The Southern Baptist Church Sign

Until I moved to this part of the country, I always thought church signs were just that, signs that told you about the church. Where I grew up, the only thing we ever had posted on the sign for our church was the name of the pastor, and the time of the service. It never crossed my mind that the sign might be good for anything else.

That all changed once I moved to the south. You see, around here, church signs are mostly used to pass on messages. Some are good, some are are without a doubt unique, and some are truly funny. I believe the idea is that the message on the sign would make you think about eternity, and some of them are very well done. It's like a drive-by chic-track. But of course, as with chic-tracks, some of them are great and thought provoking, and some of them would be best left in the mind of their creator. Let me give you some examples what I think are some of the really unique and funny signs.

(Just as a disclaimer, I did not take any of these photos, they are just examples of what one might see on a typical southern church sign.)

This would fall under the amusing category.



This one is one would be an example of the more trite. More likely to make someone roll their eyes then think about our Savior.



This would be one where you drive by and do a double take. Did they really mean that, or what?



This one always make me smile. I've seen it several times.


Some of these really do make me think. Like the one above: I really don't want to be a religious nut. I want to live a life worthy of the gospel, and for people to look at me and see truth, not hypocrisy. Sometimes, these little messages remind me to check things and make sure I really am living a life of service to Christ. Other times, they make me laugh, and wonder what the person was thinking when they put it up there. Either way, the tradition of the Southern Baptist Church sign is an interesting one. It is one of those parts of the south that I can't decide if I love, or hate. Some people think it's trite, some people think it's cute. I just can't decide. Whatever it is, it is obviously a tradition around here, and I don't think it's going away any time soon. That being the case, I think I will enjoy the ones that I can, and let the good ones remind me to live a life of spiritual fruit, with a little nuttiness thrown in for flavor. :-)

So tell me, which one are you? Spiritual Fruit or Religious Nut? Check your status, and don't forget Y'all Come Back...

The Southern Garden

I have just come in from watering my garden. It is a delight to live somewhere where I already have summer squash producing, tomatoes blooming, and corn up almost a foot high. For those of you who live in the north, you may be quite jealous.

Having grown up in the northwest, I am most familiar with the issues of the northern gardener. Their foremost problem would be the sometimes year-round frost. At all times of the year it seems, one must keep a weather eye for that awful plant killer. It is frustrating to have your garden finally up and growing, only to come out one morning and find it all frozen and soon to be black. To those northern folks who hear that I already have a garden almost ready to produce, well the south must sound like the promise land. How wonderful to not have to deal  with frost, they think.

Well, my northern friends, do not be so quick to judge. We have a few problems of our own around here.

When God told Adam that man would toil to make the ground produce, He wasn't kidding. We here in the southern part of the country may not have the frost to deal with, but we have our own unique problems. You see, because of the lack of frost, we deal with some of the most super-resistant, large, hungry, bugs I have ever had the misfortune of coming across. Having grown up in another part of the country, this northern girl had never met southern bugs. I can't say as it has been a pleasure to get to know them. We are not on good terms. Just as the northern gardener hates the frost with a passion, so do we southern gardeners our bugs.

This time of year, when the summer squash is just starting to produce, our bane is the Squash Bug. My northern friends my not believe it, but around here we have to struggle to get our summer squash plants to produce. In small towns in the northwest we have a joke, "You know you are in a small town when you only reason you lock your car doors at church, is to keep your neighbors from filling it up with squash." I can't say as we have the same problem here. You see, these friendly little bugs favorite food is the inside of the stem of my squash plants. They burrow right in and make themselves at home. Of course the plant isn't so happy about it, and eventually, as the bugs eat they way through, the plant dies from root separation. It is most disheartening to watch your big beautiful plants slowly die, knowing there is nothing you can do about it. Once the bugs get started, the plant cannot be saved (or at least I haven't been able to do so).

Now, that is not to say that gardening here is all bad. Indeed, I have really enjoyed the early growing season, and the verity of things you can plant. It's been fun to try out new plants that would never grow up north. The one thing I can say though, is as I garden, be it north or south, I am always reminded of how truly small I am. When I am outside tending my plants, watching the seeds sprout and grow, I never cease to be amazed. I plant the little seeds, but that is all I do. After they are in the ground all I can do is stand back and watch my great God make them grow. I am completely incapable of doing anything other than watch. I can give them water, but only God can provide the life to make them grow, and the sun to help them do it. It reminds me of Psalms 19, which says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork." This is true of our whole world. From the heavens to the tiniest seeds, they all shout out the glory of God, and how great He is. I am so incapable, I cannot even making a little seed grow. Being in my garden reminds me how awesome my God truly is. 


So, north or south, bugs or frost, for me gardening is a blessing. It reminds me of how blessed I am. I may be a northern girl transplanted to the south, but no matter where I go, I serve the same great God. I'm so glad I have the continuity in my life. 


Hope you have enjoyed my take on southern gardening. It's been fun! And don't forget, Y'all Come Back...

This not so southern girl...

I'm a wife and mom, and I love that. I love that my husband lets me stay home, and care for our two beautiful children. There is nothing I would rather do. We live in the south of this great country, and I am so blessed to be "living my dream" as my mother would say. (I always wanted to be a wife and mother growing up.) But I will tell you what, I am not much of a southern girl.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think the south is wonderful. I love the history, and the hospitality of this area of the US. The country side is beautiful, and the people are nothing but kind. There is much to be said for the south. Be that as it may, I am a Pacific Northwest girl at heart. I miss the mountains, the cool evenings, the giant pine trees, and the rocky coastline. But... Right now, the south is where God has placed our family, so I am learning to adapted. And that adaptation is what this blog is about. It's about seeing the warm hearts of the southern people through the eyes of a western girl, and meeting my little family while you are at it. So come and sit on my front porch, (a popular thing to do around here) and learn a bit about this unique part of the country. And when you go, well just remember, Y'all Come Back... :-)