Here at Mama’s Empty Nest,
we all wish every one of our family, friends, and blog readers
a most blessed Merry Christmas
from our house to yours!
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
©2012 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
Mama’s daughters
It echoes in my mind. The words. I find myself humming the tune. The music. And I see it manifested right before my eyes. The blessing.
Showers of blessing.
Showers of blessing continue to fall, pouring out the promise of love. Showers of refreshing blessing, precious in abundance.
We celebrated this season of love with the last of the bridal showers. It did not escape me that my oldest child, the one who brought me the joy of motherhood first, is the last to enter matrimony.
This one, this one who has waited for so long for her true love. This one, who I kept praying for and believing and yes – even promising – that God would send her beloved if she would just trust Him to work out the details.
This one is being blessed. As the old hymn replays in my mind, I sing these words over her:
“There shall be showers of blessing, if we but trust and obey; There shall be seasons refreshing, if we let God have His way.”
And God did have His way when she turned it over to Him. He orchestrated a meeting of two young people from different places – two people with a love for travel, who desired to serve those less fortunate than themselves.
He placed those two people next to each other on a bus headed for short term mission work among the least in the far-away country of Honduras. And God took that meeting, watered the friendship that sprouted during it, and provided room for the friendship to grow for a couple of years before it blossomed into true love.
My middle child, the already married one, will serve her older sister in love by being her matron of honor. Along with the other bridesmaids, we planned a most beautiful bridal shower celebrating not only the joy of an upcoming marriage but the other love my daughter has – her love of travel.
It was travel to that third world country that God used to bring two souls together, so it seemed a perfect theme. We used her chosen wedding colors of royal blue and white (the colors of the Honduran flag) and integrated them into the shower decorations.
Road maps became banners and covers for glass votive candles. Items from travels to other countries, including the wedding dolls brought from Korea by the bride’s daddy when she was a baby, added to the theme.
Atlas pages, small world globes, and glass etched world candle holders served as table centerpieces while vintage luggage became trays to be used as serving pieces for the food. Keeping with the theme, we used royal blue paper napkins printed with international flags on them.
Our menu reflected a few of the places the bride has traveled. France: mini quiches and French pastries. Honduras: mango salsa with chips. Wooden bowls of nuts signified her trip to Africa.
We added saucy meatballs, fresh fruit kabobs with dip, croissants filled with her favorite chicken salad, and blue and white decorated cake balls, baked by her sister, to the spread. A citrus tropical punch was the perfect beverage along with coffee and tea.
Favors were train and airplane shaped sugar cookies also baked with love by middle daughter. We attached ‘luggage tags’ to the bagged cookies with one side of the tag covered with a road map and the other printed with this message, “Thank you for joining us in wishing a world of happiness to [daughter’s name] as she journeys to her new adventure – marriage with [fiancé’s name].”
Fiancé’s sister printed exquisite photos from her own travels to make post cards which we provided to guests so they could write marriage advice for the bride-to-be as she embarks on this brand new journey of life. The post cards were deposited into a small trunk to be read by the bride later.
Friends of the bride, mothers of friends, and friends of her own mother did not disappoint with their wise advice. She’s given me permission to share some of their words.
My travel-loving daughter, who’s not into the typical white lace and pearl type bridal décor, loved it all! And our labor of love brought her much joy and happiness along with all the well wishes and lovely gifts from the guests.
Maya Angelou once said, “When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace, love, prosperity, happiness…all the good things.” Those thoughts echo my prayers for all three of my children in this wedding season we’re finding ourselves in.
And the blessings keep pouring down for which we are so very grateful, so abundantly thankful to the One who provides them all.
“An attitude of gratitude creates blessings.” ~ Sir John Templeton
Copyright ©2012 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
That Bible teaching from my childhood has echoed through my thoughts for my entire life.
I’ve discovered over the years that wise admonition is so very true. Life seems just so much more abundant when I bless others by giving, not just the gift of money, but through gifts of service – time, energy, friendship, love, and devotion – as well.
This past month, I’ve encountered that feeling of being incredibly blessed. It’s as if these words written by American essayist Hamilton Wright Mabie have sprung to life – “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”
There is much talk of love – true love – and marriage at our house as hubby and I witnessed our middle daughter’s marriage to her only one in June and will watch our son marry his betrothed next month, while our oldest daughter will wed her beloved before the end of this year.
For our family, it does feel like the whole world is engulfed in a conspiracy of love, a season of love…and bridal showers…and weddings. And many, many blessings. Showers of them.
