you are mine

While praying one day, a woman asked, "Who are you, God?"
He answered, "I Am".

"But, who is 'I Am'?", she asked.

He replied,
"I Am Joy
I Am Love
I Am Peace
I Am Grace
I Am Mercy
I Am Safety
I Am Shelter
I Am Creator
I Am Strength
I Am Comforter
I Am Forgiveness
I Am the First and the Last
I Am the Beginning and the End
I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life."

With tears in her eyes, she looked toward heaven and said, "Now I understand. But who am I?"

God tenderly wiped the tears from her eyes and whispered, 

"You are Mine."

To a woman who showed me how to have joy, love, peace, grace, mercy. Gave me safety and shelter. Showed me how to be creative. I saw her strength and yet she is a comfort. Who gave me forgiveness. And showed me Who was the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Way, the Truth and the Life...

I love you Mom!




(Poem ~ Author Unknown)

Mom's Secret Weapon

"Give ear to my prayer, O God..."

                                               Psalm 55:1

The above t-shirt says it all, doesn't it?

When you're a Military Mom, especially when they are deployed, this is what you do on a daily basis.

I belong to a Facebook group of Military Moms. We post pictures of our heroes, our sons and daughters. We celebrate our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Air Force kid's celebrations and struggles. Also, there are a lot of prayer request. Moms asking for prayers for illnesses, the passing of exams, physical and written exams. Prayers for deployments and new duty stations. Prayers for daughter-in-laws and son-in-laws, and the birth of grandchildren.

One mother had posted a concern about how her son has begun to pull away from her. She understood that it was probably just his way of coping with the military life and how hard it can be when you are in Basic Training. The mom had concluded her post saying that all she knew how to do at this point was to just keep praying for her son. 

I commented back to her, telling her that prayer was a Mom's secret weapon and to never stop using that weapon.

But it's just not Military Moms who need to use this secret weapon. All Moms eat. sleep. pray.

From the time you discover that you are pregnant, or when you find out that your adoption request has been finalized, you begin to pray for that little one.

You pray all through their growing up years. You pray that they will make the right choices as a teenager. You pray for the right college, the right career, and the right person for them to spend their lives with.

Prayer may not always stop painful things from happening to our children, but as C.S. Lewis said in his book, Through the Shadowlands, 

“I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless.I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God. It changes me.”

No matter what your son or daughter is going through right now in their life, whether it's a good time or bad, if they are a little one or in college, or if they are married and have families of their own, pray for your children. The Lord doesn't turn a deaf ear to those who love Him.

   "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee..." 

                                                                                                  Isaiah 26:3

Love from the Preacher and I

The Little Old Lady In the Motor Home

For this Mother's Day weekend, I thought I'd introduce you to my mother, Lula Mae.

I love this picture of her. It says a lot about her. This was taken back in the late '80's or early '90's. This is her 30 foot motor home.

As a kid, our family went camping a lot during the summers. At one time my parents had a camper that they parked in a camp ground next to a lake in Indiana. We traveled out here to Colorado one summer with our camper. My mom and my dad loved to travel and they loved to camp. They belonged to a camping club through Eli Lilly, where my dad worked. They met so many people through camping, some of which remained friends for many years.

In 1981 my father passed away and we all thought that camping would be a thing of the past.

Then my mother called me up one day and said that she had bought this motor home. She missed camping. She missed traveling. My mother was back on the road again.

She would drive all by herself to the east coast of Florida to visit the Preacher and I. She would stay for a month or two and then drive over to the west coast of Florida to visit a friend and then drive back to Indiana. She loved it when the truckers would pass her by, and since she had a CB radio, she could hear them talking about the little old lady driving the motor home. I think she even talked back to them a time or two. She has even driven her camper out here. 

My mother has an independent spirit, to say the least. If you tell her that she can't do something, she will do it just to see if she can. I hope that when I grow up I will be this independent. Not afraid to want something and then to go after it. 

My mother turned 80 this year. She hasn't been able to go camping for about 3 years now due to some health issues. Just the other day she called and said that she's selling her camper. I was glad because I worry about her being out on the road by herself, but yet I was sad for her. I know how much she loves it. I am sad that this time in her life is ending.

She still is active. She plays cards with her friends. She has lunch with her church friends. She even gets together with some ladies that graduated high school with her. 

Like I said, I hope to be this independent at the age of 80!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Love from the Preacher and I

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Here is a pic of the best son ever, Samuel! He makes me proud to be his mother.

I wish I had a pic available of my mother. She is a very special person.

I also am going to try to attach a you tube called "The Gift of An Ordinary Day". It is my story, especially since my son is almost 6 foot tall and 15 years old. I can relate to this woman's story so much.

Have a great day!

ps - okay I can't seem to be able to attach that you tube. but you can find it by going to You Tube and searching using this title. Be sure you have kleenex.

I'll have to have my 15 year old to show me how to attach a video.