The Generational Blessing

"Today is a new day....God has promised that your seed, your family line for up to a thousand generations, is going to have the blessings and the favor of God--all because of the life you've lived," promises Joel Osteen in BECOME A BETTER YOU. What a wonderful blessing! My new grandson Samson came into the world a week ago. He is strong and healthy, and so is his mother. After every thing Tori has gone through with her motorcycle accident, she gave birth to her son naturally! Praise God! She feels so empowered. I feel the favor of God so strongly. Celine Dion wrote a song for her son in 2002 that is perfect for my brand new grandson. Here are the lyrics:

"A new day has come
A new day has... come

I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear

Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun

A new day has... come

Where it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun

A new day has... come

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun

A new day has... come

Ohhh, a light... OOh"

Breaking Free from the Strongholds of Your Past

I wrote a note a while back on facebook on this very subject. One the most powerful concepts that I have ever come across is the idea to live in the moment. Omar Khayyam, a scholar and astronomer who lived in Iran from 1048? to 1122 said, "The Moving Finger writes; and, having, writ, moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it." Wayne Dyer in the WISDOM OF AGES writes, "One of life's greatest illusions is the belief that the past is responsible for the current conditions of our lives." When we are fully conscious, we are "plugged in" and aware. We live in the present moment. When Tori had her motorcycle accident, her body started the healing process immediately. Of course, the doctors had to clean her wounds and pump new blood into her. We have to do the same things with our emotional wounds. We have to close them and pump new blood into them. Omar Khayyam says that none of our tears can erase our story so we can't live in the past and expect to be healed. We need to remove all blame and guilt from our minds because it is the attraction to these negative feelings that keeps us from feeling peaceful and loved. When we choose peace through love and forgiveness, all blame and guilt will disappear. Joel Osteen says that we have to get past the misconception that because we love God, we're supposed to be perfect. We can't change the past, but we can change the future by making the right choices today. The Articles of Confederation of the Iroquois people exhorts humanity to think seven generations ahead when we make decisions. If we all took that kind of responsibility, we would certainly have a better, healthier earth. If I take responsibility for my own actions toward the planet, I can make it a better place for my grandchildren. Right now that seems like a worthy goal.

The Power of Your Bloodline

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption." (Romans 8:14-15). I am a creation of God, pressing forward in my capacity to live the abundant life. So I stand tall because I am a beloved child of God. "God, you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Psalms 139:13,14,16). There is great comfort to me in these verses because I am expecting a grandson any day now. My daughter plans to name him Samson. He will be a strong little boy. I love knowing that this little baby boy is extremely valuable to God, as well as he is to our whole family. On this Labor Day I am grateful for my bloodline because we are children of the Most High. My grandmother, my mother, myself, my daughters, and my granddaughters are all fulfilling our destinies. Now a boy is about to join this matriarchal society. It's about time! Eleven years ago, when Frank and I combined our families, he brought a boy into this family of girls, and now Frank thinks it is high time for another one to join us. Me too. I love the name they chose for him too. The biblical Samson had supernatural strength and toppled a building. I believe our Samson will also be a victor and leave his mark on this world in a wonderful way.

Give Your Dreams a New Beginning

"I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:7) Are we stretching to the next level? Sometimes disappointments can set us back. I've probably written on this blog before about the layoff I experienced in 2002. I was teaching young adult literature and communications at Southwest Junior High School in Lawrence, Kansas, at the time. We had just moved to town and this job was an answer to prayer. I loved it. My principal gave me an excellent evaluation so I thought that I would have the job as long as I wanted it. That spring, though, the administration and school board made a decision to cut the budget by laying off educators (RIF-Reduction in Force). In 2002-2003, Lawrence Public Schools laid off 131 first year educators. Even though I had taught 20 years, it was my first year in this district so I was RIFed. I was so upset at first that I didn't know what I wanted to do. In the fall I started subbing. I had a job every day. The pay wasn't great, but it was so much fun to teach every day without bringing home papers to grade, lessons to plan, or a list of parents to contact. I felt so free. It was God's plan to take the pressure off me and free my spirit. It was a new beginning! I stretched to a new level, and I have never been happier. "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth. Do you perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19) I never looked back. I get up in the morning and ask God for guidance and wisdom. At night I thank God for a perfect day. I'm so thankful every day for my new beginning. I did love my job at Southwest, but at the time of the layoff I didn't realize that God had more in store. He worked out our finances so I didn't need that job. Mom gave us an early inheritance so I can testify that "all things work together for good". (Romans 8:28) Joel Osteen says, "God is saying this is a time for new beginnings. Get your fire back. Get your passion back......this is the time to break free." Amen!

