A local family will receive an "Extreme Makeover" home this week. Today work on the home and filming began in Poolesville, MD, not far from here.
Thursday, from 7:30 - 10:30 pm, Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church, in Maryland, will host a benefit gospel concert for Felicia Jackson and her family of 15, this week's recipients of an "Extreme Makeover" home.
GPC's Praise Team will open the evening that will feature area gospel groups. An ABC film crew will capture the event. Organizers hope to raise $50,000 to help defray expenses associated with an "Extreme Makeover" home.
The Jackson family' episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will air in September as the two-part season premiere.
Sunday morning, Ty Pennington and his television crew surprised the Jackson family with the news.
Once ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" made the announcement on Sunday, news spread among local leaders and to the community. Now plans are underway to quickly organize a community concert and publicize the event.
Community support is important to the makeover effort. Fund raising activities are part of the program now so that families can pay additional home expenses they face, such as taxes.
Members of our church have been instrumental in helping Felicia Jackson and her family through the Dwelling Place for years. This week's concert activities are an extension of other efforts.
I'm touched by the family's story.
Felicia Jackson is struggling to raise her four children and to keep her 10 nieces and nephews from entering the foster care system. Her sister died of cancer four years ago and asked Felicia to keep them together. Both Felicia and her sister were raised in foster care. They did not want this for their children.
I can identify with them in that since I also lived in a children's home, group homes and a foster home. Although there is gratitude for the kindness of others, there is strong revulsion to ever have your own kids or others go through that. Never. Never again. I longed for some member of the family to be strong enough and care enough to help us, but God used others to fill the needs and gaps in our family. God in his kindness healed many broken places through the years.
So, I understand something of Felicia's determination and commitment to provide something different than foster care for her children and nieces and nephews. I'm proud of Felicia for fighting for her family. The easy thing to do would be to let others take over, but she is striving to do whatever she can to keep the family together. The community has backed her up on this and now ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and the community is making a huge contribution to this family.
Christians are asked to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the love of Christ. We can share burdens by opening our homes to foster children. Some are called to that and serve a great need. My life has benefited from this kindness. We can share burdens by helping others keep children out of the foster care system. Our church and community are actively engaged in these efforts for the Jackson family and others.
The loads we carry may be heavy. But others may be staggering beneath crippling loads. Together, we can share each other's burdens, as God leads, and demonstrate the practical and life-enhancing love of Christ.
Today, I hope you will look beyond the load you carry and help share someone else's crippling load as God leads you. Together we can do it.
Related links
A local family will receive an Extreme Makeover home
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
A local family will receive an Extreme Makeover home this week
Today, in a press release, ABC announced a local family will receive an Extreme Makeover Home:
ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Says “Good Morning” to a Montgomery County Family
Classic Homes of Maryland Joins ABC to Build Family Dream Home in Poolesville.
Rockville, Md. – June 22, 2008 – The lives of Felicia Jackson and her fourteen children will be forever changed as they awoke this morning to Ty Pennington’s “Good Morning” wake-up call. The unsuspecting family was surprised by Ty Pennington and the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team this morning when they learned they had been selected to receive the home makeover. Classic Homes of Maryland will join Ty’s team in making a family’s dream into a reality.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a race against the clock. The EMHE team, Classic Homes of Maryland and all of their designers, contractors and several hundred volunteers will work together to design a new home for the Jackson family, demolish their existing home, and build their dream home; all within seven days.
The Jackson family was selected to receive an Extreme Home Makeover out of thousands of applicants due to their amazing story of family, hardships, and survival. After growing up as a foster child in the state system, Mrs. Jackson grew up to raise her own family with four children she’d love dearly. However, she longed to find the family she never knew. After much searching, Mrs. Jackon was able to locate her birth sister, with whom she had been separated from as children. The two women reconnected, grew close and became family again.
