Browsing Tag

Gratitude

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Happy Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2025

Thank-you for loving our family and for letting our materials come into your homes. Thank-you for many letters and texts and calls  of encouragement throughout the past year. Most of all, we are so blessed by your  perseverance in Him. Many of you have suffered loss this year. You have kept serving. Even now, some are planning funerals. But you are leaning on His everlasting arms as you walk through the valley. Some of you have suffered because you have stood for righteousness. And you are still  standing. You are a bright light to our family. Through you, we find courage and steadfastness.

We wish you peace and comfort in the hard times and we wish you the fulness of His joy all the time.  May your days be merry and bright. And, in Him, may all your robes be white (Rev. 7:14).              

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Reminders I Needed at FHU

Posted on March 18, 2025

Today, Glenn and I were able to attend the Bible lectures at Freed-Hardeman University. Rich in fellowship and faith, the atmosphere was encouraging beyond what I’d anticipated. Everywhere I walked, there were women who wanted to talk about Digging Deep and it made me so thankful for the Word that binds us together in a unity that is the unique tie that will extend beyond this lifetime. Everywhere I went, there were those who asked about the members of my physical family and who told me that they had been in fervent prayer for our family. It made me so thankful for the active advocacy of Jesus in the throne room of the Father, on behalf of His faithful. Everywhere I went there was laughter and the sound of Christianity in gathering places. It made me thankful for the assembling church that will finally come together around the throne. 

There was a sister there who is headed for surgery in the morning, but who chose that encouraging atmosphere just prior to a day when she will either receive good news or resign herself to a long road of illness ahead. There were sisters who asked me to pray for specific things, like a husband who just became an elder in a precarious church situation, or foster children whose futures are hanging in the balance as courts make decisions, or grandchildren who are being raised by parents with mental illnesses, or for the steadfast faith of a son who is headed for USMC boot camp in this volatile world. There were heavy things to add to my prayer list last night as I redeemed my voucher, given through the Word, to beg to God, Himself. The heavy cross is the burden that, in turn, carries all heavy things to the One who lifts burdens.  Nothing I could do on earth could merit what I can do before heaven; not by a long shot.

I’m so glad I went. At the beginning of the day, I thought “What in the world am I thinking? …Driving seven hours today to walk around a crowded campus and listen to lessons I could hear online while making some headway on this house or on the Easter dress I’m trying to make for Eliza or the bridal shower we’re planning this weekend or the four retreat lessons I’m trying to prepare for the following weekend or the Digging Deep lesson that will be discussed on the podcast in just one week…???   WHAT am I thinking, going there, where Glenn and I always see lots of old (I mean truly elderly) and eccentric men and women who claim they were classmates of ours? I mean, do I really want to do this? 

As we prayed tonight before falling asleep (well, at least Glenn has fallen soundly asleep beside me here) we praised Him for allowing us to go and be encouraged. I know there are problems in the church. (There’s humanity in the church. Human sin is always the problem.) I know there are always plenty of things we could be making or accomplishing that will all be burned up one day. I get it that we cannot do it all. But I am thankful for days like today that show me, in a succinct lesson, the good that lives on in the body of the Lord. I’m thankful for the grandchildren who jumped up and down when they saw me in Auditorium A and who sat beside me while their papa was speaking. I am most thankful for the glad day, after I’ve left the planet, when we will jump for joy again and sit together again and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Mama’s K.I.S.S. #77: Cinnamon Rolls for Public Service Workers

Posted on February 26, 2025

As you know, if you’ve been reading, for quite some time, I’ve occasionally been running little installments called “Mama’s K.I.S.S.” I know that lots of readers could give many more and far more creative ideas than I can offer, but these installments are just a few tried and true and mostly old-fashioned ideas for putting service hearts in our kids.  This is number 77 of a list of one hundred ways we train our kids to serve. K.I.S.S. is an acronym for “Kids In Service Suggestions”.

I’ve yet to see the police department, fire station crew (volunteer or paid), or rescue unit that does not love homemade cinnamon rolls delivered to the station or precinct headquarters. You can make these at home with your own kids and do all the delivery work yourselves, or you can do this as a group project with several kids and deliver as a youth group. It can be a project for your homeschoolers, as well. The important thing is to let the kids go in there with hearts and words of gratitude to those men and women who are working to keep our communities safe.  It goes without saying that you will also want to include an invitation to visit the church with times and/or info about  special events or seminars included. You may want to even let each child deliver a hand-written note of thanks, as well.

