As Only Your Mama Can….                                        January 1, 2014

 It’s  New Year….A New Day Dawning….

Sis, for this year’s blog, you have requested I share with you 52 weeks of “Life Lessons” which I have learned in hopes that you might learn from them as well.  And, thus, I will change my original plans (or add them in as well) and do as you have requested.  It is a humbling request you make of me….but, share with you I will.  Just remember, these words are simply my personal perspective.  That does not guarantee their rightness or their worthiness, merely their mama-ness.

I love you.  As only your Mama Can.  ILYAOYMC.  Always have.  Always will.

Life Lesson Number 1:  Finish Strong

Easy it is to start things.  The excitement of a New Year, a new baptism, a new marriage, a new house, a new baby, a new way of getting healthy….I have experienced these and many other firsts and with each one came an unbelievable and almost other-worldly joy to my heart, my soul, my life.  And, I think I started each of these experiences very strongly and very well.

I love the beginnings of most things….I really do. 

I typically start things with great vision and great heart.  I am actually quite good at starting things.

But, where I struggle (and, in this I am not alone) is finishing what I start.  The reasons for this are varied….days in the year pass by in boring repetition, I lose heart in trying to live a Godly life because it is HARD and I fail, I end a marriage because I did not know how else to address my serious marital issues, I forget the miracle of 112 Gatewood and how it really is a gift from God that we live here.  I promise God to keep Him in the center only to fail in that over and over and over.  I start out a year promising to be a healthier individual only to give up after a few weeks because I do not have the ability to…

Finish strong.

Madison…..read these words and heed them now….

Learn to finish strong.

And, let me be clear.  That does not mean you will finish perfectly.  Nor does it will mean you will be perfect as you finish. 

That is where I get tripped up…..I have long held the notion that I am unworthy unless I am perfect.  Some of that comes from my upbringing, some from others’ expectations of me, but most of it comes from me…myself…I

I am to blame for this perception.  And, I am the only one who can change my perception.

Thus, I do. I have. I will.  It is a process.

And, I am succeeding.

Because, at the end of the day…and, frankly, at the beginning of the day, there is no perfection to be found in me.

Or, in you.

Only in HIM

I read something from Uncle Bruce right before Facebook fasting started which he forwarded from a friend.

“Retweeted Tim Keller Wisdom (@DailyKeller):

"The determining factor in your relationship to God is not your past but Christ’s past; not your record, but Christ’s record." 

Baby, this is powerful.  Read it again.

When you realize that the whole purpose of our existence is to give glory to God and to bring others to Him….

When you realize that nothing you can do is ever perfect enough, good enough, Godly enough…

When you understand that that is “okay”….because….

At the END of your day….your year….your life….

Jesus stands in front of you, beside you and behind you, making pristine your life because when God looks at you….

He sees you through HIM…..

Jesus

And, in the so-doing…..and only in the so-doing, you become perfect.

Knowing this is freeing….because you can remove perfection from your life’s expectations….and simply do your very best to…

Finish Strong…

Doing your current best, living your current best, loving your current best…and continually striving and growing and leaning on Him…

Walk Daughter….walk His direction….and do your best to…

Finish Strong.

ILYAOYMC,

Mama

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poppy’s Gift…..

To your brothers from your Poppy……a gift of love and legacy

No words needed……

December 25, 2013

 

 "Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,  so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

I Thessalonians 4:10-11

December 27, 2013

Sweet Daughter....

I want to include this in your blog so it will make it into our "book" for the year....

Proof that God makes all things beautiful.....even things we may not understand.....

And, the human heart....a daughter's heart.....is capable of loving beyond all measure....

A Daughter's Love.....
           
     Blood does not define it...
       Time does not limit it...
     Man cannot explain it...
       
                 But

     God can gift it....
         Life can span it....

And, the Spirit can multiply it in ways only God can understand.....

The human heart has the capacity to love....beyond measure....

And, that is evidenced in yours....

 

ILYAOYMC,

Mama

As Only Your Mama Can……

December 27, 2013 

Most days I am grateful……

But……some days, my soul sings with gratitude which no words can ever express. 

Today is such a day…..

God has given me so much….His son being the greatest gift of all.

So, how very precious is it that having given me the greatest gift of all….He still gifts me with you, your sister, your brothers..Ian…my family?

Priceless…..

I love you…as only your Mama can…

And, the little glimpses into your heart of gratitude…..well, they, too, make me sing…..