However, tragedy soon struck. Mrs. Jackson’s sister lost her life to cancer. Since both women knew the hardships of growing up as foster-children, Mrs. Jackson pledged to her sister that she would not allow her children to become foster-children too. She adopted all 10 of her sister’s children, becoming a mother to fourteen. As a single mother, Mrs. Jackson has fought hard to maintain a stable environment for her large family. They now live in a hotel and Mrs. Jackson faces a continual risk of losing everything.
With the help of Classic Homes of Maryland, many donors and volunteers, EMHE will build the Jackson family a home they can call their own. In the span of a week, what would normally be a four month project will be completed. And the family will leave the stressful and uncomfortable environment they currently call home.
“We are honored to be part of this project. The uncontrollable circumstances of life can make us all vulnerable. It’s a joy to see the community pulling together to help a family stuck in an unfortunate situation,” says Amita Jain, Vice-President of Classic Homes of Maryland.
Construction begins on June 23rd at the project location in Poolesvile.
All members of the community are invited to join in anyway you can. Volunteer, donate, or simply cheer on the hard workers.
For more information, please visit www.classicmd.net and follow the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition links.
About Classic Homes of Maryland
Classic Homes of Maryland, based in Rockville, Maryland, has been building homes for over 25 years. Their affordable, high-quality home designs are built on their customers’ land, offering an alternative to expensive custom homes built in developments. Customer choice motivates Classic Homes of Maryland, and customers are able to choose from a wide variety of home designs, finding a plan that is the perfect fit for their lot and their lifestyle. For more information visit www.classicmd.net or call 301-251-2001.
About ABC-TVs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which has won back-to-back Emmy Awards as Best Reality Program (non-competitive), is entering its 6th season on ABC. The program is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. Anthony Dominici is the executive producer; and David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.
ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Says “Good Morning” to a Montgomery County Family
Classic Homes of Maryland Joins ABC to Build Family Dream Home in Poolesville.
Rockville, Md. – June 22, 2008 – The lives of Felicia Jackson and her fourteen children will be forever changed as they awoke this morning to Ty Pennington’s “Good Morning” wake-up call. The unsuspecting family was surprised by Ty Pennington and the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team this morning when they learned they had been selected to receive the home makeover. Classic Homes of Maryland will join Ty’s team in making a family’s dream into a reality.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a race against the clock. The EMHE team, Classic Homes of Maryland and all of their designers, contractors and several hundred volunteers will work together to design a new home for the Jackson family, demolish their existing home, and build their dream home; all within seven days.
The Jackson family was selected to receive an Extreme Home Makeover out of thousands of applicants due to their amazing story of family, hardships, and survival. After growing up as a foster child in the state system, Mrs. Jackson grew up to raise her own family with four children she’d love dearly. However, she longed to find the family she never knew. After much searching, Mrs. Jackon was able to locate her birth sister, with whom she had been separated from as children. The two women reconnected, grew close and became family again.
However, tragedy soon struck. Mrs. Jackson’s sister lost her life to cancer. Since both women knew the hardships of growing up as foster-children, Mrs. Jackson pledged to her sister that she would not allow her children to become foster-children too. She adopted all 10 of her sister’s children, becoming a mother to fourteen. As a single mother, Mrs. Jackson has fought hard to maintain a stable environment for her large family. They now live in a hotel and Mrs. Jackson faces a continual risk of losing everything.
With the help of Classic Homes of Maryland, many donors and volunteers, EMHE will build the Jackson family a home they can call their own. In the span of a week, what would normally be a four month project will be completed. And the family will leave the stressful and uncomfortable environment they currently call home.
“We are honored to be part of this project. The uncontrollable circumstances of life can make us all vulnerable. It’s a joy to see the community pulling together to help a family stuck in an unfortunate situation,” says Amita Jain, Vice-President of Classic Homes of Maryland.
Construction begins on June 23rd at the project location in Poolesvile.
All members of the community are invited to join in anyway you can. Volunteer, donate, or simply cheer on the hard workers.
For more information, please visit www.classicmd.net and follow the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition links.
