The Value of the Gift of the Lists......

One Thousand Gifts…..( by Ann Voskamp)

I have had the sweet blessing of rubbing hearts with the blog of Ann Voskamp….www.aholyexperience.com.  She speaks often things deep in my heart but never put to my pen…but, through hers, I find release….and slices of joy…and, even at times, tears.

I not only love the way her words fit to paper…but, I most love the way her heart sees this life God has given us….A Holy Experience.

Her failings and fears,  which she so valiantly and frankly shares,  draw me in…she, too, has wonderings of her purpose here on earth but has chosen to see things “cup half full” rather than “life mourned sad”.

Her writings make me want to walk closer to God….head on His shoulder…hand on his arm…barefooted…so, Ann, I thank you.

I am very appreciative of her challenge to make a “list” of my ONE THOUSAND BLESSINGS….for, having taken up the challenge, I have been blessed.  It does as she says…causes you to view the love of God in the small details of our daily breaths…

I challenge each of you reading this to likewise take up the challenge (she even provides lovely lists on which to write).

If not for this challenge, I would have missed…

“son dancing in kitchen”

“husband’s whispered, Do you know the depth to which I love you?”

“daughter’s call to thank me for taking care of a matter for her..Thank you Mom”

“son’s asking, “Mom, can I have a hug?”

I knew these little blessings were gifts from God to make life more precious, but there is something tenderly sweet when you write them on a list you can review…it draws me to my knees in thanksgiving….

God’s gentlest love, in the details of my life makes it make sense….the “whys” of my life…

We walk not alone…but with one another in this journey…because next to God, the only thing that really matters are not “things” but our relationships, shared happy, shared sad, shared.

Shared.

Using the gifts God knitted inside us at birth to help our “others” walk this life…

I think of some friends who knew long ago their gifts…and, who use them to His Glory!

My Mother- loving….unconditionally as only my mother can love

My Sister, Frankie – being a beacon of light to students in a Godless world

Mrs. Melissa L.– Faithful, loving, tender friend

Ms. Laura – lifeline to managing life and broken hearts

Miss Patty – tending the hearts of wee ones year after year after year

Mrs. Helen – listening to those who are searching, lost and needy with compassion and non-judgment,  friendship sweet

Mrs. Suzanne – blessing you at just the moment you need a blessing

Mrs. Dianne J. – prayer warrior…wise advisor…faithful friend

Dr. Jackie – using God’s tools to heal and comfort the sick

Ms. Katie – living her gratefulness and faith in growing her babies

Mrs. Kris – Godly example of selflessness on a daily basis…and, with a joyful heart

Mrs. Cheryl – Godly mother I was blessed to watch out my kitchen window as she loved her babies

Mrs. Melissa B – who uses her gift of compassion and love to encourage and ‘flip the dog” of our lives

Mrs. Tammy –who pens her pain and joy in such a way as to bless us and challenge us

Beth….my first friend to find heaven’s gate…who daily reminds me of how precious is this life

And, the list could go on and on..

And, it does,

Because I have started as well, a List of THOSE who have blessed me in my walk here on earth…

And, by doing so, have been amazed at heart, at soul,  at the angels God has placed in my 49 years, six months, without whom, I could not have survived…

Or thrived

Or seen so sweetly the face of God…

~Sweet Blessings,

lesa sheryl young,

If...a child lives with acceptance and friendship, she learns to find love in the world

In every home I have lived in since my daughter, Madison’s birth, I have had this cross-stitched verse located in a prominent place. It was lovingly made by my sister, Frankie, who is a master cross-stitcher.   I have no clue how long it took to stitch each tiny little word…no clue the level of difficulty this particular piece earns (appears very complicated to me).

I see many things when I look at this picture, full of words…full of characters…

First, I envision my sister sitting in her chair, bag of cross-stitch goodies lying next to her lap, strings of green, blue and pink lying ready to be threaded into the needle to become its designated word, rug, book or horse.

I see my sister’s hands…experienced, quickly crossing back and forth from top to bottom…the tension held just so on each stitch so that the final picture will be perfect.

I wonder if she knew when she picked this particular piece how frequently it would be read…daily at times…by me…

Did she choose this because she knew what she stitched would be the lessons I would need to learn as a parent?   

