Tuesday 28 May 2019

Celebrating a Different Kind of Anniversary

Yesterday was an anniversary in our life, but not your typical one.  We were celebrating 18 years since God told us to move.  What?  Like I said, not your typical anniversary and the only reason I remember the date so clearly is because I journalled about it right away.  I knew it was a date I wanted to remember and the way everything unfolded that day I knew I couldn't forget.

We had been living like nice, normal, decent people in a nice, normal, neighbourhood - or so we thought.  We had moved in expecting our first baby and within 3 years were expecting our third.  It was a more mature neighbourhood so there weren't any young families except us.   The people living on either side of us had older children.  We had developed a relationship with most of the people in the area and they were all friendly.  The people living directly behind us had no children and though I tried to reach out to them, they were not interested in reaching back. 

Soon the parties started.  These people all knew each other, turns out.  They'd lived on the street for years.  These were not small parties.  They were big parties.  "Call the cops" kind of parties.  We had young children sleeping.  It was no fun for us.  We were invited to the first one, but they got the idea this wasn't our kind of thing so stopped inviting us and instead starting telling us when the parties were happening so that we could make arrangements to leave town!  Yikes.

When we bought the house we were a little overextended, but we had a plan.  We were going to rent out the basement and the one half of the house.  It was a good sized house and we didn't use those two spaces anyway.  We easily found tenants and all seemed good.  The problem was the neighbour behind us didn't like it.  I guess he figured we were bringing down the neighbourhood.  He started to make it clear he wasn't thrilled with us and looking back, I think he was trying to make us so miserable that we would want to move.  Well, it worked.

He started turning his dogs loose.  They would come into my backyard when I was out playing with the kids.  I hated that.  He would turn up his awful music whenever I was there as well.  He hated the sound of kids playing and I hated his choice of music.  I would look directly at him and he would completely ignore me.  I would kindly say, "Is there anything we've done to make you upset?"  He wouldn't answer me.  I finally asked his partner if there was anything we'd done, but she feigned ignorance.

One day the music seemed just a little louder than normal.  A little raunchier than normal.  Again, fully ignoring me.  RM was home, so I said to him, "We have to say something to him."  He went and picked up our two year old and walked over.  He went expecting to have a nice chat and clear the air, but he ended up getting blasted by the guy.  So we weren't wrong!  He did hate us!  I think his main reasons were that we had gotten the tenants, so in his mind we were bringing down the whole neighbourhood.  Perhaps it was all the swear words and the obvious rage and yelling to get off his property.  Not really sure!  But all we both knew was when he came back and told me how the whole thing had unfolded we stood there literally crying and probably at the same time said, "We're moving".

I was expecting a baby in 6 weeks.  I was really hoping we could move somehow before the baby came, so we kicked it up a notch and started searching like crazy.  We did find a place eventually that we bought on our actual anniversary.  That particular anniversary also jumps out in my mind as I was in the hospital with my 5 week old newborn who had somehow contracted viral meningitis when he was born.  So we spent a week in the hospital as he recovered.  It was quite a tumultuous time.  We didn't move before the baby was born, but within a few months we were out.

So many miracles happened during that time and so many lessons were learned. This is why it is also an anniversary of sorts.  Before we knew we needed to sell, I had been getting a sense from God that I was supposed to relinquish my home and where we lived.  It was one of the most beautiful areas I had ever lived.  It was by the lake near downtown.  I could walk everywhere.  There were big beautiful trees and beautiful parks everywhere.  I would often pray thanking God for where we lived and then I would always follow my prayer with this phrase, "Please don't make me move."  That's probably where things started to go wrong.  I was loving my stuff, my life, my house and I didn't want Him to take it away from me.

