On Saturday morning I had my first (last? only?) speaking engagement as Big Mama. I don’t remember much of what I said but I do know that I didn’t throw up, so that’s a plus.
Because about five minutes before I was supposed to get up and speak I felt like I might be sick.
And the fact that I was wearing a wireless mic with an earpiece thing didn’t really help matters because it made me feel like I might be required to break into some sort of choreographed dance number a la Justin Timberlake.
Except I can’t sing and I have little to no rhythm.
I started off by talking a little bit about the blog. How I got started, how I got the name Big Mama, and how it’s become this really cool thing in my life over the last two years. Of course halfway through talking about it I realized I needed to clarify that when I talked about Big Mama I was referring to this site, as opposed to myself in the third person.
And then in my head I became mortified that for a good fifteen minutes everyone in that room may have thought I actually had been talking about myself in the third person.
Big Mama says say no to drugs.
Big Mama says get yourself a new swimsuit.
Big Mama says I enjoy the occasional snack cake.
Oh sweet mercy.
Anyway, in the weeks leading up to this event, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I was supposed to say. Should I talk about the blog? Or about blogging? Or about how I am compulsive and obsessive? Or take an audience poll about the length of my hair?
Then on Wednesday morning I was out walking the dogs and it hit me. I knew I was supposed to talk about the Snoodle Doo.
Oh Lord. Don’t make me get up in front of a bunch of women and talk about the Snoodle Doo.
The Snoodle Doo is an episode of Veggie Tales. Y’all may remember that I am not necessarily a Veggie Tales fan. I have issues because despite their lack of hands and feet, they have the incredible ability to wield a sword and well, walk. But about three weeks ago, Caroline was watching Veggie Tales and it was the episode about the Snoodle Doo. And it spoke to me so deeply that I started to cry.
The veggies made me cry.
Yes, the tears may have been partially caused by my ongoing hormonal imbalance, but it went deeper than that.
The story of the Snoodle Doo is about finding out who you are and who God created you to be. It’s about letting go of all the false, hurtful things people have said to you and about you. It’s about seeing yourself through God’s eyes.
We see the Snoodle Doo get so weighted down by everyone’s perception of him, but then he finds his creator who draws him a picture of who he really is, who he was created to be. The Snoodle Doo says, “Is that me? I want to believe it but I’m afraid to.”
The creator replies, “I know who you are, I made you. I’ve seen you fall down in the mud and the goo, I’ve seen all you have done and all you will do; I gave you your pack, your paints and your wings. I chose them for you; they’re your special things.”
And it was at that point that I got a little teary.
I spent so many years letting my past dictate who I thought I was. Every mistake I made and every bad decision defined me. I didn’t feel like I deserved anything good. I felt like He had saved me and that was enough.
I was afraid to tell anyone my hopes and dreams because I thought they were out of reach. I didn’t think I had any real talents or abilities and, even if I did, I didn’t know what they were or how they could be used.
I was going to spend my life being a less than mediocre pharmaceutical drug rep and hopefully at least an average wife and mother.
But He had and has so much more in store.
Psalm 139 says that we are wonderfully and fearfully made. Psalm 17:8 says we are the apple of His eye. Psalm 18:19 says He rescued me because He delights in me. Isaiah 49:16 says He has engraved me on the palms of His hands. Zephaniah 13:17 says He takes great delight in me. He will quiet me with his love and rejoice over me with singing.
That is some serious love. That is a God that wants to give us hope and a future. That is a God who sees us as His masterpiece.
He made each one of us with specific plans and purposes in mind. He gave us talents, gifts and abilities that are unique to us. It’s our job to find out what those are and use them.
When I keep my eyes on Him and His vision of me, I know what it is to soar.
And I like it.
Hear, hear! And you’re not the only one who has had a Veggie-Tales induced epiphany. God uses whatever comes to hand, even if that might be a very goofy talking cucumber.
Wow! I needed to hear that! I’ve been stuggling with some of the same issues. Something I heard my husband say yesterday has really stuck with me. “Contentment shouldn’t be confused with complacency.” In fact, I been contemplating (sorry about all the alliterations)blogging about it today!
Love you dearly! I would have loved to hear you speak. I know you did a great job!
I think maybe there’s a little snoodle doo in all of us, needing some reassurance. Thanks for the reminder.
Awe inspiring.
What a wonderful post! And oh, so very true. It is so nice when we realize how much God loves us and that he has a plan for each and every one of us.
And I would have loved to have heard Big Mama speak, even if Big Mama may or may not have been speaking about Big Mama in the third person.
I’m so glad you decided to talk about the Snoodle Doo, ’cause I really needed to hear this.
Oh goodness. That is the 3rd time I have heard that. Okay, Lord, I hear you, I hear you. Thanks Big Mama.
Blessings-
I’ll bet you did an excellent job. I wish I had been in the audience. I needed to hear this. My spirit is lifted.
WOW!! Just reading the morning ‘blogs’ before I go to a session of ‘healing prayer’ and what powerful statements you declare and I needed to hear this morning! Thank you so much, thank you that the Veggie Tales touched you!
Laurette
I need to find me some Veggie Tales videos somewhere! I had no idea what I’ve been missing, or my little one either.
Wow, this was very inspiring, what a wonderful way to start my week. Thank you for sharing!
That is my favorite Veggie episode too, for the same reasons. Thanks for the reminder; maybe I need to get it out and watch it again!
Great post.
This may be a weird thought, the probability is high, but I think it’s so neat how God places people on the earth in specific time periods. Like you right smack dab in the middle of this blogging thing. As little as 10 years ago all of this was just a thought in someone’s mind.
I’m going to think snoodle doo thoughts all day today, thank you.
This is one of my favorite posts for several reasons which I won’t enumerate here. But I kind of want to hear you talk about Big Mama in 3rd person because it reminds me of the way the family in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof talks about Big Daddy. He was larger than life, legendary, at least in his family and the oil biz, and we, Big Mama, are your blogging family, and blogging is like the oil biz. And like Big Daddy’s family, we too like to say things like, “[Gasp!] What would Big Mama say about THAT?” or “Big Mama earned every bit of bloggy earth you can see, and death ain’t gonna steal it from her!” (Surely you’ve seen that movie.)I’m positive you do a great job speaking, and I can’t wait for She Speaks. “Hush down, now family–Big Mama’s got something to say … what is it, Big Mama?!”
God must really be wanting me to hear this, because my sister, who is in rehab, is learning the same thing. She was telling me about it on the phone last night. I am struggling in this very area, but didn’t put it quite as elegantly as she did, or now you are.
Thank you so much for this post. It speaks to exactly what I have been experiencing in my faith journey. God really thinks we are AWESOME! that is so humbling that I can only weep.
You must have blessed their socks off, ’cause you certainly blessed me!
Just what I needed to hear this morning…
Thank you!
Good job Melanie and thanks for stepping back and letting God speak through you and Larry and Bob!!
The veggies .. they are not all that bad.
When God speaks .. He sure does speak … don’t he? He really have our best interest at heart …
We serve an awesome God who sends just the right person to say just the right thing at just the right time! Like many of your other commenters, I needed to hear this today. I am TOTALLY FREAKING OUT about leaving for Argentina in less than 3 months! I KNOW this is God’s plan and I’m excited. Really. But I’m also scared. He prepared me for this and I know He will help every step of the way, from learning the language to settling into the culture to making friends (that I can only communicate with in Spanish!!!). I know all this. But it’s still overwhelming. So I need to hang onto Him tighter than ever and KNOW that He has created me to be me.
I love this post. Love love love it.
To “know what it is to soar.”
I so want that.
I also cried the first time I saw “A Snoodle’s Tale”. I now have it memorized because my son wanted to watch it a million times in a row, we’ve now moved on to “Toy Story”, but that’s beside the point. This post was great and I love that Veggie Tale video also. Such a great lesson for everyone no matter what your age.
Awesome!
I think I could cry right now. Stupid Veggie Tales…they get me every time! (:
Thanks.
God is so awesome, he can do mighty things with something we feel is unimportant. Did you ever think 2 years ago you would reach people around the world? That people would read and listen to your stories and be healed because of them? God sure does love us and He wants us to give Him the glory. Glory to God and thank you God for Christian bloggers.
Well, the Veggies strike again. Everytime I teach a SS class and mention King Neb, I always want to burst forth in a LOUD (because that is the only volume level I am capable of) rendition of “The bunny, the bunny..”. You truly have to be a fan to have seen that video. Sadly, my 1st and 2nd grader childen have moved on from their Veggie-loving days, but we’ll always have the memories…
I read your swimsuit review. Very interesting. I have a particularly hard body to suit up. You see, I must have the underwire, AND I have a long torso. Man, talk about limiting your choices. If I were able to even thread a needle, I would try to make something and market it for all the tall, support-challenged ladies out there. Oh, and I will include modest in that also, which is a whole other market entirely. I was wondering if it is just too obnoxious to just keep my swimsuit cover-up ON the entire time I ride down the slide at the local water park? Which leads me to my next question, since my ankles may stick out from under my cover-up, what kind of fake tan do you recommend?
