The Little Blue Care Bear

I have a collection of knick knacks (I know I sound like an old lady) that I can’t seem to discard because each one holds a special memory to me. I don’t especially like the idea of knick-knacks, they are dust collectors, they are small, they can be easily broken, etc.  but, each one that I have was given to me by someone special for a specific reason…and they hold a special place In my heart.

In my parent’s home there is a very special little memento.  For the last 25 years when I have visited my parents I have always found a very precious little Care Bear that proudly sits on my dad’s nightstand.  It was given to him on the occasion of his 50^th birthday by my daughter Kellie.  She was four years old at the time and that was her very precious and sacrificial gift to her grandpa.

I remember the evening so clearly.  We were celebrating my dad’s birthday at my house.  We had everyone over for dinner, and traditionally I made cioppino.  For my dad’s 50^th birthday gift we all went in together and purchased him a tiger eye ring.  After we sang “Happy Birthday” and had our cake, Dad opened his one gift from all of us.  I will never forget the disappointed look on Kellie’s face when she asked, “Grandpa, is that all you got, just one present?”  I remember my dad smiling and saying, “Yes, it is a very nice gift.” 

I don’t think anyone noticed when Kellie slipped away until a few moments later when she returned with a little gift that she managed to wrap with all the love, paper, and tape that a 4-year old could muster.  We all watched as she presented her favorite Care Bear to her grandpa so he could have more than just one gift.

As I was remembering this event I couldn’t help but think that the Lord must treasure the gifts that we lovingly offer, even if the gift itself is not the biggest, most expensive, or most useful to Him.  I thought of the widow and her two mites and how the Lord said she gave more than the others that had given out of their abundance while she gave all she had.  Certainly God didn't NEED her 2 mites, but He appreciated them all the more because of the love, dedication, and sacrifice with which she gave them.

 “And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.  And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.”  Luke 21:1-4

While I know these verses deal with monetary giving,  I thought also of the other things we give to God…our time, our service, our dedication, and I pondered these questions… are we giving God our all, or our spare time?  Are we serving Him when it is convenient, or because serving Him means more than perhaps other things that may be for our own pleasure?  Are we dedicated to going to church, having daily devotions and prayer time – or do those things only fit in after our dedication to job, hobbies, and activities with friends?

I would love to be the child that realizes that there should be more to give …and the one that is willing to give all, however little that may be, to please my Heavenly Father…wouldn’t you?  

Have a wonderful day!

3 Games of Uno

One of life’s greatest joys is having grandchildren.  The Bible says in Proverbs 17:6, “Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.”  I am so very privileged to have 12 crowns named (in order) Mark, Micah, Brooklynn, Alexis, Dominic, Corban, Ethan, Marissa, Haylie, Jaclynn, Gianna, and Jaydon…whew!  One of the definitions of a crown is a distinction or reward for achievement – I would like to liken having grandchildren it to the icing on a cake.  I had the wonderful privilege of being a mother, (that's the cake part) enduring the pregnancies, labor, sleepless nights, teething, illnesses, disciplining, and teenagers!  Thankfully I have also enjoyed the immense pleasure of seeing them saved, grow in grace, develop a walk with God, get married, and become parents…giving me my grandkids - the “crowns” mentioned in Proverbs 17.

One of the blessings in being a grandparent that I did not anticipate is how much I could learn from those precious little munchkins.  Most recently the Lord gave me a great picture of how much the Lord enjoys our coming to His presence through my oldest grandson Mark. Mark is 7 ½ years old and loves to play games (or should I say “win” games?).  When we go to visit he always likes to have us play a board game, a video game, or perhaps one of his favorite games - Uno.  

On a recent visit he wanted to play a game of Uno, but we were unable to play because it was just too late.  He had to go to bed, and we were set to leave early in the morning.  Mark was so disappointed and pleaded and pleaded with us to please stay long enough to play a game.  That was not possible as we had obligations and had to be home at an appointed time; so being the nice Grammy that I am I told him that if he got up early enough I would play with him in the morning.  That seemed to suffice and he went to bed for the evening.

What I did not expect was the precious sight we found in the morning…you see Mark, wanting to be sure that he did not miss the opportunity to play a game with me got up sometime in the middle of the night and camped right outside our bedroom door!  When my husband got up at 5:00 there he found Mark all curled up in a blanket on the floor in the hallway –is that not the most heartwarming compliment?   He wanted so badly to be able to play a game with me before we left that he sacrificed his comfort, and even his sleep!  So, at 5:00 am through burning eyes I sat with my grandson and played 3 games of Uno.  We both had fun, and he won 2 of the 3 games we played.

