Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Grand-Parents ~ God's gift to the next generation

My husband & three of our grandsons

"The hoary head is a crown of glory,
if it be found in the way of righteousness."
(Proverbs 16:31)

"Even when I am old and gray ~ do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.
(Psalm 71:18 ~ Paraphrased) 
~~~***~~~
The desire and prayer of my heart is found in (Psalm 71)
As a grand-mother I want to be found faithful
showing forth God's righteousness
and His salvation ~ all my days. (Psalm 71:15)
That my mouth would be filled with 
the praise of God to His honor ~ all my days. (Psalm 71:8)
That I will hope continually in my God
who is faithful to His Word ~ all my days. (Psalm 71:14)
Knowing that the joy of the Lord shall fill my heart
as I rejoice and sing unto Thee ~ all my days. (Psalm 71:23)  
~~~***~~~
As mothers we have Godly responsibilities
to teach and train up our children in the way of the Lord.
But those responsibilities carry on into being a grand-mother,
except those roles change a bit.
As grand-mothers God continues to use us
but we must be careful not to usurp our grandchildrens
mothers rightful place.
There are boundaries that we as grand-mothers
need to respect and we can be sure that 
  God will enable us with grace and beauty
to be all that He has called us to be.
~~~***~~~
My dear husband and I had the joyous privilege
of having our oldest daughters three sons
stay with us over part of their Christmas vacation.
We had a blast!
Our days were filled with
some great activities.
Sledding ~ snowmobiling ~ skiing/snowboarding ~ walks ~ 
stacking firewood ~ cooking together at mealtimes ~ 
but most importantly sitting around the Word of God
with character building lessons,
and the sharing of the Gospel
leading all three boys to the Lord in salvation.
~~~***~~~
God would have us to speak with
wisdom and faithful instruction in the lives
of our precious grand children.
My husband and I have made the decision
to live as believers of Jesus Christ,
and we desire to have our grand children follow that path also. 
God gives us the soil ~ our grand children
and the seed ~ the Word of God.
The responsibility is ours when they
are in our care and presence to plant
and nurture the seed in the soil
allowing it to take root and multiply.
~~~***~~~
(Psalm 71:15) ~ Instructs us to
"show forth God's righteousness, and His salvation,
all the day, for I know not the numbers thereof."
In my own words;
We are to continue on for Christ in our old age.
We are to take heed to God's Word,
lest we loose our grand children to the world.
We are to teach them as Deuteronomy 6 instructs.
"To love the Lord thy God
 with all their hearts ~ souls ~ minds.
We are to talk of them whenever we are sitting ~
walking ~ lying down ~ and rising up."
As grand-mothers ~ may we, 
like Timothy's grand-mother Lois,
be found faithful instructing our
grand children in the Scriptures. (2 Timothy 1:5)
~~~***~~~
Our Precious Heavenly Father.
We come before Your throne 
singing forth the honor of Your name,
with all praise and glory
for Your goodness to us
in all that You have called us to do.
May You find us faithful.
Amen.

Grace & Peace
~ Debbie ~




29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Debbie...I look back at my own grandparents, and see how much I have learned from them. They are truly precious! I am not one yet :D mari

Sylvia said...

An inspirational post Debbie, I love my grandchildren and strive to be an example for them, I am proud to say that all 6 of them have made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ.I am so blessed! You are blessed to have spent time with your grandchildren.
Hugs for friend.

Billie Jo said...

How wonderful!!!
How blessed are these young men?
Two of my sisters are grandmothers...
They both tell me it is the most amazing thing in the world. : )
Thank you for always sharing wise words and true inspiration.

Stephanie said...

Grandparents are special and they seem to have a special place that no one can fill in grandchildrens lives. I think of my own sweet grandparents and am grateful for the memories, the fun times, the tender hugs...

Such a lovely post, mom. I know the boys had a good time with you and dad and I know all of your grandsons look up to you and dad. It's a blessing to know they have godly examples.

Enjoy your day! Love you!

J said...

This is so beautiful a post! Your grandsons are very handsome, as is grandpa!
I can recall, as if it were yesterday, walking into grandma's house and seeing her seated in a favorite chair with her little dog in her lap and a rosary in her hands. She lived a righteous life, but it was this symbol of her daily reliance on the Lord that made the deepest impression on me. I hope to pass on the same example to my own grandchildren.

Tori Leslie said...

What a lovely post!! I'm not a grandma yet but I could be and this was a great reminder of what an honor it is to be a grand. I think your grandchildren are truly blessed to have such a loving and spiritual grandmother.
Loved this post!

Bethany Carson said...

Sounds like a wonderful time spent with family! I'm blessed to have wonderful Christian grandparents who are always thoughtful and encouraging. When I was a little girl, I lived in Portland, and we had many elderly ladies as neighbors...so I had a lot of sweet grandmas! They were sweet in more ways than one: we called Grandma Doris the candy Grandma!

silverfeather said...

Such a beautiful post, Debbie! I love how you encourage us as grandparents to be mindful of our roles and influence on our young ones. What a privilege to be grandparents! Love your new blog design...so pretty!

Debby Ray said...

