Happy Thanksgiving!

Barbie will return Tuesday, Dec 2.

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving is upon us and people are bustling about trying to finalize their travel plans and cooking details for their family celebrations. My resolution this year was to make every day a day of Thanksgiving. And with all of the negative news we are bombarded with on a daily basis, gratitude has come easy for me.

When we are filled with genuine gratitude, we will see our current circumstances as a gift, no matter how good or bad they may be. No, we may not have everything we want, but we are taken care of and we quickly realize that having a little is just enough. There are details in our life that aren't warm and fuzzy and we all have our own share of anxieties, but use this opportunity to thank God for where He has brought you and verbalize your faith to Him in where He is going to take you.

In 2 Samuel 7:18, David speaks a prayer of gratitude to God: "Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?" David is acknowledging that he is a small fish in a big pond, but yet God has taken care of him. David realized that God has constant provisions for him, no matter how big or small those provisions may have been. David was overwhelmed with gratitude.

We will be doing something a little different in the Bassett house this year.....one in which I hope to make a family tradition. We will each have 5 corn kernels on our dinner plate, which symbolize the daily rations the Pilgrims endured. With each corn kernel, we will go around the table and name 5 things we are thankful for, combining all of our kernels (or our blessings) in a basket. We will be able to see when we combine all of our kernels, God has taken care of us as a family and our blessings are much bigger when we put them all together.

So now, it is your turn to post. Tell us on this blog how you give thanks to God and what you are thankful for.

An Update On My Brother

Some of you have asked about my brother, Doug. For those of you who have been following this blog, you probably remember Doug had a massive heart attack in July 2007. He also had an "after death" experience. Doug had a defibrillator put in, which was a quick fix. He lost weight, was able to start walking 3 miles a day, and began farming again. As Spring came, he became winded again and started retaining fluid around his heart. His doctor in Oxford who initially treated him for his heart attack had done all he could. Doug was sent to Baptist hospital in Memphis and a quintuple bypass was done on his heart the same day I was having Lilly Faith on April 3. Doug has resumed farming again, but his heart is severely damaged. The heart surgeons told him that in doing the 5 bypasses, he would have another 3-5 years and would probably never see a heart donated.

Yesterday, he went back to the hospital in Memphis for an evaluation and discussion with a research team who want to do stem cell research on him. Doctors believe they can harvest stem cells from his leg muscle, grow the stem cells in the lab, then inject the new stem cells back in his heart. His stem cells, if working properly, would re-grow new heart muscle on his damaged heart. The research team believes if they can re-grown just some of his heart muscle, he can live many more years while they still put him on a heart transplant list.

This research will take a total of 3 years from start to finish, with the hopes of beginning in the Spring.

I'm sure we will have more discussions of this procedure when our family gets together this weekend and I'll be sure to keep you updated. Please pray for my brother to have wisdom in knowing this is God's will for him and for the researchers to know exactly what they need to do.

If you have never read my August 10, 2007 blog entry, I have posted it below for you.
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"Address In Heaven"

I've had a wonderful time being off work for the last few days. I spent a couple of days in my hometown of Marks helping with my mom's re-election campaign. Thankfully, she handily won another 4 year term by a long shot. It was nice visiting with people I knew growing up there and catching up on how everyone is doing. My brother and I got several opportunities to visit, too. He helped answer phones Tuesday night at the courthouse as residents and the media would call and ask for updated election results. He would get up every now and then and walk the courthouse, as if he were walking laps around a building.For all of you who prayed for him, I thought I'd share more on his life-after-death experience. He spent about an hour telling us in detail what all he remembered and answering our questions. Doug said the last thing he remembered while in the ambulance helicopter was hearing the pilot say, "Six minutes out" (which indicated they were six minutes away from reaching the hospital in Oxford). At that point, everything went black. Doug said he was immediately in what he described as a peaceful place with whitish/grey matter surrounding him. He said this resembled clouds. He saw the brightest, most fluorescent light ahead. Doug said it was ten times brighter than the sun and illuminated everything with the most beautiful, pure color of light. Although Doug said he was walking straight toward the light, he could not feel anything touching his feet, nor did he look down at this legs--he just had the sensation of walking. (I asked if he felt like he was floating and he said no. He was walking). Doug said the temperature was perfect and that sticks out in his mind. He said he knew exactly who the light was and was being drawn towards it. Doug said the first person he kept telling himself he wanted to see was my grandfather. (My grandfather was such an instrumental leader in our family, always giving spiritual insight and was a wise man). I asked my brother if he realized he was dead or if he missed his family (this is a question I've always wondered--do people in heaven KNOW they have died and do they miss everyone they left behind?). Doug said no. He had no knowledge that he had died and did not think about his children or his wife. I guess that's what the Bible means when it says there are "no tears in heaven". However, he was determined to keep walking to the light and to seek out my grandfather. The next thing he knew, the stretcher was shaking as the paramedics were taking him out of the helicopter and a doctor asked him if he knew who he was.Interesting things to note: Doug said although he was dead for only a short while, he said it felt like he spent hours in heaven. We also talked about a family member for whom we've been praying for and how burdened his heart is for this family member to come to Christ. "I've been to heaven and I want to go back," Doug said with tears in his eyes. "I want to make sure everyone knows it is real. I do not want anyone to experience the alternative."I love how Philippians 3:20 puts it, "our citizenship is in heaven". Yes, we have an earthly residence, but as Christians, we have an address in heaven, too. I am so thankful to have my brother here on earth. But knowing Doug has an address in heaven is a much greater blessing. Does your family members have their heavenly address?

