Living as far away as we do from our grandchildren often finds me missing them so much that I can hardly breathe. So when we are with them, I soak up every incredible moment that I can.
Tonight as I put Stevie to bed and then Genevieve and Elizabeth, I prayed for each of them asking God to pour out his blessing and protection on them. I then prayed for their future spouse, that God would bless in their lives as well.
When I consider all the bazillion different things I could give my grandchildren, I know with confidence that praying for them is the greatest gift of all.
And now I have a new grandson to pray for...our little Charlie, who came into the world on Wednesday, three weeks ahead...God is already blessing others through his birth.
Thank you God for my four grandchildren...thank you God for the gift of prayer!!!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Food for Spiritual Growth
Why is it that we have such a hard time getting into God's word, the Bible, every day???
I have heard people say that they have a hard time understanding what is there. Grant it, having a translation that is easy to understand certainly makes a huge difference.
But I think it's more than that. We have to have a starting point, something that is already laid out for us. That seems to make getting into the word each day even easier!
I was in the Cokesbury store in Raleigh on Monday. Bookstores in general, are pretty dangerous for me; christian bookstores can be lethal!!! I found a daily bible written by Dr. Charles Stanley that caught my eye. Dr. Stanley is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church, Atlanta GA. He is truly my most favorite pastor. The book is designed so that there is a reading from the old testament, new testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. If I am faithful, to read daily, I will read through the entire bible in one year.
So here's my "take away" today: The truth of God's word not only speaks of pleasant things like heaven, grace, and love, but it also speaks to reveal and uncover our sin, so that we might be aware of it, released from it, and truly live!
I have heard people say that they have a hard time understanding what is there. Grant it, having a translation that is easy to understand certainly makes a huge difference.
But I think it's more than that. We have to have a starting point, something that is already laid out for us. That seems to make getting into the word each day even easier!
I was in the Cokesbury store in Raleigh on Monday. Bookstores in general, are pretty dangerous for me; christian bookstores can be lethal!!! I found a daily bible written by Dr. Charles Stanley that caught my eye. Dr. Stanley is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church, Atlanta GA. He is truly my most favorite pastor. The book is designed so that there is a reading from the old testament, new testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. If I am faithful, to read daily, I will read through the entire bible in one year.
So here's my "take away" today: The truth of God's word not only speaks of pleasant things like heaven, grace, and love, but it also speaks to reveal and uncover our sin, so that we might be aware of it, released from it, and truly live!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Flag Day!!!
We have the amazing honor and joy of living in a community where the majority of residents either fight or are family members of those who fight for and defend, on a daily basis, the priviledge of our constitutional rights. The work that I am doing with Operation Compassion, puts me in touch not only with my past as a Marine, but also as the wife of a Marine who served faithfully for 26 years. Make no mistake...the life of a military family IS NOT easy, but we do it out of love for God, Country, Corps, and for each of you!!!
Today is Flag day...a day that has somewhat been sadly forgotten. The flags that fly outside of our front porch each day were beginning to get faded. This morning Jeff and I took the time to change them out...a new flag of the United States of America, a new Marine Corps flag, and a new Navy flag.
As I assisted Jeff with this task, my eyes welled with tears and my heart was filled with a deep gratitude not only for the honor of serving, but because there are mothers, fathers, and family members across the country today who embrace a flag that has draped the casket of the body of a loved one who has died for our God-given right to live without fear.
Today is Flag Day...don't let it pass without lifting a word of thanks for all those who sacrifice on a daily basis for what we so often take for granted!
Today is Flag Day...don't let it pass without lifting a word of thanks for all those who sacrifice on a daily basis for what we so often take for granted!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Front Door Blessing
I delight in the miracle of birth, whether it is welcoming a new grandbaby or new baby birds.
Several weeks ago we discovered the building of a nest in one of our hanging baskets at the front of our home.
A few weeks later I took the basket down and discovered that we were expecting baby birds, as I found four eggs in the nest.
No matter if I am expecting a new grandbaby or four baby birds, I get really jazzed as I find myself in awe and wonder at creation and the joy of new life. This morning I decided to pull that basket down and take a sneak peek. To my delight, I found baby birds in the nest who are obviously, very newly born. They are all fuzzy and their eyes are still very tightly shut. My heart, however, was flooded with joy and excitement as, once again, I am awed and astonished by my Heavenly Father who I know loves to bring delight and joy to my heart!!! I quietly spoke and said to the addition to the hanging basket home...WELCOME to the world, little birds!!! And thank you God for such an incredible blessing right outside my front door!!!