About Classic Homes of Maryland
Classic Homes of Maryland, based in Rockville, Maryland, has been building homes for over 25 years. Their affordable, high-quality home designs are built on their customers’ land, offering an alternative to expensive custom homes built in developments. Customer choice motivates Classic Homes of Maryland, and customers are able to choose from a wide variety of home designs, finding a plan that is the perfect fit for their lot and their lifestyle. For more information visit www.classicmd.net or call 301-251-2001.
About ABC-TVs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which has won back-to-back Emmy Awards as Best Reality Program (non-competitive), is entering its 6th season on ABC. The program is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. Anthony Dominici is the executive producer; and David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Article: Rejecting Rejection by James Scott Bell
Rejecting Rejection
By James Scott Bell
The writer Barnaby Conrad tells the story of a matador, all decked out in his "suit of lights," talking to a group of reporters outside the arena. One reporter asks, "How did you happen to become a bullfighter?"The matador replied, "I took up bullfighting because of the uncertainty of being a writer."
Truth be told, many of us would rather face the horns of an angry bull than another rejection letter. At least we can run away from the bull!
But for a writer, rejection goes with the territory. There is no way we can avoid it. There are ways, however, to keep it from becoming a poison, something that makes us want to curl up and quit. Here are a few things to keep in mind about rejection:
1. Rejection is not personal
Rejection of your manuscript is not a rejection of you as a person, or as a writer. It is only a rejection of a piece of writing you have turned out.
That makes a difference. You can always grow as a writer. Always. You can learn from your setbacks. If you stick to it, you will get better. So the rejection of a piece of writing is not saying anything about your potential.
A rejection says one of two things. Either a piece isn't right for the publisher at that time, or it is not up to their standards. The first is something you can't change; the second you can. You do it by learning to write better.
If, for some strange reason, someone were to tell you that you personally don't have what it takes, you can be sure that someone is off his or her nut. How can anyone predict your future? Writing is a learned craft. People can learn how to write. No one has the capacity to tell you that you are the exception to the rule.
An obscure editor once told a future Nobel Prize winner: "I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language." Rudyard Kipling we remember. The editor no one can recall.
Writer Ron Goulart said, "Never assume that a rejection of your stuff is also a rejection of you as a person. Unless it's accompanied by a punch in the nose."
2. Rejection happens to the best
It's comforting to know that rejection happens to all writers, no matter how well known. Just remembering that fact helps enormously when a new rejection letter trembles in your fingers.
Such examples can also remind you of the value of persistence. One of my writing heroes, William Saroyan, collected a pile of rejection slips thirty inches high--some seven thousand--before he sold his first short story! Alex Haley, author of Roots, wrote every day, seven days a week for eight years before selling to a small magazine. They stuck it out, and eventually broke through.
During my period of constant rejection, I often turned to one of my favorite little books, Rotten Rejections from Pushcart Press. This is a little compendium of the setbacks some of our most famous writers received. For example: Zane Grey, who became one of the best-selling authors in history, got this from an editor rejecting one of his early novels: "I do not see anything in this to convince me you can write either narrative or fiction."
Tony Hillerman has sold millions of books about a Navajo police officer working on the reservation. An editor wrote him, "If you insist on rewriting this, get rid of all that Indian stuff."
Regarding Animal Farm, George Orwell was told, "It is impossible to sell animal stories in the U.S.A."
If it happened to them, it will happen to you. So always remember you're in good company. And keep writing!
3. Rejection can point the way
The best rejection is constructive rejection. Unfortunately, it is all too rare. Editors usually don't have the time or inclination to sit down and tell you where you manuscript may have gone wrong.
When one does take the time, though, treasure the advice. See what you can learn from it. And write a thank you note to the editor. It's not just the right thing to do; it will almost always put in the "good graces" section of that editor's mind. This can be invaluable when you submit another piece to the same person.
When rejection comes with specificity, use it as a road sign. It will help you get closer to your eventual target--publication.
