The Greatest Mother's Day Gift

To those of you who still have your mother, I hope you find yourself blessed with a precious gift. I would love to call mine and chat with her about the many events that have taken place since she left us for heaven.

 Our conversations that last year of her life were difficult because of her dementia. A few times when I called her, she’d tell me about the wonderful vacation she and Dad had just taken to the lake. She enjoyed the peace and calm while sitting on the back deck there. Although I knew she hadn’t left the house, I found comfort knowing she experienced happy times in her mind.

 If she were here, I’d love to share the news that our oldest grandson is studying nuclear engineering and tell her all about our two grandchildren she never met. Our teenage granddaughter wishes to be an actress and our youngest grandson dreams of playing football. Mom would love to hear about our grandchildren and get updates about our adult children too.

 She wouldn’t expect me to be writing romance novels, but I think she’d remember how much I loved to read. If I could, I would share my storylines with her, and ask if I could model a character after her. She’d say no, but it would please her to learn that my books honor the Lord, which is what she did.

 I remember a time when my husband and I stayed with my parents for a few days. My mom and dad sat at their kitchen table one morning praying for their children and grandchildren and didn’t know I was in the next room. It deeply touched me when they prayed for our former foster daughter who had been a part of our family years before. What a beautiful commitment of prayer in honor of the Lord.

 Being a mother and grandmother myself, I hope my children and their families see Jesus in me and know that I love Him and them. I pray they will deepen their relationship with the Lord and serve Him faithfully.

 I’d like to be a gift to them as my mom was to me. And the greatest Mother’s Day gift each of them can give me in return is their surrendered life to Christ.

 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children
are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 (NIV)

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Photo by Sooz - Unsplash

No Regrets

Several years have gone by since I read the entire Bible from start to finish. This year I’m reading through the Bible chronologically. After reading several books of the Old Testament, I’m reminded of how grateful I am to live under God’s grace and not the law.

During my reading of Leviticus 17, in the New Living Translation, I stopped and reread verse 11.

For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible. 

That’s what Christ did for you and me. He shed His blood as a gift to us to give us new life through the forgiveness of our sins.

This time of year, we remember what Christ did for us when He went to the cross, died, and rose from the dead.

When growing up, my parents and the church taught me about Jesus. I understood He gave His life for my sins, but I never realized I needed to make a personal decision to follow Him. The teaching I remember was to attend church whenever, partake in communion once or twice a year, and try to be good.

At twenty-one, my relationship with Christ changed. When I committed my life to Him, He became my Savior, Lord, Deliverer, Friend, Healer, Provider, and so much more. I wanted to serve Him every day of my life. To not only follow His ways, but to surrender my life to Him. The head knowledge I accepted as a youth became heart knowledge and a personal part of my life as a young adult. 

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
Romans 10:9-10 (NLT) 

When I understood my need to repent and surrender my life to Christ, I gladly followed through.

I have no regrets.

That decision transformed my life. God changed me because I allowed Him full access to my heart and soul. He is mine for eternity, and I am His.

Have you given Him full access to your heart and soul? If not, surrender your life to Christ and experience the joy of Easter as a child of God!

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Photo by Ray Shrewsberry - Unsplash

Special Gifts

A year ago, I joined a ladies Bible study group at my church. We read the book, Lead Me, Holy Spirit, by Stormie Omartian.

She shared a story in her book that I’ve been reminded of often. On a snowy morning outside her window, there were thirty to forty redbirds perched in a tree. She compared the scene to a Christmas tree decorated with red ornaments. She tried to discover what God was revealing to her through the beauty of the moment but couldn’t quite grasp the meaning. When a pastor friend stopped by, she asked him what he thought God was showing her. The pastor said, “It was a gift to show His love for you.”

How often does the Lord give us gifts to show His love for us? Happens more than we realize. I’d like to share one He gave me.

A lover of worship music, I was looking for songs to download and came across a worship CD from my alma mater, Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. I purchased the entire album and listened often. There was one song that became my favorite—“Hope Is Rising.” For some reason, I wanted to know who sang this song. I checked the website for LeeU Worship but couldn’t find anything about the featured singers.

Eight months later my husband and I took a trip to Ohio where I grew up. We visited our home church while there and met the worship pastor. He was also the singer of “Hope Is Rising.”

There was no reason for me to know who sang this song, but God knew it was important to me. God gave me a name and allowed me to meet the singer.

God’s gifts are everywhere. How has He recently shown His love for you?