Grandparenting 101

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Lynn

I LOVE being a Grandparent but there are some days…

I wrote this in my journal last year on this day:

“Looking after Grandbabies Day#2: after a relatively easy day yesterday with #1 Grandson and #2 Granddaughter where they ate what was put in front of them, used the bathroom without incidents, cleaned up their toys and got along like the little angels they are…I felt confident I would have a repeat today.

All was well until they had their morning green juice. #1 promptly overturned his sippy cup, lid popped off and he and one of my cushioned stools were instantaneously a g…reen, sopping mess.

Didn’t have a change of clothes for the five year old so stuck him in his swim shorts while I did the…

1st load of laundry…

#2 had been faithfully going “pee in the potty” until we were seated nicely for lunch and she announced she felt wet.

Understatement!

The tidal pool under my other cushioned chair indicated that this 2 year old had a bladder bigger than I could ever have imagined.

Second time washing the floor, scrubbing another seat cushion and…

2nd load of laundry.

No sooner had I started the washer than #2 declared she had to use the potty. Noticing skid marks in her Disney princess panties I decided I would do a preventive strike by putting her in Paw Patrol Pull-ups.

Good call! Five minutes later my family room smelled like a barn and #2 had gone #2! A quick change back to Princess and she was ready to play.

For five minutes and she declared she was still pooping and peeing…

3rd load of laundry!

Their uncle took pity on me and took his niece and nephew to the playground so Grandma could fold the first two loads of laundry and eat a cold grilled cheese sandwich.

Now #2 is curled up asleep on the couch, sighing her perfect angelic Princess sighs and #1 is in the pool with his grandpa.

Wouldn’t exchange these times for all the world…”

Write AMEN in the comments if you can relate and still LOVE being a grandparent too!

Posted in Family Life, Friday Funnies, Hope through Humour | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

This World is Messed Up!

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Lynn

Do you feel as if the whole world has been turned on its side and everything is so messed up?  I certainly do.  Just recently there have been some very disturbing news stories that have surfaced here in Canada that make me wonder what in the world is happening!!  A Christian School in Alberta was told not to use the Bible because it might “offend” individuals.  Our Canadian federal government has paid over $10 million dollars to a terrorist!  A parent in B.C.’s Slocan Valley is fighting to omit their child’s sex on their birth certificate as part of a broader effort to keep gender from being included on government documents.  Teachers are no longer allowed to say the pronouns “he” or “she” in the classroom!  The traditional view of marriage has been completely done away with here in this country because in Canada’s efforts to applaud diversity, the government is completely negating the Bible’s mandate for marriage.  If that were not enough, in a country that prides itself on protecting one’s rights to “freedom of speech“, this country has effectively put the muzzle on anyone, particularly Christians, who speak out against abortion, or anything else that goes against the liberal way of thinking.  According to our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, “Christians are the worst part of Canadian society.”

Wow.

Canada desperately needs God’s intervention during these times!  I feel overwhelmed by sadness by how far our country has strayed from God and sunk to new levels of depravity and corruption.  John MacArthur has talked for years about the “abandonment of God“, when a society has so rejected God’s teaching that God steps aside and allows that society to wallow in its sin to the point of near collapse.  I believe Canada may be experiencing this “abandonment of God”.

I love Canada.  I love its beauty and its people.  I love the history, the accomplishments, and potential of this nation but it is faltering now, bending under societal pressures that run contrary to my Christian world view.  My heart breaks for Canada.

David cried out to the Lord in Psalm 9:15-20 and I echo his words today: “The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.  The Lord is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.  The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.  But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.  Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.”

David commands the Lord to “Arise!”, to not abandon God’s people even in the midst of their calamity.  In Psalm 13 he pleads with God to show Himself, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?  How long will my enemy triumph over me?  Look on me and answer, Lord my God.  Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.”

But David also acknowledges that in the midst of all this tribulation, God is still Sovereign, and even if he does not understand why God is silent, David continues to trust God.  Psalm 13:5-6 “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.”

These are words that soothe my soul.  Psalms 15 and 16 are the prayers of my heart today.  When the world is so messed up, I delight in God, because I know He will never leave me or forsake me!

“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?  Who may live on your holy mountain?  The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.  Whoever does these things will never be shaken.  Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.  I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”  I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”  Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.  I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.  Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.  I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;  my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.  You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Lastly, I urge Christians world-wide, to pray for Canada and for their country of origin.  Pray that our nations will repent and all peoples will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

“…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  (2 Chronicles 7:14)

AMEN!

 

 

 

 

 

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25 Encouraging Scripture Verses for Parents of Preschoolers

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Lynn

Wow, I have a whole new appreciation for the work that preschool parents do each and every day!  I have spent the last week working with six precious preschoolers, including my own sweet granddaughter, at my church’s VBS (Vacation Bible School).  With ages that range from a year and a half to four years old, and even with a team of five ladies, I’m so exhausted at the end of the morning I can barely stand!  I know I once raised preschoolers, but I believe there is good reason I had my children young…I just don’t have the energy like I did way back when!  So I salute you wonderful Moms and Dads of preschoolers!  May you continue to stay focused on God, let Him give you the strength and endurance to teach those little ones in the “way they should go” (and I don’t just mean potty-training 🙂

Psalm 127:3-5a  “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

Psalm 28:7  “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”

Psalm 100:2  “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.”

Psalm 119:105  “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Psalm 107:9  “…for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”

Proverbs 1:8-9  “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.   They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.”

Proverbs 23:18-19  “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.  Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path.”

Isaiah 40:31  “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

2 Corinthians 9:8  “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

Colossians 2:6-7  “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Psalm 37:4  “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 126:3  “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”

Proverbs 3:5-6  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8  “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Philippians 4:4  “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Colossians 3:23-24  “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24  “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”

Ephesians 2:10  “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Philippians 1:9-10  “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”

Philippians 1:6  “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 1:9-10  “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”

James 1:5  “ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Matthew 21:15-16  “But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.  “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

Matthew 18:2-6  “He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.  “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

2 Peter 3:18  “ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever!  Amen.”

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

 

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