So, what lesson did I learn?  Well, the Lord reminded of Proverbs 8:17 which says, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”  The Lord promises that when we seek Him early we shall find Him.  I love spending any time I can with all of my grandbabies, and I especially love when they want to spend time with me! On that day Mark and I were able to spend a little extra time together because he sought me early – and the fact that he sought to spend that time with me made me feel all the more loved and pretty special.  Now, my challenge is this:  how often do I sacrifice sleep and comfort to get up extra early just so I can spend extra time with the Lord?  How often do we earnestly seek Him early?  It seems that more often we seek Him “at our earliest convenience” instead of early.

Lord, thank you for this precious and practical lesson you’ve taught me through the love of my grandson and thank you for letting me not only seek you, but find you.  I pray that perhaps all of us can learn from the simple lesson and that we’ll all be encouraged to seek our Lord early and enjoy the time we are able to have with Him when we do.

Have a wonderful day!

The Pink Camouflage Tent

It has been such a long while since I have written a new “Tender Touch.” I have been very busy studying for my Ladies’ Sunday school class, Ladies’ Bible Study, and for our Wednesday night Bible Pals. This morning I have been considering how great it feels to be able to give, and also the importance of seeking, so that you’ll find.

I am sure you’ve all probably figured out the reason those thoughts are flooding my mind is because it is December and Christmas is upon us! I love this time of year. I especially love being able to spend extra time with my family – I love my kids and grandkids so much, they are all so precious to me. We were able to have 3 of our married children and their families with us for Thanksgiving. We had a great time together on Thanksgiving, and then on Friday we went to cut down the Christmas tree…all 18 of us went to cut down one Christmas tree! (How many Italians does it take to get a Christmas tree?)

On Saturday, as the kids were on their way out of town we went to Bass Pro Shop and had the kids’ pictures taken with Santa. Now, this is probably going to sound ridiculous to you, but one of the things that especially warmed my heart was seeing our granddaughter Brooklynn, (she is 6) hand deliver her letter to Santa. I didn’t know she had written a letter, and here she was all prepared for her visit with her letter in hand. For some reason when I saw her handing her letter to Santa it brought tears to my eyes – she is so cute. After they had their pictures taken I asked Brooklynn what she had asked Santa for and she responded mostly with what you would expect – except then she went on to add that she had also said, “and for my Dom, can you please bring him… because he would really like that, and for my little Jaclynn, she would really like…” I was so moved that she included in her letter things she would like for her brother and sister to receive.

While we were at Bass, Brooklynn spotted a pink camouflage tent that came with a sleeping bag, compass, and a flashlight! She was so excited about it, and was really hoping she could get it. Because Brooklynn was with them, her parents did not buy the tent, and asked if we could go back and get it a little later – and of course, sadly they were out of stock. The tent was not available on line, and so I began looking and found some other pink tents that might work – but they were not camouflage, and they did not include the other goodies – they were not THE tent. I called the store again, (even though they already told us we couldn’t get it from them, or order it online), and I asked where the nearest store was. Now, as a Grammy, of course I would go to nearly any extreme to get something, but the nearest store is 360 miles away! So, I called to find out if they could deliver the tent to my son’s home and success- they could do that…the tent was available and the deal was done! I am sure it sounds silly to some of you, but I was so happy that I was able to locate and get that pink camouflage tent for our little Bookie – so, the lesson is…

Luke 11:9-13 "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

Now, the gift will be from “Santa” (daddy and mommy), so I had to check with my son to see about paying the extra shipping charges. When I talked to him his response was, “yes, get it – she has her heart set on it.” The extra cost of $15 is really minimal compared to the joy she’ll have when receives the gift she really wants. So, how much more does our heavenly Father want to give us gifts when we ask Him? It made me so happy to have a part in helping my son to get his daughter the gift she wanted and I am so thankful to know, or at least have a glimpse of how much God wants to give me the things I ask Him for– aren’t you?

Have a wonderful day!

Good Success

One of my greatest desires and concerns as a young mother was to see my children grow to fulfill God’s will for their lives. I always wanted to be as good a mother as I could possibly be – my children are my heart – no matter how grown up they are, they are constantly on my mind and in my prayers.