Blessings Sweetpea….

Mama

 

 

 

 

As Only Your Mama Can….

December 26, 2013

Sweet daughter….it is 3:54 am…the house is quiet and I cannot sleep.  You lay slumbering in your room all snuggled up in your big bed, blond hair flowing across your pillow just like it has done for the past 23 years.

And, I am grateful.

For so many things…..so many blessings….so many promises yet to come.

God willing.

God takes us through seasons in our lives….

And, He has laid upon my heart during this season in my own life the preciousness of time….

I am reminded constantly of how sacred are our days….

Every single one of them….

And, you know sweetheart….what I am seeing, sensing, learning is that while there is great fun to be had in the major events in our lives…..yes, there is….

It is those wee, quick, sweet little moments which bring such sweetness to my own days…

 

                            Holding my Daddy’s hand during church and listening to him sing….

My Mama sweet little kisses directly upon the lips, a gift only a mother can give….

A Brother’s writing to our beloved Daddy, your Poppy pouring out in words his love

The peace that comes from walking from bedroom door to bedroom door and finding the      babies God gave me snuggled up close and warm

It’s the gifting to another the perfect reminder of what they have meant to you in your life

And, the husbands warm hand over yours as you pray together for God’s peace and mercy

I find it in the listening to my sister talk about the little babies she so carefully nurtures each day as she works to keep them alive and thriving

And, in the nephew whose greatest teen-age hope is to be loved and accepted and allowed to grow into the man God calls him to be

It’s having the ability to live in the moment…. 

One thing I have grown to love about my new profession….my new career path…

My new calling….

Is that to live in your “present” is a great gift you can give to yourself and is in direct obedience to the way God calls us to live.   Don’t get me wrong…you have to live for the future and make plans and have goals.  You have to have forward momentum to move through your days and Godly vision for the possibilities of your life.  And, you need to look back upon where you have been and how that has impacted you both good and bad.  To remind yourself of what has worked in your life and where you may want to make changes and learn from your mistakes…

But, most importantly, you need to live in the present….the here….the now.

God asks us to do this…

It is required…

And, there is a reason He asks this of us….for it is in learning to live in the present moment that we draw our closest to our Heavenly Father….

God is in our past….and you can look back and see Him….and learn

God is in our future…and, you can look forward to greet Him….and grow faith

But, God LIVES in our current moment drawing us close to Him and in so doing, bringing into our lives the fullness that He has for us……and live

He shows us in our present moments the “plans He has made for us”….when He “knitted us in our mother’s womb”……

So, as we head into a new day, I pray He grows within your heart a strong and steady calling of your name….Madison…daughter….precious Jewel…

And, I hope you will listen…and walk in His direction…

And, live each moment for Him…..in faith and joy and confidence that the One who made you…

made you good….

And, He has a purpose for your days…for the season of your life….

ASK Him to show you……and walk His direction.

ILYAOYMC,

Mama

A Time for Everything

 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

 What do workers gain from their toil?  I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.  He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

 

 

As Only Your Mama Can….

December 24, 2013

Dearest Daughter,

It is early at our home, the silence is sweet as your Ladder and brothers lie sleeping upstairs and as you lay sleeping at your home.  There is a light snow upon the ground….God’s little reminder that He makes all things beautiful.  I can hear my South Carolina and Indiana wind chimes sweetly singing through the windows both at the front and back of our home and I  can see the twinkle-lights on the poles of our porch….I am reminded that we are to “sleep in heavenly peace”…..

I hear “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” playing in the background….

And, memories flood my heart full to bursting…..when I was young…of trips to Oklahoma to spend time with family we rarely see but who we hold close to our hearts.  The laughter fills my soul…..

The many times it was just my Mama and Daddy and the “five” of us….Christmas Carols playing and Christmas goodies baking…my Daddy and brothers chopping ice for the cattle and Mama and I making food and wrapping gifts listening to Andy Williams, Peggy Lee and most especially Bing Crosby.

Later still, sleeping on the couch waiting for my own little children to scurry down the stairs all excited to see what Santa brought this year….waiting….waiting…for the squeals of joy and the laughter and the excitement of innocent excitement that Santa’s reindeer ate the food we left for them and that Santa ate our home-made cookies.

Christmas has a way of bringing out the tenderness within a person’s heart….the goodness and sweetness and preciousness of family and friends and sharing and caring….