Alternately, prepare breakfast at the building with your kids and teens and invite all the public service workers to a come-and-go breakfast. I’ve seen this be wildly successful on a Saturday morning. Just be sure you “cover-up” the fire and  police department with flyers ahead of time. Have the preacher or an elder call them, as well, to issue an invitation. This method is especially good in small towns where the department families know the church families. It fosters a great relationship between the church and the community.It’s great to put a sign out on the day of the event with this title  “Thank-you for your service! Free breakfast today for our police, fire and rescue workers. Come on in!” Have kids at the door to welcome and have them during the milk and juice ar helping with the coffee counter.

Here’s a recipe from The Pioneer Woman that I have made (with a few tweaks) and loved:

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11914/cinammon-rolls/

 

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

The Right Folks in Your Corner–Your Kitchen Corner.

Posted on December 14, 2023

I had a happy and busy kitchen going on the night before Thanksgiving. My dear friend, Diane, was there and she really wanted to help me. So I gave her all the ingredients for the chai mix. “I make a huge batch for holiday company and Christmas giving,” I told her. “So just follow the recipe—times 8. Here’s a measuring cup.” 

Well, she barely got the first two ingredients mixed together before that 5 gallon container I gave her was overflowing. What in the world was happening over there on the chai counter while I was over on the potato salad counter? ”This seems like a lot of chai that’s coming together. I’m going to have to get you a bigger container.” 

“Well,” Diane answered…”I just put eight of these in and it just makes a lot.” 

“Oh wait,” I said. “You do know the measuring cup I gave you is a two-cupper?”

“Oh no!” she exclaimed. “I have put 16 cups of powdered milk in this thing (instead of just eight) and now I have mixed 16 cups of French vanilla creamer in there!”

“O dear!” I said “Now you’re going to have to do the whole recipe—times 16! Do I even have that much cinnamon and ginger and cardamom? That will be my life savings in cardamom. And the sugar! Oh, that will be 40 cups of sugar! Do I even have 40 cups of sugar?! It’s 10 p.m. Is the corner market open?”   I got out my grandmother’s old porcelain washtub and we were making enough chai for serving at the king’s coronation. We stirred until our arms felt like we’d been lifting in an Olympic trial. And where do you even store that much chai? 

We really didn’t have a pan big enough to keep adding the ratios of ingredients we needed, so we just added instant milk and tea, till it kind of “looked right.” Glenn was our guinea pig and he said “ I believe this is better than usual!”

Then it was the evening of our “Christmas at the Colleys”. That’s the night the whole church is invited over for supper, along with a whole bunch of other people. We have an amazing time with our favorite family…God’s family. Another best friend, Jennifer, really was so very kind to persist in offering to come help me the day of the party. She helped me put up wreaths and tie bows and assemble cocoa servers and all kinds of things. But the main thing I saved out for Jennifer to do was to make three large cherry dump cakes. Here’s the complex ingredient list. I was doing it times three.

  • 1 (30-ounce) can cherry pie filling
  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 stick salted butter.

So you pour in the cake mix. Then you dump the cherry pie filling on top of that. Then you cut up the stick of butter on top and you put it in the oven for about 45 minutes. 

I just said “Here you go,” to Jennifer and handed her all the ingredients. She said “I’m just going to do one at the time.” 

“No, No,” I insisted. “I never do that. Just do them all at once.”  I got her three 9X13 Pyrex dishes and let her go. I should have taken pause when she wanted a huge mixing bowl. But I missed that cue. I went upstairs to clean up a mess around Eliza’s dollhouse. We had about an hour-and-a-half before the house would be teeming with people. All was well. 

…Until I came back down and Jennifer said “Come see if this is the right consistency.” Ummm… how do you miss the consistency of a dump cake?

Jennifer was holding a heavy, mammoth bowl of dark pink pudding-like yum,-yum.  Its contents were three cake mixes, three giant cans of cherry pie filling and three sticks of butter. It looked like we were having a cherry jubilee pudding festival. It really looked like we were going for the Guinness Book of World Records—largest pudding. But it was so pretty. 

“What on earth did you do?” 

“You said a dump cake, so I dumped.” 

It’s true. I did not say “layer.” I said “dump.” 

Now Jennifer and I have been through a few adventures together and I could not stop laughing. But I had to stop laughing… and think. A hundred-plus people are coming over for supper in an hour. I have a pecan pie, a few little cookies, and a strawberry cake. “But what is that among so many (Jn. 6:8)?”

“I’ll go to the store really quickly and we will start all over….I know, I’ll get one of my friends who lives over by the bakery to stop and pick up some cakes. Or maybe Glenn, who is outside stringing lights could just hurry up and go shopping with my list.” 

Jennifer, ever the resourceful one, said, “Let’s add some milk and just put one of these in the oven and see what happens and then panic later.” 

