“The Frog Pond”: Frogs...............

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I send out a newsletter on Tuesdays to the ladies of our church and a few others who are not from our church and I have entitled it "Tuesday Tidbits"and I just wanted to share with you the one for this past Tuesday.......(which by the way did not get sent until yesterday!!!)

Thank you "Queenie" for your inspiration for this one!!! Love ya!!!
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Hello Ladies,

Sorry it's late............all I can say is......"migraine yesterday..............still today"...............but here you go!!

Most of you know that I was born and raised in the South on a farm for the greater part of my life. There wasn't much to do on a farm with the exception of slopping the hogs, milking the cows (squirting the cats and kittens with the milk was great!!!), feeding the chickens and gathering their eggs. Being an on ly child only compunded that problem. It was kind of lonely. So.......being the non-creative person that I am........I continually looked for something to do. The closest people lived miles away, therefore, I had no friends who could just run over and play and my grandmother just wasn't into that "let's make a play day for our kids" kind of thing like today's moms do. For the most part I would sing out of those old hymnals that I told you about before. I loved to sing.......still do!!! I was kind of with singing like a man who is called to preach. I sang to everything that would listen and to things that didn't listen!!! Anyway......back to the point at hand......my boredom as a child!!! For as long as I can remember..........I have loved frogs. I was not the kind of girl who screamed at a frog. I was not scared of them in the least bit. I knew they didn't bite although Grannie always told me I'd get warts if they peed on me!!! I can promise you beyond a shadow of a doubt that is an old wives tale. You don't have to look on "snopes.com" to find out if that ones true. I would be one big wart if it were!!! I picked them up and played with them. I actually held them in my hands......put them in my lap...petted them.......named them......even made cardboard houses for them!!!! I even kissed a few of them to see if they would actually turn into a prince!!! Ugh!!! (That's turning some stomachs as they read!!!!) I loved to watch them hop and I would follow them all over the yard. I would get two of them, put them side by side, and then try to make them race. Somehow that didn't work very well. They always seemed to go opposite directions and I could never keep up with both of them at the same time. And yes.............I sang to them!!!

As I grew older I can remember going "frog gigging." For you "city-slickers" that's code for "hunting for bull frogs!" We'd go at night on the river banks with these really bright spot lights and poles with spears on the ends of them. When we spotted a big bullfrog, we'd shine the light in its eyes and it would usually stun it just long enough for you to try and spear it. Most of them were very quick and it was hard to get them. My dad was very skilled at it though. We'd usually take home a good "mess" of them. If you've ever cleaned a frog to get the legs you know why it's called "a mess" of them!! You'd think I would not have wanted to do something like that...............loving frogs and all!!!!!!!!

As a young mother one day I walked outside my back door and there it was...............a huge toad. I picked it up, brought it inside the house to the kitchen and just assuming my love of frogs would have automatically transferred to my children, I sat my middle daughter, Shelley(9 or 10 months at the time), in the floor and put it between her legs in her lap so she could play with it. Much to my surprise she screamed like someone was killing her!!! I was in shock. I couldn't believe she was so scared of a harmless frog!!! I never even dreamed she would have that kind of reaction to it. After all, it was just a frog!! I just assumed she would want to play with it like I did when I was little. She didn't see it that way!!!!!

Obviously frogs have been a part of my life since I was very little and still are today. I think there is some kind of frog in 8 out of the 9 rooms in my home and some in my office at church. If you visit my blog, (darlenespencer.blogspot.com) you will see they are there too!!! I think that shows God's infinite wisdom. He knew long before I was ever saved that there would come a day when I would serve Him. He knew the very thing I played with as a child out of boredom would take on a whole new meaning to me as a child of God! When I was a child and had no one I relied on frogs to play with. Now when I feel I have no one I simply: