I was in need of a haircut and sometimes it’s a bit challenging to find a salon that takes walk-ins, especially on a Monday.  I was in need of a split end rescue and found just that at Hairs 2 Ya! in Foley.  Although the salon was busy, cosmetologist Shelli Misch was able to direct me to her station right away and quickly offered up a trim and some conditioning product for my dry ends.

I was two months overdue for some hair maintenance and Shelli provided a great cut, good conversation and even a compliment for a previous stylist who had done my highlights in December.  The shop’s vibe was clean, fun and friendly and, with just a listen, I could hear customers leaving the salon very pleased with the services they had received.

Hairs 2 Ya! is a full service hair salon specializing in cuts, color and perms.  Their hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9am-5pm and Saturday appointments are available.  They are located at 1120 S McKenzie St. in Foley and their phone number is 251-943-1630.  You can call ahead for an appointment or you are welcome to walk-in for services with the next available stylist.

Alabama Gulf Coast Christian Academy (AGCCA) was founded in 2006 with 21 students and has since grown to over 80 students.  An Alabama Course of Study, which is the state adopted curriculum, is offered for grades PK-3 to 12^th grade and a Christian education is provided in a family atmosphere.  Faculty and staff strive to teach the whole child and instill a faith in God that the student will retain long after they leave the halls of AGCCA.

The library at the school is experiencing growth by leaps and bounds and service and enrichment clubs add to the academic experience.  The campus will host AGCCA Eagles Summer Camp which will offer parents the opportunity to have summer day care for children ages 3 – 5^th grade.  Campers will learn biblical truths and participate in activities and chapel times.  Children will be exposed to Christian beliefs and characteristics on a daily basis while participating in field trips, class time, play time and more.

AGCCA is located in a quiet country setting at the corner of county roads 28 and 71 in Summerdale.  Summer Camp registration and Pre-Enrollment for the upcoming school year are now in progress.  For further information or to tour the school campus, please feel free to call the office at 251-989-2333 or visit the website at www.gccacademy.org.

Before there were very many automobiles out on the road, particularly in the country, a farmer was on his way into town to pick up supplies. Pulling an empty wagon behind a small team of horses he figured on having a fair sized load on his return trip. As he ambled down the road he came upon a man walking and carrying a large, very heavy looking pack on his back. He stopped the team and greeted the man, discovering that the pedestrian was also on his way into town. Of course, being the friendly country gentleman that he was the farmer offered the man a ride and he gladly accepted.

As the two continued their journey they were both quiet for some time when the farmer turned to look at his passenger. He saw the man sitting on the edge of the back of the wagon, his feet dangling, and strangely that heavy backpack was still strapped to him. He suggested, “Why don’t you unbuckle your pack and stretch out for awhile; it’s at least another thirty to forty-five minutes into town.”

The man replied, “Oh sir, I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality; you’re already carrying my weight; I thought the least I could do was carry my own burden.” I guess he didn’t realize that with him sitting on the wagon the farmer was already carrying his weight and that of his backpack too.

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Earlier in this same chapter Jesus had been talking about John the Baptist. He had just received a message from John who needed reassurance that Jesus was indeed the Christ. He was in prison and had sent some of his own disciples to ask a question on his behalf. After He had answered John’s question and his messengers had left, Jesus spoke to the people about the Baptist asking them just who they thought John was. During the course of His discussion He criticized the Jewish leaders who couldn’t say anything good about John the Baptist or Himself. Their comments were intended to place burdens upon the both of them.

That’s when He issued the statement found in the scriptural quote. Jesus said that if people would come to Him that they would find His yoke was easy and His burden was light. He was comparing our life to a pair of oxen pulling a load. The yoke was the large, heavy wooden contraption that kept the two oxen together and attached them to the wagon or cart they were pulling. The burden was the load on the wagon. Jesus said that the yoke that attached us to the burden was not large, awkward and heavy but was easy. He also said that the load we would carry for Him would be light; not working us to death to pull it.

Considering that statement we have to take a look at our own lives. Do we feel like we are carrying a large heavy load that makes us drag through life? If so then perhaps we should question that load. When our yoke is hard and heavy and our burden seems more than we can handle then just maybe there’s something wrong.

We have a habit of taking on a lot of things ourselves. And too, the devil is always trying to make things bigger than they really are. The devil wants us to burden ourselves down to where it’s near impossible to trudge through life. He wants us to be weighted down with concerns, worry, anger and despair. In fact he’ll heap everything he can on us in effort to stop us and get us down.

But when we take on the yoke of Christ and learn from Him we find that He is indeed gentle and lowly in heart. He will give us rest. Yes He didn’t say that He would take our load completely away from us. But He did say that His yoke is easy to pull and the burden is not heavy and cumbersome but light.

So if you find your burden too much to handle then it’s probably time to stop, sit down and compare the weight you’re carrying to that which Jesus really wants you to bear. It may seem difficult to let go, but when you do and when you lay down that heavy burden for that which Jesus really has for you, you’ll find it to be much easier to carry, you’ll find rest and you’ll be a happier person. So which burden to you really want to carry?

A business call in Loxley this week led me to knock out a quick errand at Loxley Discount Drugs.  I stepped in the store just in time to hear the story of kids in the neighborhood being treated by their parents to glass bottle Cokes from the machine in the back of the store.  It seems a whole new generation of children enjoy a 75 cent Coke and a selection from the candy aisle for good grades and behavior.

There’s definitely small town nostalgia behind the doors of Loxley Drugs.  You’ll find pharmacist Robert Barnhill busily and quickly filling prescriptions behind the counter as customers drift in and out of the store.  Besides the cold Cokes and candy you’ll also find a full pharmacy with many over the counter medicines and medical supplies, greeting cards, household necessities, toiletries and a great gift selection.  I spotted one of my favorites, Enesco’s Growing Up birthday girls which is a small porcelain girl holding a number.  My mother gives one to my daughter every year, with a new number, for her birthday.  Other nice gift selection include baby bibs, burp cloths and diaper bags with embroidery.  You’ll also find caps, earrings, necklaces, handbags, candles and other gift items.

Loxley Discount Drugs is a new distribution point for Tidbits of Baldwin County so stop in and pick up your weekly Tidbits soon.  Loxley Discount Drugs is located at 2140 E Relham Ave. in Loxley.  You can reach them by phone at (251) 964-5332.

Maybe you are one who dreads the thought of trying on new clothes or perhaps there just aren’t enough hours in the day to block out time for shopping.  Whatever the case may be, Paisley Janes makes boutique shopping easy and affordable.  In addition to browsing the store, you will find all of Paisley Janes’ inventory on Facebook and a visual “preview” helps take the guesswork out of shopping for clothes.  You can make your selections by viewing the inventory via Facebook and a quick phone call reserves your clothing item for pick up.  It’s that simple.

Paisley Janes carries dresses, pants, shorts, skirts, tops and jewelry for women.  New selections arrive often and you are sure to find something that suits your taste for an affordable price.  For the past year, owner Lisa Nall has provided excellent customer service and ensured her customers fashionable selections at reasonable prices.

Be sure to visit Paisley Janes for their Memorial Day 20% off the entire store sale on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.  Paisley Janes is located at 3800 Gulf Shores Parkway #340 in Gulf Shores.  Their hours of operation are Monday through Saturday 10am-8pm and Sunday 1-5pm.  You can find Paisley Janes on Facebook and their phone number is 251-948-5263.

There is no bigger delight than to have two little arms wrapped around your neck, a soft cheek pressed hard against your face, with an accompanying squeeze that is meant to be gigantic and is in the feel of it, but in presentation is the smallest of wonders. Accompanying that squeeze are the words, “I love you mommy”. Mothers who now sit in wheelchairs in nursing homes can pull on that memory of love, and remember it as if it were yesterday.

I have been blessed to say that in the world of creativity I have created what some would consider to be a masterpiece or two. But, by far, my biggest contribution to the creativity and my legacy are my children. Along with those living masterpieces there have been some pretty spectacular chalk art masterpieces authored by mom and child.

As a child, Mother’s Day brings memories of making gifts for mom. Hand prints in plaster, beautiful hand drawn cards, sachets, and elaborate bath crystals that were really just Epsom salts mixed with food coloring and put in a baby jars uniquely decorated by little hands. As a child, a Mother’s Day focused on my own mother until becoming a mother myself. Though I also loved celebrating my mom, because now I know intimately the mother/child bond from another perspective, I’m sad to say that often my long distance mother was lost in the hubbub of my own family celebrations.

My mother tells me you are always close with your mother. She gets dreamy as she thinks back to the love of Grandma Sugar, who has now passed away. The thought of not having my mother on this earth is unimaginable to me. As mom talks about Grandma Sugar I wonder if she remembers her own wrinkled and frail arms that were once young and plump with baby fat as they hugged her mother’s young neck. Children and motherhood are a blessing. For all of the mothers out there, blessings to you as you feel or remember, “I love you mommy”.

Psalm 113:9 He honors the childless wife in her home, he makes her happy by giving her children.

Perhaps the perfect formula for a beautiful golf course exists with a piece of property in a natural, undisturbed setting and a family in the commercial turf business.  Norman Woerner thought so and in July of 2001 he opened Soldiers Creek Golf Course in Elberta.  Norman’s family has spent many years in the turf business, providing turf for sports fields and commercial products to golf courses and the construction industry.  This expertise lent to the beautiful fairways and greens you will experience at Soldiers Creek.

You will not find residential homes at Soldiers Creek, the course focuses on the game and there are no home sites to avoid should your shot miss the fairway.  The original property fit the mold for a golf course and the course was strategically placed within the organic setting leaving much of the property in a very natural state.  In addition to the beauty of the course you will also find a price point that is very affordable for 18 holes of golf, with some of the finest greens in Baldwin County.

Soldiers Creek Golf Course is located at 12096 County Road 95 in Elberta.  You can call for tee times at 251-986-T-OFF (8633).  Tee times are available beginning at 7am daily and the course remains open until sundown.  Soldiers Creek is open to the public and memberships are available.  You can “Like” Soldiers Creek Golf Course on Facebook and visit them online at www.soldierscreekgolf.com.

My family and I decided to try the recently opened Shaggy’s Harbor Bar & Grill in Orange Beach, located at Zeke’s Landing Marina, this past Friday night and had a wonderful dining experience.  The original Shaggy’s locations operate in Biloxi Beach and Pass Christian, Mississippi and the fourth location is currently under construction in Pensacola.

Our family of six sat at the back of the restaurant and enjoyed the beautiful view.  The plastic covers on the dining tables were rolled up so it felt like dining outdoors on the waterfront.  The wait staff was very friendly and we had great service. Our children loved the atmosphere and the dessert that was included with their kids meal.  The dessert was very colorful and fun for the kids plus they all agreed it was very tasty.  My wife and I had the fish sandwich which was a mahi mahi filet grilled and topped with pineapple.  It was mouthwatering and delicious.  We had a great family experience in a restaurant that made us feel very welcome and like we were on vacation – and we’re locals!

You can visit Shaggy’s Harbor Bar & Grill at Zeke’s Landing Marina at 26619 Perdido Beach Blvd. in Orange Beach.  The restaurant features great views of the marina, delicious fresh seafood, tropical cocktails and a fun family atmosphere.  You can reach them by phone at (251) 974-2401 and a full menu is available online at www.shaggys.biz.