Monthly Archives: September 2013

October 2013 Challenge : Day 1

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31 Day Button 2013.001

Welcome to State of Hospitality!

I’m so glad you’re here! During the month of October, I’m participating in a 31 Day blogging challenge hosted by The Nester. I’ll be writing on Southern: A Way of Life for the month. I hope you’ll come back to visit and in November, I’ll be back to my “regular topics”.

The challenge begins toda and I’m a little giddy to tell the truth. Why? Because today is a BIG day, not only am I posting from my brand new dot com site but it’s October 1st and I’m showcasing my brand of what being Southern is all about for all the world to see. For the back story, see here.

So, sit a spell and take your shoes off, get comfortable, because Southerners like a tale to tell and to make a long story short is always going to make a short story- long and the long story- longer.

The Mason-Dixon Line was established in the 1760’s and symbolized the cultural divide between the Northeastern and Southern states. The line was set between Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Delaware. The United States Census Bureau defines the South as comprising the above four states plus Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and the states of the Deep South: Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

The South invades your bones and soaks down into your skin deeper than the humid drops of heat. Walking and talking slow is a manner of living and a matter of survival because to do different requires a taxing exercise in heat endurance. Family and faith matter here and stories are told and retold; sometimes with more embellishment than the last retelling.

Hot, sultry summer nights are filled with lightnin’ bugs, the smell of honeysuckle blossoms, and crickets, frogs and katydids chirping. Mouth-watering foods like fried chicken, greens, blackeyed peas, sweet cornbread, cheese grits, iced tea, watermelon and fresh tomatoes are shared around a family table. In the South, gracious antebellum homes, genteel manners, and history etched deep into the landscape speaks of a past that still bares the scars.

Proud of their heritage, good and bad, Southerners have a fierce loyalty that runs deep in their veins. I’m Dixie born and no where else feels quite like here.

By clicking the link below, you can watch my daughter and me share our version of “What is the South”

Doodlebug and I discuss, “What is the South”


I’m so glad you dropped by and I hope you’ll come back tomorrow : )

To view all of the posts in this series, click here and if you’d like to check out others participating in this same writing challenge visit, The Nester here.

Blessings,

Mimi

“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up !’and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth” Isaiah 43:6. NIV Bible

Things I Learned in September

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Hey!

September has 30 days, right?  ‘Cause the month felt like 10 days tops!

Today, I’m joining in a link party sponsored by Emily about things I’ve learned in September.



1. This month, I’ve been on a HUGE learning curve on how to run an online bible study ministry.   Sweeter Than Honey Ministry took off and the response online and locally has been blessedly wonderful.   God has been so good!



2.  Tied into #1 and this blog moving to a new dot com site on Tuesday, I discovered I’m not as computer illiterate as I originally thought.  I was allowing my past failures with computer programming from 30 years ago influence my approach and attitude about the computer.  A small victory achieved by altering my perception and attitude.

3.  Making videos with my daughter was a blast in preparation for my 31 Day October Challenge —- Southern:  A Way of Life  31 Conversations — Mother and Daughter 

4. Banff,, Alberta, Canada is really cold in September but absolutely breathtaking! 





What did YOU learn in September?

Blessings,

Mimi

 
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains-where does my help come from? 
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” 
Psalm 121:1,2  NIV Bible

My 31 Day Topic Reveal!

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Hey!

I’m one big bundle of emotions concerning my topic for the October challenge.  The challenge is to write each day of October and yes, I’m going to follow the rules but I’m also stepping it up and adding a twist.   This year, I wanted to try something TOTALLY outside my comfort zone and Honey, I’m going for it in a big way! 

What makes this topic such a biggie?  Doesn’t sound very intimidating, does it?  Southern: A Way of Life- 31 Conversations Between a Mother and Daughter   I mean, seriously, what could be scary about that since I’ve lived in the South my whole life?! 

The reason:  Doodlebug and I have filmed video segments of us talking about being Southern.   I’m terrified excited to really share but being an introvert by nature, I’m anxious to say the least.  Then, there’s the whole issue of being on camera and how you look.  I, also, don’t want to embarrass myself or Southerners, in general, because the last thing I would ever want to do, is offend a fellow Southerner. 

If you’ve ever wondered about the South or what makes Southerners tick or maybe,  you’ve wanted to be Southern but don’t know how.  Well then Sugar, the month of October is your lucky month!  I’m going to give you my perspective of  Southern — A way of life. 
 
I hope these posts and videos will make you smile and maybe giggle a little and I hope you’ll feel a closer kinship with this, here, Southern girl.  After all, we’re probably related. 

Blessings,

Mimi

“You who swelter in your clothes when the land lies hushed under the south wind,”  
Job 37:17  NIV Bible

I’m Moving to a Dot Com!

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Hey!

Reinvention.   Sometimes, it’s necessary.

Blogspot has been a good place to dip my toe into the water of blogging but I’m finding that I’m ready to move to the next step.  It’s time.   State of Hospitality is moving to a dot.com.