At the center of the heart of Christmas is the innocent love of children….who point the way to the ultimate heart of Jesus…

No matter what life has offered that year…..by the time you return once again to Christmas….you are back to the beginning of the baby who brought meaning to the holiday….

CHRISTmas…..

The older I grow…the more Christmases I celebrate, the more I come to realize the truth in the statement….

“Whenever I give….whenever I love….It’s Christmas”

 

Christmas is not just one day a year…It is everyday….

Because it is every day that we are here….because He was there….

When you have as your daily purpose to live for Him…..everything else in your life has purpose.

So….my prayer for you today, and for every day this upcoming year is that every day will hold all the blessings and sweetness and magic of Christmas…that in your heart will live the constant reminder of a wee little fellow who came unwrapped in things of the world to remind us of the sacred wrappings which come only from heaven.

And, that this constant heart reminder is not by chance, but on purpose….a daily choosing of your own to stay close to December 25^th each and every day….

That the magic of this day lives deep within your heart and fills your soul to overflowing….

Every day…

So, before your feet hit the floor in the morning….as you walk through out your day….when you go to lay down your head at night….

Chose CHRISTmas….

I Love You As Only Your Mama Can,

Mama

 

 

 

As Only Your Mama Can…….

December 22, 2013 

Dearest Daughter,

I am no different than most individuals, as I head into a New Year, I dream of growing into a more Godly, more focused, more intentional woman.  I hope toward greater health, greater spirituality and greater personal fortitude.

I hope for change…

I read yesterday about how difficult it is to make changes in your life…how letting go of bad habits and drawing on new ones was almost impossible, about how seriously hard it is to change….and, to remain changed for the better. 

How challenging, trying, demanding, arduous, tough, tiring, strenuous, grueling….if not impossible it is to become different…to grow holy.  And, how there is really only one way to have any hope of being a more disciplined, focused, self-controlled person….

And, that is to stay close to HIM…..

The author offered a truth I had not thought of for a while…and, that is that “self-control” is a fruit of the spirit…it’s not that I had forgotten that truth, it’s that I have not studied it in so long that I have removed it from the forefront of my thinking…but, if you truly want to change, you need a spirit within you which is active and alive and working and you need to be seeking growth in the fruits of the spirit….

And, I know this to be true because in my 51 years, those in which I put God first every day were the ones which enabled me to be disciplined and self-controlled (even in the darkest storms of life)……

There is a Holy fortitude within you when you are armor-ing up each and every day…starting before your toes hit the floor in the morning until your head hits the pillow at night….there is a peace which endures and feeds your heart, there is a calm disposition which comes over your mindset and a joy which fills your soul….

“As Only He Can”

What stands in the way of my changing, growing, developing into the woman He calls me to be and that I wish to be?

My failure to be His….

Moment by little moment, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year…

As I reflect on my life, I see hills and valleys where I have been strong in Him and happy…and valleys where I have been weak in Him and ultimately sad.

The one truth I find consistent as I look over the pages of my life is clear…

I am never truly happy when I am not fully “God’s girl”….

And, when I am God’s girl, while I may still have life challenges which bring me to my knees, even then, I have found a Holy peace and joy which was not possible if not for Him…

So, as I head toward this New Year, I seek a re-newed focus….back to the basics

Really, back to the BASIC

Him

Because when you start and end with God as your focus…you start and end with God as your life…..

And, in that, there is no greater peace….

You are able to lay down those things in this life which will weigh you down to sinking….you are able to let go of your past and move ahead to the future, you are able to forgive others….and, yourself.  You are able to find joy in the days of your life….both in the seasons of richness and as well, in the seasons of human poverty.

 And, the more you come to know Him, the better you come to know the you He has fashioned for this season you are here on this earth…the more you come to know the gifts you have been given and how to use them for His glory…the better you are able to stand against the things of this world which would harm you and embrace those things which would grow you into the woman He means for you to be…

But the fruit of the Spirit is…

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-control

“Christian character is produced by the Holy Spirit, not by the mere moral discipline of trying to live by law.  (It is) the indwelling Holy Spirit which produces Christian virtues in the believer’s life.”

I want to say this to you…I don’t believe we can become who we are to by human effort….I don’t. 

I think it requires constant and faithful pursuing of God’s heart and will for our lives…and, there is only one way to do that.

Give over your life to Him….daily

If we work as doggedly at trying to come to know Him as we do at the things this world will offer to us as substitute, we will most certainly be changed…

And, not just changed…

But, changed in real and true and authentic ways which give meaning and purpose and focus for our lives.

