A Brand New Day

Greetings Everybody,
Let's start with a wee little Question and Answer session, shall we?

Question: How did my Aunt suddenly become my Sister?

Answer:  She was recently baptized into Christ!

Earlier today I called her because my dad told me that she had been baptized. 

She does not live in the same town that I live in, or else I would have gone to see her and hug on her for a while.

Truth-Being-Told...We have not spent much time together.

It's complicated to try to express why, but sometimes families just drift apart.

Yet, I have wonderful childhood memories of her. 

And then... there is giant time gap in which I only saw her for a few minutes at graveside family funerals. 

That giant time gap is so hard to fathom.

I'm a Grandmother now, and its been quite a few years since I was in elementary school.

I keep asking myself "How in the world did this much time go by without us being in touch with each other???" 

Upon reflection, I think that today was the first in depth conversation that I have had with her in my whole life.  

It was wonderful.

She was filled with joy.

We talked about the days leading up to her decision to be baptized, and about the involvement of a neighbor and of my very own dad.

And the entire conversation centered around topics having to do with God and Jesus.

She told me that she has spent alot of years knowing who God Was but not actually KNOWING GOD!
And she expressed the idea that she had wasted so much time.

So I visited with her about a phrase used in Scripture...and that phrase is "at just the right time".

We see it in Romans 5:6-8
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"

There is another phrase that is similar to that and is also found in scripture..."in the fullness of time".

Galatians 4:4-5
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

The reason that I shared that concept(about time)with her 
is to put her heart at ease. 

But she was already ahead of me on that. 

She knows that her sins were washed away 
and that it's a brand new day.

And so my Sweet Aunt is now my Sister in Christ.

In celebration of that, I am sharing a little photograph with her on this blog and with all of you who may read this post.

I share this to remind her to claim 1 John 1:7 and to remember to Seek The Light!
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

Linda, may every day of the rest of your life be "A Brand New Day!" 

And may you continue to do as Mark 12:30 says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

This was taken while sitting on a ferry heading toward Maui at Sunrise.

The boat was smack-dab in the middle between 3 islands: Molokai, Maui and Lanai.

You can see the tail end of Molokai on the left and start of Maui on the right, but Lanai doesn't show up on this photograph. 

Blessings to you Linda...

and to each of you who may read this post.

In Him,

Grace

YAY for Babies

Greetings Everybody,


YAY for Babies.
And YAY for finding joy in watching my grandson learn so many things.


We are blessed to be a part of watching him grow and want to do all 
that we can to help him.


And soooo....the arsenal of Baby Stuff at Gigi's House just keeps on growing!

We have 1 grandchild right now, with a granddaughter due in June.  


We all live in the same town which means that there are frequent visits here at 
Gigi & Grandpa's house .


And lots of Grandson Sleepovers.


In fact...LAST NIGHT he had a sleepover with us.
We picked him up from our daughter & son-in-law's place


And on the way back to our place, we made a stop by Babies R Us.


(insert cash register sounds here lol)


And errrr...we ...errrr...picked up a few things lol.


Let me remind everybody that my daughter says she wants 4 kids.  
And we are kinda gearing up for that...which means there will likely ALWAYS be a few more purchases that "NEED" to be made.  lololol 


Our nearly 9 month old grandson has a few new skills.
     -he can raise himself to a sitting position now,
     -he can propel himself on his belly like a soldier, 
     -he can pull himself to a standing position,
     -he's probably a day or two away from really "getting" this crawling thing.
     -basically he is one ACTIVE LITTLE MAN! 


He's a Really Happy Kid.


He laughs alot.


And when he cuts loose with a genuine Belly Laugh, 
my soul does "The Happy Dance".


I am totally smitten by his laughter!!!

Last week my daughter got a walker for him and he is diggin it.
She says he happily maneuvers all over the house now.


Well, in "Grandmother-Think", it makes sense that if he is going to be at our house very much we need to get a walker for him to use here too.


Thus the trip to Babies R Us on the way back home from picking him up.


Here's what we got:

Kolcraft Step Starter 2-in-1 Walker from Babies R Us.

Our Grandson LOVES this thing.


The permanent tray has:
- 2 little owls with faces on them (the faces are turned TOWARD the baby)
- 2 toggles switches that make soft sounds and cause lights to flash
- 2 buttons that make soft noise
- and an easily gripped center toy that causes music to play when the baby spins it.


