The Gift of Grandparenting

To be chosen to be a mom and birth 10 children was a gift in and of itself and now the Lord has been so gracious to bless us with grandchildren and I am in awe with Jesus.  Since we have just one daughter it has been my prayer to be close to my grandchildren and their mothers and God has answered my prayer.
 
One of the greatest blessings about being a grandmother is having the opportunity to share the goodness of the Lord, intimately with yet another generation of Bowies.  It is such a joy to do life with MJ (MiKyle Jr.), which is our oldest grandson and soon with JJ (Jacob Justice) our newborn grandson.  When MJ is here during the weekday he is with us in the schoolroom, present for all the teachings and family devotions.  When he is with us on the weekends he is present for Sunday dinner and sweet fellowship.  But the times I enjoy most are when he is in the kitchen chatting with me as I cook and when he comes in my bedroom to spend one-on-one time with me.  During those times I tell him how special he is and that he is loved by God.  I remember doing the same thing with his dad and it laid a foundation of open communication and ministry opportinities and I look forward to blessing our grandchildren in the same way.

One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.  I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.  Psalms 145:4-5

Home Sweet Home

We are so grateful to be home!  The journey back home has been very long.  Along the way there have been losses, disappointments, confusion, frustration and sadness.  There has also been much joy, peace, grace, growth, sweet fellowship and love.  Through it all God has been apparrent to me.  He has ministered to my heart and mind, given wisdom and discernment and embraced me with love.  There is none like Him.  He is my provider, my refuge and my strength. I have come to know Him more intimately.  I trust the Lord for I have seen Him for myself over and over again.  Thank you Lord!

We have been home since November 3rd and our hearts are at peace here at home.  There have been no nightmares or display of discomort.  We have even enjoyed the warmth of our fireplace many times since we have returned home, God is good!

As I reflect on that which 2013 presented us with, I am in awe with Jesus. I recall our situation this time last year; we were so grateful for life, yet very uncertain of our journey home, financially and physically.   Then, the Lord led us to commit to expand our home and trust Him to furnish and rebuild it.  I remember being confident that this was His will for us and at the same time feeling blind unto His way, for we had lost about 85% of our house and about 85% of our belongings.

It was the beginning of a long leg of the journey,  a path in which I was unfamiliar (that of providing everything from clothing to furniture for our family of 10 all at the same time), but willing to walk along with Him.  In January, I began the dilligent process of replacing our belongings.  I did so as I always do when in need of something for our family, I sought the thrift stores, clearance racks and sales ads.  Now, if you are one who shops this way you know this can be a process of hit or miss, feast or famine and to find that which you are looking for takes much time and patience.  To say the least my time was limited, at best and I had to grow in the area of patience.

To accomplish this task it was necessary to develop a routine, which for me included a large mocha every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, theses were the days I commited to seeking and finding our long list of needs and wants.  Along the way I met others who were willing to share information with me as to places to shop and sales to take advantage of. 

After being told a few times about Habitat for Humanity Restore, I visited and God revealed another part of his plan, that of his provision for sinks, cabinets, light fixtures, doors etc.  Okay, I didn't know this was going to be a part of the plan and it this was unfamiliar territory for sure. To gain knowledge and understanding, I kept seeking God and following him.  This was the way in which we were going to stay within our means.   And wow!!!  I found items I never thought to look for, in places I had never shopped to now have a home that I never invisioned.  As God said he would, He rebuilt and furnished our home.

This has been a long, challenging process by which God has renewed our home and renewed our hearts.  I must say this was not an easy process for our family, but there were many blessings that we each experienced this year, times when we saw God at work...times we will never forget.  For me personally, I know He pursued me continuously and ministered to me graciously.  He gave me much wisdom and strength to accomplish that which he set forth for me to do unto His will to ackomplish his plan for our family.  Through this fire I have been tried, refined and made new, thank you God!

I want to also thank each and everyone who supported us through prayers, donations, service and fellowship.  I don't know what 2014 will bring, but I know come what may, "I can do all things through Christ who strenthens me", and thus I look forward to the days to come with much faith and hope in Him.  Happy New Year!