4. Rejection is not final
I wrote for three solid years before selling anything. I wrote a small landfill of stuff—novels, screenplays, plays, articles, essays, jingles, poems and shopping lists. Part of this was my dues; I was learning the craft of being a writer. I was also learning the discipline of production, sitting down each day and doing a certain number of pages. This was invaluable education and training.
I had faith that rejections would not be final. At each step of the way I made sure I learned something. What was it I could have done better?
What it came down to was one simple concept: persistence. That's the only "trick." Keep writing, soak it in prayer, and reject rejection. Someday you'll break through.
James Scott Bell studied philosophy, creative writing, and film in college, acted in off-Broadway theater in New York, and received his law degree, with honors, from the University of Southern California. A former trial lawyer, Bell is the Christy Award winning author of Deadlock, Breach of Promise and The Trials of Kit Shannon series which includes A Greater Glory, A Higher Justice and A Certain Truth. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Cindy, and their two children. You can learn more at his website: www.jamesscottbell.com.
© 2004 James Scott Bell. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission.
By James Scott Bell
The writer Barnaby Conrad tells the story of a matador, all decked out in his "suit of lights," talking to a group of reporters outside the arena. One reporter asks, "How did you happen to become a bullfighter?"The matador replied, "I took up bullfighting because of the uncertainty of being a writer."
Truth be told, many of us would rather face the horns of an angry bull than another rejection letter. At least we can run away from the bull!
But for a writer, rejection goes with the territory. There is no way we can avoid it. There are ways, however, to keep it from becoming a poison, something that makes us want to curl up and quit. Here are a few things to keep in mind about rejection:
1. Rejection is not personal
Rejection of your manuscript is not a rejection of you as a person, or as a writer. It is only a rejection of a piece of writing you have turned out.
That makes a difference. You can always grow as a writer. Always. You can learn from your setbacks. If you stick to it, you will get better. So the rejection of a piece of writing is not saying anything about your potential.
A rejection says one of two things. Either a piece isn't right for the publisher at that time, or it is not up to their standards. The first is something you can't change; the second you can. You do it by learning to write better.
If, for some strange reason, someone were to tell you that you personally don't have what it takes, you can be sure that someone is off his or her nut. How can anyone predict your future? Writing is a learned craft. People can learn how to write. No one has the capacity to tell you that you are the exception to the rule.
An obscure editor once told a future Nobel Prize winner: "I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language." Rudyard Kipling we remember. The editor no one can recall.
Writer Ron Goulart said, "Never assume that a rejection of your stuff is also a rejection of you as a person. Unless it's accompanied by a punch in the nose."
2. Rejection happens to the best
It's comforting to know that rejection happens to all writers, no matter how well known. Just remembering that fact helps enormously when a new rejection letter trembles in your fingers.
Such examples can also remind you of the value of persistence. One of my writing heroes, William Saroyan, collected a pile of rejection slips thirty inches high--some seven thousand--before he sold his first short story! Alex Haley, author of Roots, wrote every day, seven days a week for eight years before selling to a small magazine. They stuck it out, and eventually broke through.
During my period of constant rejection, I often turned to one of my favorite little books, Rotten Rejections from Pushcart Press. This is a little compendium of the setbacks some of our most famous writers received. For example: Zane Grey, who became one of the best-selling authors in history, got this from an editor rejecting one of his early novels: "I do not see anything in this to convince me you can write either narrative or fiction."
Tony Hillerman has sold millions of books about a Navajo police officer working on the reservation. An editor wrote him, "If you insist on rewriting this, get rid of all that Indian stuff."
Regarding Animal Farm, George Orwell was told, "It is impossible to sell animal stories in the U.S.A."
If it happened to them, it will happen to you. So always remember you're in good company. And keep writing!
3. Rejection can point the way
The best rejection is constructive rejection. Unfortunately, it is all too rare. Editors usually don't have the time or inclination to sit down and tell you where you manuscript may have gone wrong.
When one does take the time, though, treasure the advice. See what you can learn from it. And write a thank you note to the editor. It's not just the right thing to do; it will almost always put in the "good graces" section of that editor's mind. This can be invaluable when you submit another piece to the same person.