Lovely–just lovely. You, your new adventures, and the snoodle-doos (are they a “they”?). I’ve missed out on that one, but we’ll have to check it out, because in spite of their (lack of) hands, I love the vegetables.
What a wonderful post. It happens to be something God has been dealing with me in my own life about. When Satan wants me to think I’m nothing, I’m reminded of the love my God has for me and that nothing I’ve done has made me worthless in His eyes.
Very nicely said! That’s a word we could all stand to hear this morning.
Little Women Momma think you did good job on Saturday!
Thanks for these words BigMama. Sounds like many of us needed to hear them. You are a blessing!
That is my favorite veggie tale story. I cried too when I watched it the first, second…well you know, time. This is a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing it. It touched my heart.
This was perfect for me today. I am having trouble figuring out what I am supposed to hope for or dream for at this point. I thought that I would have it all figured out by this point in my life, and enjoying some of the fruits of my labor.
Anyway, here is one of my favorite quotes:
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
I have no idea who said it. I used to know but the sticky note has disappeared from my bulletin board, and only the message remains with me.
I’m sitting at my desk at work trying to contain the tears. If only you could know how much I need this at this very moment. Never doubt that God is using you through this blog.
Going to the bathroom to reapply my makeup, now….
The Snoodle made me cry, too! I still get a little misty when I watch it.
Yes the “Snoodles Tale” I cry everytime I see it, it always goes right to the heart. I love that story because it always gets me when the “Creator” paints the picture of how he see’s the Snoodle. And I think and have to remind myself that God see’s my TRUE potential, not just what I can accomplish with a little effort, but what I could accomplish when I let Him have everything and allow Him to work through me. (how’s that for a run-on sentence!?)
Thanks for sharing….good thoughts to think about today.
Melanie – thank you for this encouraging reminder today of how deep our Father’s love is. I am also undergoing a huge transition in life right now and looking for the plan of how God wants to use me. Glad you had this revelation at such an appropriate time (funny how He works that way…)
Thank you for sharing, I needed to read that this morning. I don’t know how I’ve missed the Snoodle Doo, but I am going to have to check that one out.
I printed this for my journal. I really needed this today!
Good for you to get the message from where ever He sends it!
This spoke to me deeply. Thank you for sharing.
I needed this little devotional this morning. Thank you for sharing it.
Big Mama in the third person was just laugh out loud funny. You had me in stitches.
The second half of your post was magnificent. I think every one who reads this will be edified. I know I was.
I don’t know this Snoodle Doo character, but I like him.
And I am so glad to have been reading your words this morning–they were extremely needed. Thanks, Melanie!
That was great! Thank you! I need to get that veggie tales dvd. my kids think they are too big for veggie tales, can i watch by myself?
Beautiful post! Thanks for the reminder!
I can’t believe you spoke and then posted about the Snoodles!! This is exactly what I posted about today!
Thank you for the encouragement. I really needed your (God’s) message today. God uses cucumbers, tomatoes, and Big Mama.
If your talk was like this post, then it was amazing and encouraging and I praise God for giving it to you.
I’ve cried over Sesame Street before, so crying over Veggie Tales seems completely normal to me.
Talking in the third person….didn’t Mr. T always do that? That part cracked me up…
“I spent so many years letting my past dictate who I thought I was. Every mistake I made and every bad decision defined me. I didn’t feel like I deserved anything good. I felt like He had saved me and that was enough.”
That’s it! That describes how I have felt for so long. Thanks Bigmama, whether you are in the 1st or 3rd person, I appreciate this post. I’m sure you did a great job speaking this weekend.
Wow! God is so awesome! It’s amazing how He works! I have been dealing with the same thing! Seriously…I’m not trying to “fit in”, IT’S TRUE! I have been reading blogs for several weeks dealing with the same issue as well! It is as if God has an agenda
! There has been a song in my spirit, by the David Crowder Band, “He makes everything Glorious”….at the end of the chorus it says “He makes everything glorious….WHAT DOES THAT MAKE ME?”…GLORIOUS…that’s what! LOVE IT!