During that time I had come across Richard Foster's book on prayer.  There was a chapter in it called the "Prayer of Relinquishment".  He suggested a prayer to pray saying that sometimes God gives you back what you release to Him.  Sometimes He doesn't, but either way it is a necessary prayer to pray.  I prayed it very reluctantly, but I knew I had to.  So I started going for walks with the kids and each time I looked around loving where I lived I would pray, "Thank you Lord for where I live, but if you have a better place for us, I'm willing to give it all up.....but please don't make me move!"  So I was trying to pray the right prayer!

Shortly after that prayer was when things started to go south.  First with our neighbours and then even with one of the tenants.  It didn't matter what we did.  Something always went wrong.  She had major water leaks in her room and she was always unhappy.  Our other tenant was a "rent angel", we called him.  He never lived in our house one night.  He simply paid to have our house as a mailing address.  He traveled a lot and we think maybe we were a cover up for a secret side of his life!  So strange!  But he always paid on time! 

So between the parties our neighbours held on a regular basis, the angry people living behind us, the upset tenant in the basement, not to mention we were feeling the financial pressure of owning a big home, we finally gave in and said, "Lord!  We get it!  We'll move!"  We actually joke that God kicked us out of the neighbourhood.  In a way it had to be that way.  It had to be something that obvious or I would never have been able to see it.  I would have tried to make it work for years I'm convinced.  So that is one of the miracles - God answered so obviously.

Then, we asked our neighbour down the street who was into a new hobby of tearing down old houses and putting up new million dollar houses if he wanted our's.  He said no.  We were so disappointed, but then when we were in the hospital with my newborn he reapproached us and said yes!  We were so thrilled!  In just a matter of a few years we had, with no intelligence of our own, made a major profit on our home as our property had grown in its worth in a very short time - "ugliest home in the best neighourhood" would have been our award!  The best part of him taking our property was that we didn't have to do a thing.  Not one thing.  He was going to tear it down, too, so that meant I had no cleaning to do, no renovating to do, nothing.  With 3 children under 3, that was such a gift.  It was God's deliverance.

The house we ended up buying was also amazing.  God took us to a street called "Stillmeadow".  From the pit of despair, He literally moved us to "Psalm 23 Street".  This street was full of lovely people who loved us for 7 years.  We are still in touch with these neighbours.  One mom that I became friends with even got saved!  I had 3 more babies there and we had a "peace on every side" experience there for sure.  It was a new home so it didn't need constant renovations unless we chose to do so.  It was the perfect size, the perfect layout, the perfect location.  It was such a gift to us.  We literally outgrew it as our children would spill onto the street, the neighbour's yard, the bedrooms....I was asked if I ran a daycare one time.

This is why it is an anniversary for us.  That day when all seemed so despairing, we prayed. God answered our prayers in the most amazing way.  He taught us the most amazing things during that difficult time in our life that we could have only learned through the most difficult ways.

Yesterday, on the day of the anniversary, I read in my devotional book about trials.  This is what it said and this is what made me go back down memory lane all day:

"Do you find yourself at this very moment surrounded with needs, and nearly overwhelmed with difficulties, trials, and emergencies?  Each of these is God's way of providing vessels for the Holy Spirit to fill.  If you correctly understand their meaning, you will see them as opportunities for receiving new blessings and deliverance you can receive in no other way."

And that's exactly what happened.  Did I love going through the trial?  Not exactly, but I did wonder at the time how God was going to work it all out.  Did I see it as an emergency at the time?  Yes.  I hate emergencies with my whole heart.  But I am learning to stop seeing everything as an emergency.  They always work out.  I just have to stay calm.  I tend to panic, but I am learning that helps no one. When I choose to trust Him instead then the miracles start to happen.  We 100% received "new blessings and deliverance" that could have only come from having gone through this experience.  That trial taught us so much, including a big lesson on real estate!  Because of that experience with the man who bought our house, we went and did the same thing he did all those years ago.  We learned to price houses with boldness.  When we built our house, we built it with him in the back of our minds.  We were always thinking, "What would he do?"  As a result we sold super high when we did sell the house we built.  We credit him for what we learned from him during that time.

