Terrie's Tender Touch

When I was a young girl I remember watching The Brady Bunch with my family. Of course I always related with Marcia because she was my age. I remember one episode in particular, and perhaps some of you that used to watch the show or those that have watched reruns will remember this one. The story in this episode was about Marcia trying to enter a contest so that her dad could win "Father of the Year" award. Throughout the episode she kept sneaking to do things so that she could get her entry turned in, and each time she did she got in trouble - she even sneaked out of her room and got caught! At the end her dad won the award and he realized why she was doing what she was doing. I was very touched by the episode and my eyes filled with tears (I was relating). My brothers (all 4 of them - younger than me) could not believe that I cried at the Brady Bunch! For many years after that my brothers would dismiss my tears (especially at movies) and say things like, "never ...

Encouragement. Sometimes the words of kindness and support can be what makes all the difference when going through a difficult time. I can recall one of the most frightening, heartbreaking, and trying times that we ever endured was when our daughter was diagnosed with cancer. I have written a testimony about all that God did during that time and it is posted as "Surviving a Crisis." I would like to introduce you to Grace. She is the beautiful doll that is pictured. She was given as a gift to my daughter while she was in the hospital shortly after her surgery. Grace is a reminder of just that - God's grace to us as well as a token of encouragement received when we needed it most. Grace is a porcelain doll that was made by the very special lady that gave her to my daughter. In the letter that was given to my daughter along with Grace, Joy (the lady that gave my daughter the doll) told the story behind Grace. You see Joy had two daughters and one of them (the one wit...

“In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord God; thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.” Psalm 71:1-7 Why would I use Scripture that starts out asking God not to let me put to confusion? As a mother, you may not wonder at all. I remember when I was a young mom with 4 children ages 5 and under...it was quite a time. I have so many wonderful memories of great times and precious moments with each of my childr...

One of the things that my husband and I sought to instill in our children is individual responsibility - in other words, accepting the consequences of their own actions without pointing the blame on someone else. One of the other traits that we worked on was that of being independent. I believe that all parents want their children to grow up to be responsible adults that will be an asset to their generation; both of the character traits I mentioned are vital - no one wants their child to be a "flake." My daughter learned "independence" very early - maybe a little too early as she seemed to be compelled to do things on her own, even if she was too little or too young. I remember one Wednesday evening when she was just 4 years old, I was cooking dinner and we were getting ready for church. My daughter took it upon herself to shower on her own while I was cooking. Being the only girl, she was also very modest, so of course she locked the door for privacy. At the t...

I have four children, and one of the things that my husband and I sought to instill in our children is individual responsibility - in other words, accepting the consequences of their own actions without pointing the blame on someone else. One of the other traits that we worked on was that of being independent. I believe that all parents want their children to grow up to be responsible adults that will be an asset to their generation; both of the character traits I mentioned are vital - no one wants their child to be a "flake." My daughter learned "independence" very early - maybe a little too early as she seemed to be compelled to do things on her own, even if she was too little or too young. I remember one Wednesday evening when she was just 4 years old, I was cooking dinner and we were getting ready for church. My daughter took it upon herself to

Do you ever just get a “hankering” for something? I have different comfort foods that somehow make me feel better when I have different types of ailments. As a little girl when I was under the weather, I remember that my grandmother used to make rice pudding – I don’t think she made it for any particular reason other than the fact that it was delicious, but now when I have a cold I think I need to eat rice pudding. If I have an ailment with my stomach, I eat soda crackers and grape juice (my grandfather’s cure). My all time favorite comfort food is Chinese cuisine. One day last week I had such a day, and so I texted my husband the name of a couple of food items suggesting that he bring them home for dinner. I guess I wasn’t all that surprised to have him call me a few moments later telling me that he had already made the purchases and would be home in just a few moments – we have been married for 31 years after all…he should know me by now, right? I will say that though I wasn’...