Needless to say, he was highly entertained by all of this.


But the funny part is that he wants to TASTE that thing in the center, so he leans forward and takes steps to try to get to it. 

He is learning to take steps toward the thing he wants and he's having to work for it.

Kind of a major life lesson

going on there huh!!!

While I am on the topic, let me say that I am really impressed with a couple of Imaginarium Products we have also gotten for him.  


Their foam blocks are colorful, soft enough to be safe, yet still sturdy. 


We got the Jumbo ones so that he will be able to play with them for a long time.  
He can easily pick up all of them, and he has fun bashing them around. 


Meanwhile I don't have to worry about one of them going into orbit 
and knocking over a lamp lol.


             He went bonkers over them. 

Imaginarium Jumbo Foam Textured Blocks

The only problem with all this playing on the floor that he does now, is that we have these stained cement floors, (which are really pretty, but are rather slippery), and of course cement is not at all Kid Friendly to a little fellow who tips over easily.  


So to keep him from bonking his head on the cement floor, we have, 
for months now, been putting down layers of quilts.


Great Idea Right?  Cushie & Cozy right? 


People always do that for babies right?


Well YES to all of the above...BUT keeping him ON the quilts is the trouble.


When my daughter was a baby she stayed ON her quilts...her son is not so docile lol!


It seems that the quilts just aren't big enough for my action-packed grandson 


He needed more Kid Friendly Space.


Soooo...You guessed it...we found another 
Imaginarium product that works really well.


We got The Alphabet Numbers Mat:
36 squares foam puzzle pieces form a nice play area.

Imaginarium Alphabet Numbers Mat

All of us are quite fond of this thing.
     -If you use all 36 square pieces it makes a "36 square foot" area. 
     -Comes in a heavy duty clear zipper bag for easy storage.
     -Easy cleanups.
     -Easy assembly.
     -Major :Cool Points" for this product.
     -"Hard Cement vs Soft Baby-Skull Problem" Solved.


Now if he topples over he won't hurt his head or break his little teeth.
Plus, he is fascinated with the textures and colors on the mat.  


YAY for a Kid Friendly zone in my house.


And YAY for all the fun that will come in the years ahead when the grandkids learn to assemble this play mat for themselves and can use it as the giant puzzle it really is.


 (FYI...Not only are the square mat pieces a puzzle, but each of the letters/numbers and their center parts will come out as well. Its a huge puzzle!)


YAY for learning the Alphabet and Numbers in such a Hand's-On way.


OK...I realize that Grandparenting is not new, and that it's only new to ME.
And I realize that I am prattling on ...but here's why:


There is something magical about being around a baby and watching them learn EVERYTHING.


And having your home set up to be able TO watch them learn to play is FUN!
I am reminded that to a little person, learning IS play.
It's only after we get older that we think learning is dreary work.
Babies get such joy out of new experiences,


I mean Really...Think about it...When was the last time you gave somebody something that made them so excited that they bounced and belly laughed...or opened their mouths so wide the drool ran out??? Well??? 


Babies are like that. 
They express joy(and every other emotion) freely.


So if it's confession time around here...I confess to being more than a little addicted to seeing JOY in that little boy's face.


Sorry about prattling on about Baby Products, but if you've ever been a Grandparent I bet you understand :)


Happy Easter Weekend To You All!




In Him,
Grace

What My Fingers Choose To Type

Greetings Everybody,
Sometimes when I sit down to write in this blog, my mind has many things it wants to share, but I don't know what my fingers will choose to type.  


Sometimes my words come out in stories, sometimes they come out as a lesson, sometimes they come out as a prayer...sometimes a combination of all of the above.


I just never know.


Today is kinda like that.


Right now, I don't know exactly where this morning's blog-post is going, so I guess I should probably just start out with what I am feeling this morning.


It's Sunday Morning...and I am Happy.


But it is more than that...I am filled with Joy.


Being filled with Joy is bigger and deeper than being Happy.


It's not that there are not troubles...it's not that my world is perfect ( I assure that it's neither of these)


There are plenty of troubles, and there is plenty of "ugly" in my world.


But this morning I am filled with a sense of Joy that overcomes troubles and all the ugly stuff.


And I am hard pressed to contain this feeling any longer.


I want to sing.  
I want to sing loud and strong with my eyes closed and my body tuned to every syllable.