So yes - 18 years ago, we got told to move.  Since then we've moved more than once and we've had multiple trials along the way, a few emergencies here and there, but we've learned to see them as "God's way of providing vessels for the Holy Spirit to fill".  And that's what I'm celebrating, that I've learned so much.  I'm celebrating 18 (well more than that of course....He's been faithful my whole life, but 18 in this case!) years of watching God move in all the trials.  If you go back in my journals, then today I'm probably celebrating another anniversary of God's faithfulness.  Truly every day is an anniversary of sorts, isn't it?

Now we're on the farm.  Are all the trials magically gone?  Hardly.  Every day seems to bring a new thing to trust the Lord for.  But yesterday when we were considering all the many things to pray about, I was reminded of the day and the significance of it.  I was able to look back and say, "Yes.  God brought us through that really hard time so many years ago.  He can do it again, can't He?"  So any new trial that pops us does not need to put me in the pit of despair.  I just need to reflect and that's the whole purpose behind anniversaries anyway - to reflect, thank God for His faithfulness and then remember all of that so that when new ones come we can rest, trust and not panic.  We sat as a family and I shared the story with the kids. We all went around thanking God for what He has done and will do with our family.  Not your typical anniversary for sure, but one I won't forget.

Tuesday 21 May 2019

God Fills in the Gaps

This was the devotional I sent to the homeschooling moms this morning.  It just shows how God knows all my concerns about my kids and how he sends people into my life at just the right time.....



God Fills in the Gaps - 

Again, reflecting on another speaker from OCHEC, Linda Crosby, I was reminded of how we need to be more reliant in our homeschools on God.  That might seem obvious.  You might think to yourself, "But I am reliant on God already!"  Then, why do we worry so much about how we're going to teach this subject, or deal with homeschooling highschool or all the other myriad of questions we haunt ourselves with?  It's because deep down we do not rely on Him 100%.  We are full of doubts and concerns.

This has been the case in my own life as well.  Not being a super science-y type of person, but having an engineering husband, I just assumed that my husband would take over in that area of our homeschool.  What I didn't account for was that he had to go to work!  It's fairly challenging for him to sit down and teach a science course when he isn't around all day.  Yay for science textbooks!  What he will do is answer questions when he comes home, but that still didn't take away how I would handle it once the kids got older.  This is where God started to fill in the gaps.  Where I was weak, we noticed God started to make a way.  

First we discovered Virtual Highschool.  Not only did this online, accredited school help our children get any credits they needed if they were to pursue post-secondary, it also took the burden off of me to try to teach my children subjects that were out of my skill set.  The bonus was that it came with 24/7 tutors that could answer any questions my children had, even basic ones like, "How do I start this question?"  I was so grateful.  Yes, it did cost some money, but they were still able to work at home and they discovered the power of independent learning and how to become self-motivated and self-pacing which will be a skill they will need all through life.

Another interesting way that God filled in the gaps for higher education came unexpectedly through my brother, a fairly recent believer who loves creation and science.  One day he took some time at a family event to speak with one of my kids.  He was amazed at how conversational this boy was at such a young age (thank you homeschooling!) and how much he understood about creation and the scientific side of creation.  At some point in their conversation my brother challenged him with an assignment on how God and science do not contradict one another.  I had no idea this conversation had gone on at the time, but soon after my brother started to email my son and myself and presented him with his first assignment.  My son was so excited to get that email!  I was so excited to get a copy of it!  I watched in absolute amazement how my young son ate this up and studied about it and quickly wrote my brother back with his answers to his assignment.  My brother then followed up with a "prize" (burgers for everyone!) which was a nice incentive as well.  Two more assignments followed shortly after that, again, my son ate up.  He was able to present them this past week at the NHEA Learning Fair which was another unique way for him to put all his short assignments together in one larger assignment, so God has also used NHEA in that way to also facilitate more learning!  It's amazing how God just takes over where I am so worried.

