She Held the Hand of God

We decided that since our whole family was together on Friday evening, that we would catch a movie we have all wanted to see for quite some time, The Blindside. Since we were meeting My Dear there, we chose to eat at CICI’s Pizza close to the theater, not on our ‘normal’ side of town.

We girls were running a bit late and My Dear had already purchased our meals, so we rushed in, grabbed our food and joined him at the table. I noticed a large area of stuff near my chair, all covered by a camouflage tarp, as I sat down. As I was in a hurry, I did not give what was near me much thought…now, I kind of wish I would have!

When I had taken a few bites of dinner, the gentleman at the next table asked if his stuff was in our way. I then looked at our table neighbor for the first time – a homeless man! Why had I not noticed him, or for that matter, his stuff? You may remember I reviewed the Andy Andrews book, The Noticer, a few months back and mentioned that I wanted to notice more around me…obviously, I still need to work on that!

I felt a tug on my heart that I should carry on a conversation with him, but how do I even begin that? I’m still a work in progress. Very soon, though, this man was leading a conversation with me! It was such a delight!

He is from the area, having lived in our city for many years. He graduated from my daughter’s rival school, South, when North was just starting out. He told us the grocery store in the center was at one time a Piggly Wiggly, and then became a Safeway before shutting down over 20 yrs ago. He told us how he lived in a brand new home on a close by street at one time, and how his family was one of the first tenants in a brand new apartment complex where the Super Wal-Mart now stands. I do remember the apartments!

My Dear and his family lived near the area for several years, including the almost three years we were together before marriage, and visited this shopping center many times. At one time, there was a Furr’s Restaurant in the center and that is where my in-law’s brand new Buick was stolen in the spring of 1990…yep, the same one My Dear drives now! There were some things about the area that we already knew, but he was such a wealth of information that we all listened intently!

As I began to gather my purse, I noticed our CD had come to stand by the man’s table and was talking to him. I heard her ask him if she could pray for him and his response humbled me. He said that was his ministry, to pray for others, but he did not mind her praying for him. OH, MY!

Then, my sweet, now adult child reached out her hand to gather his and prayed!

A sweeter prayer, I’m sure I have never heard. I know she touched God’s heart, because I could feel mine breaking under the weight of innocence and grace!

Matthew 25:40 Then the King will answer, "I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me." How is it that our children can teach us so much more than we could ever teach them?

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow…like homeless men and precious daughters!!

God’s girl,

Pamela

MOM'S BIBLE; God's Wisdom for Mothers

A BOOK REVIEW Notes by Bobbie Wolgemuth

What emotions come to mind when you see the title, Mom's Bible?
Do you see your own Mom's hands lovingly turning the pages of her Bible, or see her tears falling on well-loved, onion skin pages? Do you picture in your mind's eye, her sitting on the second pew, taking notes from the pastor's sermon?

When I finished my review of This is Your Brain in Love, I asked my youngest daughter, Cupcake, to help me choose the next book. I was stuck between two books and truly could not figure out which one I wanted to review. She suggested Mom's Bible. I could not see just how important this decision would be in the next few weeks.

You see, the struggle of the last few weeks in our household has centered around our precious Cupcake. She's 16! Need I say more?

This Bible,Mom's Bible, has been a tremendous source of comfort and strength during these difficult weeks. Even more so than my 'normal' Bible. It's not perfect, I have found some minor flaws, but my overall opinion is that it came into my life just when I needed it and is perfect for this season of my life. Hmm, I believe God knew that when it was a presented choice!

Mom's Bible has devotional areas written by a team of ladies headed by Bobbie Wolgemuth. These devotionals are excellent, I did not find one that I could find fault with - theological or otherwise! They are under such headings as "Walking in..."(areas such as awe and tenderness), "Insights", "Passing It On", "Moms in the Bible", "Godly Character" and "Our God is..."(like Exalted and Holy One). These devotionals all fall on pages close to their scriptural foundations so it makes it easy to find a context for each devotional. At the back of the Bible is a topical index for each of these devotionals.

If you can't tell, I have been very impressed and impacted by these devotional areas. God has used many of them to show me a new way to pray for the situations going on in our home! These devotionals are written for all Moms...from new babes to adult children, we can all learn something about relationships with our children from the hand of God.

As much as I have loved this Bible, I have found some design flaws.
I'm not sure just how I feel about the particular version, New Century Version. I grew up on KJV and have used NIV and New American Standard for the last several years, so a 'new' version is a bit difficult to embrace!
There is also a problem for me with the numbering of individual verses...I have my 'quiet time' in the early morn by a soft, incandescent light and have found it problematic some mornings to find a particular verse. The numbers are small and tend to blend in with the lettering.
While I like the idea of the 'First Touch' verses, inspirational verses in a different color, the actual font color is lighter and was difficult for me to read in various lighting situations...even in fluorescent lighting at church.

If you are in need of a new Bible, I would suggest you look into Mom's Bible. It is truly meant for Mom's of all ages and stages of life. Mom's Bible does a great job of reaching into our emotional state of Motherhood, in my opinion.

It is sold in hardback and leatherbound versions. I like the hardback for this time in my life and it has synthetic oninon skin pages, so while reading I could truly feel I was holding a Bible in my hands...because I was!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...like His Holy Word

God's girl, Pamela

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

It's me, oh, Lord, standing in the need of prayer!

Could you please pray for our family? I desire our home to be as beautiful inside and out as this picture...and we can only do that with God's grace and mercy!

We are going through a sticky situation as a family! We are praying for unity during this time and for all of our hearts to change, to reflect the love of God! Not only outside of our home, but to each other, as well.

Thank you for sharing your time with me and my family. I pray your week ahead is blessed!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...like my family!

God's girl, Pamela