I’ve invested into an even wider pond of owning my own domain.  I’m still tweaking the details on my new site but, hopefully, sometime next week, I’ll be launching from my own domain on WordPress.  The only difference, besides a little cosmetics to the site, is that you will no longer have to type in blogspot before the .com.   And if you’re following along by a reader, you need only change the address.  Easy!

When I launched my online bible study ministry this past month, I found I really enjoyed working in WordPress.   The more I grew comfortable with the mechanics, the more I began to think about moving over State of Hospitality.

 

Thank you for sticking with me through my many changes over the past couple of years.   I really hope that you will follow me to my new home.  I appreciate you so much for visiting and commenting on my blog.  I look forward to each and every comment, like, and email. 
Y’all make my day : )

Blessings,

Mimi

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”  

                                                                           Proverbs 19:20  NIV Bible

Three Books, One Topic

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Hey!

Today, I’m sharing some wonderful reads: one is historical fiction and the other two are non-fiction.  Each of these books deals with the same subject but from different perspectives.  The subject: Leprosy/Hansen’s Disease.

Of these books, I picked up The Colony first.  I was looking for more information about leprosy to add to a Sunday school lesson that I was preparing and while reading,  my heart broke for those suffering from this terrible disease.

Moloka’i and In the Sanctuary of Outcasts were book club reads that I thought were well written but give a different view.  Reading all three of these together would give such a depth of insight and knowledge about this terrible disease and how those who suffered from it have been treated.

Moloka’i
Alan Brennert

Moloka'i
This story of hope and courage follows the life and struggles of a young girl sent to the Kalaupapa colony on Moloka’i after she contracts the disease.  For maximum appreciation, I think that I would start with this book before you read a non-fiction account.  I found that when I read it that I kept comparing it to The Colony and wanting to correct some of the author’s liberties.

The Colony
John Tayman

The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai

For 103 years from 1866-1969, eight thousand people were forcibly removed from their homes to a peninsula on Moloka’i.  This disease does not distinguish between old and young and neither did the government.  They removed the young and the old from their homes, boarded them on a boat and forced them, in their weakened state, to swim for shore.  As they boarded the boats in Honolulu, the scene is described as

“a funeral in which the dead themselves walked.” 

The disease was 

” the sickness that is a crime…”

The book follows the lives of the people exiled to Moloka’i and how they suffered, survived and formed a community.  Help comes in the form of a Roman Catholic priest, Father Damien.   He, along with others, served these people and tried to bring them a semblance of normalcy, hope and purpose. Through following the progression of the residents’ illnesses and their lives, the book includes detailed facts about Hansens’s Disease and the many treatments that were used.  Paul, a patient and resident, says,
“The more we suffer, the more strength we have.  The more suffering, the closer we are to one another.  Life is that way.  If you haven’t suffered then you don’t know what joy is.  The others may know something about joy, but those who have gone through hell and high water, I think they feel the joy deeper.” 

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts
Neil White

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

Set in the leprosarium at Carville, LA, this true story tells of the author’s incarceration served among the patients there.  Mr. White discovered himself while serving out his sentence among these patients.
“Finally in a sanctuary for outcasts, I understood the truth.  Surrounded by men and women who could not hide their disfigurement, I could see my own.”
One of the patients that impacted the author in profound ways was Ella.  He says of her,
“But Ella carried her leprosy like a divine blessing.  She had faith that she would be healed in heaven.  She embraced the life she believed God had chosen for her on earth.  She has transcended the stigma that crippled so many.”
I highly recommend all three books.  All three had a profound impact on my view of scripture, suffering and courageous hope.
Happy Reading!
Mimi
“The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured,
 the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”  
Matthew 11:5  NIV Bible

31 Days of October Challenge 2013 Coming Soon!

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Hey!

The October writing challenge is looming and I’ve been brainstorming about what to write.  For the past two years, I’ve participated in the Nester’s challenge to write about a topic each day for the 31 days of October.

I, first, participated two years ago with 31 Drawers of Change.  I spent the month organizing various drawers throughout my home and most some are still clean.

Last year,  I wrote about 31 Books on my Shelf.  I had such a great time writing on that topic that I considered writing about books again.  Click on the picture or go to the books tab under my header to see the books I reviewed in last year’s challenge.

This year, I’ve been slow to come up with a topic.  I’ve enlisted the help of my family and I’m narrowing down my choices.   I don’t want to spill the beans so you’ll have to wait until the big announcement later this month.  If my top choice comes together, I think it’ll be a whole lot of fun!

The challenge has been not only a writing exercise but also a place to meet other bloggers and read some awesome posts.   From last year’s participants, I was introduced to new authors and books, art journaling, building a better blog, lovely lines, better ways to express hospitality in my home, and music playlists.   And that’s only the tip of the blogging iceberg.   I can’t wait to see what everyone will be writing about this year and how many participate.  1,200 joined in last year.  What about you?  Are you in?

Blessings,

Mimi

“My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.” 
 Psalm 45:1  NIV Bible