I thought about this later during Linda's talk.  If I had given those exact same assignments to my son, I don't think he would have embraced them nearly as much.  My brother is young, hip and cool.  Me, not so much (at least in my mind!).  To get those assignments from the cool uncle made my son feel so special.  I think God knew exactly what he was doing when he sent my brother into the picture.  If I had asked my brother to give my son those assignments, he would have absolutely been willing, but it came from his own thoughts (or, I should say, God's prompting....) What ended up happening is that my son pursued knowledge and ended up discovering so many interesting facts about creation.  He found out that all the world's theories about evolution and the big bang theory just don't hold water.  I am so grateful for the way God stepped in and used someone outside the immediate family to fill in where I could not.  I have seen this over and over in other children in my family, too.  Where I am weak musically, we have found fantastic music teachers.  Where I am unable to provide the work experience they need, another mom has stepped in and given them the exact work experience I could not.  Where I have felt worried about a certain child, my own brother or sister has stepped in to guide and give advice that was listened to with a little more openness.

All this to say, this can be and probably has been your experience to some extent already.  The homeschooling network of friends and family is meant to support one another and step in where you feel you are weak and at the same time use your strengths where others are weak.  As a giant body of Christ, He fills in the gaps through others, through unique situations, through curriculum, even through cool uncles.  Do not be overwhelmed with fear and worry about HOW God will fill in.  Instead watch for how He most definitely WILL fill in any gaps you are concerned about.  Linda kept trying to remind the homeschooling moms and dads that day that if God has called you to homeschool He will provide all that you need and when you need it.  What a great reminder for all of us.

Monday 13 May 2019

A Weekend to Remember

This weekend could not have been more packed.  While everyone is recovering from lack of sleep, lots of driving and tons of celebrating, I'm just wondering what's next?!  I wish EVERY weekend was like this last one!  In my mind it was the IDEAL weekend!

It started really on Wednesday when two of my kids headed up to Peterborough for the beginning of wedding celebrations.  That was super fun for them as they got to help set up for our friend's wedding.  We've known this girl since she was 12 and now, at the young age of 21, she was getting married to a super guy she met at camp.  My daughter was one of the bridesmaids and we were one of the few friends invited to the wedding.  She kept it very small and mostly family so we felt very honoured. 

We joined the party on Friday morning, leaving the younger four at home as, sadly, they didn't make the cut!  But they were staying with close buddies and I think that made up for it! 

I had anticipated crying at the wedding for sure, but had no idea how the waterworks were going to actually play out.  I'll never forget the first time I cried at at wedding.  It was my cousin's wedding.  I knew her a little, not super well, but we had been invited as a family.  When she walked down the aisle I found myself so emotional.  Thus began the new pattern for me and weddings.  When everyone stands up, I can't believe what that triggers in me.  I think it's the significance of standing, as we honour the bride and her family, in this case, her mother, who walked her down the aisle.  Her dad should have been the one, but he missed the opportunity of a lifetime due to bad choices he's made in his life.  I cried because of that.  I cried because her mom was still so close to her daughter that she was the privileged one.  I cried as I saw so many other significant people crying.  How can so many emotions come to someone all at once?!  It's almost better to just take things at face value and not project so much significance on to the whole process.  Why can't I just say, "Look!  There's  someone walking down the aisle in a church!" But I can't.  No.  Not me.  I instead have to see all the meaning behind it all which has me leaving the church feeling like I cried for hours.   And that was all in the first 2 minutes of the wedding.  It was going to be a long ceremony.  And it got worse....or better, I suppose, depending on how you look at it!

