gratitude = grand parenting times 4

Easter Break was spent in Dallas Tx this year loving on my three granddaughters and new grandson Jacob Michael Jr. tagged now on instagram as #threesistersandamister. It was the best trip ever to visit Jacob, Carrie and the kids.

You can see by these pictures that these 3 big sisters are loving this new brother. There were so many highlights of this trip I am not sure where to begin however I will say that a 3 hour late night time hearing my daughter Carrie's heart and my early morning time reading and listening to the Word during Holy Week with Eden were a couple of my favorite times .... Thank you Father for the gift of children their spouses and grandchildren. 

I am so Blessed.

personal devotions at the keyboard

Dear Father,

I do thank you for the fun had with the grandchildren last night and for the good night's rest for all, bumpa, nana, Sid, Pru, Lenny and Beckett. I am so grateful that many of our grandchildren are close by and I pray this morning for each one of our grandchildren, the Texas girls the Mpls kids and the two new grandchildren to be born. Please Father, I pray that each of them will come to a saving knowledge of you Jesus. Protect their little lives spiritually, physically and emotionally.

Only His is enough, “His divine power had granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us.

 2 Peter 1:3 a

This morning as I read the word and have my quiet time before the children arise I will spend some time in 2 Peter 1:3-11, Galatians 5:22-23 and John 15:4-5. Father, give me understanding and I will keep your law and obey it will all my heart, direct me in the path of your commands, make me the best wife, mother, grandmother that I can be today!

Father, I thank you that you "call and elect" me according to 2 Peter 1:10. You have called me to faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness and brotherly kindness. I am so sorry for times when I have neglected not only your word but what you have called me to ... Please forgive me.

In Galatians 5 I learn today again about the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Father, this is my prayer for Tim and Nancy, Mike and Denise, Aaron and Alisa, James and Kathleen, Ken and Ginny Kim Le and Teresa: as you have called them to be missionaries. Father on the harder days would you remind them that they are filled with the Spirit and can depend on You! Remind us today to take spiritual inventory ....

Add goodness. Do what you know to be right.

Add knowledge. Study the word. Pray without ceasing.

Add self-control. Control your will and operate in the Spirit.

Add perseverance. See His tasks through, even when it’s hard.

Add godliness. Let others know to Whom you belong by your conduct.

Add mutual affection and love. Give your time, talents and life for others.

  ~ taken from She Knows Truth

May, June, July Highlights

On May 23rd He ...

Gave her ....

... over to Him

What a blessed day we were able to celebrate as a family on May 23, 2014 with our youngest daughter marrying Dustin, our newest son-in-law. As the story goes they met in the army and spent months getting to know one another overseas in Afghanistan and were engaged in October, 2013 with the celebration of a wedding in May, 2014.

In June we had a couple of birthday celebrations but I don't have pics downloaded  yet so on to July .... 

In July we celebrated a visit from the golfer's sister from Washington. As the golfer and his sister headed to their all-school reunion in Bagley, I headed to the Red, White, and Boom 1/2 marathon to see my only son at the finish line! Awesome running and so much fun with the family too!

Then I had my first bath time with Beckett along with my first date day Friday for the summer with him. It was supposed to be boy's date day but Sid was with his cousin ....

Lost

I was lost this morning in my conversations in 

my head with my Father

I was lost in thanking and praising Him for the ability to be on my knees scrubbing my floors

I was lost in repeating the I am sorry for ....
Then I was lost in the thought of knowing I am forgiven
I continued to be lost in thanking Him yet again for the home (not to be mistaken with a house) He has blessed the golfer and I with
Then I was lost in thoughts of thanking Him for family, my immediate family and my family of origin
I was lost in the thought of praising Him for all the progress we have seen in my dear sister-in-law Marlee who had a stroke the end of May

Marlee and I during a visit

Marlee during a PT session

Then I was lost in praying for my brother Pat and the adjustments he will make in order to bring his wife home for the hospital

I was lost once again in thanking and praising Him for the ability to be on my knees scrubbing my floors

linking up with Lisa Jo for 5 minute Friday a day late here:

trusting today

I trust in Your unfailing love … Psalm 13:5

I lift up my soul; in You I trust … Psalm 25:1

In God I trust; I will not be afraid … Psalm 56:4

Those who trust in the Lord .. cannot be shaken … Psalm 125:1

Writer

My story as a writer starts here:

http://inhisarmsagain.blogspot.com/2009/07/becoming-reader-and-writer.html

And it continues here on this blog and in my fifty fourth (54th) journal I have laying open on my kitchen table. 

I love to write  and this year have made a commitment to hear, read, meditate, memorize here:

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2014/01/scripture-memorization-for-the-rest-of-us-the-jesus-project-memoryproject2014/

and write here:

Psalm 51:15 written yesterday!

the word of God daily! 

