Carrie's Corner

In my little corner of the world, we just experienced one of the worst natural disasters in America. My family and I were spared from the catastrophic flooding in our neighborhood, but many of my friends were not.  My church was not spared.  What is left is hard to put into words.  The waters have receded in most areas, but there are still areas of town where the waters are still trying to claim houses, land, and anything else in its path. The devastation is truly unbelievable. And sometimes you feel guilty that you were spared and they were not...but... People need help and because I was spared, I get to help. Though our church building was not spared entirely, our worship center was and our pastor decided that we could help with what we had, and so the mission began. Over the past three days, we have started a laundry unit, taken in over 500 bags of smelly, wet, water-swamped laundry, returned over 300 bags of laundered and folded clothes, taken in donations by ...

I walked outside after dinner and saw the remnants of a few storm clouds off in the distance.  The tops were white, but the outer edges of the clouds were rimmed with pink and coral and golden light while the underneath side was giving way to the blue gray shadows.  The air hit me.  It  looked like it should be a pleasant summer evening to take a stroll in, but the sticky air reminded me that I no longer live in a climate where cooling evening breezes gently lilt across your face.  Instead I was instantly reminded that I live in the South.  The South--where summer is longer, hotter and stickier than I prefer.  Oh how I hate this time of year.  Yes.  Hate.  I'm always counting the days until the first strong cold front comes to our area and we finally get some relief from the sultry days of summer. But this time it dawned on me that I have spent so many years just trying to get through this time of year, that I have forgotten to enjoy...

I have often found myself to be on the outside of situations looking in...wishing to be a part of the "in" group.  I wasn't a cheerleader, not popular, wasn't the one with the big personality and the ability to draw people to me.  Even though I've performed as a musician, taught as a teacher and given speeches throughout my life, my personality still tended to hold me back.  I was the quiet one, hugging the wall or the corner of the couch.  If I had a stage or microphone, I was usually okay, but as soon as I stepped offstage, my nerves and fears would overtake me. It was what I knew and where I was most comfortable--yet I often longed to be the one in the middle of the action. I  have struggled in my life to overcome my natural tendency to blend in with the wallpaper and to learn instead, to step forward, speak up, introduce myself and stand out in the crowd.  I still really stink at that ability, but I'm learning...slowly. But this post isn't about me f...

I tend to avoid political rhetoric on any social media forum, but I am compelled to write a few brief thoughts and I hope you will really listen. As a life-long American, I grew up saluting the American flag, singing the National Anthem with pride and held dear in my heart all things patriotic and noble. I was taught to respect the office of President, regardless of who held the office. I was taught that voting was not only my civic duty, but that giving up my right to vote was paramount to spitting on the graves of the soldiers who had died to preserve my right to vote, my right to speak freely, and my right to worship as I chose. Honestly, not much of that has changed in my heart, but like many of you, my heart is wearied this season. Hopelessness? Yes. Fear? Yes. Anxiety over the future of our country? Yes. Honestly, regardless of which side of the political fence you fall on, these thoughts seem to be a common theme. Fear is the biggest one I see storming most of the ...

Oh My! It's almost Christmas time!?!  Can you believe it?    I chuckled to myself yesterday while I was at the store and I watched the clerks frantically shelving this year's Christmas decor.  Of course, if you walk into the garden section at your local Walmart it already looks like a Winter Wonderland. Truthfully, I kind of enjoyed walking around seeing what this year's offerings would be for Christmas decor.  I'm always tempted to add something to my collection, but the truth is, I already have far more Christmas decor than I need. What is even more amazing to me though, is how fast the holidays come upon me every year.  Last I knew, we were just starting a new school year and now we are in the middle of fall and looking forward to Thanksgiving.  But Christmas?  I just finished getting my pumpkins placed everywhere! Sometimes I long for the days of mystery and intrigue that I experienced as a child when the holidays came around.  Septemb...

I just hit a milestone birthday a couple of weeks ago.  Funny--I don't feel any older, but the calendar is claiming that I am. I find myself scratching my head sometimes and wondering when I became old enough to have married children, old enough to be called "ma'am" in the grocery store, and old enough to realize that I am now the age my parents were when I was stepping out into young adulthood.  The cliche's are true.  Time flew by at warp speed, and yet I still remember holding my newborn babies as if it were just last week.  It would be easy to fall into thinking that my life is half over and therefore I should hit the panic button, create a bucket list, or try to repair the broken pieces I left behind in the past, but I choose to think a bit differently. I'm moving forward and embracing the idea that it's never too late, as long as I'm alive.  And just where did that idea come from?  The obvious answer would be from God's word.  After all, th...

You might be assuming by the title of this blog that I will be talking about 2 and 3 years old kids, but I'm not.  I'm talking about me.  Yep. You got that right.  Me.  I threw a pretty good tantrum a couple of weeks ago.  I was trying to pack up to leave for a weekend away and had gone to the laundry room to throw in a quick load of clothes I needed for the trip.  When I opened the washer, it was full of clothes.  I opened the dryer, which was also full of clothes. I then looked at the laundry basket and someone had taken MY clothes out of the dryer and thrown them in the laundry basket without me knowing it.  The clothes had not only been sitting there wadded up in the basket, but our lovely cat had decided that a basket full of clean clothes was the perfect place to nap.  While this is not the first time for this kind of incident in our home, I decided that day that it was to be the last time it would ever happen.  I started yelling...