When the ceremony was over, there was much to celebrate.  It was so beautiful.  The reception was also full of tears as so many speeches were made.  Can I just say - I LOVE SPEECHES!  I know there are people out there who think they should be banned, but not me.  I love hearing how people know one another.  I love hearing how siblings love one another.  When the groom got up to thank his brothers, he fell apart like I've never seen a groom fall apart.  He was crying so hard, his wife had to read his speech.  It was actually such a beautiful moment.  Everyone was laughing so hard as he tried multiple times to get his emotions together, but he just couldn't.  It was at that moment, I knew she had married an amazing guy, who loved his family so much.  Speeches show the heart.  My friend's speech to her daughter also had everyone in tears, but another amazing opportunity for her to vocalize her love for her daughter.

There are weddings that cost thousands of dollars and then there was this one.  This bride did it all on her own (with the help of a few friends of course).  She made it so pretty and so simple.  All her decor was very low cost, but it made the little community hall in the backwoods so adorable.  There was no alcohol, no dancing.   Yet to me, it was the perfect event.  It was all done by 8:30 and people could go home and be in bed by 9!  We had 3 hours of driving ahead of us, but it was perfect!  The bride and groom didn't have to be exhausted and could actually be on their way to their honeymoon right away!  I think it will be hard to convince my kids to do this, but I'm going to highly recommend it!

Saturday was my mom's surprise 80th with 50 of her closest friends and family from many aspects of her life.  She was taken aback for sure, but felt loved and appreciated by all.  This was again one of my favourite types of events as I got to be with my children, except for my oldest writing a piano exam :( and I was able to introduce them to all sorts of people who wondered who they were.  It was a wonderful time of visiting and chatting with all my parents' friends who are also long time friends of mine. 

We did a couple of things that were very fun for my mom.  She had given me a few outfits that she used to wear when she was younger.  We had 3 of the granddaughters "model" them down the "catwalk" of the room and she then described each one and how she had been given it or where she wore it.  A literal walk down memory lane for her.  Then the highlight of that day was when all the grandchildren introduced themselves and then said one word that described my mom.  This was the ideal way to have a short "program" without the hours of speeches we would have all wanted to give.  My personal favourite was when my youngest boy who had been outside during all the words the other grandchildren had given, somehow had a sense to walk in at the very end.  He then proceeded to the middle of the room and I said, "Ok, Brock, introduce yourself...."  He stood and confidently concluded this part of the program in one sentence that summed it all up, "Hi.  My name is Brock.  I'm 7 and the youngest of the family and I JUST LOVE GRAMMY SO MUCH!"  It was the perfect ending!  Everyone ooohed and awwwwed.  Each grandchild had said so many great words, "Inspiring", "Encouraging", "Super spunky", "Funny", "Gracious"......they went on and on.....there were more than one person in tears as they listened to her be described by these sweet small, medium and large kids!

The party continued on for several hours at my sister's place which was perfect as there were places to play outdoors, downstairs and all over the house, but so much went on just on the couch, all cuddled together with everyone's chairs in a circle around that with so much talking that it was almost deafening at times with all the cousins, aunts and uncles in multiple conversations.  It was amazing to take it all in. 

Throughout the whole wedding, Grammy celebration and then dinner later at my sister's........there was this theme, this sense of spiritual legacy, God's Hand, His kindness and blessing felt so deeply.  At each event there was an older grandparent, or my brother-in-law/pastor, and then my dad, who gave a meaningful prayer at each event.  A non-believer would have noticed this perhaps and wondered if it meant anything at all or if it was just a tradition, but to a believing watcher, it was asking the God of Heaven to come down and personally touch and intervene - for the married couple and their future life, for my mom and her remaining years, and then later for our families by my dad for all of us, that God would continue to protect and guide.  It was so amazing to see that thread throughout each event.