When rejection comes with specificity, use it as a road sign. It will help you get closer to your eventual target--publication.
4. Rejection is not final
I wrote for three solid years before selling anything. I wrote a small landfill of stuff—novels, screenplays, plays, articles, essays, jingles, poems and shopping lists. Part of this was my dues; I was learning the craft of being a writer. I was also learning the discipline of production, sitting down each day and doing a certain number of pages. This was invaluable education and training.
I had faith that rejections would not be final. At each step of the way I made sure I learned something. What was it I could have done better?
What it came down to was one simple concept: persistence. That's the only "trick." Keep writing, soak it in prayer, and reject rejection. Someday you'll break through.
James Scott Bell studied philosophy, creative writing, and film in college, acted in off-Broadway theater in New York, and received his law degree, with honors, from the University of Southern California. A former trial lawyer, Bell is the Christy Award winning author of Deadlock, Breach of Promise and The Trials of Kit Shannon series which includes A Greater Glory, A Higher Justice and A Certain Truth. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Cindy, and their two children. You can learn more at his website: www.jamesscottbell.com.
© 2004 James Scott Bell. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Life is fragile
Life is fragile. I'm reminded again how easily life as we know it can be snatched away or dramatically changed.
Yesterday I began reading 90 Minutes in Heaven, by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey. We arrived an hour early for a concert by the Montgomery Philharmonic Orchestra at our church, Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church. I saw the book in the library. I'd been meaning to read it and there it was.
By the time the concert started, I was hooked and speeding through the story of Don Piper's collision with a semi and his brief experience of heaven. One moment Don was dead and 90 minutes later, Don was alive again singing with a pastor who was praying, crying and singing over Don's dead mangled body in the wreckage of his car.
Spirit-led prayer, God's mysterious purposes brought Don back to life. But it wasn't an easy journey to recovery. Don began the grueling recovery process and felt unbelievable pain. He wanted to die. He wanted to return to a pain-free joyous place in heaven.
The book asks many honest and profound questions: Why do we live in this difficult place and experience such pain? How can it be God's will that we suffer? Why should I allow others to minister to me in my weakness and helplessness?
While reading this book, I was reminded of other great books that dealt with similar themes. Two come to mind: The Problem of Pain, by C.S. Lewis, and You Gotta' Keep Dancing, by Tim
Hansel.
I love the emotional honesty and messages of faith in this book.
I was reading it last night at home after the concert when we received a phone call from Arizona that Lauren experienced a near miss while diving in Belize. Pat had read Lauren and Matt's blog entry and called us.
There it was again: The frailty of life. It is one thing to read about Don Piper's experience, and it is another thing to find out that a loved one had a close call with injury and possibly death. Lauren and Matt were diving in Belize and Lauren was nearly hit by the propeller of a passing boat.
So, I did what I usually do when I'm afraid for people I love and I feel helpless: I prayed.
We are all in God's hands and we are here for a purpose. We don't have a "Get out of jail card" that keeps us from suffering and pain and difficult situations. I wish we did. We struggle. We have honest feelings whether we admit it or not. We have some degree of faith in a God who loves us and who will bring His children to a place of peace and joy someday in heaven. Until then, we have a job to do here and now and God goes with us. And even when we feel helpless, God is not helpless. And when we worry for another that we love, we have an advocate in heaven who hears our pleas and prayers. I know these things but I find I need to grasp them again and cling to who I know God is when worries and fear storm and shake my heart.
Why would God allow Don Piper to suffer? C.S. Lewis to suffer? Jesus to suffer on the cross? How can he bear to let them?
As a parent or grandparent, how can we watch as our children suffer or struggle? To stand on the sidelines armed only with prayer feels helpless. I don't like that feeling.
Then I am reminded by a book and a phone call that my focus has shifted to the problems and the feelings. Faith looks at who God is and what He can do. Faith doesn't have all the immediate answers but knows the end of the story. Faith feels the pain and uncertainties and worries of the moment but these fade as God becomes the focus.
