Out of the Mouths of Babes

Yesterday, a precious woman at church commented: "I just love watching how much your granddaughter loves you and snuggles up to you during church. I sure hope my granddaughter loves me like that someday! She won't have anything to do with me now." Saddened for her, I asked, "How old is your granddaughter?" Her response: "18 months old". I smiled, hugged her and said, "Oh Girl, you have plenty of time to show her plenty of love that will pay you back in measureless proportions."

Before long that little granddaughter will start using her inbred child psychology on her grandmother. She'll learn the more she loves, the more her grandmother gives. Children can sure teach us something about psychology, especially for us grandparents. It's just hard to say "no" to their requests. In fact, I've said very few "no's" to mine. See this photo of my cutie. A few months ago I heard this: "Nana, you know that cute brown purse in your closet that you never use....." My quick reply was: "Yes, I know. Do you want it?" Of course, she did and I am elated that here we are, months later, and it's the only purse she carries.

Think about the psychology of this child who says these words to his dad: "Daddy, I love you so much. You are the best dad in the world. You have given me everything I need. You make me feel so safe when you are with me. I am never afraid. Thank you for my clothes and my food. Thank you for the times when you put me in time out because I disobeyed you. I really do want to please you and be better at obeying you. I feel your love with me all the time. I know you are always watching out for me."

That little paragraph was brought to you by Psalm 23 “The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need. It is the picture of a child’s loving father. Wasn’t it so tender and uplifting? Can you fathom the love that a father has for his child that comes to him so raw, relevant and appreciative of his father’s love?

We are God's children and oh how much He longs for our love.
Back to that grandmother longing for her 18-month old to love her. There are so many ways we can bring joy to our Heavenly Father. I pick Alexia up on Sunday mornings to go to their church service. Her family goes early for praying and serving. That 30-minute drive is non-stop talking about this and that and sometimes I get to coach her on some things she might be dealing with. I always love our special times together.

In the same way, we can be driving in our car and acknowledge our Heavenly Father by simply saying “I sure love you, Father!” We may be in a world of conflict and worry is concerning us. We cry out “Daddy, please help me!” One of the ways I love to communicate with Him is meditating on scripture and putting it in the first person, like that first paragraph above.

For example, here’s how we might pray and praise with Psalm 23: “Thank you, Lord, for being my Shepherd. Thank you for making me lie down in green pastures. Thank you for leading me beside quiet waters. Thank you for restoring my soul. Thank you for guiding me in the paths of righteousness."

Meditating on Scripture (God's words to us) is a great way of “having a little talk with Jesus to make things right, or to simply give Father God a big old hug – loving Him for all He is, was and is to come. Snuggling up to Him and loving Him, I'm sure, causes Him to want to pour out the blessings on us even more!

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart!"

🎃🎃🎃The TREAT of October 31st, 1922🎃🎃🎃

This sweet little lady is my dear mother-in-law, Lydia (Winick) Wuerch, who was born on October 31st, 1922, 95 years ago. Though she was born on the day attributed to Halloween -- she was always the TREAT -- not the trick.

🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈For those who have known Mom as their dear friend, mentor, close relative or pastor's wife who always encouraged, supported and caused you to laugh at her wit and sense of humor -- it would be wonderful if she could hear from you via my email at: dwuerch@cox.net and I will copy off and give to her when I go to Tulsa tomorrow to celebrate her. She will love hearing from you. 🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

I'll let you in on my thoughts of her -- that I shared in her card that I'll give her tomorrow. She's not a social media gal -- so she won't know these words until tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Precious Mom -- the Sweetest TREAT Ever!!
“This is the day the Lord made YOU -- and I’m rejoicing and so glad for it!” I can’t begin to express all you have meant to me for the 57 years you’ve been in my life, but here are some of the ways:
1) You were my role model as I watched you be a strong woman of God who served so beautifully as a loving, faithful and devoted pastor’s wife, organist, Sunday School teacher, women and children’s leader, and so many other ministries that you devoted your heart and life to.

2) I will forever be grateful that my grandparents were the first to know you and introduced you to my family. You and Dad loved my grandparents and gave them so much love and support, especially as you would drive the distance across Dallas to pick them up and take them home from church. You loved and cared for so many others as "Mom" and "Mother" to many more than Ron & Karen.

3) You loved my family and showed so much hospitality to us. Oh the joys of Kip’s Big Boy on Sunday nights. You and my Mom became best of friends that prayed endlessly for us.