Our showers of blessing continued when I hosted a small bridal shower in my home a couple of weeks ago for my son’s fiancée.
Since she is not from our area, she doesn’t personally know many of the people we included on the wedding invitation list.
So I wanted to give her an opportunity to meet and be blessed by some of my closest friends and family here and for them to see for themselves what a wonderful addition she makes to our family circle.
This sounds hard to believe but when my future daughter-in-law came to our home to meet us for the first time over a year ago, I knew she was different from the other girls my son had dated. She immediately fit into our family in that easy way that seems like she has always been a part of us.
This bridal shower prepared with much thought was one of the ways I wanted to show her how much she is accepted and loved. I’m pretty certain I succeeded.
Son and fiancée traveled abroad last year, and I think that during an excursion to Italy, their love for one another really bloomed.
So I incorporated an Italian theme with her wedding colors of purple and black and white damask into the bridal shower. Grapes and grapevines with lanterns and candles completed the decorations.
Small corked bottles, which I filled with olive oil and tied purple ribbon tags on with the printed message, “What did [son’s name] say to [fiancée’s name] on their Italy trip? O-live you!” served as guest favors.
The menu was simple. Linguini salad, warm from the oven garlic bread sticks, fresh fruit salad, pods of grapes, Italian crackers with three kinds of cheeses – one with basil, a herb my son relishes and one which symbolizes love in Italy. The story is that when an Italian suitor wants to demonstrate his love, he places a sprig of basil in his hair to win his heart’s desire.
Desserts included Italian style cookies: cream wafers, clothes pin cookies, and almond and lemon pizzelles. 
White and purple grape juice mixed with ginger ale proved to be a tasty and easy to make punch.
As a special dessert, I baked brownie cups in damask cupcake wrappers and served a purple scoop of black raspberry ice cream topped with a piece of Godiva dark chocolate. Check back tomorrow for my Wordless Wednesday post and you’ll see a picture of them. They were a big hit!
But even more important was the love shared that day, shown in so many ways:
When fiancée’s mother and sister joined us in the celebration. When two of my friends who’ve held 50-year-old friendships with me attended. When guests shared their thoughts about my son to his beloved.
When my daughters warmly welcomed their new sister and catered to her every need. When my sister and my cherished friends bestowed beautiful gifts upon the bride-to-be.
When one of my mother’s best friends, a sweet 95-year-old lady, shared her lemon pie recipe (which our son loves) with the soon-to-be wife. When my treasured friend gave the loveliest and heart-felt prayer of blessing over the upcoming marriage.
Love permeated the air in my house on that day. I could see it. I could taste it. I could feel it. And as I gave thanks for it, showers of blessings poured over me like refreshing rain over a dry, parched land.
“The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessing.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher
Copyright ©2012 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
My dad playing ladder golf on his 90th birthday.
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is a gorgeous day here at Mama’s Empty Nest.
I’m sitting outside on my back yard deck in the cool low 70’s temperature of the afternoon. The sun is shining and warms my face.
When I look up from my laptop, the view that greets me is baby blue sky dotted with the fluffiness of cottony clouds and different hues of green in the trees and expanse of yard behind our house.
Next door is a corn field, newly planted by the farmer, and sprouting stalks already. I close my eyes and inhale the scent of blooming peonies and cut grass and I think about my father.
It is a beautiful June day and I am blessed. Not only have I just celebrated our middle daughter’s wedding but I celebrated yet another year of life since my birthday was the day after the nuptials.
I spent those two days surrounded by family and friends making memories that will last a lifetime. And for this birthday, I received a special gift – a son-in-law.
My father as a young man around 1940.
Today in my book called Opportunity, I whisper to the God I love, the One who sustains me, the Heavenly Father who provides, the Friend who never leaves and is always with me.
I tell Him how grateful I am for this beautiful day, this life He has given me, these treasures of family and friends and I thank Him.
But today is another special day, it is June 7 - the anniversary of my own earthly father’s birth. If he were still alive, my dad would be 93 on this day.
As I think of him today, I give thanks that God blessed me with such a fine example of a man to be my daddy. He was kind, he was loving, he was generous, he was respected by all who knew him. He was a man of integrity and fine character and he taught me so much.
Even though I miss him still, so much so that I cry, I see his influence all around me. I see it in the good common sense he taught me that I put into practice; I think of him as I balance our check book, a skill he taught to me at an early age.
He comes to my mind when the fragrance of freshly cut grass reaches my nose. And I see him reflected in my son’s face, who I think resembles my dad when he was a young man.