So this morning, as I prepared to work with my small internet bookstore and attend website meetings with people at church, I took time to meditate and write down some of the things on my heart today.
Lauren had a near miss and many people, like Don Piper, suffer.
I'm reminded that people of faith are not immune from pain and suffering, but we have a God who is real who walks with us as we struggle. God gives us hope and purpose. Like Don Piper, we can choose what we focus on.
This morning I prayed for those I love and for myself. I don't want worries to cloud my vision. I want the eyes of my heart to see through the glasses of faith. That's when I notice God's footprints and fingerprints on our journeys.
Related links:
90 Minutes in Heaven
The Day I Almost Died
Yesterday I began reading 90 Minutes in Heaven, by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey. We arrived an hour early for a concert by the Montgomery Philharmonic Orchestra at our church, Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church. I saw the book in the library. I'd been meaning to read it and there it was.
By the time the concert started, I was hooked and speeding through the story of Don Piper's collision with a semi and his brief experience of heaven. One moment Don was dead and 90 minutes later, Don was alive again singing with a pastor who was praying, crying and singing over Don's dead mangled body in the wreckage of his car.
Spirit-led prayer, God's mysterious purposes brought Don back to life. But it wasn't an easy journey to recovery. Don began the grueling recovery process and felt unbelievable pain. He wanted to die. He wanted to return to a pain-free joyous place in heaven.
The book asks many honest and profound questions: Why do we live in this difficult place and experience such pain? How can it be God's will that we suffer? Why should I allow others to minister to me in my weakness and helplessness?
While reading this book, I was reminded of other great books that dealt with similar themes. Two come to mind: The Problem of Pain, by C.S. Lewis, and You Gotta' Keep Dancing, by Tim
Hansel.
I love the emotional honesty and messages of faith in this book.
I was reading it last night at home after the concert when we received a phone call from Arizona that Lauren experienced a near miss while diving in Belize. Pat had read Lauren and Matt's blog entry and called us.
There it was again: The frailty of life. It is one thing to read about Don Piper's experience, and it is another thing to find out that a loved one had a close call with injury and possibly death. Lauren and Matt were diving in Belize and Lauren was nearly hit by the propeller of a passing boat.
So, I did what I usually do when I'm afraid for people I love and I feel helpless: I prayed.
We are all in God's hands and we are here for a purpose. We don't have a "Get out of jail card" that keeps us from suffering and pain and difficult situations. I wish we did. We struggle. We have honest feelings whether we admit it or not. We have some degree of faith in a God who loves us and who will bring His children to a place of peace and joy someday in heaven. Until then, we have a job to do here and now and God goes with us. And even when we feel helpless, God is not helpless. And when we worry for another that we love, we have an advocate in heaven who hears our pleas and prayers. I know these things but I find I need to grasp them again and cling to who I know God is when worries and fear storm and shake my heart.
Why would God allow Don Piper to suffer? C.S. Lewis to suffer? Jesus to suffer on the cross? How can he bear to let them?
As a parent or grandparent, how can we watch as our children suffer or struggle? To stand on the sidelines armed only with prayer feels helpless. I don't like that feeling.
Then I am reminded by a book and a phone call that my focus has shifted to the problems and the feelings. Faith looks at who God is and what He can do. Faith doesn't have all the immediate answers but knows the end of the story. Faith feels the pain and uncertainties and worries of the moment but these fade as God becomes the focus.
So this morning, as I prepared to work with my small internet bookstore and attend website meetings with people at church, I took time to meditate and write down some of the things on my heart today.
Lauren had a near miss and many people, like Don Piper, suffer.
I'm reminded that people of faith are not immune from pain and suffering, but we have a God who is real who walks with us as we struggle. God gives us hope and purpose. Like Don Piper, we can choose what we focus on.
This morning I prayed for those I love and for myself. I don't want worries to cloud my vision. I want the eyes of my heart to see through the glasses of faith. That's when I notice God's footprints and fingerprints on our journeys.