Our little Kellie girl, a few weeks after she was lost Having your child get lost is a common nightmare that mothers share. I mean, how many of you never had the nightmare of seeing your child's face on a milk carton? I know that it was certainly one of my greatest fears when my children were little; especially after my daughter disappeared for 15 minutes at the Beach & Boardwalk in Santa Cruz! It was early August and we went on a mini-vacation for a few days to the beach. Our oldest son was not quite 6 years old, our baby was just 5 months old - our daughter was almost 3; really, still a baby herself. On this beautiful day at the beach we had enjoyed playing with the kids with a beach ball and building sandcastles. The 3 older kids were still building a sandcastle while I began to feed the baby. My husband was holding him as he didn't sit up by himself quite yet, and my daughter was sitting directly behind my husband so I could not see her. I remember asking h...

I like the old saying, “Necessity is the mother of all invention.” I believe this to be a true statement. My family enjoys a full array of recipes “invented” because of lack of either an ingredient, or necessary funds to purchase a more expensive option. In either case I have found throughout the years that the lack of something is not necessarily a bad thing. I remember talking to Nanna about the Great Depression. We had this conversation in the early 80’s when the economy was much like it is today. At that time there was a recession, plus the interest rates were extremely high (17-18%)! I remember the stories she told of how the neighbors would all get together and have potluck and play games because they couldn’t afford to do anything else. While the times were clearly difficult, she had great memories of the unity that was formed as a result. I remember one year in particular when things were somewhat “tight” financially, but it was the first summer after our daughter comple...

Today is my birthday. It is hard to believe that I am already 52 – I remember anxiously waiting to turn 17 thinking it was such a mature sounding age...my how time flies. As I see time marching on, each year on my birthday I like to spend some time pondering my life, setting goals, and making plans for the coming year. I also always remember my special birthdays. I remember my 16th birthday when my parents gave me an almost surprise birthday party. They planned the party for me, but on the day I was to be surprised my mom didn’t want me to not be prepared, so she told me that I was going to be surprised that evening. I always wondered if anyone believed that I was surprised when I showed up with my hair done professionally in my new dress! I also remember my 21st birthday because I was a newlywed of 1 day. We flew to Hawaii for our honeymoon and everything in life was brand new. The birthday that I remember above any other is my 25th birthday – on that day I received the absolute...

When I was 17 years old, I began dating my husband. By my 18th birthday I knew I wanted to marry him - I knew that I loved him and wanted to be his wife for the rest of my life. Well, it took a while for him to get with it, but finally on the eve of my 21st birthday we were married - 31 years ago today! What a journey we have had thus far, and somehow though we have been together for so many years, we still share new dreams for our future together. Its not getting old - its getting better! Several years ago I taught a lesson to the HomeBuilder's Ladies, "The Bride of Christ, The Church, and Your Marriage." This lesson was taken from the Book of Revelations where Jesus is writing to the Church, (the Bride of Christ) and paralleling it with man (made in God's image) and his wife. I believe that the truths I learned in preparing for that lesson helped us to build the truly marvelous marriage we enjoy today! Here are the key points. 1. Keep your hubby #1 In Revel...

Its raining outside. I enjoy the rain, especially if I can be inside, curled up with nice cup of hot coffee or chocolate. Its the first rain of the season and this first rain always takes me back to one of the most trying times I have ever endured, and as well to the marvelous grace that God affords during those times. The date was September 25, 1991; my nearly 9 year old daughter had just been diagnosed with cancer, she had undergone surgery to remove her kidney, and it was the day she would begin chemotherapy. I recall sitting in the hospital room with my daughter and reading to her from the Book of Psalms, as I had determined that I would read 5 Psalms a day, hoping for comfort and claiming the promise in Proverbs 4:20-22 which says, "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh ." On that particular ...

When my oldest son was courting his wife, at times he had to drive a great distance to visit her and her family. On one of these visits he was awarded a ticket for speeding. The amazing thing about this was the fact that he was not going any faster than any of the drivers on the road; he was just keeping up with the flow of traffic. When my son stated this to the highway patrol officer, he answered and said, "I know, but the word came from up there (pointing towards the sky where the helicopter was monitoring the traffic) that I was to issue you a ticket. At the time my son was so frustrated and it seemed unfair - but in truth the answer was very clear - God didn't want His son driving unsafely even if the rest of the world was travelling too fast. We have often heard parents say things like, "I can't control what other kids are doing, but you are my child and I do not want you doing that!" God, our Heavenly Father has different expectations from us as His c...

