The Boys

In the past few weeks each of my sons has had a birthday.  As hard as it is to believe, they are in their mid 30s.  Not quite middle age (which is good—otherwise we’d be in the same age group!) but way beyond childhood or adolescence.  They are men.  And while I firmly believe no child gets beyond the age of 12 in the eyes of his/her mother, I am getting better at accepting the fact that they truly are adults in their own right.

What is the hardest part of that for me?  Recognizing that even though they still talk to me about decisions, my input is no longer the most important; knowing that they will make some mistakes that I can’t fix, remembering that they are no longer under my authority.

But there are some great parts, too.  I love the women they chose to spend the rest of their lives with—and I love the fact that they (and I) know that their wives take first place in the women they love—as it should be!  I have enjoyed watching them become better husbands and learning to share their lives.  My favorite, so far, has been watching them become Daddies.  Not just a father—but a Daddy to their children—my grandchildren.  As I see them teaching these precious souls about life and love and God, it makes my heart so happy.  No, they are not perfect in either of this roles (do you know any human who is!?) but they are doing a pretty good job!

It makes me a little melancholy to think about all of this because these words from the song “Landslide” really express how I feel: 

Well, I've been afraid of changing

'Cause I've built my life around you

But time makes you bolder, even children get older

And I'm getting older too.

But now we have a new type of relationship.  I still smile when I see their names pop up on my phone.  It fills my heart with joy when they still say “I love you” to me.  I look at what they have accomplished in their education and careers and it makes me proud to see where they are now. 

My sons.  My grown men. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to be their first love and to spend their formative years together.  I so look forward to what lies ahead for them, for their families.  Because I know that God sill has great plans for them and for that I can only say, Thank you, Lord!!

April 21

I gave it a shot but didn't seem to be reaching even 5 people a day so I will go back to just writing occasional blogs and posting those.  Thanks to those who were reading!

Daily Devotion April 20--Serve One Another

April 20

Galatians 5:13

...but by love serve one another.

Many people feel that it is degrading to be called a servant.  But we are called to serve one another.  When we serve others it requires us to put aside our self-centeredness and see how we connect to others.

Over our lifetimes many people have put themselves in positions to help us, to encourage us, and to invest in us.  They were servants for us.  More importantly than that, though, is what Jesus did for us. Serving others is good way for us to show the grace of Jesus.  He put himself in a servant role to his disciples and to the people who were around Him.  He was the ultimate servant when He gave His life for us on the cross.

Many people look for happiness and fulfillment through their own selfish desires.  We only become truly satisfied when we put our desires aside and work to help others along the way.  We all come across opportunities in our lives to serve other people.  It is a great act of service for the Lord for us to be a servant to those in our lives.

As we go through the day today, let us seek out opportunities to be servant to those around us.

Daily Devotion April 17--Take Care of You

April 17

Romans 12:1

 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

It is so easy to neglect yourself when you are responsible for taking care of others.  Maybe you have a job, spouse, children, volunteer activities, church responsibilities, etc. that take up a lot of your time and energy.  When all of that is going on, it is easy to put yourself last.  However, God created our bodies to be used to serve Him and it is our responsibility to take care of it.  He only gives us one body and we should strive to keep it healthy.

Paul instructs us in this verse that our body is a form of sacrifice to Him.  Caring for our body is a way of worshiping God.  It is important for us to eat well, to exercise, to stay free of addictions and misuse of our body.  (Maybe I'm talking more to myself that anyone else in a lot of these areas!)

If we are not taking good care of our body, God can help us with that.  He can give us the ability to make conscious choices of how we are to treat the body that He created.  If you are not a Christian, the first step to being healthy would be to ask Jesus to come into your heart.  He can transform our lives in ways we could never do alone, if we only ask Him.  We each need the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us   We need to hunger for His Word and walk in His ways as part of every day life.

As we go through the day, let us remember that we are to use our bodies to worship Him and to bring honor to Him through our actions.

Daily Devotion for April 16--The Day My Name Changed

April 16

Proverbs 17:6

6 Children's children are the crown of old men...

We had been waiting for the call.  A 2AM call rarely brings with it good news.  But this time it did.  My younger son and his precious wife were headed to the hospital for her to deliver their first child...my first grandchild!  We quickly showered, dressed and made our way 2 hours north to be there for this momentous occasion.  My DIL was a real trooper, she let us all hang out in her room for quite a long time before we felt she may need a little privacy.  We sat in the waiting room and waited.  And waited.  And paced the floor and waited.  Then, life as we knew it was over and this little boy entered into our world.  And our hearts.  Thank you, Jesus, for safe delivery.

