan and I.  Needless to say, that turned into quite a water fight. You know sometimes you just go crazy when you deal with teenagers for a long time and that summer we had back to back camps.  I have apologized many times for that however. How was I supposed to know he would be the General Secretary of the U.P.C.I. one of these days? LOL

Well, now that you have found out 5 things you didn’t know about me let’s move onto some others and tag them and see what we can find out about them.  Jana,  Becky,  Carol,  Maria,  Diana,  and Shirley Buxton.  Come on ladies! I will be watching to see how you do! lol

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