Two Miles,Two Boys, Two Prayers

With gracious uncertainty, we can be confident in our expectations, knowing our hope in the Lord will not disappoint (Romans 5:5).

Today I’m right where I’m supposed to be…
This morning when I drove my younger “BOYS” (the ones that God knew I needed, if you remember my last elated blog) to school…THEIR prayers reminded me of that!
You see, ever since they started school, as I drove them, I would say a prayer for the day, first thanking God for his blessings, then asking God to keep them safe, guide them and bring them home safely to me. This is something I borrowed from another mother in a Bible study I joined years ago. I had never been comfortable praying out loud, but I thought if they heard me doing this every day when they were young, they would be comfortable doing it on their own some day. Several years ago, their Dad started doing the morning drive to drop them off at school on his way to the office. When I passed him the A.M. carpool torch, quietly I said,”You know we pray every morning”. I wasn’t quite sure if he had even heard me and definitely not sure if he would follow up. I was just glad to be able to stay in my pjs a little longer each day and uncharacteristically refrained from making carpool prayer demands!!!!
I guess it has been 4 years now, he’s been doing the short a.m. drive with our boys, now teenagers, but now that he is in Austin, I’ve put on my chauffeur’s hat again. So you can imagine the first morning I backed out of the driveway, when Garrison turned down the radio and begin the morning prayer, followed by Cameron, covering everything Garrison hadn’t…Well, let’s just say, my heart was bursting.
Each day I look forward to that morning drive even though sometimes it’s obvious they stayed up later than they should have, the words might run together a bit, and indeed on occasion their prayers sound a little rote… But, I am truly blessed, because the boys God gave me know they are His!
Did I mention, they are great Uncles too!
Yes, I am right where I am supposed to be. I only wish I had known how to pray when I was their age…for I know I would have known JOY sooner! B

Disclaimer: I have declared January Brag Month as Mom/Gramb, then I’m going to try to return to things that inspire 7thJoy, although I think they are one and the same!

Quinn, God Gifts a Girl!

And God said “Let there be boys!”

Step back in time some 29 years ago, when I was expecting my first child… An unexpected blessing, I thought, OK, I can do this! But God, please give me a little girl!!! Because you know I can’t do a boy on my own!! Besides, I could just imagine, baby dolls, dance classes, and of course sewing & shopping for all that pink!
Yet God knew better, said, “Yes you can", and gave me the most perfect son, who grew into a wonderful little boy, a strong young man and now an exceptional Dad himself. I must say I did fairly well with blue jeans & t-shirts, baseballs and fishing poles. He’s forgiven me for the Girbauds!!
Years later, when St. Philip came along, I knew even though I was pushing it in the age department, I wanted more children…and he said, “Yes, we can”. Again, I prayed for a little girl, I just knew I would be the perfect Mom for a Girl. But again, God knew better and gave me a son and 22 months later…another SON! And I couldn't be more blessed. Both were extraordinarily special little boys who are still growing into exceptional young men!
Now I have resigned myself to the color blue, in fact it has always been my favorite color anyway. God knows what he is doing!!! I’ve gotten quite good at the blue jeans & t-shirt thing; I don’t even press them anymore, let alone iron socks...Yes I used to, but I won’t go there!
So you can imagine the anticipation when my first grandchild was coming, yet again the ultrasound proclaimed…BLUE! This time, it didn’t matter at all, I was just elated & looking forward to being a grandmother. Anyway, I have the boy thing down, and boy is he a BOY!! He is a wonderful, energetic, headstrong, precious mess and I adore him.
Fast forward to a couple of days ago, January 14th at 1:20 in the afternoon, when I was blessed enough to experienced the birth of my second grandchild. This time with no ultrasound gender proclamation, waiting to know boy or girl was almost too much!
But Quinn Tyler Abbott was born to a birthing room full of cheers and even more tears. Finally, God gifted us A GIRL! A precious pink skinned, beautiful black haired, perfect little girl! I’m IN BIG JOYFUL TROUBLE……
You see, I never thought I’d have tiny leopard print flats in my life, but as a friend said recently “God is Good!” YES HE IS!!!! Gramb

Refiner of Silver

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three which says:
"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." (Malachi 3:3)
This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week this woman called up a silver smith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silver smith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot--then she thought again about the verse, that he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.
She asked the silver smith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silver smith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy--when I see my image in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you.
Author unknown
Today, this posted before I was ready....you see, I borrowed this from AUTHOR UNKNOWN because when I read it for the first time, It SO APPLIED!!!! Was thinking about sharing it on my blog, just working on a draft, then hit the wrong button on my laptop and WALAAAA! It Posted! So obviously, someone in my sweet group of followers needed to read this today!. I hope and pray that we all come through whatever refining flames we need and our silver begins to shine with the reflection of God! Joy to all, b

A New Year, Many New Gifts to Come....!!!!!

You can truly look at everything in life as a gift, whether it is immediately evident as such or becomes one when you have a chance to look back on it!
The gifts I'm looking forward to in 2010...
1 Precious Grandbaby, boy or girl ??? Either will be a blessing, but my landscape could use a hint of pink or even purple, though it’s not my favorite!
1 More Boy Driving… A mixed blessing, no more chauffeur hat, but another son growing up, and of course a “slight” insurance increase!
1 Possible Move to Austin… Still undecided, but looking forward to the possibility of new surroundings, 10 years is way too long in one spot!
1 New Hair Color…I love the fact that my grey is going to be stunning like my mother’s, but think I’ve decided to wait a while to become stunning!
1 New Church...Searching, my job is finished, I’ve done all I can, the boys are grounded in Christ & I’m ready to be filled in a new way!
1 New Endeavor…Who knows what is in store for 7thJOY, always looking for new creative and joyful ways to explore our passion, fibers!
New friends ??? Maybe...I’m quite blessed with the ones who surround me at present; God Is Great that way, but I welcome new friends because it’s always good to see the world through new eyes!
Actually, at my age I welcome anything new…experiences, awakenings, passions, relationships, lessons, possibilities!
Looking over my shoulder, 2009 has been a trying year for us, to say the least, but the blessings that have come from it are now becoming evident and I am so looking forward to 2010!
May it be a New Year full of Immediately Evident Gifts and JOY for us all! b