Oh, how times have changed, yes indeed!

I had a flat tire on my bike the other day and Bill was not home yet.  Take note --I am not implying that he would have fixed mine, but I needed an inner tube for my bike. So I took matters into my own hands and drove downtown Johnson City to the TREK store where I had bought my bike. They promptly fixed it and I was on my way.

Downtown Johnson City is becoming quite the place to hang out .  With its proximity to the college and many of the new apartments built for the students,.  I must say that someone with forethought and influence must be driving the revitalization of the area .  I don't know if we will ever be  an East Tennessee "Asheville" but for some reason several breweries are downtown and some different places to eat are sprouting up downtown.

Then there are several nice parks the city has added over the last few years. One of them which is downtown, is Founders Parks.  Sounds like it was made to honor the good founders of our city, right?  Maybe so. 

I thought I would ride my bike, with its newly installed innertube, around the  park and check out the eclectic artwork there in the form of statues, and see what kind of people are drawn to this park on this fine day.  The weather was optimal, not too hot and not too cool.

As I peddled around the loop I had to pay attention to where I was going because there are areas right beside the trail where you can ride off  into the meandering stream of up to two feet of water  (a lovely feature, but you have to pay attention to small children and old ladies on bikes, who might accidentally find their way into the water--not deep but definitely concern for possible bodily injury).  And NO-- i did not end up in the water.

I did notice one younger man at the other end of the loop intently using his phone and sadly ignoring the wonderful surroundings of the park he was at.  I meanwhile was trying to formulate something to say to him when i pedaled near.  Something like "Wow, you need to take a break from your phone and enjoy this day and this park!".With my delivery upbeat and with a smile.You know... something just a little snide but still sweet coming from a white headed lady on her orange bike.

But I was precluded from delivering my opinion and  grandmotherly advice when a young lady joined him.  They began to stroll around the park, hand in hand, both heads down checking their electric devices in their other hand.  I could only imagine what lunch would have been like.  Ah, whatever happened to looking deep into her eyes and and speaking the words she longs to hear;  'I think that is a new notification on your phone, you might want to check it."  He takes the opportunity to check and see if engagement rings are down in price and how is the market doing.. and i don't mean the farmers market next to the park.

Times have changed for sure.  I rode on by them, deciding wisely, perhaps.... to not say anything to them.  I guess it was better that way.   

OMGoshdarn, I really am becoming my mother!!

Hope you and your electronic devices have a great day!
Judy Hensley
12/28/2017

Carol's favorite Parable, The Lost Sheep

When Carol was little her favorite story in a little Bible story book was the one of Jesus leaving the 99 other sheep that were under his watch to go and find the one, lost sheep.

This story is found in the book of Matthew as well as Luke in the Bible.  The writers of these two books in the Bible must have thought there was some significance to the parable if they both wrote about it.  A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke

A Christmas ornament I have

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:1-7 New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® 

Now I don't know why Carol loved this story so much but I think she possibly did because it had animals in it; it describes in a way that she could relate  of Jesus' love for those who He calls his own....even those who may not always follow His call; and it has a happy ending.  There are lots of subtleties that you can pull from this story, but as in some other areas of Carol's life and death, there are uncanny connections.  One connection is that she is buried in a section of a cemetery called "the Good Shepard Garden." 

When Carol died at the age of 19 from a tragic accident, her final resting place  in the Washington County Memory is in a section of the cemetery

called  the Good Shepard" and there is a statue  of Jesus carrying a small sheep on his shoulders.  Her burial plot was chosen because it was near to my mother's plot.  Only later did we find out name of this section of the cemetery. We did not pick the spot where she was to be laid to rest ..it just so happened that a plot was available  a couple of spots behind the statue of Jesus with the one lamb on his shoulders.

Jesus finds the lost one.