Where He Is, I Want To Be

Lilly Faith is at the sweet age now of 7 months. One of the things I love the most about this age is that she knows me. I mean, she really knows that I'm her momma. Anyone can be holding her and when I walk in a room, her body leans towards me and so does her arms. She's not the best at reaching just yet, but when she leans, it is all the person holding her can do to keep her in their arms. And like any mother will do, I place her on my hip and she sits there while I clean off the counter tops, fix supper, put makeup on...you name it. She hangs on like alittle koala bear while I go about my business. I can tell she knows who I am by her need to be attached to me. Wherever I am, she wants to be.

What would happen if we treated our relationship with the Lord that way? Just imagine, you don't want to be anywhere else or do anything without being with Him and in His presence. Not only do you not want to leave His side, but you surely don't want to make any decisions without Him there! You want to be a part of His world and all that He is. When you love someone, that's how you act. You cling to them and hold on tight for fear of not being near them.

Psalm 86:13 says, "For great is your love toward me." Psalm 89:33 says, "I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness." When you are a parent, knowing your child wants to be with you is a special feeling. It brings warmth to your heart and a smile on your face.

When I examine my relationship with the Lord, does He realize I want to be where He is? Am I holding on to Him for dear life? Does my love for Him bring a smile to His face?

Because You Asked Friday

Today is a continuation of the questions posted to this blog and emailed questions.

J.T. asks:
"What ever happened to the book you were writing? Are you still writing it? When will it come out?"

My book is still a work in progress. After having Lilly Faith, I haven't been able to write on it as much as I wanted with so many other things taking up what is left of my spare time. The publisher was pushing for a winter release for this year, but that was before I knew about our latest addition to the family. So, we are hoping for a late '09 release. I have been toying with the idea of no longer writing on this blog consistently (Monday-Friday) and only blogging once a week so I could devote more time to writing on the book and finishing it. Blogging takes quite a bit of time for me because I am always searching for scripture and thinking about the various topics I can share with you. Limiting my blogging would provide that extra time.

Jack posted:
"I love reading your blog. Since this is ask your questions Friday, I'd like to ask some questions. What are some of the funnier things that have happened while doing the weather? And what are some of the funny bloopers that have happened? I would love to see some bloopers maybe at the end of the newscast someday! Keep up the good work, Barbie and this blog. We love you here in Clinton."

When you work in the LIVE tv business, things are bound to happen and I not the most graceful verbally on the air. During our Hurricane Gustav coverage, my weekend meteorologist Eric Law and I were wall-to-wall with our weathercasts. Around 3am, the worst of the weather was over and we were concluding our coverage. I said to Eric on the air, "It's time for us to go home and go to bed." Eric blurted out, "But not together!" Last winter, I was giving a forecast and mentioned there would be some "light assing of the roadways". I meant to say "light icing of the roadways." When I was co-anchoring the Morning Show, Jack Hobbs read the church announcements on the air. He read about one church that was having a 'yoke breaking ceremony' where people could come and have their burdens prayed for. Jack asked me what I thought about this and I said, "I'd like to have my yoke broken." But the one I remember the most was when I was co-anchoring the Morning Show with Wilson Stribling and we had read a story about a new kiosk being put in at some gas stations up north. These kiosks would let the customer buy groceries, fill prescriptions, and making doctor appointments all while the customer was filling up their gas tank. I looked over at Wilson and said, "Well, if I've got that kind of time to do all of those things while I'm standing there, then I've got time to make my own gas!" I didn't realize how it sounded. Poor Wilson never recovered. Sometime at the end of the year, WLBT has been known to show a 'best of" montage of snippets from funny moments throughout the previous months.

