Memaw Summer Camp - Day 1

our toddler-grand

"I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother...and your mother...And I know that same faith continues strong in you." (2 Tim. 1:5)

For the next two weeks, toddler-grand is coming to Memaw Summer Day Camp. So for this week and next, you may notice that my blog posts are shorter or even missing all together. Just know that I'm playing hard and pouring godly things into one sweet, little body, soul, and spirit.

Calling all parents and grandparents! Take advantage of the upcoming carefree, straw hat days of summer, and drench your little ones in the refreshing Word of God.

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Cleaning the Bathtub

Our Rebecca's family
car wash day



"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:7)

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please! It is my great honor to present to you today's GUEST writer, Rebecca, my amazingly beautiful daughter, inside and out.

Rebecca wrote:

Last week while I was cleaning the bathtub, [my youngest] asked, "Why are you cleaning the bathtub?"

"Grandparents are coming to visit, and I want them to feel..."

He interjected, "At home?"

I thought about what he said. That's not exactly what I was going to say, but I liked it.

"Yeah. I want them to feel at home," I agreed.

I guess that's a good reason to keep our hearts clean, too. We want Jesus to feel...at home.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me!" (Psalm 51:10-11)

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Pay Attention, Pay Attention

My Phillip and me, 1974
(Note the 1960 Willis Jeep in the background. It's still in the family)




"Truly, truly, I say unto you..." (John 5:24)

"That looks like so much fun!" I tell Phillip every time we pass an RV tooling down the interstate. And on more than one occasion I've said, "Let's go to Wisconsin someday."

Well, my superman paid attention. Last night, he surprised with me with fun, summer vacation plans: fly to Chicago, rent an RV, and explore the great state of Wisconsin for a week. Zippity do dah! O happy day!

In the Gospel of John, Jesus declared at least 19 times, "Truly, truly, I say unto you." In other words, "Pay attention! Pay attention! What I'm telling you is true and important."

In John 5:24, the Savior said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgement, but has passed out of death into life." 

Are you paying attention, beloved?

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T.G.I.W.

Jessilee Robison Watson Nance
my grandmother
(1901-1991)

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good works He planned for us long ago." (Eph. 2:10)

My first book, The Schoolhouse, tells my maternal grandmother's 1916 story as a young teacher in Tennessee mountain backwoods. Moreover, my paternal grandmother was an elementary school teacher as well. 

As a young widow in the 1920s, Grandmother earned a degree and taught school to support herself and two little children (my dad and aunt). In the 1960s, she returned to college and received her Masters of Education. Jessilee Robison Watson Nance loved her work. So much so that, if the truth be told, she fibbed about her age to avoid mandatory retirement at 70 and passed 75 before relinquishing the chalkboard.

In Psalm 90, Moses prayed, "Let the beauty of the LORD be upon us and establish Thou the work of our hands." Work is a gift from God, beloved. T.G.I.W. - Thank God It's Wednesday. We have more days to work!

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Peonies

Our son-in-law

"Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things He does for me." (Psalm 103:2)

Our weekend visit with long distance kids and grands was fun-filled and jam-packed with baseball and soccer games, the new Jungle Book and popcorn at the movies, elk burgers at Bub's, rigging a cool, new rope swing in a maple tree, antiquing at Stella's Place, a couple of rounds of UNO, and even a trip to the plant nursery in search of peony bushes. (No luck. Sold out.)

I love peonies - a colorful connection to childhood atop Lookout Mountain. Mother had white ones in the front yard and deep pink ones in the back.

My son-in-law called yesterday. "I ordered peonies and had them shipped to your house," he said.

Peonies and a son-in-law. Thank You, Lord Jesus. You fill my life with good things.

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His Ears and Your Heart

our grandboy

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name." (Psalm 103:1)

"Mom, did you bring my goggles?" asked six-year-old grandboy on our way to the swimming pool.

"No, buddy, I forgot them," answered his sweet mama.

Disappointment quickly melted into a river of tears.

"I want my googles," grandboy sobbed.

And sobbed.

And sobbed.

And sobbed.

And sobbed.

When no words would comfort, his wise mom switched on a kids' worship-to-Jesus CD.

Sobs died down, and happy humming rose from the back of the mini van. 

O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, bless the LORD. Sing praises to Jesus. It's pleasing music to His ears and your heart. 

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Truth Nuggets

Signing books at
Clear Creek Christian School
Bloomington, IN

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." Eph. 2:10 NLT)

What a joy to talk with third and fourth graders at Clear Creek Christian School today and read a chapter from Mr. Greenleaf's Unforgettable Summer. In addition to a free copy of The Schoolhouse, I hope the students took home a couple of truth-nuggets like God speaks to His people and has good works planned for us to do. 

Beloved, I hope you've learned those truth-nuggets, too. 