4) You and Dad were so loving and kind to me, welcoming me into your lives even as a young girl. You picked me to be Mahlah in the Church Christmas Play. I felt so special. I loved the sweet Christmas programs that you led all those little kids with such patience and love. Thank you for letting me wear your mink stole at prom. I felt like a Hollywood star. ;-)

5) The greatest gift you gave me was your beloved son. That beautiful boy who became a beautiful man stole my heart forever. There is no one that could ever compare to his talents and abilities. Our love for each other stood the test of time, the test of tough and good times, the test of sickness and in health, the test of raising kids, the test of trusting God through every challenge. I thank you for instilling such strong faith into him, for the man of God he was, for the sense of humor, and, even for those “perfection” qualities that made him to always expect excellence from all of us. I thank you for instilling in him his musical gifts that gave so many such encouragement and joy. I thank you for everything about this precious man that filled my life with love and joy....most of the time! ;-)

6) You were always supportive to me as a daughter -- not just a daughter-in-law. You were there many times when I needed a shoulder to cry on. I’ll always remember and treasure your support.

7) You were always an incredible grandmother to my two -- and great granny to my grandchildren. They all loved your homes that were filled with so much love and warmth -- that included lots of places to run around and play, the best toast ever, playing your organ, your mustard plasters, your swimming pool, your apple pies and chocolate cake. Your gardens produced so many delicious vegetables. And, your canned pickles were the best EVER!

8) Being at the organ will always be a precious memory of you -- and me getting to play the piano with you at church. You always encouraged me and helped me so much to play without music.

9) You have been an incredible example of serving God with all your heart, at church, home or at work. I was always impressed by your sales abilities at Sears. Everyone loved the discounted clothes you got us. Ron’s pastel colored shirts and pants and his long hair were the hot topic by all the church folk, but you defended him all the way!

10) You always had the greatest wit and sense of humor. You could make us laugh without even trying.

Mom, God must have loved us so much, that He gave you to us as the best TREAT ever. I celebrate this special day, honor you and give thanks to God for your life, your continual prayers for us and the living example of a Proverbs 31 woman of God.
Happy “95th” Birthday, Mom! I love you so much......Donna <3

Grandparenting Taken to a Whole New Level

My Dad's parents were already in heaven before I was sent from heaven to earth, but I had the most precious grandmother and grandfather (my Mom's Mom & Dad). My grandmother's claim-to-fame in my books, is that she introduced my husband and I when we were just 13 and 12 years old. Her words were "Ronnie Wuerch says he likes you". My reply was "Tell him I like him, too!" From that point forward, we were destined to be together forever. I loved my grandparents and they loved me so much -- their prayers for me are still working. Their love for God and His Word had such a tremendous impact on my life. As precious as they were in my eyes as a young child, I never knew that "hands on" grandparenting. . I didn't even realize I didn't have it, until years later when I became a grandparent. When our grandparenting time came, we knew we wanted an "up close and personal" relationship with our grandchildren. So from the get-go, we set out to be those doting, over-the-top in love in words and deeds. Way before my first grandson was born, I had a "Hope Chest" of toys, puzzles and books.....that would be at Papa & Nana's house. In fact, to this day, I still have the old Nintendo 64 controllers and games. I still have their favorite book "Barbapapa" and I still have the Lincoln Logs and Legos. They all know they'll find those "treasures" at Nana's house!

If grandparenting hasn't become a part of your world yet, before long, it just may be and my best recommendation to you is to get intimately involved in their lives. While moms and dads are no doubt the greatest influencers, grandparents can come in a close second. We always wanted our grandchildren to know that we pray for them, stand ready to be there for them, and to support them as best we could, given though the miles that may have separated us. I'm, by no means, wanting to be dishing out a guilt trip to anyone that doesn't have that "bent", but I assure you, there is nothing to compare with that precious love. There is nothing sweeter on this earth than to hear "Nana, I love you so much!"

This post today was actually inspired by a sweet grandmother that saw my post yesterday, where I was sharing about the treasure hunts I've provided since all of my grandchildren were little. It's been "Nana's tradition". The treasure hunts end at age 18, but I remember my oldest grandson's dismay when on his 18th birthday I didn't have the treasure hunt ready to go for him, and when I saw that pout, I went into "turbo charge" mode to get it together. LOL! That FB grandmother asked me about those treasure hunts for her grandkids, and rather than just telling her, I share it with you, too, .......just in case......