I want to weave tight harmonies with intricate nuances of tone, pitch, and timbre.
I want to touch souls today and bring glory to God today...and I want to Sing to HIM.


Singing is something Very Spiritual to me. 


Singing and Writing and  Speaking to Christian Women is something I find great fulfillment in.


And this morning I can tell that it's time for me to prepare a message for another Christian Ladies Function and speak again...I can feel it.


And I think I have the topic picked out.


And I can fairly well feel the words bubbling in my soul waiting to be set down in print.


Soon Lord...I know it will be soon Lord.


Thank you God for preparing me...and for giving me my voice today...and for helping through the difficult asthma days...and for putting your words in my heart... and allowing me to sing, write and speak them.


It's Sunday Morning Father and Soon Your Saints will be Assembled.

Apparently my post this morning was part Personal Insight, Part Prayer, and Part Share.  


(Sending a Big "Thanks" to those of you who read this blog)


But mostly...Thank You GOD for giving us JOY!


In Him,
Grace

Welcome 2012

Greetings Everyone,
Every morning, I sit down and have some time in prayer. 
Actually it turns out to be about an hour.


Didn't plan it that way, it has just evolved into that routine.


Originally it was a lot longer, but then there were some gigantic troubles in my life when I first started prayer journaling and as those burdens eased, the prayer time just kind of morphed into about an hour time slot each morning.


It takes about a hour for me to get all of my Thank You's and Please Help's itemized.
And that hour is the most precious part of my life now.
Every corner of my mind gets swept clean...all the fluff, all the darkness, all the cobwebs.


God, listens to it all, and in return...
He gives me PEACE.
And He gives me JOY.
And He gives me ENERGY.
And He gives me a zillion other things I need to get through each day.


I've been doing this for a number of years...and it is simply "a part of me" now.


Along the way, I have gleaned a few crystalized thoughts.
And I cherish them.


Every morning, I ask God for the 5 things that are listed below.
And He is faithful.
And My GOD Delivers!


Today, I am going to post one of those thoughts in the form of a Blessing to those of you who are reading.


Yes these are my original words, I am the one who penned them...but it was
"The Great I AM" 
who gave me these words...I'm not this smart on my own.


I hope this touches your life in some way.

A Blessing for 2012


May The Lord God Almighty,
PROTECT You, 
PROVIDE for You, 
PREPARE You, 
PURPOSE You, 
and POSITION You.


Welcome 2012!
Come on in, take off your coat and stay a while.
We've been waiting for you.


In Him,
Grace

Let's Talk About The Word DICHOTOMY

Greetings Everybody,


Let's talk about the word DICHOTOMY.


Basically, Dichotomy refers to the ability to hold two seemingly opposite thoughts simultaneaously.


For Example:
It is possible to value Liberty so much that you are willing to Lay Down Your Own Life (and thus the Liberty you value so much) so that OTHERS may have Liberty.


Yes, I believe that this would be a really good example of a dichotomous situation.


But Dichotomy doesn't always come in such lofty measure...LIBERTY isn't always the subject.


Sometimes dichotomy is exhibited in families during the holidays...in fact I would venture to say that many families experience it during the holidays.


Imagine, if you will, a children's playground...with one of those teeter-totter things.
(Now unless my memory is wrong, I believe that the Teeter-Totter is that big wooden plank with a seat for a child on either end. And the way it works is that when one side is up in the air, the other side is down near the ground. The fulcrum holds the balance as the kids take turns pushing their legs against the ground so that each side gets a turn to go up and down.   Remember those things?)


Isn't LIFE just a big ole Dichotomous Teeter-Totter?


Here we are, all aflutter with the Christmas Season upon us....but we know that this is a temporary high.


Joy is Balanced by Sadness.


In our case, there are several things currently pulling at us.
Causing us to go up and down.


My Sister in Law is due to have major surgery on December 22.
She has had ongoing health issues for years and years.
In addition, Hubby and I have in the past and will again, be helping her and her husband with food...for weeks at a time.


This is a complicated situation.
We love them.
But we can not sustain them financially.
In all fairness, they did not ask us to do this forever.
But as I mentioned in my post last night, Family Helps Family, and we want to help them.


But there are limits to our ability.
We both work, and can not be there for them every day.
In THIS case, we do not have ENOUGH.


It seems that so very many of the people we love really need help right now.
And the Joy of our ability to help is balanced by the knowledge that this is a  bigger need than we can cover.