Now I am not a young mother – I have eight adult children and 12 precious grandchildren. As I write this my eyes are welling overcome with love for each one of them. I want so desperately for each one to have “good success.” There is only one verse in the Bible that promises just that…good success. It is in Joshua 1:8 which says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

I can’t say I’ve arrived, but I am happy to say that it looks like we’re on the right path. A few weeks ago my husband and I had the joy of spending a few days with 6 of our grandchildren. On one of the days we took the kids to park. They had a great time playing together, and they began to make new friends with the other children that were playing in the park. As I sat watching them interact with the other children, I began to reminisce in my mind of when my own children were little and how so often they would end up giving the other children gospel tracts.

It seems that I no sooner had that thought/memory when our oldest grandson came over and asked if we had a tract that he could give to one of the kids he met as he had just invited him to church! Praisalujah! I was one happy grammie! At that point my grandkids changed their focus from playing to soulwinning. In fact they began to look at all the people in the park and wanted to make sure that each one received an invitation to church! I found it so precious when my granddaughter looked at the nearby school (whose yard was right by the park separated by a chain link fence) and said, "Grammie, what about all those kids - we need to ask them too!"

I know that I was far from being a perfect mom, but I sincerely tried to do my best to follow the Lord as I was raising my children. I sincerely pray to do my best now as the mom of adult children and as a grammie. On that day I saw God’s mercy on my imperfections and found such joy as I witnessed my children’s children reaching out to the other kids at the park. "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children." Psalm 103:17

Thank you Lord for your precious Word and your loving mercy. Have a wonderful day!

It's How We "Role"

Recently my husband and I had the joy of keeping 3 of our precious grandchildren with us for a few days while our son and his wife went to a conference. We had a lot of fun with the kids, and of course as grandparents we wanted to spoil our grandkids.

On one of the days we decided we would take the kids to Chuck E Cheese for lunch and most especially to play the games. We had to run a few errands to complete a few church related tasks. Well, the boys started to get restless – they were so excited that they just had a hard time containing themselves. After being warned a few times, my husband finally resorted to warning them that if they would not behave they would not be able to go to Chuck E Cheese’s. Unfortunately the boys committed the final act that forced my husband to keep his word.

When I got in the car, (I promise I was only in the store for 10 minutes – tops), my husband informed me that we were not going. I felt badly, but honestly he felt worse! He then told me that what he was most troubled about was the fact that the kids were not sorry for their dastardly deeds.

We then went to make one last stop before going home and I was left in the car with kids. As soon as my husband got out of the car I spoke with kids and asked them if they knew they had misbehaved, to which they replied, “Yes.” I reminded them that their Papa loved them very much and felt badly that they had disobeyed him. I didn’t say anything else about the matter – and I didn’t need to.

When my husband got back in the car – the first thing the kids did was apologize for their behavior. He was barely in the car when they were telling their Papa just how sorry they were for their actions and they asked him to forgive them. At that point my husband was very relieved and happily

let them know that because they had apologized and asked his forgiveness he would go ahead and take them to Chuck E Cheese. Then everyone was happy and we had a great time!

I thought about the whole matter and realized we had just enacted a perfect example of the work of the Father and the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians. Our Heavenly Father wants to give us those things that will bring us joy, but we often miss out on the joys that He has for us because we fail to submit to His will and plan for us. When we disobey our Father, He is most disappointed and desires that we seek His forgiveness. The Holy Spirit, our comforter and teacher reminds us of our sins and convicts us so that we’ll get things right with God. When we admit we've done wrong and ask forgiveness, God hears us and will bless us according to His good pleasure.

It works like this: Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. "
Jeremiah 18:10, “If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.”
John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Psalms 66:18, 19, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.”

I’m so happy that it all worked out – we went the full cycle, and each one of us represented our proper roles…my husband as the father, me as the comforter, and my grandkids as the children that sinned and then received forgiveness…and thus we all got what we wanted! What a wonderful reminder that was to me – and I hope to you as well.

Have a wonderful day!

Are You Seeking?

