All Means All

 I got to celebrate Mother's Day at Anthony's restaurant near where our kids live.  

This was the view from the window.

Yes, it was a gray day. 

But we Northwesterners  choose to look at the bright side of the weather.

Notice the clouds reflecting in the water.

The evergreen and new-growth green of the slopping hillside.

The boats gently bobbing on the quiet water.

After brunch, we noticed a patch of blue sky and said,

"It's turning out to be a lovely day!"

By contrast, on Saturday our dogwood was glowing in full bloom during a sun break 

as I finished tying  my grandbaby's quilt.

Last Monday I secured  the edges with decorative machine stitching.

It's not perfect, but a whole lotta love went into each stitch. 

True Confession:  I chose Contemporary Christian instead of listening to Country music.

Decided that, as I worked, I'd note lyrics from the songs that spoke to my heart about God's plans for grandbaby's life.  More often than not, lyrics for these songs are based on verses from the Bible.

What better way to pray/sing blessing into his/her life?  

[Don't think that's possible with Country music.]

Yes, it took twice as long to tie the quilt, but it turned my nervous anticipation into peaceful joy.

And, TA DA!

Here's the result:

7 days before her due date!
As close to being a mommy on Mother's Day as a girl can be, without actually holding her baby.

We squinted happily at being together under the patchy blue sky.
Sweet DIL, DH, Son, moi, D#2, SIL
D#1 and other SIL were in Europe

This morning I read this:

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

As I anticipate my daughter's labor and delivery, 

Jesus applied His Word to our circumstances this way:

"I will give her the gift of My grace in this, too.

Because I love her and her baby, 

they have My boundless provision of mercy and love to protect them.

For giving birth to this new little life is, indeed,

a good work!

So do not be afraid, O little [Karen],

for I myself will help [them].

{Isaiah 41:10}

To which I reply, "Thank You, Jesus!"

Grace, mercy, and love be to YOU today, too, friend.

Love,

Linking with

Ann at A Holy Experience for Multitudes on Monday.

This is a blog hop I whole-heartedly recommend.

The blogs I visit here are nearly always worthy of the time spent reading them!

I truly wish I could figure out how to add Ann's graphic here without the html code.

Again, I ask for my readers' help with this.

Also linking with

Internet Cafe's Word-Filled Wednesday

A picture of comfort

Today I received news that a friend's great grand baby had died inutero.  

She asked me to keep the family in my prayers, as they are, of course, devastated.

Weeping with sorrow, I typed out my prayer:

that they would be comforted in knowing 

their baby is sitting on Jesus' lap, waiting for them in heaven.

For the record:

It is NOT my intention by this post to make their tragedy about ME!

I simply desire to offer comfort to anyone who's lost a child

-for whatever reason- 

by means of the comfort the Lord gave me a long time ago.

Here is my story.

38 years ago, my then-boyfriend [now Dear Husband] and I 

aborted our first child.

We married 6 years later and 2 years after that,

the Lord blessed us with the first of our 3 children.

Just realized that might be better stated like this:

"...the second of our four children."

Slowly, we began to realize, as we never had before, 

the gravity of our decision to abort our first child.

We mourned that baby for 25 years.

Yes, we asked the Lord to forgive us 

and in our heads, we knew He did.

During that time the Lord gave me the mental picture of

Him holding our baby on His lap,

safe and happy, with his/her Savior,

waiting to meet us in heaven.

But we never received that comfort in our hearts 

nor had we lived in the freedom of forgiveness.

Several times over the years we'd shared about our abortion 

with close friends and with various Bible study groups, 

but our sorrow lingered. 

About 6 years ago, on Sanctity of Life Sunday, 

my pastor asked me to share our abortion experience at 3 worship services.  

As a result of that testimony, God brought good out of a bad decision we'd made 

by drawing other hurting hearts to Himself.

What was the result of sharing our story for me?

It was no longer about me.

It was about God

and His grace and forgiveness to me;

His patience and faithfulness in drawing me close to His heart all those years

until I received it.

Today I pray that whoever reads this and needs it, 

 will receive the same comfort the Lord continues to give me:

the knowledge that their baby is loved with His everlasting love, 

is secure in His everlasting arms,

and is sitting in Jesus' lap,

waiting to meet them in heaven.

The eternal God is your refuge,

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33:27

Love,

Linking with
Ann Voskamp @ A Holy Experience for
"Multitudes on Monday"
<a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff162/annvoskamp/multitudesonmondaysbutton2-1.jpg" ></a>
[Can someone please teach me how to copy and paste the button code so that the graphic also shows?!?]
If you'd like to join us for this weekly meme, go to her site above, and link up.
I've been following Ann's blog for a couple of months now and I must say that every time I read it, I am blessed by the depth of her posts.  I look forward to checking out the other participants' links over the next several days.
Ann also hosts Walk with Him Wednesdays.
Tough Cookie Mommy for

4/92, 3/11, ?/??

There is a date next to these verses in my Bible: 4/92.

Upon the sale of their stock brokerage firm, my Dear Husband and his business partner 

were obliged to live in California for several months to assure a smooth transition.

DH was stressed out.  He hated living away from me and our kids. The new owners were difficult.

He was passing through waters up to his nostrils.

I remember crying out to God for him.  

This passage soothed my worries.

I didn't realize then the significance of the word When.

God did not say, If.

I didn't know how many times and the circumstances under which

 I would come back to that passage during the last 20 years.

I don't know what the next years hold either.

I do know this, though:

My Heavenly Father was, is, and always will be there 

to comfort me 

and empower me with His love.

This afternoon, Mom told me she has to stay in the skilled nursing facility

for another week.  She's just not stable on her feet yet.

I heard disappointment, discouragement, confusion, and fear in her voice.

I felt powerless to help her.

Seems like the best I can do is call, listen, and encourage.

Last fall,  Mom, knowing we were going through tough times, 

sent us a card with this verse in it.

It was a reminder of the truth I learned so many moons ago.

The card has resided on the desk next to my computer since then.

Just don't have the heart to throw it away.

It came in handy again today.

If adversity introduces us to ourselves,

it's also an opportunity to draw closer to God.

Thank you, Lord, that You are near us

in the dark valleys as well as the mountain tops of life.

Please give our family eyes to see You in these circumstances.

May our confident hope draw others to You.

Amen!

May you have eyes to see Him this week!

Love,

Linking with

Spiritual Sunday

Shadow Shot Sunday
The Sunday Creative
Weekend Reflections

Scripture and a Snapshot

Best Posts of the Week
Watery Wednesday
Outdoor Wednesday