This practice has been amazing and has transformed my mind and heart as I think to both verses of scripture I am learning by heart  and writing by pen.

In addition my role as a writer continues during pockets of time I have to type my handwritten journals to pass on to the generations of Walkers and Pedersons to come.

Here are the faces of two of those "next generations" who met me for coffee yesterday and drew in my journal!

Just 5 minutes of writing for FMF no edits and linking up over here: http://lisajobaker.com

Lots of Love on Valentine's Day

                              Nora Just finished her Laundry

Fun at the Park

Friday Night Pizza

Missing the Davis' and the Vanahn's for Friday night pizza times but throughly enjoying these cousins

loving on one another!

 

Not sure what this expression is except that Kelley I think was talking with Sid about how when Beckett opens his eyes they are so wide open so Sid I think said "like this?"

I am loving every minute of holding this little one and tonight when he was awake he was smiling and talking a bit.

It's an Ordinary Day or is it?

loving to participate in the 5 minute Friday link-up here:

http://lisajobaker.com/

no edits ... just one piece written in 5 minutes and I give it all I got ....

It's an ordinary day or is it? Is any day really ordinary? Has God not made every day extraordinary? Indeed He has! Some for me are filled with joy and expectation from the minute I open my eyes on the pillow while others are ....

The battlefield. And for me, the battlefield is in my mind and thoughts. It is then and not only then that it is not an ordinary day but rather another day to get dressed in my armor.

So ... as I shower and let the warm water and soap wash over my body I put on:

the helmet of salvation
the breastplate of righteousness
the belt of truth
the shoes fitted for the gospel
the sword of the Spirit
and the shield of faith

This is no ordinary day but rather a day I must fight against my flesh and spirit. It is a day I look up to the mount of Zion to see His arms extended high in intercession for me.

This is no ordinary day!

This is a day of His intercession for me and my intercession for the generations of Walkers and Pederson's now and to come.
It is a day to lift His banner high!

Indeed this is no ordinary day!

mercy

 5 minute Friday linking here on Saturday

 

http://lisajobaker.com/

 

 

Where does the practice of writing begin? Does is begin with a list? A list of goals for the day? It certainly can begin there and has in my Texas daughter's home as she begins the process of home-schooling. It did not begin for me until my twelfth year of school. That is when I learned that writing starts with reading. So today as I read this; is has become my writing (or rather copying) of what God came up with regarding mercy ....

 



What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!  For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.  For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

Where does the practice of writing begin? Does it begin with the forming of letters on a page or the typing of the words on the keyboard?

first days of school

Every year around this time I begin my first days of school.

This year I was not the only one  in my family who enjoyed the first days of school ....

here's Beckett showing exactly how I felt after my first week of school

Here's my five-year old home-schooler from Texas

 

and here's my five-year old private-schooler from North Mpls (he turned six on September 10th and we will celebrate tomorrow)

 

 

here's lunch home-school style

 

 

 

 

and here's Pru ready for Pre-School

and as for Lenny ... she often gets to hang out with the "golfer" on Tuesday mornings while I work at school ....

FMFMP (five minute flash mob party) Listen

LISTEN   

Taking 5 minutes to write today no edits …

START:

Listen, I am now out of school for the summer

Because of this I have intentionally planned time:

To listen to my Father by spending extended time in His word

To listen to my girlfriends over coffee

To study the bible with my girls group and listen to their prayer requests

To listen to my music daughter over donuts on Fridays

To listen to my grandchildren, one at a time when I spend each Friday with a different child each week (today was with Pru)

To listen to the Blooms book club and the words from Shauna Niequist, author of bread and wine

And finally I will listen to some authors as this is my current list of books on my end table:

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Crispin by Avi

Running for my life by Lopex Lomong

Leading Change in Your School by Douglas Reeves

The Blessing of Friendship (Focus on the Family)

Biblical Fasting (Kay Arthur)

END

(I have to admit this took me a bit more than 5 minutes)

Linking up here:
 

 

My Sister, My Friend

Mary Catherine with her granddaugher, Gigi

 

Just 5 minutes: no edits, no rewrites, why? Cause it's Five Minute Friday over here ...
http://lisajobaker.com/

Start:

I often write about my husband and my kids but I do not often write about the family I grew up with except today. It's different, because today is my oldest sister, Mary Catherine's, birthday. May 3rd is a day each year I pick up the phone and sing Happy Birthday to my sister. We both laugh and then check in with one another.

My oldest sister has been more than a sister. She has been a friend, a mentor and at times my mom. She was the one I took the phone call from the day my mother was killed suddenly in a car accident. She wanted me to be brave ... she wanted me to possess and exhibit courage the next few days as we planned the service to honor my mom and who she was.