And in my mind’s eye, I see my dad, sitting on the porch, straw hat in hand, resting a bit after mowing the four acres of his homestead and enjoying a beautiful June day just like today.
Copyright ©2012 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
When I was just a little girl, my maternal grandparents lived with us.
One of my favorite memories of Grandma is when she and I would squeeze ourselves into her chair – the upholstered rocker with the wooden swan head arms – and rock our blues away while singing hymns.
One of those old church songs was “Showers of Blessing” and after 50 years, the tune and the words still echo in my mind. When I close my eyes, I can picture my gray-haired grandma and my skinny, bespectacled eight-year-old self rocking and singing together.
For over a week now, that old song replays again and again in my mind or I catch myself humming the tune. Since May rolled around on the calendar, it’s been an emotional time for me. The first of our family weddings is just days away now. Middle daughter will walk down the aisle escorted by her father and marry her true love.
In addition to the emotion of elated happiness at thinking about my daughter getting married, I’ve also encountered a touch of sadness. I’m really missing my parents, even more than usual, as we prepare for all of these weddings in our family.
I find it a bit heartbreaking that my children have no living grandparents to attend their wedding ceremonies. My mother would have been so excited over all of the preparations and so willing to help. My father would have been proud of his grandchildren and their choices in marriage partners. My husband’s parents would also have welcomed these family events with enthusiasm.
But the church pew reserved for parents and grandparents will only hold two people – my husband and me – for all three nuptials. I’ll admit the thought of that has brought me to tears a few times.
Mulling over middle daughter’s recent bridal shower and that old hymn’s words taught to me by my own grandmother (who didn’t live long enough to see me get married either) provided inspiration for me on this day in my Opportunity book. It reminded me how many showers of blessing have been bestowed upon us as we prepare for our daughter’s wedding.
Her bridal shower was truly lovely and my oldest daughter, the maid of honor, did an outstanding job planning it. Surrounded by good friends and some family, I noticed blessings pouring over us.
Continuing the vintage theme my daughter loves and has incorporated into her wedding, we used a few family keepsakes at her shower. Lacy tablecloths that once belonged to my mother and mother-in-law adorned tables. The shower goodies, lovingly prepared by oldest daughter, my sister, and me was served on old fashioned dishes that once graced the tables of my grandmother, my mother, my mother-in-law, and even a great aunt. All of those items represented blessings handed down through generations.
But it just wasn’t about things. As friends and family gathered to shower my daughter with gifts for her new life with her true love, they also showered her with blessings of love.
From one spectrum to another, blessings flowed and I can still picture each one. Two of my oldest and best friends from childhood, my tried and true friends, attended the shower. Joining them was the mother of one of those best friends, my next door neighbor while I was growing up and in many ways my ‘second mom.’
The mothers of two of the bridesmaids also were in attendance, fellow moms who watched our girls make their way through junior and senior high school together, moms who welcomed my daughter into their homes and hearts.
And then there were my daughter’s college and high school friends – spread near and far, yet gathered together to celebrate the bride-to-be. Good friends I’ve made since moving back to the homeland, including my prayer warriors and confidantes, were also included.
One special blessing was the presence of my mother’s best friend, a dear lady who has known and loved me since my birth and who just last month celebrated her 95th birthday. She was so tickled to be included in this celebration. Her daughter, such a part of our family that she almost seems like a sister, also attended.
Family is a huge blessing to me and that included my sister, my oldest daughter, my soon-to-be daughter in-law, my niece (wife of my nephew) and happily rounding out the festivities, my adorable 16-month old great-niece.
Thinking back over that wonderful day, how could I feel anything but blessed? And that’s when it dawned on me not to focus on who was missing for the celebration, but to give thanks for the blessings that were there showering us that day.
I find it fitting that I give thanks for those blessings this week as we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day. I’m so grateful for the mothers who came before me, mothers who’ve come along beside me, and the young ladies, future mothers, who will carry the torch forward into the future.
Thank you, Grandma, for teaching me ‘Showers of Blessing.’ May blessings be poured out and showered over all of you mothers out there this Mother’s Day weekend.
There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.
