Welcome to a place where we can share ideas about grandparenting, especially ways to pass spiritual values and family stories to the next generation.

Mary is the co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart.
Visit www.legacyconnection.org
My photo
Co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Disappointment of Miscarriage

Tuesday’s Thought

Last week a friend shared with me the sad news that her daughter-in-law had a second miscarriage. Her heart not only ached for her son and his wife, but also for the grandchild she had hoped to hold one day.

How do you pray for a couple who is intensely focused on having a baby, but continue to face disappointment?

That’s the very question that Karen Jordan asked herself after her son and his wife had five miscarriages in six years. Karen went to Scripture and camped out in Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” And Matthew 6:8, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

“I was surprised to learn of a sixth conception immediately after being prompted to pray,” she says. “And the next waiting period ensued. We tossed hope around our discussions as we tried to ignore our fear of another loss.”

Karen shares in her article Zechariah’s Promise about the answer to her prayers: the birth of a grandson, Zach. “His entry into our troubled world may have been overlooked by many,” she writes. “But those who attended this birth event and had watched God work for the previous nine months recognized God’s miraculous hand on his parents. Zach’s squinted eyes peeked to see a dozen people with smiles and tears who had fervently prayed for him over the past months and years. Then, he drifted off once again to his land of dreams.”

I never grow tired of hearing how God answers prayers … in His time and in His way—a way that is part of His sovereign purpose.

He is able,
Mary
Mary May Larmoyeux
www.marymaywrites.com
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com


Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A Day to Remember

Tuesday’s Thought

As Barack Obama is sworn into office today, history will be made—the inauguration of the first black President of the United States of America.

Regardless of political views, you and I are alive to see this day … and so are our grandkids. I’m going to save a copy of today’s headlines for each of our grands. Although they are too young now to recognize the historical significance, one day they will understand. And one day they can each hold an actual newspaper that was printed on January 20, 2009.

I’ve heard people talk about the Great Depression, the polio epidemic, Pearl Harbor Day and World War II. But I remember the Vietnam War, the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, 911, Hurricane Katrina ... and now the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Today's another page in the history book of life ... and those pages keep turning.

May we diligently pray for President Obama and his administration. May we be a united country – truly one nation, under God.

Prayer for Our Nation Written by Billy Graham

Our Father and God, we praise You for Your goodness to our nation, giving us blessings far beyond what we deserve. Yet we know all is not right with America. We deeply need a moral and spiritual renewal to help us meet the many problems we face. Convict us of sin. Help us to turn to You in repentance and faith. Set our feet on the path of Your righteousness and peace.

We pray today for our nation's leaders. Give them the wisdom to know what is right, and the courage to do it.

You have said, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." May this be a new era for America, as we humble ourselves and acknowledge You alone as our Savior and Lord.

This we pray in Your holy name, Amen.



He is able,
Mary
Mary May Larmoyeux
www.marymaywrites.com
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com

Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

Friday, January 16, 2009

Going to the White House ... Internet Style

Friday's Fun

With Inauguration Day just around the corner, this is a great time to help the grandkids learn about various U.S. Presidents. www.whitehouse.gov has some wonderful information and activities for everyone.

Here's just a sampling of what's available:

Info. about various Presidents—click on their pictures

Quizzes and games for the kids

Presidential biographies

White House Pets


Ask the White House (an online interactive forum)

Coloring Pages (of Presidents)

Videotapes of Presidential pets – here’s one about Barney at Christmas

I had no idea that all of the above, and much more, is available on the Internet. There’s something for everyone—even panoramic views of rooms in the White House!

We can visit this website with our local grandkids. For long-distance grands, we can connect by phone, both log on to this website at the same time, and then visit various links together.

Have a great weekend!

He is able,
Mary
Mary
www.marymaywrites.com
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com


Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Beauty of an Amaryllis

Friday's Fun

What could be more beautiful on a dreary winter day than a gorgeous flowering Amaryllis?

About a week ago Pops helped one of our grandchildren plant an Amaryllis bulb; it is now sitting on a shelf near a kitchen window. The stalk is really popping up! According to what I’ve read on the Internet, there should be a flower in about 7-10 weeks ... hopefully by Valentine’s Day.

I took a picture of a granddaughter holding the bulb before it was planted and again when it was in the pot. I think we'll measure the height of the stalk once a week and jot this down on the calendar. We may even have a little guessing game to see who can guess when the Amaryllis will bloom.

To add a spiritual dimension, as I watch the development of the Amaryllis with my grandchildren, we'll talk about how God made everything. Waiting for the flower to bloom will be a good exercise in patience for them ... and me. It makes me think of the saying, “All things come to he who waits," and Psalm 33:20, “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.”

There’s still time for you and your grand to enjoy the beauty of an Amaryllis in your home this winter—if you plant one soon. You can get them from your local nursery or on the Internet.

Speaking of Internet, I just read that an Amaryllis will flower again if you cut the old flowers from the stem after they bloom, and when the stem starts to sag, cut it back to the top of the bulb. I’m going to try this.

Happy planting!

He is able,
Mary
Mary
www.marymaywrites.com
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com


Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

Monday, January 5, 2009

Have you thought about heaven today?


Tuesday's Thought

Several weeks ago Pops and I were going across town to pick up the grandkids. When we got stalled in traffic, we called to let our son and his wife know about our delay. “Someone must have had a wreck,” we said, “hopefully we’ll be there soon.”

We got off of the Interstate and snaked our way around a side road—along with ten thousand others who had the same idea (okay, this is an exaggeration). Mildly frustrated with the bottleneck, we finally entered a ramp to get back on the freeway. As we went around a curve, I gasped.

We had been thrown upon what seemed like a movie set—a violent movie, at that. Surely I was dreaming. To our left ... on the median of the Interstate, orange flames shot 50 feet or so into the dark night sky. Below them were the charred remains of what looked like an SUV and an 18-wheeler.

Pops and I prayed out loud in our car that night for whoever was in those vehicles. An eerie feeling crept through my bones and I was reminded, once again, that life is short and that eternity is at our fingertips.

What’s this have to do with being a grandparent? Everything: No one is promised tomorrow.

I was reading the other day about how we don’t think much about eternity any more. We’re so consumed with this world that we forget that it’s not our ultimate destination. But the fact is, “We’re just passing through,” as a friend of Pops and mine used to say.

I want to be more like our friend—more intentional about my ultimate citizenship. I want to really live as though this Earth is not my home. Because of this, I've decided to facilitate an online Bible study using Alcorn’s 158-page book (published by Lifeway. It's wonderful! (So are Alcorn's 500+ page book called Heaven, and his smaller book, Heaven for Kids.)

If you have older grandchildren (high school or older), you may want to invite them to do the online Bible study about heaven with you, regardless of where they live. Or, you may just want to do the study yourself.

Here are the details.

If you are wondering what happened to the people involved in the fiery crash, miraculously they all lived. The driver of the tanker escaped from his rig just before it burst into flames.

He is able,
Mary
Mary
www.marymaywrites.com
http://grandconnection.blogspot.com


Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email