It was just two weeks after I heard of my mother's death that I found out I was pregnant with our first child. When our daughter Lisa was born I did not know all there was to know about being a mom and taking care of a baby but .... my sister Mary Catherine knew. She was a wonderful mom, loving and compassionate. It seems that many things I would experience in the years to come would call me to be brave, to exhibit courage .... I'm grateful for my sister, my friend, my mentor and at times my mom! Happy Birthday Mary Catherine!

Stop:

Linking up and love this quote from Lisa Jo's post "Brave is a whisper some days and others its a battle cry."

Sleep Number Bed ....

It would appear that we are sleeping but not :-p ....

Although we did enjoy checking out the sleep number bed as our good friends Ken and Ginny looked on and took this picture.

It was "red shirt Friday" and most Friday's Terry and I remember to wear our red shirts in honor of our troops! It was also a snow day which was a pleasant surprise! I stayed in my pj's most of the morning and then in the early afternoon about 4:30 we met the McMillan's at Milton's a quaint little restaurant in Crystal for some dinner before heading down to the Minneapolis Convention Center to check out the Home Improvement Show. We walked around and literally laid down as we checked out all the show had to offer. Ginny and I of course found much to laugh about and we convinced the men to buy us some home made salsa and jam and wait for us while we both got our wedding rings cleaned. After leaving the show we traveled back to Milton's to order the Banana Foster (to die for) dessert. We ordered it to go and then went back to Ken and Ginny's and enjoyed the vanilla bean ice cream with fried bananas topped with an amazing Carmel sauce. Overall a won.der.ful evening of fun with friends!

Happy Birthday to my Favorite Daughter-in-law!

 

 

I love when I hear my older brother Pat introduce me or tell others that I am his favorite little sister ... I often wonder why he states this and then I am reminded I'm his only little sister. It's kind of like that with Renee. When I say my favorite daughter-in-law, because we only have one son, Renee is my only daughter-in-law ... but she truly is my favorite. I could not ask for a more caring, sensitive, loving and supportive daughter-in-law! I love everything about this girl and I love that my only son choose her to spend the rest of his life with. so ... A very Happy Birthday Renee!

 

Friday, April 5 came around and we were happy to be together as a family again for Friday night pizza. We were especially grateful to celebrate Renee and her birthday along with our littlest, back form Afghanistan, daughter's new friend, who happens to be a boy, named Dustin's birthday too. (I'm pretty sure that was a run-on sentence) :-)

(Hence the reason the cake states: Happy Birthday Renee and Dustin).

 

We have a family tradition of Friday night pizza. When our kids were little we began to have Friday night pizza which often included a movie and games. When our first grandchild was born more than five years ago, our daughter said to us ... let's start our Friday night pizza time again so .... each Friday we gather together to have pizza. Any of the kids that are available come.

On Friday night, April 5 at 6 pm we gathered together to celebrate Renee!

 

I realized as I typed this blog post that when my only son Adam had a birthday I did not write a post about him (sorry Adam) but it is easy to include him on this post. It's easy because Adam is married to Renee. Adam and Renee have a tradition of having not just a birthday celebration but a birthday week celebration. So we had fun starting out Renee's birthday week celebration because her actual birthday is not until today April 13th!

 

So Renee here's to your birthday week which I am sure has been and will continue to be fun for you. We love you so much and we pray for this year ahead as you welcome the next generation of Pederson boys into your (our) family to be a blessing in every way. Praying  for you as "God's chosen woman, holy and dearly loved, may you clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience ...  and may you continue to love with genuine affection and take delight in honoring others. We love you very much!

Faith, Hope and Love ....

 

 

Ok I'm doing it again ... stealing my oldest daughter's post

just like I steal my singing daughter's pictures:

Get Clarity With Gratitude

Sometimes things get fuzzy. Where you want to go, what you want to do, and who you want to be can get a little out of focus.
When things get out of focus for me I get cranky. I suddenly am “put out” by all the things that need to be done. I am irritated by the ones I love. I feel overwhelmed by my state of lack (read: all the stuff I want but don’t have).
All of this is a clear sign it is time for me to bring in gratitude.
There is never a time we don’t desperately need gratitude but it is ever more apparent when we are reveling in confusion and negative thinking.
I felt that over the weekend. After an awesome homecoming with my sister Ashley + a fun afternoon with my family I found myself “put out” by the following evening’s event with them.
A huge traffic mess on the way to my parent’s house, my mother’s request that we “shutdown all devices” for the night so that we could be present and participate full heartily, a food plan I am following right now that meant my inability to partake in evening pizza and cake all led to an incredible “pissed off’ feeling.
Imagine…being “irritated” by a request for being present. Whew!
The last few minutes of the drive out to the boon-dox (yes that is the official city my parents live in) I finally got my gratitude on.