Copyright ©2012 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
“Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.” ~Voltaire
Faith is a young woman believing an angel’s unbelievable message. ~ Luke 1: 26-38
Faith is a man, taking that young woman who was with child – a child not biologically his – as his wife anyway. ~ Matthew 1:18-25
Faith is taking a journey away from home to a different village and finding no room to stay when a baby is due to be born. ~ Luke 2:4-7
Faith is shepherds hearing an astonishing message from a host of heavenly beings and then seeking a newborn child. ~ Luke 2:8-20
Faith is waiting for years to behold a long-promised Messiah. ~ Luke 2:25-35
Faith is following a star. ~ Matthew 2:1-12
Faith is believing a tiny babe came to earth to save us all. ~ John 3:16-21
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” ~ Isaiah 9:6
And faith is knowing He is coming again. ~ Matthew 24:30-31
In my year-long book called Opportunity, Chapter 12, Page 23, I pray for all of you to have the most blessed Christmas season – one full of faith.
“A faith is a necessity to a man. Woe to him who believes in nothing.” ~ Victor Hugo
©2011 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
Thanksgiving
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
“For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.”
Here at Mama’s Empty Nest, we give thanks today, this Page 24, Chapter 11 in my book entitled Opportunity, to the One who provides our needs.
May you be blessed with love, family, and friends on this special day and may you have many blessings to count.
Happy Thanksgiving!
“Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
~Psalm 100:3-5
©2011 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year and it is right around the corner of next week.
My family and I have so much for which to be thankful.
As often happens when I think about the blessings I’ve been given, I immerse myself in the waves of nostalgia for memories that envelope my heart in gentle, caressing folds of love.
In the last years of my maternal grandparents’ lives, they resided with my parents and me. Both Grandpa and Grandma died, within six months of each other, the year I turned nine. So my childhood memories of them are brief but certain aspects of our life together remain vividly ensconced in my mind.
One of those cherished vignettes is sitting side by side with my grandmother in her favorite rocking chair singing hymns as we rocked in time. Grandma may not have realized it, but she instilled God’s Word in my heart with those “hymn sings” we shared. She also taught me valuable life lessons through the words of those songs, one of which was to be thankful for my blessings.
I distinctly remember those song lyrics and one particular hymn has been swirling around my mind all week. Today, this Sunday, in my book of Opportunity, Chapter 11, Page 20, we sang this old hymn, Count Your Blessings, in worship at our country church.
My husband and I worshiped God today in the sanctuary of this church - where we were married and where middle daughter will marry her true love in a few months; where both of my parents grew up as members; where all four of my grandparents belonged; where my great-great grandparents were two of eight founding members back in 1820 – this church which was built upon ground donated by those great-great grandparents.
As I sang this well-loved tune, I thought about the legacy of my family heritage in this church. In my mind’s eye, I envisioned my ancestors who worshiped God in that very spot all those long years ago.
But mostly as I heard those familiar musical notes, I could picture my elderly grandmother and my little childhood self in our living room at home, rocking in that special chair, and praising God as two voices – one worn, weathered, and cracked and one young, high-pitched, and tender – sang:
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
So I am counting my many blessings and naming them one by one. Even though this year had its challenges, I’m thankful. One of my blessings is being the wife of my true love and mother of three amazing adults who come back to the empty nest from time to time for visits.
This past fall, our oldest daughter moved back to our nearby city from a state down south and it’s so good to know she’s within easy driving distance again. Recently, she told me this: “I love being 10 minutes from one of my best friends, 35 minutes from my mom and dad and 10 feet from my sister!” (They share an apartment in the city.)
Sounds like she’s very grateful and counting her blessings as well. I’m hopeful that counting our blessings will always be an essential element in our family legacy.
©2011 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
Working for a non-profit organization can be one of the most rewarding of jobs as well as discouraging at times. I know because I’m employed by one.
Rewards flow abundantly when I witness first-hand how we make a difference in the lives of others. But days of discouragement can also reign when I wonder if we’re truly gaining any ground.
I imagine that most of us who labor in the non-profit world do so not because of any personal gain but because we want to make the world a better place. I know my fellow co-workers diligently strive to make such a change, to follow our passion for righting a wrong, to serve others, and introduce them to a more positive path for life.
When it comes to personality types, some of us non-profit employees are Doers, some of us are Relaters, and some of us are Influencers. We may go about our work in diverse ways, but we have one thing in common. We endeavor to actually accomplish our goals, we don’t just spout rhetoric.
“The world is blessed the most by men who do things, and not by those who merely talk about them.” ~ James Oliver
At times, our efforts seem overwhelming, even futile, and we need re-charged and refreshed to continue our tasks. That’s exactly what occurred a short while ago at my place of employment.