Stretching to the Next Level

Whether we are talking Olympic competition, achieving optimal health, or making good career choices, stretching to the next level and constantly pressing forward in our abilities to excellence is the potential we have inside. Just ask Nastia Liukin, the U.S. Olympic gymnast, who wore a smile that lit up her whole face as she climbed atop the medals podium and waved to the crowd. She blinked back tears of joy as the gold medal was placed around her neck. While I am not competing for any gold medal, I am pressing forward and stretching myself to stay fit. I'm also stretching myself in the classroom to do the best possible job with my students that I can do. Today I actually got to teach literature, which is my subject area, and I did stretch myself to present the material in a way that was enthusiastic and, I hope, interesting to them. I have also been stretching myself at home with my family. We had a couple of grown kids move back in a month ago, and it is definitely a stretch to keep my patience with them until they are able to move out and make it on their own. The bible teaches that we have the Holy Spirit inside to give us guidance and wisdom to handle these kinds of situations, and I call on Him daily to help me with this. Joel Osteen asks this question in chapter one of BECOME A BETTER YOU: "Are you ready to break free from your self-imposed limitations and start stretching to the next level?" I think I am. I just need to get my eyes off my problems and onto my God. As for achieving optimal health and staying fit, I am so ready to feel energetic and wear cute clothes again. I will keep my eyes fixed on the prize as Paul did in Philippians 3:14.

Love in the Family

Frank and I celebrated our eleventh anniversary yesterday. We each brought two children into the marriage. I had a toddler granddaughter at the time. Since then, we have added two more grandchildren to the family and a fourth is due next month. Is it easy to have a blended family? Well, it depends on who you ask. I just asked my husband, and he said, "No". I think and say that sometimes too, but it is what we needed to help us learn how to love. Frank is a terrific bonus father for my daughters, and I hope that I am a great bonus mom for his son and daughter. Even though most people say it is hard to parent children who are brought into the marriage via a former spouse, it is a definitely a learning experience. It's nothing for which we would ask or choose in our lives, but it is what Frank and I needed to grow as individuals. No one ever says, "I want to be a step-parent when I grow up", but with God's help, we can go with the flow and realize that it is a way to let love do its perfect work and show through in all kinds of situations. Eventually, the children become a part of us, just as our own children do, and we realize that God brought these children into our lives for a purpose. We are then grateful for the diversity and contrast they bring. The main thing we need to remember is this: "Love is patient; love is kind. It does not envy; it does not boast; it is not proud. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking; it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Coping with Loss

I lost my aunt (my mom's sister) this past week. My aunt is the mother of one of the participants on this blog who also lost her husband and father. I know another one of you lost your husband. I lost my father. Most of us have experienced loss along the way. A couple of my facebook friends have lost grown children....so I was wondering if this would be a good topic for the blog. I'll start with some quotes of people who have lost loved ones because I think that in sharing comes healing. Glenda Brenton who lost her husband says, "When you experience the loss of a loved one, your whole world is turned upside down. And so it's very necessary to be in a caring, confidential, supportive environment so that you can share your thoughts and your feelings and experiences with others who are going through the same thing." Virginia Conard who lost her seven-year-old son forty years ago and then her husband just recently said that she cried for a year behind closed doors in silence when her little boy died. When Virginia lost her husband, she said that it wrenched the heart in a different way. She said there is a difference in the way you grieve when you lose your parents than the way you grieve when you lose a spouse. Losing a child is still a different kind of loss. She said, "At one time I had my husband dying of cancer at one end of my home and his sister, my sister-in-law, dying of cancer at the other end of my home." Virginia joined a support group and began looking at her home differently. The same place where her husband and sister-in-law slowly said goodbye became a place she could greet warmly again. "I've always been surprised at myself...that I'm going around saying, 'I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful. And here I don't have my wonderful husband, but he left me this nice home; he left me with 60 years of happy memories. He left me with three wonderful sons and three wonderful daughters-in-law. I am grateful.' One of the most effective ways we cope with loss is gratitude for the time we were given with our loved ones.