Momilies by Nancy Parker Brummett

My guest today is Nancy Parker Brummett, author of Hope of Glory and Take My Hand Again. This week you can enjoy her blog about “Momilies,” those little things our moms said when we were growing up. We may not have understood them at the time, but it is a great way to reminisce about our mothers. Whether or not your mom is still with you, it’s a fun read!

 

Wandering Wednesdays

I grew up in the South thinking everyone’s mother said, “Katie, bar the door” in times of trouble and “I’ll swan” when something truly amazing happened. On a really busy day, there would be “no flies on us,” and when something was perfectly ready it was “all saucered and blowed” (like you do to hot coffee before you drink it). My mom also described someone who talked all the time as having been “vaccinated with a phonograph needle,” and a braggart was “too big for his britches.

Now that my mom is gone, I’m glad I have these momilies to remember.

“Rise above it” my mom would say when she was encouraging me not to stoop to someone else’s level. Whether applied to junior high gossip or office politics, this simple three-word phrase always has helped me keep my focus.

“It’ll never show on a galloping horse” was my mom’s version of “don’t sweat the small stuff.” A pimple on the end of your nose the night before the prom? A greasy stain on one of the linen napkins you need for a dinner party? Not to worry. “It’ll never show on a galloping horse.”

In fact, horses were the source of a lot of wisdom. “Don’t put your cart before your horse” was trotted out whenever I impatiently scrambled the logical order of events, and “no sense closing the barn door after the horse gets out” reminded me to think about the consequences of what I was doing before it was too late.

There must have been chickens in the same barn, because I was frequently reminded not to count them before they hatched. (They may have been the same chickens who later ran around with their heads chopped off.)

Young girls coming to terms with their physical appearance need all the support they can get. My sisters and I remember our mom telling us “beauty knows no pain” as we squeezed into too-small patent leather shoes or girdles with garters. But since she was a lot more concerned about our behavior than our beauty, we also daily heard “pretty is as pretty does” and “beauty comes from the inside out.” Little did we know it was her subtle way of teaching us the truth of 1 Peter 3:4 which describes beauty as “a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s eyes.”

Whenever we said we wanted something we didn’t need or couldn’t have, Mom would remind us that “people in jail want out.” It was years before I saw the connection between those people in jail and me. I just knew that whenever they came up, I wasn’t going to get what I wanted!

When it came to wanting all the food I saw in a cafeteria line, Mom would say, “don’t let your eyes be bigger than your stomach”—meaning take only what you can really eat!

That particular momily is one I passed on to my own kids. My son said it was years before he knew what it meant, but he sure thought about the possibility of having eyes that big! Since I also warned him not to “cut his nose off to spite his face,” he worried about his facial features a lot.

Although it was always strange to hear the same momilies my mom used coming out of my mouth, I’m glad I passed them on. After all, she wasn’t “just whistlin’ Dixie.”

About the author:

Nancy Parker Brummett is a freelance writer, author and speaker living in Colorado Springs, CO. Her most recent book isThe Hope of Glory, a devotional guide for older adults. Take My Hand Again, a companion guide for those caring for older adults, is in progress.

Nancy’s  earlier titles include Simply the Savior, It Takes a Home,The Journey of Elisa, and Reconcilable Differences. She also republished a popular children’s book, Pobody’s Nerfect. A conversational style and genuine desire to lead others closer to the heart of God are the hallmarks of Nancy’s writing and speaking ministries. Now she is focusing on reaching out to the precious elders in our society and those who care for them.

A wife, mother, stepmother and grandmother, Nancy writes and speaks from her heart and inspires readers and audiences to respond with theirs. Nancy and her husband Jim were married in 1988 and have four married children and 12 grandchildren in their blended family. She works at home with two office cats, Molly and Beau.

Book Blurb for Nancy’s new release, Take My Hand Again:

Those who discover they must now intervene and care for an elder they love often wish they had a helpful neighbor or good friend who traversed this path ahead of them. Sharing useful, encouraging information and hope–delivered with warmth, humor and faith–Take My Hand Again is that trusted companion. Kregel Publications, 2015. 224 pages. Available in Christian bookstores and on Amazon.com.

Connect with Nancy:

Website: www.nancyparkerbrummett.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancy-Parker-Brummett-Author-Page/103538516405261?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NancyPBrummett

Book Links:

The Hope of Glory is available through Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/Hope-Glory-Christian-Devotional-Devotionals-ebook/dp/B00IS8KB8C/

or BarnesandNoble.com – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hope-of-glory-nancy-parker-brummett/1118968900?ean=9781938499326

Take My Hand Again is available through Amazon  – http://www.amazon.com/Take-My-Hand-Again-Faith-Based/dp/0825443717/

or BarnesandNoble.com – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/take-my-hand-again-nancy-brummett/1120366045?ean=9780825443718