P.Ramone asked this question:
"Just wanted to ask a question about the newsteam wardrobe. Do you all have a dress code that you must follow or are you allowed to wear what you want? And does the station furnish your outfits to wear every day? You and the others look fabulous, by the way."

We don't necessarily have a dress code, but we try to adhere to dressing professionally. Some newscasts lend themselves to wearing more casual clothes. When I was on mornings, I wore more dressy shirts and sweaters. When I was promoted to chief meteorologist, I found myself wearing more pantsuits. We are allowed to wear whatever we want within reason. The only time my wardrobe was furnished was when I was expecting my children, but we currently do not have a store that provides us clothes. We don't even get discounts. Just like you, I try to stretch a dollar and don't shop the high end stores. But it can get very tricky in trying to piece together several outfits to make them look different every night. The news men are so fortunate---they can wear the same suit every night, change out the shirt and tie and no one would know the difference. For us girls, it is more difficult because if I wear the same suit twice in 2 weeks, someone inevitably calls and complains that I wore "that same outfit 2 Tuesdays ago!"

When You Can't Wait

As I walked through the grocery store yesterday, I noticed a worker perched high atop a ladder putting Christmas decorations up. The department stores had their Christmas decorations up the week of Halloween. Some stores just couldn't wait..

How many times have you heard a young teen say, "I can't wait to turn 16!" I remember being in grad school thinking, "I can't wait to graduate". My little ones are saying lately, "I can't wait until Christmas". When an expectant mother gets in those last few weeks of pregnancy, many of them say "I can't wait until this baby gets here". Sometimes, we just can't wait for fill-in-the-blank to happen!

If we only acted that excited about what God wants to do in our life. Acts 3 tells the story of a man who couldn't wait to see God's power in his life. Verse 1 says, "Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them." God performed a miracle through Peter and John and the man was healed from his crippled state and walked away from the temple.

In order to receive an answer from God, notice what we have to do---fix our attention on Him and expect. Did you see that?

Have you ever taught a dog how to do tricks? If you have, you know the dog looks at his owner with intensity and expects a treat. He has learned to trust his owner so well and knows what the outcome is if he does the trick he's been taught.

So instead of wondering when God is going to answer our prayers, we should fix our attention on Him and expect Him to answer. When things aren't going according to plan next time, perhaps we should say "I can't wait for God to answer my prayer!"

When Insecurity Comes Along

Last month, I had the chance to see how much Will hates shots. It was time for Lilly Faith's 6 month check up, which meant more shots. Since Gracie had not had her 5 year old boosters, we decided to do both girls at the same time. Before we left the house, we sat Gracie down and explained to her why she was getting shots and how we all "had to get shots when we were little". Will was apparently listening closely to our conversation. "I'm not getting shots," he told us. We told Will it wasn't his time to get shots, so he need not worry. We drove to the pediatrician's office and Will said in the car, "Gracie, I'm not going to get any shots." We took our seat in the waiting room, once again assuring Gracie that it would be over soon and would get her a treat after the shots were over. "But I'm not getting any shots, mommy," Will said. I shook my head again and told Will we were there for Lilly Faith and Gracie to get shots. "Yep, that's right!" Will said.

We waited in the room as our friendly doctor walked in the door and greeted all of us. Can you guess what Will told the doctor? "I'm not here to get a shot!" Will told the doctor. Even the good doctor found it comical that Will was so adamant that we all knew he was not there to get a shot!

Insecurity can be an ugly thing especially when you see negative situations happening all around you. Many of us are insecure about a variety of things: our job, our looks, our weight, the car we drive, the neighborhood we live in, or the clothes we wear. It can sometimes be hard not to second guess yourself when you look around. Proverbs 14:26 says, "In the fear of the Lord, one has strong confidence and His children will have a refuge". When we keep our confidence in the Lord and believe He will do what He says He will in His Word, insecurity has no place in our life. Insecurity and second guessing breeds more of the same and is a feast for Satan. But keeping our hope and confidence in the Lord produces peace about every situation.