So that our lives are not just scribbles on the journals of our life, but so that they are our Holy commitment to a loving God who fashioned us for a purpose….

It is only He who can complete us…and only by coming to know Him can we come to love and know ourselves….

So, my prayer for you is that you keep it simple in 2014…..

In fact, I challenge you to have but ONE New Year’s Resolution…..

Come to know Him

And, you will…..

And, in that knowing, your life will find all that you are seeking……

ILYAOYMC,

Mama

“I love those who love me, and those who seek find me.” Proverbs 17

 

 

As Only Your Mama Can……

 Precious Daughter….

Tis the season to remember the reason for the season….to celebrate……to reflect on…. 

The Value of the Gift…. 

Our family is returning to a tradition this year…..the Christmas you were born, I began the custom of selecting a guiding Bible verse and saying to guide us through the upcoming 365 days.  We did that for most of your lifetime….and, were blessed by the so-doing.

 

It seems simple really, but as I reflect….at some point several years back, we stopped the tradition…perhaps evidence that we had lost our focus, our vision…..our celebration of life as a family….HIS family.  And so, this year, we are returning to that tradition with full expectation that if we use His Word to guide us…it will remind us of whose we are… 

It will remind us of “the value of the gift”…… 

2 Corinthians 9:15    “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” 

And, that gift God gives us is His Son….not just any son…His one and only son…. 

I cannot imagine giving up any of my precious children for another individual….let alone my only child.  Nor do I want to.  Nor does He ask me to. 

But, what God does require is that we respect the Gift….love the gift…live for the gift… 

In our lives…with our worship, our coming to know Him, His word……His expectations for our life. 

Our greatest hope in being able to do this….respect the gift….is to give over ourselves daily…. 

Daily to Him… 

Even then, we will sin and fall short……because we are human.   

But, we don’t lie down and give up in our humanity…..we pick ourselves up, dust off our knees and get back to daily living… 

For Him…. 

Where we daily say, “My heart….is…and always will be….yours”….

…..”I will find you.  No matter how long it takes, no matter how far – I will find you” 

That is God’s promise to us…..no matter how far we drift, or wander….or even at times, leave.  He knows where we are….and, He constantly, carefully…tenderly finds us over and over and over again.

So, as we head to the end of 2013, Madison….. 

I want to encourage you….remember the Gifts you have been given….and, you have been given many…… 

And, look forward to what it to come… 

And, “do it on purpose”. 

Hard it is to go in the direction you should go if you do not know in which direction to look…if you make excuses for not heading that direction, if you think to get off that path and then find your way back on….at a later date. 

If in life, you seek things other than God’s path for your life…. 

You WILL get things on that path which are not of God. 

So, I encourage you as you prepare for 2014, to write down what it is you want this next year, next five years, ten years and so on….and, then…. 

Make your daily decisions with that journey in mind. 

And, walk…. 

And, keep in front of you those things which will draw you closer and closer to… 

The Heart of God. 

As I have shared with you many times…If you are not walking toward God…you are walking away from Him…. 

Walk toward Him…. 

On purpose…..by choice….with a heart for Him…. 

And, as you walk, carry deep, deep in your heart…. 

The love…the appreciation…the gratefulness of respecting….

The value of HIS GIFT…. 

Blessings,

ILYAOYMC,

 

Mama

 

 

 

 

As Only Your Mama Can……

Dear Daughter,

God sends us little precious moments with Him…if we will but be aware. 

He did that for me this morning….

This sunrise, as I woke up to the new day, I found in my reading at my beside the writing which we received when we attended the celebration of the life of Jim Oldach.  As an insert inside the booklet, there was the song, “10,000 Reasons (Bless My Soul).

Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name

Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship you holy name

The sun comes up
Its a new day dawning
Its time to sing your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

You're rich in love and you're slow to anger
Your name is great and your heart is kind
For all your goodness I will keep on singing
10,000 reasons for my heart to find

Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul

Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Soon my soul will sing your praise un-ending
10,000 years and there forever more

Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name

Bless the lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship his holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I worship your holy name
I worship your holy name
I worship your holy name

Sing like never before
Oh my sue worship your holy name
(Jesus I will)
I worship your holy name
I worship your holy name

 

My prayer for you as we enter into December, this final month of the year and the month which we associate with the birth of Christ is that you make sure to put Christ into all you do with your CHRISTmas. 

