A True Lady!

Happy Mother's Day to every mom, grandma, step-mom, mother-in-law and spiritual mother stopping by to read today! I hope you felt loved on Mother's Day whether it was a homemade card or the finest Hallmark can offer - each is special when given from the heart. 

So thankful for these three beauties who made me a mom.

As you can see, Kristin is very pregnant with Olivia who is due to arrive somewhere around July 16th.  Joy has been on a health challenge with John and is looking very slim.  Meagan and I find ourselves somewhere in the middle.  Such fun and such a gift to all be in church together yesterday.  I do not take that for granted.

Here are the pictures we grabbed of the second generation.  (Parker wasn't able to be with us for these.) In this picture, we're all buttoned up and looking at the camera.  Angelic smiles wreath each face.  Are they not so precious?!

And here you have the more realistic version of our tribe trying to gather for any family photo.

Look familiar to any of you?  I thought it might. 

We've found that if we promise a silly picture and actually take it, they are more likely to work together helping us get one good shot that we had envisioned when we started this mammoth task.  Yes, it is like herding cats but we're up for the challenge.

I had the privilege of bringing the message yesterday which is always one of my favorite times to preach.  Women need encouragement as they do their best to follow Christ in today's world.  It's important that we watch for opportunities to encourage one another.

How well I remember my own days as a young mom with three little girls looking to me for direction.  Each  day seemed to have major struggles or difficulty and it was up to me to frame our life in a positive way.  (I recently heard someone say we can't always choose our feelings but we can choose our words, so let them be encouraging.)

Here's a special Olan Mills presentation of our three angels during the time I'm talking about.  This would have been around 1989.  No wonder our grandchildren are so adorable, right?!

One of the scriptures I held to as a young mom was Psalm 121: 1-2.  David was experiencing difficulty as he wrote this psalm. He describes for us how he goes out and looks up at the hills around him.  He then ponders if this is where his help comes from?  He answers his own question with determination, "My help comes from the Lord. The maker of heaven and earth."

When our girls were little, we lived in the mountains and I would often follow David's example literally.  I would go outside and look at those massive mountains.  I would think about how secure and unmovable they were.  Then I would say out loud for my own heart to hear, "My help is even greater than these mountains. My help comes from the Lord who made these mountains!"

Somehow saying it out loud always helped recalibrate my soul and gave me strength to address whatever that day might hold.  (Feel free to try this method wherever you find yourself today.)

My message of encouragement to the congregation yesterday was simple.  Based on the scripture, my title was "Look Up, Dear Lady.  Look Up!"  I took the word lady and made an acrostic elaborating on each point.  

Dear Lady, you are:

LOVED more than you know.

ADDING VALUE to the world around you. 

DAUGHTER of the KING and your

YEARNINGS are KNOWN by God.

I wrapped it up by reminding the ladies how important it is for us to spend time with the Lord.  We can talk to Him about the struggles we face and we should express gratitude for the joys we experience.  

At the end, we all met at the altar for a time of doing just that.  The men of the congregation gathered behind the ladies and prayed blessing for them all.  It was a special service, indeed.

I want to close with this picture.

This is one of the last pictures we had made of my Grandma Miller and her precious Kissy.  Grandma was born in Liberty, Indiana on May 7, 1902.  That means this year was the 120th anniversary of her birth.  There are a hundred stories I could tell about this woman who impacted my life.  But the main thing I want you to know is that she exemplified, to me, all the qualities of a true lady.  

Her example is one I follow even now as I'm trying to create memories with my grandchildren.  And who knows?  Maybe in another 60-70 years one of them will be able to show a picture of me and honestly say, "My Noni was a True Lady."  Thanks what I'm hoping for, anyway.  

How did you mark Mother's Day?  Was your life greatly impacted by a grandmother?  Are you blessed to still have your mother living?  We'd love to read your comments in the box below.