On May 5, I had the tremendous privilege and blessing of having my daughter be our guest speaker for the Mother’s Day Banquet. Our Theme was “Will you Say I Do?” The evening was much like a wedding. We had 4 ladies in the church model wedding gowns, we had special music, and then we had special and touching moments that brought tears to our eyes. Through tears I reminded the ladies that just like a wedding we were shedding tears at the ceremony and then we would have fun and games at the reception. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, played the "Newlymet" Game (like the Newlywed Game)...and topped it all off with a wedding cake. We had a wonderful turn out and a lot of fun!

My daughter, in keeping with the bridal theme, gave us some beauty tips – TRUE beauty tips. As she was speaking she used an illustration that has stuck with me. She likened allowing the Word of God to enhance our beauty by responding to the instructions found in the Bible. She gave the analogy that if someone were to tell you that you had a broccoli floweret stuck in your teeth, you wouldn’t just leave it there – you would make sure to take care of it; so, for enhanced beauty we should respond the same way when we read from the Bible. What a clear picture!

This morning in my Bible reading I caught just a little statement that I would like to share with you today. I Chronicles 28:8 says, “Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children, after you for ever.” As I read that verse I thought that part of the problem we have in making the changes that God shows us we need in our lives is that we are not seeking for all the commandments. I then thought of the verse that says, “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” James 1:23, 24 That’s what we tend to do – we see ourselves and the areas in our lives where we need to grow and improve upon when we read the Bible, but because we are not really “seeking” for them – we read it, see it, and then walk away and forgot what we saw. It’s because we are reading the Bible as an exercise instead of earnestly “keeping and seeking" God's commandments.

Ladies, when we are getting ourselves ready for the day – we use the mirror to make sure that there is nothing in our teeth, no goo in the eyes, that our make-up is applied properly, that every hair is in place, and then normally before we leave we take a good look at the finished product to make sure that everything looks the way we want them to look. We use the mirror to seek for error, hoping for “perfection;” but if we see a problem we most definitely fix it – we wouldn’t walk out the door with a gaping hole in the back, or an unsightly stain! The same should hold true with our Bible reading – we should as we read earnestly seek God’s commandments so that we can fix ourselves spiritually!

It is my heart’s desire to “possess” everything God has for me – and He promises just that if I will keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord my God. Ladies – when you read your Bible today – will you do so not as an exercise, but as a way of seeking to grow and improve in your walk with God? Earnestly seek for any little broccoli floweret to remove – if you do you’ll be much more confident when you smile:)

Have a wonderful day!

Mysterious?...Not so much

We have all heard the saying, “The Lord moves in mysterious ways.” That is not in the Bible verbatim, but the idea or concept is definitely true. God has His way of getting things done – and of course His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are higher than ours. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9 One thing I do know is that I am amazed at the way the Lord works things out – especially when we’re so often afraid of the very things that become our greatest blessings!

Today my husband is performing the first wedding at Lighthouse Baptist Church since its inception on February 21, 2010. The circumstances that led to this day are very unusual to say the least. We received a call from a lady that we met while out door knocking before the church began. That in itself is a pretty amazing story because when we knocked on her door, she was in her house with a group of ladies praying for the new start-up church in town…ours! She attended our first service and we never saw her again. She had her own church she was attending and continued going to her home church.

Now, let’s fast forward one-year. This same lady had car trouble and was unable to go to her home church, so she decided to visit us again. The Lord has since led her to continue to attend our church, our Ladies Bible Study on Tuesday mornings, and even to host one of the tables at our banquet last week! On Thursday we received a call from her because a couple dear to her was planning to get married in Tahoe – but because of the terrible weather they had to cancel their wedding! Needless to say they were very disappointed; she wanted to know if there was any way they could have the wedding at our church, and if my husband would be willing to perform the wedding.

Within one hour, my husband met with them and as is his custom, he talked to them about their salvation – though they both believed in God neither of them knew the Lord as their personal Savior so my husband had the privilege of seeing them gloriously saved! So now this precious couple not only had a church to get married in – they were doing so as God’s precious newborn babes!

They were afraid they weren’t going to be able to have their wedding – instead they were able to get married in an adorable little country church – they used many of the church’s decorations, they had a fellowship hall to use for their reception, and most of those planning to attend lived in or near our town so more of their loved ones were able to attend than if they had gone to Tahoe!

Bad weather mysterious? …not so much; after all it isn’t the first time God sent hail and thunder to save His children! ((Exodus 9:23, I Samuel 2:10, 7:10)

Have a wonderful day!