When you need a helping hand...........

It is amazing to watch the development of a special relationship between siblings.  One thing is certain, Anna simply loves Zeke.  We all thought that Anna would be walking by now.  She crawled early and she has this very strange ability to stand up in the middle of the room!  She will walk pushing her stroller or really anything that she can hang on to.  But she will not let go and take steps on her own.  On this day she was crawling following Zeke around and then she would stand up right next to him and lunge for a hug.  She just loves that boy so much.  And he willingly gave her hug after hug.  And then he reached out for her hands and off they went!  Zeke walking backwards and Anna walking as fast as her little feet would carry her.  I kept telling Zeke to slow down.  Anna happily let Zeke lead her all around the house, over and over.  She needed his helping hand to walk!  I imagine that before we know it, Anna will be running all on her own. For now, I am so thankful that she has a big brother who is willing to lend a helping hand.

I don't know why it is so hard to ask for help, but it sure is.  I guess it feels like a sign of weakness to admit that we can't get by on our own.  I blogged recently that Ken and I admitted our need for help and called on Doug to help us move a heavy piece of furniture upstairs for us.  It was a good decision.  When you hit our age it just seems to make more sense to have someone else do the hard stuff rather than suffer the consequences ourselves.  Right now Ken and I are making a list of all of the inside home repairs and improvements that we need done.  I am quite happy to say that we will be having someone else do the majority of the work.  In these things, we know that we need a helping hand!

I have learned, I admit after years and years, that it is good to ask for a helping hand when you need prayer.  I still know some people who NEVER let you know what their prayer needs are.  They will even ask how they can pray for you, but they will never ask for prayer for themselves.  We all know that when two or three are gathered together...when you join with others, Jesus is there.  Today on my way home from another amazing time with my small group, I was reflecting on the "good old days" of the telephone prayer chain.   I remember when I would receive one of those requests and feel so connected to everyone praying as you passed on the request to the next person on the chain.  What an amazing thing it is to glance over my text messages and see all of the prayer requests!  In an instant I can have many people praying.  Asking for prayer (that helping hand) is so much easier now!

If you are reading this and find it hard to reach out and ask for help.... or to ask for prayer... please stop right now and call a friend and share a need.  We all have needs and we all need to support each other.  If you don't have anyone to call, please comment on this blog and I will stand with you in prayer.  If you are reading this via Facebook, drop a comment or send a personal message.  Don't let some false pride thing keep you from being connected to the body of Christ.  You will be blessed and you can be assured that your prayers are being heard in heaven.

Jesus, thank you for your promises to us.  Holy Spirit, continue to prompt us to share our prayer needs and to reach out to others for help.  Thank you for the advancements that allow us to stay connected via the internet and cell phones not only to each other, but also to you through prayer.  Thank you for the relationship that you are building between Anna and Zeke.  Help us all to know when to lean on others for support, when it is just beyond our own strength or ability to go on.  Amen

Time together....the most important thing

Yes, I am a "Black Friday" shopper.  Gwen and I have been power shopping for good deals for the last 10 years or so.  This year there have been so many "PRE-Black Friday" sales and I have been checking them out.  Given where our family has been in the last weeks, I haven't been looking very hard.  But yesterday something caught my eye.  I have been considering a tablet - something small enough that I could bring it with me for note taking (I'm getting a bit tired of trying to type on my Iphone).  And there, in the ad, was a tablet that seemed almost to good to be true.  So early this morning, I bought a tablet.   And before noon, Ken went out and bought a second one for himself.  I am proud to say that I managed to get the entire tablet set up by myself.  Now this is quite a feat for me.  And I am very pleased with this detachable keyboard.  I can use the tablet alone or with the keyboard.  So my Black Friday shopping began a bit earlier than usual.

The loss of Lucas has really been sort of a wake up call for me as far as "What is really important?".  I have been looking at the upcoming holidays from a very different perspective.  We have always had Jesus' birth as the central part of our celebrations.  But it suddenly seems much more important to find gifts for our family that are "event" type activities.  Things that we can do together.  If I have felt one thing over the last week, it is the importance of just being there for one another.  Being together and doing fun things together seems like exactly what we need right now.  I have the feeling that my Black Friday shopping will be a bit lighter than usual!