Several weeks ago we discovered the building of a nest in one of our hanging baskets at the front of our home.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Getting It Right!!!
If I had a dime for every time I have wondered about my success as a parent, I could retire at this exact moment...(3:25 pm, Wednesday, June 8, 2011). Our daughter JoAnne, pictured above with her two amazing daughters, posted something on twitter earlier that gives evidence to the fact that "Yes, we, (Jeff and I) did get it right!!!
While other people have been busy amassing "stuff", JoAnne has been busy blessing her husband Steve with love and grace and blessing abundant, being a full time mom to Genevieve, Elizabeth, and little Steve, AND has managed to finish 9/10 of her BS in Religion from Liberty.
I am continually humbled by words she spoke almost 6 years ago..."Mom, I want to be just like you".
We see selfless giving and living in Danielle and Jehan-Paul as well as our newest son-in-love Kyle.
So here's the real deal, accomplished kids don't make a ton of money, have the biggest house or the highest paying job...accomplished kids are those who know that it is about being content with what God has blessed them with, and having grateful hearts for all of the blessings God has bestowed upon them. Teach your children this lesson well...all the rest will come!!!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A Straight Choice
Ok...so I am in the midst of redoing the hall bathroom with some assistance from the PSS, (Pastoral Support Specialist), Jeff. I have rearranged my schedule to be able to work in my peak time, 6a-1p, knowing that I have many meetings and speaking engagements in the evening. This means getting the project accomplished in record time...I hope!!!
It didn't take hardly any time at all to get the wallpaper off. This morning I have removed the remainder and now my walls are ready to receive something new. Last night I had the joy of shopping in Loew's by myself, (seriously...never thought I would say that) on my way home from a meeting.
So here's the deal...TOO MANY CHOICES... Brushed nickel, bronze, brass, and that's just the fixtures...never mind all the tile choices!!!
I am beginning to embrace why God in His astonishing and amazing goodness gives us a straight choice so many times. Basically because we would have a serious mental meltdown every time we had a moral decision to make. The door only swings two ways...yes and no, right and wrong, black and white. On most things riding the fence is dangerous at best. When we choose to ride the fence, we may end up in the field that we don't want to be in. And so we need to stand firmly when we make those moral choices.
My favorite speaker at this point is Grahm Cooke who I first heard use that phrase, "straight choice". He shared it in a story about a friend who had been give a word about years of ministry and then got a word from his doctor that he had terminal cancer. Grahm in a conversation with his friend said, "God knew you had that cancer in your body when the word about years of ministry was given and so He has given you a straight choice...you can choose to receive the word of life that was spoken about years of ministry, or you can choose to receive the word of death from the doctor that you have terminal cancer."
I have experienced this in my own life and ministry...choosing words of life, that in circumstances where it looks very dark and dim, I still choose and receive the promise of Jeremiah 29:11..."For I KNOW the plans I have for you...plans not to harm you. but to give you a future and hope.
Choose you this day to receive life, abundantly from a creator God who has designed you with a plan that will bring abundant joy!!! And Grahm's friend...He is Living!!!
It didn't take hardly any time at all to get the wallpaper off. This morning I have removed the remainder and now my walls are ready to receive something new. Last night I had the joy of shopping in Loew's by myself, (seriously...never thought I would say that) on my way home from a meeting.
So here's the deal...TOO MANY CHOICES... Brushed nickel, bronze, brass, and that's just the fixtures...never mind all the tile choices!!!
I am beginning to embrace why God in His astonishing and amazing goodness gives us a straight choice so many times. Basically because we would have a serious mental meltdown every time we had a moral decision to make. The door only swings two ways...yes and no, right and wrong, black and white. On most things riding the fence is dangerous at best. When we choose to ride the fence, we may end up in the field that we don't want to be in. And so we need to stand firmly when we make those moral choices.