Did she stitch it because she knew the words to be true…had her own life been filled with the lessons of these words?

I never asked her.

She never volunteered her reason.

But, I can tell you….what she stitched so gently and painstakingly for my first born has been read if not daily, almost daily (with the exception for a small season)…what she took the time to put together and frame has had a great impact on me and my family.

At first, the framed gift of love was hung in my daughter’s nursery…then, when my boys came along, it was hung in their room.  I read it silently and at times I read it out loud…to myself, to my children…and even on an occasion or two, to a friend.

For a small season, when we moved to the town we now live in, it was put into storage.

I regret that.

I had meant to dig it out and re-hang it in a place of honor, but life and time got away from me.

I regret that as well.

In 2008, I was diagnosed with breast cancer….

Cancer took me to the deepest waters of my soul…it caused me to take a sincere look at those things which caused me to struggle….

It forced me to look into the mirror at the woman I was..

And, the woman I was not.

And, for some reason, it dawned on me that our precious “IF” cross-stitched poem was missing…I went through our whole house looking for this icon of truth which had guided our family for many years until I found it…

It was wrapped lovingly, but dust had found it anyway…leaving its dirty reminder that when something is stored, it cannot be used…and it begins to decay..

I spent a whole weekend cleaning it…the glass, the frame, the back…until it became itself again…ready to be hung…

In its place of honor.

I smile…

At times I laugh…because where I have hung it may not seem very honorable to you, but to me….it is in a place I go to many times a day…I see it first thing in the morning, several times during the afternoon and last thing before I go to sleep at night.

I have read it standing up….I have read it “sitting down”.

Where I used to place books to read while in this room, I removed all books and placed this wise friend.

Where it used to have many neighbors hung beside it, it now stands alone on the wall…its place of honor secure..

I love these words my sister wisely knew to put into my life.

I read them daily because I KNOW them to be true.

Thank you, Frankie….for a gift which has blessed me for over 21 years….

Blessings,

Lesa

Children Learn What They LiveBy Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Copyright © 1972 by Dorothy Law Nolte

Home is Where You Go to see Life Through the Eyes of a Child

Home is Where You Go to see Life Through the Eyes of a Child….

I was given a wonderful gift last week by a sweet friend of mine.  She knows I love children…she knows I love the written word and she knows I love The Bible.

The gift was “The Jesus Story Bible (where every story whispers His name)….I can just imagine the light in her children’s eyes she starts “whispering His name”.

There is something precious in the way a children’s Bible brings to its reader the Word…

For example,

“The Bible isn’t a book of rules or a book of heroes.  The Bible most of all is a Story.  It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasures.  It’s a lovely story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne – everything- to rescue the one He loves.  It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!”

So, right off the bat, her children know….

This is a story….

But, this is the Truth.

“In the beginning, there was NOTHING.  Nothing to hear.  Nothing to feel.  Nothing to see. 

 (I can just imagine sweet friend’s voice…whispering about the “nothing” and then….boldly stating”)

BUT GOD HAD A PLAN.

“I’m going to make E V E R Y T H I N G!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God spoke.  That’s all.  And whatever He said, it happened!!

(can’t you just see her little ones eyes big, mouths open, hearts ready like little sponges to soak up His Story?)(can’t you just hear the inflection in sweet friend’s voice as she BOLDLY declares the power of our Great God?)

And then, in a tinkling, sing-songy way…

God said, “Hello Light” and light shone in the darkness.

God said, “Hello sea, Hello sky” and great space opened.

God said, “hello land” and there came cliffs and mountains.

“Hello trees, grass and flowers…Hello stars, sun and moon”

“Hello birds, fish and animals”  “You’re good, God said.

And, they were”

I LOVE this STORY!!!!!!!!

And, I especially love it as told to the souls of our little ones….who fully trust the “story teller” a/k/a Mom in this case.  They not only will soak up His Word in their hearts, but they will believe every word they are told because of who is telling them…and, how she is whispering His name.

“God saw all that he had made and He loved them.”

“But God saved the best for last.  From the beginning, God had a shining dream in His heart.  He would make people to share his forever happiness.  So, God breathed life into Adam and Eve.”