1. My lil’ sis is home from Afghanistan. SHE IS HOME!
2. I get to hang with her new BF.
3. My parents are facilitating love and joining as a family.
4. The kiddos will be there.
5. Kelley always gives a rocking time.
6. More opportunity to hang with my bro and sis-in-law who I don’t see nearly as much of as I’d like to.

Okay…Feeling better now. AND… More clarity.
I love my life. I am so grateful for this awesome family. I GET to hang with them and laugh and love. Yes. That FEELS like clarity.
As I delve deeper into Danielle Laporte’s Desire Map I can see that I deeply DESIRE gratitude. And how, above all gratitude offers me even more of my other desired feelings. Really you could set gratitude at the foundation of all desired feelings and be one step closer to building the life you’ve always dreamed of living.
This month in IntenSati class (@PrAna 10am on Saturdays) join us for a great workout and deeper conversations on clarity. This week we bring more clarity through gratitude.
A little fun work for you: Every time you have a pen and are writing down: your grocery list, your to-do list, a note to a friend, a entry in your journal, or a reminder to your self, include a single gratitude. One thing you are grateful for in your life.
If you don’t use pens (frankly lots of us don’t) every time you: send an email, a blog post, a FB update, a tweet, a VM, or add an appointment in your calendar, include a gratitude. One thing you are grateful for in your life.
If you do it I guarantee you will have more clarity by the end of this week.
This months affirmations:
Now I am the voice
I lead not follow
Every day I show the world
Joy is possible
I forgive and I surrender
Practice makes perfect
My state is clear
I do what I love, I love what I do
I am ready, willing, and able
I am grateful
I play full out
Without a doubt, Watch me
Watch me
Focus on the good
Have faith in the possible
Get stronger every day
Live full and free
Watch me Now!
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend”. Melody Battle
I’d love for you to share a gratitude in the comments below. Get your clarity rolling right now!
xoxo, LVA

wondering

wondering ... what the squirrels running around outside my window are thinking

wondering ... a lot about rest

wondering ... if I will take the time to read today

wondering ... what it looks and feels like to hold tightly to the truth 

wondering ... if I will let the red letter words change my thinking today

wondering ... about His timing for complete and total healing

wondering ... what it will be like to see my littlest in person again


A favorite quote for today... 

"His divine power has given (me)us everything we need for life and godliness."

linking up today at :  http://lisajobaker.com/

Relaxing Top 5 Friday (typed on Saturday)

I'm linking up here: http://annieblogs.com/

These are 5 ways I relax

1. reading a "no-mind" book defined as one I do not underline and take notes from

2. hot tub bath and I was surprised at how many others find this relaxing

3. reading my Bible and praying on the Sabbath and often with the book For God's Sake Rest

4. long walks on a Minnesota Spring or Fall days

5. reading on the couch with my grandchildren in person or via Skype


Just linking up with Annie Downs today after spending the day at Girls of Grace in EP.


 I had the opportunity to meet Annie in person (and give her a big Minnesota welcome and hug) and was thrilled to hear her speak! One take-away from her today:

My Words Matter

joining the ranks

Go

 

Who every would have thought that when I signed papers for my daughter at the age of 17 that I would be joining the ranks of Army  mom. Sure, when I was asked to sign for her I had some hesitation. But when you see a kid growing up, and knowing from the age of twelve, what she dreamed of being when she grew up, I could not possibly be the one to stop her. Instead, with all of my children who have had many dreams (much like their mother) I have supported, encouraged and prayed for God's perfect timing and leading in their lives.

 

Now I have joined the ranks of Army mom

I have joined the ranks of having a child fighting the war

I have joined the Family Readiness Group supporting the 257 MP CO

And I will join the Blue Star Mom's group on Tuesday, September 4th 2012

I am proud to be an American and proud to say,

 I have joined the ranks of Army Mom thanks to our littlest!

 

Stop

 

 

 

Linking up with Lisa Jo today here:

 

http://lisajobaker.com/

 

stretching, dwelling and abiding

Grateful to be linking up with Lisa Jo yet one more time for 5 minutes:

Start:

It's a stretch when I think of an upcoming surgery, Interstim stage 2;

you can read more about this here:

http://www.medtronic.com/patients/overactive-bladder/about-therapy/index.htm

I really don't know what to expect. Sure I've been told all that will happen yet it's a stretch in my mind that at times is consumed with fear, what ifs, will this actually help?

or will this cure incontinence?

Then with a grateful heart and mind, I stretch my mind to remember my most important dwelling place ... It is In His Arms! It is in You, Lord. It is my dwelling place where I can stretch, and settle down, and be secure and be content.

"She who dwells in the shelter of the most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty".

 Psalm 91:1

Stop

 

Now, set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right. on the word "Stretch".