A Word in Due Season - Encouragement for Every Day

Wow... I totally was blown away by God's goodness yesterday.  I made an honest mistake, of seeking out someone's opinion on something unrelated and the response, I felt, was totally the enemy's attempt to derail me.

Let me explain.  I sought out the opinion of a dear friend and successful independent business woman.  I completely valued her response which was honest and extremely insightful.  Yet just over a year ago, the response would have totally derailed me.  I'm so pleased to say, that because of the years this woman mentored me, the support of a loving husband, and the continued closeness to Jesus that I seek, I was able to totally overlook it and not really notice it.  Because it was not the intention of this beautiful woman to derail me, it was the enemy's conniving way of letting our minds twist words around to our disadvantage.  Not to mention that is is so easy to misinterpret text vs. the spoken word.

Along comes another dear friend.  A friend much my junior, yet we were "besties" for a few years and it was a fun time.  I miss those days.  Anyway; I was sitting outside on my deck last evening, reading "Money Making Mom", and I stopped to pray.  "Lord, if this really is a time waster for me and others, please show me that I need to stop.  I really want to please you and if this not pleasing to you or encouraging others, then please confirm that I need to stop."  So in my ADD world, I stopped to check social media before I went back to reading and there it was... on Instagram... the words of love and encouragement that I needed.  "I love your blog.".  It meant the absolute world to me and coming from the person that sent it, meant even more.  God is so good!

Think on this and try to keep this on your radar... our words are so powerful.  They can make or break someone.  We can also misinterpret words and mistakenly get hurt or worse, hold grudges when the intention was not to hurt or make angry.  A good rule of thumb... if what someone says kinda hits you the wrong way, gently ask them to clarify what they said.  I'm sure you will find that the answer they give is gentle and clarifies that it was not intended to hurt you or make you angry.  And if it was, turn the other cheek and focus on those that truly respect and love you.

May the Lord grant you an exceptional week of encouragement and of encouraging others!

I Miss You Mom - Grief Never Ends

Grief Never Ends

Mom's prayer box

Both of my parents left me too young. My father passed away in 2006 at age 67. My mother passed away in 2010 at age 68. Losing my father was a shock, in many ways.  Particularly being present and holding his hand as he walked into the arms of Jesus.  But there was no time to grieve as my mom quickly moved her parents in with us and we became caregivers to them over the next few years. During that time, my mother's health situation dramatically declined and there I was again...holding the hand of my other parent as she walked into the arms of Jesus.

All too young to leave their granddaughters. But that's another sad story (well, 3 stories)

The granddaughters, from L to R Holly, Kelly, Kristen 2013 at Kelly's high school graduation

I know I'm not the only person to lose a parent. I know I am not the youngest person to lose a parent...but my grief is unique. I grieve differently than my brother and differently than my sister. And that's okay. My grief symptoms range from a teary eyed spell coming out of nowhere to crying for a while when I see a photo or remember a time in my youth. I get sick this time of year, almost every year. My immune system gets weakened. My grief symptoms change throughout the years but are still present, and that's okay.

If you are grieving, my heart goes out to you.  No one truly understands unless they have lost too.

I'm grateful for my support system that prays for me and lets me, be me, during this time. I'm grateful they still love me afterwards. Mostly, I am grateful to not be an orphan. Father God is always with me.  

Prayer for my family and me:  I pray that we will feel His love around us today and every day.  That He would strengthen us, give us His peace and rest, and protect our health and loved ones.  That He would encamp His angels around us.  I pray that we would daily express our gratitude to Him and how He's always there for us, blessed us, and taken care of us.  In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!

Me and my dad in 1989 at my brother's wedding.  

My mom and me in 2009, just days after her 68th birthday.