“When God opened their eyes, the first thing they saw was God’s face”…..

And, when God saw them he was like a new Dad. 

You look like me, He said.  You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever made.”

God loved them with all of His heart.

AND, they were lovely because He loved them!!!”

I love the thought of Sweet Friend sitting on her couch with her three little gifts from God…one on each side and one on her lap helping to flip pages.

She knows that her time to read is brief.  They have the attention span of about 30 seconds J and what she has to say is important.

Imparting eternal truth to pure hearts in a brief amount of time takes skill…

No, it takes more than skill….

It takes great love.

Love for her children.

Love for her dreams for those children.

Love for her parents who did the same for her.

Love for her husband.

But, more significantly..

Love for Her Father…the one in Heaven…the One who gave us these great truths for a purpose and a reason.

She understands the “value of the gift” of this particular story telling…

She understands the three blank canvasses set before her waiting for anyone and anything to paint their story on the pure white surface of her children’s heart.

She “gets it” that this alone time she has with her babies is precious moments given to her to stroke great brushes of God’s truth onto their souls.

For some day, she will not be the only artist/writer/storyteller in their lives. 

So, she very gently, very sweetly, but mind you……

Very purposefully paints the picture of God’s story in their hearts, in their minds and on their souls while she can…

And, she does it very tenderly…

And, she does it very frequently…

Whispering His name…

Painting their canvas..             

As only she can do…

Their Mama…

One of God’s greatest story tellers.

Blessings,

Lesa

(Sweet friend….what you do on a daily basis matters……it just does)

Home is Where You Go to Watch God Answer Your Prayers

Home is Where You Go…..to Watch God Answer Your Prayers….

I love it when God’s presence is black and white in life….When you cannot call your life’s happenings “God-Incidences” but rather can claim them as direct answers to your quiet prayers.

When there is no doubt….no wonder…no “fork in the road”…

Yesterday, I took my daughter to college for the second time in her life.  The first time we traveled West.  Prayers were laid daily at God’s feet that her Western Experience would be a good one…

I never could grow in comfort that she was where God wanted her to be….but, it is her life…her decision…so, she went.  And, her Dad, her brothers and I took her.  I remember so much about that weekend…the hopes, the fears…the prayers.  I even remember the sun setting in the West and pulling hope from the beauty of the soft pinks, oranges and yellows…praying and praying all would go well.

Her room was adorable….her roommate seemed “ok”…the school itself was wonderful..

But, when we drove off, it didn’t feel “God blessed”….

I kept my thoughts to myself.  I am just her Mom.  God can take anything and make it beautiful..wonderful…great.

And, I knew HE was with her….

Fast forward one year….

Yesterday, Madison, her “ladder Dad”, Ian, and I drove her the 35 minutes East to college.

We took the traditional photos in front of our home with Ian, me, her brothers and even her Dad.

Very different experience.

As we set East, I prayed….

I live in prayer for all of my children, but for my daughter, I feel immersed.  

The experience was a quiet one.

We were met at her dorm by tons of college kids who loaded 90% of her belongings to her room before we could even get to the front to register.  They were organized, ready and willing to serve us.  It made us smile.

They seemed to genuinely be ready to serve…glad to have my daughter join them.  You could feel God’s presence.

We go to the desk to register…Madison is a little nervous…it is a big step to return to something where you had once struggled.  I admire her for this ability.

I prayed…Lord, I know you are always with us…please let  your presence be evident in a “black and white way”.   And, HE did.

Madison was registered by very kind and sweet people….they made her (and us) feel wanted.  The smile on her face was priceless…it was genuine….

Through her nervousness, she walked…and, all along her path, God put kind people to encourage her.

Her RA, “Courtney”…appeared almost immediately.  A very sweet, spritely young woman, she welcomed us with great spirit…laughter filled the dorm room…it was a sweet welcome. 

God….thank you!

I will carry in my heart forever one of the very first images I had of the room…..right as you walk in the door on the white shelf lay a Bible…not just any Bible….”The Extreme Teen” Bible.  And, it was not a graduation gift from a few months prior.  It was a well-worn, well-used, somewhat tattered and very much appeared to be loved Bible…

I smiled.

God….thank you!