Carol may have gotten an 'inside tip" on what the real good part of this parable is, or she just knew that God would do that for her.  It is said that sheep are not the brightest animals on the farm, and Carol was the object of some 'dumb-blonde' jokes.  But I am not encouraging any associations there.  And just maybe she could relate to being grateful to one who comes looking for her when she was 'lost'.  I remember one night she was driving back home from Cooper's house near Kingsport and had missed the exit she should have taken.  She called me in a panic wanting for me to come get her because of this one error (to her credit, she had not been driving long at this time.)  So I told her I would talk her through getting back on the Interstate in the right direction, and I assured her that this happens to everyone at one time or another, so she could learn from it [and she could thank me latter.]

Here is the other neat thing that happened in regard to this parable and thought:  when I went to church Sunday, one of the praise songs was "Reckless Love (by Cory Asbury)  and it has these lyrics in one part:  

Oh, The overwhelming, never-ending , reckless love of God, 
it chases me down, fights til i'm found, leave the ninety-nine. 
 I couldn't earn it , I don't deserve it, still You give Yourself away.

What a hope I have!!!!!! that because Carol accepted God's love and sacrifice for her, she has a place in heaven, and since I also trust in God's promise for me, I will, one day, see her again! And we will spend all eternity together.  

Judy Hensley 
Dec 17,2017

It is Basketball time in east Tennessee and at TriCities Christian school!

Wow, there is just something about fall in the air that gets me excited.  Not just the trees with their fall brilliance or the crisp air and frosty morning.  Nope, just one thing that makes me smile most this time of year is basketball, and the intensity with which most girls play the game.

Here are  some things you should know about why I love basketball .....
I never played high  school basketball, but I did play volleyball.  My daughter excelled in basketball so I became a fan of her team(s).

There is just something special about playing on a team that is an amazing form of 'togetherness' that you just cant do by yourself.  And if I have to admit it, cheerleading is also a sport.  I tried out once in elementary school and didn't make it, so I played sports.

As I have gotten older I can no longer 'play' like i used to. SO I cheer from my seat or standing for extra emphasis.  And my daughter does not have to be on the team for me to 'cheer' or yell my brains out...but it helped when she was playing.

My daughter, Carol--she is that intense looking gal with the big smile in the picture is out in the hallway-- went to TCCS 13 years and played on TCCS teams since 2nd grade to 12th grade when she and her basketball teams won the state championship in 2011 and 2012 and were the regional champs in the previous 2 years.

Here is the other thing you should know about me...I believe that crowd support/school spirit can be the 6th person on a team.  Sad to say, I have never seen this happen at TCCS.  I have run up and down the sidelines to try and rally up some cheering from the crowd one time with no success so I just gave up.
This has always been a discouraging thing to me at the TCCS.  The crowds are bigger at the boys games, but the girls practice just as hard.  In fact one year on the elevator at our hotel in the state tournament, a coach from the other team said we  played like a boys team (but nicer to look at)!  The girls in the elevator took that that to be a great compliment!

So my plea to you is this:  come out to support the girls teams and put some oxygen in those lungs and yell for them!!!  They will notice, and they will play to get more yells.  Be the 6th man for our teams this year.  It doesn't cost much -- just a drink to re-wet your throat.  Our kids at watching and listening to us, so get to work and YELL for the EAGLES!  If you don't like to yell make a sign and hold it up.  Let's do something to show our kids we ar eproud of them in front of the other team.  We can do it...I know we can.  So help out our teams (and don't let up if they are struggling some, let them know we believe in them all the more!)

Will you join me as Bill and I attend the TCCS home games on Dec 7 and/or Dec 8?  And will you cheer on with pride our boys and girls teams?  Please don't ever let another team come in our gym with louder fans--that is a true disgrace and one that must change at TCCS!  Middle school games start at 5:00 pm and varsity at 7 pm.

THANK YOU!
  Judy Hensley -- a forever EAGLE mom of Carol Hensley Singletary (2012)

And #22 will be on the floor again for the guys team...sharing the number of a special friend and an angel fan in heaven..Carol Hensley Singletary's #22 will be worn by Caleb Rose! He asked specifically if he could continue wearing #22 as an honor to his friend, Carol.  We are excited to see him play with EAGLE pride as #22!