Monthly Archives: October 2013

You are browsing the site archives by month.

TOGETHER WITH CHRIST

Michael and Amy

It’s a good thing my husband Michael and I said, “Until death do us part” in our covenant to each other and to almighty God on that April day twenty-eight years ago because our love has been tested time and time again.

With a number of job losses and stresses in our lives we have been through seasons when we fought like cats and dogs. All along, there was a genuine love deep in our souls for each other underneath our selfishness. But our disunity seemed to dominate our relationship until we both learned to live a fully surrendered life to Christ.

Now, together with the Lord, we walk hand in hand in unity following our Creator into the destiny He has prepared for us.

“And the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two, but one…”  Mark 10:8 (New Living Translation)

I’m linking up for Five Minute Friday where Lisa Jo Baker and other awesome people write for five minutes flat with no self critiquing or no striving for perfection. This week’s prompt is: “Together”

The photo of my husband and me was captured by my daughter without us knowing she was photographing us.

Five Minute Friday

SAVORING MOTHERHOOD

100_1458

My husband started crying first the day we dropped off my daughter Christa at college. The sight of my manly man crying sent me over the edge and the tears began flowing out of my eyes. Before our goodbyes were over, there was a group of us standing there in a puddle of tears while standing in the school’s dining hall.

On the drive home that day, through bittersweet tears, I thought about how nice it would be to turn back time and go back to the days when life was chaotic with the dirty footprints that were tracked all over the carpet and the neighborhood kids gathering at our house to play and the piles of laundry that never seemed to go away completely.

It wasn’t easy, but it was worth all the chaos. Those years of having little whining voices and toys strewn everywhere will be forever etched on my heart as cherished, joyous, glorious memories.

Now my daughter is a college graduate and her brother is a junior in high school. Things are quieter. The laundry is easier to manage. Life is not nearly as hectic. It seems like yesterday those two bundles of joy arrived.  I am grateful that I left the corporate world and poured myself into motherhood. The rewards are greater than any other job on Earth.

To all the mothers of younger children, my words of wisdom would be: Enjoy the laundry. Savor every messy moment. It will all be over in an instant, and you’ll be saying the same thing I am saying today, “How did all those years go by so quickly?”

I’m linking up for Five Minute Friday where Lisa Jo Baker and other awesome people write for five minutes flat with no self critiquing or no striving for perfection. This week’s prompt is: “Laundry.”  Forgive me for going over the time limit again by about ten minutes.

Five Minute Friday

FINDING THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

Amy's Pictures 1119

I walked into my grandmother’s assisted living home soon after her husband of 72 years passed away. It was hard to see her in the shape she was in. My grandmother Mema seemed lost without my grandfather Poppy by her side. I left that day and wept. I wept tears over the sadness I saw in her eyes, over her frailty and her seemingly lost sense of purpose.

In my spirit I knew I needed to trust the Lord and make it my mission to bring joy to her by visiting her as often as I could. So I made it a priority to drive over an hour to visit her each week and encourage her.

Every visit is different, yet so very beautiful. Her mind is fading a bit, but she always knows who I am and she’s happy to see me. Her frail, ninety-three-year-old body is so weak that she can’t stand up without me using every bit of my strength to assist her. She had to start using a wheel chair over the summer.

I’ve visited her twice this week. On Wednesday, I spent about three hours with her. Shortly after leaving the dining hall, I asked her, “Do you want me to push you around outside?” She responded, “Yes!” She acted as though it was the most exciting part of her day. We headed to the exit and I pushed her for what seemed like an hour.

On our walk, we stopped at every flower and looked closely and breathed in the beautiful, sweet smells. We looked closely at the leaves beginning to turn vibrant shades of red. We looked at the magnificent North Georgia Mountains surrounding us. In those moments, it was as though all of Mema’s cares had dissipated. We were breathing in the sweetness of God’s presence togethergrandmother and granddaughternot thinking of the past and not longing for what is to come. We were simply reveling in the beauty God had given us in those moments.

We were at an ordinary place in an ordinary parking lot of the assisted living facility where my grandmother lives. But there was nothing ordinary about these precious moments. They were sacred moments of breathing in the love of Christ and thanking Him for giving me these precious extraordinary days with my last living grandmother.

Jesus has an amazing way of taking what seems like ordinary life events and turning each moment into a spectacular, extraordinary display of His splendor.

“I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.” Psalm 145:5 (New Living Translation)

I’m linking up for Five Minute Friday where Lisa Jo Baker and other awesome people write for five minutes with no self critiquing or no striving for perfection. This week’s prompt is: “Ordinary.” Today, I broke the rules and spent about twenty extra minutes writing this piece. I was weepy and couldn’t seem to stop writing after five minutes.

In the photo, my grandmother is holding her great-great grandchild (my nephew’s son).

Five Minute Friday

Five Minute Friday: Write

ebook-3d

 

The words I heard coming out of my grandmother’s mouth were a shock to me. “You’re gonna write a book some day. I really believe God wants you to tell the stories of all He has done in your life.” After the shock wore off, I began to ponder her words. Could it really be true? Could I really be a writer?

Then quite a few years later in 2004, I was taking part in a ministry conference at a church several hours away from home. During that long weekend, a deacon I met at the conference looked at me intently and said, “You’re going to write a book.” I laughed out loud and he looked at me funny. I said, “That’s what my grandmother has been telling me for years.” I left that conference beginning to believe maybe I would write a book someday.

It’s been nine years since the conference and it’s surreal to write about my very first eBook, Prayers of a Mother’s Heart. It’s a book of prayers and a few personal stories written for mothers who are searching for answers for their children’s lives. It’s for mothers who are desperate, and have nowhere else to turn, but to God. The ultimate goal of the book is to point mothers toward Christ and a life of prayer.

There has been a relentless battle in my mind about being a writer. I am choosing to push the doubt and fear away. I finally believe God has called me to do this.

Am I nervous? Totally!

But I am pressing forward and finalizing the details about my eBook to be published on Amazon.com. I’ll be posting about the release date in the weeks ahead.

I’m stepping out in faith to write for Christ.

If you would like to be a part of my ‘Support Team’ and receive a complimentary copy of my eBook once it’s finalized, please contact me by October 15th through email: amy (@) liveabundantlynow.com. The only thing I’ll ask in return is that you would leave a review on Amazon.com once it’s released.

I’m linking up for Five Minute Friday where Lisa Jo Baker and other awesome people write for five minutes flat with no self critiquing or no striving for perfection. This week’s prompt is: “Write.” I wrote for about ten minutes today.

Five Minute Friday