I have an Extreme Teen (actually, three)….maybe I need to be reading from that BibleJ

I didn’t take The Bible as a miraculous sign…I do not cling to that type of thinking.  What it was to me was a direct response to a humbled Mama’s prayers…

We did the standard “college move” processes….

Decorate the room…

Stock the fridge….

Check out the empty mailbox…and beg for mail (If you would like her address, message meJ)

And, of course, remind your parents that you will soon be needing some new clothes for the quickly arriving FALL weather!

We meet her new roommate…a very sweet young woman…a little nervous as well.

We meet her Mama and some relatives/friends.  Equally nice and kind.

It is the kind of experience you hope to have....relaxed, welcoming….

We go to lunch (she was successful in a goal she set for heself (Grammy, you would have been proud)….and, we return……

On our way in the door, we meet another friend who Madison went to HS with.  Very Very sweet girl…she loans us her “tool box” and we are able to finish our room decorating and set up.  I am impressed with the kindness she displays to Madison.  And, grateful…that she would spend time giving Madison the “how tos” from her own personal expertise (this is her second year at the school). 

Thank you….God

And, finally, as we wrap up Madison’s “move in day”….we head to the front door of the dorm… 

On our way out the door, three young women (their names elude me, but I will never forget our conversation)….introduced themselves to Madison, Ian and me.  They gave a little of their history, their campus experience…the location of important places on campus…they took our photo…

And, they invited Madison to go to church with them.

And, I believe she will.

Thank you, God.

That while you do not always so clearly make your presence known…sometimes, just as we need you to…

You do.

Blessings,

Lesa

                            

Love Is In The Details......as God would have you to Love....

Love is in the Details….

I don’t know who to credit with this quote…I am not even sure when it was that I first heard this quote..

I do remember my sister,  Jill,  explaining to me that her wedding was “all about the details because “love is in the details” ….and, she truly did have an exceptionally lovely, down to the smallest detail wedding…I was touched by her attention to everything and amazed at her organizational skills.  She is still like this with her little family…..her love is evident…

Tough, though, if you are not an overly detailed person, which I am not.

I am a generalist….I see things in BIG picture format.  If I get caught with too many details, it bogs me down and I cannot get anything accomplished. 

Some of my friends will laugh at the above comment, because they find me very detail-oriented….even today, I keep a monthly calender for both my current family and for my ex-husband to share so that he is kept abreast of our children’s activities.  I do this from love because I care that he is able to be just as involved as he wants to be and chooses to be.

I have organized baseball teams as “coach’s wife” and school home rooms as “class mom”.  I have written PKU newsletters which went across the entire state of Kentucky, assisted in lobbying for PKU fundraises and even legislative bills.  I have managed a home of five (although I failed at being tidy) for 26 years. 

But, it did not come easy to me.  I struggled.  I felt like Paul….”I do do what I don’t want to do and don’t do what I want to do”……because women seem to be judged on how well they can organize their families, I worked like Martha Steward striving to make homemade foods for my daughter, daily iron my husband’s shirts to starchy perfection, vacuumed the kitchen at midnight, cut my children’s hair to save money, I made sure our clothes in the closet were organized from lights to darks and that our bathroom towels were folded in the exact tri-fold that all good women did.

I rarely said no, and then felt guilty.  I often said yes, and then felt exhausted.

It exhausts me to read this.

And, then one day, it all changed…..

I do not fully remember what caused the change….

But, I am grateful.

I remember distinctly asking God….how can I be the “me” you created me to be and yet show love to my family?

And, he answered…..Love Them….as only you can…

Which is such a “God-incident’ thing since I always signed my letters to children and at times even my siblings…ILYAOYMC” OR “ILYAOYBSC”

I love you as only your mama can….I love you as only your big sister can….

And, that was the beginning of change for me.

Yes, I do think love is in the details….I think my sister learned early on what I had not figured out yet….

Love is in the details as YOU are able to love.

For me, it meant giving up organizing things for others and focusing instead on my own family….

It meant seeking out my God-given gifts and using them in a detailed way.