That post makes me think of so many things…Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “…I can see the fingerprints of God; when I look at you…”
Also, I just finished a study by a local woman on the Aaronic blessing. It was so neat…the history behind the Jewish tradition of blessing one’s children, spouse, whoever needs it. Making the blessing specific to that person’s needs.
So…May the Lord bless you and keep you…and give you peace…”
Beautiful – thanks for the encouragement this morning!
Can I just say, “Thank you”?!? This entire morning I have been fretting over something I have absolutely no control over. I’ve tried giving it to God about 5 or 30 times since 7am and I honestly kept coming back to it. I’m so glad I took a moment to see what you’d written this morning. God knew I needed to hear it… and He used it to speak to me in a very big and comforting way. So, thank you. Really.
Thank you for this.
I was at your speaking engagement Sunday & you did very well.. so well in fact that you made me cry.. I have been fighting what I believe God wants me to do for some time now..
I am a single mother of 2 beautiful children & about 6 months ago, God put it on my heart to go back to school & get my nursing degree.
I have been struggling with the $ issue & the “I haven’t been in school for 18 years” issue.. but you inspired me to just stop & know that God will provide.
I called San Antonio College this morning & will be taking my placement exams soon.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you !!
What a wonderful post–thank you so much for sharing!
Julieann
http://juliean-mylife.blogspot.com/
Big Mama, I’ve been reading your blog for a while. You are encouraging and inspirational, and I so look forward to reading that it’s the first thing I do when I put my babe down for her morning nap. Thanks for the laughs and the reminders of grace! Keep it up, girl. I need that!
well you’ve outdone yourself. big idea productions would be so proud. you made snoodle tale into a beautiful blog post. impressive, my friend. impressive.
thanks for sharing your heart. it’s bold. and i love that about you. God is doing big stuff in your heart. thanks for letting us in on it.
I posted a comment earlier and it seemed to have disappeared–oops. I just wanted to say I enjoyed this post–Thank you for sharing it with all of us!
Julieann
Thank you for sharing. I love all your post, but this one brought me to tears!
Haven’t seen the Snoodle Doo tales, but I highly agree with the message. Gotta get that one for the kids. I’m sure you did great and so glad to hear you didn’t throw up. When I get nervous I get gas….lovely, right?
WOW! That is absolutely, positively AWESOME! Thank you. I needed to hear that today.
What a great message-I am sitting in my cubicle crying over how great His love is. Thanks for the reminder-it puts things into perspective on what is really important in life
OH MY…that’ll preach!
Love, love, love your heart!
holly
thanks for using your gifts to bless others.
i’m trying to let this message soak in deep.
How sweet! So glad you didn’t get sick, and I’m sure your talk was great.
The Snoodle show was a good one. I happen to love the Veggie Tales, except for the one about Madame Blueberry. That one convicts the heck outta me LOL!
I was at your talk on Saturday morning and you did a great job. Thanks for sharing with us and being vulnerable. Rest assured that God used you to bless us and there will be lots of Snoodle Doos walking around remembering to look at what God puts in our pack and not what other people put in there.
Thanks so much for letting God use you!
Loved your post today…Love it everyday, actually!! Great encouragement though, I needed that!!
I relly needed to hear that message, I lived the first 20 years of my life a weighted down Snoodle Doo, I’m 36 swifty approaching 37 now. I still struggle with this alot.. I’m going to share this message, thank you for sharing what’s in your “pack”, what you do with your “paint”, & what has given you your “wings”!
What a great post! And to think you heard it from a tomato. I have been struggleing with the same issue for years. It’s only now that I have really seen That God Loves me the way I am He created me with this personality because He wanted to. And who Am I to say He got me all wrong. God is never wrong!!
Thank you so much for sharing this. Since my kids are teens, I have never heard of the Snoodle Doo. What a great picture of what God wants for us to understand. I emailed this to a couple of people I thought would benefit from it.
Love this post. You have a great heart, thanks for sharing with us.
*sniff* You’ve done it again….am at present looking on the library racks for the Veggie Tale you speak of.
Eph. 4:29(b)
‘…But only for what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.’
Yes, you’ve done this. Many times over.
And Believing God is one study that will remind you of these same principals, but you know, in adult lingo.
You go down the road of seriousness more and more lately. I really appreciate that side of you.
Amazing how much wisdom you can get from kid’s shows and animation, huh?