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Helpmate

My view from the driver's seat

"Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.'" (Gen. 2:18 NLT)

Last weekend, I took helpmate to another whole level - bush hogging acre after farm acre with Phillip's big green 1980s vintage John Deer 2550, 65 HP tractor. It blessed his little, pea-picking heart.

Girls, have you blessed your man's heart today?

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Baby Talk

Toddle-grand and "uncle"

"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." (1 Cor. 13:11)

After accidentally hitting Uncle Mark in the head with a hard, plastic ball, toddler-grand said, "Uncle. Head. Sorry."

When you pray, are you still reciting "now I lay me down to sleep?" Grow up, beloved! The writer of Hebrews put it this way: "So come on, let's leave the preschool fingerprinting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ!"

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Lightning Speed Prayer

Our Dan in full stride (Left in red, white, and blue)
early 1990s

"Before the presence of the LORD, lift up your hands to Him for the life of your little ones." (Lamentations 2:19b)

At 33 and 30, my boys still call on their way to work each day for their morning blessing. My brother, Mark, happened to be sitting beside me today when I rattled off at lightning speed: 

"May the Lord make you the head and not the tail. May He bless the work of your hands and give you supernatural discernment to know where to be and when to be there. May He give you the ability to judge people and situations rightly. May He be your strong protection; may no weapon formed against you prosper , in Jesus' name, either physically or spiritually. May the Lord order your career steps according to His glory and best plans. May the Lord prosper you and your family in body, soul, and spirit. May He bless Mandy as a godly wife, mother, homemaker, and housekeeper. May He equip you in every good thing to bring your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. May He bless your finances, and may Jesus Christ have first place in your life in everything. Amen."

"Woe!" Mark quipped, "God's probably saying, 'Wait a minute. Let me write all that down.'" (smile)

Beloved, pray, pray, pray for your children. Do it so often that you can rattle off godly blessing at lightning speed!

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The Great Romance

"The Hand of God"
by talented artist - Ben Glassco

"Do not fret...Trust in the LORD...cultivate faithfulness." (Ps. 37:1,3)

My name is Jill Glassco, and I am a fret-aholic. I fret over my kids, their kids, other people's kids, storybooks, mistakes in storybooks, and on and on. Alas, did you know, heaven forbid, that there was a misspelled word on page 3 of the first printing of A Chancellor Ferry Tale!?!? (It's been corrected; but rest assured, I will find something else to fret about.)

Fret.

Fret.

Fret.

It's exhausting.

Oswald Chambers wrote: Entrust yourself to God's hands... Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ...throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God...life will become one great romance.

Jesus can conquer fretting and restore us to sanity. Trust God. Make the decision now to turn your mind over to Him, and life will become a great romance.

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The Glass Piano

my glass piano

"Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You." (Ps. 63:3)



Once upon a 1963 summertime in a glass-blowing shop on a family vacation to the Smoky Mountains, my life-long friend, Mary, got a beautiful piano figurine. Because the treasure was out of my parents' budget, I got a little, amber-glass weenie dog. (It was cute.)

Knowing that story, years later on a romantic get-away to the Smokys, my loving, kind husband slipped back to that shop and bought me a glass piano. (Tomorrow marks the 45th anniversary of my first date with that good man!)


Beloved, Jesus Christ is our loving, kind Bridegroom. Blessed be the LORD who redeems our life from the pit, who crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion; who satisfies our years with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagles. (Psalm 103:3-4)



(Follow up to yesterday's "Ask Rebecca" post. My 6-year-old grandboy's take on The Schoolhouse: It's not scary at all! A little weird. If it were real, I wouldn't be frightened, a little worried, but not too scared.") 

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Ask Rebecca

The "bewitched" woman from
The Schoolhouse
Illustration by talented artist, Cami Monet Webb


"Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success." (Proverbs 15:22 NLT)

I'm in a dilemma. Because there's a couple of hair-raising scenes in my first storybook, The Schoolhouse (based on my grandmother's true 1916 experience), is it an appropriate gift for first graders? 

When I asked Jesus that very question this morning, I believe He answered, "Ask Rebecca" (my daughter-teacher of first graders with a  first grader of her own).

In  2 Chron. 20:1-25, King Jehoshaphat got the terrible news that three fearsome armies were marching against him, so he turned his attention to the Lord for advice. God answered through the prophet Jahaziel.

Need advice, beloved? Seek the Lord and listen to His godly counselors.

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God Promises

L-R my brother Mark, Mama, my Rebecca, and my niece Virginia
1990s

"...I am going to prepare a place for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am." (John 14:2-3)

When mother's breast cancer metastasized to bone cancer, the doctor gave her a six to eight month prognosis and told us to call hospice. But Jesus gave me a promise: I'll open a window of time. She'll feel good for a while, and then the end will come quickly.

God's promise trumped the doctor's prognosis. She lived five more years, tending her flowers and even mowing her lawn, and then went home to Jesus.

Today's God-promises are tomorrow's facts. "Never doubt in the darkness what [Jesus] told you in the light." ~ Pastor Larry Stockstill

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