Yes, these events were fun.  Yes, they were emotionally charged, but more than all of that they were so significant spiritually.  In each situation, God was present.  The marriage was a picture of how God loves His Bride, the church, so much that He was willing to die for Her.  Throughout the whole day God was given the glory for His role in their lives and how they want Him to be the center of their marriage.  That probably sounded so strange to the non-Christians present there that day.  In our family birthday celebration we weren't so much having a birthday party just for the sake of having a birthday party, but we were celebrating the life God has given my mom and how she has used to her life to give Him glory, how she represents a spiritual legacy to the future generations.  And prayer, so much prayer, throughout the two days.  God was called into each event so many times.  His presence could be felt constantly.  His blessing was poured down.

How am I supposed to start this week as a normal week?!  So much living was packed into two days.  By Sunday we were all in comas and I let the kids sleep in as long as they wanted.  Mother's Day was not perhaps the same as usual, but it didn't matter.  We had a great time reflecting with each child as they stumbled out of bed and then finally all together before some of them had to go to work.  We prayed again as a family thanking God for His grace in our lives and how obvious it was that He was in this whole weekend.  It was just an amazing experience.

The reality of doing laundry and cleaning is hard, but it was fully ignored for days. So as I go throughout all the regular stuff today I will be just thanking God for how He filled my gas tank up with all the wonderful conversations, the memories that were created, the prayers that were prayed and the relationships that were made....Life is so full and rich and filled with meaning.  I am so grateful for the celebrations that give us these opportunities to stop and just appreciate one another.  Besides the fact they are so fun for me (that is a big bonus), they are also so meaningful on so many levels.  I don't know if that is possible to appreciate without a spiritual lens, so I'm grateful for that, too.

Tuesday 7 May 2019

Conference Debrief, New Car and Spring Fever

Another great homeschool conference weekend.  I gave my talk on marriage and, again, loved every minute of it.  I had many sleepless nights over it, many mild panic attacks as I wondered if what I was saying - to be a counter-cultural wife - would get tomatoes thrown at me.  No one threw tomatoes, thank goodness.  I did get one text after from a friend who started right away to implement a few of my suggestions.  She served her husband some food.  He liked it.  He left the dish on the counter and walked away.  I'm not sure what she would have normally done, but I'm guessing she would have been so burned by that, but instead she said she "held my tongue, washed the bowl".  She continued to say "I'm determined to see this through".  Yay!  Maybe he didn't even thank her.  Maybe he didn't even notice she had done that simple act of kindness, but she noticed.  There was no tension that night in her home.  She was tired after the homeschool conference.  The last thing she felt like doing was serving her husband she told me.  But she did anyway.  They will probably never get a divorce.  It could stay a 7/10 marriage, but with these small acts of service, it just might turn out to be a 10/10 - and that's the goal!

I heard Joel Beeke speak as well.  Anyone who heard him speak would have been very convicted on all the areas in our homes where we need God's touch.  Men like that are rare, who know the Bible so well and implement Biblical truths in their homes.  We get so caught up in the world.  Hearing him speak made me remember how on guard we need to be to keep our homes from the worldly influence.

My oldest son also turned 20 - I can't believe I have 2 kids in their 20s now.  Impossible.  He picked up his first car on the weekend, too.  It's perfect - broken!!!  How else can you get a good deal on a car?  So now he'll be learning how to fix cars which is what I've always wanted my sons to learn, and daughters for that matter.  This means I will not be driving him every single day to Marineland which will give me back my summer.  Thank you Lord!

My other son hopes to buy a car soon, too.  That means we will have 5 cars lined up on our driveway.  How could we have ever done that if we stayed in the city?!

Now, back to real life - spring is going fast.  My husband is feeling his usual overwhelmed feelings that come from running a small farm - So much work to do, so many broken machines, so little time as he's at the college all day and into the evening.  Hard to manage.  So I pray for all the things he is struggling with and I lift him up because I can't do those things he needs done.  Hopefully it lifts the burden a little.  I no longer stress about them.  I thought that was more righteous to be stressed, too, but that just made for two stressed people!  No more.

Gotta go wake the masses......