Forty-five minutes later, and just in time for the wonderful shoulder-to-shoulder fellowship, this Christmas  dish came out of the oven.  And if Lucy and Ethel didn’t come up with the prettiest cherry soufflé ( I mean, eventually, three of them) that you have ever seen! 

People said “What is this stuff? It’s not cake. It’s not really pie. It’s not pudding. But it’s good.”  Scotty said “This tastes kinda’ like dump cake, but it’s not that….The texture is off.” It was even pretty. When I turned the leftover one out of the fluted-edged pan, it retained the shape. It’s in the freezer and it might be a layer of a pretty holiday mousse dessert in a few days. 

And then there was the broccoli rice casserole that Han made for me to feed the kids while she was working last week. “Mom, it’s been a little hectic here and I wasn’t paying attention and I put potato flakes on top of this instead of potato chips. So I really don’t know what you’ll want to do with this. But here’s some ham. I didn’t mess that up.”  

Well, adding milk seems to solve pretty much all the ingredient assembly cooking “fails” lately. I’ll do that. So I poured a little milk over the top of that casserole and it became a wonderful broccoli-cheddar shepherd’s pie. Those kids and I ate every bite. 

But what in the world is happening on every kitchen counter behind which I step? And what is happening to my every kitchen helper? And what is the magic of milk? And how can I keep laughing this hard? 

Well, I’ve pretty much decided that there’s always a fix to any cooking mess, if I have the right folks in my corner and if I have milk. Here are a few pithy truths from the kitchen faux pas.

  • Sometimes, some pretty good things can come about as a result of mistakes.
  • Often, the things that make you panic most feverishly, also make you laugh the hardest.
  • If your husband is willing to be your guinea pig, you are most blessed.
  • A recipe is not just about having all the right stuff. It’s also about following directions. Life’s  recipe for success is like that, too.
  • Milk is sometimes the answer. The sincere milk of the word is always the answer. We should desire it (1 Peter 2:2).
  • Every messed-up dish in my world is heartier and better than any dish I’ve ever tasted in any 3rd world country. 

Having pondered these dishes that didn’t turn out like I’d planned, I am thankful for my kitchen and even for my kitchen fails. I’m thankful for great and voluntary kitchen hands—sisters who  pull me on through the mistakes and flops, large and small. I thank Him for my kitchen because it’s a great place to grow closer to each other and from which to serve with sisters.

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Thank-you…from a deep place.

Posted on October 25, 2022

Sometimes we all have to almost remind ourselves to breathe in and out. Schedules collide with time limitations, sin and death seem to prevail over righteousness and life, and it’s sometimes hard to see the path. The ever-redeeming truth is that He is ever redeeming–beauty for ashes, timeless bliss for panicked rushing, glory for gloom. He is able to do more than we ask or imagine. On top of all that, His people are conduits for His mercies that are new every morning. Glenn and I are thankful beyond what we can say. Whether you are one of those who opened your doors to our family for early trick-or-treating, one of those who took time out for children when their mama needed an extra hand, one of those whose package arrived in one of our mailboxes for day brightening, one of those who sent a sister an unexpected gift that blessed her family so much, or one of those who prayed and encouraged after a ladies day or a stressful circumstance, you are in our prayers of thanksgiving. Maybe you are one of those who said “Sure, I can do one of those ‘Keepers’ categories for Lads”… or “Yes, I can look for that boy a spot on the Bible Bowl team.” Maybe you put a basket in my hotel room or Glenn’s. Maybe you sent a surprise home with Glenn from a gospel meeting. Maybe you checked on our loved one in the nursing home while we were out of town. Maybe you took the time to listen. Maybe you met Glenn for breakfast on a diffcult morning or maybe you came a long way to his dad’s funeral. Maybe you prepared the building for that funeral or served as one of the pall-bearers. Maybe you helped clean out the nursing home room from which Glenn’s dad left this world. Maybe you are one of scores and scores who sent cards of support or comfort. Maybe you did laundry for Hannah or you might be one of those who put food in my freezer. Maybe you helped me with tech for digging deep or the website. Maybe you just understood when your Digging Deep t-shirt was late getting to your address. Maybe you’ve volunteered to take care of Colleyanna’s cat, Oreo, while we are on the Digging Deep tour.  Maybe you made cookies for your diggers or treat bags for one of my grandkids’ Bible classes. There are a thousand people who combine efforts and talents and time to make us and so many others encouraged and you make us sure we can persevere. Sometimes you don’t even tell us who you are, but still we thank Him for you! How can anyone be worthy of all this? No one can. But He is the worthy One and He has redeemed the unworthy. I, for one, just hope I can be the conduit for 1/1000 of the strength and edification that I receive. I hope I can pay forward in at least some small measure.

 
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).
 