Thus, I went back to writing notes.  Many of you may have received a note from me (if not, I apologize.  I probably wrote it but failed to get it to the mailbox), I began cooking little meals and delivering them to your door, I sat more in my “mama chair” with my babies and rock and sang to them.  I let the laundry, vacuuming and house work go and climbed the Magnolia tree with my boys.  I bought a subscription to the Lexington Children’s Theatre and took my daughter on Sundays.  We grew a garden together.  We laid out on the concrete in our driveway and watched the stars together.

Our motto became “Honey…dream big dreams, because if Jesus lives in your dreams, your dreams will live”….(Thank you Eva Self)

We initiated “family goals”…..and loved to mark them off when we were successful in achieving them.  We still do this…it is just a little different now.

We fed the ducks, ate watermelon like pigs and stank like dogs from playing in the mud.

We had fun.

Now, obviously, we didn’t get this perfect or some things in our lives would be very different….

·                                 But, as I tell the children….and, as a dear friend, Nancy wrote me just yesterday, “

·                                

o                                                        “Isn't it funny how we put some people on a pedestal and think somehow that they are different than the rest of us? I am just a forgiven saint walking the narrow road to heaven and trying to show others the way. We all have lumps and bumps...and stumble from time to time.”

While I don’t think anyone would ever dare put me on a pedestal….and, it saddens me to think that I am not necessarily one I would recommend anyone follow, she got it right..

“I am a forgiven saint….walking the narrow road…trying to be a light where I can…trying to be authentic as I go….never judging…

Just loving…

Loving as God has made me to love…

What a relief….

I can be myself….love the way I am able and that is A-OK with God……

Love IS in the details……

As YOU and I are able to love….

Blessings on your day,

ILYAOIC,

Lesa

On Optimism....

“Becoming familiar with optimism, reflecting on it, and making it a priority to become more optimistic are powerful life tools.  Seeing optimism as a possibility, instead of dismissing it as naiveté’, gives you more options.  It allows you to know that very often you have a clear choice about how to respond or think about something in your life.  It’s an attitude or outlook that nudges your perception one way or the other.  choosing optimism over pessimism can sometimes make the difference between success and failure, winning and losing, being neutral and getting depressed, moving  forward or giving up.”

-          What about the Big Stuff

I remember well sitting in a church service listening to one of our ministers talk about Optimism.  He explained that in our world today, authority seems to be give more frequently to those who are negative, pessimistic, or serious  and that those who are optimistic are seen as naive….

It’s is frequently true.  He had us think about those who had authority around us….and, I confess that several, in fact, most of those I thought of,  I would have also included as negative.  While, those who were optimistic, were loved and cared about, but were not considered authorities.

He challenged us to “think differently”…..and, I have tried to do that in my life.

I earnestly believe that if you are with someone long enough, their good will eventually come out.  This is one of my favorite quotes…and life truths.  I do believe this. 

And, the more I believe this, the more I seek those eternal optimists to keep myself and my children blanketed with optimism.

I have seen negativity destroy things…I have seen optimism build things.

It is an amazing difference.

I have a friend, Monica, who is a die-hard optimist…..and, I confess that at times, her optimism grated on my nerves (during my non-optimistic days)….:)  Sorry Monica…don’t think you knew that.  But, I can tell you that when my daughter was (and is) in need of a good dose, it is frequently Monica who gets the call, text or email to reach out to Madison.   There are others…some who are quietly optimistic, giving glimmers of their positivity in their actions, there are some who are boisterous in their optimism and I am amazed at what they accomplish even in the face of die hard negative-ators.

God bless the optimistic.  Quiet or boisterous…they change lives in a positive way.

I think Jesus was an optimist.  I know he believed in obedience and that is why he followed the path to the cross.  But, just as surely as he believed in obedience, I have faith that he was optimistic in the value of his brothers and sisters here on earth.  He believed we were worth the sacrifice…he believed we had hearts worth saving….

And to me, what greater sign can there be of our optimism?

To save our souls as in Jesus’ case?

To save our hearts, our feelings, our self confidence?

To see the good in us when all we see is bad?

To put faith in another when they do not have faith alone?

My husband tells me frequently…and, in fact, writes frequently to me that he will always

    “stand in front of, stand beside, and stand behind me”…..

Not in naïve belief that all I think and say and do is perfectly correct or right, but in love and belief that I am doing my best to be my best in search of HIS best all the days of my life.