I have been thinking about our holiday traditions.   I loved celebrating Advent with my kids.  We always had Advent calendars and often other activities for every day during Advent.  For many years, I facilitated Advent Events for the families of our church.  Some of my favorite memories of these events center around my mom and her enjoyment and pure pleasure being able to attend with us.  She always visited us for Thanksgiving so her stays overlapped with the beginning of Advent.  As I was thinking about this today I realized that it wasn't the event that she loved so much, it was being able to be WITH us - the experience - with our family.  She loved all of the preparations that I had to do.  The cutting and planning and tracing and sorting.  Again, because she was doing this all with me.  I don't know how I have missed seeing this, but suddenly it seems very clear.   The most important thing is being together.  It doesn't matter what you are doing..... it is just having those you love close by.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom with Gwen and Doug.  We all loved when my mom came to visit.  It was one of the highlights of our year.  Of course, mom and I also did our share of Black Friday shopping.  There was one year we nearly froze in a bitter wind, waiting outside of a Sears store for a big buy one get one free sale.  And there was also the year that we went to Zayre's at midnight for a special big sale (those sleeping bags my mom got for Doug and Gwen were used for many, many years).  So I guess that I can now appreciate my Black Friday shopping with Gwen since we are loving it together!

Let's face it.  Relationships are what really matters.   Really being with people matters more than anything else.   And the same is especially true about Jesus.  Having a bunch of head knowledge about Jesus, knowing facts from the Bible, understanding who Jesus is, are all important things.  But without really KNOWING Jesus, you are missing out.  Yesterday I talked about prayer and how important it is.  Actually, prayer should be like talking to a good friend on the phone.  Spending time talking and listening to Jesus is really important.   Just spending time together, that is the most important thing.   Being together and feeling the love. And the good news is that Jesus is always available to be with us and He will always surround you with his love.  There is nothing better.

I realize that the beginning of this blog doesn't seem to connect with the rest!  What I mean is that I started off talking about a THING that I bought - while shopping! And I know that this seems contrary to the ending of this blog.  But it is not about the shopping, it is about the AMOUNT of shopping and the REASON for shopping that matters.   I don't think this year will be about more stuff at great prices. I will be thinking about how thankful I am to be spending time with Gwen.  I will be giving more hugs to every family member.  I will be grateful for warmth and comfort in our home.  There will be joy in just being together.  And I will be thankful for new, advanced technology that allows me to journal and blog on my new tablet.   Most of all, I am thankful for a God that wants a personal relationship with each one of us.  There is simply no better gift.

Jesus, thank you for helping me to understand what is really important.  Thank you for memories of shared times with my mom.  Holy Spirit, help us all to cherish times with family and friends.  Keep our eyes focused on what is really important.  Holy Spirit thank you for reminding me that relationships are what counts.   Amen

Sisters...... a special bond

The top picture is my sister Julie holding me as a newborn.  The bottom picture is Lia holding Anna.  I thought about this picture of Julie and I shortly after Anna was born.  In the top picture, Julie was going to be 8 in just a couple of weeks.  And Lia will be 8 in May.  So the age spacing is just about the same. 

Now, granted, Lia has another sister, much closer in age (Ellie) and I am sure that they will have a close relationship.  But I can't help but think about Lia and Anna and how they may relate as they get older. 

My sister Julie and I shared a room for about 7 years, when I was in grade school.  This meant that Julie was in high school and college.  Needless to say, this was not a very good arrangement.  I was just telling someone that I remember going to sleep to Elvis singing.  And then there are the stories of my disturbed sleep when Julie was in college.  She was up all hours carving teeth out of clay! She was going to college to be a Dental Hygienist.  I remember the long, long hours of sleeping with the lights on.  I was 12 when Julie got married and I was very sad that she was leaving home. 

Yes, Julie and I still have a close relationship.  As I have said, the distance makes it difficult to stay in touch.  I know that this sister bond in something very different.  I love looking at my grandchildren and thinking about their relationships in the future.  It is so wonderful to see how close they are now.  I love watching them play together.  And I love how much they  care about each other.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to watch my grandchildren grow.  The perspective is just amazing.  I think when your own children are young you are simply so busy that you don't have time to consider these things.  But with your grandchildren, you have time to ponder and wonder and look to the future.  It is a real gift.  Tonight I am thinking about sisters, but I am celebrating being a grandma!