Related links:
90 Minutes in Heaven
The Day I Almost Died
Friday, June 6, 2008
Parenting has no end dates
The children are adults now but I still worry and pray for them.
When they pocketed driver's licenses and drove away to other homes, a part of me went also.
Where ever they go, a part of me goes also. And even when they bunk in a dusty tent in Iraq or work on a tan on a sunny beach in Belize or clean a window in a humid subdivision in Indianapolis or commute through busy Philadelphia streets or look for career opportunities close to Lancaster fields and businesses, my children are close to my heart. They are often in my thoughts. They are often in my prayers.
Parenting has no end dates.
Love crosses boundaries of time and space, keeping connections and memories alive and strong.
Love spans the chasms of time and territory to build connections with electronic messages, digital photos, phone chats, video streaming and visits -- whatever is possible. Separations are temporary. In God, love is eternal.
There is always a bit of a let down after a visit with family. It is exciting to see them, hear them laugh, listen to the journeys and struggles... and then there is the silence.
Prayer fills the silence. Love fills the silence. We can't always be talking or together. In heaven, I imagine, like here, there will be separations of some sort from time to time so that the times when we are together with loved ones can be all the sweeter.
It is a comfort to meditate on the biblical promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8). Within that love of God exists the love we have for family and for others. Nothing can separate us from pure love. God's kind of love, God's style of concern, interest and parenting has no end dates.
God's style of parenting can endure separations of time and geography because it isn't clingy, it is freeing. God allows his children to explore opportunities and adventures and to grow as separate people and be independent followers of his ways and to freely choose relationship with him. God allows us space because nothing can separate us from his love. Nothing.
It is hard to let a child go ... to leave for Kindergarten, to leave home for college, to leave a town for a distant job opportunity. It is hard not to see them as often.
What fills the empty room and heart spaces that echo with memories and images of those children and grandchildren?
God can do a great job of filling all the empty spaces within and around us with his good gifts and more importantly with an extra measure of his style of love.
Seek God's love and you will surely find him. Dwell and walk within God's style of love. When God's love fills empty spaces, they shine and echo with words and laughter.
When they pocketed driver's licenses and drove away to other homes, a part of me went also.
Where ever they go, a part of me goes also. And even when they bunk in a dusty tent in Iraq or work on a tan on a sunny beach in Belize or clean a window in a humid subdivision in Indianapolis or commute through busy Philadelphia streets or look for career opportunities close to Lancaster fields and businesses, my children are close to my heart. They are often in my thoughts. They are often in my prayers.
Parenting has no end dates.
Love crosses boundaries of time and space, keeping connections and memories alive and strong.
Love spans the chasms of time and territory to build connections with electronic messages, digital photos, phone chats, video streaming and visits -- whatever is possible. Separations are temporary. In God, love is eternal.
There is always a bit of a let down after a visit with family. It is exciting to see them, hear them laugh, listen to the journeys and struggles... and then there is the silence.
Prayer fills the silence. Love fills the silence. We can't always be talking or together. In heaven, I imagine, like here, there will be separations of some sort from time to time so that the times when we are together with loved ones can be all the sweeter.
It is a comfort to meditate on the biblical promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8). Within that love of God exists the love we have for family and for others. Nothing can separate us from pure love. God's kind of love, God's style of concern, interest and parenting has no end dates.
God's style of parenting can endure separations of time and geography because it isn't clingy, it is freeing. God allows his children to explore opportunities and adventures and to grow as separate people and be independent followers of his ways and to freely choose relationship with him. God allows us space because nothing can separate us from his love. Nothing.
It is hard to let a child go ... to leave for Kindergarten, to leave home for college, to leave a town for a distant job opportunity. It is hard not to see them as often.
What fills the empty room and heart spaces that echo with memories and images of those children and grandchildren?
God can do a great job of filling all the empty spaces within and around us with his good gifts and more importantly with an extra measure of his style of love.
Seek God's love and you will surely find him. Dwell and walk within God's style of love. When God's love fills empty spaces, they shine and echo with words and laughter.
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