Wednesday 1 May 2019

To My Mom - A Tribute

We have now entered birthday season!!!  My dad had his birthday last week, my youngest son's was on Sunday, my mom's 80th is today and my oldest son's is on Saturday, followed by my sister's on the 8th!!! 

I can't believe my mom is 80.  In fact, few can.  My mom is one of the most active women I know and not just physically (she still goes to the gym), but spiritually, relationally and is even quite hip in all the latest styles!  Last summer my sister and I met up with mom at a playground and she showed up in a short little mini skirt that she was wearing for her golf date later on....I'm telling you.  She looked awesome!   80?  No way.  No one would believe it.  If you got someone to draw an 80 year old lady they would probably draw a hunched over person with grey hair and walking with a walker.  My mom scoots around, stands straight, plays golf, travels the world, has places to go and drives a sports SUV.  Not your average 80 year old.

Everyone who knows her loves her and wants to be her friend.  I love that she has so many multi-generational friendships.  One of her close friends is a golfing buddy in her 40s and they hang out at the golf club like a couple of teen girls.  You would never know there is any age difference because my mom doesn't know she's 80!  She treats everyone the same and values all, no matter how old or young.  I love that about her.  People are drawn to her gentle spirit, kind voice, and easy-going personality.

Most of my friends know my mom as a mentor.  I've had more than one friend in my life find solace in my parents' home even when I no longer lived there as they came across hard times either in their marriage or just life's circumstances.  They knew they could rely on my mom for support, love and guidance.  They definitely found that in her.  It meant so much to me at the time that my parents were able to step in and help when I wasn't able to.  I was so proud!

She's the greatest prayer warrior you'll ever know.  My daughter recently caught up with my mom over Easter and when she saw her she asked my mom, "Do you want to know how you can pray for me?"  My daughter knew she could go to Grammy and ask for prayer.  She knew my mom wanted to know how to pray more specifically.  She knew she could count on my mom's prayers 100%.  We all know that.  We all know when my mom is praying.  Even when life is hard, her prayers are obvious.

She comes by it honestly.  There is portrait in her house of her mom that was painted by a good friend of her's.  It is my grandmother, her mom, leaning over her worn Bible with her hands folded in a praying position.  It is such a beautiful image.  May I be known as that same kind of prayer warrior that prays for the generations to come.  I know my grandmother was praying for me.  I know my mom is praying for me and my family.  I have already been doing this from the moment I found out I was pregnant with my first.  Maybe it's because I knew I had been prayed for as well.  I would say that maybe all grandparents and parents do this, but I'm not sure that is true.  So I know I'm blessed.

There are a few seniors in the retirement residence where my kids work that are in their 100s.  They also don't know they are 100.  That'll be my mom.  She doesn't seem to get older.  She takes care of herself physically and spiritually.  God just seems to pour blessings on her health and I'm so grateful for that.  So many don't get that opportunity to have input from a grandparent into the grandchildren's lives and that is a huge loss.  I only know that because I've benefited so much.  I don't take that lightly.  From watching my kids if I had a hair appointment to being at our home over a few days if we're away for a baby or a conference, my mom has always been reliable for care.  It is hard to stop my kids from saying how much they love her. (my dad, too....he'll be 80 next year....married an older woman!)  Their words for her go on and on....

We have other friends who don't come from believing backgrounds.  To not have that spiritual legacy must be so hard.  I am so grateful for the legacy I come from.  When I speak to young moms about this I explain my legacy, but then I explain if that isn't their case, to be the ones to start the legacy.  It is such an amazing thing to pass on to the future generations.

Mom is almost exactly 30 years older than me.  I will have my big birthday later on this fall.  Normally I would dread getting older, but if I live to be like Mom, than I'm ok with that.  She makes it look easy and has done it with grace and style.


This mini-tribute could go on and on.....I don't even know how to stop.  So many ideas keep coming into my head that I'm grateful for!  Thank you, Mom, for turning 80 and giving me a chance to express my gratitude. 

Love you, Mom.