THAT is powerful…to be loved unconditionally…accepted unconditionally and stood by unconditionally.

In optimistic faith

I appreciate that minister pointing out the fact that being optimistic (in others, in life….in FAITH) is healthy…because the world would have us believe otherwise.

I am grateful for the “Monicas” in my life…for they remind me of the gift of optimism.

I am committed to spending the balance of my days seeking out the optimistic…and weighing heavy the words of those who are not.

I believe that starts at the cross…

Blessings,

Lesa

                                                                                               

Home is Where You Go...To See Yourself reflected in Your Husband's Eyes

Home is Where You Go…

    To See Yourself Reflected in Your Husband’s Eyes….

 

I haven’t written about my husband before…for many reasons, but…

It is time….

Ian gave me this plaque after we married to remind me on a daily basis what he sees when he looks at me, my heart, my soul.

He knows I love words.

He knows I love seeing words in black and white. 

He knows I believe you are what you read.

He knows that what you are told you are plays a great impact on who you believe yourself to be, especially when it comes from those who love you most. Especially when you are told these things daily.

Words can build.  Words can destroy.

Precious…Mommy…Tender…expressive.

Priceless, valuable, petitioner, pure.

God’s.

God’s girl.  God’s woman.  God’s child.

It melts my heart when I read this.

It touches my soul.

It draws joy into me to think he views me in these ways.

Especially touching is that he daily reminds me that this is who I am in God’s eyes…my creator who has known me since before I was formed in my mother’s womb.

He made this plaque for me as a gift…to remind me that in God’s eyes…through His view…from God’s perspective…

I am His.  I am good.  I am worthy.  I have value.

Priceless.

Sacrificially priceless..

Jesus worthy….Spirit Given…God blessed priceless.

While I have always known this…for my parents taught me this as well, over the years, I had lost that knowledge…buried deep.

Like a treasure, Ian put together this sweet gift to remind me of who I am, can be, will be..

A small gift in form, but a huge gift in its ability to impact.

“Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, forgets what he looks like.”  James 1:22

I wonder how many of us “forget what we look like” due to others words about us, to life, to challenges….and, would that we were told the precious about us, how much more joyful and different would we be?

 I am grateful that I have a husband who has helped me remembers whose I am…How I look through HIS eyes and through his (Ian’s) eyes…

It helps me remember.

My children read this plaque…and, they get to see how I am viewed by my husband.  They look at me through a more sweetly defined perspective…

It has made a difference in my life..this small gift.

And, for that I would add another word.

Grateful…

Blessings,

Lesa

Home is where you go TO HAVE YOUR HEART TOUCHED

I had a heart-touching moment this week….A sweet young friend of mine texted me to let me know she was getting baptized and that she wanted to be sure I was there…

Humbling to be so invited….even more humbling to watch a young woman I love so much to commit her life to Christ with such thought and purpose.

My friend and I have had some deep conversations….frank sharing from her to me.  Authentic, truth-sharing talks.

I love this young woman.  I love that she has chosen to live for Christ in an environment where it would be so easy to live for the world.

I love her because she knows the path of Christ will not be easy.

I love her honesty about how hard it is to be a teenager today.

I love her frankness about life….

I love that at her young age she acknowledges she cannot do this thing we call “life” alone.

She recognizes that she needs the power of Christ.

She needs the authority of her parents.

She needs the accountability of her siblings.

She needs the strength of her church family.

She needs the surrounding of herself by her God-seeking friends.

She may be young…but, she has the important thing figured out….

And, while I may be thirty-five plus years older than her, I have learned much, been humbled much, been touched much by her heart.

I am so grateful to have this young woman in my life.  I know that it is not accident that she is there at this particular time…for this particular season.

Knowing her has made me take stock of my own life…

And, isn’t that part of God’s purpose for each of us?

To help one another to bring us closer to God…..

Sweet friend, I am so proud of you. Proud of your stand for Christ…proud of your tender heart…

May God bless and bless each of your days.  May He give you strength to live daily for Him.  May he help you always to remember for Whom it is that you live.

I love you….and, I love your great heart..

Blessings,
Lesa

(submitted with permission of Ms. Venecia Proctor.  Congratulations and Blessings, Sweetie!!!)