We have ENOUGH to help SOME of those we love, 
But Not Enough to help ALL of those we love.


Another area of concern this season is my Mom & Dad..
Though I am reticent to discuss it fully in this format, my mother is mentally ill, with the addition of a host of daily medical issues....and my beloved Father tends to her every need.


He is her nurse.
This is no small undertaking.
They are both in their mid 70's and it is killing me to watch my parents live like this.


Though not a nurse by training, he actually does an amazing job of taking care of her.
But they are both old.
And the time is coming for me to have to step in and intervene.


In addition...this past week, the mental illness kicked in again, and my mother is now muttering that she wants a divorce.


If my dad divorced her (which he won't) it would be a death sentence for her. 
She can not tend to her own bodily function needs, 
does not have the physical dexterity to cook, 
can not drive, 
can not tend to her own finances....it's a ludicrous thought. 


But she is full of venom and is trying to hurt the one who loves her the most.


I keep prompting my dad to go ahead and get situated in Assisted Living.
But he says that he is not ready yet.
There is a financial advantage to staying in the status quo for 2 more years.
And I have seen the paperwork, he is right.
They will have more monthly funding if he can hold out two more years...but this is sooo hard on them both.


Dad has already put in the due diligence on the matter though.
They have picked out where they want to go.
They have agreed on the floor plan of the type of unit they want.
All things are in order for that one day when they CAN go.


But Dad is adamant, that it is not time yet.


I do NOT want to step in and challenge his authority over his own life.
I do NOT want to have to over-ride his will and just "kidnap" (and I use the term gently here and without malice) them both in order to drop them off at the old folks home.
What a horrible thought!


But I suspect that such a day is coming like a freight train.


Nevertheless...Balance In All Things!


We first Learn about Dichotomy on the Playground...and then we spend the rest of our lives in the process of going up and down.


We know that every time we go up, we must come down
And we trust that every time we are down, we will rise again.


Balance In All Things!


So Raise Your Coffee Cups with me,  and let's have a Toast to this Giant Teeter-Totter Called LIFE.


Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down....


The next time that I am holding that Grandson of mine (which Lord Willing, will be today) I will sail up high on that teeter totter again.


Balance In All Things!.


In Him,
Grace

I Woke Up Smiling This Morning

Greetings,
Today has the mark of Wonder upon it, for I woke up SMILING.


At 4:30, my eyes fluttered open and I realized that I was fully rested and WANTING to get up.


No alarm clock.


Isn't that cool.


Don't you just love the mornings when you wake up on your own and you realize that you are just simply DONE with your sleep!


We live in an age of time management.
It seems that our lives are lived out in strictly-managed time-allocated chunks.


But today was a total violation of that norm.


I just simply woke up ready to be UP.


I did not have the desire to just snuggle back down in the covers.
I did not have something I woke up worried about.
I did not have a huge agenda-laden day that I woke up thinking about.


Rather, like a baby who is done with her nap, I simply woke up...smiling.


I LOVE this morning.


This Day Has HOPE and PROMISE and JOY written all over it.


Psalms 118:24 " This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."


Yeah THAT's how I feel about today.


Just finished my prayer journal, emptied my heart out to God...and was, as always filled back up in the process....and now here is sit.


The lights on the Christmas Tree are twinkling behind me, and the house is so still and quiet...and my coffee is so perfect this morning...and I am deeply, honestly, simply content.


This Peace is of God!


Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."


It is deep and it is precious and it is wonderful.


Regardless of what this day may bring, I want to cling to this sense of well-being. 
My Heavenly Father has wrapped me in his warm embrace and is holding me safe and secure this morning.


I Am Thankful For This Peace.


In Him,
Grace

About Today...

Good Morning God,


Please help me to get through today...it's gonna be a long day...about 13 hours.


Father I confess that I do not really want to go to that training session AFTER school today.


And I confess that I am whining about it.


Father Please... infuse me with Courage and with Strength.


Father, please put the Right Attitude in my heart.
Father, please let the speaker be engaging and let her words be relevant..
Father, please keep me from cynical thoughts and comments.


Please take the negativity from my mind.


Please Sustain me and Shelter me.


Please give me the Energy, Clarity, Focus, and JOY to claim today in YOUR name.

Father, guide me through this day WHILE I SIT IN YOUR PALM.

Help me to be Salt and Light today God...


In Jesus' Name,


AMEN