Grandparents Day of Prayer
If you wander through a Hallmark store during the final weeks of August, you’ll notice cards celebrating National Grandparents Day. You won’t find any cards for Grandparents Day of Prayer, even though its date coincides with National Grandparents Day. Grandparents Day...
Thanksgiving for Our Grandchildren
Dearest Lord Jesus, We set aside a few moments today to glorify you and to offer our humble thanks for our precious grandchildren. They are the apple of our eyes, the “crown of the aged” (Proverbs 17:6) who bring us indescribable joy. More importantly, they are the...
Prayer for Our Grandchildren as They Start a New School Year
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). Heavenly Father, Today, we pray for our grandchildren as they start a new school year. Let them be courteous, cooperative and respectful of their teachers and classmates as...
Prayer for Parents at the Start of a New School Year
Heavenly Father, Our grandchildren’s parents are busily preparing for a new school year, purchasing clothes and last-minute school supplies, arranging carpool and planning lunches. Some breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that routine will soon return to their homes....
Prayer that We Can Be Intentional, Christian Grandparents
Dearest Lord Jesus, We fail in our feeble attempts to be intentional Christian grandparents. We give “urgent matters” priority over the important things in life. We fail to pray for our grandchildren and their parents. We forget to share our faith stories when...
Prayer that our Grandchildren Have the Courage to Stand Up
Dearest LORD Jesus, Please give our grandchildren the courage, fortitude and resilience to… stand for what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8) stand beside the downtrodden, the outcast, the bullied and those who are alone...
STRETCHER-BEARERS
Who are the Stretcher-Bearers? Let's consider a familiar Gospel story--the story of the four stretcher-bearers and the paralytic (Luke 5:17-26)--in a not-so-familiar fashion. Instead of a story about faith and friendship, let's consider it as a metaphor for prayer....
What Do You Do When You Can’t Find a Rainbow?
I peered over the steering wheel, my heart burdened by many things. Despite the rain pelting against the front windshield, sunlight streamed through my side window. Desperately, I searched the sky for a rainbow—knowing that if I spied a rainbow, my spirits would lift....
Practicing Piety
Jesus chastised the scribes and Pharisees for practicing piety, falsely. “You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you...
A Grandparent is Like a Farmer
Which Farmer Will Yield a Harvest? A farmer trudges through the field with his muck boots squishing in puddles left by an early spring rain. He grips an old hoe in his right hand, and a pouch heavy with seeds is slung over his opposite shoulder. Every movement he...
Afternoon Phone Call
A phone call from our youngest son in the middle of the afternoon was my first clue that something in his life was amiss. His words “Mom, are you doing anything important?” was my second clue. A pit formed in my stomach, as questions swirled in my brain. Why was our...
Praying for Teens
Teens Struggle to Belong Teens who are desperate for a place to belong walk awkwardly along the fringe, trying to keep in step with a group of wayward peers. Weeks pass, and their awkwardness disappears. Within weeks, these teens are found standing in the way of...
Prayer Stations for Grandparents
Are you are looking for a one-day event to encourage the grandparents at your church to be more intentional about praying for their grandchildren? The following prayer stations were adapted from a workshop held at the South Carolina Daughters of the King Fall Retreat...
Abandoned Legacies
Was I dreaming? I floated somewhere between a dream state and the reality of a new dawn, wandering through the living room of an abandoned mansion. A shaft of sunlight sneaking through a broken window was dispersed by particles of dust. It offered little illumination,...
Grandparenting: More than Reese’s Cups and KitKat Bars
Our oldest son observed that—while his maternal grandmother stockpiled Reese’s cups in the freezer and his paternal grandmother stowed KitKat bars in her special drawer— I didn’t keep any candy at home for him to enjoy. Laughingly, I replied, “When I become a...
A Navigation Lesson
I was at the boat’s helm, cutting figure eights off the pier at Bulls Bay while my husband backed the boat trailer down the ramp. Another boat approached the dock, so I cut the throttle. Our boat lost its steering; the motor sputtered and stalled; and I found myself...
The Woman at the Well
A lone figure readjusts the goatskin flung over her shoulder and takes a swipe at the sweat on her brow, all the while moving silently towards a well located on the outskirts of Sychar. Her neighbors sleep under the siesta sun while she travels alone. She's never...
A Dream Come True: Publishing My First Novel
Discovering WestBow Press, while I was knee deep in the trenches of writing The Christmas Bracelet, was a blessing. The staff at WestBow gently guided me through every step of the publishing process. There was not a single time that I felt pressured, uncomfortable, or...