Not only in practical ways…..using the word Christmas instead of X-mas or Happy Holidays, but also in soul-deep ways such as being a giver to others in His Name and for His Life. 

You and I have talked about how simple it is to put words down where action should be.  How we are a society where talking about doing something is so simple…but, actually doing something is hard…difficult…. 

Or, is it?

In a world where everything we do is broadcast across the internet in large letters 24-7 do we discredit the little things as unimportant and un-Facebook worthy?

I am thinking so….

When I think of the life of Jesus, He truly was a humble soul….birthed by humble parents in a humble manger living a humble life and dying on a humble cross. 

While He did great big things….miracles ARE pretty amazing!  Miracles were not his daily lifestyle.  They were for the purpose of pointing us to God. 

And, they worked. 

As I read Mr. Oldach’s celebration of his life, and Mrs. Linda’s  (I have hers as well), Bethany’s, Nick Nischan’s  and several others….I don’t do so to be sad or to live in mourning… 

I do so because these precious friends point me to a Heavenly Father in the way that they used their time on this earth.

And, what I know of each of these friends makes me confident that they…. 

Took each day as a gift, thanking God for the New Day Dawning….. 

I remember Mrs. Linda saying, “I am dying, but not today”……so, she used her days to not just give God glory and honor…but to LOVE Him… 

And, to love them who loved Him

And, to love them who didn’t know Him so they could love Him 

And, to love us so that we were filled with His love so we could love others who did not know Him.

 

I think of Bethany …”I’ve Got the Power”….she knew at a very young age that by being filled with the spirit gave you all the “power” you would ever need to make it through this world.  She didn’t say it would be easy….she didn’t believe it would be always pretty.  But, she knew…she knew it would be powerful and mighty to be His child and to use her time on this earth in HIS name!

And, she was right! 

Nick Nischan….you were with me at this Celebration of Life….POWERFUL! 

Nick’s celebration was my first time sincerely….truly….”really”  realizing that leaving to go to heaven was a goal I should aspire to rather than seeking to stay grounded in this world we call life…and, that it is truly, perfectly wonderful if I am NOT cool!!!  That MY GOD LOVES ME ANYWAY!! 

Some people tell me that I look kind of funny
My nose is red and the braces didn't work at all
They say the clothes I wear are all out of fashion
I don't fit in and should be shopping at a different mall
I studied classical piano when I could've been playing guitar
I used to drive an El Camino and I'm not even sure it's a car

I'm not cool but that's okay
My God loves me anyway
I'm not cool but that's alright
I'm still precious in His sight

I'm not cool but I don't care
How I'm supposed to do my hair
I'm not cool but that's okay
My God loves me anyway

It doesn't matter if I know all the lingo
He doesn't mind if I'm not hanging with a certain crowd
Some people still believe in building image
But I am fine and that's a worry I can do without
I used to wish I was athletic but football was never my game
I met some friends in mathematics but no one can spell my last name

I'm not cool but that's okay
My God loves me anyway
I'm not cool but that's alright
I'm still precious in His sight

I'm not cool but I don't care
How I'm supposed to do my hair
I'm not cool but that's okay
My God loves me anyway

He says that I am one of a kind
And I don't have to try to be somebody else
He believes in me and says I'm free to be myself
I can be myself

I'm not cool but that's okay
My God loves me anyway
I'm not cool but that's alright
I'm still precious in His sight

I'm not cool but I don't care
How I'm supposed to do my hair
I'm not cool but that's okay
My God loves me anyway

Baby…there is such powerful (Bethany) strength when you live for Him.  There are so many, many blessings (Mr. Jim) when you start out your "days dawning" …each and every one of them committed to being His daughter….and, it makes NO difference at all if you are not “cool” (Nick)…..

 

When you know WHOSE you are to for WHOM you live and that you do this ….

Then so many other things in your life make sense……. 

Go forth…and, do Good (Poppy)

Let a Smile be Your Umbrella on a Rainy Day (Grammy)

Life is short if you live to be old…live it well (Mamaw)

Be good whenever you go (Papaw)

 

And, while I think God wants us to always look forward and upward…..I believe He also wants us to look into the lives of others who would point us to him…both those who have gone before us…and, those who walk with us.

And, perhaps just as important…I believe he wants us to be ONE of those who point those around US…to HIM..

So, as we walk through this December….a fresh month….where the world sets its eyes on the birth of Christ… 

I pray we are a luminary in His honor and in His name…. 

Blessings,

ILYAOYMC, 

Mama