Aww...what a time you must have had...such a great photo! I wish I had memories of my grandparents but by the time I came along they had alreay passed. I do love being a grandma and I pray that as long as I live, I am able to add something of eternal worth to their lives.

Dianna said...

Dear Debbie,

What a precious post as you have shared about grandparenting. You are so wise in reminding us that while we do have a precious role to fulfill in the lives of our grandchildren, we should never try to overstep our boundaries into the territory that belongs to the grandchild's mother.

We love having our grandchildren with us. When our grandson (who is now 16) was young he lived in Mexico City along with his missionary parents. I made countless reading tapes and sent him and it hasn't been too long ago that he told me he still has them and once in a while he still gets them out and listens to them again.

I just had a lovely card yesterday from our 10 year old granddaughter and an e-mail from her 9 year old sister. Both were so precious to me.

Your grandchildren are blessed to have you and your husband as grandparents.

Much love to you, Debbie.

Cranberry Morning said...

Wonderful words of wisdom, Debbie. My prayer is also Psalm 71:18.

Vicky Hunt said...

Grandparents are such a sweet blessing. My grandparents were a great source of God's love in my life. I learned so much from them. I personally can't wait to experience grandparenthood (don't know if that's a word). No sign of that happening anytime soon as neither of my children are even dating at this time...:( All in God's time. Have a blessed rest of the week Debbie!

Blessings, Vicky

sarah said...

When we give our lives to God, He would show us the path and guide us. It is good to know that you and your husband are living in God! Grandparents are blessings definitely!

May God bless you and your family :)!

Jeanna said...

This is a wonderful post and guidance I hope to remember when we become grandparents...not that we expect it to be in our near future.

I am happy that you and your husband had a wonderful visit with your grandsons and were able to minister to them. It's a blessing I'm sure they will look back on one day.

Joyful said...

I missed out on having a grandmother. It is so lovely for children to have Godly grandparents. God bless you as you carry out that role. xx

Anne Payne said...

I was just talking with my MIL yesterday about spending time at my grandparents homes when I was young. I have such lasting memories. Grandparents play an important role. I know I try to take time with my my grandchildren and impart spiritual concepts and applications when I am with them. Thanks for such a lovely post, Debbie!

Esther Asbury said...

Looks like you had a wonderful time! There's nothing like spending time with grandpa and grandma! I'm sure they'll cherish the memories of their time with you for years to come!

Robyn said...

How lucky those young boys are to have you as their grandmother, Debbie! That picture is so precious -it's lovely to see big smiles on kids' faces.
Sounds like you had the perfect week :)
Hope your day is full of joy, sweet friend.

Buttercup said...

Remembering happy times spent with my grandmothers. Thanks so much for being part of the Buttercupland family.

Linda said...

Debbie, this is such a great post, so inspiring, and lovely photo and music.

Bonnie said...

Debbie, I wish I lived near you. You warm my heart and lead me toward God's thoughts as you live your life for Him. I love the picture of your grandsons and your husband and the story of their visit.

Your new header and blog design is lovely. I am spending less and less time on the computer lately thus blogging has been less but I am so glad to have faithful followers like you that visit me. I am seeking God's will for my priorities.

Thank you for reminding us to live all our days faithful to Him.

Linda Walker said...

Good morning Debbie,
What lucky young men to have you as grandparents! I adored my grandparents and my 3 daughters were so lucky to have my parents as totally loving, doting grandparents. I am looking forward to being a nana someday! I also have to say I loved the beautiful music as I read your post and left my comment! enjoy your grandsons! How blessed you all are!
Linda
mysewwhatblog

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Debbie, what a special post sharing the love you share with your grands. What a beautiful time you had with them and how wonderful you and your hubby can be a great inspiration to them of great faith.
They are very blessed to have you both as their grandparents. These days will always be very special to them and the memories treasured.

Thank you for sharing and have a great weekend.
Hugs

Lady Linda said...

Lovely post Debbie. I've been meaning to ask, how many children do you have and how many grandchildren?
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I appreciate your prayers.
Linda

Judy Goddard said...

Hi Debbie.
A lovely way to put such an important message.
My daughter was married just this past September. Our son is in his 30s and still unmarried.
We hope to have grandchildren some day. And our greatest prayer, in that direction, is that their parents will raise them in the love of the Lord. And will it be our delight to work along side them, following their lead in raising up the next generation of righteous Goddards and Smiths.
God bless!

Deborah Montgomery said...

Sounds like such a wonderful time together! How blessed you are to have the opportunity to spend so much fun time with them, and time sharing the Lord with them. And they are blessed too, to have grandparents who love them, and are helping to watch over the care of their souls.
I'm not a grandmother yet, but I pray I will be just such a one when I am.

Camille said...

I actually look forward to the day when we will be grandparents. Thank you for sharing your heart here Debbie...it is beautiful. Hugs to you! Camille

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

What wonderful grandparents you and your hubby are, dear Debbie. I so enjoyed seeing the picture of your sweetheart with three of your grandsons. What lovely memories you made with them.

M.K. said...

Beautiful! What a privilege and joy it is. I'm eager to have grands someday too. Recently a blog friend shared a precious verse about this very subject too -- Deut. 4:9.

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