My favorite speaker at this point is Grahm Cooke who I first heard use that phrase, "straight choice". He shared it in a story about a friend who had been give a word about years of ministry and then got a word from his doctor that he had terminal cancer. Grahm in a conversation with his friend said, "God knew you had that cancer in your body when the word about years of ministry was given and so He has given you a straight choice...you can choose to receive the word of life that was spoken about years of ministry, or you can choose to receive the word of death from the doctor that you have terminal cancer."
I have experienced this in my own life and ministry...choosing words of life, that in circumstances where it looks very dark and dim, I still choose and receive the promise of Jeremiah 29:11..."For I KNOW the plans I have for you...plans not to harm you. but to give you a future and hope.
Choose you this day to receive life, abundantly from a creator God who has designed you with a plan that will bring abundant joy!!! And Grahm's friend...He is Living!!!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The real YOU!!!
I am constantly amazed at what God reveals to me in the simplest things. We moved back into the house that we bought in 1999, last June. We had been renting it for eight years while we lived in the parsonage of the churches that I pastored in that time. Prior to moving back in, we had our amazing friend Kelli, paint for us. Jeff said, "Pick whatever colors you want". That was really exciting for me, because we had lived in base housing for most of our married life and all the walls are the same color...cream!!! Even the two parsonages that we lived in had walls all painted with a very neutral color. Makes sense, no one ever has the same color or type of furnishings.
We knew that we would have to do something eventually with the guest/hall bathroom as the wall paper had started to curl away from the wall. This is the bathroom that I use so Jeff again said, do whatever you want. Now I am, well let me just say, a "girlie-girl". I love bling, and I love things that are really pretty and very feminine. While I know this about myself, I am having a bit of difficulty deciding what color and how I want to decorate that bathroom. Before I can put any paint or tile on the walls, I have to strip off what is already there. On Thursday, the project began.
For anyone who has ever stripped off wallpaper, you know that can be difficult. Thank God for the Internet where I learned of mixing 5oz. of liquid fabric softener with hot water in a 16 oz. spray bottle.
Wow, does that work well!!! I never knew that stripping off wallpaper could be so therapeutic!!! As I was working away, God began to speak to my heart, which always brings tears because I am constantly enthralled by the fact that He wants to spend time and talk with me.
What He revealed to my heart, was that people are just like walls of a house that have been papered or painted over. The wallpaper or paint represents what we want people to see. A covering that hides who we really are with our idiosyncrasies, faults, embarrassments, struggles. God sees beyond the covering to the bare surface and He delights in what He finds, because...that is the REAL YOU that He lovingly created.
What I found on the bare walls of my bathroom were penciled measurements by the crew that built our house back in 1987. I don't know any of those people, but I know that they too were lovingly created, so I prayed for each of them, knowing that God knows who they are...today I pray for you as well, that you will embrace the reality that God delights not in the covering that you have placed for the world to see, but in the REAL YOU that he so lovingly designed!!!
We knew that we would have to do something eventually with the guest/hall bathroom as the wall paper had started to curl away from the wall. This is the bathroom that I use so Jeff again said, do whatever you want. Now I am, well let me just say, a "girlie-girl". I love bling, and I love things that are really pretty and very feminine. While I know this about myself, I am having a bit of difficulty deciding what color and how I want to decorate that bathroom. Before I can put any paint or tile on the walls, I have to strip off what is already there. On Thursday, the project began.
For anyone who has ever stripped off wallpaper, you know that can be difficult. Thank God for the Internet where I learned of mixing 5oz. of liquid fabric softener with hot water in a 16 oz. spray bottle.
Wow, does that work well!!! I never knew that stripping off wallpaper could be so therapeutic!!! As I was working away, God began to speak to my heart, which always brings tears because I am constantly enthralled by the fact that He wants to spend time and talk with me.
What He revealed to my heart, was that people are just like walls of a house that have been papered or painted over. The wallpaper or paint represents what we want people to see. A covering that hides who we really are with our idiosyncrasies, faults, embarrassments, struggles. God sees beyond the covering to the bare surface and He delights in what He finds, because...that is the REAL YOU that He lovingly created.
What I found on the bare walls of my bathroom were penciled measurements by the crew that built our house back in 1987. I don't know any of those people, but I know that they too were lovingly created, so I prayed for each of them, knowing that God knows who they are...today I pray for you as well, that you will embrace the reality that God delights not in the covering that you have placed for the world to see, but in the REAL YOU that he so lovingly designed!!!
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