I’m not the apostle Paul who penned this for the Spirit. But I count it joy that I get to feel a little bit of what He was thinking when He contemplated the love of God that passes all knowledge in this amazing chapter.
 
He wrote to people who were trying to do right in a culture that bowed to the goddess Diana and that saturated every crevice of society with sexual sin. He faced the wrath of the rulers, while trying to encourage a baby church to withstand awful persecution in this environment.
 
But His conclusion was that God’s love, working even amidst the realities of a vile community, was enough and more than enough and even more than He could imagine!
 
It is in the difficult days that the reality of our wealth in Christ is palatable in ways that may escape us in the “good” days. Thank you, sisters, for showing me Him–more plainly in the “winter” and barren days than even in the fruitful times! Further, thank you for showing his grace to those we love. When you have shown love to those we love, you have shown it to us. The Colleys are grateful from deep places in our hearts.
Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

“There’ll be days like this…”

Posted on October 7, 2021

“There’ll be days like this,” my mama said. There have been a few times in my life when things that are pretty routine have become infrequent. Things like putting on make-up or cleaning the trash out of my car or making a path through my living room or actually calculating whether there are too many carbs in this meal I’ve prepared. Some of the days of care-taking for my parents were like that. Some of the days when I was finishing a degree and some of the days when my children were very young. These kinds of days and weeks don’t always text ahead and ask if I’m ready for their visitation. Often it’s just a series of unexpected events that together make life suddenly and abruptly frantic and chaotic. 

Such are the days of this autumn. It’s my favorite time of the year, in any normal year. But this year, there are family members with Covid, large projects for which I am responsible, and lots of extra people in my house due to circumstances that I did not plan or execute. I still love the colors outside, the chill in the air, the football games I’m not watching, the fall trip to see the leaves that we’re not taking this year,  the pumpkin spice, and the autumn decorations in the bins downstairs that I’ve not had time to open. In fact, I praise Him everyday for the beauty and provision all around me. But I just prioritize and pray He will help me get the things done that really matter—eternal things—and not worry about the rest. 

Last night Glenn prayed that God would not interpret the despair that sometimes overtakes us, in seasons of distress or busy-ness, as ingratitude, because “…you have blessed us immeasurably and we don’t want to ever appear as if we don’t know that.” I’ve been thinking about how we make sure that we are not viewed, by God or man, as ungrateful. I think there are two or three obvious ways. 

  1. We keep sharing the good news. We cannot ever get so busy or burdened that we are not evangelistic. We have to keep passing out those cards inviting people to study. We have to keep taking time to meet up with the new converts and trying to nurture infant faiths. We have to take children with whom we have influence, in our laps and look straight into their eyes and talk about how great God is every day. We can’t forget, even when we are needing to hurry and get home, to find the visitors at our services and welcome them and make ourselves available to answer their questions. I think, in these ways, we show our Father that we understand that our greatest blessing has remained untouched by any adversity this life may throw our way. 
  1. We verbalize to God. Sometimes it helps me, in the busiest times of life, to pray on my knees, or to pray out loud while driving. In the times when there’s little sleep and lots of bustle, prayer sitting in a recliner or lying in bed, can quickly digress into unintelligible sentences. Speaking our gratitude to Him every day with clarity, is one way we magnify Him (Psalm 69: 30).
  1. We look around for encouragement. Now, I know that, when you’re feeding a crowd for every meal around your own table, you may not be taking as many meals to the grieving or the sick of your congregation. When you are struggling financially, your service has to be on the skinny. When you’re sick, spreading love may also be spreading germs. But Ola Mae is a nonagenarian with Covid and she continues to make and send cards of encouragement to many people in many places. Carol is in the fourth stage of cancer and she is the number one encourager, to the Colleys and many others, through the written word. Mark is suffering from Crohn’s disease and his heartfelt teaching and admonishing through song in every worship service brings tears to my eyes when I sit near him. Glenn was pretty sick earlier this fall, but I have watched him just keep on faithfully administering that role of being the meat in the sandwich generation while getting back on his feet and back in his pulpit. Lin has had some serious health complications this fall…some major medical tests being done—but she keeps right on heading up more than one ministry in her congregation and homeschooling her children and she even spoke at a recent ladies event. Teresa has seriously struggled with multiple health issues, but spoke from home via zoom at a great ladies day last weekend. Betty and Bill both had Covid this fall, but they are right back in their pew now and serving as the leaders of our group of active seniors. Paul is dealing daily with parents who are not long for this earth and he, too, is balancing parents and kids in stressful times, but he calls every day to encourage my husband. I’m just saying, look around. You will find many examples of extreme gratitude and you will find many reasons to get on your knees and thank the good Lord.