Farm Country Fabulous Favorites

Homecoming #293

October 8, 2021March 23, 2023 Farm Country Fabulous Favorites

Homecoming at Little Creek Original Free Will Baptist Church in Scuffleton.

It’s a little church. A sweet, warming, welcoming church. It’s my church. It’s your church. It’s God’s church.

We call it “Little Creek” and you can, too.

I transferred my membership to Little Creek when my husband, Shea and I were married. It has been my home church for the past 37 years.

This past Sunday, October 3, 2021, we at Little Creek celebrated our 293^rd Homecoming. Little Creek is the oldest active church in the Free Will Baptist denomination.

Now, if you are not familiar with “Homecoming” you are in for a treat! I know it’s a thing in our area. Not sure where you are. Does your church have homecoming? Let me know in the comments and let me know what special things you do at your Homecomings.

What is a homecoming? Well, let me tell you…

Homecoming is a celebration, a big ole party that is talked about and advertised all year long. At Little Creek, Johnny M will begin announcing the next years homecoming the Sunday after this year’s homecoming. It’s always an exciting time. Although, this year was smaller than normal due to…well, you know.

Homecoming is a specific Sunday when all church members, families, friends, past members and anyone who has ever visited the church are invited to come for a special service and a meal on the grounds. A day when we all can get together,spend time together and share stories of happenings of the past year.

Homecoming is a time when during the service, we have a memorial for all the members who passed during the past year. Families of these people come and take part in the service by lighting a candle for that person as a short bio is read. It can be sad, and it can be a sweet, happy time, too.

Homecoming is a meal on the grounds. All the best cooks and some of us who are not a cook prepare and bring food, food, food and more food to eat after the service. This is when most of the interaction takes place. There is always, fried chicken, BBQ(eastern NC style), hush puppies, collard greens, corn that was put up in the summer, green salads and the famous congealed salad, cakes and cookies and puddings and sweet tea. To be more specific:

Nana’s 13 layer scratch-made chocolate cake – Nana’s fried chicken

Nana’s scratch-made pineapple cake – Nana’s homemade banana puddin’

**My mother-in-law is better than your mother-in-law : haha

After Jesus is shared, the food is eaten and all the mess is cleaned up, we go home for a long afternoon nap.

So, you are all invited to the 2022 Little Creek OFWB Church homecoming on October 2, 2022.

You don’t have to bring food. There will be plenty to go around.

Call for directions because wherever you are, you can’t get here from where you are. GPS always takes you to another location: haha

God Bless!

Cindy

Little Creek Church — Little Creek as it is today.

Faith

Carry JOY in your heart where ever you go.

September 13, 2021March 23, 2023 Farm Country Fabulous Favorites

Winner for the Best Drama/Sitcom of 2020 is Farm Country Fabulous (me)

2020: The entire world and everyone in it were up in arms; fighting COVID and fighting each other. So much drama that it got to be a little entertaining. Like a sitcom more than a drama. That’s the way I want you to view this story. Drama evolving into a Sitcom.

I’m here to tell you about our year as a family, not to complain but, to show how we all relate. We can get through anything when we allow the Joy of God in your heart.

February 29, my mother passed away

at the age of 88, Mama had been sick for several years and the last few years of her life she lived with my sister, hospital bed and all. It was tough on my sister and her husband, but mama “will not be put into a home” as long as my sister was able to stay at home. Mama was so fragile by this time, there was no way she would last in a home. The family is so thankful for my sister and brother-in-law.

March 11, COVID caused shutdown

My birthday is March 11 which is usually when the AAC Basketball tournament is played. Granddaddy JB, Nana, Jackie Harris and a friend have attended for several years. This weekend is when the US and most of the world decided to shut down. No ACC tournament, no eating out inside restaurants, no schools and many more restrictions. Don’t forget those masks.

April 1, 2020, reactivated Real Estate career

with plans to eventually go full time. Had a lot of catching up to do. Realtor activities changed when COVID hit. Good thing is that all classes were virtual-yay!

April 10, Good Friday: lost my job

After almost 4 years of to giving all I had and more to managing a temporary employment agency, I was fired on Good Friday, with no notice, no severance pay, during a pandemic and mama had just died. That one sure did throw me for a loop. I would eventually realize that this was a blessing in disguise.

May 2019 – present, unknown illness

I had sudden onset of syncopal, vertigo-like episodes with temporary short term memory loss lasting anywhere from hours to days; Sometimes several times a week. After a multitude of tests, never did find a definite diagnosis other than ‘mini stokes” with evidence on my MRI. No treatment. I should watch diet, exercise, and avoid stress. Avoid stress, that’s a good one! Still have those episodes but not as often. Thank heavens.

June 2020, fractured foot

Early one Sunday morning, I had a sudden onset of one of those episodes. Passed out and broke my foot in 5 different places. Non-weight bearing cast for 12 weeks, then walking boot for another month. The temps outside were a gazillion degrees at that time.

August 2010-Aug 2021, heartbroken

Many hearts were broken by a situation that lasted for a year. I prefer not to talk about this because it involved may others besides me. That situation is worthy of an award, too.

December 2020, a New Year

2020. Everything is going to get back to normal. Not happening. Why we thought that all was going to magically get back to normal, I do not know.

January 24, 2021, another loss

After a reoccurrence of renal cancer, our beloved Grandaddy JB passed away. Was the “head of the family” and was definitely one-of-a-kind. He loved God, his family, Jeopardy and NC STATE. Go Pack!

March 14, 2021, and another loss

And if that was not enough, my sister passed away after a long bout with lung disease. Still can’t believe all these people are gone from our lives. So many others have died and left us over the last 2-3 years. Not all from COVID.

You will have unhappy times and when those unhappy times come along…

Faith, Family

A Few of My Favorite Things…

September 1, 2021March 23, 2023 Farm Country Fabulous Favorites

My husband

My family

The smell of fresh plowed dirt in spring

Diet Pepsi

The Georges of Country Music: Strait and Jones

My dog, Flo

All dogs

My truck

Chocolate

Air conditioning

Chicken and rice soup

Snow

Christmas

the Good Lord…

How about you…..what are a few of your favorite things?

Farm

Farm Country Fabulous: How we got our name…

April 30, 2021March 23, 2023 Farm Country Fabulous Favorites

Owner and creator of Farm Country Fabulous blog and shop.

I grew up in a tiny crossroads called Ormondsville NC; daughter of Bruce and Marie Meadows. After getting married in December 1984 to my dirt farmer, Shea, I moved a whole 5 miles east to Scuffleton, NC. We joined the rest of the McLawhorn family and settled on the farm, which is now the Century old Triple M Farms, Inc.

If you hear laughter, that is because Scuffleton is not even a crossroads. It’s a tiny little community in Greene County, NC. As my daddy used to say, “Scuffleton has 3 churches and 2 joints” (joint = convenient store by day, bar by night). Scuffleton and Ormondsville are smack dab in the middle of farm country. And farm country is a different way of life.

Shea and I raised 3 boys on that Century Old Farm, Triple M Farms, Inc. Our crew has changed over the last 37 years. You will meet the boys and their families later: daughter – in – law and 3 grandkids. Unfortunately, we lost our Patriarch of the family in January 2021 after a short bought with cancer. There was nobody like “Grandaddy JB”. You will hear more about him in the future, too.

Definition of Fabulous: “Extraordinary, especially extraordinarily large”. I’ll just say this:

Our blessings are large;

His mercy is fabulous.

Hence; Farm Country Fabulous

It will begin to make sense as we go along…

So, come on along with us as Farm Country Fabulous evolves into something fabulous.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Cindy