Terrie's Tender Touch

Happy New Year - almost! Today is the last day of 2009 - it is the last day of the first decade of the 2000's - a new century; and what a decade it has been. As I ponder all that has transpired in these last ten years I am amazed at all that the Lord has done in my own life and in the lives of my family members. In the past ten years I have witnessed the weddings of all four of our children; we have experienced the joy of the birth of 11 grandchildren; we have celebrated our 25th & 30th wedding anniversaries - and we have beheld the glory of God - breathtaking! Today as we embark on the beginning of a new year and a new decade we can forge ahead with plans, hopes, and dreams for a bright future filled with promise at God's hand, or we can tread cautiously fearing the unknown; in reality we will probably do a little of both having a desire for the promise, but stepping hesitantly at times because of fear - that can be okay as long as we turn our fear into faith. "W...

Merry Christmas Eve! As a child I always remember being so excited on Christmas Eve because that meant that soon I would be getting presents ! I thrilled as the wrapped gifts mounted under the tree and I would find myself nearly beside myself with anticipation over what I would soon receive. I am sure that most of you can remember how hard it was going to sleep on Christmas Eve because you just couldn't wait to wake up and have it be Christmas. I remember when my children were young the many Christmases that my husband and I would stay up into the wee hours of the morning wrapping presents for our children. It became a tradition that after the children went to bed we would watch "It's a Wonderful Life" and wrap gifts. It seemed that we no sooner pillowed our heads when our children would be knocking on our door asking if it was time to get up yet. Those are precious memories to me - what a joy it was to see their huge smiles as they opened their gifts. My favor...

This week it is Christmas! In my desire to carry the heart of Christmas I have determined to read the Christmas story through a different portion of Scripture each day. I have often tried to put myself in Mary’s place and imagine what it must have been like for her. As I was thinking about all that happened to Mary, I saw some things that I believe every mother can learn from the Christmas story. 1. "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee:" Luke 1:28 As a Christian mom I am so comforted to know that the Lord is with me – he promised before He left when he said, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” 2. "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; ...

Merry Christmas! It is hard to believe that Christmas is just one week from today. This morning I have been thinking about Christmas as I have 90% of my shopping yet undone. The word Christmas itself means to celebrate Christ – so I began thinking about celebrating. To celebrate means: 1. To observe (a day or event) with ceremonies of respect, festivity, or rejoicing. 2. To perform (a religious ceremony) 3. To extol or praise: a sonnet that celebrates love. 4. To make widely known; display I love celebrating! I believe that we should celebrate life everyday that we wake up breathing! As Christians we should celebrate Christ everyday through our actions by observing those things that are important to our Saviour – make reading your Bible and praying a daily ceremony with rejoicing for all that God has done for you; make singing to the Lord as much a part of your shower as cleaning your body and most importantly make all that Christ hath done for you widely known! I don’t know about you,...

This year as we began the Holiday season at Thanksgiving, I must admit I did so with concern that with everyone living in different homes, and especially with "Mom and Dad" (me and my hubby) living out of the area that things just wouldn't feel the same. Well, that is true, it did not feel the same; but that doesn't mean that it wasn't special. I feared that without having all of my decorations up or having the kids come to my house for Christmas that I wouldn't enjoy my holidays...sounds so shallow even as I type it, so I determined that if Jesus could be born in a manger, certainly I could have one year without all my decorations and traditions . Now, I know that I said that, but in my heart I was still carrying a "poor, pitiful me" attitude until I really got a glimpse of Christmas. Our family went to Bethlehem where they did a re-enactment of the Christmas story. I enjoyed the time with my kids and grandkids and thought it was so neat to see t...

I have always enjoyed reading. I like to read all kinds of books and I have quite an extensive library of my own. One thing that I don't read well is maps! I guess you could say that I am "directionally" challenged. I get turned around very easily - in fact if I am shopping in a mall I have to determine the direction I am heading by the surrounding stores before I go into a store or I will not know which way to go when I exit the shop! I am normally not a ditsy type, but for some reason I just am not good with directions. One good thing that has come as a result of my "weakness" is that I pay very close attention to detail when I travel, so if I am willing to give you directions I will be able to tell you not only the street names but all the landmarks that will help you to find your way. Of course as I mentioned before that is only if I know the way - if I have to check a map I am definitely not the person you want in charge of giving directions...my family can...

As long as I can remember, I have always loved to cook and bake. I remember being a nine-year old girl and cooking dinner for my family - not that I was forced to do so, but because I wanted to prepare the food. One thing that I especially enjoy doing is tasting something, guessing the ingredients, and then preparing it for myself. For the most part I have been pretty successful, but there have been a few times when I just couldn't quite get the right flavor. When that happens I look up several recipes and then assemble what I believe my husband will best enjoy eating. I guess you could say that when it comes to cooking I like to be able to make meals that are not only nutritious, or something used to fill our tummies, but also something that is made well and enjoyable to eat. When I begin to cook I always imagine the flavor I expect for the meal I am making to produce. I have thought a lot about making things and how that in order for most anything to be made you must follo...

The empty nest sounds like such a sad transition – it has even been named as a syndrome for when parents experience sadness and emptiness when their children leave home. We have had an empty nest for several years now as our youngest child has been married 4 ½ years now – however we have always had all our children living near to us – in fact for a short while 3 of our 4 children all lived on the same block with us! So now that we are living away from all of our children our nest really seems empty. One of the best ways to prepare for the time when your children are living away from home is to make sure that you and your husband share time together as a couple not just parents. Be sure that you make time to be sweethearts; go on dates with just the two of you; and work at being best friends with each other. I am so glad that my husband and I always considered the fact that one day it would be just the two of us again – and now here we are. I will say though that we look forward to ...