When my kids became teenagers we realized that as they were experiencing new freedoms, we had to set clear perimeters for what we would allow. One of the rules that we implemented was that our kids would not be permitted to ride in a car with other teen drivers. Well, one night after a special meeting (I think it was during Youth Conference) I spotted one of my sons in the car with a load of teens! I was in a dilemma because I did not want to embarrass my son, but I also didn't want to let him do something we had already ruled against. My son did not know for sure that I saw him, but I saw him not only in the car, but ducking down hoping I wouldn't see him. So, what did I do? Well, as much as I didn't want to embarrass him, I also knew I would never be able to live with myself if they got in a car accident - so I walked towards the car - waved my hand for them to stop - poked my head in the window and politely asked my son to get out of the car...ouch! When my son got out o...

When I was a young girl in the 6th grade I was very involved in the various activities my school had to offer. I was in the choir - and even was asked to sing solo parts at times; I was involved in athletics and was normally the fastest runner (amongst the girls) in my class. I was basically a straight A student and didn't face a lot of competition...that is until the new girl came to school. This new girl named Bonnie came to school and as our class sang - she had the most beautiful and clear singing voice I had ever heard! She had an amazing talent that of course I soon envied. To make matters worse when we went to PE, she was the fastest runner (even beating out many of the boys!), I was doomed; no matter how hard I tried to beat her, I simply could not out run this girl. With Bonnie's presence in my life I realized that there were others that were far better than I was at what I thought were my best attributes. I was so disappointed at first, but it taught me a valuab...

Have you ever tried to do something that you thought was going to be a good thing only to have it wreak havoc in your day? I remember a day many years ago when my oldest son was in kindergarten, and I was expecting my 4th child. I received a call from the school nurse because my son apparently had the stomach flu - so I had to go pick him up from school. This meant I had to load up my other 2 children, and my 7 month pregnant self into the car so I could bring him home. On the ride home I thought it would be a good idea to stop and get a video for the kids to watch since one of them was sick...bad idea! I stopped at a small local shop to get the video, and since the shop was small and the car was parked literally in front of the door I had the kids wait in the car for the 2 minutes it would take to get the cartoon. Well, I am sure that it was the longest or definitely most eventful 2 minutes of my life! First my oldest son ran in to tell me that my other son had to use the restroom, ...

I am convinced that I had the most adorable grandfather in the world. My little grandpa was such a great man. He worked hard and provided for his family. He was innovative, intelligent, and funny. He was a barber by trade, and a successful one at that! In fact we had newspaper articles of his barber shop in Central America because he had come up with the idea of installing special "ride" type seats for children to sit on while getting their hair cut. Instead of having the ever intimidating barber seats for the kids, he had one seat that looked like a car, and one that was like riding on a horse. His idea worked and he had a very successful business. One of the things I remember especially about my grandpa was that he would tell stories. He would often tell hilarious stories of things that happened when he was young, and he would get to laughing so hard that he could barely talk; this in turn would get all of us laughing without even knowing the whole story. Someti...

Crazy title - but believe it or not it is the truth! According to the Bible, the pastor is an angel, meaning God's messenger - so I really am married to an angel. The Bible also says in I Peter 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood , an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" So, I am also a priest - meaning that I can go boldly to the Throne of Grace (I don't have to go through the priest to get my prayers heard, or to confess my sins, I can go right to the Heavenly Father)! The thing about being a priest is that there is a lot of responsibility that goes along with it such as: 1. Be holy (be separated from the world to God) 2. Be peculiar (not weird, just different from the world) 3. Show forth the praises of Jesus (or bring Glory to God) Now when the first priests were called out from among the others to serve the Lord, it is kind of interes...