~ Nana's Treasure Hunts ~
What's Needed: creativity, some extra time, rhyming ability (use the internet -- great for helping us find words that rhyme -- like "Go to the Rose Garden where it smells so sweet; Did I tell you....you have smelly feet?"), pick out places to hide the clues -- the younger they are, the easier the places and when they're older, it really is about "search and rescue", a birthday card that starts the treasure hunt with a clue, notes that have the clue on them and put in a box or envelope -- oftentimes with a bow attached that makes it easier to find in a tree or behind a rock, etc.)
Let the Treasure Hunt Begin:
~ Child opens card -- if younger, an older sibling or parent reads the clue and the fun begins. Note: be careful to not let the older sibling help too much -- it's all about the birthday boy or girl to know it's THEIR Treasure Hunt to find. If they're having trouble with finding the clue, it's okay to provide extra verbal clues along the way.

~ I usually have about 6 to 8 locations with accompanying clues that lead to the final clue and the BIG TREASURE (really not all that big, but it's the birthday gift from the grandparents instead of that gift just being among the mix of all the other gifts the child is given on their birthday.)

~ Simple, but memorable and that's what I'm into. Memorable for them AND me. I sometimes spice it up by using a golf cart to drive them around (that was easy for me living in a 55+ community) to find their clues. Also, sometimes I start the hunt with a theme, like a couple of years ago on Bryson's birthday, the theme was "What does the fox say?" If it's raining -- treasure hunt is in the house. If it's dark, have clues stationed closer to home and use flashlights.

~ Here is a sample of the clues used at my oldest grandson's 9 year old birthday (14 years ago) -- yes, I'm an archiver -- gotta' hang on to the memories! LOL!

Braden, Braden, You’re Our Man
If you can’t find this, no one can!
Now that you’ve been fed --
Your next clue you’ll find in Payton’s baby bed!

One, two, three, four,
Braden’s birthdays have numbered more,
Five, six, seven, eight,
It’s time to celebrate.
Braden is a great big nine.
Oh my goodness, He’s so fine.
Go look inside the washing machine!
You’re next clue may be green!

Where oh where has our little boy gone?
Oh where oh where can he be?
With his eyes so big and his legs so long!
Oh where oh where is he?
And where is the next clue?
Try Papa’s closet - near his shoes!

Braden & Barrett sitting in a tree,
Counting apples - one, two, three,
Up comes the doctor, Up comes the
nurse, then comes the lady with the
alligator purse! Purse?????
Look in Nana’s closet by her purse!

I love you. You love me.
We’re a happy family.
With a great big hug and
a kiss from me to you
Look under the table where
you chew, chew, chew!

Braden Cole is so cool!
He’s the best when it comes to school!
He’s kind and sweet to everyone!
That’s why we think he’s so much fun!
Now look by the tree in the big backyard!
That’s where you’ll find the very last card!

NOW -- go out there and make a difference in your grandchildren's world. Be silly and energetic and bring wonder to their eyes and hearts with your love that makes them feel so happy you're in their lives. I promise you -- it will be worth the effort!

Mothering Isn't Reserved Only For Mothers

This meal was absolutely delicious -- prepared by Alexia Wallace -- with the guidance of Denise Gerrich (aka Neicey), Payton & Alexia's au pair, mentor, "foods/cooking" teacher, and God's special angel to the Wallace Family.

What a blessing she has been to them. Denise realizes she is planting great seeds into the lives of others. And, now, especially for this special dinner -- seeing that blessing passed on to Lexi.

Yes, it takes patience to guide and direct someone who doesn't have the experience -- especially when it would be so much easier for us "to just do it ourselves".

I'm so thankful that "mothering" isn't reserved only for mothers -- but it's those who have the capacity to give, nurture and love others. And, how wonderful children have access to several adults who love them -- grandparents, child care workers, teachers, coaches, neighbors, aunts and uncles, pastors.....and nannies, au pairs and loving adults who don't see kids as just "little people" -- they see them as "a promise, a possibility -- a great big bundle of potentiality -- diamonds in the rough" -- who with a little patience, tenderness, persistence and vision -- are willing to give time to them -- planting seeds of hope, self confidence, courage and purpose into them. Those of you who are all that, and more, you are God's special angels!

Thank you, Neicey, for being one of God's special angels! The circle of life continues.....and one day, we'll see Payton & Lexi's kids being taught the golden nuggets that they learned from those who cared about the marks they will make in their future!