Laced With Grace

Mary Dozier Shouse, my maternal grandmother taught me a lot about life and love. Some of her lessons were practical life skills. My cousins and I learned all the finer points of Canasta from Grandma. And I never would have passed my driver’s test if she had not showed me how to parallel park using salt and pepper shakers on her kitchen table.

The card playing and parking skills have certainly come in handy. However, my grandmother’s true legacy came from the example of her life. Here are a few of the valuable things I learned:

1. Love is often best expressed in small ways – Grandma constantly showed her love to her children, grandchildren, friends, and neighbors by letting us know she was thinking about us. For instance, I regularly received clips of articles or recipes in the mail she thought I might like. And although she could not afford gifts everyone received a card from her on their birthday with a dollar bill in it. When a grandkid got married, their spouse began to receive their birthday card and dollar too!
2. Joy can be found in simple things – My grandmother was almost childlike in her wonder of God’s world. She loved rocks, flowers, and birds. She found pleasure just in looking at them.
3. Peace can be found in difficult circumstances – My grandmother lived a hard life. When her mother died at age 11, her father shipped her off from one relative to another. Then verbal abusive and control marred her marriage. Yet, through it all, my grandmother was full of joy and peace from her heavenly Father.

This is the legacy my grandmother left me. Lessons about life, love, and God that have eternal value. Her positive influence on me has often made me reflect on what kind of legacy I will leave my children and grandchildren. What will I leave that has eternal, lasting value?

The grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of our God stands forever (Isa 40:8). The truths of God are eternal. They have the power to make an eternal impact on my children. What am I doing to pass the legacy of God’s Word to them? I try to follow God’s directive to the people of Israel. I try to set a godly example. I talk to them about the things of God. I take advantage of circumstances to teach them from God’s Word. (See Deut 6:6-9)

What are you doing to leave a valuable legacy? Share your thoughts with us!

Blessings!  Kathy Howard

Upon hearing the news of the passing of a 22 year old man from my hometown that touched countless lives, I am reminded again of something we must live with in this world….cancer.  This past year there have been so many I have known personally who have been diagnosed with some form of cancer.  When I hear of someone else being diagnosed, I often find myself full of questions…  Why this person?  Why do they have to suffer?  Why can’t there be a cure?  Why this family?  I have seen the impact cancer has on the physical body as well as the way it touches the lives of the family members who battle alongside their loved one.  My heart breaks for them.  Cancer is just so ugly to me. 

As ugly as cancer is to our human eyes, sin is ugly in God’s eyes.  We may think of ourselves as “good people” or think that since we haven’t killed anyone or stolen from others that we are okay and will make it to Heaven one day.  But we all have sin in our hearts.  Just as cancer eats away inside a person’s body where we can’t see it, sin hides away in our hearts slowly growing and consuming us.   You may be familiar with a verse in Romans 3:23.  It says:

  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

But look at this verse in its context in Romans 3:22-24–

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Yes we are all sinners.  ALL of us…. no matter how good we think we might be. But the good news is there is hope for us ALL too because of grace!  We can receive this grace because of Christ and the redemption He offers.  

While in this world we are going to continue to face ugly things like cancer. Sin will continue to be here too.  I have heard it said that if you had the cure for cancer and you knew someone with cancer you would do anything you could to share that cure with them.  I have many more questions than answers about cancer, but I do know the cure for sin.  Please email me and I will be happy to talk with you. Email me at preciousmoments2004ATgmailDOTcom. 

Have a day of blessings!

You can visit me at Raindrops & Rainbows.

This is our dog Shasta, and she is a rescue from California Underdog. She came inDoggto our lives just when my daughter needed her most and has been a dedicated friend through all her surgeries and recovery. My daughter says she would not have made it through without this dog. She and I both agree this medium sized mutt is a true gift from God, an angel in disguise.

Well, our curiosity got the best of us one day, and we bought one of those DNA kits to find out exactly what lineage our poochy is made from. We’ve always thought she was mostly a mix of Aussie, Lab, and Pitbull. However, the DNA testing came back with a list of unexpected surprises. Nowhere to be found were the breeds we expected. Instead she came back with a list of six:

Borzoi
Akita
Bulldog
Chow Chow
Miniature Pinscher
Parsons Russell Terrier

I don’t know how accurate this test is, but it made me think of how God takes such special care to combine certain attributes and traits to create each one of us. We are all “fearfully and wonderfully made,” without a doubt. Each of us are the sum of many, yet the whole of One, created in His image.

And all those parts are necessary for the whole, just like the body of Christ. With our dog Shasta, it doesn’t really matter which breed is which when you get right down to what matters. DNA defines her genetic lineage, but the true aspects of her character are:

Fiercely loyal
Affectionate
Loves unconditionally
Always happy to see you
Loves to play ball
Gives the best doggy kisses

And for this mom, this pooch helped bring my daughter through some of the worst trials of her life. Definitely an angel in disguise.

Praying and believing,
Dineen

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