My Old Friends...

OK, so when I say old, I mean really old. My dearest friend is 98 years old and well on her way to 100 we believe. We met 15 years years ago when I was cleaning houses as a new college student. She called me to clean her house, but first served me cookies and coffee and that day we became friends. We have drunk more cups of coffee together than I can count and through the years our friendship has developed into something so special. There really are no words to describe how I feel about Grace. We may not share the same blood, but she is family.

I don't know why, but I have always loved old people. When I was in kindergarten my class adopted grandparents from a local nursing home. My adopted Grandma Hollitz became very special to me and I continued to visit her into my teenage years until she passed away.

Through the years there have been many older folks that have come in and out of my life, and all have managed to get a piece of my heart. I have sat and listened to countless stories of years gone by, grown children, and grandchildren. I have had the opportunity to sit and hold the hands of those whose lives are nearing the end and through it all I have become a better person. I have come to realize that there is something so special about these people that have seen so much life and now have taken the time to share their memories with me. One of the greatest blessing I have found is that many of my old friends love Jesus. They have known Him a very long time and have such a testimony of His goodness and faithfulness.

As my own children have been born I have had the joy of seeing the pleasure that children bring to the elderly. They are content to just sit and watch them play. My children in turn have come to love my old friends as I do. They really don't think of them as old people, but are quite fascinated with the years they have been around and the history they have lived through.

Just when I think that I am blessed to have had the pleasure to call so many friends, God sends me another. And my newest friend is what has prompted me to write about this. Two streets down from me lives a 95 year old woman, whom my 8 year old son has come to adore. He is my history buff and his newest friend loves to talk history. He will sit at her feet for hours listening and asking questions. And she is thrilled to answer. We have given her purpose and value and she in turn has given us someone new to love and cherish. I visted with her today as she is in bed recovering from a broken back. She just sat and held my hand, her face all smile as she looked at the boys and asked them about cubscouts and told us of days gone by when she herslf was a cubscout den mother.

This is so import in the lives of our children. My mom always says that having many people to love your children is a gift. As my children grow, they are experiencing the beauty of what God talks about in Titus 2, the older women teaching the younger. These women have lived good lives; they loved their husbands and stood by them until death. They have loved God and grown in His Word for more years than I have been alive and they are passing on that love to my children during each visit.

Is there and older person you know that could use your friendship? Do not pass up the opportunity to have this blessing in your life. It is incredible.

I will miss Grace when she is gone, but I thank God for the time we have had together. She is my kindred spirit and I can't imagine life without her spunk, her smile, her love and encouragement. But I know that because of Jesus we will meet again in Glory, Praise be to God!

Today's Prayer

Heavenly Father,

I come to You this day with a heart so full. I know that You care about me and desire for me to lean on You and so today I thank You for Your grace and understanding. You are such an awesome God and send reminders of Your love and care, Your beauty and majesty. As I looked upon the rainbows in the sky I was once again reminded that you are alive and aware of your children and their needs.

Thank you for the gift of Your son who made my relationship with you possible. Through His shed blood I am free to call you Abba Father. I know that Your love for me is unspeakable, and when heart overflows with gratitude. Because of this love for me I come to You now with the burdens of my heart.

Lord I pray for our friends that are hurting today with the news of cancer in thier daughter. Lord we often do not understand Your ways. But we rest in the knowldge that You never promised our life here would be easy, only that You would walk with us through whatever we face. And so I pray for Your comfort and love. Surround them with Your pressence and guide them as they face days ahead when decisions will need to be made and hardships will need to be overcome. Remind them that at their lowest moments they can rest on You, for You promised to never leave us or forsake us. Thank You for the smiles from their little girl that may bring tears as they are reminded how much all of this hurts, but that those smiles and words of love from the one who hurts so much are just reminders of how much You love them and are providing for them in all ways. You are the Master Physician and so most of all I pray for healing. I pray that You use this in the life of this girl and this family in a wonderful and amazing way, that all who witness this may come to know You and Your love for them.

Thank You Father, for the blessings I see everyday, for the care You have taken to see to the details of my life and the reminders that you are with me in all things. It is in the Name of your precious Son and His shed blood that I pray, Amen

Raising Children To Pray

And pray in the Spirit in all occasions, with all kids of prayers and requests. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18


As parents we can't help but look at how we were raised, what our parents did right or wrong and decide how we will parent our own children. One thing my parents did absolutely right was prayer. My mom especially was a woman of prayer. She taught us to pray about all things which in turn taught us that God cares about the details of our lives.


I can remember praying for lost shoes and toy pieces, always praying when we heard an emergency vehicle siren and praying for the safety of those involved in the incident. We prayed at the dinner table, in the family room, and in the car. Mon taught us the ACTS prayer to help us pray with a purpose. Mom often appeared to be talking to herself while driving, but she was in actuality talking to Jesus.

Prayer is a vital part of our relationship with Jesus, so how do we instill that quality in our children. My answer, pray in front our your kids. Sometimes it's what you do in front of you kids rather than what you say is that they remember most. I have tried to live up to the example that my parents set. My children are not strangers to prayer and have loved using the ACTS prayer. A = adoration C = confession T = thanksgiving S = supplication.

But teaching children to pray and having them understand how important a prayer life is are two different things altogether. Some people believe in a prayer time each day, for me this has never worked, after all I am a busy mom and would often get disturbed or distracted by something else in the home. So I told God that I would live a prayer life. I believe this in the example my mom set, and often I too appear to be talking to myself as I drive!

Living a life of prayer means that anytime and anyplace I am free to talk to my Jesus and when my kids see this they understand a little better the power and beauty of prayer. They know that no matter where they are God is always just a whisper away. He is always listening and ready to hear what they need to say to Him. It could be as simple as a lost shoe or praying for a sick friend. I love listen to my children pray, to hear their thoughts and concerns as they talk to God.

I pray that one day they look back on their childhood prayers and see them as the start of their prayer journey. I thank God for each opportunity I have to pass on the prayer legacy in my family.