Jesus, thank you for this reminder of family, generations and all that is important. Holy Spirit, thank you for showing me how important it is to be a grandma.  Thank you for my sister Julie and that sister bond that we share.  Continue to build a close relationship between Lia, Ellie, Zeke and Anna.  Thank you for family and all that you intended to do in us and through us in our family.  Amen

Day 9 - Today I am thankful for aunts and uncles

 

Today I am thankful for aunts and uncles.  And the reason is, that I got to see Susie with Lia, Ellie and Zeke.  I am so happy that they get to spend time with their aunt and uncle.  And this reminded me of my own experience with my aunts and uncles.  The top picture is my mom and dad with some of my favorite aunts and uncles on my dad's side.  The second picture (I actually managed to get into this shot) are my aunts and uncles on my mom's side.  What I was remembering today were all of the wonderful times I had with my Aunt Mable and Uncle George and Aunt Avis.  They lived right by "the lake" (our cabin on Lake Maud) and I was the youngest and often not included by the older kids.  So often, I got to spend time with Mable and George or Avis.  I loved that George treated me as a "big girl" and would let me play cards with them.  I learned how to play many kinds of rummy and canasta at their kitchen table.  I loved going to their house.  It was a big, old farm house and they had an amazing "sun porch".  On that sun porch was an accumulation of years and years of magazines.  I could sit there for hours and look through old Life magazines and Better Homes and Gardens from the 1930's.  And my Aunt Mable was an amazing cook and baker.  She always showed up to visit with some wonderful desert.  And Aunt Avis made the most amazing bread and rolls - on a WOOD cook stove.  (I can't quite imagine how you regulate the temperature on one of those, but she sure did it!).  And then there was the telephone -  You know the kind where you pick up the phone and "call" the operator by turning the crank?  And then you listened for your "ring" (I seem to remember - a long, two shorts and a long).  Plus, it was a party line and there could be conversations going on with your neighbors.  At any rate, these times with my aunts and uncles were so special to me.  I got to be on a farm and see all the animals - something very neat for a city girl like me.  All that to say, I cherish the times I had with my aunts and uncles.  It is a wonderful thing to know that my grandchildren are benefiting from their relationships with their aunts and uncles. 

So, once again, can I just say that it is an amazing part of God's plan that included an extended family.  Some of the experiences that I had with my aunts and uncles would never have been part of my life without them.  And today, I am thankful for that.  Unfortunately, all of my aunts and uncles are now dead.  As a matter of fact, my mom was the last of her generation (on both my mom and dad's side).  What is on my heart is an encouragement to you to hold on the memories of your extended family.  And to be sure to share these stories with your children and grandchildren.  I am convinced that there are wonderful generational blessings hidden in our stories.  And as we tell the stories, the long-ago seeds spring into life and grow into plants of blessings that live on in the next generations.  

Jesus, thank you for reminding me tonight of all the special times I had with my aunts and uncles.  Holy Spirit, remind us all to hang on to the memories of our families and to share them with our children and grandchildren.  Jesus, help us to see with your eyes, the many ways you have been working in our families throughout the years.  Amen

Cultivating close relationships....

Here is another "nugget" from the HUB meeting on Friday night.  This is a season to cultivate close relationships.  This is the time to evaluate where you are really at with your relationships.   I've been thinking about this over the last couple of days.  I was very blessed on Friday night,  to be sitting next to a very close friend. That was a great comfort for me!   The speaker made the point that our relationships with people are a reflection of our relationship with Yahweh.   OUCH!   This is a hard message.   Are we deeply caring about others and expressing love and affection BECAUSE we are in that kind of a relationship with Yahweh????   Or do we have lots of superficial relationships - the kind of people who you talk with about the weather and nothing else?   Is this how your relationship with Yahweh seems?  Just a brief laundry list of cares and concerns? A distant sort of "drive through" relationship (you know what I mean - you speak into the box to someone you can't see - you MIGHT hear a short grainy message back IF you wait around long enough - you quickly pull forward and hope to receive a bag of whatever you have asked for).  I know this is not the relationship I want to have with Yahweh.  

So, I have been evaluating all of the relationships in my life.  And I want to have more deep, meaningful relationships with those around me.   I want to be able to really tell the truth and not worry about "what will they think?"    My daughter introduced me to another great blog called Momastery.   The author is a TRUTH TELLER.  And because of her blog, others see that they can be brave and tell the truth and develop those close relationships.  Her blog is wildly successful and has literally hundreds of thousands of readers.  People who are all looking for meaningful relationships.

I want to be a truth teller and a Yahweh seeker and a close friend that will be deeply caring about others. I want to have meaningful relationships.  I want to be expressing the love of Yahweh to those around me - his deep compassion and caring through my mouth and my hands.   So I will take the time to rest (see yesterday's post) and receive Yahweh's love so that I have HIS love and care to give out into my relationships.  This is not something that I can do on my own.  This is about taking the time to just receive a deeper relationship with Yahweh.

(you can read the Momastery blog at Momastery)