Happy Spring Time...April is "National Child Abuse Prevention Month"

Hello Everyone and Happy Spring!

I'm back!  The past few years have been so busy with my mother's care that I had to back out of a lot of my correspondence, especially on my websites.  She came to live with us over 2 years ago, and we were her sole caregivers in our home.  I certainly am thankful that we had that time with her, and am thankful that her passing was easy.  She was plagued with pneumonia all summer last year, and after being MedStar lifeflighted from our ranch, spent 3 stays in the hospital, and then went to a nursing home here in Spokane.  She seemed to rally for awhile, but could not shake the pneumonia, and she finally gave up after her 95th birthday on July 29th.  We had a little party for her there in the nursing home, and afterwards one of the nurses asked her, "Lois, since you've reached 95 now, are you going to shoot for 100?"  She said, "No, I don't think so, I'm kinda tired."  Then on August 26th, after saying goodbye to her children and Grandchildren on the phone, she slipped quietly away into the arms of our Lord.  I could not have wished for anything differently, because she had had a good, full life, and now she is pain free and flying with the angels.

Now, I am plunging in with both feet...and hands, and doing the work I know I'm intended to do.  My greatest desire, as you all know, is to see people set free from the bondage of abuse...whether it be immediate, or scars from past abuse.  The current statistics have only continued to rise through the past few years, and abuse of children in this country is an EPIDEMIC....it has to STOP!  

To further that goal, I am very happy to report that I was recently contacted by Monty Dale Meyer of Talk12Radio Station out of Oregon, to do an interview tomorrow (Friday, April 5th).  This interview will be over Internet Radio and will be available on Saturday at www.Talk12Radio.com; then just click on SATURDAY for the Friday Interviews.  They archive these interviews, so they will be available forever for those of you who want to listen and refer on to your friends.  I would really appreciate that, too, as the whole purpose is to reach as many people as we can, in the hopes of reaching many victims of abuse who need healing.  PLEASE partner with me in passing this on; it is so important.  It is also so timely, since this is "National Child Abuse Prevention Month", and we need to do all we can to get the word out there.  Those victims are out there, and they are waiting for our help.

Thanks everyone for hanging in there with me and checking back.  Hope you all had a wonderful Easter and are enjoying Spring...I am!  Remember to listen in to the broadcast interview and let me know what you think...thanks again.

"The only people who are truly free are the ones who walk in a spirit of continual forgiveness."

"THE 1ST HUNDRED YEARS ARE THE HARDEST"

As my new "Dad" has always said, "The first hundred years are the hardest...then you just don't give a rip."
However, when he turns 100 years old on March 27th, I'm going to write on his card: "....and YOU'RE on your SECOND hundred years, so just relax and enjoy it!"

As a part of "Becoming God's Woman" I have learned to really respect and admire my parents, and am actually enjoying them in their sunset years. I have learned in raising my own children, and now having grandchildren and GREAT grandchildren, that we parents don't always make the right decisions for our offspring; nor do we always set a good example. So I've opted to cut mine some slack.

Seeing my parents reach the ages of 92 and 100, I find that I am enjoying them more as the years fly by; because I KNOW what they went through to GET here. I can respect that they have gone through good years and hard years; fruitful years and lean years; been in good health, and experienced illnesses; have met personal challenges and not always seen all their dreams come true, and dealt with their children lovingly through it all. No matter whether or not they always made the right decisions for us, or protected us from all of life's hurts and disappointments, they meant the best for us, and always tried (within the best of their ability and power) to do the right thing by us.

However, the more I talk with other people, I have come to the conclusion that some of our younger generation do not feel as I do. They criticize and cast blame on their parents for every short coming and disappointment they experience. Now, don't they ever think to themselves: my parents are human, and as such they are going to make mistakes. And, as I've said before, there is no such thing as a "perfect" parent. We don't need to cast stones unless we have walked in our parent's shoes. Have a little respect and be thankful for the good things they did do, and for the things they did that got you as far as you are today. My parents were not "perfect" either, and, as many of you know, I suffered abuse at the hands of my natural Dad. But, I chose a long time ago to forgive them; didn't make any difference if THEY changed or not...I forgave them right where we were. Therefore, today, in my parents sunset years, I am able to be with them, do things for them that they aren't able to do for themselves at this age, and just enjoy the time we have together. And, at the same time, unforgiveness has not been allowed to make me sick...did you KNOW that holding grudges, resentments, and not forgiving can make you physically ill? It most certainly can; it can cut your life short.

So, to sum it all up, treat your parents as you'd like your children to treat YOU in your later years. Don't waste your years and their years by fussing and fuming about things that happened long ago. Put them behind you and get on with the business AND the FUN of life and loving. Because it IS true, the first hundred years are the hardest, and we need to help our loved ones enjoy them. Another bit of advice for you parents: Be nice to your kids...because they may be the ones who pick out your retirement location or take care of you. And remember, all of you, it's true what they say: "What goes around, comes around." The world would be a better place if we all just forgave and loved each other for the very human beings that we are...NOT perfect.
Dad: A VERY HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY TO YOU, and thanks for treating me every bit like your daughter.

Note: Mom and "Dad" met 8 years ago when my husband and I were going together. We introduced them because we thought Dad would be a good influence on my mother. He had his own pickup truck, cell phone, and computer, and was a real go-getter. They met on his 92nd birthday when she was 83, and he proposed 4 months later on HER birthday. We were planning our wedding for in the fall, and for a time we thought we might have a double wedding. But, being the age they were, they didn't want to waste any time, so they beat us to the alter by just one month and married October 6th of 2001. So...you might say that Dad said "I do" at 92. They have had 8 years together now, and both of them help each other so much. We are very glad that they have found each other and happiness.