Thanks Big Mama…that was just what so many of us needed to hear.
Have a great day!
What a wonderful post. I can totally relate – blogging has recently lead to my discovery that I actually have gifts that I had refused to let myself acknowledge until now. It has changed everything. Thanks for putting into words what I have been feeling.
I have never commented on here before, but I read you everyday. I just wanted to say thanks for this post. It is like you were talking (typing) right to my heart. I just really needed to see this today and the scriptures you shared… I just really really needed it today. Thank you for all the laughs and today for the tender mercy of the Lord. Keep it comin’!
amen and amen.
really awesome!! made me think,love it.
when are you going to speake for us Texas gal’s? marina
I totally “get this”. My blog is new- and I’m still trying to figure out how God wants to use it for His glory. But I already can’t believe how He’s using it in ME.
I’m finding me. And liking me. Gotta’ see the Snoodle Doo episode. My kids are too old for Veggie Tales now… but we’ll go back to those days when we get our adoptive daughter. Great lessons from those veggies.
Becoming Soliloquy
http://www.shejusthadtosayit.com/2008/04/21/becoming-soliloquy/
Beautiful! I think a lot of women feel like that. You used your gift to encourage us! Thank you.
What did you wear? I bet you had on some really cute shoes! (I put this in a separate comment so as to not look shallow.
That was beautiful. Seems like so many mothers, women in general have many similar struggles. We all have yucky stuff and we are all wondrously loved. Thank you for sharing your heart. I love your blog, but I often read it and think, “man, she has an almost perfect life…she’s funny, pretty, skinny, able to give her daughter golf lessons, and has an impeccable fashion sense. I do always leave here with a smile on my face,because you are always real. But today you were real in a vulnerable way and I felt connected to you as a Christian mother. Thank you.
I would’ve loved to have been at your conference. I also would now love to go by the Veggie Tales speaking of Snoodle-Doo. My daughter (and I) will love it! Enjoyed your post.
so touching….thanks you !!
beautiful!!!
I love this post. I needed this post today. Thank you for talking about the Snoodle Doo (I’ve not seen that episode yet), but I’ve been struggling with that worthlessness lately, and needed to be reminded of the Truth.
Thanks soooo much for posting this. Like many previous commentors, I needed this!!! I worry that my insecurities are rubbing off on my daughter too, and I hate to have her struggle with it. Thanks for your reminders of God’s love toward ME!
I will be getting this Veggie Tales DVD. My boys and I love these and this one sounds great for all of us!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you for sharing about the Snoodle. Somehow that one has escaped our collection. I love the message, and, like so many others, think that God wanted me to hear that one today.
God bless you for what you’re doing!
I don’t know that I have ever commented, but my day is not complete until I have read your blog-
I could barely finish reading this post because I too have been touched by Snoodle Doo. I have never before in my life admitted that to anyone, and I am so thrilled that I am not the only lunatic who the veggies made cry.
It makes me smile to know that I was watching the same TV program probably at the same time you were. That is, if it was approximately a month ago on a NBC filled Saturday morning.
I had never seen the episode, and I enjoyed it SO much. It is wonderful how children’s programs can touch our hearts so well.
Thank you. I loved this post and it is something that I have always struggled with.
I wish I was moving to San Antonio instead of Houston and I would make you my new best friend. Whether you wanted to or not.
Thank you Big Mama! I needed to read that right now!!
Who knew the V.T.s could be SO inspiring?! Beautfiul Post!
This was a really terrific post.
I double dog dare someone to watch Snoodle doo and not cry. Ain’t happenin’.
Just wanted you to know that you are not alone, I also wept like a baby over the Snoodle! This was a great post
I love the Snoodle-Doo story, too! It hass such a great message! I want to make sure I pass that idea down to each one of my kids- that they are special in Christ! The story always makes me cry, too!
It made me cry just reading your writing about the veggies! Great words, thank you.
Hi Big Mama, a friend and I brought our 14 year old daughters to listen to you at CBC a few weeks ago, and really enjoyed it. I am also glad that you have posted it on you blog. I thought that you did a great job and we are in search of the Snicker Doo episode. -amy
Darlin’ you need to take Caroline to the library and read You are Special by Max Lucado out loud to her and to yourself. A friend handed me this book when I was in a rough place in my life. I cried. I bought the book. I sent a copy to my father who suffers from self esteem issues as well. I have bought it for most of the children in my life since I first saw it 3 or 4 years ago. It is a keeper.