Our Executive Director announced at weekly staff meeting one day that we should arrive at work on a particular Monday attired in comfortable clothes for a Staff Retreat Day. She refused to give us details just reassured us that we would be treated to a surprise. Our organization has undergone several major changes in the last two years, and as change sometimes can prove stressful and challenging, she and our Board of Directors wanted to thank us all for “hanging in there.”
On a crisp, sunny morning we gathered at the office and were whisked off to a lovely country house owned by a friend of our organization. We settled down in her welcoming home and were served our choice of hot tea, special coffees, hot chocolate, or hot apple cider with several types of mini-muffins to munch on and of course, lots of chocolate candy. While we sipped and unwound, a Board of Directors member encouraged us with an inspirational message and prayer. A time of sharing insights about our co-workers’ strengths followed.
Our hostess, who definitely has the gift of hospitality, called us to her dining room where a beautifully decorated table greeted us and we enjoyed a delicious lunch. But our retreat day wasn’t over yet! Another friend of our organization, a professional massage therapist, joined us for our afternoon surprise. Each staff member received a warm soak in a foot spa machine followed by a foot massage, then a back and neck massage, and finally a paraffin wax treatment for our hands.
And as the info-mercials say, “But wait, that’s not all!” Savoring a delectable chocolate dessert and another hot beverage completed our day of pampering. Our hostess with the ‘mostess’ presented us with a parting gift – a beautiful red apple sitting atop a small carton of caramel dip all dressed up in a pretty package. As she randomly passed the treats out to us, she asked us to read a message tied to each one. Somehow, each message, though different, fit each recipient.
I found my message, “You can change the world!” interesting and apt, because that is what I attempt to do with the young people I’m privileged to see in schools….change their perspective, change their behavior, change their futures, change their lives in a positive way, one person at a time.
It’s the 29th page in Chapter 9 in my book of Opportunity today. This book (the year 2011) only has a few more chapters to go, then it will be finished and a new book will begin. So today, I’ve been seriously contemplating that message I received on our day of pampered blessing and how it meshes with my year of opportunity.
I don’t want to be one of those people who just sits around talking about and waiting for the world to change. God planted a desire in me to actively help transform people’s lives, which is exactly what I’ve done the last 10 years at my non-profit job. But lately, I’ve wondered if it was time for me to move on to something else. Now though, I’m sensing that the Lord doesn’t want me to stop just yet.
And I believe God doesn’t want me to stop sharing my faith journey with my readers. Daniel 2:20-22 says: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.”
Only He can make a real change in me and you. All we have to do is ask Him. And then He equips us to go out and really change the world.
©2011 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
Surprise! That’s the nice way I started my morning today in my book of Opportunity, Page 23 in Chapter 9.
A blogging buddy of mine Georgette Sullins bestowed the Versatile Blogger Award on me. Thank you for thinking of me! Georgette and I became friends way back in April when she commented on my Freshly Pressed post, When Nature Shows No Mercy . I find Georgette’s blog always fascinating as she chronicles endearing stories to be saved and cherished for her family.
Since this is the first time I’ve been honored with the Versatile Blogger Award, I researched it to find there are rules to follow. So here goes:
Rule #1 – Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post. (As the kids would say, Georgette, you rock!)
Rule #2 – Tell your readers seven (7) things about yourself. (Prepare yourself, dear readers, these are very random!)
Rule #3 – Give this award to up to fifteen (15) recently discovered bloggers.
I’m veering from the rule here because my first award goes to a blog I’ve been reading for over a year now, so she’s not recently discovered, she’s one of my “must-reads” - Homestead Rambling’s Blog. We became instant and life-long friends when she found my blog and started commenting. We’ve realized we are kindred spirits with so much in common, including our faith. She truly is a versatile blogger because her posts may be informative, humorous, encouraging, or inspiring. Right now, she’s writing about her recent journey to Alaska, a land that seems to be calling to her, and from her pictures, I can sure see why.
Crossing the Line also deserves this award. This blogging buddy has been one of my cheerleaders for some time. Her comments always make me feel valued and appreciated as a writer. I relish reading her posts on her relatively new blogging adventure. As she honestly writes about the aspects of life that invite her to ‘cross the line’ and move forward on her personal growth journey, she reminds us all about our human frailties and how we can choose to take a different path. She’s on my ‘must-read’ list too.
Rule #4 - Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news. (Boom, done, finished. Emails complete.)
For now, I’m signing off. My favorite season of fall arrives with some of my favorite people – the pair and the spare all will fly back to the nest this weekend! We’ll have a full house with a family day Sunday. That’s a gift that’s even better than a blogger award!
©2011 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