That was seven years ago today.  And that little boy----he still has my heart.  But I realized very early that being a Nonni carried some aspects that were different from being a Momma.  I didn't have the same responsibility for this little fella as I had had for his father.  But one thing was so important:  I would have the time and the patience to really talk to him.  And from the very beginning, I told him about Jesus.  I knew as he grew his parents would teach him and he would go to Sunday School and church but I felt like I had a special job.  See, we could sit and talk as long as needed and I could answer a million questions because anything else I needed to do could wait.  (He has reminded me along the way that the dishes will be ok for a while and he NEEDED me to come with him now. And I go.   He is very smart! :) )

God does expect us as grandparents to contribute to the learning of our grandchildren.  I think this verse is for women as well as men.  Our grandchildren are crowns in our lives.  We don't have diamond and rubies and silver and gold but we have these precious jewels that God has loaned us for a while.  So, even as my hair is getting more silver in it, the greatest gift I have from God are my grandchildren (we since welcomed 2 little girls into our family to add to my crown!!).  I'm thankful every time I hear them sing "Jesus Loves Me", "Jesus Love The Little Children" or "God is So Good."  I like when they ask for me to sing these songs to them and with them.  I'm thankful that they never hesitate to ask me "God" questions--even though I sometimes have to dig for the answer!  But mostly, I am so thankful to have to opportunity to pour into the lives of my grandchildren.  The second part of Psalm 17:6 says the glory of children are their fathers.  How blessed I am to have sons and daughters in love who give me that opportunity!!!

As we go through the day today let us be thankful for Godly grandparents and for the chance to BE a Godly grandparent.

Daily Devotion April 15--Tax Day Blues

April 15

Romans 13:6-7

6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

I know that this date brings fear to the hearts of many.  Nobody wants to give more of their money to the government in taxes.  But Christians are commanded to pay what tribute is due and for Americans that is our taxes--whether we like it or not.  Even if we do not agree with the way the government spends the money we pay in, we are still required to follow through with our obligations.  We are told in Romans 12:2 not to conform to the world.  The world gripes and complains.  We have the right to stand up against injustice and abuse we see.  However, we should not be forever grumbling.

God ordained the government.  Jesus Himself paid taxes that were due to Caesar.  Because of this, it our duty to submit to the laws of the government.  We are required to give honor to the offices of the government but not necessarily to the people who hold those offices.  Since we want to be in submission to God, we want to please Him.  Our relationship with God gives us the basis for proper submission to the government.

So, no matter how much we dislike paying taxes, it is our responsibility to do as we are called to do.  Let us be different from the world.

Today. as you go through the day, be aware that we are to follow this:  Matthew 22:21 Jesus said "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.

Daily Devotion April 14--Disoriented in the Darkness

April 14

John 11:10 - But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

Ephesians 5:8 - For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

I woke up last night and it was dark.  I mean DARK.  The electricity had been off for a while but I had finally drifted off to sleep.  When the electricity is on, light shines in through the window from outside, plus I have a nightlight on in the bedroom.  None of this light was available to me and I found myself completely disoriented.  I was still in the bed but I couldn't tell WHERE in the bed I was.  The noise machine playing on my iPad wasn't coming from the right direction.  My head was not at the very top of the mattress where it belonged.  I couldn't figure out my place in my own bed!!  How frightening that was to me.

After I got myself together, I had this thought---this must be how people feel who do not know Jesus. They are walking in darkness all of the time.  As it says in the verse above, there is no light in them.  There is nothing but perpetual darkness.  It must be frightening.  Lost people must feel disoriented all the time.  Where do they go for help?  Who do they cry out to when they are frightened?  How do they find their way through the darkness?

I am so thankful that even while we were lost, we could cry out to Jesus and He would be the Light for our lives.  Once we invite Him in, we no longer have to stumble around in the darkness.  Now we can walk as children of light.  What comfort it brings to know that THE LIGHT lives within us and that we can walk boldly without fear because the darkness has been dispelled.

As we go through the day today, let us look to the Light to keep us from staying disoriented in the darkness.